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Wrestlers aim for ambitious targets at SEA Games

5/3/03

Vietnamese wrestlers hope to defend their champion status by winning more than 10 gold medals at the 22nd Southeast Asian Games due to take place in the country from Dec. 5-13.

Recruited in mid-February, the national wrestling team comprises 38 men and 22 women, chosen from recent national freestyle and traditional competitions. They have been trained by experts from Bulgaria, Russia, and the Republic of Korea.

Vietnamese wrestlers began their training programme in March. From June, they will attend national and foreign wrestling tournaments including the National Youth Wrestling Tournament (in central Thua Thien-Hue province), the Wrestling Clubs' Cup (northern mountainous Thai Nguyen province), the Asian Wrestling Championships (India), the Asian Youth Wrestling Tournament (Taiwan) and the World Wrestling Championships (Greece). A team of 45 Vietnamese wrestlers will be sent for a training tour of China in September.

Vietnamese wrestlers bagged nine golds, five silvers and four bronzes at the 19th SEA Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. Since then, they carried off 12 golds at the Southeast Asian Wrestling Championship in the Philippines in 2002 and one silver and four bronzes at the Open Wrestling Tournament held recently in China.

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Hedican up for CIS award

Thursday May 1, 2003

Mercury staff

GUELPH -- University of Guelph wrestler Tara Hedican is the OUA nominee for the CIS's BLG Female Athlete of the Year Award.
The award-winner is to be announced Monday evening in Calgary.

An Arts and History student at the U of G, Hedican started her wrestling career in a Grade Seven gym class at College Avenue Public School when she weighted 85 pounds.

"I loved it from the start and 10 years later, it has become my passion," she says.

While Hedican was active playing soccer, baseball, hockey, rugby or almost anything athletic while she was a youth, wrestling seemed to satisfy her energy demands.

A former OUA all-star in rugby, Hedican gave that sport a pass as she decided to concentrate on wrestling.

At the university level, she was the OUA and CIS champion in the 63 kilogram class as well as the national meet MVP twice and an All-Canadian three consecutive years.

The U of G named Hedican a co-winner of its female athlete of the year award last month.

Hedican won the 2001 world junior championship in a meet in Martingny, Switzerland. At the 2003 Pan Am wrestling championships last month, she beat the 2002 world bronze-medal winner Mavel Fonseca in the semifinals and then dominated Venezuela's' Rained Guerra 10-0 to win the gold medal.

"Her obvious love of the sport makes her a pure joy to coach," says U of G wrestling coach Doug Cox. "Her intensity in both practice and competition serve as an inspiration to her teammates."

"I have always admired Tara's hard work and dedication," says U of G teammate Rory McDonell. "It was no surprise to me that Tara has enjoyed success that she has."

Proud of her Aboriginal roots, Hedican flew into her reserve at Fort Hope, north of Thunder Bay, last summer to be a featured speaker at the Chiefs' of Ontario Conference where she spoke to the chiefs and the general population. She has also spoken at the Ontario Youth Pow Wow in Hagersville and has appeared on the panel at the Canadian Indigenous Native Studies at the University of Toronto.

Two highlights she cherishes are being the flag bearer in the North American Indigenous Games in Winnipeg and the torch bearer to open the Ontario Winter Games.

She also excels in woodcarving, something probably handed down by her grandmother who is an artist.

In 2002, Hedican won the Tom Longboat Award, a national award honouring Aboriginal excellence in sport.

Hedican says she would like to become a teacher and would also like to qualify to compete in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

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Community Sports: Hanson's size belies fire inside

PAUL DANZER, Columbian staff writer 4/29/03

At 11 years of age and less than 80 pounds, Kelsey Hanson doesn't seem
the intimidating type.

But don't let her get you into a head-and-arm hold.

"My dad can't even get out of it," she says.

Dad's not alone.

Hanson, a fifth-grader at Cape Horn-Skye Elementary School in
Washougal, has won two national wrestling tournaments in the past month.

First she won the 79-pound championship at the United States Girls
Wrestling Association nationals in Lake Orion, Mich. It was her second
championship in as many years at that tournament.

Hanson then won the 79-pound title on April 12at the Fila Women's
Nationals in St. Joseph, Minn. At both tournaments, she was named the outstanding
wrestler among all elementary school participants.

Quickness, aggressiveness, and an effective two-leg takedown are her
trademarks.

Kim Simmons, one of Hanson's coaches, describes her as a whirlwind.

"Her whole object is to go out there and see how quick she can pin the
(other) girl," he said. "Right now there's really nobody out there who
can compete with her."

Simmons expects Hanson will be a dominant wrestler throughout her
grade-school and junior-high years, but will find high school
competition more difficult. That's been the experience of his daughter, Melissa, a
freshman at Ridgefield High School.

Melissa Simmons won a national title as an eighth grader at the 2002
USGWA tournament. This year, competing in the high school division, she
placed fifth, losing to two previous national champions.

At the Fila tournament April 12 in Minnesota, Simmons placed second in
the high school folkstyle tournament and second in the high school
freestyle.

She is ranked fourth in the 144-pound weight class by the USGWA, which
does not rank elementary school wrestlers.

Hanson and Simmons followed similar paths in wrestling. Each started in
kindergarten and quickly developed a passion for the sport. When
Melissa started nearly a decade ago, there were no separate tournaments for
girls.

While they wrestle against boys at many of tournaments they enter --
Simmons wrestled for Ridgefield High this winter -- wrestling events and
divisions just for females are becoming more common. For example, the Washington
State Cadet/Junior Freestyle Championships, which take place Saturday at
Skyview High School, will offer a tournament for girls.

"It's really just starting to take off," says Kim Simmons, who has
helped light the fuse for girls wrestling.

Kim Simmons coached the team of 15 wrestlers from Washington who
attended the USGWA nationals at the end of March. Several of them traveled to
Portland once a week from northern parts of this state to work out with
the team. He is trying to interest folks to the north and the east to
organize wrestling programs for girls, so that Washington can be better
represented at nationals.

He remembers his surprise 10 years ago when Melissa, tagging along at
her brother's practice, asked to try wrestling.

She and her sport have come quite a ways since then. Some colleges now
have women's wrestling teams (Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore., has
one of the top programs in the nation).

Kelsey Hanson still grapples in relative obscurity. She wishes the
grade-school girls received the attention older girls receive at the
national tournament.

But she has a firm idea of where she wants to go.

"One of my goals is for women's wrestling to get the same respect as
the men's," she said. "But, my ultimate goal is to win an Olympic gold
medal in wrestling."

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Laura Gourley places at national tourney

Published: May 2, 2003

Sweet Home’s Laura Gourley, 11, brought home a sixth place finish recently from the national women’s wrestling tournament held in Lake Orion, Michigan.

Gourley is the daughter of Jim and Lisa Gourley. She is in the sixth grade at Hawthorne Elementary School and competed in the Middle School category at 120 pounds.

Oregon grapplers finished third and brought home 19 medals among 23 athletes.

Gourley wrestled several times over the two-day event, losing to the first and third place finishers by points.

She has been wrestling for six years and enjoys the hard work it takes. While training for the nationals, Gourley practiced twice a weeky in Portland with the touring team.

She’s excited that women’s wrestling will be an Olympic sport in 2004.

She also enjoys swimming, soccer and softball.

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Boys' excellence, coaches cited for paucity of girl wrestlers

05/03/03Pat Galbincea
Plain Dealer Reporter

As good as area women are in wrestling on the national scene, a question remains as to why there aren't more girls wrestling at the high school level.

On the surface, the toughness of boys wrestling in Ohio is the logical reason why - or are there other reasons?

National high school champion Heather Martin (144 pounds) said many "old school" coaches don't want girls on their high school teams.

"It is because the boys here are so strong and the coaching is so great that girls aren't generally welcomed," Martin said. "And I don't blame the coaches, either. I'd prefer to be on a girls team, but I have to use the resources available to achieve my goals.

"I know, in some instances, coaches will run a tougher, harder practice to drive the girls out. I've had that problem in the past, but I'm where I'm at because I'm also stubborn."

Martin's father, Jim, said: "Heather was welcomed on the team by Keystone coach Ted Gordon. Ted said she was one of his better wrestlers, and the guys on the team have come to accept her. But I'm not sure that's the case everywhere."

Marci English said her 14-year-old daughter, Sara, a 12th-place finisher at the recent national tournament at 152, wasn't embraced by everyone on the Beachwood team, where she wrestled several varsity matches at 160 pounds.

"One of the Beachwood assistant coaches, Lauren Rabick, was terrific with Sara," Marci English said. "Two other wrestlers on the team were also helpful, but she got the feeling other people wished she'd not be there.

"Sara likes wrestling, and she's only a second-year wrestler. Thank goodness there are people out there like Rabick and Kip Flanik [ex-Cleveland Heights assistant coach now coaching women's wrestling at Cumberland College], who do want to help girls interested in wrestling."

Jim Martin is USA Wrestling's designated director of women's wrestling in Ohio. Heather Martin said any Ohio girls interested in wrestling should contact her father at 440-647-1109.

"He'll connect you with the closest coaches in the area to help you develop as a wrestler," she said. "You'll be sent to the right people."

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Good 'n few

05/03/03Pat Galbincea
Plain Dealer Reporter

While girls high school wres tling in Ohio has not yet mushroomed in quantity, it doesn't mean the Buckeye state hasn't produced quality.

Take, for instance, the recent U.S. Girls Wrestling Association National Folkstyle Championships held in Lake Orion, Mich. There were 287 girls competing in the high school division in 14 weight classes.

Only five girls from The Plain Dealer's seven-county coverage area competed in the high school division, along with three others from Ohio. All eight wrestlers placed, and Heather Martin (144 pounds) of Pennfield in Lorain County was selected as the outstanding wrestler.

USA Wrestling, based in Colorado Springs, has had a national women's freestyle team since 1989. While states such as Michigan, California, Texas and Hawaii have large numbers of girls competing on the high school level, Ohio does not.

Nonetheless, Martin, a junior at Keystone High, is traveling a path that could enable her to eventually become the area's third World medalist. Cleveland Heights native Tina George and Cleveland native Toccara Montgomery have won silver medals in recent years.

Martin is coached by her father, Jim, a former wrestler at Berea High and a USA Wrestling certified coach. She earned a first-round bye in the national tournament and then got four straight pins - ranging in time from 32 seconds to 2:57.

She is ahead of Montgomery and George as a high school wrestler. Martin has a career record of 22-28 wrestling against boys at Keystone. George was 3-31 as a senior 130-pounder at Cleveland Heights, and Montgomery was unable to place in the Senate Tournament as a 119-pound junior at East Tech.

Sara English, a freshman at Beachwood, placed 12th at 152 pounds. She lost several close decisions, including her match for 11th place to Susan Scott of Fayette, Iowa, 7-5.

The USGWA Championships also had elementary and junior high divisions, and the few Ohioans who competed also did well. Emily Smith of Fairview was one point from being a national champion in the junior high division, losing a 3-2 decision in the 85-pound finals to Nicole Woody of St. Leonard, Md.

At the elementary school level, Attiyah Herron of Cleveland was second at 48 pounds.

Jim Martin said the day is coming when girls wrestling will be firmly established in Ohio.

"It already is big in Michigan, and that's just one state north of us," Martin said. "As women like Tina and Toccara enjoy national and world success, other girls in Ohio are noticing and getting involved.

"My own daughter really enjoys wrestling and is dedicated to the sport. Toccara Montgomery has been a drill partner for Heather, and she's picked up a lot of new moves and skills. Women will be wrestling in the Olympics next year. I don't see interest in wrestling waning among the girls. . . . It's definitely growing."