Ronald Miller talks to his daughter Josephine after a match. Ronald said this was his daughters first tournament in her four years of wrestling.
Noel Judd/News Net Nebraska
News Page
Women's wrestling nationals from 23 May
NT Bureau
Chennai, May 13:
To put women on the mat may not be the most political correct thing to do. But starting 23 May for three days that will be the flavour at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here.
Before you start wondering what the whole thing is all about, well the 7th Women Wrestling National Championship,the first time it is to be held not along with the men's nationals, will bring to the city some of the best talents in the sport to the city.
That the Wrestling Association of Tamilnadu (WAT), which was launched only in September last, should take the lead to conduct the nationals here is indeed praise worthy. Though without a sponsor and not much public backing, the WAT is hoping that the forthcoming Nationals will create culture for the sport in the State.
Talking to newsmen Sunday night, WAT Honorary Secretary General Rohtash Singh said the tournament would help tap the latent talent in the State. With this Nationals to be the basis for the selection to the forthcoming Asian championships in June at Delhi, the competition is certain to be competitive.
A total of 300 wrestlers from around 28 States are expected to participate in the championship. WAT Honorary President K R Shyamsunder said the championship comprised 24 events 10 for cadets, 8 for junior and 6 for senior.
Among the well-known wrestlers who will be seen in action are Rachna in 38 kgs, Ranjana Devi in 43 kgs, Rupinder Kaur in 46 kgs, Sunita in 55 kgs, Alka Tommer in 55 kgs, Kamini Yadav in 48 kgs, Sudesh Kumari in 40 kgs. Most of these wrestlers have won laurels at the national and international events.
--------------------------------------------------------
Girls wrestling continues to grow
2003 state championships held at Deer Valley Middle School
5/5/03 By Kenn Gorr/Independent Newspapers
Dave and Neva Severn faced the question early on. The question was, "what do you do when you have a little girl you expect to be frilly, who wants to wrestle?" The answer was to get little Cadie Severn on the mat.
Born and raised in a wrestling family, Cadie had her awakening at a dance recital when she was four years old. She took off her alligator hat after a performance and asked her parents if she could play sports. The Severn's were stunned, but decided to roll with the punch.
"Not all those girls are going to be in tap and dance shoes," Neva said. "I mean, I tried since she was like three years old, but she just didn't want to do anything else.
"No matter what your kids are involved with -- I don't care if it's basket weaving -- if it keeps them on the right track, then who cares what they're doing as long as it's positive."
Severn has been brilliant on the mat, winning her second straight Arizona High School championship Feb. 22 over Bourgade High School's Danielle Mar in the 132-pound weight class.
Early in her career, because there were no girls with whom she could wrestle, Severn wrestled boys. The pattern continued until she completed the eighth grade. Her record against the boys that year was 15-5.
When her body began to change, however, Cadie did not want to wrestle boys anymore. Thus was born the Arizona girls state wrestling championships.
Girls wrestling is a sport still in its infancy in Arizona. Thanks, however, to the efforts of the family patriarch, who is a Deer Valley High School volunteer assistant boys wrestling coach, it is beginning to grow.
Sixty-three girls competed in the Feb. 22 event, 12 more than competed in 2002 and 33 more than competed in 2001, the first year of the event.
"My husband has been a huge backer of girls wrestling," Neva said. "I think wrestling is huge. There are 12 universities with women's wrestling programs. I think it's nice that we live in a time when there's something for everyone. Now that girls are having their own competitions all over the world, I think it's wonderful."
The Severns hope to have 100 competitors in the very near future.
"We haven't done it yet, but we're getting a little closer each year," Neva said.
In an effort to promote the 2003 event, Dave invited 12-time national champion and 4-time world champion Tricia Saunders to speak to the competitors.
"She is a real ground breaker," Dave said of Saunders. "She was fighting for women's wrestling before most states allowed girls to wrestle."
Saunders returned the compliment, saying Dave's efforts are important to female wrestlers.
"I've been involved with the Severn family for a long time," Saunders said. "So, when there is something going on in Arizona I'm here every time."
Saunders said barriers remain for female wrestlers to overcome because people still consider wrestling a boys' sport.
"Internationally there is a lot of support for girls wrestling," Saunders said. "It's like a lot of martial arts where there have been girls divisions for a long time. For girls, there are a whole bunch of other issues to deal with that don't exist in the rest of the world. But, those gender issues are getting broken down."
Cadie, who attended Deer Valley High School as a freshman, but switched to Intelli High School this year, said Saunders' presence was both uplifting and nerve-racking.
"It's pretty important that she's here because she boosts your self esteem," Cadie said. "You feel kind of nervous when she's here because you don't know if you're up to her standards or not."
Wrestling up to any standard was far from the mind of Marianne Randall, who was in attendance to watch her daughter, South Mountain High School's Dana Randall, compete.
"I always support her in everything she does," Marianne said. "I never thought it would be wrestling, but she enjoys it."
Randall won the 118-pound class.
Girls wrestling at a high level, however, was on the mind of Avondale Sun Kids West Club coach Jesse Saenz.
"It's about giving these girls opportunities," Saenz said. "Colleges are opening up their doors to female wrestlers. It's going to allow some of them to have their education's paid for."
Cadie's college aspirations?
"I would like to wrestle in college, and I've had some offers, but I don't want to leave home. I'll probably stay in wrestling, help my dad run his club and help recruit more girls into wrestling."
-----------------------------------------------------
Bush, Jablonski earn All-American titles
By Mark Young, Okeechobee News 4/15/03
It's an age-old story. A true athlete never wins championships - they simply earn it through hard work and years of dedication.
They often find themselves in a state of surprise when they reach a higher level of competition and realize their own definition of dedication isn't quite the same as those who they face in the competitive arena.
Two Okeechobee High School Lady Brahman wrestlers know a little something about hard work and dedicating much of their free time to achieving those goals. While many young athletes take summer vacations or spring break opportunities to lounge at the beach, Courtney Bush and Corey Anne Jablonski
spend it training and competing.
Such was the case as the pair of high school wrestlers traveled to Lake Orion, Mich., to compete in the sixth annual United States Girls Wrestling Association National Championships.
The sport of girls wrestling continues to grow but many of the modern day competitors had to cut their teeth against male opponents, due to the lack of competition in the female arena. That has changed dramatically just over the last couple of years and, for the first time, the Olympics will be featuring female wrestling as an Olympic event in 2006.
The level of competition among today's females is fierce due to their experience against male opponents. Bush was a founding member of the Lady Brahmans wrestling team and, as a sophomore, spent her first year going against boys before this year's female competition became more substantial.
Bush will go down in school history as the first female to compete against, and defeat, a male opponent. Since that time, Bush can be credited with lifting the overall program to a higher level.
One wrestler to follow such a tradition is Jablonski, but this young freshman phenomenon was already heading in that direction. She began wrestling against males when she was 7 years old and never looked back. She came onto the high school scene this year and defeated 15 male opponents, and was the first female to qualify for regionals in a male-dominated competition.
Jablonski was undefeated against females and continued that trend all the way to this year's state championship where she emerged as the state champion.
Bush and Jablonski joined 680 other entries that represented a total of 40 states in the USGWA national championships. Jablonski finished fifth in the nation after winning five straight matches that vaulted her into the quarterfinals. Jablonski lost to the same girl from Hawaii twice - both times the match went into overtime.
Her fifth-place finish classifies her as an All-American and also qualifies her for subsidized funding from the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. If Jablonski can finance her trip to the training center, the center will put her up for free. It also includes housing, meals, work out partners, and more importantly, the best coaches in the nation.
Bush also made All-American status as the 10th place finisher in her weight division. She had a tough first day of competition and faced elimination from the tournament. Bush fought back on the second day to win two big matches against competitors from Texas and California, and get back into the medal rounds.
"The national tournament was a huge step, not only for our girls in Okeechobee but for the female wrestlers around the country," said OHS coach Bruce Jahner. "Corey Anne and Courtney wrestled a super tournament and were competitive in every match. I was very proud of their efforts and the commitment these two girls have shown over the last couple of years.
"Coaches spend a career trying to make their wrestlers the best of the best and become All-Americans. We are fortunate to bring home two in one weekend," he added.
The girls were exposed to college coaches who were on hand for scouting purposes. They also met with the women's Olympic coach Terry Steiner, along with several Olympic hopefuls who were in the tournament. Steiner will be coming to Okeechobee this summer to put on a clinic for local female competitors as they prepare for the freestyle nationals taking place this summer.
-------------------------------------------------------------
By Brian Turek and Josh Wolfe
February 27, 2003
Wrestling isn’t just for boys anymore. On Saturday, March 8 the female wrestlers have an opportunity to show their stuff in Nebraska.
The only rule that will be followed that is not in the National Federation’s rule-book – no boys allowed.
Wymore Southern High School will host the first girl’s state wrestling tournament March 8 at 10 a.m. The event is open to any girl who is between elementary school and college age.
Wrestlers may enter before March 2, or at the meet for an extra fee. Weigh-ins will begin at 7 a.m.
The meet is not affiliated with the Nebraska State Activities Association, which oversees sporting events in Nebraska schools. Rather, the meet is affiliated with the United States Girls Wrestling Association.
Kent Bailo, USGWA founder and director said girls have been wrestling in events like these since 1997. Michigan was the first state to offer a girls-only wrestling meet and the number of participants has increased. In 1997 there was only one tournament. Five years later that number has increased to 41 tournaments in 32 states.
"The first time we had this (wrestling tournament) there were 116 girls in 14 weight classes." He said. "Now there is about 100 girls per-state who wrestle."
Participants come from all parts the country to wrestle other girls. Bailo said at last years USGWA National Tournament Finals there was a girl from Maine wrestling a girl from Hawaii, showing how some girls are willing to travel to compete.
"They come near and far," he said. "You couldn’t get any further apart," he said about the match.
While the competition is open to girls from other states, many Nebraska students plan to attend the meet. One of them is a student at Lincoln Northeast High School, where Coach Dwayne Borchers has worked with her this season.
"This is the first time (a girl) has stayed out," Borchers said. "There’s still a lot of physical differences in size and strength between the boys and girls."
Borchers does not support the idea of girls wrestling with boys, which is allowed at NSAA meets.
"I would prefer they had their own program," he said. "There are liability issues."
For that reason, he supports the new competition in Wymore.
"I think if the interest grows, you might see some new programs," he said.
Girls’ wrestling meets differ from boys’ in that there are fewer wrestlers, so change to the weight classes are needed. Girls’ wrestling meets use blocked weight-classes, which means the total number of participants are divided into weight classes and the girls are then placed in those weight classes in increasing order. For example: The lightest four girls would wrestle a round-robbin’ round. Then the next four girls and so-on, so everyone who participates gets a chance to wrestle.
Boys’ wrestling meets are arranged by preset weight classes, which means they weigh-in and are put in a weight class. In boys’ tournaments it is possible that there is only one person in one particular weight class, therefore he wins by default.
The reason for the differences? Numbers. Most boys’ tournaments have enough participants to fill each weight-class, so no one leaves without competing.
Bailo said there are no prerequisites, such as ranking in a qualifying tournament, to enter a USGWA wrestling meet.
"Just show up," he said, "until we get to the point where there’s too many people."
Duane Arntt, the individual organizing the USGWA meet in Wymore, said there should to be a big turnout for Nebraska’s first girls wrestling meet.
"There will be between 60 and 100 girls," he said. "They could come from all over the United States. A lot of coaches say they have girls interested in coming down."
Interest in girl’s wrestling has grown in recent years. According to NSAA figures, 26 girls competed from 11 schools during this season. Last year, 15 girls competed.
Borcher said girls gain some advantage when they’re young and larger then boys their age. But, puberty takes away any competitive edge, he said.
"We’ve had very little interest (in girl’s wrestling)," he said. "The girls hear horror stories about the work."
In his first year coaching wrestler Melissa Bickford, a tenth grader, he’s given her no special treatments.
"You can’t cut corners with her," he said. "And, she doesn’t expect that either."
--------------------------------------------------------
Young women wrestle in Wymore
Girls and women's wrestling comes to Nebraska
by Brian Turek
March 10, 2003
|
Ronald Miller talks to his daughter Josephine after a match. Ronald said this was his daughters first tournament in her four years of wrestling. |
WYMORE-Saturday's United States Girls Wrestling Association state wrestling meet in Wymore established several champions, and that wrestling in Nebraska isn't just for the boys anymore.
Before wrestling began wrestlers warmed up, practiced takedowns and some got last minute advice as their coaches braided their hair.
Forty-five wrestlers from kindergarten through 12th grade traveled from Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska to Wymore, Neb., to compete in Saturday's first-ever wrestling meet for girls. And for some there was still a lot of wrestling in store for them before the weekend ran it's course, said Kelly Riche, the mother of one of the wrestlers.
"She's practiced for three months to wrestle in three meets," she said.
Riche, from Plattsburg Mo., said it's hard to find U.S.G.W.A. events, and participation often means traveling across state lines.
"We were at Kansas last week and tomorrow we will be in Pleasant Hill, Mo.," she said.
Jeff Jenkins, who has traveled throughout the Midwest with his daughters in pursuit of U.S.G.W.A. tournaments, said girls' wrestling isn't just growing in Nebraska, it's starting to catch-on nation-wide.
"A lot of people don't know that girls will wrestle in the 2004 Olympics," he said. "A lot of people don't know that it's a varsity sport in Texas and Hawaii."
Jeff Jenkins, of Lake Orion Mich., said the reason for the U.S.G.W.A. is because girls want fair wrestling matches.
"A lot of girls I know would have wrestled if they knew that they'd never have to wrestle boys," he said.
Anna Jenkins, Jeff Jenkins' daughter, and Nikki Pender, 14, of Colfax, Ia., said they would or do wrestle boys on the high school level, but they do it to get stronger for the U.S.G.W.A. season. Other girls or their parents are less willing to join a wrestling club that has predominately male competitors. Bailey O'Reiley, Riche's daughter, said she'd wrestle if there were a girl's high school wrestling team.
Riche said she didn’t like the idea of co-ed wrestling because of the physical strength that boys have compared to girls, among other reasons.
"I don't like my teen-age daughter wrestling with teen-age boys," she said, "and I don't like my teen-age son wrestling with teen-age girls."
Wrestlers, their parents and the officials said U.S.G.W.A. wrestling is similar to other clubs' programs, and different in some respects.
"U.S.G.W.A. is more family-oriented," said Jeff Jenkins. "USA Wrestling (another wrestling organization) is more 'hey I want to get noticed.'"
Kenya Naumann, (white shirt), wrestles Kaylee Diekman in a match Naumann eventually won 8-6. |
Ted Fairbanks, a wrestling official from Beatrice, pointed out other ways girls' wrestling is different from other clubs.
"I wish they required hairnets and we have to check fingernails more," he said. "The girls are nicer to their opponents (than boys are). It's more friendly competition."
Riche said U.S.G.W.A. wrestling is the same as wrestling anywhere else.
"I've been to several girls' wrestling tournaments and boys' tournaments," she said. "The only difference is gender, there's good wrestlers here."
Different wrestlers got interested in wrestling in many different ways. Anna Jenkins, 16, of Lake Orion Mich., said she started wrestling because her dad said she couldn't.
"My dad said girls can't wrestle," she said. "Then dad said 'if you can do a month of my training, you can (wrestle).'"
Anna Jenkins said she hopes to wrestle in college if she gets a scholarship. Otherwise she said she wants to wrestle for the Army.
Other wrestlers at the meet said they had help getting interested in wrestling from siblings.
"My sister got me started and a bunch of my friends," Pender said.
O'Reiley, 14, of Plattsburg Mo., said she got her start in wrestling from her brother.
"My brother wrestled forever and I always wanted to wrestle," she said.
O'Reiley said she likes wrestling because it is an individual sport.
"It's the personal achievement when you win," she said. "It's not for a team, it's for yourself."
Duane Arntt, director of the tournament, said he hopes to make this a biannual event, with one meet in the winter and one in the spring. He also said that next time he hopes to increase participation by promoting the meet to more people.
At the end of the meet Arntt said he was pleased with the way the meet went.
"I'm pleased," he said. "We had a good turn-out for the first year and everything ran smoothly."
A profile of two wrestlers...
Seven-year-old twins Shelby and Jeryn Creek giggle through their match against eachother at Saturday's meet. |
Shelby and Jeryn Creek, 7, giggled through their match against each other at Saturday's U.S.G.W.A. premiere event in Nebraska.
Shelby and Jeryn are in their first wrestling season, but have been coached since birth, their mother Melissa said.
Melissa said their sister and their father, John Creek, wrestling coach for Wymore High school and Wymore Jr. High, was an inspiration for them to wrestle.
"Their older sister wrestled for three years and they wanted to do it too," Melissa said.
Melissa said the pair competes against each other in everything they get involved in, which is "just what happens when you have twins," she said.
Melissa said the twins have wrestled in two other events including the Wymore Southern Tournament and a tournament in Auburn, Neb.
When asked if they would wrestle in high school or college, Shelby could only shake her head "no."
--------------------------------------------------
In a Boys' World,
They're Tough Enough
By Jeanne Sager
LIBERTY — February 14, 2003 –
Lauren Michaud and Andrea Stabak aren’t looking for attention.
They just want to compete.
They want a fair fight, and they want to be ranked right up there with the boys.
The Liberty teens are the only two girls wrestling under Coach John Lennon. In fact, they are a rarity in the OCIAA National Conference in which they wrestle – at a recent tournament involving approximately 10 schools, they were the only girls on the roster.
But after three years on the mats, the girls are starting to hold their own.
Michaud has successfully pinned three boys in matches this year (neither girl won a single competition their first year), and Stabak captured a state ranking in her weight class at an all-girl tournament in Schenectady last year.
Michaud, 16, a junior at LCS, joined the wrestling team to prove herself.
“I always wanted to show guys that a girl could do this,” she said.
On day one, Michaud met Stabak, now 17 and a senior.
Stabak originally joined with a friend who was afraid to jump into the ring alone. But that girl quit after her first season. Stabak’s still here.
“I watched her that day, and I just fell in love with it,” Stabak explained.
They met with a lot of opposition that first year – from guys on the team, guys on rival teams and coaches across the board.
“They were horrible to us,” Michaud recalled. “But the past two years, things have been much better.”
“They consider us part of the team now,” Stabak added. “I think we’ve gotten some more respect from other teams.
“There are still some teams and coaches that don’t like us, but they’re more used to it.”
And Lennon is the best coach they could have asked for, the girls added.
Does he treat them differently? Absolutely, they said.
“He spoils us,” Michaud said with a laugh.
Talking with other female wrestlers, Stabak discovered few coaches will set up matches for the girls on their teams.
“Never Lennon,” she said. “He says, ‘You’re part of the team, no different.’”
Starting out, Michaud added, Lennon was always very supportive.
“It really wasn’t a problem because I’ve had others girls on my team before when we were combined with Jeff,” Lennon said. “I’m more than willing to have girls come out as long as it’s for the right reasons, and these two girls did.”
Stabak and Michaud have grown a lot in the past three years, Lennon said. They’ve developed thick hides to deal with comments from male chauvinists who tell them to go back into the kitchen.
And they’ve worked to develop their techniques. Stabak toned her body to fit into the 145-pound weight class, where she could be more competitive.
Michaud confesses that she loves to eat, but when she’s down in the 125-pound weight class, she has the strength and ability to be a competitor to be reckoned with.
“This year they’ve had to check some of their milestones,” Lennon said. “My expectations have risen after three years, and they’re having a hard time dealing with that.
“They’re very mature girls,” Lennon said. “They definitely came to wrestle.”
If other coaches were as open to females joining their squads, Lennon said, there might be a greater demand for girl matches.
“If more coaches propagated it, more girls would join, and they would have other girls to compete against,” he explained. “But it’s a tough sport, and they’re going to have to make their own way.”
Michaud and Stabak are currently working toward the all-girl tournament in Binghamton later this month. There they will compete against the best of the best female wrestlers in the state, having honed their techniques in practice at home in the Liberty gym against the boys.
The girls who attend that tournament, Lennon said, are true competitors, and Stabak and Michaud’s rankings mark their real talents.
“These other girls are good wrestlers,” he said. “They’re not going there as slouchers.”
But the Liberty girls should do well, he said.
“Wrestling is a tough sport, for girls and guys,” Lennon explained. “It’s about how much effort you put into it.
“They’ve been great to work with, and I’m really proud of them.”
With Stabak looking to graduate in the fall and attend SUNY Potsdam, a best friendship formed on the mats will have to grapple with a long-distance break. Stabak, the daughter of Ron and Patti Stabak, will focus on her studies and give up wrestling.
“College is an extreme level,” she explained. “But this is a great sport.
“I almost didn’t do it this year, and if I hadn’t, I know I would regret it,” Stabak continued. “There’s just something that pulls you back.”
Michaud doesn’t intend to give up just yet. She’s looking forward to a fourth year on the team.
The daughter of Luci and Stephen Castellano, Michaud was “the kind of girl who would roll around in the dirt, climb trees and play with GI Joes” when she was a kid. And she’s still looking to prove she’s as good as any guy.
After that, she said with a laugh, “I plan to be a rock star.”
Stabak said she’s not really as tomboyish, but she’s definitely not a “girly girl.” But she’s gained a lot from the wrestling team.
“I can do a real push-up now,” she said with a laugh.
“And we made a lot of friends on and off the team,” Michaud added.
As for any naysayers out there, the girls just don’t care anymore. They’re on the team to win matches, not a popularity contest.
And they’re holding their own.
“We kick ass,” Michaud said with a laugh.
----------------------------------------------------------
Lady Red Devils to wrestle in GWA Illinois State meet in Charleston
By Charlie Ellerbrock BCR Staff 3/8/03
CHARLESTON - The wrestling season didn't end in February for Hall's Amanda Kromphardt and Julie Messersmith.
The Red Devil duo, the only Bureau County girls participating in high school wrestling this past season, will this Sunday travel to downstate Charleston to take part in the third annual U.S. Girls Wrestling Association's Illinois State Championships.
Messersmith, a sophomore in her second year in the Hall program, last season in the 130-pound class posted records of 5-10 on the varsity and 2-3 JV. Kromphardt, as a senior in her only season in the sport, went 1-13 varsity and 0-6 JV in the 140 class.
However, both had a good enough experience on the mats that they'll accompany Mendota wrestlers Mackenzie Baxter, Deanna Fultz and Cindy Muller to the meet.
"This is a chance for the girls to show what they've got against other girls, instead of getting knocked around by guys who are a little bigger, a little stronger," said Hall assistant coach Chad Errio. "With the good competition that Julie and Amanda have faced all year, going up against some pretty good guys, it's kinda hard to tell how much they've really improved over the season. I know Julie gets a little down on herself sometimes because it doesn't show, but this is a chance for them to prove themselves.
"They're psyched about it and so are the Mendota girls. It's going to be a new and exciting experience for all of us."
The event, not associated with any IHSA tournament, is open to any and all female wrestlers from all states, ages five years and older. There are three divisions of competition: elementary school age, middle school age and high school age.
The latter division, for grades 9-12 in which the local girls will compete, consists of weight classes 100-pounds, 105, 110, 114, 118, 122, 126, 130, 134, 138, 144, 152, 165 and over-165. Those matches will consist of three two-minute periods and be officiated under IHSA rules.
The top three in each class will receive medals, with a plaque going to the outstanding wrestler in each division.
The weigh-in is from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., with competition starting at noon. There is a $30 competition fee, $25 for early registers. Spectator admission is $6.