News Page

10 Questions for U.S. Nationals champion Sally Roberts

6/11/2003
John Fuller/USA Wrestling

SALLY ROBERTS
2002-03 Team USA Ranking: No. 4 at 63 kg/138.75 lbs.
Years on Team USA: 1 (2003-04)
Residence: Colorado Springs, Colo.
Club: Gator WC
College: Pacific Univ., UM-Morris
High School: Federal Way, Wash. (Federal Way HS)
Born: November 30, 1980 in Grants Pass, Ore.
Height: 5-6

1. How important was winning the U.S. Nationals for you personally?
Roberts: I am one more stepping stone to my ultimate goal, Olympic Gold. It was great, but it is not the ultimate success.

2. You completely dominated the tournament, winning twice by technical superiority and once more by fall. What have you been doing to separate yourself so far from many of the other competitors in your weight class?
Roberts: Wow, I have been training like a mad woman. Really, for me to even make 59 kilos, I have to be in the best shape. I am always training-wrestling, running, swimming. I have made lifestyle changes to help be able to compete against the best.

3. After winning the Dave Schultz Memorial International, did you begin to gain a lot of confidence in your abilities on the mat?
Roberts: Yeah, that was the tournament for me that helped me realize what I could do. Weight-wise, wrestling-wise, mentally. Finally, it is all starting to come together. I found my zone.

4. What are you going to do in preparation for your best-of-three finals at the World Team Trials?
Roberts: That's a secret. No, just kidding. I am going to be working on my holes, relaxing, and getting prepared mentally for two tough matches.

5. Erin Tomeo is probably your closest competitor. With her being a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center with you, do you think she will be able to close the gap on you more by observing you in the practice room?
Roberts: Maybe. Those are things that I can't worry about. I am aware of it, but I can't let it get to me. I just want her to see how hard I'm working. Let her know if she wants to beat me she'll have to train just as hard and put in just as much time. It's crazy how I have been training.

6. If you win the spot on the U.S. World Team, do you expect there to be another series of challenges at your weight class from the second and third-place finishers in the Olympic weights?
Roberts: I am expecting that there will be. If I had the option of challenging, I would. One more opportunity to make the National Team, no doubt.

7. What are your thoughts on those challenges?
Roberts: I have to get through the Trials first. Then its, bring it on!

8. Could you be at the point you are now without the resident athlete program in Colorado Springs?
Roberts: No, the conditions are perfect for me. All I have to do is train. That's what I love doing and it's consuming me. Being there feeds my passions and leaves me with little worries. I could not have asked for a better opportunity.

9. Who has been your biggest influence since you became a resident athlete?
Roberts: Any answer less than Terry Steiner would be a lie. He has shown me intensity, drive, passion, heart, true success and failure - and the difference between the two. I have developed so much mentally from him. I learned this more from his words, I learned this from his actions. Really, I could keep going, and going, and going about all he has done for me.

10. When the Olympic Team Trials come around, what weight do you plan to compete at and why?
Roberts: I am going to 138 because I like myself enough to not torture myself further. Everyone that knows me knows that 59 kilos is tough, to say the least. Besides, I need to be in the finals against McMann.

----------------------------------------------------------------

2003 Women’s World Team Trials preview at 63 kg/138.5 lbs.

6/13/2003
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling

This weight division has been dominated domestically by Sara McMann of the Sunkist Kids, who claimed her fourth straight U.S. Nationals gold medal in Las Vegas this year. McMann has kept the edge on all of her American rivals, continuing to improve herself as the quality of women’s wrestling has stepped up. The last two years, she has had to beat Kristie Marano of the New York AC, one of the greatest women wrestlers in American history. McMann has a complete package of skills, with takedown and mat wrestling that can match anybody in the world.

McMann’s problem has been at the World Championships, where she has not won a medal in three tries. She has had a very successful winter on the international circuit, beating the Japanese World champion who knocked her out of the World meet last year, as well as a number of other international stars. Since joining the USOTC program, McMann is working on having a consistent approach to every match and situation. In order to test these positive changes when it counts, McMann will need to win the World Team Trials again and earn the trip to New York City for the World meet.

Marano has won six World medals, the most of any U.S. women’s wrestler. She boasts a gold medal from 2000, four silver medals (1996-99) and a bronze medal from last year. After losing to McMann in the World Team Trials last June, Marano won a Wrestle-off for the World team at 147.5 pounds. All of her World medals were won at 147.5 pounds or above, but Marano has dropped to this division and will be seeking her spot on the Olympic team here. McMann beat Marano 7-1 in Las Vegas. Marano is now training full-time in Colorado Springs and aims to close the gap in Indianapolis.

Six-time U.S. World team member Lauren Lamb of the Michigan WC placed third at the U.S. Nationals, but may drop down to 130 pounds for the World Team Trials. Her experience and skill makes her very tough at this weight, yet she may have problems getting past the talented McMann and Marano. Taking fourth at the U.S. Nationals was college star Alaina Berube of Cumberland College. Berube will be competing at the Junior World Championships for the United States this summer, and is one of the young athletes expected to be in the next wave of U.S. women’s stars.

Emilee Murphree of Missouri Valley College, a freshman who has shown solid progress this season, captured the fifth-place medal at U.S. Nationals. Her father Carl Murphree is the new women’s coach at Missouri Valley, and it will be interesting to see how she develops under her dad’s tutelage in the future.

Tori Adams of the Gator WC dropped down to sixth at the U.S. Nationals this year, but is a serious contender to capture the Challenge Tournament. Adams was No. 3 on Team USA last year, and has been training full-time in Colorado Springs. Adams also has a Junior World medal in her trophy case.

Veteran Tina Arnds of Missouri Valley placed seventh at the U.S. Nationals, completing her college career as one of the most consistent on the national scene. Arnds competed during the college year at 67 kg, but dropped down to this division for the U.S. Nationals. Snagging the final qualifying spot at the U.S. Nationals was young college athlete Shelly Ruberg of Cumberland College, who is just getting her feet wet competing at this level.

Also qualifying to compete in Indianapolis is veteran Grace Magnussen of the Dave Schultz WC, who earned her spot by placing in a major international tournament in recent seasons. Magnussen has always been nationally competitive, but is having a challenge keeping with the strong field of stars that have emerged in this division in recent seasons. She may also choose to drop a division and test her skills at 59 kg.

Earning spots in the Challenge Tournament are Regional champions Chelynne Pringle of the Minneapolis AWC and Brittany Christenson of Wyoming. Pringle was third in a competitive FILA Junior Nationals this past year, and has a bright future if she continues to test herself against the best.

This weight class will belong to Sara McMann until somebody takes it away from her. With her focus on winning World medals, McMann can not overlook the skill of her competitors state-side, especially proven champion Kristie Marano. The Challenge Tournament in this division could be very competitive, especially if Adams is able to pick things up and Berube shows continued improvement. The odds favor another McMann vs. Marano showdown in the finals, something that wrestling fans will find offers some tremendous skill and intensity.

2003 U.S. Women’s Nationals results at 63 kg/138.75 lbs.
1st - Sara McMann (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) dec. Kristie Marano (Albany, N.Y./ATWA), 7-1
3rd - Lauren Lamb (Farmington, N.Y./Michigan WC) dec. Alaina Berube (Cornell, Mich./Cumberland College), 8-2
5th - Emilee Murphree (Napa, Calif./Missouri Valley) by inj. default over Tori Adams (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC)
7th - Tina Arnds (Scottsdale, Ariz./Missouri Valley) dec. Shelly Ruberg (Ueras, Ohio/Cumberland College), 6-0

2003 Women’s World Team Trials qualifiers at 63 kg (138.5 lbs.)
National champion - Sara McMann (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids)
National placerwinners - 2. Kristie Marano (Albany, N.Y./ATWA); 3. Lauren Lamb (Farmington, N.Y./Michigan WC); 4. Alaina Berube (Cornell, Mich./Cumberland College); 5. Emilee Murphree (Napa, Calif./Missouri Valley); 6. Tori Adams (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC); 7. Tina Arnds (Scottsdale, Ariz./Missouri Valley); 8. Shelly Ruberg (Ueras, Ohio/Cumberland College)
Regional champions - Brittany Christenson (Rock Springs, Wyo.); Chelynne Pringle (Hugo, Minn./Minneapolis AWC); Medalist at Group A Tournament - Grace Magnussen (Walnut Creek, Calif./Dave Schultz WC)

-----------------------------------------------------

10 Questions for U.S. Nationals champion Sara McMann

6/13/2003
John Fuller/USA Wrestling

SARA McMANN
2002-03 Team USA Ranking: No. 1 at 63 kg/138.75 lbs.
Years on Team USA: 5 (1999-2004)
Residence: Colorado Springs, Colo.
Club: Sunkist Kids
College: Lock Haven Univ., Univ. of Minnesota-Morris
High School: Marion, N.C. (McDowell HS)
Born: September 24, 1980 in Tacoma Park, Md.
Height: 5-6

1. You have now won four straight national titles, and become a dominant force in the U.S. Is there anyone in this country that can beat you right now?
McMann: Absolutely. Anybody can get beat on any given day. I think it'll be a little harder for me to get beat twice. Obviously Kristie (Marano) is a tough wrestler. I don't count out Tori (Adams). Lauren (Lamb) is a five-time national champ. If she decides to stay up at the Olympic weight, she will be in the mix.

2. Seeing more big names in your weight class this year, how did you prepare for nationals?
McMann: I don't ever prepare specifically for opponents. Especially with not knowing who is coming out of the Challenge Tournament.

3. Your weight class was even a little deeper this year, with Lauren Lamb moving in. Do you expect that as the Olympics draw closer, more top wrestlers will be competing at your weight class?
McMann: I suspect that there are some girls at 147.5 that are going to move down. Sally Roberts and Erin Tomeo, even though Erin hasn't made up her mind yet. There are also some tough girls below. I would be a fool to think that somebody wouldn't come to it.

4. You beat Kristie Marano last year to win the World Team Trials, but she won a bronze medal at the World Championships and you didn't medal at all. Was that hard for you to watch last year?
McMann: I don't think so. At that point I looked at her like my teammate doing well. I was happy and it brought us a little closer in the team race. She wrestled well. I don't necessarily feel bad about how I finished Worlds. The weaknesses that were exposed in me has made me ten times tougher. It was a hard pill to swallow. I have turned around and worked so much harder and refined things better. If I never win anything at Worlds and win the Olympics because all my weaknesses were worked on, I think I would be okay with that.

5. What do you have to do differently to capture a medal at the World Championships?
McMann: It's been different each year. I have different areas that I could be better at. Scoring defensively is something I could work on. I was ahead at last year's Worlds, beating the girl who won it 4-0, but I took too many risks. At some point I have to be able to stop and hold my lead. In Sweden, I got a 5-1 lead on that same girl, and I held onto it. I conquered that demon.

6. A lot of the U.S. women have said they felt sluggish, or just not the same, before last year's World Championships. Can you be added to that list and do you think that the performance by the team as a whole can be chalked up to just a bad weekend?
McMann: I felt great. I was wrestling a great woman. If I'm not 100 percent on my game, this girl is going to beat me. Before the match at Worlds, I felt calm, relaxed and confident. Even when she put me to my back, I was still in a zone enough to think I was going to get out of it. I just happened to get pinned with two seconds left. Terry knew that I was ready. I knew that I was ready. That's the great thing about our sport. It doesn't matter if you have a 9-0 lead. You can get pinned in an instant.

7. What kind of changes have you seen in women's wrestling since the inception of the Women's Resident Program in Colorado Springs?
McMann: I think that the solid base technique has improved in everybody. People are tougher to score on. They are starting to find their own individual styles. We are not all a cookie-cutter prototype that Terry was. He lets us find what we are comfortable with. Conditioning is a lot better. Everybody comes prepared. We don't have a choice.

8. As far as training goes, who has helped you the most since you moved out here?
McMann: Obviously Terry has been a help, but as for training partners, Tela O'Donnell, Sally Roberts and Katie Downing are just tough. I try to spread it out and find people who are strong and tough to score on. I have to set them up really well to even get to their legs. And then it's a whole other battle once I get there.

9. We all know that Kristie and probably even Lauren are your closest competitors right now, but who are the young wrestlers coming up in your weight class that have impressed you and you think could be a bit of a force in 2004?
McMann: Alaina Berube, the girl I wrestled in the national semifinals. Sometimes a tech doesn't tell the whole story. She feels like she trains well and she is pretty strong, and I think that if she gets better in areas, she is going to be a force. Tori Adams is another one. She had a bad nationals, but she has improved and can be a force as well.

10. If you lost at the World Team Trials, would you move up or down in weight and challenge for the position? Why or why not?
McMann: I think I would. I would probably move down. Because I want to go to Worlds. I don't agree with the system, but I would be an idiot not to use it to my advantage, especially a year before the Olympics. There are only so many overseas opportunities.