News Page
Morris, MN - University of Minnesota-Morris head wrestling coach Doug Reese has been invited to help coach the U.S. Women's Freestyle Wrestling World Team in preparation for the 2003 World Championships at Madison Garden in New York City in early September.
Reese in his 13th year at the helm of the Cougar mat program is a veteran of international competition. Reese has coached in five world championships and in the Pan American Games, and has coached extensively in Europe and Central America with USA Wrestling and with the sport ministry Athletes In Action.
"I am really blessed to have this outstanding opportunity," said Reese. Joining Reese in the training camp will be a host of former UM-Morris wrestlers who have risen to the elite level
"It will be a family reunion of sorts," joked Reese. On the 2003 U.S. World Team is three former UMM wrestlers; Katie Downing, Sara McMann, and Tina George.
Downing is a former World Cup champion and two-time U.S. National champion will be wrestling at 147 pounds. McMann, a champion of numerous international competitions will be competing at 138 pounds. Tina George, now a member of the United States Army, won a silver medal in the World Championships last season will be wrestling at 121 pounds. Joining them in training camp will be U.S. National Team members Sally Roberts and Marcie Van Dusen.
"I am excited just to be with the team again. You get to see them at competitions, eat a meal with them, but that is about it. It will be good to spend 11 days with them in the environment of the Olympic Training Center," said Reese. "It will be a fine time to catch up on wrestling, and more importantly, on life."
Unfortunately Reese won't be making a trip to New York to see his trio wrestle for the world championship title. "They just don't pay me enought to fund a trip to New York even if it is the world championships. I am just fortunate to have the opportunity to coach them one more time before the leave," noted Reese.
Reese has developed 117 All-Americans, 32 Academic All-Americans, 25 National Champions, 16 U.S. National Team members, and 11 U.S. World Team Members at the University of Minnesota-Morris in his 13 year career, and hopefully a few more world medalists for the United States.
--------------------------------------------------
Vintage grapplers earn All-American nod
Saturday, July 12, 2003
NOTES AND QUOTES for a Saturday in the Napa Valley:
Wrestling USA magazine has named Vintage High seniors Maika Watanabe (110 pounds), Nicole Mazzaferro (126) and Carina Valle-Santana (134) to its fifth annual U.S. Girls Wrestling Association All-America team.
All three were selected by the USA National Coaches Association. Watanabe, 28-1 and the California state meet champion last year, signed with Missouri Valley College to wrestle on a scholarship. MVC's coach is Carl Murphree, formerly the Vintage coach and director of the Napa Valley Wrestling Club.
Vintage has something else to feel proud of. The Crushers have produced more USGWA All-Americans than any other high school in the country.
Watanabe, Jessica Hsieh and Kayla Chambers were selected to the California National Team, which will wrestle in the Junior Nationals July 23-27 in Fargo, N.D.
-----------------------------------------------------------
WRESTLING: Taking on the world
Lakota's Hilliard after the Olympic dream
By Brad Schlossman
Herald Staff Writer 7/15/03
Sheri Hilliard doesn't care who she competes against boys or girls.
This winter, Hilliard wrestled for the Devils Lake High School boys team but has since shifted her focus to wrestling girls at a national level, a transition that doesn't faze her.
"There's not much difference," Hilliard said. "I wrestle for competitions. I really don't care who I wrestle."
Hilliard, who lives in Lakota, N.D., will compete in the Junior National Championships July 18-26 in Fargo.
She finished fourth in the tournament last summer, and has her sights set higher.
"I'm expecting to place," Hilliard said. "I just want to finish higher than fourth."
Hilliard said it is tough to predict exactly where she is going to finish because she doesn't know who will be in her weight class.
"At girls tournaments, it's tough to know what weight everyone is going to be at," Hilliard said. "Girls jump weights pretty good. One week they're at 130, the next week they're 125."
In March, Hilliard competed in the United States Girls Wrestling Association national tournament in Lake Orion, Mich., and finished eighth. She was named All-American at the tournament. That marked the fourth time she has gained All-American honors.
In a couple of months, Hilliard will head to Colorado Springs, Colo., to try to make the 2004 Olympic team. The 2004 Athens Games will mark the debut of women's wrestling in the Olympics.
"My future goal is to make it (to Athens)," Hilliard said. "But right now I am looking at the national tournament for goals."
This fall, Hilliard will attend Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Ky., on a wrestling scholarship. Cumberland College is one of a handful of schools in the United States that offers women's wrestling.
Hilliard said she knew Cumberland's coach from several tournaments, and that is how she got hooked up with their program.
But until she gets to Williamsburg, her dad will continue being her coach.
"We travel together, so he's my coach," Hilliard says about her dad. "I grew up with him coaching me."
Wrestling runs in Hilliard's family. Her dad and both brothers wrestled. Her uncle, David Hilliard, was North Dakota's only five-time state high school champion.
Hilliard said the transition from the North Dakota high school season to wrestling freestyle for the Junior National Championships and college will require practicing, but she isn't worried about it.
"I just need to practice more, and I'll be doing good," Hilliard said.
-------------------------------------------
Chertow expanding wrestling camps
Chuck Landon <clandon@dailymail.com>
Daily Mail sportswriterTuesday July 15, 2003
There wasn't a turnbuckle in sight.
Which was a first for wrestling in the Charleston Civic Center.
Any other time wrestling came to town, it meant "the squared circle." It meant tables of garish merchandise for sale. It meant thousands of fans crowding into the Civic Center to watch their favorite professional wrestling superstars.
But not this week.
This is Ken Chertow's wrestling show, not Vince McMahon's. That's why 210 wrestlers from a dozen different states ranging in age from 6 to 16 were working on holds, takedowns and fundamentals in the Civic Center's Grand Hall South Monday.
Chertow's Gold Medal Wrestling Training Camp has come to Charleston.
"This is our first year here," said Chertow, a Huntington native who became an All-American at Penn State and a member of the 1988 Olympic team.
"And I'm very pleased with the turnout. We have room for probably 350 kids, but 210 is a good start."
Chertow is pleased with two aspects of the turnout. No. 1, there are 110 campers from southern West Virginia, which isn't considered a wrestling hotbed -- "Stone Cold" and "The Rock" notwithstanding.
"Wrestling keeps improving here," he said. "It's gotten a lot better since I was a kid. They're working hard in the Mountain State league. There are some specific coaches who are really working hard.
"The coaches at Nitro, Riverside, Ripley and Sissonville are all doing a good job of promoting wrestling and getting more kids involved. And the the level of wrestling keeps getting better."
But Chertow also is pleased that nearly half the camp is from outside West Virginia.
"Oh, yeah, there are a dozen different states here," he said enthusiastically. "We get a lot of kids from the southeast come up. It's a nice mix. Most of the northern kids go to the camps I have in Pennsylvania or Ohio.
"But really this is like a gateway to the southeast. You just buzz right up I-77 from anywhere in the southeastern United States. This is the southern-most camp I have, so we have kids from the Carolinas, Virginia, Florida and Georgia."
Chertow has turned wrestling camps into a career. He conducts 10 weeks of summer camps and 10 weekends of fall camps at eight different locations, including Colorado, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania and West Virgina.
In exchange for $250 from local competitors or $400 from participants staying in the camp hotel, the campers get five days of both extensive and intensive tutelage, which Chertow believes would be difficult to find elsewhere.
"There are tons of wrestling camps," said the 37-year-old Chertow, who now lives in State College, Pa. "Sports camps is a booming thing in our society. Every college runs sports camps for all ages. And every college that has wrestling -- and there are hundreds of them across the country -- has camps. It's really competitive.
"But I have chosen to specialize. I left college coaching to work with young kids. I work with young kids full-time back in State College. Just like a judo or karate instructor has a gym, I have my gym. And I work with kids full-time, year-round.
"And, then, I plan for these 10 weeks in the summer and the 10 weekends in the fall. Those are my camps. So, I am able to focus more than the college coaches. They are busy coaching, recruiting and taking care of their college team.
"I'm busy preparing for camp."
That is how Chertow has carved out his niche in the sports camp industry.
"That pretty much sums it up," he said.
Perhaps, the most intriguing aspect of Chertow's camp concept, however, is the weekend fall camps. That is virtually unheard of in an industry dominated by camps held in the summertime.
"That was my idea," said Chertow, who will conduct a fall camp in Charleston in November. "I started it right after my first camp.
"The first camp I ever did was in Huntington in 1989 and had 90 kids. And I really enjoyed it a great deal. I invited 12 of the kids to come and stay at my parents' house and stay in the basement and workout at my high school.
"Now, 15 years later it has grown into 10 different camps, 100 kids per weekend and has really evolved into a bigger camp where I have staff. Obviously, they're not in my parents' home anymore."
Yet, that is precisely where the dream for his career was born.
"I had somewhat of a vision when I was young," said Chertow. "I didn't know what career I would take, but I knew that I wanted to coach some wrestling. I wasn't sure if it would be full time or not.
"But growing up, I went to a lot of camps. They were instrumental to my development. Coming from West Virginia, I had to get out of the state and get extra training and extra competition, so I went to three or four camps every summer.
"And I realized, I can do better than these guys. Some of the camps were good, but some were so-so. And I decided, I think I'm going to do this when I get older. So, I put together my own camps and it did become a career for me."
It's a career that now has expanded to Charleston.
"I'm very pleased to be here," said Chertow. "As long as we can get the Civic Center at a reasonable price, we'll be back."
Keep the turnbuckles in mothballs.
---------------------------------------------------
2003 Canada Cup Wrestling a resounding success
7/13/2003
CAWA web page/
The 2003 Canada Cup of International Wrestling saw the event return to Ontario for the first time in three years. Originally begun in Thunder Bay as a response to the Moscow Olympic Boycott, the event has been one of the premiere amateur wrestling events in the World over the years, but has struggled of late to stay viable. Last year’s event in Calgary, Alberta was very successful thanks in part to a link to the 2002 World University Championships (F.I.S.U.) in Edmonton the week before the Canada Cup.
The success of the 2002 Canada Cup gave the Canadian Amateur Wrestilng Association the incentive to give the Ontario Amateur Wrestling Association and the Guelph Wrestling Club permission to host one more Canada Cup to determine if the event could be proven worthwhile.
The worth of the Canada Cup came through in flying colours! Over 170 athletes from 16 different countries participated in the 2003 Canada Cup, hosted at the University of Guelph in Guelph Ontario. The 62 Woman and 108 Man field proved to be one of the most successful Canada Cups ever. In spite of battling the S.A.R.S. outbreak, which cost organizers the participation of teams like Germany, the event was a resounding success.
Being hosted the weekend after the 2003 Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in London, Ontario helped add to an already stellar event by bringing in a handful of Commonwealth participants, including a strong Indian National Team which placed second to Canada in both men’s and women’s categories.
Highlights of the tournament included the return to competition of past World and 2002 Olympic Champion Daniel Igali of Canada. Daniel won a challenge match to represent Canada at the 2003 World Championships in September in New York City by defeating National Champion Zoltan Hunyady of the hometown Guelph Wrestling Club. Igali had petitioned for the challenge as he was recovering from neck surgery at the time of the 2003 National Championships. Igali went on to compete in and win the Canada Cup as well.
Also impressive was Saeed Azarbayjani, 2002 Ontario Male Athlete of the year, who battled back in the final match of the 60 Kg. weight class against 2002 Commonwealth Games Silver medallist Sushil Kumar of India. Azarbayjani was losing the match with only seconds remaining but scored to snatch the victory. Azarbayjani was named outstanding Canadian Male wrestler for his performance.
On the women’s side, Hometown favourite Ohenewa Akuffo of the Guelph Wrestling Club defeated 2001 World Silver medallist Toccara Montgomery of the U.S.A. in overtime to earn a spot in the finals, then defeated Pam Wilson of the Hamilton Wrestling Club, 2002 World University Champion in the final to take the gold. Akuffo was selected the Outstanding Female Canadian for her great performance.
The Canada Cup returns to Guelph in 2004 for an event the organizers hope will be even more special and memorable than this years.
The event was sponsored and supported by the Ontario Amateur Wrestling Association. The Association is the Provincial Sport Association for Wrestling in Ontario, offering a range of programs from grassroots right on up to top international competitions such as this.
-------------------------------------------------
Wattenberg, Trenge win gold medals at Canada Cup - UPDATED RESULTS
7/15/2003
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
U.S. wrestlers Clint Wattenberg (Ithaca, N.Y./Cornell) and Jon Trenge (Bethlehem, Pa./New York AC) claimed individual gold medals at the 2003 Canada Cup, held in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, July 12.
Wattenberg claimed the 84 kg/185 lbs. weight division, defeating American Pat Popolizio (West Point, N.Y./New York AC) in the championship finals, 7-2. Wattenberg was an All-American for Cornell Univ., who placed seventh in the 2003 U.S. Nationals. Popolizio, who was a collegiate star at Oklahoma State, is now an assistant coach for the U.S. Military Academy.
Trenge, a two-time NCAA runner-up for Lehigh Univ., defeated Canadian David Zimmerman in the championship finals at 96 kg/211.5 lbs, by a 6-3 margin. Trenge was fifth in the 2003 U.S. Nationals.
Winning bronze medals for the USA were Andy Hrovat (Ann Arbor, Mich./Michigan WC) at 74 kg/163 lbs. and Joe Sahl (Bethlehem, Pa./New York AC) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. in the men’s division, plus Toccara Montgomery (Cleveland, Ohio/Cumberland College) at 72 kg/158.5 lbs. in the women’s division.
Montgomery is a three-time U.S. Nationals champion, and placed second at the 2001 World Championships. Montgomery lost a 4-2 overtime decision to eventual champion Ohenawa Akuffo of Canada.
U.S. wrestlers placing fifth were Sean Harrington (Dracut, Mass./New York AC) at 163 pounds and Mykhail Abdul-Latif at 211.5 pounds.
Julietta Okot of New York City, who competes for the New York AC and represents Bulgaria at the World Championships, placed sixth at 121 pounds.
Hofstra wrestler John Massa, representing Puerto Rico, placed fourth at 145.5 pounds.
U.S. athletes competed for their clubs at this event. Their combined effort gave the USA third place in the men’s division and fifth place in the women’s division.
Canada Cup
7/12/2003
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Entered by CAWA
Team Scoring
1. Canada - 69 pts
2. Sweden - 26 pts
3. Mexico - 24 pts
4. India - 15 pts
5. USA - 13 pts
6. Puerto Rico - 12 pts
Results By Weight
48 kg/105.5 lbs.
Gold - Carol Huynh (Canada) dec. Krista Wells (Canada), 6-0
Bronze - Flor Quispe Cordova (Peru) dec. Nancy Rosely Mendez Barrero, 4-1
5th - Livonis Rivera (Puerto Rico) by inj. default over Kamini Yadav (India)
51 kg/112.25 lbs.
Gold - Ida Hellstrom (Sweden) by fall over Teresa Piotrowski (Canada), 2:32
Bronze - Sarah White (Canada) dec. Andrea Ross (Canada), 8-5
5th - Terri McNutt (Canada) by forfeit over Maria de los Angeles Barraza (Mexico)
55 kg/121 lbs.
Gold - Erica Sharp (Canada) dec. Tonya Verbeek (Canada), 3-2
Bronze - Ida-Theres Karlsson (Sweden) tec. fall Laura McDougall (Canada), 11-0, 3:57
5th - Magdalena Areilano Morelos by forfeit over Julietta Okot (United States)
59 kg/130 lbs.
Gold - Emily Richardson (Canada) dec. Jennifer Ryz (Canada), 4-3
Bronze - Breanna Graham (Canada) dec. Angela Mah (Canada), 8-1
5th - Shannon Mathie (Canada) by forfeit over Katie Patroch (Canada)
63 kg/138.75 lbs.
Gold - Viola Yanik (Canada) by inj. default over Lene Aanes (Norway)
Bronze - Sara Eriksson (Sweden) by fall over Tamara Medwidsky (Canada), 1:07
5th - Mabel Fonseca (Puerto Rico) by inj. default over Greetika Jakhar (India)
67 kg/147.5 lbs.
Gold - Shannon Samler (Canada) dec. Martine Dugrenier (Canada), 4-3
Bronze - Megan Buydens (Canada) dec. Ashlea McManus (Canada), 8-2
5th - Sam Johnson (Canada) by forfeit over Kiran Sihag (India)
72 kg/158.5 lbs.
Gold - Ohenewa Akuffo (Canada) dec. Pam Wilson (Canada), 3-0
Bronze - Toccara Montgomery (United States) tech. fall Ashley Cross (Canada), 10-0, 2:29
5th - Alma Nury Izquierd Dominguez by inj. default over Gursharan Preet Kaur (India)
U.S. Results
55 kg/121 lbs. - Julietta Okot (New York AC), 6th place
LOSS Ida-Theres Karlsson (Sweden), 7-2
WIN Chelsea Roundtree (United States), 6-2
WIN Alka Tomar (India), 5-3
LOSS Laura McDougall (Canada), 6-5
55 kg/121 lbs. - Chelsea Roundtree (Crestwood, Ky.), DNP
WIN Irshad Khadija (Pakistan), by forfeit
LOSS Magdalena Arellano Morelos, 10-0, 0:50
LOSS Julietta Okot (United States), 6-2
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Shelly Ruberg (Ueras, Ohio/Cumberland College), DNP
LOSS Viola Yanik (Canada), 11-0, 4:10
LOSS Greetika Jakhar (India), 10-0, 2:31
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Toccara Montgomery (Cleveland, Ohio/Cumberland College), 3rd place
WIN Ashley Cross (Canada), pin, 0:34
LOSS Ohenewa Akuffo (Canada), 4-2, ot, 6:07
WIN Gursharan Preet Kaur (India), 12-0, 2:06
WIN Ashley Cross (Canada), 10-0, 2:29