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No way to turn back clock on women’s sports
Jacquelyn Mitchard 8/03
One of my kids is a wrestler.When I went to his final meet a few months back – where he won both matches, but I digress – there was another wrestler there, on an opposing team, and I couldn’t stop looking at that athlete.
It wasn’t just the red hair.It wasn’t just the muscles.
It was the cute, curly ponytail and the earrings she had to remove before she came in like a tiny freight train and caught an opponent twice her height right around the midsection, using those pretty legs to wham the guy to the mat for the count of three.There were other girls there, not wrestlers, and other boys, her friends, who cheered her on. She was just one of the team.
Now, by rights, there should be a girls’ wrestling team in which girls would wrestle girls – despite the unfortunate connotation that such activity occurs only in skanky bars.
However, the fact that Redhead was there at all, along with a single other female wrestler (in the smallest weight class, on another team) was itself a sight for wonder and reflection.
Long before this girl was born, there was a federal law passed called Title IX.
What Title IX really was supposed to establish was to disallow sex discrimination in any federally-funded educational activity.
However, what most people know about Title IX is that it set girls free to run with the pack, sports-wise.
Without that law, this little devil would have been sitting in the stands, or wearing a cheerleader’s uniform – about the only sport (albeit a difficult one in its own right) that girls could get respect for, back when I was her age.
A girl like this girl, insisting on her right to participate on her own, would have been sexually suspect, (“girl jocks” were considered boys with breasts back then), mocked and avoided by her peers of both genders.
Not that way anymore.
Some of the most admired women in the world are athletes. Marion Jones springs to mind. A healthy body with actual muscles no longer is considered “outside” for any girl – though boys who have to wrestle girls like Redhead confide they do feel they have to “go easier,” though I saw no evidence of that.
In fact, women who don’t do sports or work out are, in this era, considered on the itsy-poo side at least and a bit sloppy at worst.Part of the reason for this change in attitude is Title IX, which has even linked female beauty with strength instead of the lack of it.Who the heck would object to continuing it?
Well, the secretary of education, Roderick Paige, maybe.
A government panel that included Julie Foudy, now captain of the U.S. national women’s soccer team, and Olympic swimmer Donna de Varona was formed to study the issue. And in February, both said that the report to be presented to Paige does not fairly represent the concerns of women in sports.
Women in sports.There’s the rub, evidently.
I mean, like most things that involve women, it’s all fine and dandy. Until it gets in the way.
Our president has been concerned that some of the minor men’s sports, such as baseball and wrestling, have had to be eliminated in some places because there just isn’t enough money to go around – especially because of those darned requirements about girl parity.
It’s true, and it’s painful. Some sports that were truly venerated at the university in my town have had to be eliminated or made intramural because the funding just isn’t there.
And yet. All good things require pain. Birth. A bench-press. A killer backhand. A “boys’” pushup.
The fact is, in my opinion, girls who grew up with Title IX, now becoming moms themselves, simply won’t put up with their girls taking a giant step backward – no matter whose program has to be cut or find other sources of income.
Tell Venus and Serena Williams that maybe Title IX isn’t such a good idea.
Tell swimmer Summer Sanders, or Mia Hamm, who helped bring the United States gold in women’s soccer at the 1996 Olympics. Ask gutsy little Kerri Strug, who landed her vault dismount in the 1996 Olympics on an injured ankle, which helped win her team the first ever Olympic gold in the team competition. Or tell Mark Johnson, the Olympic hockey great that coaches the winning women’s hockey team at the University of Wisconsin – despite the losses men’s sports have suffered at the same school.Object to something that has brought such thrilling new dimensions to sport? Fine. But get rid of it? Successfully? In 2003?C’mon.She got game.
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2003 World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling women’s preview at 67 kg/147.5 pounds
8/30/2003
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
The reigning World Champion is Katarina Burmistrova of Ukraine, who scored a 3-2 overtime win over two-time World champion Lise LeGrand of France in the finals. It was the first World title for Burmistrova, who is just now breaking through at the world level. LeGrand (whose maiden name was Golliot), is a true veteran, and continues to excel, with a 2003 European Championships title to her credit.
Placing third was Kristie Marano of the United States, who has claimed six career World medals including a 2000 gold medal. Marano won a Special Wrestle-off at this division for the second straight year to make the U.S. team, after dropping to 63 kg during most of the year. She has ranged in weight from 138.75 pounds to 165 pounds during her career. Marano is a fierce competitor who hates losing, and has a judo background that allows her to toss her opponents for big points when needed. A native New Yorker, there should be many Marano fans in the audience for the World meet.
Burmistrova and Marano are listed on their team’s rosters at this weight division. If you go through the results of recent World Championships, you see a lot of names that now appear at the Olympic weight classes of 63 kg or 72 kg. Marano is now a 63 kg wrestler, but has been unable to defeat U.S. star Sara McMann during the last two years. This weight class only lists 11 entries, clearly the smallest in the entire World Championships. This number could increase if teams choose to allow athletes to drop weight or jump up in weight if they do not make their team at an Olympic division.
Norie Sato is the Japanese entry here this year, after placing seventh at the 2002 World Championships. Sato was the 2002 Asian Champion (but there were only two athletes at the division for that meet). Expectations are high for the Japanese team, but Japan’s last medal here was in 2000, and the nation does not have a good track record at this weight.
Young Shannon Samler is Canada’s top hope here. Samler did not finish in the top 10 last year, mainly because she faced Marano in a early match. She did earn a sixth place in the 2000 World Championships and a silver medal at the 2002 World University Championships. Samler has dominated North American women’s college wrestling in recent seasons, and is a legitimate medal hopeful competing on her continent in New York.
Ewelina Pruszko of Poland was fourth in the 2002 World Championships, but is listed at 63 kg on the Polish roster. Pruszko was at 67 kg at the European Championships, winning the bronze medal. Monika Kowalska is the entry, a ninth-place finisher at the 2001 World meet. Kowalska has competed up at 72 kg at times, so she may be bigger than some of her rivals.
Anna Shamova of Russia was second in the 2000 World Championships and third in the 1999 World Championships. Like some of the others, she has competed at 72 kg at times recently. Shamova appears on the Russian entry lists, but her weight class is not identified. If it is not Shamova entered by Russia, whoever is chosen will be expected to do very well. Elena Perpelkina was ninth at the World meet for Russia last season. Youlia Barnovskaya was fifth in the 2003 European Championships. Who will it be? We shall see at weigh-ins.
Annika Oertli of Germany placed seventh in the World Championships last year, and does appear on Germany’s list for this division in New York. She was fourth at this weight class at the 2003 European Championships.
World placewinners from 2002 who do not appear on their nation’s roster include Aikaterini Siavou of Greece, Stanka Zlateva of Bulgaria and Xiomara Guevera of Venezuela. Siavou did wrestle at this weight at the European Championships this year, but Greece lists Sofia Kampanari as the entry. Bulgaria has no name listed here. Guevera has been competing at 63 kg.
India’s veteran Sihag Kiran, second to Saito at the Asian Championships, will also be in the field. Others on rosters include Wang Jiao of China and Sha Ling Li of Chinese Taipei, neither who went to the Asian Championships this year.
With just 11 preliminary entries, the real competition in this division comes right away in the pools. If you win a pool, you are already in the medal matches. In addition, with so few names in the field, the odds are that some outstanding athletes will be randomly placed in the same pool. (The best two wrestlers might meet in the pool, with one eliminated). Don’t be surprised if the field grows a little bit, as some nations may enter athletes listed elsewhere.
The quality of those on the entry list is outstanding. With Marano of the USA, Burmistrova of Ukraine and LeGrand of France in the division, all past World Champions, there is experience and proven talent. Add in Saito of Japan, Samler of Canada, Oertli of Germany and whatever Russian is chosen, and you have most of the wrestlers at a high competitive level. There won’t be many matches at this division over the three days, but the ones that do occur could be something special.
RECENT WORLD RESULTS
2002 World Championships results
67 kg/147.5 lbs. - 1st - Katarina Burmistrova (Ukraine) dec Lise Legrand (France), 3-2, ot, 6:48; 3rd - Kristie Marano (USA) dec. Ewelina Pruszko (Poland), 6-1; 5th - Aikaterini Siavou (Greece); 6th - Annika Oertli (Germany); 7th - Norie Saito (Japan); 8th - Stanka Zlateva (Bulgaria); 9th - Elena Perepelkina (Russia); 10th - Xiomara Guavara (Venezuela)
2001 World Championships results
68 kg/149.75 lbs. - Gold - Christine Nordhagen-Vierling (Canada) dec. Toccara Montgomery (USA), 4-1; Bronze - Anita Schatzle (Germany) won by tech. fall over Sveta Yarashevich (Russia), 11-1; 5th - Katerina Burmistrova (Ukraine); 6th - Yanli Yang (China); 7th - Zlateve Stanka (Bulgaria); 8th - Unda Maider (Spain); 9th - Monika Kowalska (Poland); 10th - Jana Panova (Kyrghzstan)
2000 World Championships results
69 kg/149.75 lbs. - Gold - Kristie Marano (USA); Silver - Anna Shamova (Russia); Bronze - Tomoe Miyamoto (Japan); 4th - Xiomara Guevara (Venezuela); 5th - Lise Golliot - Legrand (France); 6th - Shannon Samler (Canada); 7th - Galina Ivanova (Bulgaria); 8th - Ling-Li Sha (Taipei); 9th - Ewelina Pruszko (Poland); 10th -Natalya Bodnarets (Ukraine)
1999 World Championships
69 kg/149.75 lbs. - 1st - Sandra Bacher (USA) dec. Anita Schatzle (Germany), 8-1; 3rd - Anna Sjamova (Russia) dec. Natalia Bodnarets (Ukraine), 8-0; 5th - Xiomara Guevera (Venezuela); 6th - Ewelina Prusszko (Poland); 7th - Galina Ivanova (Bulgaria); 8th - Nina Strasser (Austria); 9th - Heidi Skemark (Sweden); 10th - Lise Golliot (France)
TENTATIVE ENTRIES, as of 8/25
67 kg/147.5 lbs.
CANADA - Shannon Samler or Martine DuGrenier
CHINA - Wang Jiao
CHINESE TAIPEI - Sha Ling Li
GERMANY - Annika Oertli or Susan Koehler
GREECE – Sofia Kampanari
INDIA – Kiran Sihag
JAPAN – Norie Sato or Eri Sakamoto
RUSSIA – Anna Shamova
POLAND – Monika Kowalska
UKRAINE – Katerina Burmistrova
UNITED STATES - Kristie Marano
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8/30/2003
International Journalists/
NOTE - New journalist selections may continue to be sent, so TheMat.com will post them as they arrive at the top of this page.
Ikuo Higuchi (JPN), Japanese Wrestling Federation
Men's freestyle champions
55 kg/121 lbs. - Chikara Tanabe (Japan)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Ramil Islamov (Russia)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Elbrus Tedeev (Ukraine)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Joe Williams (USA)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Cael Sanderson (USA)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. - Ali Reza Heidari (Iran)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - David Musulbes (Russia)
Women's freestyle champions
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Irina Melnik (Ukraine)
51 kg/112.25 lbs. - Chiharu Icho (Japan)
55 kg/121 lbs. - Saori Yoshida (Japan)
59 kg/130 lbs. - Seiko Yamamoto (Japan)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Kaori Icho (Japan)
67 kg/147.5 lbs. - Kristie Marano (USA)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan)
Frank Shanly (NZL), Mat Chat
Men's freestyle champions
55 kg/121 lbs. - Herman Kontoev (Belarus)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Guivi Sissaouri (Canada)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Ali Reza Dabir (Iran)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Bouvaissa Saitev (Russia)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Adam Saitiev (Russia)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. - Zaynudin Ibragimov (Russia)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - David Moussoulbes (Russia)
Women's freestyle champions
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Irina Melnik (Ukraine)
51 kg/112.25 lbs. - Chiharu Icho (Japan)
55 kg/121 lbs. - Saori Yoshida (Japan)
59 kg/130 lbs. - Seiko Yamamoto (Japan)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Kaori Icho (Japan)
67 kg/147.5 lbs. - Kristie Marano (USA)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan)
John Fuller (USA), TheMat.com
Men's freestyle champions
55 kg/121 lbs. - Stephen Abas (USA)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Yandro Quintana (Cuba)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Ali Reza Dabir (Iran)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Joe Williams (USA)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Adam Saitiev (Russia)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. - Daniel Cormier (USA)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - David Moussoulbes (Russia)
Women's freestyle champions
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Patricia Miranda (United States)
51 kg/112.25 lbs. - Chiharu Icho (Japan)
55 kg/121 lbs. - Saori Yoshida (Japan)
59 kg/130 lbs. - Alena Cartashova (Russia)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Sara McMann (United States)
67 kg/147.5 lbs. - Lisa LeGrand (France)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan)
Jack Carr (CAN), CAWA Media Liaison
Men's freestyle champions
55 kg/121 lbs. – Stephen Abas (USA)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Giuvi Sissaouri (Canada)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Ali Reza Dabir (Iran)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Buvaisa Saitiev (Russia)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Cael Sanderson (USA)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. – Ali Reza Heidari (Iran)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan)
Women's freestyle champions
48 kg/105.5 lbs. – Irina Melnik (Ukraine)
51 kg/112.25 lbs. – Chiharu Icho (Japan)
55 kg/121 lbs. – Saori Yoshida (Japan)
59 kg/130 lbs. – Emily Richardson (Canada)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. – Sara McMann (USA)
67 kg/147.5 lbs. – Kristie Marano (USA)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. – Edyta Witkowska (Poland)
Eddie Goldman (USA), Wrestling Editor, Grappling, and Wrestling Editor, ADCC News
Men's freestyle champions
55 kg/121 lbs. - Stephen Abas (USA)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Yandro Miguel Quintana (Cuba)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Ali Reza Dabir (Iran)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Joe Williams (USA)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Sazhid Sazhidov (Russia)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. - Ali Reza Heidari (Iran)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Kerry McCoy (USA)
Women's freestyle champions
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Makiko Sakamoto (Japan)
51 kg/112.25 lbs. - Chiharu Icho (Japan)
55 kg/121 lbs. - Saori Yoshida (Japan)
59 kg/130 lbs. - Seiko Yamamoto (Japan)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Sara McMann (USA)
67 kg/147.5 lbs. - Katerina Burmistrova (Ukraine)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan)
Ali Gumus (TUR), Chairman of AIPS Wrestling Commission
Men's freestyle champions
55 kg/121 lbs. – Namik Abdullayev (Azerbaijan)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Arif Kama (Turkey)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Jamill Kelly (USA)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Joe Williams (USA)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Adam Saitiev (Russia)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. – Eldar Kurtanidze (Georgia)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Kerry McCoy (USA)
Women's freestyle champions
48 kg/105.5 lbs. – Makiko Sasamoto (Japan)
51 kg/112.25 lbs. – Jenny Wong (USA)
55 kg/121 lbs. – Sun Dongmei (China)
59 kg/130 lbs. - Alena Cartashova (Russia)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. – Christiane Legrand (France)
67 kg/147.5 lbs. – Monika Kowalska (Poland)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. – Svitlana Sayenko (Ukraine)
Brian Van Kley (USA), W.I.N. magazine
Men's freestyle champions
55 kg/121 lbs. – Namik Abdullayev (Azerbaijan)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Mohammed Talaee (Iran)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Elbrus Tedeev (Ukraine)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Joe Williams (USA)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Yoel Romero (Cuba)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. – Ali Reza Heidari (Iran)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Kerry McCoy (USA)
Women's freestyle champions
48 kg/105.5 lbs. – Brigitte Wagner (Germany)
51 kg/112.25 lbs. – Teresa Piotrowski (Canada)
55 kg/121 lbs. – Sandrine Seve (France)
59 kg/130 lbs. – Kaori Icho (Japan)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. – Anna Polovneva (Russia)
67 kg/147.5 lbs. – Kristie Marano (USA)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. – Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan)
Gary Abbott (USA), TheMat.com
Men's freestyle champions
55 kg/121 lbs. – Stephen Abas (USA)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Oyunbileg Purebaatar (Mongolia)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Ali Reza Dabir (Iran)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Joe Williams (USA)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Saguid Sajidov (Russia)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. - Taimouraz Tiguiev (Russia)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Kerry McCoy (USA)
Women's freestyle champions
48 kg/105.5 lbs. – Patricia Miranda (USA)
51 kg/112.25 lbs. – Chiharu Icho (Japan)
55 kg/121 lbs. – Saori Yoshida (Japan)
59 kg/130 lbs. – Seiko Yamamoto (Japan)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. – Sara McMann (USA)
67 kg/147.5 lbs. – Kristie Marano (USA)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. – Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan)
Scott Casber (USA), AM 1460 KXNO/Takedown Wrestling Radio
Men's freestyle champions
55 kg/121 lbs. - Stephen Abas (USA)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Eric Guerrero (USA)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Carlos Ortiz (Cuba)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Joe Williams (USA)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Cael Sanderson (USA)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. - Daniel Cormier (USA)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Kerry McCoy (USA)
Wayne Catan (USA), Amateur Wrestling News
Men's freestyle champions
55 kg/121 lbs. – Stephen Abas (USA)
60 kg/132 lbs. – Yandro Quintana (Cuba)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. – Elbrus Tedeev (Ukraine)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Joe Williams (USA)
84 kg/185 lbs. – Adam Saitiev (Russia)
96 kg/211.25 lbs. – Ali Reza Heidari (Iran)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Kerry McCoy (USA)
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Dennis Taylor On Wrestling
dtaylor@montereyherald.com 7/24/02
And what have you learned about the male ego?
For Marcie Van Dusen, it may have been the Queen Mary of all interview questions. One got the feeling that she could have lectured on the subject for hours.
Instead, she offered a half-smile and a perplexed little shake of the head. "I'm still in awe about that. I don't think I'll ever understand," said Van Dusen, who just completed her second year at California State University at Monterey Bay. "Boys are funny."
Yep, boys can be the life of the party when they believe their macho reputation is on the line, which is how some of them feel when they step onto a mat with Van Dusen, the nation's third-ranked female wrestler at 121 pounds.
It's right there in the hunter-gatherer handbook, a decree dating all the way back to the stone age: Boys do not lose to girls in wrestling. It just isn't manly.
A few guys tried to send her that message when Van Dusen was the 119-pounder on the boys varsity squad at Rim of the World High School in Lake Arrowhead, where she was in the Class of 2000.
"There were at least two or three occasions when Marcie got slammed to the mat because the guy she was wrestling was trying to make a statement: This is a guy's sport - you don't belong out here with me," said Dave Chapman, Van Dusen's wrestling coach since she was 8 years old. "A few other times, she got beat up out there. But that's all part of the wrestling experience. You've got to get tough."
Tough is what she proved to be. While Van Dusen writhed on the mat, recovering from the latest cheap shot, the stud would strut. "Then, she'd get back on her feet, take control, and beat them," Chapman said. "She did that quite a few times."
Van Dusen doesn't recall her win-loss record as a senior at Rim of the World, but Chapman estimates it was something like 30-10 - all against guys. And one of her accomplishments is a part of California Interscholastic Federation history: She was the first girl ever to medal at a boys CIF sectional meet, taking fourth in the 2000 Southern Sectional, a notoriously tough tournament.
"She doesn't look all that tough - ponytail; real cute; probably looks more like a cross-country runner than a wrestler - but some of our younger, less-experienced guys won't even get on the mat with her," said Bill Grant, the former wrestling coach at Monterey who has welcomed Van Dusen to the Monterey High wrestling room for summer workouts. "We've had girls in our wrestling room before, but we hadn't seen one with this kind of technique. When she came in and started taking some of our better wrestlers down to the mat, they couldn't believe it."
Believe it. Van Dusen's wrestling skill has taken her all over the world. She's competed in New Zealand, Australia, England, Poland.
That international competition, combined with the physical toll her body absorbed from battling boys during high school, prompted her to take a hiatus from the sport during her two years at CSUMB. "She basically wanted to let her body heal up," Chapman said.
When she decided to return to the mats earlier this year, Monterey High's offseason wrestling program was the most logical avenue. Grant and Monterey High wrestling coach Roberto Dixon were happy to have a wrestler of her advanced skill level in the room.
This fall, she'll transfer to the University of Minnesota at Morris, home of the most-respected women's wrestling program in the nation.
And thanks to a third-place finish last month at the World Team Trials in St. Paul, Minn., Van Dusen will be invited to wrestle for Team USA on an international tour sometime next year.
The long-term goal is to represent the United States at the Olympic Games, where women's wrestling now is an official sport, either in 2004 in Athens, Greece, or 2008 in Beijing, China.
To get there, she'll have to overcome the two women currently ranked above her - 31-year-old Stephanie Murata, the national champion, and 23-year-old Tina George-Wilson, whose four-year winning streak was broken by Murata at the World Team Trials. To accomplish that, she'll probably spend a lot of time doing what she's always done - wrestling guys.
"I really just look at them as opponents, and hopefully they look at me the same way," Van Dusen says. "At first, it's always a little weird - guys don't want to lose to a girl, don't want to wrestle me, try to avoid me. But after they realize I'm just like them, they're OK with it ... I think ... I hope."
Van Dusen says she originally began wrestling because, as an 8-year-old, she became bored during the long breaks at her older brother's wrestling tournaments. When she saw schoolboys grappling playfully on the mats during the intermissions, she joined in.
Chapman, her brother's coach, began offering tips and Van Dusen never went away. A dozen years later, he's still her wrestling mentor.
The early days sometimes were less than pleasant.
"A lot of the parents didn't like it at all. Why was this girl out there wrestling?" Chapman recalls. "More than a few times I'd hear one of them say, 'Just go out and beat her. She's just a girl.' And if Marcie won, it was a humiliation. It somehow diminished the parents' standing within the wrestling community - or, at least, that was the mentality."
Chapman gave Van Dusen the same instruction he gave all of his male wrestlers. He says he taught her to wrestle like a guy, because he knew that's who her competition would be.
"She does all the advanced techniques," Grant says. "And she has some outstanding freestyle moves. She's really good at turning her opponent onto his back. The guys in the wrestling room respect her as an equal."
For Van Dusen, that's precisely the satisfaction she's sought all along.
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Special Wrestle-offs for U.S. Women's World Team
Submitted by: Gary Abbott
Posted On 07/04/2003
Special Wrestle-offs for U.S. Women's World Team to be held at three
non-Olympic weights - 51 kg, 59 kg and 67 kg - at date and site to be
determined
The champions of the Women's World Team Trials in all three non-Olympic
weight classes will be challenged for their spot on the 2003 U.S.
Women's World Team later this summer.
At the World Team Trials in Indianapolis, Ind., June 20-22, the winners
in the four women's Olympic weight classes (48 kg/105.5 lbs., 55 kg/121
lbs., 63 kg/138.75 lbs., 72 kg/158.5) qualified for both the World
Championships team and the Pan American Games team. There are only four
women's weight classes at the Pan American Games, the four Olympic
divisions.
At the other three non-Olympic weight classes (51 kg/112.25 lbs.,
59kg/130 lbs., 67 kg/147.5 lbs.), the World Team Trials champions are
subject to a Special Wrestle-off for the U.S. World Team from a medalist at
an Olympic weight class, based upon USA Wrestling rules.
Six medalists from the Olympic divisions have notified USA Wrestling
that they will challenge for a spot on the U.S. team, opening challenges
at all three non-Olympic weights.
The Special Wrestle-offs are expected to be held in Colorado Springs,
Colo., at a date, time and location to be determined. Specific details
will be announced when available. The winners of the Special
Wrestle-offs will represent the United States at the 2003 World Championships of
Freestyle Wrestling in New York City, September 12-14.
At 51 kg/112.25 pounds, World Team Trials champion Jenny Wong (Colorado
Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) will face one challenger, Clarrisa Chun
(Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC). Chun placed second at the World Team
Trials at 48 kg/105.5 lbs., and will move up in weight for the Special
Wrestle-off.
At 59 kg/130 lbs., World Team Trials champion Erin Tomeo (Colorado
Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) will have three challengers in her division:
Sally Roberts (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC), Tela O'Donnell
(Colorado Springs, Colo./Dave Schultz WC) and Marcie Van Dusen (Colorado
Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids). Roberts placed third at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. at
the World Team Trials and will drop down in weight for the Special
Wrestle-off. OÕDonnell was second and Van Dusen third at 55 kg/121 lbs. at
the World Team Trials and will move up in weight for the Special
Wrestle-off.
At 67 kg/147.5 lbs., World Team Trials champion Katie Downing (Colorado
Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) will have two challengers: Kristie Marano
(Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) and Samantha Lang (Tualatin,
Ore./Sunkist Kids). Marano placed second at the World Team Trials at 63
kg/138.75 lbs. and will move up in weight for the Special Wrestle-off.
Lang placed second at 72 kg/158.5 lbs. in the World Team Trials, and will
drop a weight class for the Special Wrestle-off.
The format will include a Challenge Tournament on the first day, with
all of the Olympic weight medalists wrestling off to determine one
challenger (this will occur at 59 kg and 67 kg). On the next day, there will
be a best-of-three series between the World Team Trials champion and
the Challenge Tournament winner.
This system of Special Wrestle-off opportunities within women's
wrestling was started last year. There were Special Wrestle-offs in two weight
classes in 2002, and in both cases, the top challenger defeated the
World Team Trials champion to earn a spot on the U.S. World team. At 51
kg/112.25 lbs., challenger Stephanie Murata (Colorado Springs,
Colo./Sunkist Kids) defeated World Team Trials champion Wong for the team spot.
At 67 kg/147.5 lbs., challenger Marano defeated World Team Trials
champion Downing for the team spot. Marano went on to win a bronze medal at
67 kg/147.5 lbs. at the 2002 World Championships.
The outcome of the Special Wrestle-off does not change the Team USA
rankings as determined at the World Team Trials, nor the national team
support funding that was earned through the placements at the World Team
Trials. This Special Wrestle-off only determines the U.S. team members
for the 2003 World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling.
SPECIAL WRESTLE-OFFS FOR U.S WOMEN'S WORLD TEAM
Site and date to be determined
51 kg/112.25 lbs.
World Team Trials champion Jenny Wong (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist
Kids)
Challenger - Clarrisa Chun (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC)
59 kg/130 lbs.
World Team Trials champion Erin Tomeo (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist
Kids)
Challengers - Sally Roberts (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC), Tela
O'Donnell (Colorado Springs, Colo./Dave Schultz WC), Marcie Van Dusen
(Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids)
67 kg/147.5 lbs.
World Team Trials champion Katie Downing (Colorado Springs,
Colo./Sunkist Kids)
Challengers - Kristie Marano (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC),
Samantha Lang (Tualatin, Ore./Sunkist Kids)