Townsend Saunders coaches World Silver Medalist Tocarra Montogomery at the World Championships
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Tricia & Townsend Saunders: Taking US Women Wrestlers to New Heights
by Mark Palmer
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Townsend Saunders coaches World Silver Medalist Tocarra Montogomery at the World Championships |
Perhaps the biggest story to come out of the 2003 World Freestyle Championships held in New York City in September was the outstanding performance of the US women’s team. Each of the seven women on the team earned a medal -- two bronze (Sally Roberts and Jenny Wong), four silver (Patricia Miranda, Tina George, Sara McMann and Toccoa Montgomery) and one gold (Kristie Marano). Overall, the US women placed second in the team standings, earning the same number of points (62 points) as Japan who won the team title because they had five gold medallists.
A couple of key components to the US women’s winning ways: Tricia and Townsend Saunders.
Townsend Saunders was the head coach for the 2003 US Women’s World Team. His wife Tricia, America’s most successful female wrestler, offered her considerable experience and expertise to the wrestlers on the team.
Each brought an impressive resume to the task.
Townsend Saunders wrestled freestyle for the US at two Olympics (1992 and 1996), earning a silver medal at 149.5 lbs at the 1996 Atlanta Games. He also won gold medals at the 1991 and 1995 Pan American Games, a gold medal at the 1994 Goodwill Games, and two US Nationals titles. In addition, Townsend has competed in four World Championships.
Born in Arizona, Townsend played football as a kid. Unlike so many top wrestlers who hit the mats at a tender age, Townsend didn’t start wrestling until he was in junior high school. “There was no instant success, but steady progress” as Townsend puts it. “I took second at the California state tournament in my senior year in high school.”
Townsend earned a wrestling scholarship to Cal State Bakersfield, and won an NCAA Division II championship. After two years, Townsend transferred to Arizona State where he wrestled for the legendary coach Bobby Douglas. While at Tempe, he was a two-time PAC-10 champion and a two-time NCAA All-American, placing third at the NCAA Division I championships in 1989, and earning second in 1990.
In addition to his US women’s coaching responsibilities, Townsend serves as club coach for Sunkist Kids, and is the executive director for the internationally-respected wrestling club
Tricia Saunders coaches World Silver Medalist Tina George at the World Championships |
Tricia Saunders has been called “the grand dame of women’s wrestling” in the US. She is certainly the most accomplished, having won three gold medals at the World Championships in 1992, 1996 and 1998 – more than any other US woman. In addition, she holds the honor of having the most US women’s national titles with eight.
Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Tricia grew up in a wrestling family. Her grandfather, dad and older brother all had mat experience. She entered her first tournament at age nine. Competing only against boys, she won seven of nine matches at that first tourney. In 1976, Tricia was the first female to win a Michigan state title, and the first female regional national champion.
Sadly, her mat accomplishments stirred up some controversy. “In seventh grade, my local school board said I couldn’t wrestle,” said Tricia. “So I decided to focus all my attention on my other sport, gymnastics.”
Tricia did not wrestle in high school or college. In fact, she experienced a ten-year absence from wrestling. However, in 1989, Tricia discovered that there was a competition for women at the World Championships… and that reignited the competitive fire. To get back into the game, she started working out with the men at Arizona State. It was there Tricia met Townsend, who wrestled for the Sun Devils at the time.
Tricia entered the second-ever women’s World Championships in 1990, and competed in nine straight Worlds. In addition to her three world titles, she was named Wrestler of the Year three times. Tricia retired from competition in 1999, and is now involved in coaching, having coached the US women’s team at the 2003 Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic.
A new world in women’s wrestling. Women’s wrestling has changed in the decade since Tricia resumed her mat career. “The women’s pools have grown significantly in size,” said Tricia. “There are so many more competitors. And the level of competition has intensified. Back in the early 90s, Japan was the powerhouse in women’s wrestling, and still is. However, they’ve been joined by Russia, China, Canada, and, yes, the United States, in terms of having powerful, highly competitive women’s freestyle programs.”
The considerable US media attention focused on the women’s competition at the 2003 World Freestyle Championships may be new to American wrestling fans, but, in some countries, it’s nothing new. “In Japan, women’s wrestling is a major sport that eclipses men’s wrestling in terms of media attention and number of spectators,” said Tricia. “The women are treated like superstars, and are featured in comic books and teen magazines. It’s really obvious when you’re in Japan. But you could get a sense of that in New York, where the large Japanese media contingent scurried from mat-to-mat, following the matches featuring competitors from their home country.”
US women: Building on success. The US women won the team title at the Worlds in Norway in 2002, and came incredibly close to repeating in 2003. Tricia Saunders credited women’s national coach Terry Steiner. “Terry’s a respectful, hard-working coach. He has brought structure to their training, and helped our women work on what I’d call competitive errors,” said Tricia. “We’ve always had heart, and were over 95% of the way there, but Terry has pushed the women just a bit further, helping them cut out competitive errors and polish their overall performance. In addition, he’s provided a positive mindset that they are competitive with the best in the world, and can win. It’s the difference that has taken the US women to the next level of competition, and helped us do so well in New York.”
Tricia continued her praise of coach Steiner. “Terry is a great family man. He brings a positive, family-type atmosphere to the team,” said Tricia. “I’m very thankful to see what Terry is doing for the women’s program.”
“The US Olympic Training Center is great,” added Tricia. “It helps our women get expert training and the ability to concentrate on their technique.”
“In the past, women had to seek out training facilities,” said Tricia. “In many cases, women were relegated to working out in a junior high gym, or in a corner of a men’s college practice room. It’s so much better to have everyone together, working together, getting valuable instruction and guidance.”
A matter of pride. “I can’t say enough about how proud I am of the US women,” said Tricia Saunders. All of them demonstrated integrity and perseverance in New York.”
“There are some great stories on this team,” Tricia added. “Kristie Marano is raising a kid by herself – juggling work, school, wrestling and being a mother. Patricia Miranda earned her bachelor’s and master’s at Stanford, and has been accepted at Yale Law. She lost her mother at age 12, and is dealing with a father who is not very supportive of her wrestling. Jenny Wong had to work out with a high school team while she was in college. Tina George is athletically gifted – a sprinter in high school who discovered she could excel in wrestling, too. A number of the women – Sara McMann, Sally Roberts, and Toccoa Montgomery – grew up in tough towns and have overcome considerable odds.”
Before the Worlds in New York, Townsend said there was a strong possibility that each of the US women would earn a medal – and he was right.
“The New York Worlds were at a great time,” says Townsend. “It’s just one year before the Olympics, where women will be competing for the first time. It’s great for the women in terms of preparing them for Athens, and in terms of raising consciousness for women’s wrestling for the next Olympics.”
At home with the Saunders. Townsend and Tricia Saunders met at Arizona State in 1988, and have been married since 1992. They have two children: daughter Tassia and son Townsend.
“It’s a challenge to have two people who are in the sport of wrestling under one roof,” said Townsend. “We’re always on the go, getting ready for the next tournament. Yet there’s lots of understanding too. We each know the preparation that’s involved, and the need for post-event support.”
Both Townsend and Tricia see the need in giving back to the sport that provided them with so much.
“I was blessed to have the opportunity to compete at two Olympics and experience so much of the world in my competitive career,” said Townsend. “Coaching and mentoring Tricia provided valuable experience that helps in coaching the US women’s team.”
Tricia echoed those sentiments. “During my wrestling career, I benefited from the actions of a hundred others. In that same spirit, I wanted to pass along what I can to the next group,” said Tricia.
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10/13/2003
Jennifer Sheffield/USOC
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. - The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) today named women's wrestler Kristie Marano .
and water skiing sensation Jimmy Siemers as the September Athletes of the Month.
Marano (Albany, N.Y) won her second World title at the 2003 World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling in Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. on Sept. 14. The win extended her U.S. record for most women's World medals to seven. Her past honors include being named as USA Wrestling's Women's Wrestler of the Year for 2002.
Over the three-day tournament, Marano recorded three pins over Marie MacGregor of New Zealand in 2:18, Nori Saito of Japan in 2:13 and Shannon Samler of Canada in 2:15 in addition to outscoring her other two mat opponents, 17-1 at 67kg/147.7lbs. In the finals, she defeated Ewelina Pruszko of Poland, 7-1, helping the U.S. squad tie for first place with Japan for the team title. Marano was one of seven U.S. women to win World medals, a record performance for the USA.
Nineteen-year-old Regina Jaquess (Suwanee, Ga.) of USA Water Skiing was the runner-up among the female candidates for the month. Jaquess won her first World title and set a World Championships overall record on Sept. 21 at the 2003 Water Ski World Championships, tallying 2,909.38 points after recording top scores in slalom (5 at 38) and tricks (7,520 points). She also earned a bronze medal in women's jumping, leaping 158 feet.
Third in the voting among the women was USA equestrienne Lynn Seidemann (Coppell, Texas). Seidemann won individual gold and silver medals at the 2003 International Paralympic Equestrian Committee Dressage World Championships in Moorsele, Belgium, Sept. 5-7. Competing in the Grade I-B division, Seidemann received a score of 73.89% in the individual final and added a second medal when she won the individual silver in the freestyle, for which she received a score of 73.19% to trail only the 77.75% turned in by 2000 Sydney Paralympic gold medalist Lee Pearson of Great Britain. Seidemann was part of the U.S. team that finished sixth in the 22-team competition and earned the USA a place at next year's Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.
Among the men, Siemers (Marshalltown, Iowa/Round Rock, Texas), competing in his first
World Championships, won World titles in tricks and overall, as well as a silver medal in jumping, at the 2003 Water Ski World Championships, Sept. 15-21 in Clermont, Fla. In addition to contributing 1,988.45 points to the U.S. Elite Water Ski Team's total and helping the squad to its second consecutive World team gold medal, Siemers set four WC records in tricks, jumping and overall. He tallied a personal best and a World Championships record 11,660 points in the men's tricks finals and leaped 221 feet in jumping, clinching the World title with a record leap of 232 feet. He also upped his tricks record with 11,750 points and ran 1-1/2 buoys at 35 feet
off in slalom. His overall tally of 2,838.98 points from these three events was a WC overall record.
Finishing second among the men nominated for September was freestyle wrestler Kerry McCoy (Bethlehem, Pa.), who was just two points behind Siemers in the voting.
McCoy, a 2000 Olymipan, won his first World medal last month, capturing silver at 120kg/264.5lbs. at the 2003 World Championships in New York, N.Y. He lost a 4-1 overtime match to Artur Taymazov of Uzbekistan in the finals. In his four prior matches, McCoy recorded two pins and outscored his other two opponents, 16-1. McCoy was one of two U.S. men's wrestlers to win a medal at the World Championships, and his success helped the U.S. squad to place second in the team standings, the highest U.S. finish since 1999.
Elite USA triathlete Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla.), whose powerful "kick" at the end of the 10 km run helped him sprint to the finish and win the Madrid ITU World Cup race on Sept. 21, was third in voting on the men's September ballot. Pre-victory in Spain, Kemper finished eighth at the ITU World Cup in Nice, France on Sept. 12. By completing the Madrid race in a time of 1:50:02, Kemper became the first U.S. male since 1993 to win a World Cup for USA Triathlon.
The USOC Team of the Month honor was awarded to the 2003 USA Bowling Team.
The men and women of the USA Bowling Team combined for nine overall medals at the Federation Internationale des Quilleurs World Championships, Sept. 9-20 in Kuala Lunpur, Malaysia. That total was more than any other country and the most by the U.S. in the World Championships since 1987. The men's team of Bill Hoffman (Columbus, Ohio), Dino Castillo (Dallas, Texas), Scott Pohl (Eagan, Minn.), David Haynes (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Tim Mack
(Garfield, N.J.) earned the five-player silver medal while in the three-player event Hoffman, Castillo and Mack collected gold. The women's trio of Diandra Hyman (Dyer, In.), Lucy Sandelin (Tampa, Fla.) and Anita Manns (Austin, Texas) earned a bronze medal while Hyman and Sandelin went on to earn two silver medals in doubles bowling.
Second in the Team of the Month voting was the 2003 U.S. Elite Water Ski Team, which successfully defended its World title at the 2003 World Championships, Sept. 15-21 at the Swiss Ski School in Clermont, Fla. The U.S. tallied 8,596.22 points in winning its second consecutive and 28th World team title in the biannual event, defeating 38 countries in the race for the coveted crown. The U.S. team of Rhoni Barton (Orlando, Fla.), Brandi Hunt (Clermont, Fla.), Regina Jaquess (Suwanee, Ga.), Freddy Krueger (Winter Garden, Fla.), Jimmy Siemers (Marshalltown, Iowa/Round Rock, Texas) and Karen Truelove (Winter Garden, Fla.) combined for six medals, including four gold.
Results (first place votes in parentheses)
WOMEN
1. Kristie Marano, wrestling, 34 (9)
2. Regina Jaquess , waterskiing, 22 (3)
3. Lynn Seidemann, equestrian 12 (1)
MEN
1. Jimmy Siemers , waterskiing, 23 (5)
2. Kerry McCoy , wrestling, 21 (3)
3. Hunter Kemper, triathlon, 19 (4)
Also receiving first place votes: Tim Mack (Bowling)
TEAM
1. USA Bowling Team , 32 (6)
2. U.S. Elite Water Ski Team, 31 (7)
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