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Girl grappler
Copyright 1999 Albuquerque Tribune
February 22,
Thirteen-year-old Tiffany Kania wrestles away any doubts
that she can keep up with opponents in her weight class -- who all happen to
be boys
Being a member of Eagle Ridge Middle School's wrestling
team wasn't something Tiffany Kania set out to do.
The eighth-grader, 13, was in the gym waiting for her
ride home from school one day in January.
"I was wrestling with some of the kids on the team,"
Tiffany said. They were just horsing around. "Coach asked me how come I
hadn't
joined his team."
Coach Isaac Hernandez invited her to one of the team
practices. When she went, she liked it -- a lot.
She set her mind on making the team and wrestled this
year at 135 pounds. At all of her meets, she was the only girl competing.
At first the teen-age boys she wrestles are nervous
about putting those kind of moves on a girl.
"She usually wins her first match," said her mother,
Bonnie Reagan. After that, the boys have a good idea what they will be up
against.
There are no holds barred, not the legal ones anyway.
In one of her last meets, she beat her first opponent.
Her last opponent watched each match and was ready for his turn to wrestle
the girl
who was determined to win again.
"He was like a caged bull," Reagan said. He came at
Tiffany and put a strong hold against her shoulders and neck.
"I had to put my shoulders down so I could breathe,"
Tiffany said. Once her shoulders touched the mat, the referee began to
count, and
before she even caught the first breath, she was pinned.
She thought it was an illegal hold, but the referee
didn't agree. That's the way it goes sometimes, she said. For Tiffany,
wrestling
is a team sport, like baseball, volleyball or soccer.
The referee's decision always stands.
Whether it's team or individual sports, though, Tiffany
gets into it.
"I see myself as athletic, but not as an athlete," she
said. "I'm cautious, but with certain things, if it's athletic, I'll go at
it. I think before I act."
She's taller than most of the students in her class. She
walks without slumping. She could pass for 16.
Her maturity doesn't give away her age either.
Even though she says: "You only live once. You might as
well make it fun and worthwhile," she usually thinks before she acts.
"I don't want to do stupid things that I would regret,"
Tiffany said.
One thing she'd regret is getting pregnant before she's
ready to have a baby, she said.
That would not be good for her future. "I have huge
plans," she said. "I want to be an emergency-room surgeon."
After high school and a few years of college, she wants
to work in the Peace Corps as a nurse or doctor.
She's fascinated by the human body and how it functions.
The Learning Channel's medical programming is great fun to watch, she said.
In school, she enjoys science and is good at math, but
she dislikes literature and social studies.
"What I'm good at is what I need," Tiffany said. "I
don't need social studies to be an ER surgeon."
In math, teachers will tell their students to read the
chapter first then complete the work at the end.
Tiffany doesn't follow orders. She goes straight to the
problem-solving part of the lesson, she said.
Tiffany also sings in the school chorus and is president
of the group. She is also taking home economics as an elective this
semester. She
likes it. "We cook and eat, and cook and eat, and cook
and eat."
But you won't find the green-eyed blonde bingeing on
bon-bons and romance novels. She hates to read.
"I read what's required and only what's required," she
said without apology. "I'd rather sit there and be bored than reading. I've
never been
a reader, ever."
In her sustained reading period at middle school, she
reads because it's required. Students must read silently for 20 minutes each
day.
Teachers, friends and her mother have tried to share
their love of reading with Tiffany. She knows others get these amazing
mental pictures
when they read.
"I'm just reading the words," she said. They appear as
individual words and not parts of a whole to her.
"It's not going to interest me. It's never going to turn
into a story for me," she said.
She is, however, still 13. She'd like to have a tattoo
of Winnie the Pooh on her back and also wanted to have one of those body
parts
pierced, like her navel. She might work ahead in math,
but she follows her mother's orders.
She's thinking about going out for the wrestling team
next year at Rio Rancho High School.
"I'm an individual," she said. "I don't go with what
everyone else does." Unless, of course, it involves food or sports.
Tiffany Kania, 13, poses in the main hallway of Eagle
Ridge Middle School in Rio Rancho, where she is an eighth-grader. Kania,
perhaps
the only girl wrestling competitively in the area, was
on the school team this season.
-------------------------------
Girls wrestling intense as boys
November 24, 1998, Tuesday
ARLINGTON AM EDITION
Other than the fact it consisted only of girls, the
memorable dual
wrestling match between Sam Houston and Arlington on
Thursday
mirrored most other high school wrestling matches.
It was intense.
The wrestlers exhibited the kind of ability and skill
possessed by
boys who participate in what many consider a rugged and
physically
demanding sport.
Most significantly, the match, recognized as the first
all-girls
high school dual in the state, was as exciting to watch
as any boys
wrestling match.
"I think this is going to be fun," Arlington wrestling
coach Henry
Harmoney said, after observing last week's match at
Arlington.
Sam Houston wrestling coach Nick Purler said he
considered the
match another step toward more girls participating in a
sport that
involved more than 200,000 high school boys nationwide
competing a
year ago at the varsity level. Less than 2,000 girls
wrestled.
Purler, in his second season working with girls at Sam
Houston,
has seen his team double to more than 12 girls this
season.
The Texans, who claimed a 36-30 victory against
Arlington, are
planning to play host to an all-girls wrestling
tournament on Dec. 5.
Sam Houston's girls team is also scheduled to compete in
girls-only tournaments later in the season at Lamar and
Carrollton
-----------------------------------
Ocampo captures national championship
WRESTLING: Channel Islands senior goes 4-0 in first
girls' event.
Copyright 1998
Ventura County Star
March 31,
1998, Tuesday
Olivia Ocampo flew to the United States Girls' High
School National Championships last week in Ann Arbor, Mich., as an
independant
wrestler who's name had erroneaously been left off the
California team roster.
She returned home a national champion.
Ocampo, a Channel Islands High senior who won the
Marmonte League 103-pound title last month and successfully defended her
girls
state title, had a 4-0 record at the two-day event held
Saturday and Sunday to capture the first national championship for girls.
Ocampo scored a 12-1 major decision over Louisiana's
Kelly Odinet in the final to complete quite a perfect weekend performance.
"It feels great," said Ocampo, who arrived home with
Channel Islands assistant coach Brian Peterson late Monday night. "It was a
little
hard to get back into shape, since my season with the
guys ended so long ago. But I started working out constantly, got back into
shape
and it paid off for me. I just feel so happy."
Ocampo faced four competitors, but faced little
competition, Peterson said.
"It was some of the best wrestling that I've seen from
her," he said. "She just keeps getting better and better.
"I had coaches come up and tell me that she has the best
technique of any wrestler they've seen."
Minnesota-Morris coach Doug Reese, who heads the
nation's top collegiate female wrestling program, was one of those coaches,
Peterson said. Reese was so impressed by Ocampo that by
the time the wrestler and her coach had arrived home Monday, Reese had
already called her home.
"(Reese) said that she could definitely make his team
next year and probably even beat their starter," Peterson said. "He could
tell just from
just watching her prepare for her matches, from just
watching her drill. He said she was the best technician he'd seen and he
believes that
she could have won any of the first three or four weight
classes at the championships, despite what weight she weighed in at."
Ocampo defeated Michigan's Amber Morris in the first
round 6-3, the closest of Ocampos' matches.
"Her first match was definitely her toughest," Peterson
said. "She didn't know what to expect, if these girls were going to be as
tough as the
boys she had been wrestling all year."
Morris, the defending Michigan state girls' champion,
ended up taking third place in the 19-girl bracket. All of Ocampo's
opponents
finished in the top five of the 103-pound weight class.
Ocampo defeated Kelly Rutledge of Colorado in the second
round, 15-8, then pinned Kansas' Kera Temberton in the semifinal in just
over four minutes. Temberton placed fifth in the
tournament.
California finished second in the team standings with
1471U2 points, just 21U2 points behind Michigan. Ocampo's points did not
count
toward California's total because she was overlooked
when the selection of the team was made.
March 31, 1998
------------------------------------
Ocampo scores historic Marmonte wrestling win
LEAGUE MEET: Her title is believed to be first for a
girl.
Copyright 1998 Ventura
County Star
February 08,
As a 103-pound qualifier, Olivia Ocampo found the wait
for Saturday nights final round in the Marmonte League wrestling
championships
nearly unbearable.
She paced nervously as all the JV winners were trotted
before the crowd. She fretted during the long buildup to her championship
match.
It seemed like it was taking forever, said the senior
from Channel Islands High. I couldnt wait to finally get going.
Girls wrestlers, past and present, throughout Ventura
County know that feeling. After all, theyve been waiting ... forever.
Becoming the first girl to win an individual wrestling
championship in the Marmonte League, Ocampo survived a game opponent and a
banged-up elbow to post a 12-7 decision over Camarillos
Hank Robles in the 103-pound final at Channel Islands High.
With a pair of takeouts, Ocampo posted a 4-1 lead after
the opening two-minute period and never trailed in making history. Her
individual
wrestling title could be the first posted by a girl in
any county league.
It feels great, she said. This is what Ive been looking
for ever since I started wrestling. I was expecting to win. Everyone in the
stands was
expecting me to win.
Ocampo, who took up wrestling just three years ago,
improved to 23-4 overall. In the final, she defeated an opponent she most
feared in
league.
He (Robles) is the only one who got a takedown against
me in league, she said. I knew I had to be aggressive. I knew it was going
to be a
tough match.
Ocampo wasnt the only one to make history. Simi Valley
heavyweight Chad Troxler is believed to be the only heavyweight in league
annals to have won three consecutive league titles. He
accomplished that by pinning Thousand Oaks Brad Smith at 3:17 of their bout.
Its a good feeling, he said. My first one (title) was
very tough. I was expected to win the last two, and I came through.
Elsewhere, it was a fiercely competitive finals with
only Troxler and Newbury Parks Michael Brems (119) scoring pins. Brems
pinned Simi
Valleys Ben Budhu at 1:31.
There were a pair of two-time league winners to emerge.
Wes Cobos of Thousand Oaks won his second consecutive
135-pound title with a hard fought, 1-0 decision over Shannon Sams of
Royal. Dylan Hull of Agoura won his second 189-pound
title with a 12-1 major decision over Nate McArthur of Newbury Park.
I want to come out aggressively, said Hull. He
(McArthur) is a power wrestler. I wanted to use by head and wrestle smartly.
Other winners included Dave Omoto (119) of Newbury Park;
Craig Feiereisen (125) of Thousand Oaks; Luis Pena (130) of Channel
Islands; Craig Baldwin (140) of Camarillo; Larry
Schneider (145) of Thousand Oaks; Josh Berman (152) of Camarillo; Evan Jones
(160)
of Thousand Oaks; Jared Logan (171) of Newbury Park; and
Ricardo Gomez (215) of Channel Islands.
Channel Islands High's Olivia Ocampo
(facing) wrestles Camarillo's Hank Robles for the 103 pound
Marmonte League championship. Ocampo won the match,
becoming the first girl in Ventura County to capture a league title.
CLOSE QUARTERS: Simi Valley's Ben Budhu (facing) tries
to fend off Newbury Park's Michael Brems during the 119 pound Marmonte
League final. Brems won the match with a pin.
February 9, 1998
--------------------------------
Junior high girls get kicks from soccer
MILLCREEK -- Asked to pick a new sport for junior
high school girls in the Granite School District, the girls sent a
resounding
message: soccer.
Some 36 percent of junior high girls picked soccer,
followed by softball, bowling and girls wrestling.
Girls wrestling? Yes, ma'am.
The survey was conducted after the school board in
November banned girls from wrestling with boys on high school or junior high
teams.
The board instructed administrators to poll female
students to determine their interest in other sports so they would have as
many sports
offerings as males as required by federal law. The
results were presented to the school board Tuesday night.
Girls wrestling, bowling and "other' tied for third
place in the survey. Only 3 percent of the girls surveyed indicated an
interest in golf.
District-wide, support for girls wrestling was strongest
at Eisenhower and Hunter junior high schools, where 111 and 126 students,
respectively, said they wanted the sport. But at both
schools, girls wrestling rated below soccer and softball.
"I feel the girls have spoken in the Granite School
District," said Frank Wojtech, district's athletic specialist. "They've
given you an idea
where they want to go athletically. They want your
answer."
Doubtless, cost will be a driving factor in the school
board's decision.
Soccer is the least expensive of the top two choices. A
set of soccer goals would cost $1,000 to $1,500, Wojtech said. At least
eight sets
of goals would be needed.
Meanwhile, equipping each school with a safe,
regulation-size softball diamond would cost $25,000 to $35,000, he said.
Add to each the cost of uniforms, equipment, travel,
officials and coaches.
Estimates suggest a soccer team of 20 girls would cost
each school approximately $14,500 a season. Softball, which would involve 15
girls, would cost an estimated $26,745.
Because of busing schedules and a requirement not to
interfere with events sanctioned by the Utah High School Activities
Association,
games would have to be scheduled early in the week.
Wojtech said one option may be to rotate playing seasons
of other boys and girls sports so that schools could make better use of
facilities
and personnel.
Granite junior highs offer interscholastic cross country
and volleyball to boys and girls in the fall. In the winter, basketball is
offered to each
gender, and wrestling is offered to boys. In the spring,
boys and girls participate in track and field.
"None of these are set in concrete. We can move any of
these," he said.
Of the 5,909 girls who completed the survey, 86 percent
said they were not currently involved in interscholastic athletics. School
board
members said the figure was disturbing, given the many
benefits of being involved in school activities.
A committee will be formed to study implementation of a
new girls sport in the 1998-99 school year. The committee will report to the
school board in March.
April 6, 1998
------------------------------------
Ocampo has historic plans
FEMALE WRESTLER: Channel Islands senior has sights set
on qualifying for Olympic trials
Ventura County Star
January 20,
1998, Tuesday
Channel Islands High senior Olivia Ocampo may stand a
mere 4-foot-9, but her wrestling accomplishments are reaching historic
proportions.
The 103-pound wrestler made history on Dec. 13 by
tearing her way through the Vaquero Classic to became the first female to
win a
varsity wrestling tournament in California, Channel
Islands coach Valo Barajas said.
She followed that effort by capturing another varsity
title at the 12-man bracket Matador Classic in Bolsa Grande on Jan. 10.
"Coming into this season, I didn't expect her to take
any tournaments," Barajas said. "Just forget about the fact that she's a
woman. Her
improvement as a wrestler is tremendous. It's
outstanding, whether you're a girl or a boy. It's awesome."
The sky's the limit for Ocampo now, as she enters new
and unchartered territory for a female wrestler. She's a pioneer and every
succcess
she has in the future will ultimately be historic
firsts.
If this season goes as Ocampo and Barajas plan, she
could hold Marmonte League and CIF-Southern Section titles at season's end
and
have had good showings at the CIF-SS Masters and state
tournaments. Barajas believes those goals are far-fetched, and adds Ocampo
has even bigger plans in mind following her high school
career.
"She's 14-3 this year," he said. "Her losses have come
to some really tough kids. I believe she has a real legit chance at placing
at the CIF
Masters, which I think is the toughest 16-man bracket
tournament in the nation. Her technique is outstanding. She's championship
material.
She wants to qualify for the Olympic team trials."
"After I'm done with high school, coach (Robert)
Ferguson, Valo and I are going to open a place where I can train for the
Olympics,"
Ocampo said.
Ocampo's success this season is a far cry from her
previous two years of wrestling. As a sophomore, she wrestled mostly at the
junior
varsity level and didn't fare well. Last year, she won
just six times and had a record far below .500, but she began to learn what
it took to
become a winner. She ended the season by capturing the
first 103-pound title at the all-girls Southern California High School
Wrestling
Championships.
Ocampo, a student of the martial arts for more than
seven years and recipient of a black belt in taekwando, worked hard during
the
offseason with Ferguson, her martial arts instructor and
Channel Islands' assistant wrestling coach. It was her involvement with the
martial
arts that made wrestling the logical choice for Ocampo.
"I saw all my friends wrestling, so I decided to try
out," she said. "I'd been taking martial arts for a while and wrestling was
the closest thing
to it."
Ocampo's teammates have been supportive. They chose her
as one of the team's three co-captains.
"I think that says a lot about her character," he said.
"It gives credit where credit is due. She speaks with a soft voice, but the
guys respond
to her. It's refreshing to see that."
"My teammates are the ones that motivate me," she said.
"They are very supportive."
That's a luxury that other female wrestlers in the area
don't have, Ocampo said. During the course of the season, she has had many
opportunities to talk to other female wrestlers and has
found that some don't get the respect or the support that she does.
"At some schools, the girls have it far worse than I
do," she said. "They say that the boys hate them, they don't respect them.
But I don't
get that."
The response to Ocampo's success has been tremendous,
Barajas said, from her opponents and from the crowds that attend Channel
Islands' matches.
"(The crowd) loves it when she's in first," he said. "It
tells you a lot about what people want. They want to see good wrestling,
especially if
it's coming from a girl."
"I haven't gotten any negativity from my opponents,"
Ocampo said. "We'll talk sometimes before and after matches about our
previous
matches, but the comments about me are mostly good.
Sometimes they say I'm hard to handle."
Ocampo will face one of her toughest tests of the year
this weekend at the California Invitational, a 42-man bracket in Morro Bay.
"When you get to the quarterfinals, it's some pretty
tough competition," Barajas said. "Then two weeks after that you have the
league finals,
then CIF and then the Masters. This is when she's going
to start peaking."
Ocampo has had help from many coaches and supporters.
"It would be absurd to say I'm her coach and she's good
because of me," he said. "I just feel really fortunate to be part of her
life. She's
going to be making history in California, if not the
nation."
