|
|
News Page
2/13/2000
"In the girls division, Caprock's Lady Longhorns got a little revenge,
outpointing the Palo Duro Lady Dons 148 - 106 to win the team title.
Palo Duro had the upper hand on the Caprock girls of late, winning the
district dual championship and District 8 tournament. Caprock had beaten
Palo Duro in a dual meet a week after it had lost the district meet to Palo
Duro. So this was sweet revenge for the Lady Longhorns.
The Lady Longhorns were led by the "Murder's Row", a group of five wrestlers
that had been winning matches all year. They coined the name themselves
according to Caprock Coach Scott Tankersley.
The five of Deedra Puentes (105), Jennifer Johnson (119), Stephanie
Olivas (110), Miny Garcia (128) and Tori Adams (148) all head to state
as regional champions. This year the five have compiled a
110 - 4 record.
Caprock assistant T.J. Johnson credited Carmella Gonzales (138) and
Denise Alligretti (185) with fueling the Caprock fire. "Denise and Carmella
came in and pinned their girls in the first round," said
Johnson. "I'd have to say that was the turning point. The Murder's Row
lived up to their name today. Their goal right now is to win state."
The Palo Duro girls had three regional champions in Krunchy Inthirath,
Casey Brittan and Dyana McIntire. Second place finishers for the Lady Dons
were Jennifer Fuller, Lauren Lindsey and Janice Gooden."
1. Caprock 148
2. Palo Duro 106
3. El Paso Hanks 67
4. El Paso Jefferson 26
5. Hereford 22
6. Tascosa 21
7. El Paso Franklin 18
8. El Paso Austin 13
9. Amarillo High 10
10. El Paso Irvin 5
11. El Paso Americans 3
Individuals:
102 Deedra Puentes 1st place
110 Stephanie Olivas 1st place
119 Jennifer Johnson 1st place
128 Miny Garcia 1st place
138 Carmella Gonzales 3rd place
148 Tori Adams 1st place
185 Denise Alligretti 2nd place
HWY Marie Hernandez 2nd place
Most Outstanding Wrestler: Tori Adams
Hyatt takes down gender barriers at El Camino
By: Clifton Parker
Wrestling isn't just for boys anymore.
Kierstin Hyatt is a senior at El Camino High School. She also wrestles for the Eagles at 127 pounds -- as she's done the past four years.
"At first the guys were like, 'Whoah, there's a girl,'Ê" Hyatt said, recalling her first year on the team as a freshman. "But then it was accepted after awhile."
They might as well accept Hyatt, or she'll knock them to the mat. Recently she pinned for the first time one of her male counterparts, a grappler from Lodi High School.
Her victory contributed to El Camino's win in the Sheldon Duals. The Eagles are 14-5 overall and 2-2 in league.
It's been a roller-coaster year for Hyatt. She broke her leg in August at a wrestling camp in Oregon. With pins placed in her leg, her recovery was lengthy. She only returned to the mat after Christmas.
"I was on crutches for two months," she said. "But I'm back and training."
Still, Hyatt makes all the right moves. A few weeks ago she won her weight class at the girls Brute Napa Valley Tournament -- she pinned both her opponents in the first round. She took second place in another girls-only tournament several weeks ago in Southern California. Last year, she placed fourth in a national girls tournament in Michigan.
Other girls are wrestling -- the Eagles have two, Hyatt and freshman Terrie Trinn Nguyen -- and all-female tournaments are held every so often.
El Camino coach Pat Kelly said what makes Hyatt unique is her longevity. Most girls don't last a season, let alone four years. "Some of them were trying to jump on a bandwagon, and they don't last two weeks," Kelly said.
But Hyatt is no Joanie-come-lately. What she lacks in strength, Kelly said she makes up for in technique, balance and attitude. She conditions and trains just like the boys, asking for no special favors or privileges.
"She does everything everyone else does, and then some," he said.
When she beats a boy, it can have consequences sometimes, he said. Last year she won against a teen from Yuba City, and the wrestler practically broke down in tears when he lost. Kelly had to speak to the youth to reassure him.
"I told him to get his head up -- that she's a good wrestler," he said.
Hyatt notices such reactions. "Usually they get frustrated, and they have their head in their lap after the match," she said.
The wrestler from Lodi at the Sheldon Duals was apparently a good sport. "He was one of the few in a long time who didn't seem mind it that much," she said.
Sometimes one of her male competitors appears to be afraid he might hurt her. But if they're too complacent or hesitant, watch out -- that's when Hyatt moves in for the kill.
"She gives anybody she wrestles all they want. She really knows how to use her leverage," Kelly said. "If they joke around about something, she'll just as soon kick their butts."
Hyatt long ago resolved any would-be gender issues. After all, this is her fourth year on the mat for El Camino. And having an older brother who used to wrestle for El Camino also helped pave her way into the team.
"She's definitely won the respect of her teammates," Kelly said. "She's also a beautiful young lady."
Last year Hyatt won the Sacramento County Junior Miss contest. The program featured 11th-grade girls from throughout the Sacramento area. They were judged on special talents. Hyatt's was wrestling. There were also interviews and monologues. It was like a beauty pageant, she said, minus the swimsuit.
Some days she wrestles junior varsity, other times, at the varsity level. It all depends if she can beat a fellow Eagle in the challenge match for the varsity slot. As of now, that's sophomore Caley Heekin.
Hyatt plans to wrestle in college. She's researched the issue, and found that schools in Kentucky, Minnesota and Missouri all offer wrestling scholarships to women.
"Hopefully, I'll be offered a scholarship from one of those schools," she said.
Hyatt epitomizes the over-achieving attitude of the El Camino wrestling team. Despite having to compete in a tough league with perennial champion Nevada Union and up-and-coming Casa Roble, the Eagles continue to field a sold team under Kelly's tutelage.
Among the El Camino standouts are freshman Josh Emmet at 105 pounds. With a 29-7 record, he figures heavily in the squad's future plans.
"He's very promising," said Kelly of Emmet, who is 10th in The Bee's rankings in that weight class. "His record at the varsity level for a freshman is outstanding."
Senior Ryan Warner at 121 pounds is 26-6.
"He's starting to peak right now," Kelly said. "At the beginning he kind of struggled with priorities and dedication."
Warner placed fifth at the subsections last year, so he wants a shot at making sections, then the state finals.
"I'd like to do better this year," he said. "But it's a pretty tough subsections. My goal is to reach states."
Senior Christopher Sanders -- who is Hyatt's boyfriend -- is one of the team's top wrestlers at 137 pounds. But a separated shoulder suffered early in the season sidelined him until last week.
Hyatt is Sanders' No. 1 fan.
"We met freshman year on the wrestling team," she said. "It's just like having a friend in practice."
Senior Mickey Kellogg at 140 pounds is 22-10.
"He's one of those guys who's very dependable," Kelly said. "He found a hole at 140 pounds this year and filled it. A tough, solid kid."
Junior Bryce Lively at 145 pounds is 20-9. He missed a few matches because of injuries, Kelly said, but is regaining his form.
Senior Daniel Areshenko at 152 pounds is 17-11. Like Kellogg, he wrestled junior varsity his first couple of years, and as a junior switched back-and-forth between the two levels. After a slow start his season, he's improved his offensive techniques. He took second place at the recent Roseville Tournament.
Junior Johnny Perez at 215 pounds is 26-6.
Even though she will graduate in June, Hyatt thinks the El Camino wrestling program continues in the right direction.
"Things seem to be looking up for us," Hyatt said.
---------------------------------
Lone girl wrestler is in a hold over gender
A legal battle is brewing over the refusal of boys on other teams to compete with the Lower Merion's team member.
By Patrick Kerkstra
1-7-00) South Jersy
INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF
LOWER MERION - Bonnie Rothstein wanted very badly for her daughter to be a Brownie. But then-8-year-old Jessica had another plan. Instead of campfires and merit badges, she was drawn to the takedowns, Granby rolls and half nelsons of the wrestling mat.
Three years later, Jessica is still the only girl on Lower Merion's 28-member youth wrestling team. She wins some matches and loses others, but all along, Jessica says she has been accepted by her male coaches and teammates.
But some boys on other teams have started refusing to meet her on the mat, leaving Jessica hurt and a little confused, and her mother crusading to have the reluctant wrestlers thrown out of the league.
"I don't want this to happen to my daughter again," Rothstein said. "I'd like to see that Jessica is not discriminated against."
To that end, Rothstein has hired a lawyer, and they are asking the league to adopt rules that would expel wrestlers who refuse to compete because of their opponent's sex.
"I don't think you can go halfway with this," Rothstein said. "We have to teach our children young. We don't allow discrimination against women in so many things. Why should we allow it in this?"
The president of the Intercounty Wrestling League - which organizes matches for youngsters 4 to 15 in Southeastern Pennsylvania - is having a difficult time believing Jessica's recent trials have stirred up such a controversy.
Tonight, the league is scheduled to discuss the issue and possibly vote on Rothstein's proposal, said league president Mark D. Harner.
Harner personally likes the idea of girls wrestling in the league. He even tried to persuade his own daughter to join. But Harner said he believes it would be extreme to expel wrestlers from this relatively casual private league because they are uncomfortable wrestling a girl.
"I don't think these little kids have any intent to inflict psychological damage [on Jessica]," Harner said. They refuse to wrestle because "they're sensitive to peer pressure, they're frightened and they're scared."
Out of the league's 2,000 members, roughly 20 are girls, Harner said. While Harner would like to see more girls join, he believes that the league has generally handled coed matches well.
"In a few isolated instances, young boys have refused to wrestle girls," Harner said. "In those instances, another boy of the same age, weight and experience level was sent out to wrestle."
At every level, and at every age, women wrestlers have dealt with leery male opponents.
Four-time women's wrestling world champion Trisha Saunders from Arizona was grappling with the same issues when she started out 25 years ago.
"I've heard coaches say, 'You better not wrestle her or you're going to get sued for sexual harassment,' " Saunders said.
Saunders said she believes the biggest myth about wrestling girls is that it can destroy a defeated boy's ego. She recalls wrestling weekly a boy named Zeke Jones, and beating him nearly every time. He managed to recover from the shame, Saunders said, and went on to win a silver medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games. "I don't know of any guy who's been traumatically affected by anything I did to them," Saunders said.
Saunders, who sits on the board of directors of the USA Wrestling Organization, is also chair of its women's wrestling committee. The organization would prefer individual leagues for boys and girls, Saunders said, but that is impossible, given the current level of interest among women.
"The only opportunity to train and improve is with men," Saunders said. "Girls have no choice but to extract knowledge and competitive experience from guys, because they're the only ones who have it right now."
Jessica seems less intent on soaking up knowledge than simply enjoying the competition. In addition to wrestling, she plays organized roller hockey and baseball, and suits up each fall as a defensive tackle for the Drexel Hill Raiders football team.
"I just want to keep on wrestling and get a sports scholarship and go to college," Jessica said.
------------------------------------------
Central's 63-12 win at Overbrook in a Public League wrestling match yesterday was uneventful except for two bouts.
Both featured all-girl pairings, a first in the six years of girls wrestling in the league.
Central's Maren Gill decisioned Shirlee Gilliam, 7-6, in the 112-pound bout.
Two bouts later, Central's Stephanie Moyerman registered a first-period pin over Kiara Williams in the 125-pound bout.
2/10/2000 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc
----------------------------------------
