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Sunday, February 13, 2000
By Bill Khan
JOURNAL SPORTS WRITER
For the six minutes she spent straining in the heat of battle, it was like any other wrestling match for Davison High School sophomore Keristen LaBelle. There was no time to ponder the implications of what she was trying to accomplish. Any lapse in focus, and a season's worth of preparation would have been squandered.
It was only after she walked off the mat that it hit her.
"Everybody was saying, 'Good job,' " LaBelle said. "That's when I thought, 'My gosh, I just won the Big Nine.' "
In winning the 103-pound division at the Big Nine Conference wrestling meet Saturday at Clio High School, LaBelle made history.
She became the first girl to win an individual championship in a Big Nine varsity boys sport. The only other Flint-area girl to win a league championship in a boys sport was Kellie Serges of Carman, who won the No. 1 singles final in the 1976 Metro League tennis meet.
LaBelle avenged her only loss to a Big Nine opponent by beating Kearsley's Coby Carpentier 2-0 in the championship match. LaBelle won all three of her matches Saturday, improving her record to 40-7.
"The last time I wrestled him, I was sick and wasn't focused," LaBelle said. "I tried to keep my head in there during the match."
As far as her coach and teammates are concerned, LaBelle is just beginning to make history.
Her goal is to place in the top eight in the state individual meet March 11 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. Only one girl has ever qualified for a state meet, but Cynthia Harrold of Saginaw Buena Vista failed to crack the top eight in last year's state Division 3 meet.
"I think she can tear up the state at 103 this year," said Davison junior Joe Whitman, who won the Big Nine title at 135 pounds.
"She's a very hard worker. I expected this out of her. Even though she lost to Coby a few weeks ago, I knew she'd be back in the room working hard and would come out on top today."
To make the state meet, wrestlers have to qualify at the district and regional levels. Davison coach Roy Hall said he doesn't expect LaBelle to have trouble qualifying, and he won't be surprised if she's a top-eight finisher.
"She's just tough," Hall said. "Let's look at reality: She's one of the best in the state at wrestling - boy or girl."
LaBelle became interested in wrestling as a fifth-grader after attending a tournament with her father and two stepbrothers.
"I went to the tournament with them and said, 'Hey, I want to do this,' " LaBelle said.
Coached by her father, Steve LaBelle, she had success in the Mid-Michigan Wrestling Association and was the conference middle school champion in seventh grade. LaBelle said she occasionally senses some animosity from opponents, but most of them respect her.
"I've been wrestling a lot in the MMWA, and a lot of people respond like I'm any opponent," LaBelle said. "Some still don't want to lose to a girl and get real mad where they won't shake hands."
In the championship round Saturday, LaBelle scored the only two points with a take-down just 11 seconds into the match. Her victory helped Davison win the team championship with a record score of 274.5 points.
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Area wrestlers preparing for state tourney
STEVE BELVIN Monday, February 14, 2000
Globe-News Sports Writer
This time the Randall Raiders didn't let this one get away.
Last year at the Region I wrestling tournament, the Raiders led after round
one but finished second to Tascosa. This time around however the Raiders
finished the job. After leading the first round by seven points over Vernon, the
Raiders gained steam Saturday and walked away with the regional crown
with 153 points at the Tascosa Activity Center.
El Paso Eastwood finished second with 125.5 points whileVernon was third
with 111.5 points. Dumas was fourth with 99.5 points while Boys Ranch was
fifth with 98 points.
In the girls division, Caprock's Lady Longhorns outpointed the Palo Duro
Lady Dons 148-109 to win the team title.
The Hereford girls qualified two to state. Rachael Rodriguez won the
138-pound division and Danyell Garza finished second, losing to Casey
Brittan of Palo Duro in the 165-pound division.
Rodriguez, a sophomore, pinned her opponents in 49 seconds, 1:40 and 2:30
in the championship match against Jennifer Meyer of El Paso Jefferson.
"Last year there were not that many girls (to compete against). This year there
are more girls so I had to work harder. Last year I went to state. This year I
guaranteed my coach I would win state. I'm going to work hard, train hard
and win state."
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Texas UIL region 2 results
By Heidi Pederson(2/14/2000)
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Defending state champion Sam Houston won the girls team title with 183 points. Arlington was second with 83 points and Bowie was third with 55 points. The top two girls in each weight class advanced to the state meet.
Girls winners were: Angela Martinez of Bowie at 102; Cathy Cotter of Sam Houston at 110; Simone Smith of Sam Houston at 119; Brenda Malott of Sam Houston at 128; Laquienta Crenshaw of Sam Houston at 138; Racquel Reyes of Sam Houston at 148; Geanie Jaffe of Arlington at 165; Brandy Killingsworth of Sam Houston at 185, and LaTosha Gillon of Sam Houston at 215.
Bowie's Jessica Lopez, who had finished second at 119, was injured in a challenge match against South Grand Prairie's Carmen Shelly. Lopez either dislocated or broke her arm, according to Bowie coach David Mudgett. She was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
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If the Sam Houston boys and girls wrestling teams had a dual, Brenda Malott said the girls team would win.
12-23-1999
She's only half joking.
"Physically, we probably wouldn't match up, but they would have to forfeit a lot of weight
classes," Malott said. "They would have too many forfeits to make up."
Making half jokes tempers a tough situation that Malott sees when she
looks across Sam Houston's practice room, where there's plenty of room to work out. It
leads to what could be a unique situation in the state of Texas: a wrestling program where the
girls out-number the boys.
Sam Houston's girls program looks stronger than ever after winning the
Bryan Invitational on Saturday.
Besides having most of the team back from last year's state-championship
team, including individual state champions Malott, Brandi Killingsworth and runner-up
Cathy Cotter, There are promising newcomers like LaQuienta "Squeaky" Crenshaw, Glory Dalton and Maria Garza. Sam Houston has nine girls on its team.
But what used to be a decent Sam Houston boys team has been gutted.
While the loss of last-year's seniors Derryan Derrough and Billy Riffe was expected, the
transfer of two-time state champion J.J. Holmes was an unexpected blow in October.
Even worse for the Sam Houston boys, potential returnees like Rod
Chambers and Vu Le have either not come back at all or have quit after the season has started.
Right now, Sam Houston has eight varsity boys wrestlers in the program, barely half of the 15
needed to cover all weight classes in a dual.
Sam Houston also has a first-year head coach, Roy Shultz, who has implemented
constant-motion workouts. The workouts include a lot of running, on-mat
training and some kind of movement, like running in place, when a wrestler is not on the mat.
Malott said the workouts are tough, but nothing wrestlers whoare committed can't handle.
"I don't have any respect for the guys who can't handle the workouts, " Malott said. "The girls are
doing the same things they are for the same length."
Another Sam Houston girl wrestler, Ember Brettman, is using the situation as inspiration. She said
the girls team has a responsibility to show leadership, especially since she said she sees them get
discouraged because they have a lack of workout partners.
"I feel like a big sister because we have to look over them," said Brettman, who was third in the
state at 148 pounds last year. "It' s inspiration for us to win state again."
Brettman said there is a chance the inspiration could become more depressing. A promising
sophomore middleweight, Bryce Thompson, is out indefinitely with a knee injury and Brettman
said the possibility of academic ineligibility always looms.
Freshman Tony Wolfe, who wrestles at 125 pounds, said Sam Houston could have two
wrestlers - Jason McGraw and Benny Jackson - return from a concussion and from personal
problems, respectively.
But Wolfe said getting more wrestlers won't be easy. He said there have
been several occasions where a guy will come out for the team but quit after one day of
practice.
As for other Sam Houston boys wrestlers quitting, Wolfe said he doesn't anticipate that
happening, especially himself.
"I've always believed that you never give up. I'm having too much fun anyway," Wolfe said. "I
hope this is as low as it gets."
Wrestlers of the Week
Of the four Arlington-area wrestlers who are undefeated after 15 or more matches, Martin's
Lawrence Trotter may be the least known. If he keeps going like he did on Saturday, that won't
last.
No wrestler going against Trotter at the Dallas St. Mark's Invitational on Saturday got out of the
first period. It took Trotter just two minutes, 58 seconds to get three pins and win the 215-pound
title and the Arlington Morning News' boys Wrestler of the Week honors.
A better-known wrestler who is on the girls side is Sam Houston' s Brandi Killingsworth. She
showed no rust this weekend in going 4- 0 at the Bryan Invitational, winning the 185-pound title
in helping the Lady Texans win the girls team title. The defending 165-pound state champion.
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A ROSE AMONG THORNS;LEE-DAVIS' ATKINS FINDS NO PROBLEM IN STICKY SPORT
The Richmond Times Dispatch
February 9, 2000, Wednesday
Rose Atkins wanted to make her mark at Lee-Davis High School. She decided to
do it in an area no girl had dared venture.
This winter, the 5-6 junior with the long, brown ponytail became veteran
Confederates' coach Dean Shew's first girl wrestler at the Mechanicsville school.
"Not many people knew me around here . . . I wasn't getting much respect,"
said the 17-year-old Atkins. "I wanted to do a sport. . . . I thought about
softball. But Iwanted to try something harder."
It doesn't get much harder than wrestling in terms of rigid training,
avoiding fatty foods and bodily punishment absorbed on the mats.
"Rose takes a hit across the face or a busted lip as well as anyone we
have," Shew said. "She does everything like the guys do. She runs, drills .
. . she's no problem at all.
"We treat Rose just like anyone else in our wrestling room."
Atkins' only concessions to being a girl are that she dresses in a separate
locker room and her weigh-ins (when eliminating clothing is necessary) are
conducted by a woman, usually L-D Athletic Director Carole Anderson.
"No issue," said Anderson of Atkins' cracking the previously all-boy sport.
"It's gone very smooth. I think people have gotten used to this kind of
thing nowadays.And there have been other female wrestlers at some other schools around the
area. I know [J.F.] Kennedy had one in the past."
As a first-time wrestler, Atkins has competed this year on the
junior-varsity level at 119 pounds. She finished third in a JV tournament at
Midlothian High, and she has won about half of her 12 matches. More importantly, perhaps, she holds her own on a daily basis with partners in the spirited L-D workouts.
"She's a good little athlete," Shew said. "What she lacks is technique. That
should come with time."
"Rose could be a [varsity] starter next year. In fact, in another weight
class she might be a starter for us this year."
L-D has Kevin Koger, who is ranked in the area coaches' poll at 119. The
Confederates won the Capital District and Central Region last winter, and
they are top-ranked in the area this year.
Atkins' sophomore brother, David, is 24-0 at 135 pounds and ranked No. 2 in
the area poll. David won a regional title as a freshman.
"Rose deserves to be on the team," David said. "She's working harder than a
whole lot of others, and I think she's doing pretty good.
"We've wrestled around a little at home, and we talked about [joining the
team] some. But it was all her decision to do it."
Rose's bold move caught her parents a bit off guard.
"She kind of did it and then told us about it," said Cheryl Atkins, who
drives the Hanover Life for Kids Gym Bus.
"We were a little iffy about it once we found out. I know we were concerned
that the guys might be a little rough, and we thought about the touching.
But we know Rose and thought she ought to go ahead and give it a try."
Rose has something of a physical background.
For three years, she played offensive guard in the King William County youth
football league. Her other sporting passion involves riding the family
horse, El Diablo,on the family's rural lot.
Rose was home-schooled until ninth grade, when the family lived in King
William. She spent her freshman year at St. Gertrude High in Richmond before
transferring to L-D as a sophomore.
Upper-body strength, a shortcoming for many girls, is high on Atkins' list
of assets.
"I don't know that much about it yet," she said of techniques. "So about all
I can do sometimes is just hold on."
David Atkins recalls her first attempt at live wrestling in practice.
"Rose went up against Chris Osterfeld [ranked at 112], and he tried to shoot
her, and Rose held him off.
"Chris got up and said, 'Man, she's strong.'"
Atkins does not wear any extra protective equipment for matches. She does
use a head-gear cover in matches to keep her flowing locks in place.
"I have to put it up and keep putting it up about 20 times . . . it keeps
falling," she said.
Aside from that, she reports no problems.
"Sometimes I forget there's any difference [between her and other
wrestlers]," she said.
Atkins has no plans of backing away from the mats. She has strong and
ever-growing support from within the family.
"We're all hooked on wrestling now," said Cheryl Atkins, a former
softball/volleyball athlete at King William High.
Three younger children, Phil (11), Emmit (7) and Elaine (4), are now
participating in the sport in the Dale Wrestling Club in Chesterfield.
Away from the mats, Atkins (who has driver's license) is about like any
other teen-age girl.
"She likes going to movies . . . shopping with friends," Cheryl Atkins said.
Much of her off time is spent going on dates with a steady boyfriend, who is
21 years old and a Lee-Davis graduate.
Asked about the age gap, Cheryl Atkins stated: "We're not worried . . . Rose
tells me everything. She can keep him in line."
-------------------------
(2/14/2000)
MONTAGUE — Jeremy Larson and Nate Oliver won individual wrestling titles at
112 and 215 pounds, respectively, helping Mason County Central to a
second-place
finish in Saturday’s West Michigan Conference championships. The meet was
hosted by
Montague High School.
Whitehall, which was undefeated during the dual season, won the
tournament. The
Vikings had eight individual champions and defeated Central in five
head-to-head battles
in the finals en route to 210 points.
Central had 172 followed by Shelby with 116.5, Hart 114 and Montague 84.5.
“We wrestled okay to get to the finals, but once we got there, we didn’t
finish well,”
said Central coach Jack Stibitz. “I thought we’d have a few more champions
than we
had.”
Oliver, a senior, won his third WMC championship. His record for the
season is 38-3
with 22 points.
Larson, a sophomore, is 29-13 with 15 pins.
MCC also had seven seconds, a third and three fourths. Finishing second
for the
Spartans were Tim Fisk at 119, Mike George at 130, Andy Sanford at 135, Evan
Lundberg at 140, Chris Luttrell at 160, Jason Fairfield at 171 and Jacob
Huggard at 275.
Sandra Padron was third at 103. Fourths went to Jamie Alvesteffer at 125,
Brett Goda
at 145 and Ed Cheladyn at 189.
“Actually, I thought we’d have two more kids in the finals,” said Stibitz.
“That would
have given us more points.
“The flu bug is still hanging around here. We have to get over that by
Thursday.”
On Thursday, Central competes in the Division IV team district tournament
at Hart.
Hart’s lone champion was Mike Fenton, who posted a 4-3 decision over
Huggard in
the championship match of the 275-pound division. Fenton raised his season
record to
27-5.
“Things went pretty much how we figured,” said Hart coach Brad Jacobs. “We
were
hoping for a couple more kids to come through for us so we could maybe sneak
in ahead
of Shelby.”
The Pirates also had four runners-up: Scott Dodge at 112, Steve Thies at
125, Caleb
Davidson at 152 and Justin Sawdy at 189. Dodge is 21-8, Thiess 8-5, Davidson
28-16
and Sawdy 23-11.
Finishing third for Hart was Josh Davidson at 135 and fourths went to Joe
Greiner at
103, Kevin Hallack at 119 and Ben Amstutz at 215.
