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By MK BOWER
Copyright Feb. 14,2000 Houston Chronicle
The University Interscholastic League will award its first championship in girls wrestling this weekend in Austin, a clear indication of the rise in popularity of the sport.
The intensity of the competition at the regional meets last weekend provided all the validation necessary of the long-term success of girls wrestling in Texas.
"I've been coaching wrestling since 1969, and this is my fifth decade as a varsity boys coach but my first year as a girls coach," said The Woodlands' John Voght. "Girls wrestling has the potential of becoming a very popular sport once it gets past these first few years."
The Lady Highlanders were part of a successful weekend for Houston-area teams at the Region III tournament in Allen.
The Woodlands placed second at the meet, finishing behind Katy Taylor and ahead of Waller. Kelly O'Hargen (119 pounds) and Danielle Campbell (215) claimed regional titles for the Lady Highlanders, with O'Hargen running her season record to 25-3 by pinning Waller's Amanda Eisele in just 17 seconds.
Pam Berry (165) and Jessica Bunner (185) also advanced to the state meet as runners-up, and Debbie Breuer of The Woodlands will go to Austin as an alternate in the 102-pound class.
Meggie White (95 pounds), Kristen Baldon (110), and Katie Moore (165) were champs for the Lady Mustangs, while Diana Mato (128) advanced. Chrystina Less (110) of Waller will join Eisele in Austin.
Heather Morris of Klein Oak was the lone participant from the area to advance to state at the Region IV meet in San Antonio. The 110-pound junior ran her season record to 21-0 with a victory over Jessica Cotton of Austin Lanier.
The burgeoning interest in girls wrestling can be attributed to a couple of factors, according to Voght: the popularity of hand-to-hand combat sports on the international level, and the landmark decision of Title IX, which guaranteed equality for females in athletics 25 years ago.
"There are an awful lot of girls who are into the martial arts -- taekwondo, judo, karate -- at the Olympic level," Voght said. "With Title IX, I think that we are going to see more and more girls wrestling, rather than less and less."
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Region III wrestling results
Feb. 14, 2000, 9:53PM
Results from the Region III high school wrestling tournament at Allen:
GIRLS
95: Meggie White, Katy Taylor, def. Ashley Wilson, Scarborough, by fall, 3:43.
102: Jennifer Znidarsic, Waller, def. Brandi Burns, Lake Highlands, 12-9.
110: Kristen Baldon, Katy Taylor, def. Chrystina Less, Waller, 9-8.
119: Kelly O'Hargen, The Woodlands, def. Amanda Eisele, Waller, 25-3.
128: Lindsay Meadows, Katy, def. Diana Mato, Katy Taylor, 17-8.
138: Krista Hartman, Katy, def. Moody, Dallas White, by fall, 2:42.
148: Melissa Hilliard, Reagan, def. Nancy Pena, Furr, by fall, 5:17.
165: Katie Moore, Katy Taylor, def. Pam Berry, The Woodlands, by injury default.
185: Erica Coburn, Waller, def. Jessica Bunner, The Woodlands, by fall, 1:59.
215: Danielle Campbell, The Woodlands, def. Ashley Kologinczak, Reagan
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Five Harborites nab district 2A titles
-- February 14, 2000
CASTLE ROCK - Five Grays Harbor wrestlers captured championships in the Southwest Washington District 2A Wrestling Tournament Saturday at Castle Rock.
District champions Jordan Bradbury, Scott Schmitz and Shaun Straka, all of Montesano, Jamie Rakevich of Elma and Adam Calica of Hoquiam will lead a 15-man Harbor contingent in the 2A portion of Mat Classic XII beginning Friday at the Tacoma Dome.
Ridgefield won the team title with 194 points, finishing 39 points ahead of runner-up Washougal. Elma was the top Harbor finisher, taking third with 138 points.
Bradbury, now 35-0 for the season, pinned Castle Rock's John Ammons early in the second round of their 112-pound title bout.
Straka, who survived a tough heavyweight semifinal with Elma's Donnie Melton, pinned Ridgefield's Jim Rushing in the second round of the final. The Montesano senior had needed a takedown in the final 10 seconds to beat Melton, 6-4.
For the second straight week, Montesano's Schmitz twins advanced to the 189-pound final. Scott Schmitz, who had defaulted to brother Steve in last week's subdistrict tourney, this time collected the default.
Scott had trounced Ridegefield's Kevin Graham, the Trico League champion, 14-2, in the semis.
"I think we're in pretty good shape," said Monte coach Clayton Bradbury. "I feel real good about our kids."
Rakevich downed Hoquiam's Ross Norton, 12-4, to take the 215-pound title.
"He's looking better every week," said Rick Rakevich, Jamie's father and coach. "He was a lot more aggressive."
Hoquiam's Adam Calica - whose brother, Roy, was also a state qualifier - decisioned Ridgefield's Matt Smith, 8-4, in the 130-pound title bout.
Hoquiam's Justin Larsson was the area's other finalist, but he defaulted the 152-pound final to Washougal's Josh Brock. Larsson, who suffered a neck injury in the tourney, was held out of the final as a precautionary matter and, according to Grizzly coach Mike Cummings, will be ready for state.
Also qualifying for state were Elma's Nathan Skuza (third at 119 pounds), Danny Ireland (third at 171), Jeremy Russell (fourth at 145), Nathanael Arnold (fourth at 112) and Melton (fourth at heavyweight) and Hoquiam's Pat Farmer (fourth at 140) and Roy Calica (fourth at 135).
The top four at each weight advanced.
"I thought we could have had a better day," said Cummings. "They wrestled all right. I thought we could have gotten one or two more through."
Montesano's four finalists were the school's only state qualifiers.
One major casualty was Montesano's Arielle Bradbury, who the previous week became the first female in the state to win a postseason tournament.
Weakened by the recurrence of a bronchial infection that has plagued her periodically throughout her career, she dropped both her district matches in the 103-pound division.
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Girls' wrestling gets serious
At George School, girls no longer take on boys. The sport is expanding in the state.
By Ira Josephs(2/14/2000)
INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF
It's no longer a fad. It's a sport with a future for girls.
Girls interested in wrestling finally have a chance, and an arena in which to excel.
In the second annual Pennsylvania girls' high school wrestling championships on Feb. 5 at J.P. McCaskey High in Lancaster, Harry S Truman freshman Aquilla Hills won a state title at 100 pounds, and George School junior Sara Dohle finished second at 130.
Placing fourth from George School were juniors Sara Ryan (130 pounds) and Alyse Williams (114), and freshman Robin Stewart (107). Freshman Claire Matturro also competed at 107.
This weekend, George hosted a team from Brookline, Mass. They tied.
"It was spontaneous; it just came together in two days," George School boys' athletic director Dave Satterthwaite said.
"I see this sport growing," said George School coach Renay Eleuteri, 24, a successful youth wrestler before she stopped competing after sixth grade. "Basically, it started out as a question of where it would go and what would happen. The girls are dedicated, and it's not a joke. It's a sport where you have to be dedicated."
Over the years, a few girls joined the high school boys' wrestling team, but social and safety issues often made things uncomfortable.
"We had girls on our team for five or six years," Satterthwaite said. "Every once in a while, one got into a match if there was nobody in the lower weights. But [the boys didn't like] the idea. It's a lose-lose situation for the guy. If a guy wins, it's expected. If he loses, he has hell to pay when he gets back to the dorm.
"There are safety issues and general discomfort with girls wrestling guys. It was all right when there were one or two, and we had all sorts of parental consent. We had to make sure parents were aware of what was going on."
What's going on now at George School is a girls' wrestling team. After a girl was injured last year, the Friends Schools League decided that it would no longer allow girls to wrestle against boys. That left a void at George School, which had several girls on the squad.
Junior Kate Stewart, a resident of Quakertown, wanted to continue competing in the sport she loved. With the support of Satterthwaite, George School girls' athletic director Nancy Bernardini, and the school administration, Stewart got the sport going at George School.
"Basically, I wasn't about to quit wrestling," said Stewart, who began wrestling as a freshman to keep in shape. Unfortunately for her, she has been unable to wrestle the last few weeks because of a stress fracture in her left shin.
Stewart spoke to Satterthwaite, her academic adviser, and he told her that at least 10 members were necessary to get school approval for a girls' team. While Stewart did the recruiting, Satterthwaite made sure they would have a coach and a place to practice.
The school rented mats from Bucks County Community College and set them up in the basement of the George School science building. Eleuteri was hired. From an original list of 30, 14 wrestlers have stayed with the squad.
A special education teacher in the Neshaminy School District, Eleuteri wrestled for the Penndel Wildcats. Her father, Ron, coached the Wildcats, and her brothers - Randy, Ronnie and Ryan - all wrestled.
"The flexibility helps with girls," said Eleuteri, a 1993 Neshaminy graduate. "When I was younger, the girls were stronger than boys at that age."
Competing against boys over the years, Eleuteri went to the Amateur Athletic Union state tournament at both 40 pounds and 75 pounds before leaving the sport. She played field hockey and softball at Neshaminy but never lost interest in wrestling.
Satterthwaite contacted Maple Point Middle School athletic director Dick Keefe during his search, and Keefe recommended Eleuteri.
"They are really backing us up," Eleuteri said. "Everybody is supportive, and Dave has helped us a lot with equipment and uniforms and mats. The program is taking off."
Said Satterthwaite, "We're trying to do for them what we can. It's still more of a club. If interest stays there, it's two or three years down the road before it becomes a competitive team. Right now, we're trying to dovetail with other teams that have girls."
There aren't many. Germantown Friends has four girls, and Truman has two. In addition to Hills, Truman sophomore Regina Inigo competed at the state meet. She went 1-1 at 122 pounds.
Inigo also plays junior varsity basketball at Truman, but Hills' primary sport is wrestling.
"It was exciting. I never wrestled girls before this year," Hills said. "I thought I could do well. It was a lot different than wrestling in boys' tournaments. The girls are much friendlier. They ask you how long you've been wrestling."
"She's been wrestling for five years and has won 50 to 60 matches over the years against boys," Truman coach Steve Givens said of Hills. "She's like a noodle. She's very wiry and tough to turn."
Givens' primary responsibility is the Truman boys' team, but he says he is interested in seeing the girls achieve success.
"I'm trying to get some meets set up," he said. "I'm trying to help Renay as much as possible. I remember watching Renay wrestle, and she won over 100 matches. She was very successful at it."
