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Caprock girls win on recount

By SONNY BOHANAN (Sunday, February 27, 2000)
Globe-News Staff Writer

AUSTIN - It took 3 1/2 hours Saturday night from when they actually won before it was formally corrected and announced, but Caprock officially won the girls' division at the UIL State Wrestling Championships.

Before 7 p.m., it was announced that Caprock had finished second, 1 1/2 points behind Arlington Sam Houston, 88-86 1/2.

The Caprock coaches suspected a mistake in the point totals. Headed by assistant T.J. Johnson, the Caprock coaching staff recounted the totals themselves, then took their findings to UIL officials and asked for an official recount.

"I was really confused because we had three first-place finishes and one second place and we got a pin in the heavyweight division," Caprock head coach Scott Tankersley said. "I got real nervous because I knew there was something wrong."

UIL officials checked the totals and found the Caprock coaches to be correct. The Longhorns had finished with 90.5 points instead of 86.5. Sam Houston remained with 88 points but dropped from first to second, and Palo Duro finished third, still with 69 points.

At about 10:15 p.m., it was finally announced that the Caprock girls - led by Tori Adams, the outstanding female wrestler of the tournament - had won state.

Tankersley said he was not upset because of the mistake.

"They apologized to us. I'm not an angry type of person," he said.

Tears came to Tankersley's eyes when he learned that Caprock had won.

"It was very difficult to celebrate because we didn't know for sure if we had won or not," he said. "These girls have done everything and more than I can ask of them. They don't complain. They're a very, very dedicated group. I'm so emotional because I realize that they are going to move on with their lives and I'm not going to coach them any more."

Caprock entered the final round trailing Arlington Sam Houston 79-68.5, but Caprock had four finalists to Sam Houston's three.

In the finale, Caprock's Marie Hernandez pinned Latosha Gillian of Sam Houston in the third period of the 215-pound final, giving the Lady Longhorns their third state champion of the day.

Caprock senior Jennifer Johnson, a 119-pounder, won by pin against Keily O'Hargan of The Woodlands in the second period. She won all three of her matches on Saturday by pin to remain undefeated on the season at 26-0, including 25 by a pin.

She has been wrestling for only one year and attributed her quick success to training with Adams, ranked No. 1 nationally at 148 pounds.

"We are up at 6 in the morning in the weight room lifting, then we drill from 7 to 8:30 and then we do it again after school," said Johnson, who is being recruited by Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Ky.

Adams also captured a state championship, her fourth straight, by defeating Janice Gooden of Palo Duro with a first-period pin in one minute, 14 seconds.

Adams, who also plans to wrestle in college, has put together an 82-1 record in high school and hasn't lost a match since she finished third at nationals two years ago.

She plans to compete again in nationals next month at Ann Arbor, Mich. She has been wrestling since age 8 at the Maverick Club and boasts that she was the first girl in the state to wrestle.

Khouanchy Inthirath, a scrappy 95-pound junior, won both of her matches by pin Saturday to become Palo Duro's first female state champion in wrestling.

"I feel like I've been immortalized," she said with a laugh.

Dyana McIntyre, a 215-pounder from Palo Duro, finished third, and teammate Lauren Lindsey finished fourth at 119 pounds.

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Caprock's state wrestling crown is all about the math

By STEVE BELVIN
Globe-News Sports Writer , February 28, 2000

Caprock assistant wrestling coach T.J. Johnson was in shock. Head coach Scott Tankersley knew something was wrong.

When the official scorers had Arlington Sam Houston winning the girls' division of the University Interscholastic League State Wrestling Championships with 88 points, 1 1/2 points better than the Caprock Lady Longhorns, silence came over the Caprock contingent. It appeared their season-long goal had come up a few points short.

But wait just one minute. The Caprock coaching staff wasn't going for it.

The Caprock coaches were keeping track of their own points and they came up with more points than the totals showed. They went to the official UIL scorers and voiced their opinion. Sure enough, the official scorers had short-changed the Lady Longhorns.

Caprock officially won the state championship with 90.5 points, compared to 88 for Sam Houston. Palo Duro was third with 69 points.

"I really wasn't thinking; I was in shock," said Johnson when he first heard that Sam Houston had won the tournament. "I talked to Coach Cobb (Tascosa wrestling coach Johnny) and he told me if I didn't feel right about it, not to leave this building before I did something about it. He told me to stay right on it until I felt comfortable.

"I was in disbelief. We had three girls going to the finals, and those girls got pins. That was 18 points right there."

"I got real nervous because I knew something was wrong," said Tankersley, adding that the scoring mistake didn't bother him."They apologized to us. I'm not an angry type of person."

The Lady Longhorns' "Murderer's Row " came through again. Led by 148-pound senior Tori Adams and junior Jennifer Johnson in the 119-pound division, Caprock got two pins. Adams pinned Palo Duro's Janice Gooden in one minute, 14 seconds, and Johnson pinned Kelly O'Hargan of the Woodlands in 3:51.

"Murder's Row" also includes Dedra Puentes (105), Stephanie Olivas (110) and Minnie Garcia (128). Olivas got fourth, and Garcia was defeated in the finals by Brenda Malott of Sam Houston 9-8.

It was a totally frustrating weekend for Puentes, who failed to make weight.

But perhaps the biggest win of the tournament for the Lady Longhorns came in the heavyweight division when Marie Hernandez pinned Latosha Gillian of Sam Houston in 5:09.

All year long Hernandez has taken a back seat to Palo Duro's Dyana McIntyre, the district and Region I champion. This time was Hernandez's time to shine, however.

In the opening round she pinned Danielle Campbell of the Woodlands in 4:28. She outscored Kara Armstrong of Arlington 3-2 in the semifinals.

"I'd have to say that was the biggest win for us," said Johnson. "That was the surprise of the tournament. We couldn't ask for more of her. She turned it up another notch, a notch we didn't even know she had."

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Sam Houston girls get set to defend wrestling title

By Khary K. McGhee
Star-Telegram Staff Writer (2/25/2000)

ARLINGTON -- As soon as competition began this season, the Sam Houston girls wrestling team came to a realization: defending its state championship from a year ago was going to be a tad more difficult.

"I knew things were different when we went to a tournament and girls weren't just trying headlocks and basic stuff like that," said senior Brenda Mallott, the defending state champion at 128 pounds and the `Arlington Star-Telegram Girls Wrestler of the Year last season.

But Mallott and her Sam Houston teammates have enjoyed the challenge so far -- their 9-0 record proves that much -- and are looking forward to seeing a larger and more competitive field at the University Interscholastic League Girls Wrestling State Championships on Saturday at the Austin Convention Center. It will be the second UIL-sanctioned girls wrestling tournament. Sam Houston won the team event last year.

"I think it's going to be a lot harder," said Sam Houston junior Brandy Killingsworth (27-0), who won a state title at 165 pounds in 1999 and will compete in the 185-pound weight class this weekend. "Most of the first-year girls from last year have another year of experience. There will be some new girls [at the state tournament]."

Fourteen girls from Arlington-area schools are expected to participate in the state tournament. Eight are from Sam Houston, which is expected to contend for a second state title along with Amarillo Caprock. Arlington is sending three wrestlers; South Grand Prairie will have two; and Bowie is sending one.

Girls wrestling began in this area in 1997 when Melony Monohan of Sam Houston and Courtney Barnett of Martin sued for the chance to wrestle against males. They lost their lawsuit, but their fight led to the formation of a girls wrestling league a year later.

"It's about three or four times better than last year," said Arlington coach Henry Harmoney, whose wrestling club in Amarillo a few years ago was home to one of the first female wrestlers in the state: Caprock senior Tori Adams. "It's come a long way. We've gone from the moral fight of it being wrong [for girls to compete in wrestling] to just wanting to give the girls the chance to compete.

"The next big challenge is trying to convince everyone that girls wrestling is good for boys wrestling. People might come out to see the girls wrestling match, but they might stay to see the boys."

The actual number of girls participating in wrestling in the Arlington area hasn't increased dramatically. But coaches and wrestlers said they have noted a marked improvement in technique and skill level, a sign that coaches are committing more time and effort to their female wrestlers.

"Most coaches think [girls wrestling] is an oddity, something that will go away in a couple of years," said Sam Houston coach Roy Schultz, who coached in Oklahoma before moving to Texas. "I have to admit that coming from Oklahoma I wondered about girls wrestling. But these girls come in and they work. If they are going to come in and work hard for me for two hours a day, I owe it to them to work just as hard."

"There are a lot of new girls going," said Geanie Jaffe of Arlington, a runner-up in last year's state tournament after losing a close match to Killingsworth at 165 pounds. "I don't know if the competition will be better. But I have noticed that a lot of girls are doing more of a variety of things."

Kara Armstrong of Arlington, a defending state champion at 215 pounds, said the sport's growth depends on changing attitudes.

"I think a few girls are a little reluctant to come out just because they think it's a `boys sport.' Some don't want to do it because they are so worried about their weight and having that be an issue. I know that was a big problem for me. I was so worried about having my weight announced over the loud speaker at matches.

"But the feeling of winning makes all of that worth it."

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Tough road ahead

Sam Houston has work to do to remain state power

02/25/2000

By Rick Kretzschmar / Special Contributor to the Arlington Morning News

When the seniors on Sam Houston's girls wrestling team end their high school careers Saturday, they want to leave behind a reminder of what they accomplished.

If the Lady Texans win a state championship trophy or banner, that would be nice, but they would prefer to gain something more practical.

"If we win another state championship, I hope they give us some mat rollers," said Brenda Malott, referring to metal tubes that wrestling mats are placed on to help move them from one location to another. "It's pretty hard to move the mats right now. They weigh a ton."

Moving mats may be a strenuous task, but something more difficult could await Sam Houston's girls wrestling team as it attempts to remain a state power.

Sam Houston will be going for back-to-back team state championships Saturday at the University Interscholastic League Wrestling Championships at the Austin Convention Center. The girls part of the championships begin at 9:30 a.m., with the championship round starting at 5 p.m. With seven state qualifiers and two defending state champions making the trip to Austin, Sam Houston should be in contention to repeat as a state champion.

But Saturday will end the high school wrestling careers for a core group of seniors who have made Sam Houston a power since the Lady Texans began competing as a full team in 1997. Malott, Cathy Cotter and Racquel Reyes will be gone after this season.

But one member of the Lady Texans, junior Brandi Killingsworth, will be back for one more season. Killingsworth is 27-0 this season at 185 pounds and is going for her second straight state title.

But keeping the team strong may be tougher than going for a third state title.

"I know I have a lot of responsibility to keep this together," Killingsworth said. "But I have no idea what's the most important thing I need to do to keep it that way."

Killingsworth said she will need to find girls who have the same commitment that girls such as Malott, Cotter and Reyes had. The 1997-98 team rallied around Melony Monahan, Sam Houston's first great girls wrestler, who was at the heart of a lawsuit against the state's governing body of high school wrestling and officials. Monahan won state titles in 1997 and 1998 before moving to wrestle collegiately at Minnesota-Morris.

But Reyes said Monahan does not deserve the credit for what the team has done since then.

"She hasn't been around in two years," said Reyes, who will be going for a 138-pound state title Saturday. "What we've done since then has been mainly by individuals, and we would back each other up as a team."

Sam Houston lost a tiebreaker to Arlington High for the state title in 1998, but it rolled to the state championship last year with 101 points. That was 33 points ahead of Amarillo Caprock, which is expected to challenge for the team state title this year.

Cotter said she doesn't expect the team to slip, pointing to seven underclassmen who return next year.

"I definitely think we still have the girls to keep it going," said Cotter, who will be going for the second state title of her career at 110 pounds. "We'll need to get more girls involved, but I think we can do it."

One of Cotter's rivals, Arlington High's Geanie Jaffe, said she is not as optimistic because she has seen a state-level girls team - the Lady Colts - fall off. After winning the first two girls state titles in 1997 and 1998, Arlington High slipped to third last year and finished 100 points behind Sam Houston at the Region II meet two weeks ago.

While Arlington High still has a strong wrestling team, the Lady Colts have not been able to replace talented wrestlers such as Ashley King, Brandi Suggs, Lauren Allen and Darcy Roman.

"I saw it coming two years ago. We worked to try to prevent this, but we couldn't do it," said Jaffe, who will be going for her second state title at 165 pounds. "I can see it happening to Sam Houston, too, after this year.

"They'll need to get more girls in, but that's going to be really hard."

Keeping Sam Houston's team going may involve the seniors, even after their high school careers are over. Cotter said they will try to get Sam Houston girls involved in spring and summer wrestling programs in USA Wrestling. Like last year, the Sam Houston girls will travel to Michigan in the spring for a national tournament.

But the ultimate responsibility may fall on head coach Roy Shultz, and Shultz said he realizes that. He said keeping the program going will be combination of what happens now, and how hard he and his returning wrestlers work in the off-season at in-school recruiting.

"Winning another state title would help. People want to be part of a championship program," Shultz said. "For numbers for next year, I would like 20 girls, two for each weight class.

"I think we can find 20 girls. I think Sam Houston has more athletic talent in girls than boys."

Not that having more boys in the wrestling program wouldn't be welcomed. The Sam Houston girls wrestling team had more competitors than the boys squad this year. Killingsworth said having more boys would help the overall Sam Houston wrestling program.

Killingsworth said she is not sure what the key is to keeping Sam Houston's girls wrestling program among the best in the state. But she knows she wants it to stay that way, even well after she leaves.

"I want to come back and see banners that said we won the state next year, then the next year, then the next year, and so on," Killingsworth said. "I don't want this to just drop off."