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By Chris Forsberg, Globe Correspondent, 3/6/2000
BROOKLINE - Girl wrestlers from 9 to 19 years old, from schools stretching from Maine to Pennsylvania, flocked to Brookline High School yesterday to compete in the second annual Colonial States Girls' Wrestling Championships.
An estimated 60 wrestlers competed, but due to an erroneous report on the US Girls' Wrestling Association's Web site that the event had been cancelled, fewer wrestlers turned out than were at the inaugural event last year. The low turnout didn't slow down the action.
In the 138-pound division, Beth Bolish of Mahanoy City, Pa., repeated as Colonial champion, defeating Jessica Girouard of South Windsor, Conn. In one of the most impressive performances of the day, Bior Guigni of Norwich, Conn., won the 115-117 pound division by defeating Kim Chu of Philadelphia in 34 seconds. In the same division, Sara Luchian of Brookline placed a team-best third.
''The turnout was lower, but the competition keeps getting better,'' said Brookline's third-year coach Darrin Vincent. ''There are more events and programs for the girls to get involved in now and they just keep getting better and better.''
Brookline suffered a setback when highly touted junior Daphne Putka hyperextended her elbow in her second match.
''I was trying to put my hand on the mat and my arm bent the wrong way,'' Putka said. ''We decided it wasn't a good idea to go on since I would have faced mostly Brookline kids.''
Girls' wrestling has evolved since 1994 when four Brookline High School students convinced athletic director Walter Sargent to let them wrestle other girls.
''Brookline High School sponsors four tournaments during the wrestling season and the girls travel to other places where girl teams are sprouting up,'' tournament director Dustin Carter said. ''Brookline has travelled to Pennsylvania, Schenectady, N.Y., and in two weeks they're headed up to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the national championships.''
Carter also said that the MIAA may be interested in taking over girls wrestling in the years to come.
