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Beating up the Boys
By Mike Scott
March 24, 2000
Caledonia High (Caledonia, Mich.) freshman Lynde Baltrusaitis is used to having people pay special attention to her, particularly since she began defeating boys in high school wrestling matches.
Baltrusaitis' commitment to high school wrestling was evident during the first round of the Michigan Division II wrestling tournament,
when she lost to Mark Dunham of Wyoming Park High in a 6-3 decision. Baltrusaitis advanced to the state tournament at 103 pounds by capturing a regional championship with a tough 4-2 decision over Ludington High’s Kevin Fitzgerald.
In fact, Baltrusaitis, who finished the season with a 44-14 record, was one of just three female wrestlers who competed in the state tournament this year. She joined Davison High sophomore Keristen LaBelle and Scotsville Mason County Central High senior Sandra Padron, who also competed in the 103-pound weight class.
Baltrusaitis didn't know what to expect entering this season but had enough success behind her to know she would be competitive. She placed first in the Michigan Women's High School State Finals last year and finished fourth nationally even before entering high school.
"I try to run and do a lot of conditioning," says Baltrusaitis. "I lift weights a lot and do push-ups and sit-ups every day. It's important to build up my endurance."
But the freshman has built up much more than just endurance. Baltrusaitis, who has been taught in part by her father, Tom, and 17-year-old brother Josh, says she was always aggressive and competitive in nature. She credits her parents for encouraging her interest in wrestling and her brother for encouraging her in a different way.
"I wanted to keep from having him beat me up all the time," says Baltrusaitis, laughing. "But really, he helped me once I was on the varsity team. And all my teammates treated me like a sister, but also like just another wrestler.
"I can say that I never felt uncomfortable," she adds.
Caledonia head coach James Maxim was not surprised by Baltrusaitis’ performance this season and attributes much of her success to assistant coaches Scott Gnass and Dustin McFarlan, a two-time state finalist during his own high school career. Gnass, the team's conditioning/strength coach, puts the Scots through extremely demanding drills and has worked closely with Baltrusaitis in practice.
"We knew because of Lynde's ability and her willingness to work hard that she could be a state finalist," says Maxim, who has led the Caledonia wrestling program for nearly 20 years. "She has wrestled for several years and has had a lot of mat time before coming into high school."
Last year marked the first time a female advanced to the state finals when Saginaw Buena Vista High senior Cynthia Harrold lost her opening match in Division 3. But this season, 293 of the more than 11,000 varsity, JV and freshman wrestlers in Michigan were female.
On average, girls began to compete in boys' wrestling in larger numbers across the country beginning in the early 1990s, and the issue has been considered controversial ever since. A referee's association in Texas disbanded midway through the decade after it refused to instruct its members to officiate matches pitting boys and girls.
Women's wrestling has been more accepted on the global level, and it may even become an Olympic sport in 2004.
But wrestling against boys was not a problem for Baltrusaitis in her first year of varsity competition, according to Maxim.
"She has done a great job of staying focused this year and really was accustomed to wrestling boys before she came here," he says. "To put her experience and hard work together, she was deserving to be at the top end of the state's wrestlers."
Maxim says Baltrusaitis rarely lost in her wrestling career before this year and notes that she has learned how to lose with grace and dignity.
"When she defeated [Fitzgerald] in the regional finals, she saw how well that young man took the loss and she handled herself equally well in the state finals," says Maxim.
"To be one of the top 16 wrestlers in Michigan in that weight class is a really big accomplishment," he adds. "We are convinced that she is among the best of the best."
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400 girls wrestlers test skills against best
By Willie T. Smith III,
USA TODAY03/24/00
Tanya Evinger didn't know what to expect when first venturing to Lake Orion, Mich, to participate in the U.S. Girls' Wrestling Association Championships two years ago.
"I was pretty nervous," says the 18-year-old from Bates City, Mo.
She had nothing to be concerned about. She swept through the field, claiming the national title in her weight class in 1998 and '99.
"The guys are more technical than the girls," Evinger says. "The girls are just mean. They go in there and just scrap it out. It's hard to do moves and keep a hold on them because they keep squirming around. The guys tend to stay on the mat and wrestle."
The tournament, put on by Kent Bailo, takes place Saturday and Sunday at Lake Orion High. It has grown in each of its three years.
More than 400 girls are expected to compete in what Bailo terms the country's largest girls wrestling tournament.
"I had been a referee in Michigan for four years, and I got tired of seeing the girls get beat up by the boys," Bailo says. "I didn't think it was fair."
That's not the case for everyone entering the tournament. Sophomore Keristen LaBelle, freshman Lyndé Baltrusaitis and senior Sandra Padron qualified for the boys state tournament in Michigan.
There are also girls entering with something to prove. Danielle Bennett of Fulton, N.Y., and Becky D'Ambrosia of Defiance, Ohio, won two seasons ago but lost their titles last year.
Evinger enters with confidence.
"I just want to continue to compete and see how I stack up," she says.
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Primetime Preps: Teresa Dal Ben and Bobby Ciani
(Published March 23, 2000)
All in the family: Not only is Dal Ben's brother also on the team, her mother Cathy is the head master manager for the team and her fraternal twin sister, Monica, is a manager. Her father, Dean, has yet to miss a match.
"He is the proud father," Dal Ben said. "After I won state, he called everybody, telling them, 'Teresa won state.' "
Your typical state wrestling champions aren't 5-foot-3, but don't tell that to Laguna Creek sophomore Teresa Dal Ben.
Dal Ben captured the 114-pound United States Girls Wrestling Association title last weekend at Stagg High School in Stockton.
"I just felt totally special," Dal Ben said. "When they announced my name over the intercom, the crowd went crazy. It felt really good."
Dal Ben can give some of the credit for winning the state title to her older brother, Anthony, a Cardinals senior who compiled a 37-10 record and was ranked sixth at 119 pounds in The Bee's final individual rankings. Anthony was an All-City performer his junior year.
"He teaches me a lot," Teresa said. "He watched my first match and saw what I needed to improve on and right after the match, right there on the linoleum, he would show me what moves would be good to use against my opponent."
While she was in the sixth grade, big brother convinced her to wrestle for Harriet Eddy Junior High School, where he was an eighth-grader.
This season Dal Ben found herself wrestling behind big brother in the 119-pound weight class. As a junior varsity wrestler, Dal Ben posted a 21-7 record, with a majority of those matches against males.
-- Robert Jordan
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Day is women's champ
March 21, 2000
By Richard Motroni
CORRESPONDENT
Helaina Day proved throughout the high school wrestling season that she was
one of the best female
wrestlers around.
This past weekend, Day proved that she is the best female wrestler in the
entire state of California.
Sweeping through three matches, the San Mateo High School wrestler won the
132-pound division
at the First Annual Women's State Wrestling Tournament in Stockton.
Right from the first match at Edison High Gym, Day established her dominance
with a second-round
pin of Ethela Lucas. Day's second match against See Yang did not produce a
pin, but she controlled
the tempo for a 14-4 win.
With only Janelle Hicks between her and the 132-pound championship, Day was
all business in the
title match. Remaining focused and making few mistakes, Day capped off her
brilliant performance
with a 7-4 victory and was crowned state champion.
"She wrestled smarter than her opponents, has great technique and holds her
own during the
matches," said San Mateo coach Angel Valdez. "Her biggest strength is her
technique, which is most
important for these tournaments."
Taking home a tournament's top prize is nothing new for Day, who had an
outstanding season.
Among her wins was a first-place showing at the Williams Cup in Southern
California, and the title
at the PAL JV Finals at Terra Nova High Gym.
Day, who had a 22-13 record during high school wrestling season, plans to
compete at the Nationals in Michigan.
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