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KIMBALL, Minn., February 20, 2000
High school wrestler Peggy Van De Mark has endured name-calling, opponents who refused to compete against her and coaches who wouldn't acknowledge her.
Slowly, Kimball Area High School and the central Minnesota town's 700 residents have come to respect and even appreciate her accomplishments.
Van De Mark, a junior, is the first girl to wrestle for Kimball Area, a school of 271 students.
"The guys (on the team) cheer for me, they practice with me and they've been really great," Van De Mark said.
"The fans cheer me on and they want to know, 'Are you wrestling tonight?'"
But that's not the way her wrestling career started.
Van De Mark began wrestling in the third grade in Holdingford at the urging of a female friend, who quit after less than a week.
Van De Mark continued despite negative responses at every practice.
"There was one coach, in particular, in her age group that when she'd go near him, he'd turn his back and cross his arms," said her mother, Scarlett Anderson. "She'd come over to me during practice, and I'd tell her to tell him you need help. Every time she'd face him, he'd turn his back to her."
Her brother, Nic Anders, an eighth-grader, was often the only wrestler who would practice against her.
"After the first season's experience, I saw how poorly she was treated by a lot of different people," Anderson said.
"I wanted her to quit. It had nothing to do with her being a girl in a boys' sport at all. It was just very painful to watch her go through that."
After a while, wrestlers and coaches softened in Holdingford. Then, the family moved to Kimball before she started seventh grade.
Kimball wrestling coach John Lelwica was uneasy when Van De Mark and her family approached him about allowing her to wrestle.
"I was a little unsure about how she was going to fit into the program ... how the kids would accept her and how opponents would react to her," he said.
"I don't force them to wrestle anyone, and I took that same approach where I wasn't going to force anyone to wrestle her. I encouraged them to and I told them to feel comfortable. She's a part of our team, and I tried to make that transition easy for her."
But there were hurdles to overcome. Finally, in the middle of her eighth-grade season, it stopped being fun and Van De Mark quit. She came back at the beginning of her freshman season.
Through the years of watching Van De Mark toil with all the issues of wrestling boys, Anderson decided to give girls in the area another option.
In 1996, Anderson founded the St. Cloud Sting All-Girls Wrestling Club Team, which is sponsored by the St. Cloud Boxing and Wrestling Club. Anderson is the director and coach.
"I guess the reason I started it was, for girls coming into the sport, I didn't want them to go through what Peggy went through to wrestle," Anderson said. "A lot of the girls we have don't want to wrestle boys."
Van De Mark was the lone member of the team that first season. There were four girls the second season, nine the third season and 17 last season.
There are more than 80 girls competing in Minnesota club wrestling, which has its season in the spring and summer. And one of the best is Van De Mark.
Last season Van De Mark was second in the nation, wrestling in the 143.25-pound freestyle class. She was an alternate for the U.S. World Championship team, which competed in August in Poland.
"There's supposed to be women's wrestling at the Olympics in 2004, and I'd like to go to the Olympics," Van De Mark said. "I want to win World Team trials this year."
"She's got goals, probably more goals than any guy in the room," Lelwica said. "She wants to be an Olympic wrestler, and I'm certain that if that's her goal, she'll do it.'"
Van De Mark says she understands if a boy does not want to wrestle her.
"I will not be mad if a guy does not want to wrestle me," Van De Mark said. "I might make a joke with a friend that (the opponent's) scared, but I totally understand that it's awkward.
"People don't understand that it's awkward for me, too. I'm used to it now, but it's still the same awkwardness for me as it is for male opponents."
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Primetime Preps: Teresa Dal Ben
(Published March 23, 2000)
Teresa Dal Ben
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.
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Bronco rookie fourth in nation
by MARK SPEZIA
3/2000
LAKE ORION-Not bad for a rookie.
Dana Skelton, who first touched a wrestling mat just five months ago, placed fourth over the weekend at the United States Girls Wrestling Association National Tournament at Lake Orion High School.
The North Branch High School junior reached the third-place match at 143 pounds, where she dropped a 13-4 decision to Christy Ravera of California. Skelton began with a 13-10 decision over Florida's Ashley Sword and beat California's Nicole Williams by the same score to reach the quarterfinals. She then ran into eventual champion Tanya Evinger of Missouri and was pinned in 93 seconds. Skelton then pinned Rebekka DeCola of Minnesota in 5:12 to reach the third-place match. There were 25 girls in her weight class.
Amanda Turner, who also wrestled for North Branch this past season, competed in the 160-and-over division. She was pinned in 40 seconds by eventual third-place finisher Christal Toshia of California in her first match and was nipped, 7-6, by Rochester's Desiree Story in her second.
Danielle Leach, a 1994 graduate of Lapeer East, competed in the Collegiate-Open division at 115 pounds and placed third with a 3-2 record in the round-robin competition. She pinned Katie Lipman of Wesleyan College in 5:54, decisioned Angela Herner of the University of Michigan, 9-5, and won another match by forfeit. Leach was pinned in 5:37 by eventual champion Clarissa Chun of Missouri Valley and dropped an 11-2 decision to Heidi Martinez of American International College.
SEVERAL AREA wrestlers competed March 19 at the USGWA state tournament at Lake Orion. Leach pinned Western Michigan's Jenny Kim in 5:03 to secure first place. Three others placed third in high school competition. Skelton decisioned Elizabeth Albright of Kalamazoo, 10-8, for third at 150 pounds. Turner bested Story, 4-2. Mary Jennings, who wrestled for LakeVille this season, pinned Tonie Trowbridge of Grant in 4:10 for third at 120.
Another North Branch wrestler, Tiffany Gonzalez, was pinned in 4:27 by Middleville's Lindsey DeLille in the third-place match at 111. Dryden's Kathleen Saltarelli was pinned in 2:13 by Dearborn Heights' Cora Blanchard in the seventh-place match at 124.
Skelton also won the 144-pound division March 12 at USGWA Midwest Championships at Fenton High School, decisioning Heidi Callentine of Ohio, 9-6, in the final match.
Gonzalez pinned Melissa Spencer of Port Huron in 1:06 for third at 106. Jennings pinned Flint's Jamie Saverns in 1:57 for third at 119.
Three others placed fourth. Turner was pinned in 48 seconds by Kibby Csernaini of St. Clair Shores in the third-place match at 158. Lapeer's Melissa Nolan was pinned in 47 seconds by Montague's Tiffany Diamond in the third-place match at 134. Molly Cote, another North Branch wrestler, was pinned in 3:15 by Ortonville's Emily Bieszak in the third-place match at 138.
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WOBJ 7 morning news for 02-13-00 in Va.
Earlier in the school year we introduced you to Heather Cross, the girl who
wanted to play football and wrestle for her middle school.
It's wrestling season and Heather is on the mats.
Here's an update on her story.
((HEATHER CROSS/MIDDLE SCHOOL WRESTLER: WHEN I GET SLAMMED ON THE MAT I JUST
GET RIGHT BACK UP AND DO IT AGAIN. IF I LOSE, IT'S A LOSS FOR EXPERIENCE.))
Heather Cross is one of three middle school girls wrestling in Roanoke City.
She says she does not recieve any special treatment.
((PAUL BARRELL/BRECKINRIDEG WRESTLING COACH: WE HAVE PARTNERS IN PRACTICE
AND SOME OF THE GUYS TOOK UP WITH HER NO PROBLEM. I DON'T MAKE A BIG DEAL
OUT OF IT. WE TREAT HE THE SAME, SHE JUST DRESSES IN A DIFFERENT
LOCKERROOM.))
((AUSTIN MILLER/BRECKINRIDGE WRESTLER: EVERYBODY RESPECTS HER AS A WRESTLER,
AS A PERSON. THEY DON'T JUST SAY LOOK AT THE GIRL WRESTLER TRYING TO BE ONE
OF THE GUYS. WHETHER SHE WINS OR LOSES THEY APPLAUD HER.))
Heather is winning some matches and losing some. But she's also getting the
attention of other girls in the school
((HEATHER: SOME OF THEM JUST THINK I'M CRAZY THEN OTHER GIRLS ARE GOING 'GO
HEATHER IT'S WHAT YOU LIKE TO DO.'))
((AUSTIN: I WATCH WOMEN WRESTLERS ON TV AND THEY'RE SUCCESSFUL AND I THINK
MAY THAT'S WHERE SHE GOT THE IDEA. SO IF SHE'S WILLING TO DO THE WORK THEN I
THINK SHE SHOULD GO FOR IT.))
Heather plans to wrestle for Breckinridge again next year and then move into
the high school ranks.
