|
|
News Page
Feb. 11, 2000 2:15 p.m. ET
By Jane Allison Havsy
FOXSports.com
Marcie VanDusen beat all the boys last week.
VanDusen, a wrestler from California's Lake Arrowhead Rim of the World High, won the Skyline League title in the 119-pound class. The Press-Enterprise reported that she is the first female to win a league title in Riverside or San Bernandino Counties. VanDusen finished second last year, and qualified for the California Interscholastic Federation tournament.
VanDusen, the first seed in the weight class, decisioned Chaparral's Frank Nguyen 7-5 to win the championship. Her season record is 19-10.
VanDusen began wrestling at age eight. Her older brother T.J.. VanDusen was already involved in the sport, and Marcie got bored watching his meets.
"You wait an hour to see him wrestle, and then another three go by before he wrestles again," she told The Press-Enterprise. "I thought I could pass the time by wrestling."
Now, VanDusen is well-known in Southern California.
Dave Chapman has been her coach at every level, teaching her holds and techniques earlier than most of her male competitors learned them. VanDusen has learned to play to her strengths — and keep her opponents from exploiting her lack of physical power. She reacts almost without thinking, according to Chapman.
VanDusen plans to attend Cal State-Monterey Bay this Fall. Her long-term plan is to wrestle in the 2004 Olympics, where women's wrestling is expected to be a demonstration sport.
"She's a very experienced wrestler," Chaparral coach Ric Campo told The Press-Enterprise. "People are amazed that she's a girl. ... She's a great girl wrestler, but she's also a great wrestler, regardless of her sex."
------------------------------------
Sheri Hilliard comes off first place in Wisconsin
By Mike Bellmore
Journal Sports Editor
Sheri Hilliard continues to make a name for herself in the Devils Lake High
School wrestling program.
She was recently one of four North Dakota girls to earn first place finishes
in an Open Wisconsin State Girls Wrestling Tournament, and was named
outstanding wrestler at the conclusion of the event.
This weekend she'll be among 500 or 600 girls competing in a National Girls
Wrestling Tournament in Michigan, where she'll hope to at least live up to
her No. 8 ranking nationally at 127 pounds.
But she's no stranger to the pressure of a national tournament, having
competed in it during her seventh and eighth grade seasons.
"I know it's going to be tough,'' Sheri says. "There's going to be a lot of
girls there and I'll have to be ready. There should be a lot of tough
competition.''
Right now, Sheri is still reveling in her accomplishments in Wisconsin,
where she pinned two opponents and defeated a third in overtime.
Her two pins were over Lindsey Hutchinson of Madison, Wisc. in 0:43, and
Sara Lahr of KImball, Minn. in 1:35. Jessica DeGrave of Florence, Wis.
pushed her into overtime before falling.
She made the trip with Lindsey Trosen of Kindred, N.D., another of the four
North Dakota girls to compete in Wisconsin. The other two were from Belcourt
- Jordan St. Germaine and Christine Desjarlais.
When Sheri filled out her registration papers for the Wisconsin trip, she
also made sure she was registered for this weekend's competition in
Michigan.
"'There probably weren't a lot of entries in Wisconsin, but it wasn't bad
for a girls tournament,'' Sheri added. "The competition was tough, but it
was easier than going up against the boys.''
Since returning from Wisconsin, Sheri has been an active participant in
Devils Lake's off-season freestyle wrestling program, keeping her fine-tuned
for this weekend's tournament.
There will be competition in four different divisions - K-5, grades 6-8,
9-12 and college. Sheri, a freshman this year, will compete in the 9-12
division.
The last time she competed in the nationals, she missed placing by one
match. She's hoping her fortunes will be a little different this time. The
top 9 finishers in the high school divisions will get medals, the top six at
the collegiate level, and 50 percent of the kids in the younger two
divisions will receive medals.
Anyone placing in the top eight of their respective weight class will earn
All-America recognition.
-----------------------------------------
Clear Lake girls get ready to wrestle
Clear Lake Wrestling Coach Gary Weber will be matside at the State Wrestling
Championships this weekend. That doesn't seem so unusual-- but this time
he'll be coaching girls.
Nine Clear Lake girls have expressed an interest in participating in the 1st
Annual Iowa Girl's State Championships Sunday, March 12, in Gilbert, Iowa.
For Weber, the idea of girls having their own tournament, as opposed to
competing against boys, is a good one. It also is a sign of the times.
"There is a national (wrestling) tournament for girls now, a world freestyle
tournament, and talk of adding it as a women's sport to the Olympics," said
Weber. "It's a better alternative to girls wrestling guys-- several girls do
it, but not with much success on the varsity level."
Clear Lake's strong tradition on the mats has helped to feed interest in
girls wrestling, Weber said. The coaches' own daughter, Whitney, plans to
compete. Three others have brothers who wrestled for CLHS and several serve
as statisticians for the boys team.
"About 40 girls first thought they were interested when the tournament was
announced. Then, after a meeting and learning more details, the numbers
dropped off." After a couple of practices nine girls remain. Most have a
good understanding of the sport, according to Weber.
"Since we had some girls interested in the tournament, I thought we should
offer some practices," said Weber. "I think they were harder than most of
the girls expected. There would be giggles when they ended up on their
backs. But by the second practice they were getting after it. There have
been some sore necks and muscles, but they are competitors."
The coach said he is impressed with the work ethic of the girls and believes
some have the potential to do well at the state meet.
The tournament is open to any girl who is an Iowa resident in grades six
through eight (Middle School Age) and nine to 12 (High School Age). The
middle school matches will consist of three, 1:30 minute periods; high
school competitors will wrestle the same as the boys-- three, 2:00 minute
periods. Rules are the same as those used in high school boys matches.
Blocked weights will be used in both divisions. There may be up to 14
different weight classes determined after weigh-ins.
Clear Lake's competitors include: Kristle Wolcott, Katie Kraschel, Andrea
Snyder, Megan McDermott, Jordan Esbeck, Ashley Billings, Patty Bitker, Molly
Mackey, Kelsey Wieck and Whitney Weber.
---------------------------------------------
Kleinberg Places in Freestyle Nationals
by Teri Kleinberg
April 20-22:
Peninsula senior Teri Kleinberg traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada to compete in the 2000 United States National Wrestling Championships at the 68 kg senior women's division. Among the competitors were wrestling all-stars like Sandy Bacher, Tricia Saunders, Tina George, and Stephani Murata.
Kleinberg placed sixth after beating U.S. High School Girls' Wrestling National Champion Kaci Lyle, who was ranked third in this freestyle tournament. The top six wrestlers in the women's division qualify for World Team Trials to be held on June 1 in Battlecreek, Michigan.
Peninsula's Girls Place in Nationals
by Teri Kleinberg
March 24 & 25: Peninsula seniors Teri Kleinberg and Brenda Whited traveled to Lake Orion, Michigan, this weekend to compete in the 3rd annual High School Girls' Wrestling National Championships at Lake Orion High School. This year, the tournament was extended to include collegiate, middle school, and elementary divisions in addition to the high school level. Welcoming the over 425 girls was U.S. women's wrestling pioneer Trishia Saunders, who spoke about the future of wrestling as a woman's sport.
Whited, wrestling at 131 pounds, started off her matches on a good note with an easy first period double chicken wing series pin against Amy Jinright from Florida, followed by a loss and a win against Kuuini Johnson (8-2) from Hawaii on the first day of competition. On Sunday, Brenda lost in the consolation semifinals to Emily Rinehart from California in the third period, and outscored Kristen Davis of Ohio (6-4) for a 7th place finish.
Kleinberg missed the 149 pound weight class by 0.1 pound and was the lightest wrestler in the 157 pound division. Teri also began competition on an upswing with falls against Lacee Carr of Michigan and Katie Babits of Oregon in 0:25 and 2:30, respectively. In the semifinals, Teri wrestled a close 3-0 match against three-time veteran Brandy Beaghan from Vermont. Kleinberg faced number one ranked Kaci Lyle, a fellow Californian, in her finals match and took 2nd place for the third consecutive year with a final match score of 1-12.
As a team, California placed second under Michigan- the second time in a row.
----------------------------------
Panther Girls Shine at Thousand Oaks Tournament
by Teri Kleinberg
December 11:
While the freshman wrestled at Thousand Oaks High School, Peninsula's female wrestlers competed in a girls' only tournament hosted by the same school. Most of the competitors came from Thousand Oaks coach Shannon Williams-Yancey's twenty-five member girls' team. The Panthers competed in four of the six weight classes: freshmen Erica Montoya and Jacinta Alaga, and senior Brenda Whited at 120-128 lbs; freshman Jill Smith at 131-135 lbs; senior Teri Kleinberg at 140-148 lbs; and sophomore Ana Kenah at 155-164 lbs.
By the end of the day, nearly all Peninsula's girls had placed: Whited and Kleinberg at 1st, Montoya and Smith at 2nd, and Kenah at 3rd. For stats, please see the varsity stats page.
The next girls tournament will take place at Westlake High School on January 8, 2000.
---------------------------------------
Girls Compete in Williams Cup
by Teri Kleinberg
January 8:
The Panther girls, accompanied by Carolyn Davies from the PVPHS Girls' Wrestling Club and Coach Dan Hernandez, traveled to Westlake High School on Saturday to compete in the first annual Shannon Williams Cup.
Preceding the competition was a clinic taught by Shannon Williams Yancey, coach of Thousand Oaks High School's girls' team. She spoke about the future of girls' wrestling and demonstrated several of her favorite moves, including arm drags, arm spins, and doubles.
Freshmen Jacinta Alaga (123) and Erica Montoya (127), and sophomore Ana Kenah (160) wrestled competitively, but did not place. Seniors Brenda Whited (127) and Teri Kleinberg (wrestling up at 160) placed first in their respective weight classes. Senior newcomer Davies (140) took third in her first competitive match.
--------------------------------------
WYOMING HIGH SCHOOL
Scott Novotny
CASPER- Sarah Tolin won first place in the 56 kg (123.25 pounds) Senior
Women's Division at the Southern Plains Regional Championships/Central
Regional Olympic Trials Wrestling Tournament held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, April
28-29, 2000. Tolin was also named the Tournament's Outstanding Wrestler in
the Senior Women's Division.
Tolin won her Gold medal honors in Tulsa by pinning Brenda Malott of
Arlington, Texas in 3 minutes and 44 seconds. Tolin also earned a technical
fall over Julie Grachanin of Lawton, Oklahoma, defeating her by a score of
13-3. Tolin later defeated Grachanin in an exhibition match with an 18
second pin.
Malott, a Senior at Sam Houston High School, is a 2 time Texas High School
State Wrestling Champion at 128 pounds and known as one of the best and
toughest girl wrestlers in Texas. As a Sophomore, Malott cut from 150 pounds
to become the state runner up at 128 pounds, and as a Junior she went the
entire season undefeated, dominating the Texas state wrestling tournament by
winning every match by pin. She also likes judo and boxing.
This was Tolin's second Gold medal in a Regional Wrestling Championship in
the Senior Women's Division for the 2000 Freestyle season. Tolin also won
first place at 56 kg in the Senior Women's Division at the Rocky Mountain
Regional Championships held at the University of Wyoming in Laramie on April
1st, where she also won the Gorriaran Trophy for the most pins in the least
amount of time.
Tolin, 18, is currently ranked #6 in the nation in the FILA Junior Women's
Division of USA Wrestling, for women, ages 17-20. Tolin, with a medical
certificate, is also allowed to wrestle in the Senior Women's Division for
women 20 years old and older.
Tolin, a Senior at Kelly Walsh High School, competed the previous week at 56
kg (123.25 pounds) in the Senior Women's Division at the U.S. Women's
Nationals in Las Vegas, where she received her only two losses of the 2000
Freestyle season. Tolin had a first round bye, and in the second round,
Tolin was defeated by the number three seed, Erin Tomeo, of Pennsylvania. In
the third round, Tolin also lost to Patricia Kast of the United States
Military Academy at West Point. Tolin was down 8-4 at the end of the first
period, but two of her moves Tolin initiated in the second period were
scored for her opponent, and Tolin lost the match15-5, instead of winning it
11-9 and advancing in the consolation matches.
Tomeo was eventually defeated 4-3 in the consolation finals for third place
by the tournament's number one seed and defending national champion, Tina
George. Tomeo came into the Women's National Tournament as a 2 time Cadet
Women's National Champion and a 3 time Junior Women's National Champion,
placing third in the World Championships.
Tolin, although competitive at this higher level, was somewhat nervous on
her first trip to the U.S. Nationals, and did not feel she wrestled as well
as she could have during her matches in Las Vegas, but next year hopes to
wrestle better and finish in the top eight.
Tolin, Wyoming's first All-American female wrestler, was one of only four
wrestlers that competed at the 2000 U.S. Nationals with Wyoming ties. 1996
Olympian David Zuniga, a Worland High School graduate and wrestling
standout, was the number one seed at 69 kg (152 pounds) in the Greco-Roman
Championships, but took an injury default in his first consolation match and
did not place at Las Vegas. Rulon Gardner, a 1989 Star Valley High School
graduate won the U.S. Greco-Roman Championship in the finals at 130 kg
(286.5 pounds). Donavin Figueroa, a 1989 Kelly Walsh High School Graduate
and now a Cheyenne resident, earned the silver medal in the finals at 69 kg
(152 pounds) in the U.S. Deaf National Championships.
Tolin will next compete June 1-4 in the Junior Women's National
Championships in Battle Creek, Michigan. In order to compete in Michigan,
Tolin will be missing her graduation exercises at Kelly Walsh High School on
June 2. Tolin has also been invited to participate this summer with a girls
wrestling team traveling on an international cultural exchange trip to
Bulgaria and Paris, France.
Tolin was the first girl to be allowed to wrestle against boys in Wyoming by
the Wyoming High School Activities Association and she wrestled for Kelly
Walsh High School for two years in the scholastic or high school style of
wrestling. Tolin earned her varsity letter at 119 pounds during her senior
season and was awarded the coveted Craig Howie Hustle award by her high
school coaches. In March of this year, Tolin earned a ninth place medal at
the Girls High School Nationals in Lake Orion, Michigan. Tolin has been
wrestling for the past six years, mostly against the boys, in the olympic or
international styles of wrestling, known as Freestyle and Greco-Roman,
through the Casper Wrestling Club and Windy City Wrestlers. Tolin is the
first and only girl to ever receive the Wyoming Governor's Award for
Excellence in Freestyle Wrestling sponsored by the Wyoming Amateur Wrestling
Association.
Her two high school aged brothers also wrestle, while her older sister has
been a varsity wrestling manager for Kelly Walsh High School. Her entire
family is also active in wrestling as licensed mat and pairing officials.
At this time, Tolin plans to attend Casper College in the fall, and assist
the junior high and high school wrestling programs and help coach as she
continues her own wrestling training.
-----------------------------------
Chance of a lifetime
Minot's Oja hoping to become first female wrestling ambassador
By Mike Manston
Staff Writer
Minot's Hope Oja has been facing challenges all her life.
Now, the student of Bishop Ryan High School is hoping to overcome the challenge of raising close to $7,000 to fund a summer trip to Europe with the People to People Sports Ambassadors and become the first female to wrestle in the international program offered by the organization.
Oja has been a member of the Minot wrestling club for the past four years since deciding to take up the sport.
"When I was in grade school, I was the biggest tomboy and when someone brought in a wrestling form and I just decided to get into it," Oja said. "I have had lots of fun the past four years and I wish more girls would get involved. Guys have a lot of criticism about wrestling a girl and that makes it kind of hard. They just need to think of me (and other girls) as just another wrestler and wrestle us like they would a boy."
The teen has very high hopes and aspires that she will someday be able to try out for the Olympics as women's wrestling is slated to be a trial sport at the Olympics in the near future and is becoming popular throughout the country among colleges and universities.
"I know it would be a lot of hard work, but it would be something I would want to do. I really like wrestling," she said.
Hope's father, Melvin, was a wrestler as a high schooler and has been very supportive of his daughter's decision to get involved in the sport.
He said, "Her mother (Darlene) and I have gone all over the state watching her wrestle and this would be a very good opportunity for her.
"Not only from the wrestling standpoint, but also to learn about the cultures of the other countries. We're hoping she'll somehow be able to raise the money so she'll be able to go. This type of exposure could easily lead to a college scholarship and create other opportunities," Melvin added.
Students aged 9-19 are eligible for the program and may receive high school or college credits for the experience.
Oja is planning to solicit corporate and private donations and also conduct various fundraising events like carwashes, walkathons and set up donation booths at various church and community functions.
The People to People Sports Ambassadors was established in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and sent several youths on cultural exchanges through the years. With the exception of Jimmy Carter, the President of the United States has been the honorary chairman of the organization every year since its inception. The organization also promotes competition in basketball, baseball, bowling, football, field hockey, ice hockey, soccer, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball and water polo, as well as wrestling in an effort to bring the countries closer together through athletics.
