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More than one of the guys
With her 18 wins, Falls' Reeves a formidable foe on mat
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By Stephanie Storm 2/11/04
Beacon Journal staff writer
One of the biggest decisions she ever made came on a whim, motivated by moxie, a little female entitlement and a lot of teen-age naivete.
Sitting in eighth-grade home room one morning a few years ago, Shannon Reeves and a group of friends stopped talking long enough to hear the morning announcements. One called for any interested boys to report to the gym the next day for the first wrestling practice.
``I wonder why they didn't say `any student interested,' '' Reeves remembered saying to no one in particular. ``Are you kidding?'' said a male friend nearby. ``No girl would last one day in wrestling.''
Without even thinking about it, Reeves defiantly blurted out; ``I bet I can do it.''
``Yeah, me, too,'' said a female friend.
And the next day, the two girls shocked a group of boys when they arrived at practice.
It didn't take long before the family of Reeves' friend nixed the idea. So that left the 5-foot-1, 103-pound Reeves as the lone female on the team.
Ron Reeves, Shannon's dad, thought at first that she would outgrow the idea. But Reeves, now a 17-year-old junior at Cuyahoga Falls, has not only not grown out of wrestling, but she's also grown up with it.
She's in her third year of the high school program, and in the 2003-04 season has put together an 18-14 varsity record heading into this week's sectional tournament. She believes many of her opponents don't like her and would prefer not to have to wrestle a girl. So, her attitude is simply, ``Well then, let's see what you've got.''
Off-day routine
Reeves says she's never been particularly ``skinny,'' as shown when the number 118 stared back at her on the bathroom scale.
That's 15 pounds more than she was supposed to weigh by the end of last week in order to wrestle in a tri-meet with Stow and Kent Roosevelt.
``Plus, I have a shift at Dairy Queen today,'' Reeves said with a shrug, knowing a week of practice will help her trim down.
``We do tons of sit-ups and push-ups, and we run forever. I love it,'' Reeves said, remembering that she told herself when she started, ``If nothing else, I'm gonna be in great shape by the time I'm done.''
Still, not everyone in the Reeves family was thrilled about the idea.
``I don't like to admit it, but I'm not the one behind her going, `Come on, Shannon, you can do it!' '' said Kelly Reeves, Shannon's mother. ``Instead, I'm always like, `Oh, Shannon, do you have to do that?' ''
Kelly Reeves does say that as much as she might not like the idea of her only daughter and the second-oldest of five children tussling with teen-age boys for sport, she envies her spirit.
``Shannon is truly her very own person,'' Kelly Reeves said. ``I love the way her mind
thinks. Her teachers are always saying she's such a leader, that she is really going to make a difference in this world. In a way, I think she already has.''
Feb. 5 practice
As the door to the Falls wrestling room opens, visitors sense the smell of stale sweat and the sound of loud music blaring from a small boom box on the floor, as seven piles of entangled humans go through timed drills.
If you're not looking for the only female in the room, she's easy to miss. Her shoulder-length dark brown hair is covered by a black cap. Layers of shirts, sweatshirts, shorts and sweat pants cover her frame.
``She's all girl, yet she's one tough wrestler,'' coach John Dix said. ``And she's making a lot of firsts.''
When Reeves came out for the team as a freshman, Dix didn't think she'd last.
``I knew she wrestled in eighth grade, but this is a whole other thing,'' he said. ``Now, Shannon's just another wrestler on the team.
``As far as the team is concerned, she's one of the guys. I think it's more of a big deal to our opponents than it is for us.''
Reeves, who tossed her hair into a ponytail and plunked a pair of glasses over the little eye shadow left on her eyes after the workout, prefers not to look at her situation as a girl-boy thing.
Instead, she measures things by dedication to the sport. With one day to go before weigh-ins, Reeves is close to weight.
``Just an eighth of a pound to go,'' she said with a smile, sitting along with her teammates on the floor, watching a video tape of an assistant coach wrestling.
The team had been dismissed from practice for a half hour, but no one seems to want to leave, enjoying the camaraderie.
``It's like we're all brothers and she's our sister,'' said senior Todd Christenson, who wrestles at 119, but often practices with Reeves. ``It's not like she's the star. But she's technically strong, and really not that weak for a girl.''
``She's really proven herself,'' adds 152-pounder Kyle Grescovich. ``At first, I think we were all a bit skeptical. But she stuck with it. And now when she wins, the whole stands go nuts sometimes.''
Feb. 6 match
At the lightest weight, Reeves is often the first match of the night. She quickly earned a pin, her fourth of the season and second over Kent Roosevelt's Tim Miller. Stow's Nate Pisarski gave her a tougher battle in the other dual meet of the night. But Reeves managed to pin him, too, the first time all season she's scored 12 points.
``Shannon is very intense, but you can't really see it on the outside,'' Dix said. ``When she loses tough matches, she cries. But that's what I expect. Probably wouldn't hurt if we all did.''
``It's OK, but it's hard for me to watch,'' Kelly Reeves admitted. ``This is only the second time I've come. But I know how much it means to her.''
Dad is usually the one who takes Reeves to meets and stays to watch. Although he is concerned about the effects of cutting weight, he is impressed with his daughter's accomplishments.
``She's an overachiever,'' Ron Reeves said. ``She's had A's her whole life in school, with maybe two B's. And with wrestling, Shannon's found something she's good at, something that might even help pay for college.''
By competing in an all-girls tournament at the end of the season the last couple years, Reeves has become familiar with programs at Malone College in California and Cumberland College in Kentucky.
Having finished first in the all-girls wrestling tournament in Ohio last season and ninth in the nation, this year Reeves is looking forward to coach Dix and maybe even some of her Falls teammates coming to cheer her on this year.
``To have them there would be so awesome,'' Shannon said. ``Even though it's just girls wrestling, my teammates are like a part of my family.''
Poll: Would you let your daughter wrestle competitively against boys?
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February 10, 2004
By RICH RUPPRECHT
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Montgomery junior Alexandria Duerr wrestled her way to a second place finish at the girls state tournament at Vallejo last weekend, the top finish from a group of about a dozen Empire female wrestlers.
Duerr went 3-1 in the state tournament that continues to grow each year.
More than 220 girl wrestlers, representing 140 high schools, attended the meet.
"The quality of the meet just gets better each year," said Alex Duerr, Alexandria's brother and a wrestling coach who works with Montgomery and Maria Carrillo girl wrestlers.
"There was a girl from Tulare who had gone 17-1 against boys this season," he said.
The state meet is not officially sanctioned by CIF, but with the increased interest in the sport, it seems just a matter of time.
Ten colleges currently have women's wrestling programs and award scholarships.
Menlo College has shown considerable interest in Duerr, who along with any other Empire wrestlers, can compete at a North Coast Section meet in three weeks at Oakland, held in conjunction with the NCS boys meet.
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Two girls wrestling boys at Cleveland Heights High School
Reported by Kim Wheeler 2/10/04
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS -- Two female wrestlers at Cleveland Heights High School are turning heads.
Sophomore Carla McGugan wrestles junior varsity. There's no girls' wrestling team, so she goes up against boys. McGugan is petite and looks more like a cheerleader than a wrestler.
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"I don't really like cheerleading," McGugan said.
Freshman Quadryah Simmons also wrestles for Cleveland Heights. She knows she's not what people expect. When she heads out on the mat, boys from the other teams are especially surprised.
"Some guys go harder because they don't want to lose to a girl," Simmons said.
Wrestling coach Larry Hoon says it's not a big deal at Heights High, but it's still unusual.
"It raises more eyebrows on other teams occasionally, but times have changed for everyone," said Hoon.
Teammate Clarence Mitchell remembers what happened at a tournament.
"The guys didn't want to wrestle them. They were scared," Mitchell said. "One even dropped weight because he was intimidated by them."
Both of the girls say their love of the sport came from wrestling their brothers at home. Now they've earned the respect of their team family.
Heights High had its first female wrestler eight years ago. While it's still pretty rare, there are a few other female high school wrestlers in the area.
McGugan has won three matches so far this season. Simmons is still working on her first win.
They do have separate showers and changing areas.
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2004 Girls California Wrestling Championships
at Vallejo High School 02/06/2004 - 02/07/2004
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By IAN BUSBY, CALGARY SUN 2/11/04
Devin Deagle came to Alberta's wrestling mats from the red mud of Prince Edward Island with plans to take down Calgary's best competitors. Little did he know when he showed up at Ernest Manning high school two members of the Canadian Wrestling Hall-of-Fame would be on the edge of the ring screaming at him.
Even after becoming a Griffin, it was still a few months before Deagle realized coach Christine Nordhagen-Vierling is a world-class competitor.
"When I started practising with the team, I didn't know she was a multiple world champion," said Deagle, a Grade 10 student. "Christmas was the first time I heard of it. She's going to the Olympics and I can't wait to root for her when she goes."
Nordhagen-Vierling and Manning's long-time coach, Tom Inkster, were rooting on Deagle yesterday in his first 69-kg weight-class match at the Calgary city high school wrestling championships at Bishop Carroll high school.
Deagle beat Crescent Heights' Tylor Gilbert in an intense bout that was close until the final moments.
The 16-year-old didn't gain the edge until he noticed Inkster, who is a member of the Alberta and Canadian wrestling Hall of Fames.
"When I got turned on my back, I looked over and they were yelling at me," Deagle said. "I just got the courage to turn around and put the guy down. I got a good glance at them, then turned him over."
Inkster, who has been Manning's coach for three decades, gained recognition from the two halls of fame because of his steadfast dedication to promoting the sport in the province. But when it comes to the more technical aspects of coaching, he defers to Nordhagen-Vierling, who will represent Canada at the Olympics this summer in Athens.
Women's freestyle wrestling will make its debut at those Olympics and Nordhagen-Vierling, the six-time world champion, will be a favourite in the 72-kg category. With those accomplishments on her resume, she commands respect from the Griffins.
"She is an incredible athlete and has an infectious magnetism," Inkster said. "The kids just can't say no to her."
Receiving top-notch instruction from coaches who have decades of experience brings a structure to the teens' lives, which Inkster can see happening with Deagle.
"This sport provides a positive influence for him," Inkster said. "He works his butt off, which had to do in this match, and he learns the value in that."
And Deagle understands how the team atmosphere and rigid schedule has helped him mature. Competing and winning helps with that, too.
"Before I started wrestling I was sort of scared to try new things," Deagle said. "Now, I've got more confidence to do more things I never used to do."
The city finals wrap up today at Bishop Carroll high school starting at 4:30 p.m.
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02/11/04
JOHN NOLEN
The top three college women's wrestling teams in the United States and the No. 1 team in North America will be in Forest Grove on Friday and Saturday for the Women's International Collegiate Duals.
The round-robin invitational will be held at the Pacific Athletic Center, starting at 1 p.m. each day.
Of the five teams in the field, Cumberland of Williamsburg, Ky., is No. 1 in the U.S. collegiate rankings and No. 3 in North America, Missouri Valley is No. 2 in the country and No. 4 in North America, Pacific is No. 3 in the nation and No. 8 in North America, and Simon Fraser of Burnaby, B.C., is No. 1 in North America.
The other team is unranked Douglas College, also from British Columbia.
Missouri Valley of Marshall, Mo., is the two-time defending national U.S. champion. Simon Fraser is 12-0 in duals this season.
The invitational will include several wrestlers who are ranked No. 1. Simon Fraser has three No. 1 wrestlers in North America: Sara White (112.25 pounds), Jessica Peterson (130) and Emily Richardson (138.5).
Cumberland has three who are No. 1 in the United States -- Suekoiyia Shelly (121), Alaina Berube (130) and Toccara Montgomery (158.5). Montgomery also is No. 1 in North America. The other No. 1 is Debbi Saki (112.25) of Missouri Valley.
Pacific's top-rated wrestlers, Kapua Torres (112.25) and Desiree Lockhart (121), both are No. 2 in the United States.
Men's wrestling: What happens when Portland State, Pacific and Southern Oregon go head to head?
After the dust cleared last weekend, Southern Oregon emerged with a 2-0 record, Pacific was 1-1 and Portland State 0-2.
Southern Oregon, No. 6 in the NAIA, beat NCAA Division III Pacific 37-9 on Friday. The next day, NCAA Division I Portland State lost to Southern Oregon 38-6 and to Pacific 23-21.
The two wins assured Southern Oregon (7-4) of it 34th consecutive winning season, an NAIA record.
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Cinco Ranch boys, Katy girls defend District 22-5A wrestling crowns
By Nick Georgandis
Sports Editor 2/11/04
The Cinco Ranch boys and Katy girls successfully defended their District 22-5A district wrestling titles Saturday at Cinco Ranch High School as area teams tuned up for next week's regional meet in Allen.
The Katy girls needed every point they could muster to hold off Taylor, 127-125. Mayde Creek finished third with 44 points and Cinco Ranch had 33.
The Cinco Ranch boys also pulled out a narrow win to clinch their third straight district crown, racking up 171 points to edge runner-up Taylor (160) and third-place Strake Jesuit (129).
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Katy finished fourth with 74 points and Mayde Creek notched 64 to take fifth.
The district's two defending state champions had two of the meet's most impressive victories in the finals.
Cinco Ranch senior Matt Tiffin (38-0), the reigning 180-pound champion, pinned Katy's Alex Slack in 48 seconds in the final.
A few moments later, Katy's James Aston, the 189-pound champion from 2003, pinned Strake Jesuit's Bill Sommers in 70 seconds to increase his season record to 20-0.
For the complete wrap-up of both the boys' and girls' final rounds, pick up a copy of the Wednesday, Feb. 11 edition of The Katy Times.
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Sanchez gains experience at state finals
Holtville High's Raven Sanchez (top) wrestles with an opponent at the California Women's Wrestling Association state championships at Vallejo High on Friday.. PHOTO COURTESY OF SANCHEZ FAMILY |
By MARIO RENTERÍA, Sports Writer
Tuesday, February 10, 2004 2:32 PM PST
VALLEJO — She didn't do as well as she wanted. Holtville High's Raven Sanchez, 14, finished 2-2 at the California Women's Wrestling Association state championships at Vallejo High here Friday.
It wasn't enough to advance to the second round of the tournament Saturday but Sanchez is looking on the bright side. She still has three years to keep trying since she is only a freshman at Holtville High.
"I was bummed out," said Sanchez. "I didn't place in the tournament but my parents said it's OK, I still have three years."
Sanchez qualified for the state championships after finishing fourth in her weight class at the 2004 Region IV Women's Wrestling Championships at Valhalla High in El Cajon.
With an individual record of 9-3, not including matches against boys, and faring well at a couple other tournaments, Sanchez was confident and excited about realizing her dream of winning the state championship. The only problem was, she didn't know what to expect.
"It was tougher than I expected," said Sanchez. "It was tougher than the other tournaments.
"I was a little disappointed because I didn't make it to the second day ... it was kind of tough," said Sanchez.
The 112-pound Viking started the state championships well, winning her first match 14-7.
"I was excited," Sanchez said she felt before her first match, "I was not really nervous. I was more excited."
The championship results were not posted at CWWA's Web site so names of Sanchez's opponents were not available.
In her second match, Sanchez lost by a technical fall to a girl who ended up second in the 32-woman weight division. In her third match, Sanchez won on a bye and then lost her fourth match 15-1.
Said Sanchez: "Now I know next year what to expect."
In her other two tournaments, Sanchez finished fourth (116 pounds) at the Eisenhower High girls tournament Jan. 24 in Rialto and finished second (120 pounds) in the San Diego Invitational Dec. 20 at Ramona High in the San Diego area.
Sanchez said she will continue to work hard to make her dream of a state title come true.
"I'm going to practice hard, get my moves down and work on technique," said Sanchez. "I think I've learned from this experience a lot and I have three years ahead of me to work for ... and goals to achieve."
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