News Page
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7/6/2004
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
The nation's best girls high school wrestlers are being honored with the announcement of the fourth annual TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team.
Making the First Team for the third straight year were Ali Bernard of New Ulm High in Minnesota and Samantha Lang of Tualatin High in Oregon, both who are seniors.
TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team is selected by a nationwide panel of wrestling experts. It is the only national all-star team for which female high school wrestlers competing on all four grade levels are eligible. Athletes from across the nation were considered for their achievements in high school wrestling, as well as the major post-season freestyle and folkstyle competitions.
TheMat.com is one of the leading sports web pages on the internet. ASICS is a national sponsor of USA Wrestling and a major supporter of wrestling at all levels. ASICS has sponsored the nationally respected Asics Tiger High School All-American Team for boys wrestlers for 19 years.
"The ASICS Tiger Corporation is proud to be a sponsor of the All-American wrestling team for girls," said Neil Duncan, Vice President of TW Promotions which represents ASICS. "We see this sport having a huge potential for growth, and look forward to the day when many high schools and colleges across the country offer wrestling programs for the female athlete. These are our future Olympians in women's wrestling."
Members of the First Team, as well as TheMat.com/ASICS Wrestler of the Year, will be honored prior to the finals of the ASICS/Vaughan Junior National Championships July 31 at Fargo, N.D.
Three states had two girls make the First Team. Joining Bernard from Minnesota was Chelynne Pringle from Forest Lake High School. Joining Lang from Oregon was Na'Tasha Umemoto from David Douglas High School. Ohio also had a pair of First Team members in Heather Martin from Keystone High School and Vanessa Oswalt from Mt. Vernon High School.
Five girls made the First Team for the second straight year: Martin, Pringle, Umemoto and Caitlyn Chase of Glenbard North High School in Illinois and Deanna Rix of Marshfield High School in Maine.
Many of the First Team members are nationally ranked on the Senior level in freestyle wrestling, competing against the best women wrestlers of all ages.
Bernard and Umemoto won U.S. Nationals titles on the Senior level in Las Vegas, Nev. this year. Also earning All-American honors on the Senior level this year were Martin, Oswalt, Pringle and Claire DuPont of Lake County High School in Colorado.
Stefanie Shaw of Waterford High School in Connecticut placed fourth in her weight class at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, the first time that women's wrestling will be competed at the Olympic Games. Other First Team members who competed at the Olympic Team Trials were Chase, Oswalt and Bernard.
Bernard was a Junior World Champion in 2003, competing against the best 17-19 year olds in the world. Nine of the First Team members won USA Wrestling age-group national titles over the last year.
The First Team featured seven wrestlers who won national scholastic-style titles this year, by claiming gold medals at the 2004 USGWA National Championships in Michigan. The USGWA National champions on the First Team were Bernard, Lang, Martin, Rix, Pringle, Nicole Darrow of Mt. Greylock High School in Massachusetts and Juanita Russell from Galway Central High School in New York.
Rounding out the First Team was Danielle Hedin of Kailua High School in Hawaii and Lizz Sanders of Newton High School in Iowa.
The First Team featured five seniors, seven juniors and two sophomores. In total, 11 states were represented on the First Team.
The Second Team was also star-studded, led by USGWA National Champions leilani Akiyama of Newport High School in Washington, Jessica Hseih of Vintage High School in California, Sadie Kaneda of Roosevelt High School in Hawaii, Sarah Peasley a homeschooled student from Michigan and Jade Perry of Norwich Free Academy in Connecticut. Also on the Second Team were 2004 FILA Junior National champion Melissa Simmons of Ridgefield High School in Washington.
The Third Team featured a pair of USA Wrestling national champions, FILA Cadet National champion Cheyenne Stokes of East Central High School in Oklahoma and Junior National champion Kelli Rasmussen of Blue Earth High School in Minnesota.
As the National Federation of State High Schools has yet to determine specific weight classes for girls wrestling, the athletes were selected based solely on achievement and ability. The top 14 athletes were named to the First Team, the second 14 athletes were named to the Second Team and the third 14 athletes were selected to the Third Team. Thirty athletes were named as Honorable Mention. An effort was made to make a reasonable spread of weights on each team. If the National Federation sets specific girls weight classes in the future, the selection committee will consider using those weight classes for the selection criteria at that time.
For the TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team, athletes were identified in three weight ranges: Light (100-121 pounds); Middle (122-140 pounds); Upper (141 pounds and above).
In total, 72 wrestlers were selected to TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team. Michigan led all states with 10 selections, followed by California with nine, Minnesota and Washington with six and Hawaii with five.
A total of 26 states were represented on the All-American Team. The team included 26 seniors, 29 juniors, 12 sophomores and five freshmen.
Women's wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports among youth sports for women. Women's wrestling has been added to the program of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Ga. There are an estimated 5,500 girls competing on the high school level in the United States today, and the number has grown each year for the last dozen years. A number of colleges have begun to add women's wrestling on the varsity and club level across the nation.
TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team will be prominently featured on TheMat.com web page, as well as in USA Wrestler, the official publication of USA Wrestling.
2004 TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team
First Team (alphabetically)
Ali Bernard, senior, New Ulm, Minn., New Ulm High School, upper*
Caitlyn Chase, sophomore, Naperville, Ill., Glenbard North High School, light*
Nicole Darrow, sophomore, Pittsfield, Mass., Mt. Greylock High School, light*
Claire DuPont, senior, Leadville, Colo., Lake County High School, light*
Danyelle Hedin, senior, Kailua, Hawaii, Kailua High School, middle*
Samantha Lang, senior, Tualatin, Ore., Tualatin High School upper*
Heather Martin, senior, Wellington, Ohio, Keystone High School, upper*
Chelynne Pringle, junior, Hugo, Minn., Forest Lake High School, middle*
Deanna Rix, junior, South Berwick, Maine, Marshfield High School, light*
Vanessa Oswalt, junior, Mount Vernon, Ohio, Mt. Vernon High School, middle*
Juanita Russell, junior, Galway, N.Y., Galway Central High School, upper*
Lizz Sanders, junior, Masonville, Iowa, Newton High School, upper*
Stephanie Shaw, junior, Waterford, Conn., Waterford High School, middle*
Na'Tasha Umemoto, junior, Portland, Ore., David Douglas High School, middle*
Second Team
Leilani Akiyama, junior, Belleview, Wash., Newport High School, light
Toni Copeland, sophomore, McDonough, N.Y., Oxford Academy High School, upper*
Laurin Daniels, senior, Vashon, Wash., Vashon Island High School, middle*
Katherine Fulp-Allen, sophomore, El Grenada, Calif., Half Moon Bay High School, light*
Astrid Gomez, senior, Hereford, Texas, Hereford High School, middle
Rachel Groft, senior, Abbottstown, Pa., New Oxford High School, light*
Jessica Hseih, senior, Vallejo, Calif., Vintage High School, light*
Sadie Kaneda, senior, Honolulu, Hawaii, Roosevelt High School, light
Amberle Montgomery, junior, Maple Valley, Wash., Tahoma High School, light*
Hanna Parrlberg, senior, San Francisco, Calif., Balboa High School, light
Sarah Peasley, sophomore, Kimberly, Wis., Homeschooled, middle
Jade Perry, senior, Norwich, Conn., Norwich Free Academy, middle
Elena Pirozhkov, junior, Greenfield, Mass., Greenfield High School, middle*
Melissa Simmons, sophomore, Ridgefield, Wash., Ridgefield High School, upper*
Third Team
Rachel Billerbeck, senior, Pfulgerville, Texas, Pflugerville High School, middle*
Tabetha Golt, senior, Chesapeake, Va., Oscar Smith High School, upper*
Samantha Gorman, freshman, Allendale, Mich., Allendale High School, middle
Kelsey Hanson, senior, Grosse Isle, Mich., Grosse Isle High School, light
Anna Jenkins, junior, Lake Orion, Mich., Lake Orion High School, upper*
Nikia Jensen, senior, Eden Prairie, Minn., Eden Prairie High School, upper*
Alyssa Lampe, sophomore, Tomahawk, Wis., Tomahawk High School, light
Courtney Martell, senior, New Haven, Vermont, Mt. Abraham Union High School, light
Crystal Molinar, junior, Grand Prairie,Texas, South Grand Prairie High School, light
Dallas Monreal-Berner, sophomore, Niles, Ill., Niles West High School, upper*
Laine Orabona, junior, New Bern, N.C., Havelock High School, light
Kelli Rasmussen, sophomore, Winnebago, Minn., Blue Earth High School, light*
Cheyenne Stokes, freshman, Tulsa, Okla., East Central High School, middle
Ashley White, junior, Oberlin, Ohio, Oberlin High School, middle
Note: Lightweights (100-121 lbs.); Middleweights (122-140); Upperweights (141 and above)
* - Member of 2003 TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Team
Honorable mention
Madison Bangert, junior, Midland, Mich., H.H. Dow High School, light*
Sara Bergman, senior, Otsego, Minn., Elk River High School, light*
Ashley Bice, junior Clinton, Iowa, Clinton High School, light*
Amanda Breezley, sophomore, Goshen, Mich., Blanchester High School, light
Shelby Brown, junior, Seaside, Calif., Monterey High School, middle
Nikki Caballero, senior, Milan, Mich., Milan High School, middle
Kayla Chambers, junior, American Canyon, Calif., Napa Vintage High School, middle
Krisha Childres, junior, Goddard, Kan., Goddard High School, middle*
Amanda Chittenden, junior, Greenville, Mich., Greenville High School, upper*
Whitney Conder, sophomore, Payallup, Wash., Payallup High School, light
Ashlee Evans-Smith, junior, Ukiah, Calif., Ukiah High School, upper
Jennifer Germany, junior, Chula Vista, Calif., Eastlake High School, middle
Jessica Glover, junior, Kissimmee, Fla., Osceola High School, upper
Rachel Holthaus, junior, Little Falls, Minn., Little Falls High School, light*
Ashley Hudson, freshman, Wildwood, Mo., Lafayette High School, light
Jessica Jauck, senior, Ramona, Calif., Ramona High School, light
Michael Kaufmann, senior, Flinton, Pa., Glendale High School, upper*
Susie Levitt, junior, Danbury, Conn., Danbury High School, light
Jessica Medina, senior, Pomona, Calif., Diamond Ranch High School, light
Ranolyn Nohara, freshman, Waimanalo, Hawaii, Kamehameha High School, upper
Joleen Oshiro, senior, Ewa Beach, Hawaii, Iolani High School, light
Amorina Porter, junior, Sterling, Mich., Standish-Sterling High School, light
Lauren Primiano, junior, Wahaiwa, Hawaii, Punahou High School, middle
Shannon Reeves, junior, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Cuyahoga Falls High School, light
Paige Rife, senior, Fowlerville, Mich., Fowlerville High School, middle
Chelsea Roundtree, junior, Crestwood, Ky., South Oldham High School, middle*
Tirzah Spackman, senior, Elk, Wash., Riverside High School, light
Casey Strouse, senior, South Boardman, Mich., Fife Lake Forest Area High School, light
Brittany Woodall, freshman, Buckhannon, W.Va., Buckhannon High School, light
Tressa Yokum, junior, El Paso, Texas, Eastwood High School, upper
Note: Lightweights (100-121 lbs.); Middleweights (122-140); Upperweights (141 and above)
* - Member of 2003 TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Team
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Africa always least represented at Olympic Games
06 July, 2004
GABORONE - Africa National Olympics Committee Relations and Services
Department is worried that Africa will only send a few athletes to the
Olympics Games billed for Athens, Greece on August 13-29.
"I have realised that most African countries fail to prepare on time.
The number of athletes we are taking to the games is smaller than what we
had anticipated. We have so many countries in the continent yet we have
least athletes representation," said Diamil Faye during the pre-delegation
registration meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Faye also noted that Africa would not send softball, baseball, women's
wrestling teams to the Olympic games, which made the continent to loose
respect and miss opportunities to showcase its talent.
"Interaction with other athletes from the world is vital. It is during
such competitions that our athletes could be spotted by international teams
and be professional," added Faye.
He was also worried that some African countries had not yet been
accredited to the games.
He said they would not want a situation whereby delegations were denied
access the Olympic village because they were not registered or brought
athletes that had not qualified for the games.
Faye appealed to the participating countries not to be distracted by
reports that the games' preparations were behind schedule as everything would
be finalised in two weeks time.
He said the Olympic village would be ready on June 30.
Faye added that about P6 million has been spent on security only.
He commended Botswana National Olympics Committee (BNOC) for their
efforts to make sure that everything was in order.
"BNOC has shown maturity with the way they held their preparations,
there has been consistency in their communication which some countries fail
to do. We hope to see other NOC handling their own issues in the same manner,"
he said.
BNOC Chef De Mission France Mabiletsa said he was concerned about the
slow pace in sports development because there was no investment in sports in
the country.
"We have keen athletes but we drag our legs to support them. Sports
need commitment," he said.
"We are all aware of what is going on with the national football team.
You can imagine if they are to miss the 2006 World Cup and African Cup of
Nations qualifiers because of lack of funds, it is sad. We tend to
forget that sport can be an investment." Mabiletsa said the number of
officials exceeded that of athletes because so far only less than 10 athletes
have qualified for the games.
He said the athletes that were yet to qualify at African competitions
billed for Brazzaville, Congo on July 12-18 were high jumper Kabelo Mmono who
is expected to clear 2.27m against his current record of 2.2m.
Mabiletsa said the other hopeful was 800m runner USA based Otukile
Lekote and the female 800m runner Amantle Montsho.
He said the relay team was yet to qualify because it was currently
rated at 17 while only the best 16 qualify for the Olympics. BOPA
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