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Former Pacific wrestler, O'Donnell, makes Olympic debut
Thursday, August 19, 2004
The Olympic dream is well on its way to reality for former Pacific University women's wrestler Tela O'Donnell.
O'Donnell arrived with the three other members of the U.S. Olympic Women's Wrestling Team in Athens on last Monday and all four participated in Friday's Opening Ceremony at Athens' Olympic Stadium.
The team had its first Olympic practice last week at the American College of Greece, going through light drilling and live wrestling with training partners. All four members are living at the Park Hotel until a couple of days before weigh-ins, when they will move to the Olympic Village. The women's wrestling competition begins Aug. 22.
O'Donnell, who is a newcomer to international competition, believes her inexperience could be an advantage.
"I have competed with some of these athletes," O'Donnell said in a news conference on Wednesday. "I'm new to the international competition. I've only been in it for about a year. I think I will do well."
As a whole, hopes are high for the U.S. team in women's wrestling's first appearance in the Olympic Games.
"This team is really well-prepared," said U.S. coach Townsend Saunders in Wednesday's press conference. "They have been focusing on this goal for a long time now. They understand as athletes what it takes to compete on this level, and what it means not only for the international community, but also for women's wrestling in the United States."
O'Donnell was one of four Pacific wrestlers selected for USA Wrestling's first women's wrestling resident training camp in 2002, and understands her place in the sport.
"Since high school, I've been treated as a wrestler," O'Donnell said. "When somebody is doing a sport because they love it and they're taking it seriously, then it's not hard to take them seriously."
O'Donnell, a native of Homer, Alaska, was a national champion for Pacific in 2002, one of three Boxer wrestlers to win national crowns that year. She qualified for the Olympics by winning the 121-pound bracket at May's U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials, then pinning world silver medallist Tina George twice in the challenge match portion of the Trials.
The women's wrestling competition will run Aug. 22 and 23. The competition will take place at the Ano Liossia Olympic Hall in Athens and will kick the Olympic wrestling competition.
On TV
NBC is scheduled to show Olympic women's wrestling competition on their affiliate cable networks. Opening day coverage will be televised at 5 a.m. and 4 p.m. on CNBC. Second day coverage will air at 5 a.m. and 2 p.m. on MSNBC. Times and channels for coverage are subject to change.
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Warming up: Q&A with wrestler Patricia Miranda
August 19, 2004
Patricia Miranda, 25, has won two silver medals at the World
Championships
in the 48 kg (105.5-pound) class and is considered a gold-medal threat
in
Athens, where women's wrestling will make its debut. Miranda wrestled
on
boys' teams in middle school and high school and at Stanford. Although
accepted to Yale Law School, she deferred enrollment to chase her
Olympic
dream.
Q: You started wrestling in middle school. What was the first day like?
A: I was so scared, I was like a deer in the headlights. I couldn't
move and
I remember thinking, "Am I a scaredy cat? Am I gonna shut down?" I had
to
learn to fight back. But that's what's so good about wrestling. You're
out
there naked. You can't delude yourself very long.
Q: You debated Chelsea Clinton in a class at Stanford. Were you
aggressive?
A: We had very different views about history ... Sometimes she sounded
like
she was spewing off stuff she heard from her dad (so) I'd go, "Come on,
have
some facts of your own."
Q: Ever consider a takedown on the President's daughter?
A: If I made a move, one of the Secret Service men probably would have
knocked me out.
Q: Why did you study conflict mediation?
A: Most wrestlers like litigation - it's more like a fight. Trying to
figure
out why people do what they do fascinates me. It's a pastime for me; I
do it
every day. I fell in love with the idea you could understand human
behavior
and incentives enough to help guide a conflict to resolution.
Q: Do you carry law-school books on your wrestling travels?
A: I'll be jumping from closing ceremonies into orientation, so right
now
I'm reading about how to brief cases.
Q: Doesn't sound too exciting. Is it?
A: Reading books like "The Da Vinci Code" is a lot more fun. There's a
real
message behind it, a lot to think about.
Q: You talk to other Olympic jocks about the book?
A: In the dining hall. People interested in the conversation carry it
back
to the dorm rooms.
Q: You pinned some boys in high school.
A: One mother got very upset.
Q: What did she say?
A: "My son will be scarred for life ... It's not fair."
Q: And you said ... ?
A: "You're willing to deny half the population this opportunity, just
because he lost to a woman who outworked and out-prepared him?"
Q: You pinned a guy in college. What did you say to him?
A: "Listen, your name's never going to come up. I won't mention it." He
might like the notoriety now.
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BY JIM COFFMAN 8/19/04
STAFF WRITER
Dallas Monreal-Berner, who will soon begin her junior year at Niles West, spent some of her summer making the transition from the "folkstyle" wrestling rules that govern Illinois high school competitions, to "freestyle" wrestling, which is in effect at the collegiate level and beyond. She also continues to fend off some negative perceptions of her sport.
Otherwise, she had a fine campaign, capped by a third-place, All-American finish in her weight class at the National Cadet finals in Fargo, N.D. last month.
"I still hear a few remarks," said Monreal-Berner, who lives in Niles. "There are definitely people who think women's wrestling is a joke. There was a training camp (at the University of Illinois) the week before the tournament and even some of my own teammates (from Illinois) were biased against it."
WRESTLING
On the other hand, Monreal-Berner notes she has always felt comfortable in her high school program, where she will return for a third season later this year.
"From day one my high school team has been accepting," she says. At Niles West, Monreal-Berner has been coached primarily by assistant Chuck Corrigan and head coach Bryan Wittersheim. And overall, "I do see increased acceptance."
Monreal-Berner had started her summer season by advancing out of a sparsely attended state meet at Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfurt. But she went to work in a field of 16 at the national meet, advancing to the semifinals before suffering a setback.
But then she bounced back to win her third-place match at the event held in the last week of July.
The Niles native who first tried wrestling when she was 10 years old is now settling in for the long haul. "I'm seeing where it takes me," she says. "I want to ride this as far as I can."
The national meet gave Monreal-Berner a rare chance to face a variety of female opponents. During the high school season all of her training partners and opponents are male.
"One of the girls I faced was real tall so I had to adjust and one always went for throws, so I didn't want to lock up with her," said the wrestler whose favorite part of wrestling is the different skills involved.
"I like that it is a sport with a lot of components," Monreal-Berner says. "It's not just strength. There's a lot of technique. You need everything, flexibility, balance, not just brute strength."
As for Monreal-Berner's own style, she noted "I'm pretty good on my feet (going for takedowns), but each (opponent) is different and you have to do different things."
She wouldn't mind a few more female opponents but will persevere while competing with the guys. "It's sad there aren't more (girls) tournaments," the junior says. "It would be good if there were more girls in the sport."
But the most important thing is making progress. "Dallas has been improving every time she wrestles in competition," Corrigan says. "She has dedicated herself to the long haul."