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Observer.com 12/7/04

The Herndon High School varsity wrestling team brought home a first-place trophy from its competition on Dec. 10 through 11 at the Super H Duals in Richmond.
The team wrestled against 24 schools and won with a record of 6-0, while Herndon’s Firen Gassman was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler.
The team will be on the road again this weekend, traveling to New Kent High School to compete in the New Kent Holiday Invitational.
In addition, Herndon High School’s wrestling team will host the Capitol Challenge on Dec. 28 through 29.
High schools competing in the event are Bullis Prep from Potomac, Md., Stonewall Jackson from Manassas, James Madison from Vienna, Osbourn Park from Manassas, Henrico from Richmond, Ponderosa from Auburn, Calif., Brookline from Brookline, Mass. and McDonough from Owings Mills, Md.
Tickets will be available at the door for one or both days.

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WRESTLING NOTES

Richmond Times-Dispatch 12/17/04

FIREN'EM UP: The MVP as voted by coaches and officials at the Super H Duals last week at the Ashe Center? Firen Gassman, a 103-pound freshman girl from Herndon.

Gassman went 7-1, losing only in overtime to the fifth-ranked wrestler in North Carolina's top classification, 4-A.

"She got a bronze in the Junior Olympics," said Henrico coach Ty Owens, who coached her with Team Virginia this past summer. "She's tough."

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Reston Girl Discovers Dream on Wrestling Team

By Anthony Paradise10/24/04
Observer Staff Writer

We're always trying to find what makes us happy. Some figure it out
sooner than others,while some think they never come across it.
Reston resident Firen Gassman discovered her true passion early in
life. You'll see her living it out this winter when she joins the Herndon
High School wrestling team.
Firen, 14, loves to wrestle and has been for about the last five years.
She first discovered the sport after tagging along with her younger brother
Reid at his wrestling practices. Her older brother, Kelby, a 16-year-old who
also attends Herndon, wrestles too.
Although wrestling is primarily viewed as a man's sport, Firen feels
she deserves to participate.
"I didn't think it was fair for all of the boys to do the cool sports,"
Firen said. "I made my mom sign me up. We usually see a lot of girls in
cheerleading or field hockey. I think those are cool, but you don't see
a lot of them in fighting sports like football or wrestling."
Along with her passion for wrestling, Firen has plenty of experience.
She wrestled for the Herndon Rattlers and Southern Maryland Wrestling Club.
This summer she took third at the Junior Olympics in Des Moines, Iowa, where
she was the only female participant, and qualified for the men's
freestyle-greco championships in Fargo, N.D.
Although Firen is happy with the success she's achieved, that doesn't
mean she hasn't experienced difficulties by being a female wrestler. "They
make fun of the wrestlers who wrestle me," she said. "A lot of coaches don't
like it. They've e-mailed me, but I don't respond."
In fact, her negative experiences stretch back to when she was
wrestling with the Rattlers, according to her former coach Bruce Hall. "Coaches
and mainly fathers didn't want girls to wrestle," Hall said. "She used to
get a lot of forfeits."
Despite the hardships, Firen continues to compete. "If the coaches
weren't supportive, she wouldn't be in the position she's in," said Jenni
Brown-Gassman, Firen's mother. "She does it because she really likes
it. She says it's all about the ref raising her hand."
Herndon High School wrestling coach Tyler Anderson is one of the
individuals who has encouraged her. His acceptance of Firen has a lot to do with
her personality and how he views her as an athlete.
"She's not a girl, she's a wrestler," Anderson said. "She gets after
it. She's a pleasure to coach and she learns quick."
Anderson already has high expectations for Firen. "Skill-wise, she
could make states," he said. "She'll come right in and be a starter on
varsity. I feel she'll be very successful and score points at tournaments and
duels."Last fall, however, Firen was injured in an accident that could have
affected her ability to wrestle.
During a family camping trip at Matthew's Arm Campground near Shenadoah
National Park, Firen, according to her mother, spilled pure white
gasoline on her body when trying to make their fire burn quicker.
The flames rose and jumped to the gasoline on her body. She received
second-degree burns on her face and third-degree burns on her chest,
neck and right ear.
Firen was treated at the burn trauma unit at the University of Virginia
hospital. While there, the doctors performed a skin graft by peeling
skin off her head to place on her burn marks. She remained in the hospital
for three weeks.
The experience caused a few lasting effects since she has visible
scars, and it affected her mobility by making it hard to lift her head and move
her neck. When things calmed down, she returned to practice. However, her
in-match techniques were affected and she would maneuver in ways she
wasn't supposed to.
"She was cautious for the first six months," said her mother. "She
wrestled differently. She'd turn her head sideways and get caught in moves."
But Firen continued to work on her wrestling ability, and regaining her
confidence, until she regained her original form.
"She's very lucky," said her mother. "She's found her true passion and
not many people do that."

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Frisco to host Classic
Wrestling event gives elite girls chance to compete

01:58 AM CST on Friday, December 17, 2004

By MONIQUE WALKER / The Dallas Morning News

FRISCO – Vanessa Epps is looking forward to this weekend.

Epps, a Frisco sophomore, wrestled in the Texas Ladies Classic last year and didn't perform as well as she hoped. The tournament began with one bad match and she carried the disappointment to the next match, Epps said.

"I'm not going to be like that this year," Epps said. "I want to be No. 1."

The Texas Ladies Classic will begin today and end Saturday in Frisco. It is the second year for the event that will feature 180 to 200 high school girls wrestlers from all over Texas, Frisco coach Chuck Brown said.

"We're excited about this, because it is a chance to have one place for elite girls wrestlers to compete," Brown said.

On Saturday, Cumberland College, which is No. 1 in the North American Women's College Poll, and No. 4 Missouri Valley will compete in a dual before the high school finals.

Brown said the tournament could be a preview of the state tournament in Austin in Febuary.

Frisco Centennial also will compete in the tournament. Junior Christina Wall said the Texas Ladies Classic was her first major tournament last year, and she finished sixth in her weight class. The tournament helped her later in the season. Wall is 10-2 and undefeated in her weight class of 128.

"I know there will be good competition," Wall said. "When you wrestle different people, you can get better because you learn from your mistakes."

Another aspect of the tournament is to bring attention to the sport for girls, Brown said.

Centennial coach Mike Eaton agreed competitive tournaments can bring credibility, but it also important for the girls to be promoters of the sport.

"Our goal is you want to be known as an athlete or a wrestler, and not that she's good for a girl," Eaton said.

Wrestlers such as Centennial's Kirsten Gunia agree. Gunia is 11-3 at 110 pounds and is a sophomore.

"Anyone can be a girl wrestler," Gunia said. "It doesn't make her good or bad, but if you're good you can earn more respect."

E-mail mowalker@dallasnews.com

TEXAS LADIES CLASSIC

What: High school girls wrestling tournament with 180-200 competitors

Where: Frisco High School

Admission: $5 adults, $4 children