Valley junior Brooke Bogren (top), the 2004 College Nationals champion, is ranked fifth among North American women at 59 kilograms.
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Wrestling Classic prepares to storm Redmond
Published: January 6, 2005
By Kurt Holland
The Bulletin
One of the world's largest amateur wrestling events takes over the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center this weekend.
The Oregon Wrestling Classic, now in its 22nd year, will bring together high school, collegiate, youth and female competitors under one roof for two days of nonstop action.
The tournament opens Friday with high-school dual meets beginning at 8 a.m. Friday's schedule continues late into the night. Competition resumes Saturday at 9 a.m. and again continues into the evening.
"If they want to see exciting wrestling, they'll see wrestling for the future in our youth divisions, our best high school teams, some outstanding collegiate competition, and more," said Cleve Thompson, tournament director. "This is the best wrestling in the state of Oregon; it is a tremendous event."
This marks the fourth consecutive year in which the Oregon Wrestling Classic has been staged in Central Oregon after calling Portland and Corvallis home for its first 18 years. Thompson said the tournament has enjoyed an unparalleled level of support since relocating to Redmond.
"The Deschutes County Fair and Redmond is great because it (the Expo Center arena) will accommodate more mats than any other facility and allows us to have the number of matches and divisions that we do," said Thompson. "And the level of support we have from a number of volunteers all around Central Oregon to make this event happen is amazing."
The Oregon Wrestling Classic is billed by organizers as one of the world's largest amateur wrestling events in terms of number of participants.
Thompson estimates that more than 2,000 competitors and hundreds of volunteers will take part in the two-day event.
"Kids in Oregon talk about the Oregon Classic, and they want to wrestle in it as a kid, as a high school student, and possibly as a collegian," said Thompson.
High-school teams will compete in a bracketed dual-meet tournament both Friday and Saturday. The Class 4A division, consisting of 32 schools, includes Central Oregon entrants Bend, Crook County, Mountain View and Redmond. La Pine, Madras and Sisters are part of the 24-school 3A division, and Culver is among the 16 schools entered in the 2A-1A division.
"It's an opportunity for people to gauge the level of competition they are going to see at the state tournament," said Thompson. "Every team that comes is going to get to wrestle at least four matches against the best in the state."
An eight-team collegiate dual tournament is scheduled throughout the day Friday and will include teams from Oregon, Oregon State, Portland State, Southern Oregon (ranked No. 8 in the national NAIA poll), Pacific of Forest Grove, South Dakota State, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo of California, and Augsburg of Minnesota (ranked No. 1 in multiple NCAA Division III polls).
On Saturday's schedule are the kids' youth tournament and a women's age-group tournament.
Admission to the Oregon Wrestling Classic is $10 for adults and $5 for students, with children age 5 and under admitted free. Tickets are good for the entire day and available only at the door.
The Oregon Wrestling Classic is a nonprofit organization. Proceeds from admission sales benefit a variety of amateur wrestling programs in Oregon.
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Girls bring home gold and silver from tourney
By Brian D. Wilson
Sports: January 05, 2005
Three girls from the Santa Paula High wrestling team brought home medals over the holidays. They took part in the Diamond Bar Classic girls’ tournament.
Megan Richardson led the charge, taking the gold with four pins, all in the first period.
Diana Morris took the silver with a 2-2 record. Her two wins came from pins. Marilee Rust almost competed for Santa Paula, but didn’t place after being pinned twice.
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Terra Nova Lady Tigers continue good performance on the mat
1/6/05
Though school was out, the Terra Nova Lady Tiger wrestling team had no break. Participating in four tournaments during the winter break, the Lady Tigers continued their good performance on the mat.
Wrestling on their home mat the Lady Tigers finished tied for first in the Peninsula Invitational Tournament held at Terra Nova High School on Dec. 17. Lisa Szczepaniak (126) and Ivy Bier (132) each took top honors in their weight class. Marina Piccolotti (138) placed second and Holly Brewer (144) took third. Jenny Watt (126) , Jaime Marchetti (98), Rebecca Kaplan (126), Tiffany McMartin (114), Bridget Garcia and Lanie Skaggs (114) all added points to help the team win their own tournament.
Terra Nova lady Tiger wrestlers grapple on
Fresh from their victory on Friday, the Lady Tigers participated in the Castro Valley High School Girls Wrestling Classic on Saturday, Dec. 18. The team finished fourth. Lisa Szczepaniak and Ivy Bier each placed first in their weight class. Holly Brewer took third, Jaime Marchetti placed fourth and Marina Piccolotti finished fifth. Ivy Bier was named the Outstanding Wrestler in the middle weight classes.
After participating in a JV tournament at Terra Linda on Dec. 22, the Lady Tigers drove to Hamilton City to wrestle in the 2004 Holiday Classic Women's Wrestling Tournament on Dec. 23. Marina Piccolotti (138), Ivy Bier (132) and Lisa Szczepaniak (126) each placed first as the Tigers won the event. Jaime Marchetti and Lanie Skaggs each placed second. Ivy Bier was named Outstanding Wrestler for the second tournament in a row.
In their last tournament of the break, the Lady Tigers drove to Stockton to participate in the Franklin Girls Wrestling Tournament at Franklin High School. Lisa Szczepaniak finished first in the 126 pound division. Ivy Bier (132) took second. Marina Picolotti (144) and Rebecca Kaplan (126) each finished third. Jamie Marchetti (98) took fourth place. The Lady Tigers finished fourth overall.
- Thanks to Izzy Szczepaniak for this report
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Lady Vikings ranked fourth in pre-season poll
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
By Chris Allen/Sports Editor
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Valley junior Brooke Bogren (top), the 2004 College Nationals champion, is ranked fifth among North American women at 59 kilograms. |
The Missouri Valley College women's wrestling team will begin the 2005 season where it ended the previous one in TheMat.com's North American College rankings: Fourth.
Considering the changes in personnel between March and November, when the pre-season poll was released, the Lady Vikings were probably glad to be that high -- trailing Simon Fraser (B.C.), Cumberland (Ky.) and Calgary (Alb.). Four of Valley's seven rated grapplers are no longer with the program -- Kiersten Hyatt and Mollie Kieth having graduated and Debbie Sakai and Brandy Golt moving on.
Among those returning, sophomore Stephany Lee of Honolulu, Hawaii, is the most heralded. Lee is ranked second to Cumberland senior Toccara Montgomery, a U.S. Olympic team member, in the 72 kilogram class after being No. 1 at 80 Kg in the spring poll. Lee won the PanAmerican Games and University National titles last year.
Also back in the rankings are juniors Brooke Bogren of Burlingame, Kan., and Kelly Branham of Apache Junction, Ariz. Bogren, a three-time all-American, is fifth at 59 Kg -- down from third. Branham, No. 8 at 67 Kg, like Bogren won the College Nationals in Marshall last March.
A major addition to the Lady Vikings' roster is junior Tabithia Ramsey of Elgin, Texas. She transfers from Minnesota-Morris, which dropped the program which it pioneered as the first U.S. college to offer women's wrestling. Ramsey, No. 6 at 51 Kg, is a veteran of the PanAm Games, University World Championships and other international competition. She was second in the University and U.S. Girls' Wrestling Association Nationals a year ago.
The latest U.S. Senior Women's rankings, which also came out in November, is heavily populated with current and former Valley wrestlers. Ramsey is eighth and sophomore Maika Watanabe of Napa, Calif., 10th at 51 Kg, Bogren is seventh at 59 Kg, Branham holds down No. 5 at 67 Kg and Lee comes in third at 72 Kg.
Among the 10 ex-Vikings in the poll are Clarissa Chun -- No. 2 behind Olympian Patricia Miranda at 48 Kg -- Grace Magnussen and Donell Bradley, all part of MVC's inaugural team in 2000.
There are 19 freshmen on Valley's pre-season roster, 10 from Texas. Returning lettermen include sophomores Clarissa Calibuso, Erika Chew, Sandy Do and Julie Duarte.
The Lady Vikings will kick off the campaign with the Purple and Orange Scrimmage on Jan. 15, followed by the NWCA National Duals at Cleveland on Jan. 23. An interesting addition to the schedule will be the Missouri Valley College Showcase on April 1-3, which will feature both college-level and youth wrestlers -- seven age groups ranging from the 18- to 24-year-olds in the University division to 7- and 8-year-olds in the bantam class