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Athlete of the Week: A champ among champs

By Ken Hart, Times-Herald sports editor 1/25/05

Elizabeth Bustamante School: Vallejo Year: Junior Sport:Wrestling Achievements:Won 116-pound class of the Northeast Regional

Elizabeth Bustamante wasn't exactly pleased with her wrestling coach on Monday.
The Vallejo High junior has had to deal with pain in both of her shoulders as the girls wrestling season comes to a close. So as a precaution, Apache coach Mike Minahen pulled her out while she was wrestling in Monday's practice session.

"I didn't want to get out just because I was hurt. We all try to wrestle through all of our ouchies and boo boos," Bustamante said.

But she eventually accepted Minahen's orders to rest her sore shoulders. After all, there is the state meet coming up.

Bustamante qualified for California Girls State Championships by dominating her 116-pound weight class at the Northeast Regional last Saturday at Hogan, winning all three of her matches by pin.

She first defeated Megan Smith. Bustamante's pin of Smith just 28 seconds into the match surprised even her.

"I heard the whistle blow and (the match's official) told us to take off our ankle bands and shake hands. And I was like, Excuse me?' " she recalled. "I was really shocked."

After pinning Elissa Hutton in just over a minute in her second match, Bustamante pinned Carrie Hovda in the third round to win the tournament. After she was in danger of being by Hovda herself, Bustamante was able to recover and reverse her fortune.

"I got caught in a move, but I felt that she wasn't able to hold it on me," she said. "It was a risk, but I broke her lock from there."

Now it's on to the state meet, which will take place Friday and Saturday at Vallejo High.

Minahen was not surprised to see Bustamante do so well in the regional meet - or get annoyed over being pulled out of practice.

"She's really tough," Minahen said. "I'm pleased with our whole girls program in that they're very tough. They're good at working really hard and she's a perfect example."

All this from a wrestler who's only competed for the last two years and admitted that at first her head wasn't into the sport as much as it was last year. But with the encouragement of Minahen, she has decided that pursuing a state title is worth the amount of time it takes to dedicate herself to the mat.

"He kept telling me how talented I am and I could go far in wrestling. That really encouraged me," she said. "It's still time consuming. It's just that I really want to do it now. I'm back into it."

Other nominees:

Maria Angara, Vallejo girls wrestling Went 3-0 to win the 105-pound class of the Northeast Regional.

Marissa Gonzales, Hogan girls wrestling Went 3-0 to win the 110-pound class of the Northeast Regional.

Lauren Knight, Vallejo girls wrestling Went 3-0 to win the 140-pound class of the Northeast Regional.

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Spartan wrestling team goes co-ed

Laurel following trend of adding girls to wrestling rosters 12/02/04
By Denny Carter

Cristina Myers was never afraid to play with the boys. That's why her friends and family weren't surprised this fall when the Laurel High senior revealed her interest in wrestling for the Spartans this winter.

"I feel like I can do whatever the boys can do," said Myers, who has four years of experience in judo, a martial art. "Boys say that girls can't play anything good, so I can prove them wrong."

At 103 pounds, Myers will wrestle in one of the Spartans' lightest weight classes.

When Myers approached Laurel wrestling coach Al Feldblum about a vacancy on the team, he asked who she had in mind. "It's me," Cristina replied.

Girl's and women's wrestling has found a niche in the last decade, sprouting varsity teams and leagues across several states. In the 2003-04 school year, 33 girls participated in wrestling programs at Maryland public high schools, and in Hawaii, more than 40 high schools fielded all-girl teams. Last summer women's wrestling was included in the Olympic games in Athens. The United States had one of the strongest teams, and American Sara McMann won a silver medal for the U.S. squad.

Myers isn't the first female wrestler Feldblum has had on the team. Feldblum coached a female Spartan wrestler as recently as the 2001-02 school year.

In the team's first meeting this fall, Feldblum says he told Myers "what I've told every girl that steps into my wrestling room. I told her that she's not a girl anymore, she's a wrestler," he said. "Just like the boys are not boys, they're wrestlers."

"Until the season starts, she's just another wrestler," Feldblum said.

Pallotti wrestling coach Tom Owens sees girls participating in varsity wrestling as just a small piece of the overall varsity wrestling program, which requires hard work and year-round conditioning from all its participants. Last year, one of Pallotti's wrestling team managers, a girl, wrestled in a match with a female wrestler from Baltimore Friends.

"A girl wrestling one match is such a small part of how hard these kids work," Owens said this year.

Although female wrestlers have had limited success at Laurel, Feldblum sees a potential recipe for Myers' success this season. "If she wrestles at 103 (pounds) this year, she'll be wrestling ninth-graders" he said. "Some of the compromising moves might make those kids feel uncomfortable. I know I wouldn't want to be in that position at that age."

Myers takes pride in her unique position on the team, which won last year's Prince George's County tournament, but remains cautious of being stereotyped.

"People tend to think girls in a sport like wrestling are usually tomboys," said Myers, who has a softer edge shown by her interest in fashion and music.

"The people that don't really know me say they can't see me in wrestling," said Myers, "but the friends I grew up with know it's just Cristina being Cristina."

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She's all heart

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

By DARREN COOPER
STAFF WRITER

WANAQUE - Hidden under a black spandex hood may be the face of
wrestling's future.

Swathed in leggings and a red-and-white singlet, Lakeland freshman
Louise Marlow ties up with Ryan Meehan of West Milford. She squirms, she
hustles, she tries moves. She loses, 9-1.

Meehan's hand is raised and he's happy. It's his first varsity win.
Marlow is upset and finds solace near her mother.

Marlow is not used to defeat. Her 6-5 record at 103 pounds includes two
forfeit victories and a third-place finish at the Lakeland tournament
where she had a pin. She is part of a new breed of female wrestler that is
better prepared and better skilled, and determined to no longer be a novelty.

"She goes just as hard as or harder than anyone else I have, that's the
most impressive thing about her," said Lakeland coach Craig Spencer, who
uses the word competitor repeatedly to describe Marlow. "She is losing matches
just like other kids lose matches, because [her opponents] are stronger and
faster."

Marlow, 14, shy and polite, got into wrestling when she was 7. Her
mother thought it would be something she would try, fail at and move on.

But a strange thing happened.

"When I first started wrestling, I started winning," said Marlow. "So I
kept going. That's why I stayed with it. My mom thought I was going to stop
at a certain date, but I kept winning so I kept going."

"We took her to her first tournament, I still remember, we were in
Oakland, and she was first," said Louise's mother, Sheila. "From then on she was
placing in every tournament I took her to."

Along the way, the family encountered some prejudice. At a state
tournament, while boys were able to walk in the competitors' entrance without
hesitation, officials asked to see Louise's credentials before letting
her in.

"People have said negative things. We just kind of laugh it off," said
Sheila. "She says she feels more accepted by the high school than she
did in the rec program."

"Not the boys on our team, but people from other towns used to make fun
of me," said Louise. "They would say why are you on a boys team and you
should be in a tutu, not that [a singlet]."

Wrestling has a culture of discipline where pain and sacrifice is
expected and practically honored. It also is primarily a culture of males.
Female wrestlers test coaches' and fellow wrestlers' allegiances. Are they
loyal to the macho side or respectful of the dedication everyone in the sport
makes?

"It's different," said Spencer, noting Marlow is the first girl he has
had on varsity in 30 years of coaching. "But I still coach the same way I
coach. If she wants to wrestle, she has to be able to do the physical parts of
it, the wrestling parts of it, the running parts of it. She does everything
everybody else does and I wouldn't expect her not to."

"She works pretty hard," said Lakeland 112-pounder Colton Chalkley, who
often takes Marlow's spot at 103. "It's a little different, but it's
all right. She has gotten better."

The 2003-04 high school athletics participation survey by the National
Federation of High Schools showed that there were 4,008 female high
school wrestlers at 808 schools.

Locally, there are more girls donning singlets and headgear leading to
the subsequent question of whether fielding girls teams could be a reality.

"I don't think this school could field a team if we had girls
wrestling," said Passaic Tech coach John Manning, who has two girls on junior
varsity. "I could be wrong, but I don't think they would be able to."

"I think, personally, we could field a girls team," said Pompton Lakes
coach Scott Mahoney. "I think if they knew they could wrestle other girls, a
lot more girls ould go out for it."

Marlow said she would welcome a girls team, but doesn't mind wrestling
boys because she has been doing it so long.

"My goal for Louise is not for her to wrestle boys, it's for her to
stay competitive," said Sheila. "Through the years this has given her
self-esteem. She just doesn't give in."

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Lady Bear wrestlers head to state

By JUDI BOWERS 1/26/05

It's not an official tournament in the eyes of CIF, but for Kristy Bishop and Ginny Jimenez, it's as official as it comes. The two Big Bear High School wrestlers will be competing for a state title, or at least bragging rights, at a state invitational meet in Valejo Jan. 29 and 30.

Bishop and Jimenez finished third and fifth, respectively, at the Southern California Regional Qualifier to earn an invitation to the state event. The Southern California regionals were held Jan. 22 in West Covina, with three other events held throughout the state.

Bishop at 132 pounds, lost her first match, but continued upward from there with four consecutive pins against opponents from Wilson, Mountain View, Santa Ana and Royal high schools. Against Wilson, Bishop sent her opponent to the corner in under a minute.

Elizabeth Guardado of Santa Ana and Bishop's opponent from Mountain View both took the Big Bear wrestler to the second round before being pinned. Jade Anderson of Royal High School barely had time to realize she was in the match before Bishop had pinned her, recording the win in 32 seconds.
At 103 pounds Jimenez was 3-2 on the day. She opened with a pin in 2 minutes, 34 seconds against Monse Rameriez of South Hills. Jessica Gallippo of Thousand Oaks turned things around, pinning Jimenez in 3:27 in the second match of the day. "She was very good," said Big Bear coach Alicia Jimenez of Gallippo.

Jimenez came back to tie her opponent from Rialto High School, eventually getting the takedown for the win. She pinned her Mt. Miguel opponent in 2:48 but lost to Kaja Cabrera of Pioneer High School in the final round.

Coach Jimenez said the bracketing was done incorrectly with several complaints issued. The organizers used a 24-man bracketing system even if there were only 12 or 13 girls in the weight class. That allowed wrestlers who lost in the first round to advance and still medal, Jimenez said.

The coach said both Bishop and Ginny Jimenez wrestled very tough matches, probably some of the toughest all season. She said girls are brutal when they meet other female wrestlers. Jimenez said because females go up against males for most of the season and are "beaten up by the boys so often" they are more aggressive when they wrestle against girls.

CIF doesn't recognize girls wrestling as a sport on its own, but does allow females to compete on the boys team. As a result, the state meets like the one scheduled for Jan. 29 and 30 are not sanctioned by CIF. It is sanctioned and supported by the California Women's Wrestling Association, Jimenez said.

The top six in each weight class from each region were invited to attend the event. Medals will be awarded six deep at the state event as well. Bishop earned top honors at the regional and state events last season.

Next up will be the United States Girls Wrestling Association national event, which is open to all female wrestlers in the country. It's held in Michigan, and wrestlers do not need to qualify to attend. Bishop also attended the national event last year, finishing in the top 10 after pulling out due to an injury.

In De Anza League, the individual finals remain for Bishop and Jimenez on Feb. 5 at Big Bear High School. The top three in each weight class advance to CIF.

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Experts grapple with students in Sudbury

BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
scott@northernlife.ca 1/26/05

It was the chance of a lifetime for Sudbury wrestlers.

Recently, an assistant coach and top female wrestler with the famed Brock University program visited Sudbury to share their expertise and winning attitude with local grapplers.

Brock’s assistant coach, and alternate for the Canadian men’s Olympic wrestling team, Saeed Azarbayjani and top female wrestler Heather Sweezey, took time out of their hectic schedules to visit Chelmsford Valley District Composite School.

Brock is one of the top universities in Canada for producing elite wrestlers. The school has won eight Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS)
championships, and has produced five Olympic wrestlers, including 2004 silver medallist Tonya Verbeek.

Local wrestlers could hardly believe the experience they were receiving, and soaked up as much knowledge as they could.

“This has helped improve my skills because I am still in high school and these wrestlers are at the university level,” said Cale Predon. “They have
competed at higher level events and it shows me the calibre of wrestlers that are at the university level once I get there, and what I have to aspire to. Every time you go to a camp like this, you leave with one or two more moves and you have better mat prowess.”

Lockerby wrestler Emily Alatalo can hardly wait to try out her new-found knowledge on her opponents.

“I learned how to do a proper leg shot,” said Alatalo. “I learned how to keep it tight to your body and not let go. This experience will definitely help me down the road.”

Even some of Sudbury’s top wrestlers took full advantage of the tremendous mat masters at Chelmsford.

Alyssa Unwin, a 2004 Ontario Federation of School Athletics Association (OFSAA) gold-medal winning wrestler, believes the experience will raise the level of competition in Sudbury.

“This is the third time I have trained with Saeed,” said Unwin. “He will not just show you the move and then run away. He sticks with you until you have it down pat, and then puts you in a situation where you have to use it. He makes sure that you not only know how to use a move, but when to use it. You never stop learning in this sport. With wrestlers like Saeed and Heather, it can only make the wrestlers here better, making us all better in the long run.”

Brock University wrestling clinician Heather Sweezy teachs MacDonald Cartier student Andree Michele Comeau (left) and Chelmsford high school student Alyssa Unwin some moves.

Even the Brock wrestlers were impressed with Sudbury grapplers. Sweezy, who hails from Sault Ste. Marie, was overwhelmed at the number of kids who showed up to polish their mat skills.

“I did a clinic in the Soo at Christmas and we didn’t have this many wrestlers,” said Sweezey. “It’s great, and looks good on Sudbury. Considering there’s no university-wrestling program around, the talent base here is extremely good. We are just here teaching them the refined basics.”

Sweezey, who’s one of the best university wrestlers in Ontario, knows every wrestler needs to have a great desire to compete and win.

“You need heart and training,” said Sweezey. “Technique can only go so far, and if you have the heart, you can go far.”

Azarbayjani couldn’t help but acknowledge the powerful skills Sudbury wrestlers already possess.

“There’s a lot of young kids here, and that’s good to see,” said Azarbayjani. “They are starting young, and that is good. You have to train a lot and sacrifice, but in the end, when you get to a high level, it’s an enjoyable life.”

Even local coaches gained valuable experience from the session.

Lockerby wrestling head coach Geoff Richer was pleased his squad could train with some of the best wrestlers in Canada.

“Up north, we don’t get a lot of experiences like this,” said Richer. “For wrestlers of this calibre to come up here and show our kids what they know is just great and helpful. You can’t beat this kind of teaching.”