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Telegraph Staff Reports2/17/05

The New Mexico Women's Scholastic Style Wrestling State Championships will be held at Albuquerque High School on Sunday.
The meet will have four female age divisions: kindergarten-5th grade, 6th-8th, 9th-12th and open.
Weigh-in is at 8 a.m. Competition and a clinic start at 10 a.m.
USA Wrestling cardholders compete and can attend the clinic for free.
For those without a card, the fee is $50. The cost includes the card.
For info, e-mail Rusty Davidson at rustyd@7cities.net.

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WOMEN'S WRESTLING:Japan's pin-down girls begin road to Beijing

(IHT/Asahi: February 17,2005)

The Japan women's wrestling team began its six-day training camp Wednesday with the goal of bettering its impressive medal haul from Athens last summer.

Japan won two golds, one silver and a bronze in Athens, and under new head coach Kazuhito Sakae, expects to do even better in Beijing in 2008.

``Our goal for the next Olympics is to clinch three gold medals at least,'' Sakae said after Wednesday's training session. ``I hope Japan will be regarded as the No. 1 nation in the world when it comes to women's wrestling.

``Our objective at this training camp is to adjust to revised rules, which started this year.''

World governing body FILA has adopted a new rule that requires grapplers to fight more aggressively, including switching to a three two-minute period format from the old two three-minute period.

Before training Wednesday, two assistant coaches explained the new rules and reported their observations of a recent European competition that ran under the new rules.

About 30 wrestlers attended camp Wednesday, including 63-kilogram class gold medalist Kaori Icho, who said she is a bit worried about the new rules, but is still confident.

``I'm going to study how to cope with the new rules from now on,'' Icho said. ``I have shown that I am a strong grappler, and I will continue to be strong under the new rules.''

Her older sister, Chiharu, the Athens silver medalist in the 48kg class, said she has no problem with the new rules.

``It's a disadvantage for the slow starters,'' Chiharu said. ``But it will be an advantage to me.''

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Tekamah girl hopes state meet only a start

BY MARJIE DUCEY 2/17/05
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Lisa Maslowsky doesn't enjoy leaving the boys in tears.

"I don't really want them to cry because they lost to a girl," she said. "I just want to be another wrestler."

But the Tekamah-Herman freshman isn't just another 103-pounder in a singlet. She's only the second girl to qualify for the state wrestling tournament. Malcolm's Elaine Blessen qualified in Class D in 2001.

Maslowsky (18-15) earned her shot last weekend in the C-2 district tournament at Oakland-Craig, pinning Neligh-Oakdale's Andy Kallhoff in the third-place match. That's when she shed a few tears of her own.

"I knew if I just wrestled tough I would win," she said. "I just had that determination throughout the whole match, and I ended up winning."

Although just a freshman, Maslowsky isn't a novice. She and her twin sister Chelsea, a 112-pounder, have been wrestling since kindergarten. They competed in the kids program in Tekamah and at a girls national tournament the past three years.

Credit older brothers Justin, 25, and Ian, 23, for getting the girls started. Both were state qualifiers for Bennington.

"We always went to our brothers' tournaments," Lisa said. "We were always trying to imitate the moves we saw during the breaks."

Tigers Coach Brent Abrams said both girls are tough, aggressive wrestlers, although Chelsea has been bothered by a hamstring injury and didn't qualify for state.

"Lisa is a tenacious wrestler," he said. "She keeps going, going and going. She works hard in practice. The team doesn't have any problem wrestling with her. They've kind of grown up together."

Abrams said Lisa's success hasn't surprised him because she's quick, knows a lot of moves and is all business on the mat. He said she's had few problems because she's a girl. The only concession is separate weigh-ins.

"She started a little slow, but she's wrestling real well right now," he said. "The crowd is really behind her, I think. Actually, when she wins a match, the crowd - not just our fans, the whole crowd - cheers."

Abrams said there was lots of excitement when Maslowsky qualified for state, along with returning state champion Brandon Gaines, a senior wrestling at 125 who won state at 119 last year. But Lisa, while admitting she's a little nervous, said that's just the start.

She loves the sport so much that she'd like to wrestle in college, if she can find a school that has a women's program.

"Some people don't realize how hard it is to wrestle and how much work you have to put at it to actually do good at it," she said. "I just like to give it my all."

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Eight bound for state

Tuesday, February 15, 2005 5:03 PM CST

Tiger freshman Lisa Maslowsky closes in on the pin that gave her the third place medal at Saturday's district wrestling tournament. Maslowsky is among eight wrestlers representing Tekamah-Herman at this weekend's state tournament.

He thinks they have a chance.

Tekamah-Herman wrestling coach Brent Abrams thinks his team can be in the thick of the team race at this weekend's Class C state tournament. The Tigers took a hard road to qualify eight wrestlers while taking runner-up honors during the District 2 meet at Oakland-Craig Feb. 11-12. The Tigers put five wrestlers in the finals, won three weight class titles, and saw three more qualify from the consolation rounds.

"We competed hard, that's what I like," Abrams said, "We had a lot of four and five seeds so we had to wrestle hard just to get into position to qualify that many."

Abrams said his team's march to the state meet started a couple of weeks ago at he East Husker Conference dual tournament.

"They were challenged at the dual tournament and the conference tournament to show people they deserve more respect," he said. "They've grown up a lot this season, they're a great group of kids."

Ord leads all schools at the state tournament, held Feb. 17-19 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, with 10 qualifiers. District champion Norfolk Catholic and East Husker Conference rival North Bend each qualified nine wrestlers for the state meet. David City Aquinas and Syracuse match the Tigers with eight entries. Abrams thinks competition for the state title could be wide open between seven or eight schools.

"When it gets spread out like that, it doesn't take as many points to win," he said. "You have to have some people make it to the finals, we have people capable of making it."

High on that list is 125-pounder Brandon Gaines. The senior, ranked first in the state in his weight class, became the school's all-time leader in career wins while earning a district title. With four wins at the district meet, Gaines moved his career mark unofficially to 137 wins, smashing Brady Ray's mark of 131 set in 1994.

Gaines pinned his way to the gold medal, taking out his nemesis from Oakland-Craig, Matt Jacobsen, in 3:45 during their championship bout. Gaines' record stands at 34-2 heading into the state meet.

Gaines, the Class C gold medalist at 119 pounds last year, begins his quest for a fourth state medal against Hershey's Andrew Younghans. The sophomore sports a 23-15 mark. Gaines' semifinal opponent could be Ord's Devon Kastler, ranked number-two and a two-time state medalist. Jacobsen, ranked third, and fourth-ranked Austin Carlson of Sutton are in the bottom of the bracket.

The Tigers also got weight class titles from Dustin Franklin at 130 pounds and Tyler Maxwell at 145.

Franklin posted two falls on the way to his district crown. The second came at the 3:47 mark in the finals against Stanton's Matt McCart, a three-time state medalist.

Franklin is rated third at 130 pounds and won the bronze medal at 112 last year in Oakland-Craig livery.

The sophomore will meet Raymond Central's Steve Kaiser, 22-8, in the first round and could meet top-ranked Sylas Stender of Fort Calhoun in the semis. McCart joins Atkinson West Holt's Patrick Lampkin and Peter Schmidt of Lincoln Christian in the other half of the bracket.

Maxwell racked up three falls in four matches while coming from the fifth seed to win the 145-lb. class. He stopped top-seeded Austin Hergott with a 9-4 decision in the semifinals before pinning Wisner-Pilger's Tyler Jensen in 4:46 for the gold medal.

Making his first state tourney trip, Maxwell draws Ord's Patrick Yrkoski, 23-14, in the first round and could meet Aquinas' Ross Janak in the semis. Like Hergott, Janak defeated Maxwell earlier this year. North Bend's Wade Granger, 30-0, dominates the opposite side of the 145-lb. bracket.

Juniors Tommy Sluyter and Tyler McCormick will be making return trips to the state meet, this time as district runners-up. Sluyter was overpowered, Abrams said, in the 152-lb. district final by Creighton's Jeff Waldow, ranked fourth in the state. Sluyter won his way into the district final with two pins and an exciting 8-7 decision over Norfolk Catholic's Landon Hergott in the semifinals. Sluyter scored four points in the last minute of the match to claim the win.

Sluyter brings a 32-6 mark to his first round match against North Bend's Daniel Ehrich. Also in his half of the bracket are top-ranked Jared Meister of Aquinas, last year's 140-lb. champ and third-ranked Drew Sorenson of Kearney Catholic. Hemmingford's Ryan Schledewitz, a two-time state medalist preoccupies the other half of the bracket.

McCormick breezed into the district final, scoring three pins along the way, including a first-period fall over O-C's fifth-ranked Owen Schernikau. In the final, Stanton's Brett Nickolite took advantage of his strength, Abrams said, to post a 16-7 decision.

McCormick, ranked second in the state, brings a 28-7 mark into his first round match against Ord's Joshua Anders, 23-14.

The top-ranked man at 189, Bennington's Jake Smith, awaits in the semifinals. Nickolite is the highest ranked wrestler in the other half of the draw.

The Tigers also received valuable consolation help from seniors Ray Graef and Michael Braniff and freshman Lisa Maslowsky.

Maslowsky is believed to be only the third girl ever to qualify for the state tournament in any class. After taking a defeat in her first district match, Maslowsky roared back through the elimination bracket with three straight wins, including two by pin.

She guaranteed herself a spot in the state bracket with a convincing 12-6 win over Creighton's Jake McManigal, ranked fifth in the state, in the consolation semifinals. A pin at the end of the second period over Neligh-Oakdale's Andy Kalhoff won her the bronze medal.

Maslowsky, 18-15, opens the state tourney against Madison's Colby Freudenburg, ranked third with a 24-4 mark. Top-ranked Andy Pokorny of Bennington also is in her half of the bracket. Despite her difficult draw, Abrams thinks Maslowsky can score valuable team points. "She has a tough start, but I think she can compete."

Braniff also bounced back from a first round loss to West Point Central Catholic's Luke Strehle to defeat Strehle decisively for the bronze medal with an 18-6 major decision. Braniff's 8-4 win over fifth-ranked Tony Hasenpflug of Creighton guaranteed Braniff his third state appearance.

At 25-9, Braniff will face third-ranked Anthony Luongo of Thayer Central, 27-4, in Thursday's first round. Also in his half of the draw are sixth-ranked Dane Coble of Ord, fourth-ranked Anthony Hruska of David City and North Bend's Joel Brush.

Top-ranked Andrew Daro, of Aquinas, and second-ranked Weston Frahm, of Plainview, dominate the other half of the bracket.

The Tigers's eighth qualifier is senior 140-pounder Ray Graef. Still hampered by an injured elbow, Graef came back from a major decision loss in the semifinals to win fourth place, guaranteeing his spot with a 14-8 win over Randolph's Kenny Schumacher in a win-or-stay-home match.

Graef, 15-12, gets 27-6 Matt Mueller, of Malcolm in the first round. Top-ranked Joey Koch of Thayer Central and second-ranked Andrew Beck, of Minden are in the other half of the bracket.

Abrams said it will be hard for his team to match the intensity shown at the district tournament when state bouts starts Thursday.

"It's hard to wrestle well two weekends in a row," he said. "But since the state schedule is so spread out, that should help us."

First round and quarterfinal matches will be wrestled Thursday, starting at 4:30 p.m. First and second round consolation matches start at noon Friday. Championship semifinals and third round consolations matches start at 6 p.m. Friday night.

Consolation semifinals and third- and fifth-place start at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. The championship finals start at 2 p.m. Saturday and will be broadcast live over the Nebraska Educational Television Network, Channel 12 in Tekamah.

Class C District 2 Tournament

Team Results-Qualifiers

1. Norfolk Catholic, 195-9; 2. Tekamah-Herman, 166-8; 3. Creighton, 160-6; 4. Plainview, 153.5-6; 5. Stanton, 116.5-4; 6. Neligh-Oakdale, 107.5-7; 7. West Point, 70-3; 8. West Point Central Catholic, 69-3; 9. Randolph, 67-2; 10. Wisner-Pilger, 51-2; 11. Oakland-Craig, 38-1; 12. Battle Creek, 35-1; 13. Crofton, 27-2; 14. Lutheran High Northeast, 26-2; 15. Wakefield, 22-0; 16. Hartington Cedar Catholic, 7-0.

Individual Results

103-Lisa Maslowsky, first round bye; pinned by Robinson (Ran), :47; consolation bye; pinned Steffen (HCC), 5:50; decisioned McManigal (Cre), 12-6; pinned Kallhoff (N-O), 2:59; placed third.

112-Chelsea Maslowsky, first round bye; pinned by Battershaw (NC), :33; consolation bye; pinned by Henderson (Wak), 4:05; did not place.

119-Brandon Hunter, pinned by Pudenz (Plv), :39; consolation bye; pinned by Droescher (O-C), 1:30; did not place.

125-Brandon Gaines, first round bye; pinned Krause (Plv), 1:40; pinned Conn (Cro), 3:12; pinned Jacobsen (O-C), 3:45; placed first.

130-Dustin Franklin, first round bye; pinned Yosten (WPCC), 3:11; decisioned Green (Cre), 6-3; pinned McCart (Sta), 3:47; placed first.

135-Matt Hansen, first round bye; decisioned by Ridder (NC), 8-6; pinned Boardley (O-C), 4:05; pinned by Jensen (Plv), 1:46; did not place.

140-Ray Graef, pinned Ritter (WPCC), 2:52; pinned Hansen (Sta), :48; lost major decision to McManigal (Cre), 14-4; decisioned Schumacher (Ran), 14-8; decisioned by Hansen (Sta), 4-2 OT; placed fourth.

145-Tyler Maxwell, pinned Guenther (WPCC), :35; pinned Wragge (Plv), 2:55; decisioned A. Hergott (NC), 9-4; pinned Jensen (W-P), 4:46; placed first.

152-Tommy Sluyter, pinned B. Nicholson (Wak), 1:26; pinned Kerber (BC), 3:20; decisioned L. Hergott (NC), 8-7; pinned by Waldow (Cre), 4:38; placed second.

160-Michael Braniff, first round bye; decisioned by Strehle (WPCC), 8-5; pinned Driskell (Wak), 4:00; pinned Reiner (WP), :58; decisioned Hasenpflug (Cre), 8-4; won major decision over Strehle (WPCC), 18-6; placed third.

171-Joey Johnson, first round bye; decisioned by Steinkraus (Plv), 9-5; pinned C. Nicholson (Wak), 2:40; decisioned by Molacek (Sta), 8-6; did not place.

189-Tyler McCormick, pinned Dump (HCC), :42; pinned Sunderman (LHN), 3:58; pinned Schernikau (O-C), 1:30; lost major decision to Nickolite (Sta), 16-7; placed second.

215-Open.

275-Open.

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Tekamah-Herman girl falls short

BY DARYL BLUE 2/18/05
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

LINCOLN - Lisa Maslowsky's attempt to stamp her name in Nebraska high school wrestling history suffered a first-round setback Thursday at the Devaney Center

Tekamah-Herman's Maslowsky, a freshman and the second girl ever to qualify for the state wrestling tournament, lost 7-1 in the 103-pound weight class to sophomore Colby Freudenburg of Madison.

Freudenburg, ranked No. 3 in Class C, pinned Maslowksy in a match midway through the regular season. The second time around was a bit tougher.

"He took her arm away and held her down more than he wrestled with her," Tekamah-Herman Coach Brent Abrams said. "There was a lot of pressure on him, too. He did what he needed to do to win."

Freudenburg wasn't about to look past Maslowsky.

"I knew it wasn't going to be easy," Freudenburg said. "I wrestled her before and she's really scrappy and flexible. I had to stay focused and ready because she's a good wrestler."

Freudenburg (25-4) garnered more attention than usual for winning a first-round match and much more than his mid-season win over Maslowsky.

"Being a girl, it's probably really, really hard for her with all those cameras and all the attention she is getting," Freudenburg said. "I think she handled it pretty well."

Abrams shielded Maslowsky from members of the press so that she could concentrate on her first-round match without interruptions. No interviews were granted following her first-round loss.

"It's a lot of pressure on her, but we knew what was coming," Abrams said of the attention. "There were interviews and pictures before we came down here and it's all a little overwhelming for a freshman. We decided she wouldn't talk with the press today."

Maslowsky will grant interviews following her consolation match this morning against Gibbon sophomore Brandon Kautz. Kautz (16-6) lost to Kody Rich of Syracuse to set up the match against Maslowsky.

Abrams said Maslowsky isn't just looking to win a match at state.

"She's looking to medal down here and we think she can win some matches coming on through the consolation rounds," Abrams said. "She has medalled against some pretty good competition this season and she'll go after it."

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Girl Wins State Wrestling Match
Lisa Maslowski Wrestling At State Meet

POSTED: 5:37 pm CST February 18, 2005

LINCOLN, Neb. -- For the first time, a girl got a win at the Nebraska State Wrestling Tournament.

It advanced Tekamah-Herman's Lisa Maslowski to a consolation bracket Friday.

"It meant a lot," Maslowski said. "I've been working real hard and to come down here to get a win at state -- it felt pretty good."

Maslowski had 18 wins and 15 losses coming into the state meet. One win came over her twin sister, Chelsea.

Girls are no longer just watching from the stands. Last year, there were 30 girls on wrestling teams across the state.

"What made a huge push the last couple of years is when women started participating in the Olympics in wrestling," said coach Bob Colgate.

It's good news for a sport in a bit of a bind. Fewer and fewer boys are hitting the mats, which also hurts the chances of someday seeing an all-girls state wrestling tournament.

"It might be tough for schools if they are finding a wrestling team right now from boys to be able to have enough girls needed with that," Colgate said.

That's not something some girls want to hear.

"I would go out for it if it was more common in my school," said Kelsy Matthes. "But, it's not and I don't have enough guts to do it as the only girl out for wrestling."

For Lisa Maslowski, that's no big deal.

"I'll just have to keep wrestling the guys," she said.

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State championships preview

2/17/05

Wrestling

Class 3A

Defending champion: Sedro-Woolley

Team favorites: Sedro-Woolley, East Valley (Spokane), Kelso, White River.

Returning two-time champion: Brandon Sitch, Kelso, Jr., 145 (1st at 135 in 2004, 1st at 119 in 2003).

Other returning champions: Nathan Decker, Sedro-Woolley, Sr., 130 (1st at 119 in 2004, 2nd at 103 in 2003); Patrick O'Neil, Sedro-Woolley, Jr., 135 (1st at 130 in 2004); Jake Friedman, Peninsula, Sr., 160 (1st at 152 in 2004, 7th at 130 in 2002).

The scoop: With a 3A-best 13 wrestlers qualifying, Sedro-Woolley looks primed to make a run for its fourth consecutive championship. ... Kelso's chances are hurt by the absence of two state champs not with the team. ... Newport 130-pounder Leilani Akiyama, who in 2003 became only the third girl to qualify for state and was the lone female participant in 2004, failed to advance to state for her senior season. The girls invitational from all classifications features 118 wrestlers, and Akiyama did not enter that competition.

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Sports

wiscassetnewspaper.maine.com 2/17/05

Wiscasset 103 lb. wrestler, Kristi Pearse, became the first female Wiscasset wrestler to place at the state wrestling meet, and one of a small elite group of female wrestlers statewide to place wrestling against males.
Kristi placed third by pinning: Jeremy Sawtelle of Foxcroft, Aaron Gagnon of Penobscot Valley and Jeff Cossar of Lisbon. Her one loss was to Jeremia Barkac of Dexter by pin. Kristi finished her season with a record of 24 wins and 13 losses (including exhibition matches), 7 by pin.

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2 girls win by pins
Onondaga's Cummings and B'ville's Caloia put away their male opponents.

Thursday, February 10, 2005
By Neil Kerr Staff writer

Seizing control early in the match against visiting Solvay/Westhill, Onondaga eighth-grade wrestler Anna Cummings helped the Tigers to a 40-30 non-league win Wednesday night by pinning her 103-pound opponent, Bearcats sophomore Mike Savastano, at 1 minute, 24 seconds of the first period.

Cummings caught her Solvay foe in a headlock early in the bout and eventually earned the six-point win.

Cummings, younger sister of former Section 3 champion Don Cummings, improved her varsity record to 13-18. She is expected to compete at 103 pounds in the Onondaga League Patriot Division tournament at Phoenix on Saturday.

"Anna's win was big, but we also got some key wins from Jim Barry at 125, Rob Cormier at 140, Andrew Abbott at 171 and Holden Fenner at 189," Tigers coach Victor Zampetti said.

It was the final dual match of the season for the Tigers (6-13). Solvay/Westhill is 8-12.

Cummings wasn't the only 15-year-old girl in the OHSL to win by a pin Wednesday. In a Colonial Division match, Baldwinsville freshman 103-pounder Amanda Caloia posted a second-period pin, at 2:27 of the match, over West Genesee's Tim Bright. Despite Caloia's victory, the Bees dropped a 36-28 decision to the underdog Wildcats. Key wins for the 'Cats were by Matt Cosgrove at 125 pounds, Ed Schoeneck at 140, Joe Morabito at 160, Adam Fredericks at 189 and No. 1-ranked heavyweight Jason Mowers.