News
Heart Lake wrestler earns OFSAA gold
Harold Brathwaite wins its first OFSAA medal
FRANK JUZENAS, Staff Writer 3/9/05
Photo by GEORGE BESHIRI |
Although he was in the lowest weight class at the Ontario Federation of Schools Athletic Association (OFSAA) wrestling championship, Heart Lake Secondary School's Dustin Helwig captured the biggest medal.
The Grade 10 student made some history for his school as he won a gold medal in the 38 kilograms division at Friday's final of the three-day event at the Brampton Centre for Sports and Entertainment. It's the first gold medal for Heart Lake in the provincial wrestling final and coaches Chris Kelman and Scott Smith were delighted with Helwig's performance.
Helwig said he only started wrestling last year because Kelman was his phys ed teacher and he took an interest in the sport. Earlier this year he won a silver at the Ontario cadet championship while with his club Real Amateur Wrestling.
At OFSAA, he made things look easy as none of his bouts went the distance. In the final he went up 10-0 in the first round of his bout over Kevin Chen of Guelph Centennial to win the first gold medal of the tournament.
Kelman is excited about the 15-year old's future.
"He has a few more OFSAA's in him,'' he said.
That turned out to be the only gold medal for Brampton wrestlers but not the only good performance at the event being held in Brampton for the first time since 1999.
Jennifer Beedham of Brampton Centennial took a silver medal in the girls 54 kgs division, losing 3-1 to Amy Fazackerley of Orillia District in the gold medal match. It was an improvement for Beedham who won bronze last year.
"I wrestled well. I did my best and that's all I can ask,'' said Beedham, a graduating student.
Also earning silver was Aristoteles Panzo of Bramalea who lost to Cody Airdrie of Guelph Centennial in the 57.5 kgs. division in a close 6-4 final. Twice Panzo had to take injury time outs because of soreness after the two butted heads but he said after the match he was feeling all right.
A native of Angola, who moved tto Brampton two years ago from Portland Oregon, Panzo was at his second OFSAA, winning bronze last year.
Panzo, who also wrestles for the Matmen Wrestling Club has only lost twice this season in 18 matches. He said his self esteem and fitness level have improved this year.
"I'm small, strong and fast, I'm made for wrestling,'' said Panzo who is hoping to head to the nationals and qualify for the world juniors later this year.
Harold Brathwaite, a school only in its second year of existence, earned its first OFSAA wrestling medal with Gurpreet Multani taking the bronze in boys 44 kgs. division, defeating Cruiz Manning of Newtonbrook 14-8.
That was satisfaction for Blizzard coach Anthony Davis, a former outstanding wrestler at Chinguacousy. As an athlete Davis went to six OFSAA tournaments, winning three silver medals.
"As a coach you have a lot of ups and downs with all your wrestlers,'' said Davis, when asked to compare coaching with competing.
"It's almost more satisfying to get a bronze than a silver because you finish with a win,'' said Davis.
Anthony Fisher of Turner Fenton won a bronze in the 84 kgs boys division with a 6-1 win over Ivan Rodriguez of London St. Thomas Aquinas.
Fisher was fifth last year at OFSAA and was hoping to improve that in his final year of high school.
"I had my heart set on gold but I lost to a good wrestler,'' said Fisher of eventual gold medallist Alex Brown of Woodroffe.
At the Region of Peel Secondary School Athletic Association (ROPSSAA) championship, Fisher took bronze behind Bramalea's Wes Jones. At OFSAA, Fisher defeated Jones, an OFSAA silver medallist last year.
Jones wound up fifth when his opponent for the fifth-place bout, Josh Madeley of Bethune, pulled out because of injury.
The chair of the OFSAA wrestling committee Cheyenne Ashukian of Turner Fenton was pleased with the event. Final figures showed 768 wrestlers were entered with about 300 coaches attending the tournament.
Ashukian said there were a lot of positive comments from the participants.
"This has been a tremendous success,'' he said. "I want to thank all the student volunteers who have had to work long hours for three days.''
"I owe a lot to the organizing committee, especially Kathy Knafelc, Doug Tutty and Rich Knill,'' he said.
He said a number of other regions have expressed an interest in hosting OFSAA over the next few years so it will likely be awhile before it returns to ROPSSAA. Next year's event is slated for Windsor.
Milton's E.C. Drury had its string of OFSAA boys team titles snapped at a record five consecutive years.
Hagersville won the overall crown with 224 points. Orillia District was second with 179.
Hagersville won the boys title with 146 points with EC. Drury second with 127. Orillia District won the girls title with 150 points while Hagersville took second with 78.
Brampton Centennial tied for 11th in the girls division with another ROPSSAA school, Lincoln Alexander, each with 41 points.
As a region ROPSSAA finished fourth overall. SWOSSAA, which includes Essex, Kent and Lambton finished first.
ROPSSAA was fourth in the boys division and finished sixth among the girls. S
WOSSAA was tops for the boys while SOSSA which includes Hamilton Wentworth, Haldimand, Lincoln and Niagara areas was first for the girls.
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Learning to wrestle across the world
Female wrestler contributes to Blair's team
Diana Frey, Online Staff Writer
3/9/2005
The typical wrestler, with his muscles bursting out of skin-tight suits, is not what one would find when looking at junior Monica Maher, Blair's single dedicated female wrestler, who weighs in at a mere 109 pounds.
Wrestling in Athens
Maher participates in a team huddle during a practice. Click here to enlarge. Photo by Diana Frey. |
Maher's wrestling career began four years ago in Athens, Greece, where her family moved after living in the Silver Spring area for years. Maher was the first female to join the wrestling team at her school in Greece, the American Community School of Athens. Maher's brother, who was also a member of the team, discussed with his coach the idea of his sister joining, and the team willingly accepted Maher. During her years on the team, Maher greatly influenced the school's wrestlers; four more females joined after she broke the male-only barrier, and Maher's dedication to the team earned her a captain's position.
At the end of the season, Maher's school competed with other American Community schools in nearby countries in a tournament. Maher's team practiced for an entire season without formal matches, which is not desirable for athletics. However, Maher's team was given the opportunity to see Egypt and meet other American students experiencing life in other countries.
Wrestling at Blair
When Maher moved back to the United States, she continued her wrestling career at Blair, where she was the only female member. Maher began working out with the team during pre-season, so the boys got the opportunity to know her before the season even started, she says. Maher explains that the team realized that she was a serious and experienced wrestler and quickly accepted her into the wrestling family. "I'm not some wimpy girl," says Maher defiantly.
Captain Andrew Wallis agrees wholeheartedly. "She knows what she's doing," says Wallis. "We chose not to see it as awkward."
Teammate Mike Street recalls that Maher always attended study hall with the team and became more talkative and involved as the season progressed. "She's one of the guys," says Street.
Although Blair had a rough season this year with a 2:12 record, Maher enthusiastically awaits next year's season. "I think it's a great sport,” says Maher.
Being the only female
For Maher, the reasons for wrestling are simple. Wrestling is the most appealing winter sport. She believes that most girls do not wrestle because of the old idea that it is only for boys. "Traditionally, it is considered a guy's sport," she says.
Maher works hard at practice. Click here to enlarge. Photo by Diana Frey. |
"Stereotypically, girls wouldn't think to try out."
Because it is harder to find girls that wrestle in the wrestling world, Maher wrestled three girls (above her weight category) and five guys in the 112-weight category this season. Maher's final record was 4:4, winning against two girls and two boys. To her, no matter what the gender of her opponent, it is just another match. Luckily, Maher has not faced or been aware of any sore losers after a match. "I don't see the guys after matches," she says simply.
Throughout her time here at Blair, the team has supported Maher through wins and losses. "Since it's individual, you push yourself a lot, but there's still a lot of team camaraderie," explains Maher.
Although she has beat male teammates in practice, to earn a varsity spot, one must win the wrestle-off in practice before the meet each week. Scott explains that although Maher has never wrestled on varsity, she is a very skilled wrestler who plans to continue enhancing her skills for the next season. "She's one of our better wrestlers," says Scott, who adds that "one disadvantage is that she is not as physically strong as the guys are." According to Scott, Maher would be willing to wrestle even the heaviest member of the team during practice if she was told to do so. "'If my coach thinks I can do it, I can do it,'" says Scott imitating Maher. She is ultimately "a coach's dream," Scott explains.
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Homer hosts girls state wrestling
3/9/05
Homer High School played host to the fourth annual United States Girls' Wrestling Association state championships Sunday.
The winners were Anchorage's Grace Wiggins at elementary 44 pounds, Soldotna's Hannah Hutchison at elementary 52 pounds, Anchorage's Jessica Hernandez at middle school 104 pounds, Anchorage's Josilyn Roberts at middle school 122 pounds, Wasilla's Kendra Nelson at high school 90 pounds, Soldotna's Michaela Hutchison at high school 112 pounds, Wasilla's Jamie McElroy at high school 125 pounds, Chugiak's Melissa Apodaca at high school 138 pounds and Homer's Tela O'Donnell at open 142 pounds
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State Girls Wrestling: Champs on the Mat
Tuesday, March 8, 2005
The Columbian
A total of 85 girls from four states participated in the United States Girls Wrestling Association Washington State Tournament on Friday at View Ridge Middle School in Ridgefield.
Melissa Simmons from Ridgefield won the championship for her high school weight class.
Complete official results from the tournament were not available.
Other high school wrestlers from Clark County who placed in the one-day tournament included Melissa Watkins from Camas (second place) and Christina Cox from La Center (second place).
Kelsey Hanson from Washougal won the championship of her middle-school division.
The tournament was the third-annual USGWA state championship. This was the first time the tournament was in Clark County. The tournament was hosted by the Ridgefield High School wrestling program and the tournament director was Kim Simmons of Ridgefield, head coach for the state's USGWA team.
Many of the top participants in the tournament will represent Washington at the USGWA national championships later this year.
Official results from Friday's tournament will eventually be posted on the United States Girls Wrestling Association Web site, www.usgwa.com.
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Girl's wrestling loss to boy may relate more to physique than technique
On High Schools: Milton Kent
Originally published Mar 6, 2005
COLLEGE PARK - Early on in life, kids develop a kind of defense mechanism, a device to shield themselves from disappointment if it should come.
Kids often tell themselves or anyone who will listen that something you believe they want really badly - a go-cart, a video game system, an A on a test - doesn't really matter. That way, when the go-cart becomes a bike, the video game becomes a DVD and the A becomes a B, the sting won't exist.
In the lead-up to the state wrestling championships, Arundel High freshman Nicole Woody said that getting to Cole Field House wasn't as significant as people were making it out to be, and that winning a state title would be a bonus.
After all, when she was wrestling in the junior leagues, Woody always qualified to compete for a state title. Just because the venue was bigger and the spotlight on her was brighter didn't make this any more significant in her mind.
"It just seems natural to go to states," said Woody, who at 16 is in high school after being home-schooled. "It would be kind of weird not to."
But as Woody walked back to join her teammates in the stands after dropping her first match Friday to Dulaney junior Scott Carroll, one look at her face betrayed whatever "glad to be here" feelings she might have had.
She lost her second bout Friday to sophomore Edwin Randall of Northern-Calvert 7-2 and was eliminated from the competition.
"I did not use good technique at all," said Woody after her second match. "My head was down the whole time in both matches. I didn't take good shots when I needed to, and when I did take shots, they were all sloppy. I didn't wrestle nearly as good as I wanted or needed to."
Woody, who joined Jade Hendricks, a senior at Western Tech, as the first girls to qualify for the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association wrestling tournament in its 36-year history, blew off any suggestion that she was some kind of trailblazer.
After placing third in the Anne Arundel County championships in the 103-pound weight class, Woody was frankly embarrassed at all the attention she got. She has been on the television news and a radio show. Time magazine has called.
In one of the most bizarre coincidences, Woody's older sister, Carrie, sat next to actress Halle Berry at the Academy Awards last Sunday and got global face time. An hour later, Woody was getting local face time on The Sun's high school sports show.
Which do you think got bigger ratings in the Woody household?
"I think they [the media] are blowing it out of proportion, every little thing I do," Woody said. "I got third, and I guess it's just different to have a girl get third. I mean, half my teammates have placed higher than me, and then they write an article about me. It's kind of weird, you know?"
Actually, the ranks of female wrestlers are growing to the point where soon seeing a girl on the mat won't be so unusual. Woody, for instance, will be going to Lake Orion, Mich., in two weeks for the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association tournament, where more than 600 girls participated last year.
Besides Woody and Hendricks, who lost her two matches Friday, girls qualified for the first time in Oklahoma and Virginia. The Virginia qualifier, Firen Gassman, who has trained with Woody, came here Friday to lend moral support.
However, Friday's match may be a harbinger of things to come if she decides to stay in the co-ed ranks.
Woody, who has been successful against boys since she started wrestling at age 9, was technically superior to Carroll, said several knowledgeable people at the bout. But she couldn't move the stronger Carroll.
It's a fear that Woody's mother, Mary, has had about her daughter's future - that the boys Woody has beaten will now turn the tables as they mature and get stronger.
"She'll go in and get a move, and even if she tries to finish it and do it right, she might not always get it because of strength, but yet, if she gets the leverage move, she's going to get it," Mary Woody said. "Those are things that she's thinking of right now - 'I'm a little smaller than them right now; they're a little bigger. They're a little stronger, and I have to be quick.' She has to know her physics better."
Mary Woody also worries that her daughter, who wrestled mainly less-experienced junior varsity foes this season, isn't getting the kind of consistent competition against quality wrestlers that could make her better.
"With the tougher matches, they push you to go on to the next level," Mary Woody said. "Some of those you win, some of them you don't, but the next time you get another tough match, you get a little bit better. But she really hasn't had the tough matches that she needed to prepare her for the states and the regionals."
It seems inevitable that at some point, with success on the international level in her past and a future that could include a trip to the Olympics, Woody may abandon co-ed wrestling and stick to matches with girls.
Chances are, though, she won't quit until she gets her A.
