News Page

Female wrestler, 10, humbles male athletes

April 11, 2005

BY MONIFA THOMAS Staff Reporter Advertisement

When his daughter Makeba was 5, Mike Elliott used to get frequent calls from Makeba's school about her getting into fights with boys. But the calls stopped coming almost immediately after Makeba joined the Harvey Twisters Wrestling Club at age 7. Now, Elliott said, "Nobody messes with her anymore."

That's likely because at 10 years old, Makeba Elliott, an honor student at Blackhawk Elementary in Park Forest, has won two consecutive boys' state wrestling championships. Last month, the Park Forest fifth grader -- whose quickest takedown was in 18 seconds -- ended a 54-5 season by taking top honors in the boys' 2005 Midget State Championship. She also won the boys' midget championship in 2004.

Makeba's performance in this year's finals earned her the Outstanding Wrestler Award in a tournament that featured 700 of the best 9- and 10-year-old boys in the state.

Makeba said she plans to stick with wrestling for a while because: "I like to see all the boys crying and their coaches yelling at them. I like to show them girls are as good as boys."

She credits her initial interest in the sport to her older brother, Malik, who wrestled for Northwestern and Boston University. Whenever Makeba went to see him compete, Malik and his teammates would take turns showing her wrestling moves, her father said.

Makeba is also a girls' state champion, but she prefers wrestling boys because they "give me a better competition," she said.

In practice, it isn't unusual for her to take on opponents three and four years older, like 13-year-old DaMonte Riley.

Mom worried, but not Dad

Riley, a two-time state champion himself, says he gets teased by other wrestlers whenever he loses to Makeba, but people also recognize that wrestling her means taking on a state champion, not simply going up against a pretty, 84-pound girl with doe eyes and neatly braided and beaded hair.

"When her muscles kick in, it doesn't feel like you're wrestling a girl," he said.

Makeba is one of three girls on the 120-member Harvey Twisters team, which has produced six NCAA Division I champions. Though all three girls have made it to the boys' state finals, Makeba was the first to win.

Mike Elliott said he doesn't have any reservations about letting his daughter wrestle boys. "I'm not worried about her getting hurt," he said. "I feel more worried about the kids she's wrestling."

But the idea still doesn't sit well with Makeba's mother, Denise Elliott, who rarely comes to see her daughter practice or compete.

Makeba, whose nickname among her teammates' mothers is "The Diva," gets plenty of encouragement from other women in the crowd, though.

"You hear a lot of 'You go, girl!' and 'That's girl power!' when she competes," Mike Elliott said. "A lot of people follow her."

Shooting for Olympics

Makeba has also been a trailblazer for female athletes at her school. When Blackhawk Elementary was forming a basketball team last year, school officials told Makeba she couldn't join because basketball was for boys and cheerleading was for girls, her father said. Makeba responded by writing a letter to the principal that persuaded him to allow girls on the team, and Makeba now plays point guard.

She also runs track and field, qualifying for the Junior Olympics twice in three events.

Before ultimately becoming a physical therapist, Makeba said, she wants to make the U.S. Women's Olympic Wrestling Team in 2008, and her coach, for one, thinks that's not an unrealistic goal.

"Her progress is outstanding," said Twisters coach Quintroy Harrell. "She's just a competitor at the highest level. In some ways, she's even more competitive than the boys."

-----------------------------------------------

Girl wrestlers get first, second at nationals

Democrat herald , April 6, 2005

David Patton / Democrat-Herald Laura Gourley of Sweet Home, left, and Amy Bloom of Lebanon competed at the U.S. Girls' Wrestling Association national meet.

Amy Bloom, an eighth-grader at Hamilton Creek School in Lebanon and a wrestler for four years, won the 89-pound weight class in the middle school division at last month's eighth annual United States Girls' Wrestling Association national championship meet.

Laura Gourley of Sweet Home placed second at 150 pounds in the same division.

The competition was held at Lake Orion High School in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Bloom, 14, the daughter of Jim and Debbie Bloom, took up wrestling and developed a passion for the sport after watching her father, cousins and uncle wrestle.

"They made it look easy and fun, but I found out it was really hard work," she said.

That hard work paid off, though, when she defeated Mary Jane Fernandez of California in her first match of the championships, winning by fall in 1 minute, 26 seconds.

"When it came down to game time, she pulled through real good," said Jim Bloom. "She got right on it."

The top-seeded Bloom, who had received a first-round bye, then went on to defeat Kristi Garr of Michigan by decision (5-1) and Roni Goodal of Iowa (7-1) to become the champion in her weight division, which featured 12 girls from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Hawaii, Ohio, Iowa and Connecticut.

"This competition was a lot different than at a guys meet," Blume said. "There was a connection with the girls that isn't there at a guys meet. It was nice, because the girls gave each other gifts after each match, win or lose. I think it showed great sportsmanship."

Bloom plans to continue to wrestle throughout high school, and although she does not know what she wants to major in, hopes to get a college scholarship through her sport.

In Michigan, Bloom was a part of Team Oregon, which placed eighth overall in the team standings and also included Gourley.

The 13-year-old daughter of James and Lisa Gourley, Laura has been wrestling for five years, following in the footsteps of other family members and getting her start in wrestling the same way Bloom did.

"I grew up around wrestling, and my brother got me into it," she said.

At nationals, Gourley defeated Jessica Smith of Ohio by decision, 8-2, and Stephanie Tucker of Michigan by fall in 1:00.

She then went on to better her time and reinforce her skill in the next match, defeating Michelle Hernandez of Wisconsin in 50 seconds.

Gourley lost only to Marina Lambert, suffering a 16-0 defeat at the hands of the Virginia wrestler.

Like Bloom, Gourley plans to continue her wrestling career. As for her post-school plans, she isn't sure what she wants to do, but she does know that she wants to wrestle at least throughout middle school and into high school.

- By Maegan Calvin, Albany Democrat-Herald

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Sweet but tough: Billings wrestler heads to women's national tournament

By BECKY SHAY 4/7/05
Of The Gazette Staff

Jenna Holman wears a white T-shirt emblazoned with the simple truth about wrestling: "Man's oldest sport - it isn't just for boys anymore."

Upholding that statement, Jenna, 12, will travel this weekend to San Diego and compete in a national women's wrestling tournament.

Showcasing women wrestlers

USA Wrestling's Body Bar Women's National Championships is the first all-age combined national women's tournament and is meant to showcase the sport of women's wrestling. That's something Jenna has been doing since she was 5.

Jenna said she likes to wrestle, and grappling with boys is no deterrent.

"It's really fun wrestling boys, because when I win it makes me feel good," she said.

Jenna is the third generation of her family to wrestle, "It's been passed on in the family," she said. "Wrestling has always been my favorite sport."

Although she has been a powerhouse in club wrestling - consistently winning at the local and state levels - Jenna considers herself "like a regular girl" who paints her toenails and goes to the mall.

'Tougher than nails'

"Isn't she sweet?" coach Joe Giacomini said and grabbed Jenna by the cheeks, making her grin during a practice Tuesday night. "She's a good girl, but she's tougher than nails."

Jenna will compete in the schoolgirl 80-pound division at the national tourney. It's an experience she is more excited than nervous about. By competing at this weekend's event, she will be able to qualify for western regional competition this summer in Nevada.

Giacomini said Jenna has the love and desire to win and won't let anything or anyone stop her - that includes coaches, parents and "all the other people who just don't believe girls should be wrestling."

Jenna knows of local clubs that have turned away girls. That makes her feel mad and bad for those girls. Billings Wrestling Club accepted Jenna as soon as she was old enough, but currently she only has one girl wrestling partner.

Jenna's dad, Jim, said he thinks those hard-core, chauvinist, anti-girl-wrestler people are missing the competitive boat.

"They don't realize what they are giving up," Holman said. "A lot of these girls have talent."

Wrestling is not about gender equality but about nurturing children, Giacomini said.

"I believe for a kid who has a desire to become a wrestler, and works hard toward accomplishments, the sky is the limit," he said. "What those kids need are coaches who encourage them."

Jenna said she has been surrounded most of her life by adults who support her. Her parents, Jim and Lily, have not only supported her desire to wrestle and helped her learn the sport but have funded trips to compete around the state and region. Her younger brother, Jace, 8, also wrestles.

Wrestling is a life sport, Holman said, and he wanted his daughter to have the skills and confidence the sport teaches as she goes into this dog-eat-dog world. Holman said he wants Jenna to believe "she's second best to nobody, man or woman, whether she is competing in sports, competing for a job or just living her life."

Jenna, obviously fond of Giacomini, said he "started believing in girl wrestling," but she also acknowledged he works her hard in practice. Her other supporters include her "Uncle Shane" Salminen, who has "been there since I very first started," and his son, Vince, a Skyview athlete who was a state champion wrestler this year. Another supporter is "Mr. J.," Scott Johnson, her physical education teacher at Broadview Elementary, who gives her credit and "supports and encourages me."

Jenna hopes if she continues to work hard she will be on a middle school wrestling team next year and eventually be a high school champion. Another goal is to earn a spot on an American world wrestling team - "then the Olympics, that's my dream."