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Posted by Aaron Managhan on 1/13/2006, 9:00 am, in reply to "Cami Yeik article"
Here's another article our paper ran on Camie after Nationals also. Not to counter the Sun, just to give more credit to a girl who deserves it!!
This ran in August in the Central Kitsap Reporter:
Yeik ready to step up to next level
By AARON MANAGHAN
Staff writer
Camie Yeik has had to wrestle friends before.
The 15-year-old Olympic High School sophomore has become friends with a number of the country's top youth female wrestlers, simply through competition. But at the National Junior Women's Championships, held at the end of July in Fargo, N.D., she was slated to battle one of her closest friends, Oklahoma's Joey Miller, for the 102-pound title.
In a close title match, Miller came out on top, edging her friend by a 9-7 score.
"Joey's the one who beat me in the finals," Yeik said. "We've been best friends for a long time. I was nervous but not. We've been used to it for a long time."
And that's why despite the loss, Yeik and her family have been hosting Miller for some summer fun amongst the friends in Silverdale.
"That's just it," Brent Yeik, Camie's father, said. "They kind of became buddies last summer. They've been out boating, skiing, camping. They've been all over the Northwest so far."
Camie's mom, Pat Yeik agreed, saying the friendships made outlast the competitive rivalry.
"It's kind of akward for that first split second, but then it's done," Pat Yeik said. "It's over. Let's go play."
For Camie Yeik, her first year at high school will give her the opportunity to challenge herself in ways she hasn't been able to wrestling girls from within the state. That's why she said Nationals is such a big event for her.
"The only competition I get with the girls is at Nationals," she said. "Girls around here are not up to my level of competition. So I wrestle with guys a lot."
Yeik decided to give wrestling a shot after her younger brothers got involved. Now a full-fledged wrestling family, Yeik has been able to challenge her brothers, 13-year-old Brandon and 11-year-old Cody.
"I guess her two younger brothers wrestled her pretty hard," Brent Yeik said. "She's been a wrestling dummy for a couple years now. Right now, her best wrestling partner is probably her brother (Brandon). That got her where she's at."
That's also proved beneficial since Yeik will now be taking on the boys more consistently. And even though it will be more challenging, she's still setting her goals high.
"My success level is probably won't be as good with guys," she said. "But I want to make it to boys state this year."
Yeik will also have some other strong experiences to draw upon for coming season. In addition to her national tournaments, Yeik has also competed abroad, wrestling in tournaments in countries like Austria, where she recently competed and finished second.
"It was a good tournament," Yeik said. "The girl that beat me, I beat her three months before at a meet. But it's OK. She won't touch me again."
It's that kind of confidence that has allowed Yeik to step fearlessly onto the mat, no matter who she's facing. For example, at Fargo, six nationally-ranked girls were in Yeik's bracket alone.
"That and her bracket was considered the toughest bracket," Brent Yeik said. "And she's wrestling up. She should be a cadet."
The fact she's getting to travel nationally and internationally has made her enjoy the sport all the more. Yeik said she's also come to a greater appreciation for the different styles of wrestling around the world.
"It's a lot of fun. I get to see lots of new stuff," she said. "And the wrestling style is so different overseas. They brawl a lot. They're not as in to the technique."
Fargo helped grow her confidence as well, as it was the first year she's fought in the tourney.
"It was really good," she said. "Especially since it was my first year this year. I knew I would do pretty well this year, but I didn't know I could win it."
But the high school game will bring some changes with it as well. Since high schools wrestle the collegiate style, and Yeik is more accustomed to freestyle wrestling, she said some adjustment is inevitable.
"Yes and no," Yeik said. "Freestyle is a lot of on-your-feet wrestling. It will help with that. I don't like it as much as freestyle. No one else wrestles collegiate except us."
She's still looking forward to the challenge high school will bring though.
"I just like wrestling," Yeik said. "I'm just looking forward to it because it's high school. Most of my friends are older and talk about how fun it is to wrestle in high school."
As for getting ready to take on the boys more often, Yeik said she can handle the losses, but expects herself to top most girls now.
"Especially with me being a girl," she said. "It doesn't matter if I lose as much to a guy as to a girl. Because the guys, I wrestle them all the time."
Pat Yeik said it was a great sport for her kids to get involved in because of the responsibility it teaches them.
"It's fun. What I like about it is it teaches the kids a lot about yourself," Pat Yeik said. "You can't blame the ref or the goalie. It's just you."
But getting out of the cold weather wasn't a bad perk for the parent either.
"I can think of a lot of times in the winter when she played select soccer," she said. "I'd much rather be in a gym."
Camie Yeik's training schedule is also more than most 15-year-old girls could stand, with practice everyday except Saturday and some Sundays. She estimates she spends about six hours a day training. Going from September until August, she enjoys her month of relief.
"Especially after 11 months of cutting weight and stuff like that," Yeik said. "But wrestling is a fun sport anyway. And I have my family and friends to support me.
"I'm just excited for it to start again."
As for how Pat Yeik thinks her daughter will shape up against the boys, she said the boys better be ready.
"I think most days she's going to beat most of the average boys," she said. "But they're going to make her work hard."
Mat Notes
Also competing at the Fargo competition was Central Kitsap Cougar Dana LaMonica. LaMonica teamed up with Yeik and several other Washington female wrestlers a the National Junior Women's Dual Championships. Washington finished sixth place overall. In the title match against Florida, LaMonica pinned her 119-lbs. opponent, Tara Bone in 1 minute, 24 seconds. Yeik beat out Christina Brayboy by a 10-0 technical fall. But the victories couldn't elevate Washington into fifth, falling overall 28-12. In the tournament, Yeik went 3-0 and LaMonica finished 4-1.
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Gassman Goes 8-0 at Wrestling Meet
By Anthony Paradise 1/13/06
Observer Staff Writer
Despite a 10th place finish as a team, the Herndon wrestling squad had a few individual performances to be proud of after taking part in the James River Duals meet at James River High School in Midlothian, Va., Jan. 6 and 7.
The best performance of the weekend came from Firen Gassman, Herndon's 103-pounder, who finished with an 8-0 record.
"This was her biggest test so far," wrestling coach Tyler Andersen said. "Eight matches in two days is a lot. She handled it well. Her closest match was a major decision."
Others who went undefeated were 130-pounder Kelby Gassman and 189-pounder Chad Metzger, who each finished 4-0.
Those who finished with 7-1 records were 119-pounder Brian Thompson and 160-pounder Ian Frances. 171-pounder Zay Lopez and 215-pounder PJ Mosher, each finished with five pins.
Andersen was pleased with the team's performance.
"I thought we wrestled well," Andersen said. "We had three kids undefeated and five that were 7-1. We did good."
Next up for the Hornets is the Mount Mat Madness event Jan. 12 and 13 at Goucher College in Towson, Md.
Herndon will be the lone Virginia school at the event, taking on teams from Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania.
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By Shuriah Niazi 1/8/06
Fatima Bano, 32, is the only woman in the country who has been teaching the finer points of wrestling to young children and teenagers.
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Bhopal-based Fatima's journey to being a wrestling coach has not been an easy one. Fatima was fond of sports since childhood. She won three national medals in Kabaddi - a group sport usually played by men in India. After seeing her game, Fatima's coach advised her to learn wrestling. When Fatima told her parents about this, they were very critical that a woman was learning a `man's game'.
But in 1997, Fatima went ahead anyway and trained as a wrestler in Patiala (a city in Punjab). She later participated in various national and international competitions and won a few awards. Despite the medals, Fatima's family was not comfortable with her passion for wrestling.
Fatima learnt all the tricks in wrestling from her coach Shakir Noor, who believed that the motivation and will power of a person could help the person attain anything. Noor encouraged women wrestlers and did not consider them any less than male wrestlers. Noor's encouragement inspired Fatima to take up coaching full time.
Again, this was easier said than done. Fatima's family, which lives in a middle class neighborhood dominated by Muslims, didn't approve of the decision. They saw no future in wrestling. But in 2003, Fatima managed to get some land for an akhara (ring) from the government and invited apprentices. The government also gave her Rs 4,000 per month as salary to run the akhara. Fatima coaches the children for free.
Fatima admits that women do not get any help or support from their family when they try to come forward in a game like wrestling. Yet, her family's opposition and shortage of money have not prevented her from nurturing big dreams.
Currently, 10 teenagers and young children, including two girls, are learning wrestling from Fatima. Fatima says she feels really good when she sees girls practicing in the ring. Women have to constantly fight against odds to take up this sport which is dominated by men, she says.
Fatima's students describe her as a good teacher. Her male student, Ansar, 15, says that he not only has learnt various techniques of wrestling from Fatima, but has also become more confident as a fighter. Another student, Adib, 16, says he learnt hundreds of techniques from Fatima. "These techniques will be helpful not only in India but in other countries as well." One of her girl students, Aditi, started learning wrestling only as a self-defence mechanism. But today, after Fatima's intensive training, she wants to bring laurels to her country in this field. Aditi feels one day she will make a name for herself.
Fatima has also coached players in the US, Kazakhstan and Krgyzstan.
For her friends, Fatima is no different from other young women, just that she maintains a strict routine of exercise, diet and coaching. And often, she is dressed in a track suit. Her friend Seema Rehman says: "What I like about her is the fact that she feels proud of being a wrestler and enjoys her profession."
Fatima's is the third daughter among four girls and one son. Her father, Syed Nasir Ullah, does not want his daughter to continue in this way. "Fatima has earned nothing from this game. She has invested money from her own pocket. She should now settle down and begin a family life like her sisters." Her family says that despite all the hard work Fatima has put in, the game has not been supported at the national or state-level.
Although Fatima was presented with the Vikram Award in 2001 - which is the state government's highest honor in the field of sports - not many opportunities have come her way in terms of competitions or assignments. Her monthly salary is not enough to run her akhara. She says," I can give better training to these students if I get more money or help from the government."
Fatima believes that there is ample scope for both boys and girls in wrestling. However, success in the sport comes only after long years of hard work and the urge to achieve something. Fatima believes that one day she would produce a player of international class from her own local akhara.
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Wrestling convention to the floor
Santosh Singh in Bhopal
Jan. 9. —
Forget about fundamentalist fulmination against Sania Mirza’s tennis apparel and never mind how she holds her own in fashion shows in the company of the game’s global glitterati. Meet Bhopal’s Fatima Bano, who claims to be the country’s first and only Muslim woman wrestling coach.
She cast off her veil in 1997, in defiance of a religious diktat, to take to wrestling, generally deemed a men-only sport. Several laurels later, she has for the past two years been coaching her students to “wrestle” their way to success in her Akhara Training School, where her 10 students include two Hindu girls. Fatima, now 32, knew that Muslim women in India were “forced” to live behind the burqa but she rebelled against her family and, in a larger sense, tradition to jump into the arena, still full of Guru Hanuman’s male disciples.
Fatima won a gold medal at national level. She got the Vikram Award, the highest Madhya Pradesh government honour for sporting achievements, in 2001. She has travelled to the USA, Kazhakstan and Kyrgyzstan with Indian wrestling teams as a consultant coach. She says: “I want to explode the myth of the fair sex being too soft to be able to cope with life’s sterner tests.” Her coaching institute gets a monthly grant of Rs 4,000 from the state government. There is no mistaking her determination to groom wrestling talents and she sounds quite convincing when she says that, given a little more money, she can pull off better results as a coach. Financial constraints force her to take in only 10 students at a time for a six-month training session. She accepts whatever little money her students give her by way of tuition fees. The sports minister, Ms Yashodhara Raje Scindia, though, could not be accessed for comments. And Fatima has come up the hard way. The third child among four sisters and a brother, she found her own family hostile to her idea when she started out.
Fond of games since childhood, she first took to kabaddi, representing India thrice. Her coach, admiring her robustness and her firm grip on opponents on the field, advised her to switch over to wrestling. After some formal training in Patiala in 1997, she started getting into competitions, picking up useful tips from her coach, Mr Shakir Noor. Two of Fatima’s teenage students, Ansar and Adib, said they would go into professional wrestling. The girls are basically interested in self-defence. The fact that a Muslim woman has taken to wrestling rubs some Islamic clerics up the wrong way. Mufti Amir Ali, a religious leader, said that women should be on jobs that suited their temperament. “Taking up a profession just to defy social norms and to take on men is not right,” he said. Fatima’s father, Mr Syed Nasir Ullah, too, does not feel happy. “She should dissociate herself from wrestling and raise a family now’, said he, adding that he was not exactly cock-a-hoop that the government was helping her with money, however small the amount might be.
But Fatima disagreed with him when she set out; she has found no reason ever since to alter her own opinion of what has been was doing.
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Making history, breaking barriers:
By JESS HUFFMAN Sports Editor 1/13/06
As Zach Waycott circles and grapples on the dark green mats of Cloverdale High School Thursday, he doesn't let up on his practice partner like he once did.
"When we first started, I thought I had to hold back," Waycott said.
Until this year, Waycott, who has seven years of wrestling experience, never competed against someone like his partner before.
At first, he admits, it wasn't easy for him. However, now, he says things are different.
"Ever since the third day, everybody has gotten used to the idea of a girl being on the team," Waycott says. "So to the team members, she's just part of the team."
Cloverdale freshmen Brittney Hughes is breaking barriers at Cloverdale High School, becoming the first female wrestler in school history. A skilled gymnast, she possesses the strength and the will to compete at the varsity level. Although it's not always easy, and it took some time for Hughes to gain respect, her hard work and dedication is speaking for itself and opening doors for countless others in the community.
"She does everything 100 percent all of the time," Waycott says. "I think she might feel like she has to prove herself because she is a girl. So that might be why she strives to go harder than everybody else."
For Hughes, she would probably rather be on a different mat, working on a tumbling routine or doing cartwheels on a balance beam. However, because Cloverdale doesn't have a gymnastics team, she's working on her half-nelsons and head locks.
"Actually, I'm a gymnast," Hughes says. "We asked the school if they could start a gymnastics team. And they said they couldn't. So, I was the wrestling manager, and Coach (Brian) Siddons asked me if I'd be interested in wrestling. I said I'd try it."
Her father, a former wrestler himself, wasn't too keen on the idea at first. He didn't want to see his girl getting hurt, Hughes says. But after some convincing, he softened up, and now gives his daughter advice after matches.
"He's totally supportive," Hughes says. "He helps me. If I lose a match, he teaches me what I did wrong."
Siddons says she posses a natural ability and "moves like a wrestler," which was perhaps inherited from her father. He had approached her early in the season because of her build and size. He thought she would fit nicely in the light weight classes.
He wasn't sure she could coerce her father at first, but was happy to see her succeed.
"Basically, she came up and asked if it was too late for her to wrestle," Siddons says. "I said, Œno.' We had to fill that weight class, and we had been trying to get her out anyway."
Although Hughes has to gain weight to meet the minimum requirement in the 112-pound weight class, she boasts a 6-2 record. Granted, because of frequent forfeits and recent surgery, she has only actually wrestled in two varsity matches for Cloverdale. But nevertheless, Siddons said she shows promise.
"She was in position to win both of them," he says. "So I think she gets healed up and gets a little stamina, she'll be able to win some matches."
Hughes admits she was a little intimidated at first. She first wrestled a junior in her first match, and felt some nervous energy before the contest.
She wasn't used to wrestling an upperclassmen, let alone someone with experience at the varsity level. Despite the obstacle, she learned to calm the nerves and focus on the task at hand.
"If I am (nervous), I try not to be," Hughes says. "Because that just makes you not have confidence in yourself to win."
It's added motivation that Hughes thinks some people take her lightly because she is a girl.
"Sometimes, I think the guys want to go out there and mess with my head, just because I'm a girl," she says. "Sometimes, I think they want to go out there and pin me real fast. I just think they look at me as someone who can't do it."
Waycott admits some people give him a hard time about practicing with a girl. He says he's heard it all, with questions such as, "did you get pinned by a girl today?" and "are you wrestling a girl because you're a sissy?"
He says he doesn't let it bother him because the experience comes in handy. Wrestling in the 103-pound weight classes, he's already wrestled two girls this year in varsity competition and won.
"A lot of other people go into a live match, having never wrestled a girl before and they get stressed out," Waycott says. "Since she's started to be my partner, I've went against two other girls, and it didn't feel any different than a practice. I just went out there, and it was just normal."
The experience is necessary, especially for the lighter weight classes in wrestling where female wrestlers are becoming a trend. America Morris made national headlines on Dec. 30, 1985, when she became the first female high school wrestler to record a pin. Her story was picked up by the Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated, People Magazine, and even the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
Wrestling is no longer a male-only sport.
Although some male wrestlers may find it hard to compete against a girl, they're going to have to get used to it.
"We had a kid a few years ago that lost to a girl from Terre Haute North," Siddons says. "He got ripped pretty bad. Nobody wants to wrestle a girl because you're always afraid you're going to get beat."
And look for Hughes to do some beating in the near future. With six wins on the season, she is already earning the team points for forfeits. It's only a matter of time before she starts pinning people.
"She's already got some moves, and she's pretty strong," Waycott says. "Next year, maybe the year after that, she might be pinning me some."
Don't expect Hughes to be letting up anytime soon.
"You do as hard as you can, until you can't do anymore," she says.
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Wrestling not just for boys anymore
By Jean DePlacido
Correspondent 1/14/06
In the past, high school wrestling was a sport for boys only, but that notion is long gone.
There are a few girls breaking the ice, and each year the numbers increase. Hamilton-Wenham has two on the jayvees, and sophomore Nora Einhorn is making a name for herself in the 112-pound class at varsity level where she is enjoying success against both male and female opponents.
Two years ago, soccer teammates Einhorn and Charlotte Karrlsson-Willis were looking for a winter activity and decided to give wrestling a try.
"We didn't do a winter sport, and we thought this would be a great way to get in shape for outdoor track," said Karrlsson-Willis, who wrestles on the jayvee team in the 125-pound class and throws the javelin and discus in track. She is currently injured, but hopes to be back in action very soon.
"Wrestling is really a fun sport, and it's so intense. When I'm on the mat, I get such great support from my teammates that even if I don't win I feel fulfilled for giving my best effort. It's such an energized scene with everybody cheering. I just love it."
The girls, along with freshman Jacquelyn Celata, support each other. Even though Karrlsson-Willis is injured, she tries to make every match to support her teammates, knowing how important that female bond is.
"I know we're breaking the ice, and in the next few years it's going to be easier for other girls when more are competing. On the jayvee level teams don't get penalized when guys would rather forfeit the match than wrestle a girl," said Karrlsson-Willis. "That still does happen."
"When we go to a tournament we'll look around to see if there are any other girls. There are two this year on the Salem team, and we run into a few here and there. We have to find a girls' locker room to change and also have to wait for the boys to weigh in first. There is such camaraderie among girls, and we all get along so well."
"Nora always gets nervous before her matches, and I try to be there to support her. She has to put up with a lot from guys on other teams sometimes, but our own guys are great. We all feel very welcome on this team."
Einhorn went to the Lowell Tournament with the Generals recently and found she was the lone girl from a field of 60 teams with hundreds of athletes competing.
"I was shocked," said Einhorn, who has posted five wins this year. "I was talking to one of the Lexington guys, and he said they just got a girl out for their team. She wasn't there because they only brought their best wrestlers.
"Charlotte first came up with the idea of trying out for wrestling and talked me into it. I wasn't sure I wanted to try it, but I'm so glad because I really love wrestling. I have older brothers, so I didn't have any problem with rough housing, but I know it's hard on the guys to go up against a girl."
Einhorn has quickly picked up the skills necessary to win but knows it's not easy for any boy to go up against her.
"I respect any guy I wrestle because if he wins and happens to hurt me he is criticized, but if he loses it's the worst thing in the world. It is a little scary going against guys, but you have to try to prove yourself one-on-one. They think I'm a wuss, and I have to show them I know how to wrestle and that I belong.
"I couldn't do it if I didn't have the complete support of my team. We have the coolest guys ever, and they are so supportive. I don't think I could do it otherwise."
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Cummings ranked
The Post - Standard. Syracuse, N.Y.: Jan 4, 2006.
Competing for coach Victor Zampetti's Onondaga Tigers' wrestling team,
freshman lightweight Anna Cummings just became the first female in
sectional history to earn a spot in the weekly individual rankings. Cummings,
16-year-old sister of former Section III champion Don Cummings, is
listed No. 7 at 103 pounds in the Division II ratings this week. For the
season, Cummings has compiled a 7-4 record, vying at both 103 and 96 pounds.
She will compete at 96 for the sectional tournament at the end of the
season.
As Zampetti says, "With more and more colleges starting a wrestling
team for women, Anna has a chance to compete at the collegiate level someday if
she stays with the sport."
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Northeastern girls have lock on wrestling spirit
Eric Frantz For the Dayton Daily News,Dec 29, 2005
The first time Jenny Ryder wrestled a boy in competition the
match ended in tears.
"Last year, this kid cried when I beat him," said Ryder, a freshman at
Northeastern High School. "It was my first match and my first pin. I
didn't expect him to cry but he did. It was a great feeling."
Wednesday "Girl Power" was on display at Chaminade-Julienne.
Along with Coldwater, Dixie, North Royalton and the host Eagles,
Northeastern participated in a modified version of the Oakwood
Invitational. Originally scheduled at Oakwood, the meet was moved due to the school's
bout with Whooping Cough. Oakwood, which closed school early and cancelled
all athletic activities over break due to the illness, did not participate.
Three girls for Northeastern did, though.
Along with Ryder, the sister act of Katy and Emily Fishbaugh wrestled
for the Jets.
Emily Fishbaugh, a freshman, wrestled at 103, while Katy, a sophomore,
competed at 125. Ryder wrestled at 112.
"We have a couple girls in our junior high program right now and we had
one before Katy came," Northeastern coach Ben Obee said. "When we have
girls who want to wrestle we meet with their parents and tell them that the girls
aren't going to be treated any different. On the mat, there are no
girls or boys, just wrestlers."
Of the three, Katy Fishbaugh is the most accomplished.
Fishbaugh began wrestling in first grade after getting a sheet for
tryouts at school. Ten years later she's become one of the best female
wrestlers in the state. Fishbaugh placed third and fourth respectively at 88 and 95
pounds at the National Women's Wrestling Tournament in 2003 and '04.
Last year as a freshman she went 32-11 at 103 and won titles at Goshen and
London.
Fishbaugh plans to continue wrestling at Cumberland College, where
she's already been promised a scholarship. Cumberland is one of the few
collegiate institutions to offer a women's wrestling team.
Following Wednesday, Fishbaugh's record dropped to 8-9, although she
did record her third pin. Fishbaugh -- who plans to eventually drop to 112
--
said the biggest obstacle for girls to overcome is strength.
"The hardest part is that the boys are more masculine and stronger,"
Fishbaugh said. "To offset that you have to have better technique, be
faster and think quicker."
Ryder agreed.
"You have to bump up your effort and work a lot harder," Ryder said.
"The guys are a lot stronger and they've usually been wrestling a lot
longer. It seems sometimes like everything is against you."
According to Emily Fishbaugh, a lot of girls corner her with questions
as to what wrestling is like.
"Girls who see us wrestle will come up and ask questions like, "Is it
tough? Is it weird wrestling guys? Do you think I can do it?' " Emily
Fishbaugh said. "You see other girls starting to get interested in wrestling and
I think it will continue to grow."
When asked if male opponents ever overlook the girls in Northeastern's
lineup, Obee laughed.
"Yeah, occasionally they do," the coach said. "And those are usually
the guys that they end up beating.
"I remember last year this one guy came over after he just lost to Katy
and was amazed. He said 'That's not a girl,' and I said 'Yes, it is.' He
couldn't believe it."
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Wrestlers Moving Up
The StarPhoenix 1/11/06
The University of Saskatchewan Huskies' womens' wrestling team jumped
from ninth to fourth in TheMat.com North American rankings this week. The
Huskies made that leap after beating No. 1-ranked Cumberland 19-18 in a dual
meet at Lakehead University this weekend. They also beat Missouri Valley and
Memorial, lost to Simon Fraser and beat No. 3 Calgary for bronze. Both
Huskies basketball teams also jumped in their own polls. The 10-2
women, fresh off a weekend sweep of Thompson Rivers, moved from fifth to third
in the rankings behind UBC and Simon Fraser. The men, who also swept
Thompson Rivers to improve to 10-2, went from ninth to eighth.