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Meet the girl who's captain of the boys' wrestling team
SR's Jackie Davis takes on boys in NBL, will compete at girls' state meet
By RICH RUPPRECHT 1/24/06
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
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Santa Rosa junior Jackie Davis doesn't hide her motivation in the world of high school wrestling: "I like to beat the guys."
Davis, who is one of this year's captains of the boys' wrestling team at Santa Rosa, is coming off the biggest wrestling weekend of her career, winning the 108-pound class at the inaugural CIF NorCal Girls Regional Wrestling Tournament at Rocklin.
"I love wrestling, and there were a lot of good girl wrestlers at the tournament," Davis said. "There's a girl from Half Moon Bay (Katherine Fulp-Allen) who's really talented and I got to meet her."
Davis, whom Santa Rosa coach Blair Moreno describes as "quick, tough and a hard worker," went 5-0 in the tournament, but had a couple of close matches at the end.
Davis, the No.2 seed at NorCals, edged senior Jessica Ortiz of Hogan, 5-4, in the semifinals and then topped No 1. seed Monica Torrey of Lower Lake, 8-4, in the championship match.
Davis earned awards and accolades for her performance at NorCals, but more importantly now advances to the girls' state wrestling championships at Hanford in two weeks.
"She wasn't happy with the way she wrestled the first day (at NorCals)," Moreno said. "I just told her to go after her opponents and be quicker, and she was."
Davis took up the sport as a seventh-grader while attending Santa Rosa Middle School. "I used to do gymnastics and wrestling," Davis said. "It always seemed like girls got pushed around, so then I just stayed with wrestling."
Davis wrestles boys in practice and in Santa Rosa's North Bay League dual and tri-meets. She is the lone girl wrestler at Santa Rosa. The Panthers have a small team and Moreno, with the help of Davis and other wrestlers on the team, plan to visit Santa Rosa Middle School soon with the intention on landing some recruits.
"She's very competitive," Moreno said. "It's one reason I named her a captain. She takes charge at practice."
Santa Rosa has wrestled two league opponents, and Davis split her two matches against boys.
"I beat them all the time," Davis said. "It's embarrassing for them."
She said it's frustrating when she knows she's a better wrestling technician than a boy, but he wins because he's stronger. And while boys might lack incentive for some matches, they usually are fired up for girl opponents.
"That's the ego thing," Davis said.
"I like the head-to-head battle," she said. "It's an individual sport and everything depends on you. You mess up and you learn. Everything comes down to wrestling on the mat."
Moreno said Davis has improved considerably from last year and should be even better next season. He believes she'll be competitive at the girls' state meet.
Davis has not wrestled during the offseason, but that probably will change.
"I'd like to go to a couple camps this summer," she said.
Some colleges have women's wrestling programs - Menlo College offers scholarships - but Davis isn't sure there will be much opportunity to pursue the sport after high school.
"I want to travel," she said.
Asked about a possible pro career, Davis said: "That would be cool."
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Timeout ... with Jenny LaDeau, senior, Lynnwood wrestling
By Mike Cane
Herald Writer 1/24/06
Jenny LaDeau stands out because of her crimson locks but she also turns heads as a female in a male-dominated sport. "Most people are pretty cool about it," LaDeau said of how people react when they see her compete. "They're very curious because they don't hear about a lot of women wrestlers." Here's their chance.
Coach's corner: LaDeau, who wrestles at 119 or 125 pounds, is one of two female wrestlers on the Lynnwood team. Royals coach Carl Wilkins said the outgoing LaDeau is somewhat of a big sister to teammates, but in the big picture she's just one of the gang. "To me, wrestlers are wrestlers," he said. "I coach them all the same."
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Beginnings: LaDeau turned out for wrestling in eighth grade after she didn't make the volleyball team at Alderwood Middle School. She called her earliest grappling experiences overwhelming but fun. LaDeau briefly left the mats to become Lynnwood's team manager as a freshman, but former Royals coach Gustavo Anaya, now at Jackson, convinced her to compete again. She's been at it ever since.
Pinning doubt: Wrestling is physically demanding, LaDeau said, because she has limited upper-body strength, but the hardest part is "overcoming doubt and frustration. Sometimes I think 'I can't do this. Why am I here?'" But coaches, family and LaDeau's passion for competition always get her back on track. Sticking with wrestling has helped her realize, "I can get through anything if I need to. It gets pretty tough sometimes, but I love it."
Girl power: LaDeau has been mainly a junior-varsity competitor at Lynnwood - she's appeared in just a handful of varsity bouts - but she competed in the first two girls invitational tournaments at Tacoma Dome, held in February during Mat Classic. One of 68 girls from 48 schools who competed in the inaugural event in 2004, LaDeau had a pin en route to placing third in her division. "I was amazed," she said. "I almost started to cry (because) I was so proud. ... I kind of felt like Superman a little bit." More like Wonder Woman.
Animal instincts: LaDeau plans to pursue a career in marine biology or zoology and wants to work with sharks or gorillas.
I wish I knew how to: "Skydive, and also control my emotions better."
I can't stand: "Hypocrites."
Action!: "Ever since I was younger, I've liked attention," said LaDeau, who has fulfilled her craving by performing in several plays at Lynnwood. She appeared in "Rumors" by Neil Simon in December and "Months on End" last year. "I really just like being on stage," she said. "It's interesting to see how different people act." LaDeau's favorite role was playing Cookie in "Rumors." "She was kind of ditzy and dumb," LaDeau said. " ... I got to be weird on stage."
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Maryland take down: Buc wrestlers struggle against Southern Garrett
BY MATT FUCHS 12/26/05
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One Buckhannon wrestler who was able to overcome those little mistakes was junior Brittany Woodall, who won her 112-pound match by pinning Nicholas Brant at 53 seconds of the first period. Woodall scored on a takedown before pinning Brant, though she also had a close call during that period.
“(Brant) got in on her pretty deep and should have finished on a takedown,” Tenney said. “But he didn’t. And Brittany, being the experienced wrestler that she is, used her scrambling ability and got out of it.”
“I had my hips too low,” Woodall said. “I was riding too high. But, I fixed it, and I got the pin. I think my experience helped me out a lot in that.”
Admitted Woodall, “I need to get away from riding high, because that is what is messing me up in most of my matches.”
Woodall was the only Buccaneer to win a match on the evening, though several other B-U wrestlers came close.
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Girls wrestlers wrap successful tourney ; HIGH SCHOOLS - WRESTLING;
Melody Gutierrez Bee Staff Writer. The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento,
Calif.: Jan 22, 2006. pg. C.7
The mats are folded and packed away. The winners of 14 weight divisions
have been crowned. But the lasting impact of the first CIF Girls Regional
Wrestling Tournament has been made.
"This is historical," said Marie Ishida, the executive director of the
California Interscholastic Federation, after handing out medals to the
top eight finishers in each division. "I think if things continue to go as
well as they did here, we are going to have a girls state championship in a
few years."
With about 500 girls wrestlers from throughout the state competing in
two regional tournaments, including the Northern California event at
Whitney igh School in Rocklin, Ishida said she is pleased with how the first
CIF-sponsored tournament turned out.
"It went extremely well," she said. "There was a great crowd."
And there was plenty of cheering for freshman Marly Stubbs of Rocklin
High, who entered the tournament seeded No. 19. She pinned her opponent, No.
5 Krystalle Alcantara of Hogan, for the win in the 103-pound division.
"I'm thrilled, but I'm not surprised," said Stubbs' older brother
Jeremy, a junior on Rocklin's wrestling team. "I see what she does every day, and
I expected it."
Stubbs is the only girl on the Rocklin wrestling team and competes
against boys and girls, holding a 10-9 record this season. She is 8-0 against
girls.
"The team rallies around Marly," said Grant Depue, an assistant
wrestling coach at Rocklin.
Stubbs started wrestling in middle school after watching her brother
compete. She said she found wrestling more challenging than other
sports.
She climbed the brackets including 24 wrestlers in her weight class to
become the regional champion. It was a close match against Alcantara,
who had more points and managed to get Stubbs on her back before Stubbs
maneuvered the pin.
Sophomore Rachel Gomez of River City won the 165-pound division against
Deana Lax of Liberty High.
"This is pretty cool," Gomez said. "We've never been to a tournament
this big. They pulled it together well."
As the only girl on the River City team, Gomez said she has learned a
lot from competing against boys.
"It helps to learn to handle the brute strength the guys throw at you,"
she said.
Nine of the 14 divisions had the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the
championship, with the No. 2 seed winning five times. Vallejo High had the most
wrestlers reach the finals with three, including Monica Gonzalez, who won the
154-pound division.
No. 1 seed Lauren Philipps of Napa defeated No. 2 Lauren Knight of
Vallejo in the 138-pound division, and Marina Piccolotti of Terra Nova took the
146-pound division with a win over Vallejo's Angie Miller.
"I thought this tournament was a breakthrough for girls wrestling,"
said Philipps, who was ranked third in the state last year. "I'm glad I got
to be a part of it.
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Local trio captures NorCal titles
By Richard MotroniCORRESPONDENT 1/24/06
Regardless of what Katherine Fulp-Allen, Ivy Bier and Marina Piccolotti accomplish for the rest of the school year, all three share one unique distinction; they are best female wrestlers of their weight class in Northern California.
This recognition was official in the first Girls Northern California Championships at Whitney High in Rocklin, where over 500 athletes competed this past weekend. Wrestling for Terra Nova, Bier captured 132-pound championship, while teammate Piccolotti ruled the 146-pound division, and Half Moon Bay's Fulp-Allen won the 114-pound crown. Overall, 10 Peninsula Athletic League wrestlers placed in the top eight in a tournament that many had long hoped would be realized.
"We've been trying to get the CIF to recognize us for some time and give us our own tournament," Fulp-Allen said. "It was pretty special to be a part of history."
Fulp-Allen appreciates the tournament's significance, considering her pedigree. Her older sister, Menlo College wrestler Sarah, was a Peninsula Athletic League champion and two-time National Collegiate champion for Menlo College. Her father, Lee Allen, wrestled for the U.S. team in two Olympics, and coached in another. He is now the Menlo College women's head coach.
Winning her opening two matches by pin and technical fall, Fulp-Allen overpowered Sutter Union's Ariel Green
in the semifinals, 13-1, and faced Alex Tolero of St. Patrick's for the first time with the title on the line. Both wrestlers scored first-round takedowns, then Fulp-Allen converted a second round takedown and took bottom for the final round, where she secured a 4-2 win.
Piccolotti's brother Jessie is a member of the Terra Nova boys team. A No.2 seed, Piccolotti won all four of her matches by pin, including the title match against top seed Angie Miller of Vallejo.
Bier, also a No. 2 seed, beat No. 1 Emily Espana of Lincoln in the 132-pound final.Lisa Szczepaniak was just one win shy of becoming the third Terra Nova wrestler to claim a crown. The top seed at 126 pounds, Szczepaniak lost to second seed Samantha Phillips of Manteca in the championship round. Teammates Monica Kirkpatrick (154) placed fifth and Jaimie Marchetti (103) sixth.
South San Francisco's Valerie Ollada was within reach of a title at 189 pounds, but lost to Castro Valley's Jessica Klever in the championship match, and Czarina Maliwat placed fifth.
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ATHLETE of the WEEK: Monica Gonzalez
Gonzalez stands tall in NorCal championships
By BRAD KVEDERIS, Times-Herald sports writer 1/24/06
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It's pretty common to hear someone describe an athlete by saying a sport is "in her blood," but in Monica Gonzalez's case, it's more than just an expression.
The sophomore wrestler at Vallejo High grew up in a household where her father, Bob, was the wrestling coach at Vallejo for the better part of two decades, and her older brother, Bobby, won a state title for the Apaches.
Now it's little sis' turn, and Monica got a great start toward making her mark on the family tradition last week, going 3-0 and winning the title match at the first-ever CIF Northern California girls championships on Saturday. With any luck, she'll repeat that success at the state meet in Hanford on Feb. 3-4.
"She just won the Northern California championship, and I don't know, she could get upset in two weeks at the state meet, but I don't see it happening," Apaches coach Mike Minahen said. "I think she's going to dominate the state as well."
Though she competes in the 158-pound weight class, Gonzalez stands barely five feet tall, so she often comes into matches with a big height disadvantage. That was the case in Saturday's final match against Maya Matalon of Albany, but by taking the role of the aggressor, Gonzalez posted a convincing 5-2 win.
"The only hard match I really had was the final match; I'd never wrestled her before, and she was really strong and technical," Gonzalez said. "I was mostly offensive - I was doing all the moves, and she was really defensive. I just took it to her. I beat her 5-2 and I took her down in the first minute or two."
The reason why she's been able to make up for the height differential, says Minahen, is pretty much what you'd expect in wrestling: She's really, really strong, and she's got great footwork. And on top of going above and beyond in her training - Gonzalez runs three or four miles on a treadmill every morning in addition to her regular practices at school - she just brings more energy to the mat than her opponents can handle.
"She's relentless. She's like a little bulldog when she starts wrestling," Minahen said. "If you watch a match, if she goes out of bounds she practically sprints back to the center because she wants
to get after her some more. Her being relentless wears and grinds people down. ... She's just going to get better and better and better."
So, while Gonzalez was growing up in her rough-and-tumble family, were unofficial "bouts" with her brother a regular occurrence?
"Oh, all the time," she said. "We'd always fight. We still do, but like a love-hate relationship."
And what, exactly, got those matches started?
"Anything," she chuckled. "I remember when he was wrestling in college at a dual meet, we were wrestling around on the mat in front of everybody. It was funny; everyone was watching us."
Though she says she's never gotten the best of her brother ("Maybe when he's sleeping," she added), Gonzalez is still so good that several colleges are looking at her for possible scholarships, even though she still has 2 1/2 years left in high school. In a formerly male-dominated sport, that's no small accomplishment - but girls wrestling has been gaining popularity for several years now.
Is she proud of the part she's played in gaining recognition for her sport?
"Yeah, big-time," she said. "It's so small right now, and it's growing. It's good that it's growing. California is the biggest state for wrestling, so it's good to see it growing."
Other nominees:
- Kirby Vaughn, Vallejo boys basketball - Scored 22 points in win over Hogan and 20 points in win over Rodriguez.
- Alan McGee, Vallejo boys basketball - Had 21 points against Hogan and 21 against Rodriguez.
- Kecia Holland, Hogan girls basketball - Scored 28 points in win over Benicia on Thursday.
- Quincy Nesmith, Hogan boys wrestling - Named MVP of the Armijo Invitational.
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Grizzlies' Torres third at Southern Regional
By Brian Williams, The Porterville Recorder 1/24/06
Erica Torres didn't know what to expect this weekend at the Girls Southern Regional.
So, the Granite Hills High wrestler decided to keep things simple.
“I was just there to take care of business,” Torres said Sunday afternoon.
And take care of business the junior did - wrestling her way to third and qualifying for the CIF Girls State Open Wrestling Tournament on Feb. 3 and 4 at Hanford West High.
Torres went 3-0 on Friday at 122 pounds - winning every match by first-round pin - in the CIF Girls Southern Regional Open Wrestling Tournament in Covina.
Friday's 3-0 mark put her in the semis Saturday morning against Trinity Plessinger of Yucca Valley High.
Torres fell behind early 2-0, 3-2 and 6-2 before mounting a rally that came up short, 7-6.
Plessinger, who walked-on, went on to win the event with a 17-1 score. Had the grapplers been properly seeded, Plessinger, one may not have been allowed into the event, and two would probably have been the top seed.
“She is pretty well established in girls wrestling,” Granite Hills coach Marty Kouyoumtjian said. She was a national all-American and has benefited from competing all over the world. She placed second in Austria at 123 pounds while representing a U.S. youth girls team. She was also a state folkstyle state champion.
Torres is hoping for another shot at Plessinger in two weeks.
“I'm pretty sure I can compete at her level,” Torres said. “All of her wins were by fall and she won 17-1 in the final. I made a couple of mistakes and only lost to her by one point.”
Torres responded from the loss with a 9-2 decision over Ria De Jesus of Capistrano Valley High to advance to the third-place match. She needed only a minute to record her fourth first-period pin of the tournament against Kayla Garcia of Escondido Charter.
More than 200 girls wrestled Friday and Saturday down south and another 265 were at the Northern Regional at Whitney High in Rocklin. The top eight from the 14 weight classes received medals and advanced to the state meet.
The CIF is in the first year of a two-year pilot program aimed at gauging interest in the sport.
Judging by the turnout and response of the girls and coaches Torres came into contact with, it has some value.
Torres is the only girl on the wrestling team at Granite Hills High. At the Southern Regional, Torres learned that wasn't the case everywhere - a lot of high schools have girls teams.
“I was the only one from my school there,” Torres said. “I didn't have my usual crew around. A lot of the girls were really cool. We talked before and after the matches. I made a couple of friends. All of the girls were really respectful. We gave each other hugs after the matches and wished each other well.”
Contact Sports Editor Brian Williams at 784-5000, Ext. 1049, or bwilliams@portervillerecorder.com
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Lower Lake's Torrey places second at NorCal Regional
By staff reports 1/24/06
ROCKLIN -- Monica Torrey of Lower Lake High School is headed to the CIF State Girls' Wrestling Championships after placing second in the 108-pound division during the NorCal Regional Tournament on Saturday at Whitney High School in Rocklin.
Torrey, in her second year of wrestling for the Trojans, dropped a back-and-forth 8-6 decision in the finals to a much more experienced wrestler, according to Lower Lake coach Justin Gaddy.
"She wrestled a girl who was ranked and who had dropped from 114 pounds to 108," Gaddy said. "It was a great match and she was right there the whole way. It could have easily gone the other way."
With the sport of girls' wrestling in its infancy -- this is only the second year a state final has been held -- the NorCal Regional was an open competition, meaning anyone could compete.
"I took all three of my girls and they all did a great job," Gaddy said.
Kernan Winston placed fourth at 154 pounds and Brittany Foree, although she didn't place, went 2-2 at 137 pounds.
Gaddy accompanied his female wrestlers to Rocklin while the remainder of the Lower Lake team took part in the Maria Carrillo Tournament in Santa Rosa.
Himself a standout wrester at Lower Lake, Gaddy said he was impressed with the quality of the competition at Rocklin.
"It was a tough tournament, a lot bigger than I anticipated," Gaddy said. "There were some very good wrestlers there."
Only a handful of Lower Lake boys took part in the Maria Carrillo Tournament because of injuries and of the six Trojans who took part only one -- heavyweight Greg Prior -- won a match.
"It was a good experience for the younger guys who were getting kind of cocky," Gaddy said. "This tournament really opened their eyes as to what it takes to compete at a high level."
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UNION-TRIBUNE
January 24, 2006
Athletes of the week
Sheila McCabe
Wrestling
Valhalla
McCabe, a senior, was the champion at 146 pounds in the Southern Regional girls tournament. The No. 1-ranked girl in her weight class in the state and nation, McCabe had four falls on her way to the tournament title.
