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Whitbeck to make gender statement
First girl to reach states leads Section II hopefuls into battle of the best

By DAVID FILKINS, Staff writer
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First published: Friday, February 24, 2006

Teenage golf sensation Michelle Wie could learn a thing or two from Duanesburg wrestler Amy Whitbeck.

For years, Wie, the 16-year-old Hawaiian known for blasting 300-yard drives, has professed her desire to play in the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National, a male-only club in Augusta, Ga.

The possibility exists Wie could gain entrance through a series of qualifying tournaments, but she has failed to get there so far.

Whitbeck, 15, has gone one step further in her pursuit to infiltrate what has been an exclusively male fraternity in her sport. After winning last weekend's Section II championship at 96 pounds in the small school division, Whitbeck, a sophomore, became the first girl to advance to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championship in its 44-year history.

The two-day tournament kicks off today at Nassau Veterans Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island, with champions crowned Saturday at each weight class in the small and large school division.

Making it this far is a victory in itself for Whitbeck, regardless of where she finishes at states.

"Since I began wrestling (seven years ago) making it this far has been one of my goals," Whitbeck said earlier in the week. She intends to wrestle at one of seven colleges that offer girls' wrestling, and has Olympic aspirations. "It's like wow, I finally made it."

After a grueling season, every wrestler in Section II would likely share her sentiment, though many of them know what it's like to advance this far into the season.

Ten of the 30 Section II wrestlers in last year's state tournament are back, including Duanesburg senior Jim Almy, the reigning 275-pound champion among small schools, and Shenendehowa freshman Austin Meys, who was the large school champion at 105 pounds last year but will wrestle at 125 pounds this time.

Christian Brothers Academy junior Michael Chaires is back after being the large school runner-up at 145 pounds last year, as is Hudson Falls senior Corey Barber, the small school runner-up at 140 last year now wrestling at 145.

Barber's brother, Aaron, is the Section II representative at 140. They are the second set of brothers since 1991 to wrestle in the same state championship. The other was Austin and Hunter Meys, who did it for Shenendehowa last year. Hunter Meys lost a 3-1 overtime decision to Chaires in the Section II final.

SMALL SCHOOL

96 -- Amy Whitbeck (Duanesburg) 103 -- Brian Borst (Duanesburg) 112 -- Carlo Izzo (Canajoharie) 119 -- Erik Johanson (Schuylerville) 125 -- Jonathan Hyatt (Granville) 130 -- Adam Maslonka (Hadley-Luzerne) 135 -- Carl Breitenstein (Duanesburg) 140 -- Aaron Barber (Hudson Falls) 145 -- Corey Barber (Hudson Falls) 152 -- Ryan Black (Warrensburg) 160 -- Nate Graham (Ravena) 171 -- Brandon Lapp (Maple Hill) 189 -- Nick Wilson (Salem) 215 -- Dan Randall (Salem) 275 -- Jim Almy (Duanesburg)

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Districts about maintaining focus
Ohio wrestling notebook

BY MIKE DYER | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER 2/24/06

Lakota West coach Scott Fetzer expected to log more hours watching film to prepare for this weekend's district tournament, but he also has stressed to the Firebirds the importance of not looking too far ahead - to the state tournament.

"We reminded the kids they need to keep doing what they've done all year," Fetzer said. "They haven't been fazed, so they don't need to change now."

All eyes will be on Moeller and West - the area's top two Division I teams - as the district tournament opens at Fairfield at 2 p.m. today.

Lakota West had 12 wrestlers qualify to the district at the Fairfield 1 sectional, including undefeated junior Bo Touris (103) and sophomore Ryan Fields (112). Touris is 38-0 and Fields is 39-0.

Any lapse in focus could be cause for an early exit, said senior Alex Flake, who was a sectional champ at 130.

"(District week) does make it a lot more exciting," Flake said. "To have everyone else (on the team) winning, it makes the hard work and cutting weight a little bit better."

For top-ranked Moeller, ranked No. 9 nationally by Amateur Wrestling News, 14 wrestlers made district.

Moeller junior Frank Becker (275) said watching film with coaches is crucial, but he enjoys practicing with 13 other varsity athletes.

"Once it's district, the coaches say there is no more getting better," Becker said. "(The coaches) just keep ... making sure our techniques are down. It's kind of hard to learn something again in a week."

Moeller coach Jeff Gaier said there isn't any big secret for today.

"Our coaching staff will do a lot at this time of year with visualization - keeping the kids positive - and have them visualize proper technique and their successful matches," Gaier said. "At this time of year, you can see some upsets because kids get too tight."

GROWING UP FAST: Elder won the Fairfield 2 sectional, and Elder coach Dick McCoy said the Panthers could do well this weekend.

"The team is coming together at the right time," McCoy said. "... I knew we were a better team than we had shown the last couple of weeks of the season, and now we are wrestling to our potential."

Tommy Pretty (103), Justin McCoy (112), Curt DeJaco (152) and Sean Jameson (215) won sectional titles as Elder qualified 12 wrestlers overall.

SURPRISING NO MORE: Roger Bacon clinched its first sectional title since 1990 by winning at Division II Goshen. The Spartans, who had 11 district qualifiers, return to Goshen today.

"What amazes me is that some of these guys aren't very technically sound as wrestlers, but they win a lot of matches with heart and by going hard and wrestling very physical," Bacon coach Brennan Ryan said.

Junior Chris Trimbach (112), junior Thomas Raabe (125), junior Ryan Hammoor (145) and sophomore John Hoeh (171) were sectional champions.

MAN OF STEELE: Norwood's Dominique Steele is undefeated (44-0) at 275 and although the weight class is very deep, he could become Norwood's first state qualifier since 1996.

NICE TO BE HOME: Host Blanchester won a Division III sectional and has 10 district qualifiers, including sectional champions Jeff Panno (145) and Zak Taylor (215).

"It means a lot to my team to win a sectional title," coach Bryan Pennix said.

Pennix said he believes Amanda Breezley (112) is the first female in the state to be a four-time district qualifier.

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Waldport's Paul Corwin second in OSAA State Wrestling Tournament

By Jake Schubert Of the News-Times 2/24/06

The OSAA State Wrestling tournament was held Thursday, Feb. 16 through Saturday, Feb. 18 at The Pavilion at the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem. In all, 22 Lincoln County wrestlers participated and four placed in their divisions - three were from Waldport, with one coming from Toledo.

The highest placer was Waldport's Paul Corwin who finished second, but sister Misty, who placed fifth, garnered more conversation.

Misty Corwin became the first female wrestler in Oregon history to place at state.

When earning a spot in the semifinals, the 15-year-old was assured of her spot in history.

"I don't really feel any different or look at myself as a girl wrestler," Corwin told the Oregonian. "I think I proved to everybody that I'm a lot tougher than they all thought. I heard that a lot of people thought I would go two-and-out."

Misty earned her way to the semis by pinning her first opponent in 5:03, then pinning her second opponent in 43 seconds.

Corwin was pinned by Culver's Michael Williams in her semifinal match. Williams went on to place second. Next up, Corwin lost to Jake Nelson, also of Culver. Nelson finished fourth. After that, Corwin faced her Waldport teammate Jacob Jack in the 5th/6th place match. Corwin came out on top with a 7-1 win, making her fifth in state at the 2A level in the 103-pound weight class.

As for Paul Corwin, he won his first match in overtime, 8-6, over Bandon's Sean Turner. Then Corwin beat Warrenton's Alex Dustin 14-1 and Glendale's Shane Campbell 11-4. Corwin came up just a little shy in the finals, losing to Willamina's Alec Ortiz 13-6.

"Paul broke the Waldport dry spell of state placers last year when he placed fifth, and now we've made a bit more recent history by placing three wrestlers in the same year," Waldport coach Ezra Morse said. "It's been a long time since that has happened and since we've had a wrestler in the state finals. With all these placers returning next year, we are poised to make major gains next season."

Jack lost his first match of the tournament to Nelson, who later went on to beat Corwin. Jack then won two matches in the consolation bracket, before losing to Nyssa's Smitty Hartley, who finished third. Jack went on to lose to Corwin and finish sixth.

Toledo's Moran places sixth

Lincoln County's lone placer at the 3A level was Toledo's Brandon Moran, who pinned his first three opponents. In the first round, Moran pinned Hidden Valley's Isaac Perez in 1 minute. In the second round, he pinned Banks' Andy Kommer in 4:49. In the quarterfinals, he pinned Estacada's Greg Locke in 5:18, earning a spot in the semifinals. Moran's semifinal match was against Elmira's Jayson Conger and he lost 4-2, sending him to the consolation bracket.

Moran lost his first consolation match to Junction City's Mike Furrer who finished fourth. And Moran lost to Josh Thatcher in the 5th/6th place match.

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