News Page
Female wrestler reaches title match
Tomahawk senior on verge of winning state crown at 103
By JOE SHINNERS
Special to the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Feb. 25, 2006
Madison - Alyssa Lampe will take a lofty spot on the medals stand tonight at the end of the WIAA Division 2 state individual wrestling tournament.
|
Photo/Joe Koshollek Alyssa Lampe becomes the first girl to qualify for a state final, beating Dodgeville sophomore Grant Sutter, 9-7, Friday at the Kohl Center in Madison.
|
The Tomahawk senior made her third state tournament appearance a memorable one Friday, advancing to the 103-pound championship match tonight with two victories at the Kohl Center.
Lampe (45-4) took a 6-3 decision over Freedom senior Kyle Klueskens in the quarterfinals, guaranteeing that she would be the first Wisconsin girl ever to place in the state tournament.
Then Lampe became the first girl to qualify for a state final, beating Dodgeville sophomore Grant Sutter, 9-7.
It was a tight match, as Lampe didn't secure the victory until earning a takedown with 21 seconds left.
"I'm just really excited," she said. "I never dreamed about this when I was a freshman. (The state title) is so close I can taste it."
Lampe is to face a familiar foe in the final, Chetek / Prairie Farm sophomore Thane Antczak (47-2). The two split matches last week: Antczak defeated her in the team sectional final, 7-2, but Lampe won a 2-1 decision in the individual sectional final.
"The first time, my mind wasn't in the right spot," Lampe said. "I didn't know he was an outside shooter. It helped to know that."
-----------------------------------------------------
WIAA state wrestling: Lampe has shot at becoming first female champ
By Dennis Semrau 2/25/06
Tomahawk native Alyssa Lampe never dreamed that she could win a WIAA individual state wrestling championship.
How could she?
Girls just didn't wrestle, a point Lampe was reminded of often while growing up in northern Wisconsin.
Yet there she was Friday night at the Kohl Center, the first female in state history to wrestle in a semifinal match.
She didn't stop there.
Tonight, Lampe will try to become the first girl in Wisconsin history - and only the second female ever in the country - to win a state wrestling title when she meets Thane Antczak of Chetek-Prairie Farm for the Division 2 103-pound state championship.
"I never even dreamed about this when I was a freshman," said Lampe, who improved her record to 45-4. "But I've learned that nothing is impossible. I know how hard I've worked. I've earned the right to be here."
Lampe earned that right by defeating Freedom's Kyle Kleuskens 6-3 in the quarterfinals Friday afternoon. Later, she stunned Dodgeville sophomore Grant Sutter 9-7 in the semifinals in dramatic fashion.
The score was tied at 7-7 when Lampe threw Sutter to the mat with just 8 seconds remaining in the final period for a decisive two-point takedown.
Moments later, Lampe leapt into the air to a thunderous roar of approval from the raucous crowd.
"It was just amazing. I rode the emotion of the fans through the whole match," Lampe said. "I couldn't let them down."
Tomahawk co-head coaches Bob Skubal and Bob Garrou and assistant John Arnott also leapt for joy before rushing the mat to celebrate with Lampe.
"It's phenomenal, simply phenomenal," Skubal said while breaking into a wide grin.
"I had six of the seven signs of a heart attack. I don't know what the seventh one was. But it was a tremendous rush."
Earlier this month, sophomore Michaela Hutchinson became the first girl in the United States to win a state wrestling title, claiming Alaska's large-school crown at 103 pounds.
But that achievement hasn't diminished the spotlight on Lampe, whose accomplishment has changed the face of wrestling in Wisconsin.
"It creates more opportunities for girls to prove they can wrestle, whether it's with boys or other girls," said Stoughton co-coach Bob Empey, who is the president of the Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association. "That young lady is blazing a trail for wrestling in Wisconsin and for women's wrestling in the country."
Antczak and Lampe will be meeting for the third time this season. Antczak won the first match 7-2 at a team sectional dual on Feb. 14. Lampe then got even with a 2-1 victory at the individual sectional meet.
They will square off at 6 p.m. as one of the first matches of the championship round.
"I'll be nervous so I'm glad we'll be wrestling right away," said Lampe, who has also competed in state tournaments in cross country and track and field. "The whole atmosphere will be great. But I want to win the state championship. That's why I'm here."
Alyssa's brother, Anthony, also qualified for the state finals at 112 when he beat Luke Wiegman of Cuba City-Southwestern 12-2.
That is fitting because if was their father, Jeff, who introduced Alyssa to the sport to provide Anthony with a practice partner when he was in first grade.
"The last couple of seconds I was scared but I knew she belonged here," said Anthony, who was fourth at state last year at 119 pounds. "Alyssa proved that girls can compete here. She's worthy of a state championship."
Freshman Nick Hagar made it a perfect day for Tomahawk when he also advanced to the state finals at 125 pounds.
But it is Alyssa Lampe who will be the highlight tonight for the expected sell-out crowd.
"Some people still don't believe she's for real," Skubal said. "If they have an issue to deal with they should get over the fact that girls should have no limits set on them. They should never hold themselves back."
-----------------------------------------------------
Highland Park, Amarillo Caprock take lead
02/25/2006
Associated Press
Defending wrestling boys team champions Dallas Highland Park and two-time girls champion Amarillo Caprock led the team scoring Friday after two rounds of University Interscholastic league wrestling competition.
Highland Park leads second place Canyon Randall, 50-38, and has four wrestlers in the championship round and five competing in the consolation bracket. Randall has three athletes wrestling in the title match and two in the consolation round.
Caprock has a 49-29 lead over Arlington and Corpus Christi Carroll. Caprock also has four wrestlers in the championship round to three for Carroll and none for Arlington.
Four defending boys champions remain in the hunt for another gold medal. Shane Doughman, (Klein Oak, 119-pound class); Spencer Jernigan (Arlington High, 152); Jason Logan (Dumas, 160) and Fredric Rowsey (Highland Park, 171).
Two female grapplers are attempting to defend their championships. They are: 102-pound champion Awbrey Lowe of El Paso Hanks and 148-pound champion Lindsey Brooks of Klein.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carroll trails Amarillo Caprock at wrestling tourney
Tigers sending three grapplers to title round
By Associated Press
February 25, 2006
AUSTIN - It was a day of mixed results for local wrestlers at the UIL state meet Friday.
Ray's Jackie Stiles won her first match, pinning Keller Central's Courtney Ware in just 51 seconds, but she lost her second match to El Paso Central's Stephanie Hann, when she was pinned 3:46 into the match.
She was slated to wrestle again in the consolation bracket late Friday night.
Ray's Jared Perez also went 1-1, losing his first match, but winning an easy decision in the consolation round, outpointing San Antonio Churchill's Ben Vega 13-4.
Beeville's Austin Villareal lost his first-round match, but dominated in the consolation bracket, pinning El Paso El Dorado's Oscar Mesa in just 15 seconds.
Beeville's Spencer Rivers and Richard Silvas also split their first two matches and were scheduled for a third-round match late Friday night.
Defending wrestling boys team champions Dallas Highland Park and two-time girls champion Amarillo Caprock led the team scoring Friday after two rounds of University Interscholastic league wrestling competition.
Highland Park leads second place Canyon Randall, 50-38, and has four wrestlers in the championship round and five competing in the consolation bracket.
Caprock has a 49-29 lead over Arlington and Carroll. Caprock also has four wrestlers in the championship round to three for Carroll and none for Arlington.
Four defending boys champions remain in the hunt for another gold medal. Shane Doughman, (Klein Oak, 119-pound class); Spencer Jernigan (Arlington High, 152); Jason Logan (Dumas, 160) and Fredric Rowsey (Highland Park, 171).
Two female grapplers are attempting to defend their championships.
They are: 102-pound champion Awbrey Lowe of El Paso Hanks and 148-pound champion Lindsey Brooks of Klein.
------------------------------------------
Chun, Roberts win gold medals at Vehbi Emre Golden Grand Prix in Turkey
Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
02/24/2006
Two U.S. women wrestlers, Clarissa Chun (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC) and Sally Roberts (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC) won gold medals during the first day of competition at the the Vehbi Emre Golden Grand Prix in Izmir, Turkey, Feb. 24.
This tournament is one of the new FILA Golden Grand Prix events, which provides prize money to athletes based upon their placement. Competition is being held in men’s Greco-Roman wrestling and women’s freestyle wrestling.
Chun won three matches on the way to the title, including a pin of Elcin Demiritas of Turkey in the second period during the gold-medal match.
She opened with a 6-0, 8-0 technical fall over Fatima Malay of Turkey, then scored a second period injury default over Denitza Semkova of Bulgaria.
Chun is currently ranked No. 2 in the United States in her weight class. She was a 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials runner-up.
Roberts, a two-time World bronze medalist, also won three times to capture the title. In the gold-medal match, she scored an injury default win over Ashilihan Boyal of Turkey.
Roberts opened up with a second period pin over Gazime Acis of Turkey, then scored another second period pin over Halime Ozkul of Turkey.
Roberts claimed bronze medals at the 2003 and 2005 World Championships.
Two members of the 2005 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team also competed on Friday, and were eliminated from medal contention when the athlete they lost to did not qualify for the gold-medal finals. Under new FILA rules, only athletes who lose to finalists qualify for the wrestle-back rounds.
At 74 kg/163 lbs., T.C. Dantzler (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC) opened the tournament with a 3-2, 3-0 win over Velin Marinov of Bulgaria. In the second round, Dantzler lost to Cedelis Herrero of Cuba, 3-3, 0-3. When Herrero did not qualify for the finals, Dantzler was eliminated.
2002 World champion Dremiel Byers (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC) lost his only match of the tournament at 120 kg/264.5 lbs., falling to Y. Yilmaz Gul of Turkey, by disqualification in the third period. Gul did not make the finals, knocking Byers out of the competition. Gul eventually won a bronze medal.
The competition continues Saturday and Sunday with more action in both men’s Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle wrestling.
VEHBI EMRE GOLDEN GRAND PRIX
At Izmir, Turkey, Feb 24
Men’s Greco-Roman medalists
55 kg/121 lbs.
Gold – Kim Jong Iae (Korea)
Silver – Uran Kalilov (Kyrgyzstan)
Bronze – Unal Orel (Turkey)
Bronze – Yeva Emamba (Kazakhstan)
74 kg/163 lbs.
Gold – Seref Tufenk (Turkey)
Silver – Viktar Aniskavets (Belarus)
Bronze – Mahmut Altay (Turkey)
Bronze – Sumagi Saltkhutsishvili (Georgia)
120 kg/264.5 lbs.
Gold – Mijian Lopez (Cuba)
Silver – Mindaugas Mizgaitis (Lithuania)
Bronze – Mihaly Deak Bardos (Hungary)
Bronze – Y. Yilmaz Gul (Turkey)
U.S. Greco-Roman performances
74 kg/163 lbs. – T.C. Dantzler, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC), dnp
WIN Velin Marinov (Bulgaria), 3-2, 3-0
LOSS Cedelis Herrero (Cuba), 3-3, 0-3
120 kg/264.5 lbs. – Dremiel Byers, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army), dnp
LOSS Y. Yilmaz Gul (Turkey), 3-0, 0-3, disq.
Women’s Freestyle medalists
48 kg/105.5 lbs.
Gold – Clarissa Chun (USA)
Silver – Elcin Demiritas (Turkey)
59 kg/130 lbs.
Gold – Sally Roberts (USA)
Silver – Ashlihan Boyali (Turkey)
U.S. women’s performances
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Clarissa Chun, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids), 1st
WIN Fatima Malay (Turkey), 6-0, 8-0
WIN Denitza Semkova (Bulgaria), 6-0, inj. dft.
WIN Elcin Demiritas (Turkey), 1-1, pin 1:07
59 kg/130 lbs. - Sally Roberts, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC), 1st
WIN Gazime Acis (Turkey), 6-0, 1:20
WIN Halime Ozkul (Turkey), 8-0, 3:15
WIN Ashilihan Boyali (Turkey), inj. dft.
-------------------------------------------------
Double dipped
Curwick, Sobrilsky dumped in semis
By DAN BAULCH - Assistant Sports Editor 2/25/06
MADISON - It is said that time heals all wounds.
Without the benefit of said time, Beaver Dam junior Ryan Curwick and sophomore Casey Sobrilsky left Friday's Division 1 State Individual Wrestling Tournament semifinal matches disappointed with what lay ahead.
Most wrestlers would be thrilled with the chance to take third at the state meet, but Curwick and Sobrilsky had high hopes for wrestling for the state title at their respective weights, and their humbling semifinal losses at the Kohl Center prevented them from seeing the bigger picture.
Curwick (36-4) had lost his previous 103-pound match with Mukwonago's Chad Leviner (43-1) by a score of 5-2, but Leviner was determined to be the agressor in the rematch.
Leviner handled Curwick easily, allowing just three escapes en route to a 12-3 victory.
"I just didn't wrestle, and I don't know why," a despondent Curwick said. When asked about the chance to take third place with a win over Manitowoc Lincoln's Alex Becka today, he simply responded, "It's all right, but it's not first (place)."
In Curwick's previous trip to state in 2005, he finished without a medal, but he is assured of at least a fourth after winning his first two matches of the tournament.
"We wanted Ryan to be aggressive and we wanted to dictate the match but he couldn't," Beaver Dam coach Jeff Slayton said. "Once he got behind he had to work harder and that's tough against a guy like Leviner.
"But Ryan has a lot to be proud of. He has a shot at third and that's a big improvement over last year. And he still has a year to go and another chance at first place."
Sobrilsky (27-7), meanwhile, had looked ahead at the 112-pound bracket and had imagined himself taking on Green Bay Preble/East's Malachi Root (47-2) in the finals. Instead, he will face him for third place after Root was upset in the semifinals.
Sobrilsky's game plan was to stay on the leg of Wisconsin Rapid Lincoln's Josh Chappa (42-4), but Chappa's quickness surprised Sobrilsky, who found himself on his heels the entire match.
Chappa was in control the whole way and took an 8-2 lead into the second period.
Early in the second, Chappa and Sobrilsky were tied up in the neutral position when Chappa powered Sobrilsky to his back, where he pinned him at the 3:02 mark to advance to the finals.
"I thought I was in a good position, and suddenly I was on my back," Sobrilsky said. "I had no idea what happened. I was surprised by how quick he was. I wasn't expecting that. If I could had stayed on his leg like I planned I could have won this match."
Like Curwick, Sobrilsky was disappointed he wouldn't be wrestling for the title today, but Slayton thought motivation would eventually override the Beavers' disappointment.
"It stings right now for those two and we have to work with that feeling for a little while," Slayton said. "Casey, he walked into a buzzsaw tonight, but he'll use that experience to motivate him for next year. The same goes for Ryan (Curwick). They can each come back and get better."
Home Kohl Advantage
As Curwick was getting taken down by Leviner late in his semifinal loss, the Kohl Center crowd erupted.
That's because crowd favorite Alyssa Lampe (47-4) advanced to the Division 2 103-pound final with her 9-7 victory over Dodgeville's Grant Sutter.
Lampe can make history by becoming the first female to claim a WIAA state wrestling title with a win over Chetek/Prairie Farm's Thane Antczak (50-2) tonight.
--------------------------------------------------------------
