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School board's Kutlas: Keep number of middle school girls sports the same
Activities director argues more sports would make for limited competition with other area schools
By Harold Reutter 6/9/06
harold.reutter@theindependent.com
Grand Island Activities Director Joe Kutlas issued a report Thursday night that showed fewer middle school girls than boys are participating in athletics.
But Kutlas told the Grand Island school board that he and others who reviewed the situation do not believe a middle school girls sport should be added at this time.
More than 68 percent of Grand Island middle school boys participate in athletics, compared to 32 percent of girls. At Senior High, about 63 percent of boys play sports, compared to 37 percent of girls.
Kutlas said those numbers levels are very close to nationwide percentages, where 71 percent of high school boys play sports compared to 29 percent of high school girls.
In the Grand Island public schools, available middle school boys sports include football, wrestling, basketball and track, while middle school girls can participate in volleyball, basketball and track.
Kutlas said the district could add girls soccer, softball or wrestling. Interest in soccer and softball should be good, with soccer being the least expensive choice. However, girls soccer might generate pressure to add boys soccer, as well.
Soccer and softball also would compete with other sports, Kutlas said. For example, girls soccer would compete with track for athletes.
Kutlas said wrestling would not detract from other middle school girls sports. However, he said middle school girl wrestlers could not move up to high school wrestling.
Kutlas also said all three possible sport additions share one major drawback: No other middle schools field those interscholastic sports. He said Kearney has had some middle school girls wrestling and Hastings has considered it.
But for the most part, adding another sport would mean that Barr, Walnut and Westridge girls would mostly be restricted to competing against one another in games.
Kutlas said Grand Island Public Schools is adding many opportunities for girls to play sports with the addition of seventh-grade girls athletics to Barr and Walnut. He said the addition of seventh-grade girls athletics requires a financial commitment by the district.
He suggested Grand Island first concentrate on getting the seventh-grade programs going before attempting to add any new sport.
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TheMat.com International Wrestling Rankings released for June 2006
Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
06/08/2006
TheMat.com has published its International Wrestling Rankings for the month of June 2006. These are the only international rankings published anywhere in the world which rates athletes and teams in the three Olympic wrestling styles: men’s freestyle, men’s Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle wrestling.
TheMat.com International Wrestling Rankings list the top 15 wrestlers in the world in each weight class, as well as the top 15 nations in each of the wrestling styles.
A panel of five international wrestling journalists created the rankings.
The top teams in TheMat.com International Wrestling Rankings for April 2006are:
• Men’s Freestyle – Russia
• Men’s Greco-Roman – Russia
• Women’s Freestyle – Japan
There were five changes in the No. 1 ranked wrestlers in the new rankings. It has been a busy time of the year for international wrestling, including a number of continental championships and major events. The No. 1 ranked wrestlers in each weight class, by style, are listed below:
Men’s Freestyle
55 kg – Dilshod Mansurov (Uzbekistan); 60 kg – Mavlet Batirov (Russia); 66 kg – Makhach Murtazaliev (Russia); 74 kg – Bouvaisa Saitiev (Russia); 84 kg – Adam Saitiev (Russia); 96 kg – Khadjimurat Gatsalov (Russia); 120 kg – Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan)
The new No. 1 athletes in freestyle are Batirov at 60 kg, and Taymazov at 120 kg. Batirov won the European Championships title at his weight class.
Men’s Greco-Roman
55 kg – Armen Amoyan (Armenia); 60 kg – Armen Nazarian (Bulgaria); 66 kg –Alan Milan (Cuba); 74 kg – Varteras Samourgachev (Russia); 84 kg –Artur Michalkiewicz; 96 kg – Hamza Yerlikaya (Turkey); 120 kg – Mijial Lopez (Cuba)
The new No. 1 athletes in freestyle are Amoyan at 55 kg, Milan at 66 kg and Michalkiewicz at 84 kg. Both Amoyan and Michalkiewicz were European champions this year.
Women’s Freestyle
48 kg – Xueveng Ren (China); 51 kg – Hitomi Sakamoto (Japan); 55 kg – Saori Yoshida (Japan); 59 kg – Ayako Shoda (Japan); 63 kg – Kaori Icho (Japan); 67 kg – Meng Lili (China); 72 kg – Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan)
All of these women athletes were ranked No. 1 in the April rankings.
Rankings will be published during the following months this season
• December 2005
• February 2006
• April 2006
• June 2006
• August 2006
In order to provide accurate and timely rankings, as well as to stimulate interest and fan support of international wrestling, TheMat.com asks all wrestling journalists and fans to submit results from international competitions across the world. These results will be posted immediately in the International results section on TheMat.com.
Please send any and all international wrestling tournament results to Gary Abbott of USA Wrestling at gabbott@usawrestling.org