News Page
Berube third in world wrestling championships
/www.dailypress.net 6/19/06
ULAN BATOR, Mongolia — Alaina Berube of Escanaba captured the bronze medal at 63 kilograms (1383/4 pounds) Saturday in the Women’s World University Wrestling Championships, pinning Luong Thi Kuyen of Vietnam.
Berube, who dropped a 3-0, 3-0 decision to N. Mio of Japan in the opening round, then pinned Andreyeka of Russia to reach the third-place match.
Berube, the 2006 University Nationals champion, also took the bronze in last year’s World University Games in Turkey.
Liz Short of the United States Olympic Training Center in Marquette also placed third at 48 kilograms (1051/2 pounds), defeating Thi Maiphung of Vietnam 3-0, 3-0.
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China's first air hostess-cops to surface
(CRI)
Updated: 2006-06-19 16:33
Zhuoga is one of China's first batch Tibetan stewardesses. She will appear on the plane of Air China's Southwest Company in early September as China's first female Tibetan airplane security guard. Pictured: the Tibetan girl Zhuoga who has a swarthy complexion by the sun was learning wrestling with male students.
Starting early this September, China's first batch of female stewards with "double identities", who are not only gentle and beautiful air hostesses but also "air policewomen" good at fighting, will formally show up on the flights of Air China Southwest Branch Co.
It is learnt that after passing a strict test, these air security guards will receive a two-and-a-half-month isolation training in Chengdu command institute under the Chinese People's Armed Police Force, where they can train physical abilities and learn skills of capturing and unarmed combat and how to handle emergency. Air China revealed that in some respects, female security guards are more careful and not easy to be discovered on the flight. Once an emergency happens, their identities as stewards more likely ease others' alert, which is good for overpowering the criminals with a single step beyond their expectation.
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Chalk Talk: Fresno State AD Boeh had a chance to really take a stand
By Brian Williams, The Porterville Recorder 6/20/06
The big green V on the back of the Fresno State football helmets has lost some of its luster after last week's decision by the college to drop its wrestling program.
Fellow Recorder sports writer Mark Peinado was right on with his column railing the decision.
Today, I hope to throw in my two cents and keep the issue going.
This was a horrible decision and sets a bad precedent for the future of athletics from Division I college down to the high school ranks.
What a leader FSU Athletic Director Thomas Boeh is. Couldn't bring yourself to make the announcement right after wrestling or even while the spring semester was still in session?
And I probably shouldn't be pointing at the football program but they are easy targets when you look at the numbers. Both wrestling and football are the only two programs at Fresno to not have a like women's sport, which is pretty common at any Div. I colleges.
But they aren't going to get rid of the moneymaker, which brings me to one of my biggest gripes in all of this.
I understand dealing with the bottom line.
Everyone has to deal with that - my mom would sit at the table every pay day and write checks. There were numerous instances where she had to be creative in order for my sister and I to play on youth teams.
Wrestling boosters in the Valley have some deep pockets. I'm sure if someone had went to them and asked for some help they probably would have written a blank check.
And after all, since when do collegiate sports need to make money or even break even? If making money is the measuring stick, then you can bet many other sports are on the chopping block.
Another reason given for axing wrestling in order to bring men's cross country back was Title IX.
I'm all for women's sports at any level, but instead of getting rid of a sport altogether why not take a chance and give women's wrestling a shot and still bring the runners back?
Girls wrestling is growing at a rapid rate at high schools in California and has also made its way into the Olympics. Fresno could've been at the forefront of women's collegiate wrestling.
Now, let's take this a little closer to home. What is the message being sent by Fresno State's decision?
Porterville College probably hasn't made any money from its athletic programs since its men's basketball teams were contending for state titles back in the late 1990s. Sure, just having the bodies on campus brings money in, but I would be surprised if it matched what is going out in terms of salaries for coaches and trainers, and costs attributed to concessions, utilities, maintenance, uniforms, etc.
The same can be said for high schools.
So, now do they see what Fresno is doing and follow along? Where does it end? Sports having to make money or do we start charging the athletes to play?
All of this brings up old, bad memories of how Fresno State shafted Monache basketball standout Amanda Baker in the mid '90s.
Remember, she was one of the best all-around players on the team, yet, they still took away her scholarship. They said she could stay and walk-on, but after that slap in the face who can blame her for taking her game elsewhere?
It's doesn't have much to do with this issue other than it points out that Fresno's sports department has been in disarray for some time. I just don't see how the latest decision helps with that. If anything, it adds to the black cloud and forces Valley student-athletes to consider bolting to another state.
People talk about wanting to keep the best minds and bodies in house and nurturing them, but the actions don't back that up.
Boeh had a chance to really take a stand and say that money isn't always the driving force and we are going to work with Title IX, instead of throwing up our hands in defeat.
There were options. Maybe not the most cost-effective options but options none the less.
Contact Sports Editor Brian Williams at 784-5000, Ext. 1049, or bwilliams@portervillerecorder.com
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6/20/06
Ridgefield native Melissa Simmons was named to the 2006 High School All American women's team by Wrestling USA magazine. The magazine also recognized Anthony Hayes, a Battle Ground High wrestler who will wrestle for Oklahoma in college, as All American honorable mention. Brandon Sitch of Kelso, who trains with the Southwest Washington Wrestling Club, was named to the Wrestling USA magazine 2006 Academic All American Team with a GPA of 3.93.
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6/20/06
Fondy wrestlers do well in tournament
Stephany Ingersoll wrested in the girls folkstyle and freestyle festival. She won in folkstyle and took second in freestyle.
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6/20/06
For the second straight year, 2006 Lincoln graduate Emily Espana earned Wrestling U.S.A. Magazine High School All-American honors as one of the top girls wrestlers in the nation.
Espana won the state championships at 132 pounds at tournaments in both California and Oregon earlier this year, and she hopes to compete for the U.S. Olympic Team in the 2012 Summer Olympics.
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