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Clodgo, Murphy grab VSSA honors
Published: Saturday, August 19, 2006
Erin Clodgo of Richmond, who won a national wrestling title, and Trevor Murphy of St. Johnsbury Country Club, the state's top amateur golfer, were selected female and male athletes of the month for July by the Vermont Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
Clodgo captured her second national wrestling title by winning the U.S. Women's Freestyle Championship in the 148-pound category in Fargo, N.D. Clodgo, 15, posted a pair of 1-0 decisions in the first two rounds in the national title match to beat nationally ranked Paige Rifle of Michigan, a three-time state champion. Clodgo was 5-0 in the individual tournament, including pins in each of her first four matches. She then joined Team Connecticut to post five more wins in the duals, which wrapped up July 26, for a perfect 10-0 mark. Two years ago Clodgo won the middle-school-age division at the U. S. Girls Wrestling Association National Championship.
Murphy defended his Vermont men's amateur golf title by beating a field of more than 100 players at his home course. Murphy, 21, shot four-round total of 8-under-par 272 for an eight-shot victory. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte standout also tied for third at the New England Amateur Championshipin Maine and later qualified for the U. S. Amateurby winning the Sectional Qualifier by five shots.
They will be among the 12 sets of monthly winners honored at the VSSA's annual Vermont Athlete of the Year banquet in June at Norwich University.
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Published: Sunday, August 20, 2006
By Mike Donoghue
Free Press Staff Writer
Erin Clodgo of Richmond, who won her second national wrestling title in July, will try to further her skills in the coming year at the United States Olympic Education Center in Michigan.
Clodgo, who completed her sophomore year at Mount Mansfield Union High School in June, leaves today for the Olympic Center on the campus of Northern Michigan University.
"It has been a little crazy, getting all packed, getting organized and getting everything all together. I had my wisdom teeth pulled and my braces taken off," said Clodgo, 15, whose ultimate goal is to make the U.S. women's wrestling team for the 2008 or 2012 Olympics.
Two years ago, Clodgo took first place in the middle school-age division at the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association National Championship in Lake Orion, Mich. In July, she won the 148-pound U.S. Women's Freestyle Championship national title in Fargo, N.D.
Clodgo has been on the OEC's radar screen for a couple of years and her latest win at the nationals was further verification the teenager has a bright future, according to Shannyn Gillespie, program coordinator for the USOEC.
"We actually were aware of her since freshman year," he said. "We tried to recruit her. We brought her into camp and also at a camp at Lake Placid last fall."
Clodgo is one of two high school girls nationwide who will attend the wrestling center, he said.
During her training, Clodgo will live in a university dorm but attend Northern Marquette High School.
"I was asked to stay out there before I won nationals," said Clodgo.
She and her parents, Donna and Walter Clodgo, stopped at the Olympic Center while traveling to and from the national championship.
Clodgo won the national title in impressive fashion, recording 1-0 decisions in the first two rounds of the title match to beat Paige Rifle of Michigan, the reigning folk-style national champion at 144 pounds. Clodgo finished 5-0 in the individual tournament, including pins in each of her first four matches, and posted five more wins in the duals after joining Team Connecticut at the competition.
Gillespie, who monitors the results of various tournaments around the country, said Clodgo has shown she has exceptional strength when competing against college-aged women.
Gillespie and MMU wrestling coach Harley Brown said they believe Clodgo will benefit by training with women. They said girl wrestlers tend to be more defensive when wrestling boys and might not risk moves they might try on another girl.
"Her confidence will grow," Gillespie said.
Clodgo said it will be different not training with her MMU teammates.
"I'm going to miss all the boys on the team. I got along with all of them," she said. "I thought of them as friends."
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Bayelsa retains freestyle wrestling crown
By Solomon Nwoke, just back from Abakaliki
Posted to the Web: Friday, August 18, 2006
BAYELSA and Cross River states have won this year’s Second Gov Sam Egwu National Open Wrestling Championship which ended Tuesday in Abakaliki..
Both states won the men and female Free-Style as Ogun and Lagos placed second respectively while Plateau won the Greco Roman event where Edo state came second.
Bayelsa retained their title as the all time champions in the free style with 88 points garnering nine gold, four silver and three bronze medals while Ogun was second with 52 points and Delta with 49 points to settle for the third place.
While Bayelsa won the men’s title, their female counterparts were not that lucky to retain or improve on their second position as they were pushed to the third place with 51 points by Lagos with 58 points. Cross River state proved themselves to be the new amazons of the female free style wrestling with 63 points to pick the title.
Plateau won the Greco Roman wrestling with 73 points, Edo made 71 points for the second position while Bayelsa got 43 points for the third place.
At the closing ceremony the Deputy Governor of Ebonyi, Elder Chigozie Agboe pledged the state’s continued commitment to make the championship a regular annual event, promising that a befitting indoor sports hall for wrestling would be built in the state.
He added that there would be provision of other sports facilities before the end of the administration’s tenure while urging the wrestlers to eschew any act that is inimical to the spirit of sportsmanship.
He said, “ Ebonyi State is a lover of sports in Nigeria and it is the desire of this administration to make the state a haven of sports in Nigeria. Like my Governor has said earlier, I can assure you of our continued funding and sponsorship of this championship annually”.
Chief Austin Edeze, the President of the Nigeria Amateur Wrestling Federation (NAWF) thanked the Ebonyi governor for his kind gesture towards the federation and also promised that his federation would always utilize any support given to them judiciously.
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Historic first USA Wrestling Beach Nationals held, as Senior Beach World Team is also determined
Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
08/19/2006
RIVIERA BEACH, FLA. - It was a historic day as USA Wrestling hosted its first U.S. Beach National Championships along the Atlantic Ocean at the Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront Resort, August 19.
A total of 103 athletes entered in five age divisions, with competition for both men and women.
In addition, a World Team Trials event was held for the Senior level, to determine the athletes who will represent the United States at the World Beach Championships in Antalya, Turkey in November.
The top three wrestlers in each weight division on the Senior level for men qualified for the World Team Trials in two international weight classes: Below 85 kg (187.5 lbs.) and Above 85 kg (185.75) for men.
Qualifying for the U.S. Team at the Below 85 kg (187.5 lbs.) were World Team Trials champion Steve Forrest of Virginia, runner-up Dewitt Driscoll of North Carolina and third place finisher Jonathan Taylor of Florida.
Forrest defeated Driscoll in the championship bout, 2-0. Taylor stopped Ray Downey of New York, 2-0, in the place match. In the U.S. Nationals event, Forrest was the national champion at 188 pounds, Driscoll was the national runner-up at 141 pounds and Taylor was the national runner-up at 168 pounds.
Qualifying for the U.S. Team at the Above 85 kg (187.5 lbs.) were World Team Trials champion Carlos Dolmo of New York, runner-up Frank Workman of Virginia and third place finisher Angelo Borzio of Pennsylvania.
Dolmo scored a 2-0 win over Workman in the World Team Trials finals. Borzio pinned Jeff Zastrow in the third place match.
All three of the U.S. World Team medalists wrestled at 276 pounds at the U.S. Nationals, with Borzio placing first, Workman taking second and Dolmo taking third. Dolmo has been very active in Beach Wrestling, winning the gold medal at the ASICS East Coast Beach Nationals the last two years.
The U.S. Women’s World Team Trials was held at one weight class, the under 70 kg/154 lbs. division. There were no women at the U.S. Nationals who weighed over 154 pounds, so there was no World Team Trials participants in those divisions.
Capturing the World Team Trials in the Women’s Under 70 kg/154 lbs. division were World Team Trials champion Leigh Jaynes of Colorado, runner-up Lila Ristrevska of Florida and third-place Ingrid Santos of Florida.
Jaynes beat Ristrevska, 2-0 in the finals. Santos scored a 2-1 win over Clara Curtis of Colorado in the third place match. Jaynes had won the U.S. Nationals at 148 pounds, Ristrevska was the U.S. Nationals champion at 127 pounds and Santos was the 109 pounds U.S. Nationals.
The World Team Trials followed a successful day of Beach Wrestling at the first U.S. Nationals tournament. Athletes from across the nation came together to become the first ever U.S. Beach Nationals champions.
In the Senior men’s division, there were eight weight classes. Claiming individual gold medals were Orlando Lagos of Florida (132), Mike Waldron of Florida (141), J.P. Reece of Florida (168), Ray Downey of New York (183), Steve Forrest of Virginia (188), Craig Salvatore of New Jersey (207), Jeff Zastrow of Wisconsin (231) and Angelo Borzio of Pennsylvania (276).
Borzio is a past member of Freestyle Team USA, and was nationally ranked in men’s freestyle wrestling for many years. Reece competed for the Univ. of Michigan and Downey wrestled for Hofstra Univ.
The individual champions in the Women’s Open division were Ingrid Santos of Florida (109), Lila Ristrevska of Florida (127), Clara Curtis of Colorado (132) and Leigh Jaynes of Colorado (148).
Jaynes is a nationally ranked wrestler in women’s freestyle wrestling, competing for the U.S. Army. She was fourth at the 2006 U.S. Nationals in women’s freestyle.
There were three weight classes in the Veteran division. The champions included Steve Biedrycki of Virginia (136), Scott Sodergren of Florida (162) and Robin Franze of New York (223).
Biedrycki was a nationally ranked Greco-Roman wrestler for many years, competing for the U.S. Marines, and was a World Cup champion in Sombo.
There was one champion in the Schoolboy division, Kyle Koziec of Florida.
Five individual champions were determined in the Cadet division: Craig Barker of Florida (110), Andy Skaggs of Missouri (116), Thrasher Porcher of Florida (129), Gunnar Magliolla of Florida (139) and Jacob Schalles of Florida (150).
The Elite division featured wrestlers who are 17 and 18 years old. Seven individual champions were crowned: Pedro Lopez of Florida (121), Christopher Perrodin of Florida (132), Jeremy James of Florida (145), Dean Hancock of Connecticut (159), Chris Renza of Florida (188), Nick Chase of Florida (211) and Justin Chase of Florida (235).
Many of the athletes in the competition are expected to enter the U.S. Sombo Nationals, set for Sunday at the North Palm Beach Community Center in North Palm Beach, Fla.
U.S. Beach Senior Beach World Team
Men’s Under 85 kg/187.5 lbs.
Steve Forrest, Quantico, Va. (U.S. Marine Corps)
Dewitt Driscoll, Chapel Hill, N.C. (Carolina WC)
Jonathan Taylor, Boca Raton, Fla. (Calvary Chapel)
Men’s Over 85 kg/187.5 lbs.
Carlos Dolmo, Bronx, N.Y.(New York AC)
Frank Workman, Spotsylvania, Va. (U.S. Marine Corps)
Angelo Borzio, Stroudsburg, Pa.
Women’s Under 70 kg/154 lbs.
Leigh Jaynes, Colorado Springs, Colo. (EA Kombat)
Lila Restrevska, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Ingrid Santos, Tampa, Fla.(EA Kombat)
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Female wrestling Juniors - 2006-07-17 Abu Dhabi (UAE)
Weight Gold Silver Bronze
44.0 kg Sunisa, Klahan THA Abutalipova, Elenora Jang, Ho-Soon Lee, Kai-Yun
48.0 kg Lee, Da-Yeon KOR Kawamura, Tomomi Krivolapova, Irina Isabekova, Gulnara
51.0 kg Maehara, Megumi JPN Chen, Hsin-Hua Kae-Kan, Noradee
55.0 kg Lee, So-Na KOR Kubatbekyzy, Galina Lin, Chia-Hua Kunieda, Mika
59.0 kg Yamana, Kei JPN Park, Sang-Eun Hou, Min-Wen
63.0 kg Shalygina, Elena KAZ Takahashi, Marina Jung, Hae-Rim
67.0 kg Suzuki, Hiroe JPN Nasanburmaa, Ochirbat Kalinina, Olga
72.0 kg Zhanibekova, Olga KAZ Bae, Ip-Sae Onon, Otgonbayar
Japan had 5 in the finals and 3 champions (China did not enter Female University or Jr. World Championships this year):
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Female wrestling Cadets - 2006-07-25 Istanbul (TUR)
Weight Gold Silver Bronze
38.0 kg Vostrika, Elena RUS Rakoczy, Agnieszka Berkum, Nadinevan Ryzhova, Alina
40.0 kg Bezruka, Natalya UKR Simon, Grigoria Abgiova, Elsa Kasvonen, Sara
43.0 kg Wennstroem, Hanna SWE Shiryaeva, Svetlana Kusminska, Natalia Trandeva, Valya
46.0 kg Mattsson, Lisa SWE Anisimova, Alina Ylinan, Tina Koeteles, Alexandra
49.0 kg Mattsson, Sofia SWE Oydopova, Marina Pujer, Natalia Hautala, Johanna
52.0 kg Kutakova, Viktoria RUS Atakol, Dilek Husyak, Irina Osocka, Dominka
56.0 kg Gurova, Maria RUS Khariv, Irina Gottschling, Marleen Suein, Taybe
60.0 kg Strelczyk, Agata POL Axenbeck, Sabrina Tamara Karpilova, Irina Dombrovska, Katerina
65.0 kg Mlynarska, Viktoria UKR Kulikova, Elena Giendenvall, Malin Bunten, Jennifer
70.0 kg Weberg, Emma SWE Sanzheyeva, Darima Staab, Dominique Vaschuk, Oksana
Russia and Sweden had 4 champions; Russia also had 5 runners-up (4 runners-up to Sweden):
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Warsaw Cup Senior Women's Results from Warsaw, Poland
2006-08-19
51 kg - 13 entries
Lyndsay Belisle - Gold
Defeated Marta Podedworna of Poland 3-1, 6-0
Defeated Marinav Srisrkina of Russia 0-1, 1-0, 4-3
Defeated Brigette Wagner of Germany 1-3, 2-0
Defeated Maryna Markevich of Belarus 0-1, 6-1, 2-0
59 kg - 18 entries
Breanne Graham - 8th place
Defeated Kinga Lach of Poland by fall
Lost to Stefanie Stuber of Germany by fall
67 kg - 14 entries
Megan Buydens - 5th place
Defeated Iryna Tsyrkevich of Belarus 0-1, 1-0, 2-0
Defeated Admiral Masira of the Neatherlands 1-1, 1-0, 3-0
Lost to Alena Perepelkina of Russia by fall
Lost to Valeriya Zlatova of Ukraine 0-1, 0-1
72 kg - 11 entries
Ohenewa Okuffo - 5th place
Defeated Maria-Louisa Vrioni of Greece 1-0, 1-0
Lost to Daria Nazarova of Russia 1-1, 2-0
Lost to Unda Maider of Spain 0-1, 0-2