Photo of Laura Skopelianos - UWO women's vasity team
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Toronto, Canada - Josip MRKOCI - November 11, 2006 -
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Photo of Laura Skopelianos - UWO women's vasity team |
Laura Skopelianos and Jessica Fitzgerald won individual gold to edge defending OUA champions, Brock University by one point, 45-44, to win the team title at the Toronto Open Wrestling Tournament.
Skopelianos, a London Lucas graduate who transferred back from the University of Calgary beat Brock’s Liz Martindale in two straight rounds, 3-0, 1-0 in the 51 kg weight division, although a tie-breaking clinch was required to decide round one after it ended scoreless 0-0. “Skope exploded into double-leg lift for a beautiful three-pointer at the same time the whistle blew,” said head coach Ray Takahashi. “She timed it perfectly.” Skopelianos was selected as the Outstanding Women Wrestler at the Tournament. “She’s a great re-addition to the team,” said Takahashi.
Skopelianos was mustang for two years from 2003-05, but attended Calgary last year in 2005-06 and competed for the Calgary Wrestling Club.
Jessica Fitzgerald, won the 67 kg division and is undefeated so far with two individual golds in two starts after winning the McMaster Invitational the week prior. The mustang captain defeated Laura Stefler (Team Impact) with a cradle pinning hold to clinch the weight class. The mustangs collected seven medals in total. Other medalists were: Kirby Steinhoff (2nd- 72 kg), Erica Thomson (2nd- 48 kg), Kim Noakes (3rd- 63 kg), Megan DeMille (3rd- 82 kg), and Katrina Huszarik (3rd - 59 kg). “It was good competition for our women,” remarked coach, Josip Mrkoci. “Three of our women got a chance to compete against Tonya Verbeek - Brock Wrestling Club who won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.”
The mustangs will prepare for the Ontario Senior Open Championships, Nov 25 in St. Catherines. Two London-Western teammates, Terri McNutt (51 kg) and Katie Patroch (59 kg) will compete in the New York Athletic Club International Tournament, November 18th in NY City. McNutt, last year’s Canadian University (CIS) champion, and Patroch, a London Saunders SS graduate, are vying for a spot on the Canadian National team and are Olympic hopefuls. “They elevate the level of wrestling in the room and our women’s team is benefiting as a result,” said Takahashi. “We should do well at the Provincials.”
University of Western Ontario - Women’s Individual Results:
1st- Laura Skopelianos 51 kg
1st- Jessica Fitzgerald 67 kg
2nd- Erica Thomson 48 kg
2nd- Kirby Steinhoff 72 kg
3rd- Kim Noakes 63 kg (London-Western)
3rd- Megan DeMille 82 kg
3rd- Katrina Huszarik 59 kg
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2006 Toronto Open Wrestling Tournament - Women's Results
Women's Team Standing
1st Western - 45
2nd Brock U. - 44
3rd Brock W.C. - 20
4th Guelph W.C. - 17
5th CTWC - 8
6th Black Bears - 7
6th Team Impact - 7
Outstanding Wrestler
Laura Skopelionas - Western
48kg
1st Renilda DeDios - Guelph W.C.
2nd Erica Thomson - Western
3rd Lena Thang - CTWC
51kg
1st Laura Skopelionas - Western
2nd Elizabeth Martindale - Brock U.
3rd Jasmine Mian - K- Bay
4th Amy Laidlaw - NCWC
5th Kristen Ross - Black Bears
6th Erica Thomson - Western
55kg
1st Jessie Bondy - Brock U.
2nd Ashley Werner - Brock U.
3rd Shannon Mullins - Queen's
4th Tessa Botticella - CTWC
5th Cat Szymczyk - CTWC
6th Jenn Nguyen - Western
59kg
1st Tonya Verbeek - Brock W.C.
2nd Michelle Fazzari - Brock U.
3rd Katrina Huszarili - Western
4th Lesley McMcallum - Western
5th Krista Lewis - Brock U.
63kg
1st Megan Schweiter - Brock W.C.
2nd Malissa Bryan - Guelph W.C.
3rd Kim Noakes - LWWC
4th Nicole Struthers - LWWC
67kg
1st Jessica Fitzgerald - Western
2nd Laura Steffler - Team Impact
3rd Jennifer Thompson - Lexus
72kg
1st Jocelyn Dresser - Brock U.
2nd Kirby Steinhoff - Western
3rd Krista Jehu - Brock U.
82kg
1st Jen Hanson - Brock U.
2nd Sandi Ware - Black Bears
3rd Megan Domille - Western
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Cardinal Wrestling Signs Four for 2007-08
A group of the nation's best high school wrestlers set to join the Cardinal next season.
Nov. 16, 2006
Stanford, Calif. - The Stanford wrestling program has signed four talented high school seniors announced Head Coach Kerry McCoy today. Nick Amuchastegui (Talent, Ore.), Kyle Barrett (Las Vegas, Nev.), Matt Winterbourne (Cornelius, Ore.) and Christine Cunningham (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) will join the Cardinal in 2007-08.
"I am very excited with our early admits," said McCoy. "They truly represent some of the best and brightest student-athletes in the nation. They all will bring something special to our program."
Amuchastegui is a standout from Phoenix High School in Phoenix Ore., who won the Oregon State Championship last year as a junior. Amuchastegui also placed at the State Championships as a freshman and sophomore, taking third both seasons.
"Nick will be a big part of this program's rise to the top, not only because of his wrestling but also because of the type of person he is," says McCoy "He will bring out the best in everyone around him."
Barrett is another defending State Champion from Palo-Verde High School in Las Vegas. He placed seventh in the state as a sophomore and has also placed in numerous national level tournaments.
"Kyle has a very strong work ethic, which could have been learned from his ?father who played professional baseball for over 10 years," says McCoy. "He will be a great addition to our program and will really help our team rise to the top."
Winterbourne is finishing a successful prep career at Forest Grove High School in Forest Grove, Ore. He placed sixth at 189 lbs. at the State Championships last year, and is poised to take the title this season as one of the top ranked wrestlers in the state. "Matt will add much needed depth to our upper weights," says McCoy. "He has the dedication and drive to become an All-American and challenge for a national title." ChristineCunningham, hailing from Torrey Pines High School in Encinitas, Calif., is one of the best female high school wrestlers in the country. She has placed in every major tournament she has competed in and is in line to make the 2012 Olympic team.
"Christine will be a great asset to the program," says McCoy. "Her commitment to excellence will raise the bar in our room. She was voted the captain of her club team (both boys and girls) the last 2 years. She has continually faced challenges in her wrestling career and she has always risen above and come out on top."
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www.chapelhillnews.com 11/16/06
Wrestling coach DeWitt Driscoll has tangled with some tough competition on the mats.
A Pennsylvania high school state champion, Driscoll went on to be a four-year letter-winner in wrestling at Penn State University. But in Chapel Hill, DeWitt may be facing his toughest competition yet.
An assistant wrestling coach at UNC, Driscoll also serves as head coach of the nonprofit Carolina Wrestling Club, where he does his best to promote youth wrestling.
Wrestling may flourish with Friday Night Mats fervor in areas like Pennsylvania and points north but, along Tobacco Road, basketball weighs in as the favored heavyweight.
“It’s definitely a tough sell,” Driscoll admitted. “I think the hardest thing is that there’s not a lot out there (for kids), and they don’t see it as much. Basketball’s everywhere. Every YMCA and every gymnasium has a basketball game going on.”
Basketball is the barbecue of Carolinians’ diets, an everyday staple. Dogmatic and determined, Driscoll and others at UNC want to make sure that wrestling is on the local menu.
“I grew up in a town with a relatively strong youth wrestling program,” he explained. “In Pennsylvania, every single town had a youth wrestling program. I wrestled three times a week with my youth team. These guys here don’t have that unless they get on the mats here or with other clubs.”
UNC’s head coach and two-time ACC Coach of the Year, C.D. Mock is a frequent presence at the Carolina Club’s workouts, as are Driscoll and fellow Tar Heel assistants Glen Lanham and A.J. Grant. Tar Heel varsity wrestlers have been know to drop in.
Driscoll said he also has the blessing of local coaches like Chapel Hill High’s Wilson Diaz.
“Coach Diaz understands the potential it has for helping his team out,” Driscoll said.
“Here, there are Chapel Hill guys wrestling with Cary and Orange High School guys. We have some kids coming over from Mebane at Northeast Guilford, and there’s another kid who’s coming from Greensboro, and he’s like third in the state.”
Driscoll said that cooperation with other clubs like the Hurricanes’ Wrestling Club in Mebane helps to promote the sport.
“There are a lot of good wrestlers here,” said Mike Creed, father of club participant Ben Creed, 13. “Not only are the coaches good wrestlers, they’re good people. They’re good mentors and positive influences.”
As if the list of talented coaches helping and supportive community members wasn’t enough, some of the wrestlers themselves already boast some weighty credentials. Regular attendees include 2005-06 North Carolina prep champions Corey Mock of Chapel Hill High School, Cary High’s Thomas Ferguson and Nick Gregoris of Cardinal Gibbons.
Nearly two dozen young wrestlers ranging from 7 to 18 years old took advantage of mat-time in the wrestling room in UNC’s Fetzer Gymnasium this past Sunday afternoon, one of three weekly practices staged by the Carolina Wrestling Club. While state champs like Mock and Ferguson spar in one corner, 7-year-olds pair up in another.
“You’ve got the cream of the crop coming in here in the state of North Carolina,” said Valta Creed, Ben’s mother. “Then you’ve got (beginners), and they’re all treated equally.”
Creed is the most committed kid in the club right now, Driscoll said, right long with the state champions.
“I think he relates to coach DeWitt a lot,” Valta said. “Ben’s now talking about trying to go to Penn State because of DeWitt. … Oh, or UNC,” she quickly added.
Despite his intense workouts regimen, Ben keeps things in perspective.
“Your grades slip, you don’t wrestle,” Valta warned her son. “He’d rather have no TV and video games for six months than miss wrestling.”
The club has one girl participant, who wrestles at 112 pounds.
“This season hasn’t started yet, but last year I did pretty good,” said Elizabeth DeAngelo, who comes on Sundays but also works out on other days at her father’s wrestling club in Mebane.
DeAngelo receives some ribbing in a male-dominated sport, but she takes it in stride. “I just don’t let it bother me,” she said, matter-of-factly.
Trying out wrestling for the first time on Sunday was Grant Cooper, a senior at Durham Jordan High School.
“Grant’s assistant principal told us about it,” Grant’s father Kirby Cooper said. “He wanted to try it.”
Driscoll said the underlying philosophy at the Carolina Wrestling Club was toughness.
“If you’re going to be a good wrestler, you’ve got to be tough,” Driscoll said. “That’s how I won. … My main focus is to help them realize their own toughness. I also teach them some of the finer points and details, but it’s also important to just get them on the mat and wrestling.”
The Carolina Wrestling Club’s ultimate goal is to provide an environment for the serious amateur wrestler desiring to improve. Driscoll said the key was to expose kids to wrestling at an early age.
“My main goal is to work with elementary and middle school-aged kids,” he said. “In this state, they don’t have much for elementary and junior high. I’m going to try to work with USA Wrestling to try to start a prestigious elementary state tournament. Next year, I’m going to try to have that here in Chapel Hill. … That would really be something to work for.”
That also would sit well with the youngsters on hand Sunday. There was little about wrestling that Trevor Raspberry, 9, didn’t like.
“I like the whole thing,” Raspberry said.
Xavier Williamson, 7, had his eyes on first place, and nothing else would do.
“The hardest part is beating kids — getting first place,” he said. “So far I’ve only gotten third and second place. But second place is almost first.”
Club coaches advised wrestlers and wrestling fans to see some of the country’s top wrestlers in action as UNC hosts the ACC-Big Ten Clash on Saturday. The dual meet in UNC’s Carmichael Auditorium will feature nine duals with UNC, N.C. State and Virginia wrestling Wisconsin, Northwestern and Purdue.
While it may not yet rival the 22,000 fans at a UNC home basketball game as yet, thanks to coaches like Driscoll and the Carolina Wrestling Club, there’s one more option for youths with a healthy appetite for competition.
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Brown wrestling assistant Burch grapples with UC-Davis over Title IX
By Christian Martell & Stephen Colelli Brown Daily Herald
November 16, 2006
Providence, RI (CSTV U-WIRE) -- Michael Burch was made for wrestling. The current assistant wrestling coach took up the sport when he was 5 years old and has since dedicated his life to it.
"Wrestling is a part of my soul," Burch said. "It's what I do."
But in 2001, the University of California-Davis, where Burch had been employed since 1995 as the wrestling team's head coach, took part of Burch's identity away from him. Despite a winning season in 2001 in which four of the team's wrestlers qualified for the national tournament, Burch was fired in May of that year. The dismissal came the same week the athletic department honored him as its coach of the year for the second time in his tenure.
A few months later, Burch returned to Brown, where he had held a coaching position for three years before moving on to UC-Davis. Burch said Head Coach Dave Amato, with whom he worked during his first stint at Brown, contacted him following his termination to alert him to an open assistant coach position.
Burch alleges he was fired from UC-Davis because university officials were angry with his public support for four female wrestlers he had recruited at the beginning of the 2000-01 season. He said it is very common in California to see women wrestling on men's teams and thought recruiting some female grapplers would reflect that trend.
However, Burch said university officials forced him to remove the women from the team for a variety of reasons, including the fact that "there wasn't enough money to cover the costs of insurance for the women. ... They couldn't afford to keep women on the team when they weren't going to crack the varsity lineup."
After removing the women from the roster before the season started, Burch said the university allowed him to reinstate the wrestlers during the year and three rejoined the team. However, at the end of the year, Burch said the squad's roster was capped, and the three remaining female wrestlers were once again removed from the team.
According to an Aug. 24 Boston Globe article, university officials decided to fire Burch at a meeting on April 24, 2001, but Burch told the Globe he was not informed of his dismissal until May 29 and UC-Davis Athletic Director Greg Warzecka would not tell him why he was being let go.
Burch told The Herald UC-Davis later told him he was being terminated due to NCAA violations. According to Burch, UC-Davis officials also said he was "difficult to work with" and that he had exceeded the program's budget in his last year.
However, Burch said he believes his firing had more to do with his support for female participation in the wrestling program.
"With all the media coverage that the issue was getting, I think they were pushed up against the wall and needed to do something," Burch said. "So they fired me. When I was fired I felt like I was run out of town. When you love your work, you feel like they stole something from you."
Warzecka and UC-Davis Senior Associate Athletic Director Pam Gill-Fisher could not be reached for comment.
Burch claims he was never informed of the alleged violations while serving as head coach and that universities usually do not take such drastic action when dealing with self-reported NCAA violations.
"They said that some of the things I did were NCAA violations which ... even if I did them, are not NCAA violations," he said. "Otherwise, the accusations are simply not true. What's more important is that they filed this case after I was hired by Brown. It was a completely malicious act."
Burch filed a lawsuit in 2003 accusing UC-Davis of Title IX discrimination, according to the Globe article.
(Title IX, which was passed in 1972, requires universities receiving federal funding to provide equal opportunities for men and women.)
Burch's lawsuit, which is pending, claims UC-Davis destroyed Burch's career and asks for repayment of lost wages, he said. Despite his prior success as a head coach, Burch said he has not received an interview for a vacant head coaching position in the five years since he was fired.
Four women who were involved in the UC-Davis wrestling program filed a companion suit alleging sexual discrimination several months after Burch's own suit was filed, according to the Globe article.
Amato said firing Burch was UC-Davis' loss.
"He does a great job," Amato said of his assistant. "What sets him apart is the way he not only helps the wrestlers with their wrestling, but also academically and socially."
Several team members agreed with Amato.
"Burch is very professional and savvy. He also has a good understanding of our academic needs," said David Saadeh '07, the team's co-captain.
"He is an excellent motivator during practice, academically and in everything else," said Shawn Kitchner '07, another co-captain.
Brown's Department of Athletics is aware of Burch's lawsuit, though Director of Athletics Michael Goldberger said he did not know what, if any, role the accusations leveled against Burch played in his hiring since he was not director at the time.
"Personally, I can tell you that I would be comfortable recommending Mike for an opening to another school," Goldberger said. "But we want to treat him fairly just like we would any of our other assistant coaches."
Brown does not have any female wrestlers in its program at the moment. Goldberger said he would be open to seeing women on the team but that the University does not have an official stance on female wrestlers and the issue has not been raised at Brown.
Burch is pursuing a doctoral degree from Brown in the history of religions and philosophies while he awaits the resolution of his lawsuit, but he continues to advocate for expanding opportunities for female wrestlers.
"I think it would be extremely difficult for women in the sport. But if they had their own division to compete in, it could be possible," Kitchner said.
While Burch noted that "contact sports are a major hurdle that women athletes have to get over," he said "the NCAA and universities feel like they have to protect women. But until we stop 'protecting' them from men's opportunities, there is not true equity."
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U.S. Olympic Committee Media and Public Relations (719-866-4529)
Olympic Sports Scene is a weekly feature on www.usocpressbox.org with previews and results highlighting U.S. Olympic sporting news from around the world. Details can also be found in the form of complete stories on this web site (search by sport). Log on each Wednesday for a quick overview of America’s elite athletes in action.
For Immediate Release
November 15, 2006
Week of: Nov. 8 - Nov. 14
Wrestling: (Nov. 14) Eight members of the United States National Team in men’s and women’s freestyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling are scheduled to compete at the Henri Deglane Challenge on Nov. 23-25 in Nice, France. The tournament offers a unique format with five weight classes for men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, and three weight classes offered for women’s freestyle. There are seven weight classes in each style in most international events. National Team members scheduled to compete in freestyle include Cliff Moore (Iowa City, Iowa) at 132 pounds, Jared Lawrence (Roseville, Minn.) at 145.5 pounds, Joe Heskett (Columbus, Ohio) at 163 pounds, Clint Wattenberg (Ithaca, N.Y.) at 185 pounds and Nik Fekete (Colorado Springs, Colo.) at 211.5 pounds. Fekete returns to defend his title from 2005. For more information, log on to www.themat.com.
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Mac, Brock wrestlers join elite OUA women athletes list
November 16, 2006
Wrestler Ellen Macro has been selected as McMaster University's top female athlete scholar for this year's fourth annual Women of Influence in Ontario University Athletics.
The Mississauga native has reached the OUA podium in each of her five years as a Marauder wrestler, winning two gold, two silver, and a bronze during her career.
Macro has also picked up two medals on the national stage, including a gold by soundly defeating the two-time defending CIS Champion Emily Richardson of Simon Fraser University in the 61 Kg weight class. At the time, Richardson, the defending National open champion and a member of the Canadian National team, was unbeaten during three years in CIS competition.
Macro's numerous athletic honours include being named the 2004 OUA championship's Most Outstanding Wrestler, McMaster's Dr. Mary Keyes Award, McMaster's Female Athlete of the Year and three-time McMaster Female Wrestler Co-MVP.
Off the wrestling mat, she dedicates herself to her academic studies in Social Work and Women's Studies and has been a winner academically Macro has been the recipient of the McMaster Honour Award (2001-02), Dr. Harry Lyman Hooker Scholarship (2002-03), University Senate Scholarship (2003-04), and the prestigious Dr. Ronald V. Joyce Award. Her academic average vaulted her onto the Deans Honour List as well as the Marauder Scholar list in each of her five years at McMaster.
"Ellen’s dedication and commitment to excellence in all her pursuits is inspirational. She is an outstanding role model and spokesperson for women’s athletics," said athletic director Therese Quigley.
"As the recipient of the Dr. Mary Keyes Award, presented annually to the most outstanding female scholar athlete at McMaster, Ellen exemplifies the very essence of this award and the vision of the leaders of women’s sport such as Dr. Mary Keyes."
From Brock University, wrestler Alana King gets the nod. The Scarborough native had a strong junior season in 2005-06, helping Brock to its eighth straight OUA title and fourth straight CIS bronze medal.
Solo, she won a silver medal at the 2005 FISU World University Games as well as capturing her second straight OUA championship in the 48kg class and first ever CIS gold medal knocking off the defending CIS champion, Miranda Dick from Simon Fraser University. She won gold at the Toronto Open and Brock Invitational meets while placing second at both the Arizona Sunkist International and 2005 Canadian Senior Championship. She also finished third at the Guelph Open and Western Open meets.
They and 16 other OUA athletes will receive their awards at a luncheon on Toronto on Nov. 30.