News Page
Top ten local sports stories of 2006
Vallejo girls wrestling claims second state title
By RYAN GARNER, Times-Herald sports writer
Article Launched: 12/26/2006 07:25:23 AM PST
Editor's note: The Times-Herald continues its countdown of the top 10 sports stories from 2006.
There was nothing official about it, but the Vallejo High girls wrestling team could call themselves state champions after a dominant performance at the California Girls Invitational Tournament at Hanford in February.
Unofficially known as the California state championship, the tournament featured all of the top female wrestlers from across the state. Once the dust settled and the final pins had been made, the Apaches stood head and shoulders above the rest, capturing their second consecutive state title.
Monica Gonzalez - the sister of former boys state champion Bobby Gonzalez - captured an individual title at the 154-pound weight class, winning three matches and edging Katrina Wilborn of Helix Charter for the top spot.
Lauren Knight beat out Vallencia's Hannah Alojado for first place in the 138-pound weight class, winning each of the four matches she appeared in. It was a big win for Knight, who had finished second in a meet two weeks prior to the state championship.
Jennifer Fernandez rounded out Vallejo's individual champions, taking home first-place honors in the 98-pound weight class. Fernandez put in a strong
effort, surprising opponents on her way to a 5-0 record in Hanford.
Angie Miller also has a strong showing, finishing fourth in the 146-pound weight class with a record of 3-2.
Vallejo coach Mike Minahen expected his team to have a strong effort, and the girls were familiar with most of their opponents from meets earlier in the season.
"There's some girls that they probably haven't seen from Southern California, but they've seen all the top girls from Northern California. And some of the girls from Southern California have been at the tournaments with us," Minahen said prior to the tournament.
Neither competitors from Northern or Southern California could match Vallejo's intensity during the two-day competition, and Minahen's departure strategy worked out perfectly.
The Apaches left from Vallejo at around 6 a.m. making the three-hour trek and showing up in time for the noon weigh-in. Getting up at 4:30 a.m. might have posed a problem for other teams, but not the Apaches.
"This way, the kids get to sleep in their own beds," Minahen said. "They're used to getting up at the crack of dawn anyway."
------------------------------------------------------------
The Sporting Life: Female intimidator
By Christopher Wuensch, CWuensch@ExplorerNews.com July 5, 2006 -
|
|
It isn't often that a 100-pound girl plays the role of intimidator. Such was the case, however, when Andrea Hughes walked into the wrestling room at Catalina Foothills High School to start the 2005-06 season.
After a successful debut season with the Falcons - one which saw her become the first girl to ever place at the Arizona high school state wrestling tournament - both teammates and opponents began to respect the sophomore. Further proof that winning is a cure-all.
"They didn't know what to do, they were kind of confused," said Hughes. "But then they saw me wrestle and I won my first couple of matches and since I was winning, they liked me. They saw that I was good and that I was serious."
After transferring to Foothills from North Carolina last summer, Hughes first made a name for herself at this year's high school wrestling state finals, where she finished fourth in the 103-pound weight class. Her efforts earned her honorable mention on the 2006 TheMat.com ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team, announced on June 15. She was the only wrestler from Arizona named to the 72-girl squad.
"She was popular at the tournaments," said Foothills teammate Billy Morris. "Everyone is always asking about her. It's all positive stuff, everyone congratulates here for coming out."
This summer, Hughes is taking measures to ensure that she doesn't lose any of that intimidation factor. The junior-to-be is spending her summer in the sweltering hot gym at Sunnyside High School, grappling with the finest wrestlers and learning from the best coaches that Southern Arizona has to offer.
Eventually winning a state championship requires work outside the gym as well as in. Every morning, Hughes is running for Foothills' cross country summer running program. The junior ran for the Falcons' 2005 state champion cross country squad before joining the wrestling team in the winter. Her nights are spent in the gym at Sunnyside in preparation for the this summer's USA Wrestling Cadet and Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D., the biggest and most prestigious high school summer wrestling tournament in the country.
Getting to Fargo, however, won't be easy. The trip is an expensive one and Hughes is currently searching for sponsors to help fund the trip.
She began her career in sports in seventh grade playing soccer in North Carolina. Later that year, a coach convinced her to come out for the wrestling team, which she did reluctantly at first. It didn't take long for her to find a passion for the sport and soon she was winning matches against the boys.
"My dad wrestled in high school for like three years," said Hughes. "But he said I was a lot better than he ever was."
Hughes may be the first girl to place at the high school state tournament, but she isn't the first girl to come through Foothills. Brenna Larkin wrestled for the Falcons before graduating in 2003. Larkin wrestled her way to a scholarship at Pacific University where she is now a junior. The Boxers placed third in the nation in women's wrestling in March - a finish that may have been higher had Larkin (138-pound weight class) not broken her wrist wrestling the night before.
Larkin's success is proof that there is a future in wrestling for women. Pacific is annually among the nation's elite in the sport as is the University of Cumberlands, Missouri Valley College and Oregon State.
Hughes said she is aiming for a scholarship of her own in the sport and even has her eye on one day qualifying for the women's Olympic team.
Before that happens, she still has some unfinished business on the high school level and some intimidating to do.
---------------------------------------------------
HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Wrestling: Andrea Hughes, Catalina Foothills. While Hughes isn't the first girl to compete in wrestling, very few girls had the day she had during a quadrangular meet with Salpointe Catholic, Flowing Wells and Cholla.
Hughes went 3-0 on the day, winning two matches by pins and earning another win by forfeit in the 103-pound class.
--------------------------------------------------------
Japan's Kyoko Hamaguchi (R) wrestles with China's Wang Zu (L) in the women's freestyle wrestling 72kg gold medal match at the 15th Asian Games in Doha December 11, 2006. Wang won the gold medal. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (QATAR)
----------------------------------------------------------------
