News Page
Oklahoma City University Adds Women's Wrestling
School joins only four other varsity women's college wrestling programs in the country
Feb. 13, 2007
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma City University announced plans Tuesday to add a women's wrestling program next year, joining only a handful of other U.S. schools that compete in the Olympic sport.
"If we're going to begin a sport, it's not bad in my opinion to be at the forefront of it," athletic director Jim Abbott said.
Oklahoma City joins only four other varsity women's college wrestling programs in the country, said Gary Abbott of USA Wrestling. There are also two club teams and one group of wrestlers that train at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University.
Officials estimate about 5,000 girls wrestle at high schools across the country, and the sport has been growing rapidly in recent years. Women's wrestling was added to the Olympics in 2004.
"Will we create Olympians at OCU? Maybe. Will we have 5,000 people come to a wrestling match? Maybe," Abbott said. "But will we educate young people that go do cool stuff? Absolutely."
Stars coach Archie Randall, who will add the women's program to his duties as the school's men's wrestling coach, said Oklahoma City's schedule would be split evenly between meets against other collegiate programs and international competitions.
The other women's varsity programs are at Menlo College in Atherton, Calif.; Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Mo.; Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore.; and the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Ky. Canada has about 16 women's college wrestling programs.
"We'll be traveling just about everywhere," Randall said.
He anticipates some Olympic hopefuls will be drawn to Oklahoma City instead of to national training facilities because they will be able to get a college education while continuing their training.
Since there are few other colleges that offer the sport, university officials believe they can capitalize on an untapped market.
"Archie made the comment that there are 180 high school women's wrestling programs in Texas. We're now the closest university to them. From a strategic standpoint, we think we're in a pretty good position," Abbott said.
The addition is also a part of Oklahoma City's investigation of a possible move back to NCAA Division I status. The school dropped to the NAIA following the 1984-85 school year and has won 28 national championships at the NAIA level in the past 21 years.
To move back into the NCAA, Oklahoma City would have to wait through a seven-year transitional period during which it would not be able to compete for championships at either level. The school has already made improvements to its athletic facilities.
"Today is another step in that direction," university President Tom McDaniel said.
Oklahoma City would still need to add at least one more sport to reach the Division I minimum of 14, and possibly two since women's wrestling is not sanctioned by the NCAA. Randall held out hope that women's wrestling could become an NCAA sport in the next decade or so.
Oklahoma City added men's wrestling and volleyball last year, and in 2004 it became the first NAIA school to add rowing as a varsity sport.
------------------------------------------------------------
Oklahoma City University announces the creation of a women's varsity college wrestling team
Christine Dillon Oklahoma City Univ.
02/13/2007
|
OKLAHOMA CITY— Oklahoma City University President Tom McDaniel announced today that the university has added women’s wrestling to its athletics roster.
Oklahoma City University is the first university in Oklahoma to create a women’s wrestling program and one of only six nationwide. Other women’s wrestling programs are at Cumberland (Ky.), Menlo, Missouri Valley, Northern Michigan, Pacific and Trinity (Conn.) Several universities field club teams.
McDaniel said the program opens new doors for Oklahoma students.
“We want to provide opportunities for young men and women in Oklahoma to have sports that they do not have,” he said.
OCU Head Wrestling Coach Archie Randall and his staff have sent 350 letters to prospective student athletes. Randall expects to have 30 women on the team by next year. His recruiting could last until July.
“One of our goals is to allow them the opportunity to pursue their Olympic goal,” Randall said.
He said he will recruit from across the United States. States with strong recruiting bases include Texas, California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii. Randall expects to bring about 30 women into the program.
The women’s college wrestling season runs from January through June. Some 5,000 girls wrestle in the nation with 2,500 girls wrestling at 180 schools in Texas.
“I know beyond a shadow of a doubt we’ll be at the forefront of women’s wrestling,” McDaniel said. “I’m absolutely certain we have the right guy to lead this program,” he said of Randall.
In 2006, Oklahoma City University added women’s volleyball and men’s wrestling to its roster.
---------------------------------------------------------
Oklahoma City University Adds Women's Wrestling
AP - 2/13/2007 2:01 PM - Updated 2/13/2007 2:01 PM
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Oklahoma City University announced plans Tuesday to add a women's wrestling program beginning with the 2008 season.
The private university has been researching a possible move back to NCAA Division One and President Tom McDaniel believes this is potentially another move in that direction.
The NCAA does not currently sanction women's wrestling and only a handful of other schools across the country participate in the sport but OCU officials believe the sport could eventually be approved.
The Oklahoma City women would compete against those other schools but also take part in national and international competitions with an eye toward developing future Olympians.
--------------------------------------------------
By CARROLL ROGERS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/14/07
Jason Getz/Staff |
To see a girl, 12 years old, in knee pads and a ponytail, stride onto a wrestling mat, in a dimly-lit room full of boys, with an instructor prefacing every comment with "guys," practicing wrestling moves, it begs a question:
Why would she do it?
"It's exhilarating, it's challenging, it's wonderful," explains Zoe Castaneda, a sixth-grader at Sweetwater Middle School in Lawrenceville.
OK, then, so how?
The sports landscape is changing, and girls are involved in all facets of sports, but still, wrestling seems different. It's as physical as sport gets. No net separates opponents. There's no titanium equipment to help equalize power. There's not a ball to fade away and shoot. It's just strength for strength, agility and tactics.
For Castaneda of Lawrenceville, the answer for where her courage comes from is grappling on the mat nearby at the Wrestling Academy — her two brothers — and watching intently from a couch just off the mat — her mother, Mercedes.
Family support is a powerful thing for any athlete, male or female. But the Castanedas are the Family Von Grapp — with four children and a father who have wrestled — and Mrs. Castaneda is as involved as any of them.
Mercedes Castaneda is not just the No. 1 carpooler who drives Zoe and siblings to as many as six practices a week and matches every weekend. She's a former wrestling official and she was the manager of her college wresting team. She's now the Team Georgia director for girls wresting in the state. She paved the way for Zoe to feel comfortable in the sport.
Mom knows the score
Mercedes Castaneda started officiating wrestling matches when she was in high school in Valdosta. She would tag along to her brothers' matches and helped keep score. "I was flipping the score faster than the official could call it," Mercedes said. "He said 'If you think you can do better, come on out.' "
And she did, and learned the skill. She was officiating matches when she was pregnant with Zoe, the first of her five children. No wonder Zoe is so comfortable on the mat.
At any given time at a Parkview youth wrestling match, Zoe will have three siblings wrestling (brothers Ethan, 10, and Kendall, 8 and sister Courtney, 6), her father Frank coaching and her mother either watching, or chasing 2-year-old Emma around.
Emma already knows enough to yell "Shoot," encouragement to go for an opponent's legs, even though she doesn't always yell it at the right time.
"It helps," Zoe said of her wrestling family and her mother as a wrestling role model.
Zoe first started wrestling to give her brother Ethan a practice partner who was close in weight. She learned technique from her father, who had wrestled at Milton High and on the intramural team at Georgia State.
Her first match was at a girls tournament. She lost her only match — there was only one other girl in her weight class — pitifully, she says, by pin. "I got one point because the girl had locked hands," Zoe said.
But she was hooked.
"To know you can be in control, you can do this," Zoe said. "It's just if you will."
It took her almost a year to first beat a boy. She pinned him, she said, shook his hand and then "ran and jumped on my dad."
Zoe has competed in local, regional and national tournaments, both boys and girls. She recently won her age group at a girls tournament in Colorado Springs.
Mutual respect on the mat
In a perfect world, she said, she'd wrestle only girls, but there are just not enough girls wrestling in Georgia for that to be possible — maybe several dozen. So she develops her skills and hopes for a shot at a girls team in college. In the meantime, she thickens her skin.
Castaneda has gotten used to overhearing talk about "the girl," or having a parent yell "don't lose to the girl" from the stands. She doesn't back down from it. If she hears a fellow wrestler say "I have to wrestle the girl," while looking at brackets, she'll speak up and say "Oh, are you talking about me?"
She has had a teammate quit at Parkview youth after his father refused to let him wrestle her.
"Most of the skepticism and doubts comes from coaches or parents, not wrestlers," Zoe said. "Once you get pretty good, you learn to respect each other. We all know what it takes."
It's a tough sport, which will only get tougher for her as she enters her teenage years and boys get exponentially stronger. Sometimes she thinks about quitting. But she maintains her goal of becoming the first girl to wrestle for Parkview High School.
That would be no small feat since Parkview has one of the top wrestling programs in the state. But she's learned from her mother not to say no just because something is uncomfortable or unusual.
"[Wrestling] teaches Zoe to be open to whatever, and it helps our boys to be open to wrestling girls," Mercedes Castaneda said. "Zoe has learned perseverance and work ethic. A lot of times she has to work twice as hard. She's learning she can work through anything."
----------------------------------------------------
Cy Fair Brother and Sister headed to State Wrestling Championships
08:43 PM CST on Tuesday, February 13, 2007
By Matt Musil/11 Sports
There are four boys and six girls from Cy-Fair High School's wrestling team who are going to state.
They are all talented, but two of them standout from the rest.
John Banas is the Cy Fair Wrestling Coach. "It's rare when you have one like that, but two have two from the same team and the same family, that's pretty incredible."
And one of the them gave up cheerleading to wrestle.
Angie Murray, "Cheerleading is not easy because you have to hold people up in the air and everything, but wrestling is about conditioning and it's not only physically but mentally challenging as well."
Angie Murray, a junior, is ranked number one in the area.
Brother Michael, a senior, is ranked number one in the state. Both are undefeated on the season and just for the record, Michael says Angie has never beat him in a fight... even the ones that took place when they were little.
Michael Murray, "She tried to pinch every now and then and did a little scratching. It's good we have the whole family wrestling also. The only person who doesn't do wrestling is my Mom."
And as Cy-Fair heads to Austin next week, Angie and Michael could become the first brother sister combination to ever win state wrestling titles.
Matt Musil, 11 News, Sports.
