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Girls wrestle, too
Competitors come to Livonia for national championships
April 8, 2007
BY SUSAN SMILEY
FREE PRESS SPECIAL WRITER
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Livonia Churchill's gym was packed March 31 and April 1 with wrestlers from every state in the union including Alaska and Hawaii.
The occasion was the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association National Championships.
It was the first time Churchill hosted the tournament, which is in its 10th year. The tournament is open to females from elementary school through college and drew more than 700 wrestlers this year.
Top-ranked Paige Rife, 18, of Fowlerville has been wrestling for as many years as the tournament has been in existence. Ranked No. 1 in the nation at 152 pounds going into the tournament, the two-time national champion settled for third at this year's event. It's an indication, she says, of just how much better girls wrestling has become.
"It's not just that there are a lot more girls wrestling, but also that the girls are all very technically sound," Rife said. "When I tell people that I wrestle competitively, they think I'm joking, but when they come to a tournament like this, they see it is very good wrestling with quality competitors. They're usually in shock."
Like most girls who wrestle, Rife has done her fair share of competing against boys. Girls wrestling is not an official Michigan High School Athletic Association sport, so girls must be part of the boys teams if they want to wrestle for their high school.
Rife did three years with Fowlerville while wrestling in girls tournaments across the country. This year she is attending Marquette High and wrestling against other women at the Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University, where she trains with coaches Shannon Gillespie and Tony DeAnda. She is one of only two high school females practicing and competing with college women.
"I really prefer to wrestle against girls, because I feel like a lot of times when you go against boys, they are trying to hurt you," Rife said. "I'd say there are only about 2% of boys that are really OK with wrestling against a girl. When your opponent is not trying to hurt you, it gives you the chance to take more risks and be more creative on the mat."
Rife has played baseball and volleyball and has even taken ballet classes. There have been a couple of years during her 10-year career -- once when she was 12 and once when she was 15 -- that she stepped back from wrestling and put energy into her other interests. When she came back to wrestling full-time, she felt rejuvenated.
"My dad was my coach for most of my life, but he never pushed me to do this," Rife said of her father, David Rife. "He was very supportive, but he always let me make the decisions about what I wanted to do. Now I just feel like I know this is what I have to do."
Rife hopes that her wrestling will help her get a college scholarship. She would like to study special education and has not ruled out trying to take a shot at the Olympics.
"A lot of girls don't realize that right now, wrestling offers bigger opportunities to girls than to boys for college," Rife said. "There are scholarships out there. For me, getting an education is the most important thing. But if the timing is right, and I'm good enough, it would be great to wrestle in the Olympics. Most people don't even know they have women's wrestling in the Olympics."
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By Nathan Cooper, Tribune Sports Writer
Thursday, February 17, 2005 10:05 AM CST
LAKE MILLS, Iowa - Seven years ago, some third-grade boys made a bet with Chandra Peterson that she couldn't last a week at wrestling practice.
Seven years later, Peterson has outlasted almost all of those boys.
Now a sophomore at Lake Mills High School, Peterson's wrestling career has taken her to more than 20 states to compete in various girls' state tournaments. She has been very successful at those tournaments, a two-time Iowa girls' state champion in addition to her two runner-up finishes.
But it hasn't stopped there.
In 2002, Peterson took second in the nation in the girls' division. A year later she reached the pinnacle of her career as she was named a national girls' champion.
The head wrestling coach at Lake Mills High School is Bill Byrnes, and he took note of Peterson as early as seventh grade, specifically noting her work ethic. That work ethic has carried through for her to the varsity level.
"Chandra is one of the best technicians we have," said Byrnes. "She is a very hard worker."
Being one of the only girls in an otherwise male-dominated sport hasn't slowed Peterson at all, and her coach credits that to her pursuit of excellence.
"Everyone takes her seriously, just because they know she is serious," said Byrnes. "She's just another wrestler to the team. I knew before she got here that she was serious about it."
Peterson admits that there were some who didn't think she belonged on the mat.
"They thought I wouldn't even last a week," she said. "Most of them thought I shouldn't be there when I first started out."
She has relied heavily on the support of her parents.
"My parents have been supportive of all my decisions," said Peterson. "I couldn't do anything without their support."
Peterson saw limited time on the varsity mat last year, and after finally being able to play a significant role, she has shined with a 19-11 record going into the sectional last Saturday.
For Peterson, the best part is being able to compete, and often times beat the boys.
"It feels good to beat a guy," said Peterson. "Knowing the odds and still coming out on top is great."
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Wrestling: Yoshida wins 6th straight Japan Queens Cup
Saturday April 14, 6:42 PM
(Kyodo) _ Athens Olympic champion Saori Yoshida overpowered the field en route to winning her sixth consecutive title in the women's 55-kilogram weight category at the Japan Queens Cup on Saturday.
Yoshida did not drop a point in all three matches, finishing off Chikako Matsukawa 2-0 in the final at Komazawa Gymnasium to extend her winning streak to 106 matches while booking her spot for the world championships in Azerbaijan in September.
Kaori Icho, gold medalist at 63 kg in Athens, beat Ayako Shoda 2-0 for her seventh consecutive title in the weight category while Chiharu Icho, Kaori's older sister, claimed her fourth victory at 48 kilograms.
Kyoko Hamaguchi won for the 11th time at 72 kg and also booked a spot for September.