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Terra Nova wrestlers represent Pacifica at national meets
Four Tigers win medals at girls mat championship

By Tom Piccolotti
Article Launched: 05/16/2007 01:20:20 PM PDT

Three current and one former Terra Nova wrestlers traveled to Detroit, Michigan recently to participate in the United States Girls Wrestling Association National Championships. All four medaled and with one nearly missing a national title.

In the 114-pound division Jaimie Marchetti wrestled her way to a 12th place finish. She went 4-3 and pinned four opponents. She has shown great improvement in the last couple of months since winning the PAL Boys Junior Varsity championship. Just a junior, she will be counted on heavily next year in both the boys and girls division.

In the 144-pound weight class Marina Piccolotti came into the championships as one of the favorites having amassed a season record of 44-1 with 44 pins. In just three years as a wrestler she has positioned herself as one of the top recruits in the nation. As expected, she pinned her way to the championship final. In the championship she met up with an equally skilled opponent from New York. After a hard fought match she ended up on the short side of a 9-6 decision, good enough for second place in the nation. She finishes her prep career with a record of 121-19 with 103 pins.

In the 152-pound division, first year senior Brittany Piccolotti was knocked out of the championship rounds after two defeats against two tough opponents. Both of her opponents ended up in the top 12. She was able to battle back in the second chance bracket and come away with a 14th place finish. She wrestled her best match of the season beating a more experienced wrestler 12-11 for the right to go for 13th and 14th.
Former Tiger wrestler Lisa Sczepaniak, competing for the second time since graduating in 2006, participated in the collegiate division in the 130-pound weight class. She competed both days in two different styles and came away with two second place finishes. She showed shades of the of the former tiger standout that made her one of the top preps in California during her high school career.

The trip would not have been possible if it hadn't been for the generousity and support of some dedicated sponsors. A sincere thanks to Johnny Vallero, Karol and Greg Dellanini, Moms', Pops', Val and Matt Follner of 4FConstruction, Pacifica Police Officers Association, Tom Webber, Jack and Diane Burgett, Terra Nova Coach Bill Gray, Mr. and Mrs. Marchetti and others that wish to remain anonymous sponsors. Thank you all so much.

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Team Artemis NYC Women's Wrestling Tribetopic

posted 2/16/07, 12:25 AM by Zorikh

Team Artemis NYC would like to invite the members of this group to check out our new Women’s Wrestling Club Tribe.

We run a female-managed training meet that is open to all women interested in learning about safe wrestling and grappling. The grappling work starts from a base of Brazilian jiujutsu. We also welcome practitioners other grappling styles, such as judo and Korean wrestling, as well as Western freestyle wrestling. On special occasions, we are visited by high-level guest instructors who give a specific lesson in bjj or other groundfighting arts.

Folks with prior wrestling & grappling experience are encouraged to share their knowledge in a "physical round table" style.

The group will announce our training sessions, competitive meets, promotional activities, and encourage discussion of the grappling arts for competition, fitness, self-defence, and empowerment.

The URL for our tribe is tribes.tribe.net/teamartemis

You can also visit our website at www.artemisnyc.com/

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Doyle among athletes honoured by SNS

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA | Wednesday May 16, 2007

Wrestler Avalon Doyle of Eastern Passage is the Sport Nova Scotia female athlete of the month for April.

Doyle earned gold at the Canadian junior wrestling championships in Whitby, Ont. Leading up to the nationals, she was the Nova Scotia champion and the Atlantic champion, putting her in the position to compete at the nationals.

The team award went to the Lakeshore curling foursome skipped by Kendal Thompson. The team placed first at the Atlantic 17-and-under championship.

Adam Berry, Mitch Cahill and Matt Dumaresque are the rest of the team members.

Denise Haynes of Clare and Chris Haverstock of Bedford are the male and female team athletes.

Haynes took gold in under-18 singles and silver in under-18 girls’ doubles at the Canadian junior racquetball championships in Burnaby, B.C. Haverstock took bronze in the under-18 boys’ doubles division.

There was no individual male selected for April.

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TN's Piccolotti accepts scholarship

Glenn Reeves
Article Last Updated: 05/16/2007 09:47:31 AM PDT

TERRA NOVA HIGH SENIOR Marina Piccolotti, the state girls wrestling champion at 145 pounds, has accepted a full scholarship with Oklahoma City University.
Piccolotti will sign a letter-of-intent at 11 a.m. on Monday at the Terra Nova library.

Quite an accomplishment for someone in their third year of wrestling.

"I don't know where I'd be without it," she said. "It has opened up a lot of opportunities for me. I've traveled around the country. Now it's allowing me to go to school and get a good education."

But of course, anyone who has been around San Mateo County athletics for a while knows that Piccolotti name. It is no big surprise for another Piccolotti to be doing well in wrestling. It's a bit of a tradition in the family.

Tom Piccolotti, Marina's father, was a state champion at 169 pounds in 1985 competing for Oceana. Then there was Johnny, a state champion at 115 in 1983; Jason, a standout quarterback at City College of San Francisco and South Dakota; and Artie, who advanced as far as Triple-A in the Minnesota Twins organization. In all, there were eight Piccolotti brothers who grew up in Pacifica from the 1970s through the 1990s.

"My dad didn't push it at all," Marina said. "It was kind of my idea. I tried it, and I said, 'I can do it.' It was kind of a challenge."

Marina took fourth at state as a sophomore and third as a junior before breaking through for the state championship this year with a pin in the 146 final. Also this

season she compiled a 12-4 record against boys as Terra Nova's 145-pound wrestler. She was 32-1 with 32 pins against females. She was named outstanding wrestler at three tournaments, took second at nationals and qualified for the World Team Trials by winning a qualifying tournament, the Northern Plains Regional Tournament in Waterloo, Iowa, May 4-5.
Next fall she'll enroll at Oklahoma City. A singer before she became a wrestler, Marina is planning on majoring in vocal performance — and be part of the school's first women's wrestling team. They take wrestling serious back in the midwest.

"I like being part of the beginning of something," she said. "I hope I can pave the way for other girls. When they saw me wrestling for Terra Nova, I hope they said, 'hey, I can do that.' Now I hope my college can get a reputation for women's wrestling."

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Japan to file petition for Icho to participate at worlds

Wednesday, May 16, 2007 at 07:22 EDT

TOKYO — The Japan Wrestling Federation will file a petition with world wrestling's governing body FILA asking that Chiharu Icho be allowed to compete at this fall's world championships, JWF chief Tomiaki Fukuda said Tuesday. Icho was scheduled to wrestle at the Asian Championships in Kyrgyzstan last week but withdrew after she hurt her lower back.

The Athens Olympic women's 48-kilogram silver medalist hoped that by weighing in her participation in the tournament would be recognized, but she was disqualified after coming in over 48 kg. When that happened, Fukuda, who is also vice president of FILA, said it is possible that FILA may not allow Icho to appear at the world championships.

Japan Today Discussion
"This is non-sense!"
rranta (May 16 2007 - 11:58) Rate | Report

Chiharu Icho has had enough bad decisions against her in one life time. Let her in and win by her skill, not a technicality. Maybe, she should try a higher weight?

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Japan lobbies for Icho to compete at the worlds

(Reuters)

16 May 2007

TOKYO - Japan’s national wrestling federation is to petition the sport’s world governing body to allow Olympic silver medallist Chiharu Icho to compete in September’s world championships.

The Athens Olympics 48-kg women’s silver medallist is not eligible to compete at the Azerbaijan worlds after failing to take part in last week’s Asian Championships in Kyrgyzstan.

The wrestler withdrew after hurting her lower back and in any case failed to make the weight for her event, coming in over 48 kg, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported.

‘I really don’t know what outcome to expect,’ Japanese Wrestling Federation chief Tomiaki Fukuda told Kyodo, confirming that the JWF was seeking permission for the wrestler to compete in Azerbaijan worlds.

The September tournament doubles as a qualifying event for next year’s Beijing Olympics.

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Wrestlers asked to be ready for random dope test

Calcutta News.Net
Wednesday 16th May, 2007 (IANS)

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has verbally asked the grapplers attending the national camp to be ready for a random dope test ahead of the Commonwealth Championship next month so that any ignominy at the world stage could be avoided.

'We have verbally asked the wrestlers to be ready for a random dope test before the Commonwealth Championship. In the past wrestlers have been caught in dope tests and it has brought a lot of shame for the country,' WFI secretary general Kartar Singh told IANS.

'We are trying to be strict and we are trying to handle this issue with a strong hand. By this we also want to send a strong message to the wrestlers that they can't take any unethical method to succeed,' he said.

The move comes after a wrestler along with eight other athletes from different fields tested positive in a dope test conducted during the National Games in Guwahati in February this year.

Singh also said that the WFI has asked the players to be careful about their medication as well.

'We have asked the players to be very careful about the medicines they take and consult only certified doctors before taking them. At times the players' take some banned substance out of ignorance,' said Singh.

The men's camp for the Commonwealth Championship will start in Sarlu in Himachal Pradesh this week and the team will be announced May 31. The women's camp will be held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in the city and the team will be declared June 1.

The Commonwealth Championship will be held in Ontario, Canada, June 15-17.

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City of London prepares to host Commonwealth Wrestling Championships , June 16 - 17, 2007

CAWA Wednesday, May 16, 2007 6:59 PM

In just over one month, Province of Ontario, Canada will play host to two top Wrestling International events. On June 16 -17th the city of London will host the 2007 Commonwealth Wrestling Championships and on June 23 in Guelph, Ontario, the 2007 Canada Cup of International Wrestling will be held .

The Commonwealth Wrestling event is held every two years, last taking place in 2005 in Capetown, South Africa. London hosted the event previously in 2003 with a number of Commonwealth nations staying away due to the SARS problem at that time and Nigeria and Pakistan were denied VISAS. The organizers for this years Commonwealth wrestling event hope that there won't be a repeat of deniying the VISAS to wrestling team from Nigeria and Pakistan. The Commonwealth Championships began in 1985 in Glasgow, Scotland as an opportunity for Commonwealth Nations to meet and compete in the sport of Olympic style of WRESTLING in non Commonwealth Games years.

Canada is a powerhouse in Olympic style of Wrestling within the Commonwealth, but India has rapidly been closing the gap with Nigeria and South Africa not far behind. Canada narrowly defeated India at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester with four Gold medals to India’s three. India hopes to reverse that outcome in 2010 when they host the Games in New Delhi. That is why this year’s Commonwealth Championships in London, Ontario, Canada are so critical to all the Commonwealth nations participating since they will serve as a proving ground for the athletes who will be vying to represent their countries at the 2010 Games. The 2010 Commonwealth Games as in the past will have Men's Freestyle wrestling and for the first time they will feature Women’s Wrestling in Freestyle and the Men's Greco-Roman style. This year's Commonwealth Championships in London will feature Men's and Women's Freestyle wrestling and Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling.

The field for the 2007 Commonwealth Championships in London is looking strong with 12 - wrestling nations participating, including Nigeria (men and women), India (men and women), South Africa, Australia, England, New Zealand (men and women), Samoa, Pakistan, Wales (men and women), Scotland (men and women), Namibia, as well as Canada. Canada is expected to field full teams in both the men’s and women’s freestyle and in the men’s Greco-Roman division as well. In 2005 Commonwealth Championships which were held in Cape Town, South Africa, India dominated both Freestyle and Greco-Roman events, they won the Team Championships, while Canada placed second and South Africa third.

In London, the Freestyle event for men and women will run on June 16th all day and on the morning of 17th, while Greco-Roman for men only will be on all day on June 17th. Rogers Television will cover the finals, and all preliminaries will be web-cast over the Internet. The preliminary matches for the event will take place in the Thames Hall Gymnasium at the University of Western Ontario and the Finals will be at Alumni Hall, also on the campus at Western on June 17th at 7:00 pm.

The 2007 Commonwealth Championships are supported by the Ontario Amateur Wrestling Association, and sanctioned by the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association (Host National Federation), the Commonwealth Amateur Wrestling Association and the Federation Internationale des Lutte Associees (FILA – the International Sport Body for Olympic Wrestling) as well as Commonwealth Games Federation.

The hosting club is London-Western Wrestling Club, one of the oldest wrestling clubs in Canada. The event is being supported both by the City of London through their Sport and Tourism Office, and also by the Government of Ontario under the Government’s new International Amateur Sport Hosting Policy. A grant from the Ministry of Health Promotion, Honorable Jim Watson, Minister, is helping to offset some of the hosting costs for the event. In addition, the Government of Canada through Sport Canada is also helping to fund this year's Commonwealth Wrestling Championships. The Government’s generous support will also ensure an ongoing legacy from the Commonwealth Championships such as equipment that will remain in the London area for years to come to help and develop youth wrestling participation in the London community.

The wrestlers will have no time to rest after the Commonwealth Wrestling Event. Most of the Commonwealth Nations’ teams will remain in Ontario for a week long training camp in the London area, and then will move on to compete in the 2007 Canada Cup of International Wrestling ( Olympic freestyle ), June 23rd in Guelph Ontario. One of the longest running International Olympic Wrestling events in North America. This year’s Canada Cup is expecting another strong field, bolstered partly by the participation of the Commonwealth countries.

For the Canada Cup, the host Canadian team will take on the USA, Germany, Korea, Australia, Greece, Brazil, South Africa, India, and Nigeria. Several other of the Commonwealth nations have yet to confirm for the Canada Cup but are expected to.

Canada was top three in the Women’s Division at the 2006 World Senior Wrestling Championships and 14th of over 100 countries participating in the Men’s Division.

For more information, check out these web sites:

2007 Commonwealth Championships: - http://groups.msn.com/CommonwealthWrestling
and follow the link to the 2007 event.

2007 Canada Cup: - www.canadacupofwrestling.ca

Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association: - www.wrestling.ca

Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion: - http://www.mhp.gov.on.ca/english/sportandrec

This Press Release is circulated by - the "Ontario Amateur Wrestling Association"
and the "Commonwealth Amateur Wrestling Association" .........

For further Information contact ---

Tim MaGarrey
Provincial Director,
Ontario Amateur Wrestling Association
(416)426-7274
admin@oawa.ca

Or visit the Association web site at: www.oawa.ca

Josip MRKOCI
Chairman - Executive Committee
COMMONWEALTH AMATEUR WRESTLING ASSOCIATION
mobile number (519) 668-9901
josipwrestling@hotmail.com or Commonwealth-Wrestling@sympatico.ca

WEB site - http://groups.msn.com/CommonwealthWrestling

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USOEC Athletes of the Semester

Athletes of the SemesterMay 10, 2007

MARQUETTE—The United States Olympic Education Center announced its programs’ standout athletes for the winter 2007 semester.
USA Boxing staff selected Greg Carter of Waterbury, Conn., for the honor. The Northern Michigan University junior took the Upper Michigan-Wisconsin Golden Gloves tournament by storm in Racine, Wis. He competed multiple weekends to climb his way to the top of the open division’s 152-pound class. Carter walked away with outstanding boxer honors for his efforts and qualified to compete at the Golden Gloves National Championships in Chattanooga, Tenn., where he fought his way to the quarterfinals.
Short track speedskater Katherine Reutter of Champaign, Ill., was U.S. Speedskating’s honoree. Reutter, who is an NMU freshman, competed overseas in four international events. She finished 11th in the 1000 meters, eighth in the 1500m, and fifth in the relay at the Junior World Championships in Miercurea Ciuc, Romania. In Torino, Italy, she skated at the World University Games, finishing fifth in the 1000m, 13th in the 1500m and fifth in the relay. Reutter raced in the World Championships in Milan, Italy, taking seventh in the relay. She ended her international tour in Budapest, Hungary, taking fourth in the relay at the World Team Championships.
Collin Ito of Vista, Calif., was selected by USA Weightlifting as the athlete of the semester. The NMU junior earned one gold medal and two silvers in the 105-plus-kilogram class at the Junior National Championships in Merrillville, Ind. He finished the competition in second place. Ito also competed at the National Collegiate Championships in Reno, Nev. Ito earned an individual bronze medal, helping the USOEC Team finish first overall.
USA Wrestling recognized Alyssa Lampe of Tomahawk, Wis., as the women’s freestyle athlete of the semester. Lampe, an NMU freshman, won gold in the 48-kg senior division at the Missouri Valley Showcase in Marshall, Mo. She finished fifth at the Senior National Championships in Las Vegas. Lampe went on to claim gold at the Body Bar FILA Junior National Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo. She was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler. Lampe will represent the United States at the Junior World Championships this summer in Beijing, China.

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