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Sask. girls wrestling team No. 1 in the west, boys third
The StarPhoenix
Published: Saturday, August 11, 2007
On the wrestling mat, the girls won gold in the team event, while the boys earned bronze.
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WESTERN CANADA GAMES
Medal standings
G S B Tot
B.C.. 65 52 41 158
Alberta 49 45 55 149
Sask. 30 40 35 105
Manitoba 27 31 35 93
Yukon 0 2 4 6
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March 30-April 1, 2007 Detroit, Michigan
The 2007 USGWA National Championships were held at Churchill High School in Livonia, a suburb of Detroit. The high school was huge and featured two full-sized gymnasiums that were 4x bigger than most Washington high school gyms. Each gym held five mats that served the tournament's four divisions: elementary, middle school, high school and college. [gym pics: 1 2]
Considered the toughest tournament in the nation for women wrestlers, there were teams from nearly every state in the country. It's important to gain some perspective of girl/women's wrestling around the country:
Many states have their own, long-held, "girls-only" state tournaments.
Many states have girls that compete in and place regularly in the boys tournaments.
Many states sponsor traveling state teams of girls that travel the country competing against other states and in national tournaments.
There are many national tournaments that draw national and international competitors.
Girls wrestling is "big time" in other parts of the country.
Inglemoor's Rowan Pilger traveled with the USA Cobra team from Oregon. The Cobra group, as many Vikings are becoming aware, is one of the best programs in the country. Coach Mark Sprague has coached more national champions than any other coach--including many NCAA placers and Olympians. Their girls program, lead by Bobo Umemoto is no different. In fact, of the eighteen Cobra girls that attended (others also from Washington), eight were placers and they had two elementary girls win Championships AND BOTH won Outstanding Wrestler awards.
Training in the Viking Wrestling Club three nights a week and traveling to Portland each Sunday for intensive workouts with the Cobras, Rowan did an outstanding preparing herself. She had the best possible coaches at the tournament, including Bobo's daughter Natasha Umemoto (pictured right) who is a muti-national title winner, a world team member, USA Wrestling's 2005 Wrestler of the Year, and Olympic team hopeful.
Rowan wrestled in one of the toughest weight classes in 152. First, there were 26 in her bracket with competitors from Michigan, Virginia, California, Kansas, Maine, Ohio, Hawaii, West Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania, Arizona, New Jersey, & Texas. Second, it was the only weight that contained the only two high school girls in the country that live and train in the US Olympic Education Development program and wrestle with a college program.
In her first match she pinned her opponent from California in the first round. Rowan worked her underhook series and floated around the girl when she tried a head and arm, she did her 'new' Minnesota-style takedown from behind perfectly then caught the girl on her back for a 1:20 pin.
In her second match, she wrestled Erin Clogdo. Clogdo is one of the nation's top female wrestlers and an outstanding leg rider who really gave Rowan a tough time on the mat. Clodgo was the eventual tournament champion, with an easy victory in the finals. [see Clodgo info in box below]
In her third match, she wrestled another girl from Michigan (Silvensky) and the match was 0-0 first round and Rowan worked a great escape on the edge before going to her underhook series and getting a takedown to end the round. In the 3rd period the girl threw Rowan twice for 5 points and each time Rowan fought out. Late in the last period Rowan tried a throw but they ended up out of bounds when time ran out. A hard fought match lost 6-12!
While I 'm really proud of Rowan's effort in the tournament, I am most pleased that she embodied the "will to prepare to win" that is so important to becoming a champion.
I'm excited to see what this experience will bring for her in the future. Congratulations Rowan!
More on the tournament.....
The tournament was an outstanding event to be enjoyed by any wrestling. Perhaps it was mainly ignorance on my part but, I was really unaware of where girls wrestling was in the country. With Washington having just established its first official state tournament for girls this year, there are areas of the country that have long-established competitive programs.
I was personally impressed by the high-caliber of wrestling at every level: Elementary, Middle School and High School. The top wrestlers were lean, ripped and muscular, quick and possessed outstanding technique. I talked with a lot of the wrestlers--including some of the champions--and most of them shared that THEY are most impressed with skills of the upcoming elementary group, who they feel are way beyond where they ever were.
They're pretty hardcore too. There were twenty girls crammed in a sauna (elementary, middle school and high school) the night before weigh-in at our hotel, and a lot of them were working hard right up to weigh-in. Not surprising I guess, considering it was a national tournament, and everyone was looking to gain maximum advantage. And it was apparent in the girls at the top of the podium at the end of the day.
Listening to the bios given of the finalists in the championship rounds were amazing.
Here were four that really impressed me as a contrast in personas and styles:
Marina Picolotti--144 pound runner-up (lost in an uninspired effort)
...a bronzed Californian who looked like a cross between a body builder and a model off BayWatch, she could throw most anybody and had an inside stepover from the down position that resulted in a lot of pins.
118 - 16 with 96 pins in 3 years of high school
43-1 against girls in 2007
12-3 against guys in 2007
53 pins in 2007
145 pound California league champion (boys division)
USGWA National Champion in 8th grade
Beth Johnson--130 pound Champion
...off of a remote farm in Kansas; with a mean stare, she was the most physical and brutal wrestler in the tournament.
· 2x USGWA Middle School Champion
· 2x USGWA High School All-American
· 4th in Junior Nationals in Fargo, ND
· Body Bar National Tournament Runner-up
· 2x Junior Champion
· National Powerlifting placer
Tatiana Padilla --134 pound Champion. Easily pinned everybody she wrestled.
...wrestling since she was 3.5 years old, she is considered one of the best high school wrestlers in the country.
· The announcer listed off so many championships I couldn't write them all down fast enough.
· A Story here
Joey Miller --118 pound Champion. Easily pinned every opponent.
The "Tiny Tornado" from Oklahoma is bright, bubbly and dangerously unassuming.
· Entered and won the high school division when she was in 8th grade and every year since.
· Is also considered one of the best and most decorated female wrestlers in the country.
· In her finals bio, she listed as one of her favorite accomplishments, her best friend Cammie Yiek from Washington (pictured left)
More on Girls Wrestling: One of the best web sites on Girls Wrestling is by the 4x National Champion-- Joey Miller.
Visit her site at: http://www.WrestleGirl.com
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Madagascar wins wrestling at Indian Ocean Island Games
+ - 12:58, August 12, 2007
Madagascar took the first place in wrestling on Saturday at the Indian Ocean Island Games.
The host nearly dominated the two-day fight in wrestling, winning 12 out of the 20 gold medals, four on the first day and eight the second day for men and women together.
Madagascar took eight gold medals in the categories of 55, 60, 66 and 96 kilograms for men, 51, 55, 63 and 67 kilos for women on Saturday.
Rakotoarilala Franois from the Madagascar team won the medal after beating down Reunion Payet Laurent in the 55 kilos group while his colleague Rakotoarisoa Elvis won against the Mauritius Lamvohu Max Gildo in the category of 96 kilos.
Andriamihaja Heritiana and Andriamalala Bernard took the gold medals against Hoarau Josian and Sellaye Wilfrid, all from Reunion, in the groups of 60 and 66 kilos.
However, the Reunion team managed to make a turn in the groups of 74, 84 and 120 kilos after beating Razafindrahova Fenosoa from Madagascar and Albert Chirstopher and Cleyven Alexandrine from Mauritius.
On the women's side, Madagascar's Razafiarisoa Haingotiana knocked out her Mauritius competitor Albert Clairmen in the 63 kilos category and Andrianatsalama Tsilavina Manue, also from Madagascar team, came out with victorious face after a dogfight with her Mauritius opponent Collect Marie Annie in the group of 55 kilos.
Only four of the seven islands sent wrestling teams to the 7th Indian Ocean Island Games with Maldives, Mayotte and Seychelles are missing.
The Indian Ocean Island Games was open officially on Thursday evening by Madagascan president Marc Ravalomanana and his chief guests Seychelles president James Michel, Comoros Union President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi.
The wrestling competition for the Indian Ocean Island Games ended on Saturday with Madagascar in the first place, followed by Reunion, Mauritius and Comoros.