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State Assembly applauds local lady wrestlers

By SARAH ROHRS/Times-Herald staff writer
Article Launched: 08/25/2007 08:27:18 AM PDT

The young ladies won a state wrestling championship last year, and will be honored at the state capitol on Monday.
The Springtowne Lady Wildcat Wrestling Team will get a round of applause on the Assembly floor for winning its second consecutive middle school state wrestling championship last year.

"This will be a great educational opportunity for the girls," said Springstowne girls wrestling coach Jason Guiducci. "We're happy to be able to do this."

Guiducci said many of the girls who competed in last year's championship are dispersed among five different high schools and other middle schools. But every effort is being made to get them together for the tour.

Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, invited the girls to honor them for their impressive wins, and because they are breaking barriers and stereotypes on what a wrestler is, said Evans' spokesman Anthony Matthews.

The team has about 30 members and is considered one of the largest girls' wrestling teams in public education K-12 schools.

Monday, Evans will talk to the young wrestlers, host them for lunch and then take them to the Assembly floor for special recognition.

The school's team won the California Middle School wrestling championship last April against San Leandro Bancroft.
In 2006, the team was honored on the state Senate floor after winning its first state championship.

Guiducci said a new group of sixth-graders join this year's team, which already shows promise. Sixteen girls from last year's teams are still members.

Besides racking up big wins, the young team members also perform community work, and over the past two years have raised more than $1,000 for breast cancer research at the Walk4Hope event.

A number of these girls will be representing California when they face the Hawaiian Island All-Star Team in an upcoming competition.

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NW Briefs | Conder takes wrestling gold

seattletimes.nwsource.com Sunday, August 26, 2007

BEIJING, China — Whitney Conder, a former Puyallup High School wrestler, won a gold medal Thursday at the FILA junior world championships. She was the only gold medalist for the U.S. women's team.

Conder claimed gold at 51 kilograms (112 ¼ pounds). She defeated Kumari Babita of India 2-1, 3-2 in the finals.

Conder scored two takedowns in the first period. In the second period, the difference for Conder was a takedown with exposure points.

"I just really kept moving because I had to win the match," said Conder of the closing seconds.

Conder won four matches on the way to the gold medal, beating opponents from Poland, Belarus and China to reach the finals.

She is the only girl wrestler in state history to place twice in state tournaments against boys wrestlers, placing sixth in 2005 and seventh in 2006, both at 103 pounds in the Class 4A championships

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