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Pirate wrestlers show it up at La Cueva


Monday, December 17, 2007 6:01 PM MST

ALBUQUERQUE - The GHS wrestling squad took a handful of its well-prepared athletes to the Duke City to take part in the La Cueva wrestling meet that hosted more than 20 other schools besides Grants on Saturday.

The Pirates did well against wrestlers from the big city of Albuquerque. The Grants wrestlers were able to dominate the wrestlers from the city and use some of the moves that new Coach Floyd MacErnie has been stressing to them in practice all week.

Mondo Mondragon, Andy Eaton, B.J. McKinnon, and the female wrestler Lou Molina, all wore the Grants red and black in the huge gathering of grapplers.

Eaton brought home third place, while McKinnon was second and Mondragon snagged first place.

“We did really well despite the fact that we were short handed on wrestlers compared to the other schools,” said Eaton, a sophomore.

Although the Pirates took a small amount of wrestlers, they felt that their wrestling made a very big statement to the larger schools with more students to choose from.

The Pirates are buying into what McErnie is teaching them and are doing well so far this season.

“The other wrestlers and I are really starting to become big fans of our coaches “old school” technique that our coach cannot stress enough, and we feel it will take us to state,” Eaton said.

The Pirates will look to remain strong in the upcoming season and look to dominate on Dec. 18 at the Valley Invite in Albuquerque.

By Chap Aragon

Thériault wrestlers taking opponents down to mat; Flammes earn 10 individual medals in eight-team tournament

Posted By Vincent Man

Posted 14 hours ago 12/17/07

Like a wrestler shooting to take down his opponent, cole secondaire catholique Th‚riault has quickly become a team to be reckoned with on the mat.

In the third year of its new wrestling program, the school has put together a fearsome core of competitors able to lock horns with the best in Ontario and Canada.

On Saturday, Th‚riault hosted the North East Ontario Championships and walked away with numerous medals.

Competing against seven other teams, the Flammes garnered 10 individual medals and top spot in one of the age divisions.

"This is amazing for our wrestling program," Th‚riault coach Neil Bangs said. "It validates three years of work that me and the other coaches put in. It only goes to encourage the school to keep it going."

Leading the charge was Stephanie Riopel, who won a gold medal in the 56-kilogram division and helped Th‚riault earn first place in the juvenile girls division.

"I'm just very happy because I wrestled up a category," Stephanie said.

The 16-year-old said she normally wrestles in the 52 or 54-kg classes, but went up in weight on Saturday to get a higher level of competition.

Having competed in Timmins was a thrill in itself, Stephanie said.

"It was awesome," she said. "Just having your friends around gets you so pumped. It was fun for my family to see me wrestle. We always go down south (to compete), so this was the first time I was able to show off in front of friends and family."

In her second year of wrestling, she has already strutted her stuff on the national stage. In April, Stephanie competed in an event with the country's best and placed seventh.

Like her teammates, she is anxious for the next big test which will take place from Feb. 28-29 at the OFSAA championships in Caledonia, Ont.

Since Th‚riault is the only wrestling team in NEOAA, they automatically advance to OFSAA, which has both an upside and downside, Bangs said.

"The good thing about it is that my kids do get the chance to compete at OFSAA," the coach said. "Someone down south may be a very good wrestler but with many good wrestlers in his class may never qualify. The crappy thing about having an automatic walk-in to OFSAA is it takes away that specialness of going to OFSAA.

"It is the toughest tournament of the year, but the kids we bring there deserve to be there. We don't bring kids who can't compete at that level because it really is a higher level.

"Down south they have to do the city championships and the regional championships to qualify ... so we make (our team) work as hard as they can. We say 'look, these guys won their way there. So you have to step it up.'"

The team practises twice a week and in the process has become a tight-knit group.

"We are a very big family," Stephanie said. "That's how we started and that's how we're going to finish. We're always there for each other through ups and down, and we love to support each other."

The team has competed in three tournaments this season and will have one more competition before the OFSAA championships.

Th‚riault medal winners on Saturday were:

Gold - Nic Jolette (cadet boys, 80 kg), Dustin Schultz (juvenile boys, 58 kg), Jessica Henry (juvenile girls, 52 kg), Stephanie Riopel (juvenile girls, 56 kg).

Silver - Brandon Garnett (cadet boys, 60 kg), Jacob Laneville, (juvenile boys, 100 kg), Kelsey Duquette (cadet girls, 46 kg).

Bronze - Andre Fecteau (cadet boys, 54 kg), Jeremy Lacombe (juvenile boys, 85 kg), Darquise Guimond (cadet girls, 60 kg).

Cumberlands ranked No. 1 in women’s college wrestling, with Oklahoma City at No. 2

Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
12/17/2007

 The first U.S. women’s college poll was conducted for December, 2008, with the traditional power the University of the Cumberlands claiming the No. 1 position.

The Patriots, under coach Kip Flanik, received all five of the first place votes to score 50 points in the first poll of the year. The new program at Oklahoma City Univ., coached by Archie Randall, came in second with 45 points.

The Missouri Valley College team, under coach Carl Murphree, was ranked third with 39 points. The USOEC program at Northern Michigan Univ., coached by Shannyn Gillespie, was fourth with 32 points. Holding down the No. 5 position is Menlo College, coached by Lee Allen.

Ten teams were ranked, and all other teams that received votes have been recognized. Five women’s college wrestling coaches vote on the team rankings each month.

Click here for U.S. Women’s College Poll for December 17

For the third straight month, an individual ranking has been released. The ranking includes full-time undergraduate college students who compete on women’s college varsity teams, women’s college wrestling clubs or are members of their men’s college varsity programs. Also ranked are full-time undergraduate students who compete for with the USOEC program at Northern Michigan Univ.

Oklahoma City Univ. and the USOEC program at Northern Michigan Univ. both had three individuals ranked No. 1 in December.

The No. 1 ranked athletes from Oklahoma City Univ. are in the upper weight classes: Lacey Novinska at 72 kg/158.5 lbs., Carrie Clark at 82 kg/180.25 lbs. and Karon Scott at 95 kg/209 lbs.

Holding down No. 1 rankings from the Northern Michigan Univ. USOEC program are Alyssa Lampe at 48 kg/105.5 lbs., Sadie Kaneda at 51 kg/112.25 lbs. and Amy Borgnini at 55 kg/121 lbs.

The Univ. of the Cumberlands has a pair of No. 1 athletes, Melissa Gerard at 44 kg/ 97 lbs. and Othella Lucas at 59 kg/130 lbs.

Missouri Valley College also had a pair of No. 1 wrestlers, Emily Rinehart at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. and Amberlee Ebert at 67 kg/147.5 lbs.

Nine of the 10 top-ranked athletes also held the No. 1 positions in November. The only new No. 1 athlete in this month’s rankings is Amy Borgnini at 55 kg/121 lbs.

Click here for U.S. Women’s College Individual Rankings for December 17

For more information on women’s college wrestling, visit:
www.collegiatewomenswrestling.com

Andy Hrovat, Ben Askren, Iris Smith among guests this weekend on Takedown Radio

Scott Casber Takedown Radio
12/17/2007

This week we're LIVE from our Brute Adidas Studios in Des Moines and we'll deliver a brand new episode of Takedown Radio. Takedown Radio is now broadcast on the following internet outlets: Takedownradio.com, KXNO.com, Matchannel.com, Mat-magazine.com. Please be sure to join our regular live broadcasts every Saturday as we talk to the worlds greatest athletes each Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. CST. TDR is available LIVE, Archived and Pod Cast. Visit Takedownradio.com for more details.

Two weeks ago we shot an episode of TDR on video. You can Watch this TDR broadcast on Matchannel.com FREE of charge.

TDR scheduled guests include:

Tom Minkle - Head Coach of the Michigan State Spartans. Tom will join us to discuss the season, improvements on the team and the balance of the year as we look forward to the National Duals and the NCAAs.

John Jeffire - Author of "Motown Burning," joins us to discuss his book and relationship to wrestling. Strength can come from many sources. Very inspiring read. John teaches English and Coaches Wrestling at Chippewa Valley High School in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan.

Andy Hrovat - U of Michigan grad and president of the Silent H Club was named TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week for Nov. 20-26. Hrovat won a gold medal at 84 kg/185 lbs. at the Henri Deglane International on Nov. 24 in Nice, France. Hrovat was a member of the 2006 U.S. World Team and placed second at the 2007 U.S. World Team Trials. He was a silver medalist at the 2007 Pan American Games.

C.B. Dollaway - Arizona State. 2005 Pac-10 Runner-up at 184 pounds.

Penn State senior Phil Davis was named TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week for Nov. 13-19. Davis, a three-time All-American for Penn State, is off to a strong start at 197 pounds in his senior season. He already owns wins over three opponents ranked in the top eight nationally.

Ben Askren was named TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week for Oct. 30-Nov. 5. Askren won a loaded freestyle class at 74 kg/163 lbs. in capturing the title at the Hargobind International Wrestling Championships on Nov. 3 in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. He was named Outstanding Wrestler. Askren was a two-time NCAA champion and two-time Hodge Trophy winner for the Tigers. He was a four-time NCAA finalist in college. Askren is now serving as the volunteer assistant coach at Missouri.

Iris Smith was named TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week for Oct. 23-29.
Smith knocked off Russia’s top two wrestlers at 72 kg/158.5 lbs. en route to winning the women’s freestyle title at the Sunkist Kids International Open on Oct. 27 in Chandler, Ariz. Smith beat 2004 Olympic silver medalist and 2007 World bronze medalist Guzel Manyurova of Russia 3-0, 1-2, 1-1 in the semifinals. She followed by beating past two-time Junior World runner-up Daria Nazarova of Russia 2-0, 2-1 in the finals. Smith, a 2005 World champion, placed third in the 2007 U.S. World Team Trials.

Ryan Bader - Past All-American at Arizona State.

Takedownradio.com, KXNO.com, Matchannel.com, Mat-magazine.com are our web partners. Wrestlers and MMA competitors join us each and every week. You should too! TDR is available LIVE, Archived and Pod Cast as well. Visit Takedownradio.com for more details. Thanks for listening!