womens wrestling news

Vallejo High girls wrestlers, from left to right, Jennifer Avelino (third place, 144 pounds),

Apache girls wrestlershttp://www.timesheraldonline.com/ci_7843791 claimedhttp://www.timesheraldonline.com/ci_7843791 third straight unofficial state title

Jennifer

Fernandez (second, 105), Angie Miller (first, 138) and Mary Jane Fernandez (third, 98) led Vallejo to a third straight unofficial girls state wrestling championship in 2007. Apaches who wrestled at state and not pictured

are Sabrina Ross (eighth, 98) and Jennifer Steele (seventh, 154). ( Mike Jory/Times-Herald file photo)

Once was great, twice was definitely nice. But three in a row? Now that's something else.

The Vallejo High girls wrestling team might not be the talk of the town, but the Apaches certainly are one of the - if not the - most successful team in Vallejo.

What other program can boast of winning three consecutive state titles?

Well, the Apaches can, their third coming in late January when they won the California State Tournament.

Though the CIF doesn't sanction a girls wrestling state championship tournament, this unofficial meet held since 2000 - with seeding based on the CIF Northern and Southern California regional tournaments - is recognized by the girls wrestling community as the state-level championship.

Vallejo tallied 160.5 points to complete the three-peat, 20 ahead of cross-town rival and NorCal Regional champion Hogan.

"I could not be more pleased with the girls," said then-Apaches coach Mike Minahen.

Individually, it was Angie Miller who led the way for Vallejo. She completed a near-flawless season when she claimed the 138-pound championship with a 5-4 decision over previously-undefeated Jade Anderson of Royal-Simi Valley.

Miller was perfect all season in the 138-pound division but lost once at 144

pounds to the nation's second-ranked wrestler in that weight class.

"Very good," Minahen said of Miller. "(There was) one mistake in the final that scared us, but she was able to get away. She was very good."

The story of determination and mind-over-matter came from the Fernandez sisters, Mary Jane and Jennifer, who battled sickness to do their share in contributing to the team title. With both girls suffering from flu-like symptoms, Jennifer took second at 105 pounds, while Mary Jane finished third at 98 pounds. Mary Jane nearly vomited during the semifinals.

"I'm very pleased and impressed with them ... not at 100 percent strength and still battled like champions," Minahen said. "It was huge. Without them, we're not even close."

And then there were those girls who did their parts in consolation to rack up crucial team points. Jennifer Avelino went 5-1 with five pins to finish third at 144 pounds. Jennifer Steele and Sabrina Ross were also big, placing seventh at 154 pounds and eighth at 98 pounds, respectively, to accumulate much-needed points.

This season, under first-year coach Carl Lastrella, Vallejo will look to make it a four-peat. And why not? The Apaches graduated nobody from last year's team, though Miller has hung up her shoes because of a series of concussions.

Still, that would be something else, wouldn't it?

By SIMON JUDE SAMANO/Times-Herald sports writer
Article Launched: 12/28/2007 08:19:35 AM PST

Vallejo High girls wrestlers, from left to right, Jennifer Avelino (third place, 144 pounds), Jennifer

Fernandez (second, 105), Angie Miller (first, 138) and Mary Jane Fernandez (third, 98) led Vallejo to a third straight unofficial girls state wrestling championship in 2007. Apaches who wrestled at state and not pictured

are Sabrina Ross (eighth, 98) and Jennifer Steele (seventh, 154). ( Mike Jory/Times-Herald file photo)
Once was great, twice was definitely nice. But three in a row? Now that's something else.

The Vallejo High girls wrestling team might not be the talk of the town, but the Apaches certainly are one of the - if not the - most successful team in Vallejo.

What other program can boast of winning three consecutive state titles?

Well, the Apaches can, their third coming in late January when they won the California State Tournament.

Though the CIF doesn't sanction a girls wrestling state championship tournament, this unofficial meet held since 2000 - with seeding based on the CIF Northern and Southern California regional tournaments - is recognized by the girls wrestling community as the state-level championship.

Vallejo tallied 160.5 points to complete the three-peat, 20 ahead of cross-town rival and NorCal Regional champion Hogan.http://www.timesheraldonline.com/ci_7843791

"I could not be more pleased with the girls," said then-Apaches coach Mike Minahen.

Individually, it was Angie Miller who led the way for Vallejo. She completed a near-flawless season when she claimed the 138-pound championship with a 5-4 decision over previously-undefeated Jade Anderson of Royal-Simi Valley.

Miller was perfect all season in the 138-pound division but lost once at 144
pounds to the nation's second-ranked wrestler in that weight class.
http://www.timesheraldonline.com/ci_7843791
"Very good," Minahen said of Miller. "(There was) one mistake in the final that scared us, but she was able to get away. She was very good."

The story of determination and mind-over-matter came from the Fernandez sisters, Mary Jane and Jennifer, who battled sickness to do their share in contributing to the team title. With both girls suffering from flu-like symptoms, Jennifer took second at 105 pounds, while Mary Jane finished third at 98 pounds. Mary Jane nearly vomited during the semifinals.

"I'm very pleased and impressed with them ... not at 100 percent strength and still battled like champions," Minahen said. "It was huge. Without them, we're not even close."

And then there were those girls who did their parts in consolation to rack up crucial team points. Jennifer Avelino went 5-1 with five pins to finish third at 144 pounds. Jennifer Steele and Sabrina Ross were also big, placing seventh at 154 pounds and eighth at 98 pounds, respectively, to accumulate much-needed points.

This season, under first-year coach Carl Lastrella, Vallejo will look to make it a four-peat. And why not? The Apaches graduated nobody from last year's team, though Miller has hung up her shoes because of a series of concussions.

Still, that would be something else, wouldn't it?

February

The state's wrestling community is shocked when Chamberlain junior Randi Beltz - yes, that's a girl - makes a splash at the Class B state meet in Sioux Falls.

Beltz, ranked fifth at 119 pounds, transferred to Chamberlain from Missouri - where she made headlines as the first female to place at that state's high school wrestling championships.

Thrilling fans at a packed Arena, Beltz stuns mat traditionalists by advancing all the way to the finals before settling for a second-place finish.

Her effort is hailed as the greatest female triumph in South Dakota since Julie Francavilla served as news anchor for KELO-TV in the late 1980s.

The Vallejo girls wrestling team took second place with 121 points at the Lady Lancer Inviational at East Union High School in Manteca.

Crosstown rival Hogan was third with 96 points. Pittsburgh won the meet.

Vallejo had three winners on the day. Mary Jane Fernandez won the 98 pound division by going 4-0 with four pins. Jennifer Fernandez won the 108 pound gold bracket by going 5-0 with four pins. And Sabrina Ross was first in the 108 pound silver bracket with a 4-0 record and three pins.

Vallejo got second-place finishes from Jennifer Avelino (118 pounds), Breanne Boggs (126 gold), Jasmin Delangin (132 silver), and Johanna Knight (138 silver).

VIlma Renderos (122 silver), took third place for Vallejo.

Hogan got two top spots in the tournament. Carr parker won the 235 Gold division and Brianna Grant was first at 114 silver.

Hogan's top wrestler, senior Monica Gonzalez, suffered an upset and had to settle for second place in the 165 pound gold division.

Ariana Reyes (108 Gold), Alisa Gortchakov(108 Silver), Alice Hoover (114 Gold) and Carole Johnson

(154 Gold) each took third for Hogan.

Re: “Girls going to the mat,” Dec. 23 news story.

Former wrestling coach Arnold Torgerson’s comment that he opposes coed wrestling because he “always taught boys to respect women and take care of them” raises some interesting questions.

Has he always taught boys that they shouldn’t respect and care for other boys? Does he think that wrestling with someone entails disrespecting him or her? Does he think that high school boys have learned to respect women in any meaningful way as long as they think that losing to a girl is humiliating?

It seems that the best way to teach high school boys to respect women - not simply as passive sex objects (for whom they should open doors) but also as colleagues and collaborators - is for them to be teammates and competitors with girls.

Jonathan Gingerich, Cambridge, Mass.

The support for girls in our public schools continues, no matter what the cost to boys. The message to boys is simply that what they think their roles in our society are doesn’t matter so long as the girls and their parents are happy. Another step forward for the women’s groups that aim to crush masculinity. Another giant step forward toward the completion of the feminization of our public schools.

John Phipps, Estes Park