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Brock wrestlers dominate mat

Posted 8 hours ago 2/19/08

The Brock University wrestling teams continue to dominate Ontario University Athletics competition.

The men won their 14th straight provincial title and women their eighth in school history Saturday at the OUA championships at McMaster University in Hamilton.

The men qualified eight of the 10 weight classes for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championships with six gold medals, a silver and a bronze. The women had seven qualifiers with three gold medals, three silver medals and a bronze.

Winning gold medals for the Badgers were Aaron Fabiano (54 kg), C.J. Hudson (61 kg), Peter Simons (65 kg), Paul Rabjohn (82 kg), Alex Brown-Theriault (90 kg) and Mike Neufeld (heavyweight). Eric MacKinnon won a silver medal at 68 kg and Brad Trimble was the bronze medallist at 76 kg.

Scott Hall was fifth at 72 kg.

For the women, gold medallists were Alana King (48 kg), Jessica Bondy (55 kg) and Michelle Fazzari (59 kg). Taking silver were Liz Sanli (51 kg), Debra Jehu (72 kg) and Jocelyn Dresser (82 kg). Celeste Constant-Rodrigues took the bronze at 63 kg.

Lindsay MacDonald was fourth at 67 kg.

King was named the outstanding female wrestler and head coach Mary Calder was the coach of the year.

In the men's team competition, the Badgers amassed 74 points, with Lakehead second at 65 and Guelph third at 44.

The women had 59 points to Western's 47 and Guelph's 37.

WRESTLING HISTORY: Cedar wrestler Dallas Gale was part of a unique bit of history on Friday at the 3A Utah State Wrestling Championships. Although he made it to the championship semifinals, he was denied a finals berth by Candace Workman of Uintah. The 5-4 win allowed Workman to become the first girl in state history to reach the wrestling finals.

But to Gale, losing to someone like Workman is hardly a big deal.

"I did the best I could this time. She's a really good wrestler," said the junior.

Workman lost in the 103-pound final Saturday to Delta's Chasen Tolbert by pin at 3 minutes, 59 seconds.

Wrestling is being cut, but do you (or I) really care?

In my opinion | Three To Win

By: Jeffrey Dransfeldt | Sports Editor

Issue date: 2/19/08 Section: Sports

When the Oregon wrestling team ends its final season, I'll be the first to say sayonara.

Goodbye. See ya. Nice knowing you.

Many students on campus likely share my opinion. Ask nearly any student what they think about wrestling, and the reply will border on ambivalence. If you really think about it, the only response to wrestling's removal has come from the wrestling community, whether it's current team members, former wrestlers or past coaches. There has been little outcry, from what I've heard, from what make sports go and that's the fans.

Oregon held its last home meet Feb. 8 against Oklahoma State, and returns to McArthur Court one more time for the Pacific-10 Conference Championships March 2 and 3.

Look at the lack of attendance at Oregon home meets and you have an illustration of the sport's popularity. I've yet to attend a wrestling meet in my three years in Eugene.

The only real pity I have is for the athletes who will no longer be able to compete at Oregon in a sport at the Division I level. If they are passionate enough about wrestling, there are other colleges and other opportunities they can pursue.

I'll be glad the sport will be gone. Wrestling has been a sore subject of mine for years.

In junior high, it was a requirement in our physical education class for the males to participate in wrestling. We spent a couple weeks paired up with a partner and under our PE teacher's instruction, learned basic moves and how the sport worked.

I was young. I had little interest in understanding the sport and even less interest in performing the moves with a classmate. My wrestling partner and I pretended to act out the moves during class.

The end of the wrestling lessons coincided with a tournament. Students were divvied up by weight classes, and the competition to see who the best wrestler was, was on.

My first round opponent, Chad Stevens, was also a point guard and teammate on the junior high basketball team. He was at least a foot shorter, on the generous side, but had a thicker frame compared to my anorexic physique.

I figured sure, I can give this a shot. Normally passive, I could build my confidence up with a couple wins.

My timid side appeared instead, and after being tossed around a couple times, I resorted to waiting the match out and looked forward to the final buzzer. Stevens flipped me over on one move, and without thinking, I stuck out my left wrist to brace my fall.

The pain was instant and excruciating. My went body went limp and I lay there, hanging on until the PE teacher stopped the match and I was able get up and off the mat. My wrist hung limp at an awkward angle as I walked to the school office and waited for my parent's arrival.

X-ray results revealed a fracture. I needed a cast. Much of my junior high basketball season and that of a local youth basketball league had just been wiped away.

Basketball teammates enjoyed a laugh about it. Stevens signed the cast, cleverly writing "I didn't do it." Although I could still practice, the injury kept me out of games.

The sport of basketball - the game I love - had been taken away instantly by a sport that I hated.

Years later, wrestling at Oregon continues to take away basketball opportunities, albeit in a smaller fashion.

The wrestling team's move from the Casanova Center into one of the basketball courts in the Student Recreation Center took away a prime-location for pick-up basketball games.

There used to be always an open court, whether you wanted to shoot baskets or play in a game, except now peak basketball hours leaves the courts packed with plenty of players waiting on the side eager to join in.

Wrestling's exit reopens the court and provides basketball hungry students another court to play on. It's true. I equate wrestling's level of importance to pick-up basketball.

College students are more likely to go out and mimic a sport they enjoy watching in the men's basketball team and the high-flying skills of Bryce Taylor and long-range daggers of Tajuan Porter.

Few, if any students do watch wrestling, go to a meet and want to imitate what they see.

My competitive days of playing basketball are over. Wrestling took away some of that playing experience.

In a small way, reopening the extra basketball court in the rec center will provide more opportunities to play a sport I enjoy and make-up for the lost time wrestling took away.

jdransfeldt@dailyemerald.com

The Cumberlands returns to No. 1 spot in Women’s College Poll for February

Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
02/19/2008

In the monthly U.S. women’s college poll for February 2008, the Univ. of the Cumberlands has regained the No. 1 spot in the nation.

The Patriots, coached by Kip Flanik, moved past Oklahoma City Univ., which held the spot during the January poll. The Univ. of the Cumberlands had held the top spot in the December poll. The Univ. of the Cumberlands received received all five first place votes for 50 points, while Oklahoma City Univ., coached by Archie Randall, was in second with 45 points.

The Cumberlands and OCU met in a dual meet action in Williamsburg, Ky. on January 25. Both teams also participated in dual meets and a number of tournament during the past month.

The rest of the 10 teams remained the same from the January poll. Missouri Valley College, under coach Carl Murphree, was ranked third with 40 points. The USOEC team at Northern Michigan Univ., coached by Shannyn Gillespie, was fourth with 34 points. Holding down the No. 5 position with 31 points was Menlo College, coached by Lee Allen.

Five women’s college wrestling coaches vote on the team ranking each month.

Click here for U.S. Women’s College Rankings for February 18
http://www.themat.com/rankings.php?page=ranking_details&RankingID=1045

For the fifth month in a row, individuals rankings were also 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. has three women ranked No. 1 in the February ranking. The top- ranked athletes from OCU are: Nicole Woody (44 kg/97 lbs.), Lacey Novinska (82 kg/180.25 lbs) and Carrie Clark (82 kg/180.25 lbs.).

The Univ. of the Cumberlands and USOEC program at Northern Michigan Univ. each have two top-ranked athletes. Holding down No. 1 for the Cumberlands are Lauren Knight (63 kg/138.75 lbs.) and Theresa Fennell (95 kg/209 lbs.) Top-ranked for the USOEC are Alyssa Lampe (48 kg/105.5 lbs) and Sadie Kaneda (51 kg/112.25 lbs.).

Rounding out the No. 1 positions are Chelynne Pringle (55 kg/121 lbs.) from Pikes Peak CC, Kelsey Campbell from Arizona State Univ. at 59 kg/130 lbs. and Missouri Valley’s Amberlee Ebert at 67 kg/147.5 lbs.

Five of the No. 1 ranked wrestlers moved up in rank and took over the top spot this month: Woody, Pringle, Campbell, Knight and Fennell.

Click here for U.S. Women’s College Pre-Season Rankings for February 18
http://www.themat.com/rankings.php?page=ranking_details&RankingID=1046

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

Australia

KYLA Bremner is poised to become the first female wrestler to fight for Australia at the Olympic Games, but first she had to grapple with the sport's world body to gain a clearance to compete in Beijing.

The Sydney medico had pre-qualified for selection at the Oceania trials in Canberra when she won her weight division against an opponent from New Zealand. But Bremner's troubles had just begun. She then had to wrestle the world body, the Swiss-based FILA, for the right to be granted final selection.

FILA decided a month ago to give just seven places to wrestlers from the Oceania region.

Australia alone had pre-qualified grapplers in 11 of the 18 weight categories in both freestyle and Greco-Roman styles at the Beijing qualifying tournament in Canberra. But just yesterday, FILA reduced the number of Olympic spots from this region to three, raising the possibility of legal action from the Australian Olympic Committee.

Bremner, 31, earned the right to represent Australia after winning the 48kg division final.

"There was already an earlier kerfuffle when I went to the nationals," Bremner said. "The person I beat there appealed, so I had to appear before the AOC appeals body where I won the right to represent Australia at the Oceania tournament."

When asked how she felt about being the first Australian woman Olympic wrestler, Bremner said: "It's about time, after women wrestlers were only allowed to compete for the first time at Athens when Australia didn't qualify.

"I won in Canberra fair and square and I'm really happy."

Bremner is Australia's best-ranked wrestler, having finished 17th of 38 at the world championships at Baku in Azerbaijan.

"I won my first match against Finland and lost the second against Venezuela. The girl I lost to went on to win the bronze medal. I was happy with the way I wrestled at the worlds. It's not like in swimming where times count. In wrestling, it all depends on who you draw," she said.

Bremner remains in full training under coach Leonid Zaslavsky, having pinned down her final Olympic selection along with fellow freestyler Sandeep Kumar and Hassan Shasavan, who fights Greco-Roman style.

California

New york

Well, the Glens Falls-area teams in Saturday’s Section II Dual Meet Championships lasted about as long as they could, with Queensbury, Hudson Falls and Whitehall falling in the quarterfinals. All five local teams — Glens Falls and Corinth included — finished 1-1 on the day at Colonie High School.

Shenendehowa was the eventual champion with a 55-26 victory over second-seeded Amsterdam. Shen had defeated Duanesburg 54-22 in the semifinals, while Amsterdam emerged with a 47-28 win over Burnt Hills.

The one small surprise was Queensbury falling to Class D powerhouse Duanesburg, 39-33, in the quarterfinals, although the Spartans did not have standout 189-pounder Jared Myhrberg in the lineup because of injury.

For Queensbury, it was a disappointing, frustrating match. Three times, Spartan wrestlers lost in the closing seconds of close matches. At 96 pounds, Josh St. John dropped a close 7-4 loss to Duanesburg’s Curt Rowley. At 112, the Eagles’ Amy Whitbeck pulled out a 7-5 victory over Mike Hewitt with a reveral in the final seconds.

Class D thriller

Well, I’m settling down Saturday night at my computer at home, drinking some apple juice, the Food Network on television in the background (”Iron Chef America”), having finished my Class D tournament story a little while ago — and the whole thing is still spinning in my head.

What a fantastic finish! Duanesburg barely pulled out its third straight Class D sectional wrestling championship, by one-half point over Whitehall in a battle of the two most loaded teams in Class D.

The tournament came down to the wire — when Maple Hill’s Pat Owen pinned Whitehall’s Jon Spoor at 285 pounds, the final championship match of the night, it sealed the Class D title for Duanesburg by the narrowest of margins: Duanesburg 235 1/2, Whitehall 235.

Salem enjoyed a solid day, finishing fourth behind Duanesburg, Whitehall and Maple Hill (186 1/2) with 154 1/2 points — four more than fifth-place Warrensburg. Hadley-Luzerne placed eighth in the 10-team Class D field.

After the wild Saturday at Galway High School — and my afternoon side trip up the road to the Class CC meet at Broadalbin-Perth — several things have become apparent:

– Whitehall and Duanesburg are that good. They were by far the best teams in the tournament, top to bottom. Whitehall went 4-for-9 in the finals and 5-for-5 in the consolation finals (two thirds, three fifths). Duanesburg went 6-for-10 in the finals. The teams split six head-to-head meetings.

– Hudson Falls completely dominated the Class CC meet. I was there for over an hour during the consolation semifinals. The Tigers ultimately went 7-for-8 in the finals and finished with 286 1/2 team points. They won by about 130 points over Johnstown!

– Broadalbin-Perth has the nicest, brightest, newest gym I have seen. What a huge change from the school’s old gym, which was about the size of, well, Galway’s. And it was blue.

– Even with only two mats in the gym, things were wrapping up so quickly at Galway, tournament organizers were trying to find ways to stretch the tournament till the 6 p.m. scheduled start for finals. They started running the consolation finals like the state meet — third/fourth on one mat, fifth/sixth on the other — by waiting until both matches were finished before starting another. That worked until about 160 when things started dragging toward the 5 o’clock hour, so they started getting all the matches out as soon as one finished.

– It was great seeing some old friends from Galway. I worked down that way for most of the ’90s. Of course, the wrestlers I used to write about — like Galway head coach Mike Sartin and Josh Rockwood, who was running the computer at the head table — make me feel old because they’re now pushing 30…

– I shouldn’t have had the sausage and peppers. Not with my stomach… I’ll try the ziti next time. I’m sucking on my third Rolaids…

Okay, now for a more exhaustive analysis of the Class D finals.

For the record, it came down to the wire, but heading into the finals, Whitehall owned a 216-205 1/2 lead on Duanesburg.

Here’s how the meet unfolded:

96 pounds — Whitehall seventh-grader Tyrel White came out on fire against Duanesburg eighth-grader Curt Rowley in the first head-to-head meeting of the teams. Three minutes and two seconds later, it was over — White cradled Rowley and pinned him. Score six team points for Whitehall — Railroaders 222, Duanesburg 205 1/2.

103 — Warrensburg sophomore Abby Roth looked impressive, defeating Maple Hill eighth-grader Ron Radley by decision, 6-4. I have never had a problem with female wrestlers — they’re wrestlers like anyone else, and the diminutive Roth is as tough as they come. She racked up a 6-1 lead on Radley until the closing moments.

“It feels real good,” Roth said of her first Class D title. “I blew it for myself last year in the semifinals, so this feels good. I definitely could have wrestled better, though.”

112 — A much-anticipated rematch between Whitehall soph Curt Thompson and Duanesburg senior Amy Whitbeck, a two-time Section II champ. Thompson beat Whitbeck by technical fall at the Amsterdam Duals in December. It was much closer this time around, as Thompson won 4-0, scoring a takedown with five seconds left in the first period, and a reversal in the second. Other than that, Thompson couldn’t do much else with Whitbeck, who countered him every time he tried to move her.

“She didn’t want to turn — she got a lot tougher since the last time,” Thompson said.

Oh, and that head-to-head win made it Railroaders 226, Duanesburg 205 1/2.

119-130 — Three straight pins by Duanesburg, by Brian Borst (at 119, in 1:49 over Maple Hill’s Tyler Delisle), Evan Borst (at 125, in 1:31 over Maple Hill’s Kyle Evans) and Randy White (at 130, in 2:54 over Whitehall’s Eric Ripley). Those three pins made the team score: Railroaders 226, Duanesburg 223 1/2.

135 — Whitehall eighth-grader Zach Diekel was overmatched against Galway senior John Gochenour, a former Section II champ. Gochenour pinned Diekel in 3:06.

140 — Salem sophomore David Northshield stayed close with Maple Hill senior Chris Schilling, but Schilling ultimately held on for a 3-2 decision.

145 — The most thrilling match of the night, as Whitehall sophomore Travis Beayon pulled out a 6-4 overtime victory over Duanesburg senior Mat White. Beayon held a 4-2 lead in the third period, but White reversed him early for a 4-4 tie. Going to overtime, Beayon scored a takedown with 33 seconds left in the first one-minute period.

“I thought he was ahead at the end of the match,” Beayon said. “I was tired, but I felt better because he looked as tired as I was. I got him with a low single — I saw it open and took it.

“This is the best ever,” Beayon added. “I haven’t won any big tournaments or anything all year.”

That made the team score: Railroaders 230, Duanesburg 223 1/2.

152 — Duanesburg senior Wes Coppolo won a 6-1 decision over Whitehall junior Nate LaGoy, who had knocked off second-seeded Ben Dingman of Warrensburg with a pin in the semifinals. The Eagles begin closing in on Whitehall – Railroaders 230, Duanesburg 227 1/2.

160 — Warrensburg senior Ryan Black continued his quest to win a state championship with a technical fall over Duanesburg freshman Nick Gwiazdowski. Black teched him in 3:40 by a 16-1 margin.

“It feels good to be one step closer to the top,” said Black, a two-time state place-finisher who missed all of last season with a neck injury. “I’m looking to win a state title. I’ve been there twice and missed last year.”

171 — Duanesburg senior Dave Larson (Note for 2009 — the Eagles lose six seniors to graduation this year…) defeated Maple Hill’s Dan Roth to give the Eagles the lead for the first time since the consolation semifinals – Duanesburg 231 1/2, Whitehall 230.

189 — The key win for the Eagles — senior Dana Mesick recording his 100th career win with a tough 1-0 victory over Whitehall freshman Grant Gebo. Mesick escaped from the bottom to start the second period. Neither wrestler scored after that, although Gebo had a big chance — he nearly took down Mesick in the final 15 seconds, but could not get behind Mesick to complete the scoring move.

Duanesburg 235 1/2, Railroaders 230.

215 — Whitehall senior Jedd Mason posted up a convincing 12-2 win over Warrensburg junior Logan Rock in a battle of the area’s best small-school heavyweights. Rock stayed with Mason to start, but Mason got out of trouble and scored some back points in the second and third periods. Mason’s win also pulled the Railroaders within striking distance — Duanesburg 235 1/2, Railroaders 235.

285 — Alas, that’s as close as Whitehall could get. The Railroaders’ Jon Spoor was pinned in 2:25 by Maple Hill’s Pat Owen, who is not as big as Spoor, but looked quicker.

So a great meet in Class D — one of the best I can remember, and certainly the closest tournament I have covered in (mumble)teen years…

Salem coach Frank Fronhofer II said was pleased with how his team finished, with four third-place finishers in addition to runner-up Northshield.

“We’re taking nine to the Civic Center next week,” he said. “We thought we were the third-best team, but Maple Hill had a very good day.”

For the record — finishing third from area teams:

Whitehall — John Diekel (103), John Kuiper (171).

Salem — Austin Padgett (125), Aaron Hamilton (135), David Adams (145), Pat Wilson (152).

Warrensburg — Donovan Santisteban (119).

Hadley-Luzerne — Joe Plante (96), James Tracy (130).

And local fourth-place finishers:

Salem — Brandon Manktelow (96), Kyle McKeighan (160), Kevin Bardin (171), Brett Saunders (215).

Warrensburg — Cole Tennant (140), Tyler Needham (145), Ben Dingman (152), Colin Campbell (285).

Hadley-Luzerne — Zach Olson (103), Cecil Hayes (119).

North Carolina

Eagles take first at 1A Individual Championships

6 February 2008 — 

The Rosewood wrestling team had a big weekend at the Carolina/Albemarle 1A Individual Championships, finishing with the highest team score. The Princeton team also had a good showing, finishing in third place.

The Eagles dominated Saturday’s competition, with Rosewood wrestlers capturing a medal in all but one weight class.

Coach Bill Edmundson said that he was astounded by the performance of his team, especially considering the performances he had seen the week before.

“After having a really bad week last week, I think we rebounded extremely well,” he said. “Having 13 of our 14 starters place in this tournament was more than I could have hoped for.” Among the 13 medal-winners, Rosewood had five first-place conference finishers.

After coming in second to Manteo for the last two years, Senior Olivia Neal finally earned the top spot, not giving up a single point during the competition. In addition to a first-period pin against Manteo, Neal also had two 15-0 technical falls.

Neal also reached another milestone Saturday, earning her 100th career win.

Coach Edmundson said Andy Seaman showed a surprisingly good performance on Saturday. Seaman defeated Trevor Jones of Ayden-Grifton, who Coach Edmundson said is an incredibly strong wrestler, earning first place in the 112 division.

Coach Edmundson said he expected first-place finishes from JD Baker, Josh Holmes, and Trevor Morris, and he wasn’t disappointed.

The pivotal match for Baker, he said, was a match against Shane Brinn from Manteo.

“JD managed to hit a couple of fantastic counter moves to score against Brinn and then used his offense to secure the win,” he said.

He also praised the efforts of Josh Holmes, who has an impeccable record this season with only three losses.

“Joshua Holmes is such a tough kid and he is so humble that his accomplishments seem to go unnoticed,” he said. “Josh has only lost 3 times this year and he is set up to have a very interesting post season.”

Andrew Sass (160) was the sole silver-medalist for the Eagles this weekend.

Ariel Nacca (119), Tyler Dean (130), Sammy Ennis (135), Jacob Roberts (152), Jonathan Rudolph (171), Brandon Dean (189) and JP Pearson (215) all earned third place wins for Rosewood.

Overall, the Eagles had the most wins of the day, finishing in first place with 238.5 points.

Princeton finished in third place overall, earning 131 points total and boasting six medalists.

Zach Stevens was 9-0 for the tournament, earning a first place finish in the 160 division. Steven’s biggest wins were an 8-4 decision over Andrew Sass of Rosewood, and a fall after 4:54 against Darius Crumb of Ayden-Grifton.

Josh Williford earned another gold for Princeton at 215, winning all 10 of his matches. Williford had two first-period pins against Ayden-Grifton and Spring Creek.

Four Bulldog wrestlers earned second-place finishes. BJ Creech (135), Josh Best (145), Tyler Baker (171) and Matt Stewart (285) each earned a silver for Princeton.

North Carolina

Neal sets milestone in county

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 4, 2008 02:23 PM

Olivia Neal is no longer a "first-place loser."

She made sure it wouldn't happen again during a historical effort Saturday in the Class 1-A Carolina/Albemarle Conference wrestling championships.

A runner-up each of the past two seasons, Neal emerged the 103-pound champion with a 79-second fall over Manteo's T.J. Papenfuss in the finals. With the victory, Neal became the first-ever female wrestler in Wayne County history to surpass the 100-win total for her career.

"Olivia had a stellar day," said Rosewood coach Bill Edmundson. "She didn't give up a single point (in three matches), and accomplished two of her major goals."

Neal's medal-winning performance jump-started the Eagles, who collected 238.5 points en route to their 12th conference tournament title in the program's 14-year history. North Johnston ended up a distant second at 183, followed by Princeton (131) and Spring Creek (120).

"After having a really bad week last week, I think we rebounded extremely well," said Edmundson.

Indeed.

Following Neal's lead, Andy Seaman won the 112-pound division. J.D. Baker dominated the 125-pound weight class and Josh Holmes posted a 4-0 ledger at 145 pounds. Heavyweight Trevor Morris concluded the day 3-0, giving him 97 career wins heading into the N.C. High School Athletic Association dual-team playoffs.

"Josh Holmes is such a tough kid and he is so humble that his accomplishments seem to go unnoticed," said Edmundson. "Having 13 of our 14 starters place in this tournament was more than I could have expected. Tyler (Dean), Sammy (Ennis) and Johnathan (Rudolph) all wrestled their best matches of the year."

Spring Creek's Matt Richter picked up the 130-pound championship in impressive fashion. He pinned all four opponents, including a 28-second result against Manteo's Zach Zottoli in the finals.

Princeton's Zack Stevens and Josh Williford seized the 160- and 215-pound titles. Stevens had three falls and defeated Rosewood's Andrew Sass 8-4 in the finals. Williford logged a 5-0 worksheet that included three falls and a 4-1 conquest of Rosewood's J.P. Person in their championship tilt.

Rosewood wrestles at Topsail on Tuesday in the NCHSAA dual-team playoffs. The winner opposes either Heide Trask or Holly Ridge Dixon in the second round. First-round matches begin at 5 p.m.

wrestling, creeley, DC history…

Posted by Steve