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Woodward girls have been busy the last 2 weeks. At the USGWA Oklahoma State tournament (March 9^th) Madison Miller paced 3rd in elementary at 43lbs and Joey Miller placed 1^st in the High School division at 123-145 weight division.

This weekend (March 15-16) Lacey Wallis placed 5^th at the USAW Girls folkstyle National tournament. Lacey was in the 6^th – 8^th grade 103lb weight class. Lacey went 3-2 on the day in one of the toughest brackets in the 6^th – 8^th division.

Joey Miller went 4-0 winning the 123lb High School division. Joey won all of her matched by fall. Joey was also named to the Oklahoma All State team in the small school – west. Joey is the first girl to be named to the all state team. She went 26-6 in her high school senior season and is the only girl that has placed 2 times in Oklahoma .

Fort White wrestler places third at girls national meet.

By CHRIS WHITE 3/20/08
cwhite@lakecityreporter.com

FORT WHITE — After finding success at the local and state level, Fort White High wrestler Katlynn Cormier

figured out how to pin down some national recognition.

The seventh grader, now in her second year as an Indians wrestler, added a third-place finish at the USA Wrestling Girls Folkstyle National Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla., last weekend to her already impressive

wrestling resume, which already includes a regional berth and a fourth-place finish at the girls state competition.

Cormier, 14, and Fort White wrestling coach Jason Howard flew into Wichita, Kan., and drove the nearly three hours to the campus of Oklahoma City University, where the pair watched the high school-age wrestlers compete on the first day.

When Cormier’s number was called the next day, her nerves were high. Her

118-pound weight class had eight of the best female middle school wrestler in the country, and competitors, coaches and fans from 29 states were there watching.

“I was a little scared at first,” Cormier said. “But that didn’t last long.”

Once the match began, Cormier found her rhythm. The opponent, however, stalled.

Tied 0-0 in the third period, Cormier tried to make her move but she suffered her only loss of the weekend, getting pinned in 3 minutes and 40 seconds.

“She was getting frustrated when it was still 0-0,” Howard said. “She tried to make

something happen and she got caught.”

Cormier turned the loss into motivation, and handled her next three opponents — including the same girl she lost to in the first round — in less than three minutes each.

The next opponent,

an intimidating Oklahoma

native, was defeating Cormier before the Fort White

wrestler turned things around.

“That second match, the girl Katlynn wrestled was really strong, and we had watched her dominate some other wrestlers before that,” Howard said. “Then Katlynn got down 12-0, and we got kind of

discouraged before she

started working her legs and got out of it.”

Cormier used a move called the crab ride, where a

wrestler uses her legs to turn

an opponent, and managed to earn a pinfall win in 2:45.

“She was pretty intimidating,” Cormier said. “I was smaller, but I pinned her.”

The next wrestler lasted only 29 seconds before Cormier pinned her, and the final match of the weekend, for third place, lasted only

41 seconds before Cormier won with another pin.

The meet marked the first time Cormier had to

compete against a group of other middle school girls.

During the high school

season, she mainly

competes against boys. Even during her trip to the girls state

championships in January, she faced high school-age

athletes.

“It was really the first time she’s wrestled girls her own age,” Howard said. “She

usually wrestles boys, and

people who are older. She’s just more aggressive than most people, so she does well against them.”

Cormier’s regular season ended with a second-round loss at the Region 1-1A meet in early February, but she

continued training with Howard twice a week in

preparation for the trip to Oklahoma. There are still no signs of slowing down.

Cormier is scheduled

to compete at the Body Bar, a national women’s

competition, in May in Colorado, and several other meets are on the horizon, including a national qualifier that same month and another meet in Michigan.

“She’s come a long way since she started (two years ago),” Howard said of Cormier.

“A lot of people just see a

cute little girl and think she can’t wrestle, but she can do anything out there. She

surprises them.”

Athletic sisters a success on the mat and in the classroom

Mimi and Ariela Westlake find their place in male-dominated sports

For any siblings, the high school careers of the Westlakes would be impressive. The older Westlake has been a three-sport standout in football, wrestling and track and is reigning North Coast Section champion in wrestling. The younger Westlake, a sophomore, has participated in all three sports.

What makes their story even more remarkable to almost everyone but them is that Mimi and Ariela are sisters playing predominantly male-dominated sports.

The sisters are far from athletes first and students second. Sophomore Ariela has a 4.0 grade point average. That is second best in the family. Mimi has a GPA of 4.6 and is among the top 10 percent of the Petaluma senior class. Ariela is also in choir, enjoys drama and is a cast member of the Petaluma High spring performance of the “Wizard of Oz.”

Mimi was a good enough football player to get into almost all the Petaluma games this fall as a tight end and defensive lineman, although she wrestles at 132 pounds.

For all their accomplishments, Mimi, 17, and Ariela, just turned 16, are most enthralled with wrestling.

“It is the best sport in the world,” says Mimi.

“I love it,” adds Ariela. “From now on, I’m just going to wrestle all year.” Last year she played football and ran track.

The sisters’ love for the sport comes naturally.

“Ariela and I have always been aggressive,” says Mimi. “It is only natural that we want to do something physical. We grew up on a dairy and we both did karate.”

They also like the no-nonsense Petaluma wrestling program. Assistant coach Mike Lopez is their cousin and assistant Mike Butts coached Mimi on the freshman football team and convinced her to try wrestling.

Both say they have fit right in with the other Petaluma wrestlers and have been readily accepted by the male wrestlers.

“We get along well with the guys,” Mimi says.

“Girls are way more irritating in a large group,” Ariela adds.

They are not intimidated by wrestling guys, and, actually prefer it to wrestling girls.

“Girls are way harder to pin,” explains Mimi. “They are so flexible, they are almost impossible to pin. And, I practice against the guys all the time.”

And, of course there is the pride factor.

“Beating a guy is so much more fulfilling,” says Mimi, who defeated about half her male opponents this season.

“If I lose to a girl, I’m mad,” says Ariela. “When you wrestle a guy and he can’t pin you, it makes him mad.”

Mimi lost only twice by pins all season, both to guys.

Correction. “According to the refs I got pinned twice. That was bull,” she says. “I was so mad. I was so totally not pinned.”

It is not only the chance to compete that attracts the sisters to wrestling.

“It is a mind game,” explains Mimi. “You can’t be afraid. You have to be the aggressor. You have to attack. You have to feel like you own them (your opponents). Even when you are behind, you have to feel like ‘I can get out of this, and pin them.’”

“Whoever fights longer wins. It is whoever wants it more,” says Ariela.

Mimi had an outstanding season, not only beating half the boys she faced, but going on to win the North Coast Section championship in her weight class. She was 3-2 in the girls state tournament.

It was a more frustrating season for Ariela, who hurt a knee in a dual match against Sonoma, later suffered a minor back injury and pulled a hamstring in the North Coast Section meet.

Both are looking forward to the summer club freestyle season and then they will go separate ways.

Ariela will be returning to Petaluma next fall and is looking forward to a healthy and successful high school season.

Mimi is headed to Franklin College in Switzerland, where she will stay active in some kind of sport. “I don’t know if I can do it, but I would love to stick with wrestling,” she says.

Not only did Mimi and Ariela make valuable contributions to the Petaluma overall team, they recruited other girls to join them. This year there were six girls were among the Trojan wrestlers, with the other four all recruited by Ariela and Mimi.

For the Westlakes, it isn’t about being pioneers or trailblazers, it is about competing in a sport both love.

(Contact John Jackson at acsports@arguscourier.com)

Wrestler Kyla hurts and heals

Welcome to the life of Kyla Bremner - the Sydney doctor who often heals and hurts on the same day.

Bremner, who was born in Canada but has lived in Australia for over 10 years, is about to become the first woman to represent Australia in wrestling at the Olympics.

She juggles her training program for the Beijing Olympics with her work as a medical intern at Bankstown Hospital.

Currently Australia's top-ranked wrestler, Bremner, 31, completed her medical degree at Sydney University before spending the last two years working in hospitals in rural NSW, only this week returning from a three-week stint at Wagga.

Her doctor's role requires long, hard hours and combined with training for sport's ultimate goal, Bremner isn't left with much relaxation time.

"I keep my private life away from work, so none of my patients would know about Beijing," she said. "But I do talk about it a lot with colleagues and they have been fantastic.

"They have been OK swapping shifts with me at late notice when I have had to train or travel ... they are usually very happy to help me out.

"I have had to become very disciplined with balancing work and training, even though it means I don't get a lot of time to see my friends or family."

"I am just so, so excited," Bremner said. "To be the first woman to wrestle for Australia is something I'm proud of . . . now I just can't wait to get over there."

Bremner pre-qualified for selection at the Oceania trials in Canberra last month, but only after some confusion over whether the sport's governing body FILA would grant seven places on the Australian team, was she given her chance.

"I was going to university in Canada when an international wrestling tour visited and I went to watch a friend who was participating," she said.

"They were looking to start up a women's team and watching it just fascinated me, so I decided to have a go myself.

While Bremner will be travelling with six male wrestlers chosen to compete, she says she has at least one friend on the Beijing team.

"I went to uni with one of the canoeists, Lachlan Milne, but I don't know a lot of the other wrestlers particularly well," she said. "I would be so thrilled to win a medal, but I think a top-10 finish would be amazing."

NOTEBOOK

PREP NOTEBOOK: Phy, Newgard keep wrestling

Mount Baker wrestlers Ashlee Phy and Katie Newgard helped the Mountaineers to a girls’ state title last month, and they have found it hard to stay away from the mats since.

The pair qualified to wrestle in the United States Girls Wrestling Association National Championships, which will be held March 29-30 at Livonia, Mich.

They each earned the right to compete on the national level with successful tournaments earlier this month at the Washington USGWA Girls’ Wrestling State Championship March 8 in Ridgefield and the Oregon USGWA Girls’ Wrestling Championship Open a day later in Portland. Phy finished first in her weight class in both tournaments, while Newgard finished third in Washington and second at the Oregon Open.

Fellow Mount Baker wrestlers Chloe Graffwallner, Lanay Newgard, Samantha Gallegos, Elena Gallegos and Emily Gallegos travelled and competed with them in the Washington and Oregon tournaments, while Santos Gallegos coached the group.

A spaghetti dinner is scheduled for tonight from 4 p.m. to closing at the Blue Mountain Grill in Acme to help raise money to cover the travel expenses to Michigan for Phy, Newgard and Gallegos. Willing sponsors and supporters may also make contributions at any Industrial Credit Union branch in the Ashlee Phy Account.

Padilla lives up to ranking

Northview High School's Tatiana Padilla is the top-rated women's wrestler in the nation and proved it again by recently winning the 130-pound title at the U.S. Pan American Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Padilla also won a silver medal at last summer's Junior World Championships in China and earned another silver medal at last year's Women's World team trials.

The Vikings' junior now has her sights on making the U.S. Olympic team, which competes this summer in China.

Padilla, the 2007 ASICS girls high school wrestler of the year and a three-time junior national champion, needs to drop to the Olympic weight of 121 pounds to compete for a spot on the U.S. team.

"I will be down to that weight at the nationals," Padilla said. "My weight is low right now. I am under the scratch weight at 130 pounds, so it will not be a problem for me."

Padilla is on home study because she spends so much time training in Colorado Springs, but she is a member of the Northview wrestling team and has competed in some dual meets with the Vikings' boys wrestling team.

"I enjoy wrestling the boys," Padilla said. "But I have a personal teacher, and it allows me to be in (Colorado Springs).

"It is a great experience to come out there and train with world-class athletes and to get international experience and face different opponents."

Wrestling Wrapup

Levesque leads girls at tourney

Angelica Levesque of Nashua Catholic won her weight class at the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association New England Championship meet on March 15 in Dorchester, Mass.

Levesque was also one of a handful of local wrestlers to competed at the South County (boys and girls) Wrestling Tournmanet and the Southern New England All-Girls Tournament on March 16 in Naragnsett, R.I.

Levesque finished second in the South County tourney and won the girls tourney. Kristin Dechene of Elm Street came in third at SC and was second in the girls tourney. Jen Lowry of Fairgrounds came in fourth at SC and won the girls tourney. Kelly Levesque, also from Fairgrounds, took fourth at SC and second in the girls tourney. Chelsea Gawlik from Nashua North came in fourth in the high school division.

Wrestlers third at NEs

The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua middle school wrestling team took third place in the team competition at the New England Rebel Classic. In the seventh- and eighth-grade division, Tyler Ellwood (3-0, one pin) placed first in the 112-pound weight class. Laim Curran (2-2, one pin) took the fourth-place copper medal at 83.

In the fifth- and sixth-grade division, Connor McBride (3-0) defeated the only wreslter who had beaten him at the New England Middle School Championships to win the gold medal at 98. Kevin Melanson (3-0, one pin) and teammate Jake Valeri (2-1) placed first and second at 61, respectively. Marcel Laplante (2-1) won the second-place silver at 78, while Cam Bennett and Joe Chimelski (2-2, one pin each) placed third and fourth at 70 and 108, respectively.

The sole entry in the third- and fourth-grade division, Ryan Rice, won the championship, going 3-0 with one pin at 71. Ryan Jigarjian (3-0, two pins) placed first at 47 in the first- and second-grade division. In the kindergarten division, Keegan Mills (3-0, two pins) placed first at 58 , as did Nate Zalzal (2-0, one pin) at 50.

Arizona

Sabino senior finds niche as female wrestler

Sabino High School senior Bridgette Kathleen Larsen is the only female wrestler on her team.

"It's really hard being the only girl on the team," said Bridgette, 17. "But I am very flexible, which gives me an advantage over boys because it's hard for them to pin me down."

Larsen received a bronze medal in the 130 pound weight class at the girls state championship Feb. 23 in Deer Valley. She won two of her three matches by pinning her opponent, according to her mother Nadia Larsen. She lost the first match to the eventual state champion.

Nadia said Bridgette got involved in boxing after taking a self-defense class when she was 16. Nadia's goal was for her daughter to learn how to protect herself, but it turned into something more significant.

Bridgette enjoyed the class and tried out for wrestling with a friend. Her friend dropped out, but Bridgette kept going.

"I really wanted to see if I could do it," Bridgette said. She enjoys the challenge of the sport and how she has to push herself when wrestling against boys.

Bridgette and Nadia believe wrestling teaches life skills. "There is a saying among wrestlers that once you've wrestled, everything else is easy," Nadia said.

Nadia said Bridgette will be able to do anything she wants to in life with hard work and dedication. She said wrestling taught her daughter to take care of her body and eat right.

While wrestling is growing among female athletes nationwide, Sabino coach Larry Willingham said the Arizona Interscholastic Association, the governing body for athletics in Arizona, does not allow girls wrestling to be a separate high school sport. But that does give girls one edge, he said.

"Female high school wrestlers have a much better chance for scholarships from Division I schools than male wrestlers," he said. "They don't have to be as good as the male wrestlers to get a look because there are fewer ones coming out of the high schools."

Willingham said there are a handful of female high school wrestlers in the area, including Sahuarita's Andrea Hughes, who was state champion twice. Flowing Wells, Cienega and Sahuaro high schools also have female wrestlers.

Bridgette said she thinks most girls are afraid to try out for wrestling. Her mother said girls are probably intimidated by the fact that they have to wrestle boys.

Last week, Sabino held its awards banquet. Bridgette received a varsity letter for wrestling as well as the "most courageous" wrestler award.

She is also the co-captain of the varsity track team. Other interests include swimming, snowboarding and traveling.

She will attend the University of Arizona Eller College of Management in the fall and major in accounting. She hopes to eventually work for the FBI.

She believes what she has learned as a wrestler will serve her throughout her life.

MVC Round-up/Valley third at Collegiate Nationals

Valley sophomore Amberlee Ebert was a gold medalist at the Collegiate Nationals.
(Chris Allen/Democrat-News)
[Click to enlarge]

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Missouri Valley College women's wrestling team brought home 14 medals Saturday from the Collegiate National Championships at Oklahoma City.

The Lady Vikings had only one finalist, top-ranked sophomore Amberlee Ebert of Reedsville, Wis., who beat former MVC grappler Ashley Sword of the host Stars in the 67 kilogram finals, 0-3, 3-0, 1-1. Third-ranked Valley finished third in the team standings with 68 points behind No. 1 Cumberland (Ky.) and second-rated Oklahoma City -- the Lady Patriots winning by a point, 118-117.

The Lady Vikings took the third through six spots in the 63 kilogram class, junior Karen Howe finishing ahead of sophomores Samantha Richardson, Clara Curtiss and Shamaine Danner. Also winning bronze medals were senior Samantha Schuman (55 kg) and sophomore Samantha Fee (59).

A fourth-place finish was recorded by senior Angelee Homma, while sophomore Vanessa Nordstrom (44), senior Courtney Martell (51), freshman Zinna Anyanwuh (67) and freshman Katie McClanahan (95) all came in fifth.

During the meet, coaches formed the Women's College Wrestling Association to oversee the sport, which is not sanctioned by the NCAA or NAIA. A proposal to change the season schedule was adopted, which would move the Collegiate Nationals in late January at rotating two-year sites -- Missouri Valley selected for 2010-11.

Coaches also approved establishing eligibility rules. Changing schools and clubs has been rampant since Minnesota-Morris, which no longer has a program, began competing in the sport in 1998.

Meanwhile, the MVC Women's Showcase, scheduled for Saturday in the Burns Athletic Center, has been canceled.

Jewell takes two from Vikes

LIBERTY -- Heart of America Conference leader William Jewell took two games Wednesday from the visiting Missouri Valley College baseball team to extend its winning streak to 12 games.

The Cardinals, ranked third in NAIA Region V, had to come from behind to win the opener, 6-3. Singles by senior Kyle Eley and junior Kevin Challoner produced a run for the Vikings in the fourth inning, with two more coming in on junior Steven Montijo's two-out single in the sixth.

Jewell rallied for five runs in the bottom of the sixth, banging out six hits -- a single by junior Colt Ferguson driving in the game-winning run.

The Cardinals (19-5, 6-0 HAAC) carried the momentum into the nightcap, a 10-0, six-inning rout. Junior Darren O'Brien tossed the one-hit shutout, striking out 12 batters, and seniors Jeremy Strack and Zach Kohan each knocked in three runs.

The Vikings (9-15, 3-5) will entertain Baker Saturday at Osage Field.

Flores qualifies for NAIA

FREMONT, Neb. -- Senior Anthony Flores is the first Missouri Valley College track and field athlete to qualify for the NAIA Championships in the outdoor season.

Flores finished fourth Saturday at the Midland Lutheran Half-Marathon in Fremont, Neb. His time of one hour, 11 minutes and 22 seconds put him three minutes, 78 seconds under the automatic qualifying standard. Flores came in nearly three minutes behind the race winner, South Dakota State senior Andrew Van Nurden.

The Vikings will open the season Saturday at the Baker Invitational.

NCWA National Championships: The shift from freestyle to collegiate-style wrestling did little to slow Pacific, as the Boxers wrestled to a second place finish in the first National Collegiate Wrestling Association Women's National Championships, which wrapped up Sunday in Lakeland, Fla.

Talent: The Dinos wrestlesaurs had strong athletes on the men's and women's side this year. Mark Dewit impressed CIS and his coaches by playing with intelligent skill and using unconventional means to turn his opponents down. His efforts resulted in a gold at CIS finals. Gen Haley and Justine Bouchard also did the team proud, outwrestling the majority of their opponents. The team was at a disadvantage going into finals, as they didn't have entries for all weight classes.

Effort: Both teams showed considerable effort going into nationals at home, but had lower than usual standings to show for it. With Dewit and Ryan Lannan placing first and second in their respective weight categories, the other men didn't do as well and were overshadowed by Dewit's laurels. The women seemed to make a unified attempt towards winning, shown by their end standings.

Coaching: Mitch Ostberg did a favourable job with the team, considering he was also burdened with the responsibility of hosting CIS finals. Ostberg took the disadvantages of numbers in stride and had some wrestlers flourish under the pressure of nationals. He was unable to steer the women into another first-place standing, but shouldn't be marginalized, considering the team's close finish.

Achievement: Though favoured to take first at nationals, the women had to settle for silver against SFU. This was a marked blow to the defending champs and not what they hoped for going into finals. The men finished fifth, partly due to having only two wrestlers medal during the tournament.

Grade: Ankylosaur

These thick-skinned animals had club-like tails for vicious fighting as well as armoured eyelids.