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Women wrestlers aim for Olympics
Oct. 19, 2000 Vol . 19, No. 4
Carol Huynh (top) and Shannon Samler want to know how it feels to be in Olympic gold medallist Daniel Igali's shoes.
They might get that chance. The two women, both members of SFU's wrestling team, are setting their sights on the 2004 Olympics. The next summer games could be the first to include women's wrestling as an Olympic sport.
Huynh, a six-year wrestling veteran, already has a world championship bronze medal to her credit.
She earned it at her first appearance at the senior world event held in Bulgaria in September, competing at the lowest weight category of 46 kg. Samler also competed and placed fourth in the 68 kg. category. The previous year she placed sixth in the world.
Two others, both SFU graduates, also competed in September as part of the six-member national team.
Women have been part of the SFU wrestling team since 1994. The SFU team currently has five women wrestlers while the Burnaby Mountain wrestling club, also housed at SFU, has a dozen female members.
"Interest in the sport has become phenomenal in B.C. and Canada and even around the world, making women's wrestling one of the fastest growing sports," says SFU wrestling coach Mike Jones. SFU was the first institution in Canada to include women on its team. "We have all been surprised by the speed and scope of its growth."
Huynh, from Hazelton, is a third-year psychology major aiming at a career in counselling. Samler is a fourth-year kinesiology student who has her sights set on medical school. Both compete in freestyle wrestling at the international level and also participate in collegiate competition. Huynh has even taken on several male opponents.
While she has yet to win against a male, she's come close. "They've been good matches," she says. "Competing against males makes me try harder."
Both Huynh and Samler were attracted to the sport in high school. Samler, now in her tenth year, recalls how the B.C. high school finals drew only a handful of female competitors. There are now about 200 girls competing.
Their commitment to the sport is a daily one, as the SFU team works out together every morning while the Burnaby Mountain team, made up of some SFU students along with other young wrestlers, practices daily in the late afternoon.
The two wrestlers also participate in wrestling camps designed to attract young girls to the sport. "It's a great sport because it's just you out there," says Samler of wrestling's appeal. "We have the full support of the coaches and teammates, which is great."
Jones says the Canadian Intercollegiate Association of Universities has adopted the sport while the NAIA, the organization through which SFU athletic teams compete, is also entertaining the idea of adding a women's division.
"The addition of female wrestlers has had a very positive impact on our entire program," says Jones. "The enthusiasm and committed work ethic has certainly raised the standard for our entire team."·
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Athlete tested in wrestling ring
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
January 02, 2001
On Bayshore High School's Junior Varsity Wrestling Team there are 11 young
men and one young lady with a lot of spunk.
Although 17-year-old Stephanie Hall is not the only girl to have tried her
hand at wrestling, she is the only female at Bayshore to have endured, and
who, perhaps, will prevail.
"We've had girls in the past who didn't stick with it," said Bayshore's head
wrestling coach Trevor Johnson, "But Stephanie has. She's the first one, and
she's shown a lot of heart and character in sticking it out."
When Hall approached Johnson with her desire to join the wrestling team, he
warned her she would 'have to do everything the guys do, all the
exercising,' and Hall has followed through.
"She does a lot of training that the boys can't even do," said Johnson.
Participating in what have been traditionally considered "male only" sports
is nothing new to Hall. She threw the shot put last year for her school in
Texas and played football for the YMCA at the age of 7.
Hall, who is a junior at Bayshore, moved with her family from Ft. Worth,
Texas to Bradenton in August. While in Texas, Hall competed in motor cross,
which, she said, "Proved to me girls can do anything guys can do. So, when I
found out there was an all-guys wrestling team at Bayshore, I thought, why
not?"
Of the three matches Hall has competed in this year, she won by points in
one, but was pinned. However, she remains undaunted and totally supported by
her fellow team mates.
Due to the length of her hair, Hall must wear a bathing cap under the
headgear that her male teammates help her put on for practice and matches.
"At first I thought they might resent me," Hall said of her male team mates.
"But they don't, not at all. They've been so supportive."
Hall also plays on Bayshore's volleyball team. She plans to play softball
and run track when the wrestling season ends.
"My mom always told me that 'whatever you want to do, you can do it if you
put your mind to it,' " said Hall.
But when coaches wanted Hall to try out for the football team, her mother
drew the line, fearing her daughter would get injured, something Hall has
been able to avoid so far.
Hall's mother, Toni Hall, attributes her daughter's athletic interests to
her husband, Tim. Toni Hall said her daughter was essentially "raised as a
boy," since there was a 15-year gap between her birth and that of her
two-year-old brother, Chase. Hall's 12-year-old sister, Ashton, is very
involved in cheerleading.
"My family's behind me with sports, as long as I keep up my grades," said
Hall, who manages to maintain a 3.0 GPA. Math, specifically geometry, is her
subject of greatest interest.
Hall enjoys drawing and aspires to be an architect, because, as Hall said:
"That was my mom's dream and I want to fulfill it for her."
Hall would like to attend either Florida State or Texas A&M, where many of
her relatives graduated.
In the interim Hall will continue her involvement with Bayshore's Junior
Class Board and volunteering her time helping art and history teachers at
Lee Middle School with paper work after school. She also plans to stick with
wrestling.
"You'd think it might be awkward in the practice room, but it hasn't been,"
Coach Johnson said. "When Stephanie's on the mat, she's just one of the
wrestlers - with a lot of heart."
-- Laurie Rose
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Texas Preseason Picks By Weight Class (Last years results from State)
Womens Individual Picks (Public School)
95 lbs
1. Khouanchay Inthirath Sr. Amarillo Palo Duro
2. Vicky Morales Sr. Sr. El Paso Hanks
3. Meggie White So. Katy Taylor
102 lbs
1. Angela Martinez Sr. Arlington Bowie
2. Jennifer Znidarsic Sr. Waller
3. Tabitha Ramsey Jr. Austin Lanier
110 lbs
1. Heather Morris Sr. Klein Oak
2. Kimberly Quinonez So. El Paso Hanks
3. Kristin Baldon Jr. Katy Taylor
119 lbs
1. Amanda Eisele Jr. Waller
2. Kiara Baugh Sr. Austin Westlake
3. Simone Smith Sr. Arlington Sam Houston
128 lbs
1. Lindsay Meadows Jr. Katy
2. Katherine Quinonez Sr. El Paso Hanks
3. Jennifer Starnes Jr. San Antonio MacArthur
138 lbs
1. Krista Hartman Sr. Katy
2. Rachael Rodriguez Jr. Hereford
3. Jasmin Moody Dallas White
148 lbs
1. Janice Gooden Sr. Amarillo Palo Duro
2. Melissa Hillard Sr. Houston Reagan
3. Sarah Rousch Sr. Hurst Bell
165 lbs
1. Geanie Jaffe Sr. Arlington
2. Marin Garza Sr. Arlington Sam Houston
3. Jamie Bottornley Jr. Austin Lanier
185 lbs
1. Brandy Killingsworth Sr. Arlington Sam Houston
2. Angela Whitley Jr. Killeen Ellison
3. Jessica Bunner Conroe The Woodlands
215 lbs
1. Marie Hernandez Sr. Amarillo Caprock
2. Latasha Gillian Sr. Arlington Sam Houston
3. Dyanna McIntyre Sr. Amarillo Palo Duro