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Female wrestler Groft aims for Olympics

Article Launched: 04/11/2008 09:47:14 AM EDT

Rachael Groft, a member of Lock Haven University's club women's wrestling team, is a 2004 New...

The Lock Haven University wrestling team has a winning tradition that dates back generations, with a list of alumni that includes Olympians, national champions and Pennsylvania wrestling icons.

Now, the university's newly-formed women's program is picking up steam and looks to establish a tradition of its own, with 2004 New Oxford High School graduate Rachael Groft leading the charge.

Though the team has only eight members and is still a club sport, the program is getting stronger, and coach Terry Fike traces that improvement directly to Groft - the seasoned veteran.

"What we wanted to do, knowing that Rachael was coming on board, was rather than having people who weren't sure if they were committed to it, we would start with her and slowly attract other like-minded people, rather than using a shotgun approach," Fike said. "We had a strong sense that Rachael would be very competitive and would represent what our program stands for - she's a hard worker, she has a great work ethic, she's a very responsible athlete. Taking that approach has gone pretty well because now we have eight people in the practice room who want to work."

The seeds of the women's program were sown in the spring of 2007 when 20 people showed up for a meeting to determine interest. Most had no wrestling experience, Fike said, and the coaching staff made the decision to keep roster numbers low.

With a group of athletic women on the squad, but relatively no experience, Groft often practiced with male workout partners. But as her teammates progressed throughout the winter, Groft sparred more and more with her female peers.

"She's happy to do whatever it takes to help the others come along," Fike said. "She understands her role not only as an individual competing, but as a leader on the team."

Groft is 7-7 this season and placed second at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association's Women's Collegiate Wrestling Championships in March. She also competed in the two of the highest-level tournaments in the country for senior and open division wrestlers this season when she went to the Sunkist International meet in Phoenix and the New York Athletic Club Holiday International. She went to Canada to compete as well.

Groft will wrestle again this weekend at University Nationals in Akron, Ohio. The top two finishers in each weight class qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials in June in Las Vegas, Nev.

The competition will be fierce as Groft wrestles in the 121-pound weight class. If she doesn't finish in the top two, her season will be over.

"I feel pretty good," she said. "I feel like this is kind of it for the year and I've been working hard and everything. I just hope I do well. I would rather it not be my last tournament."

Groft has certainly come a long way since her days as a self-proclaimed "tomboy" who started wrestling in the fourth grade. She said she went to an elementary school wrestling meeting that year and admitted her parents were "kind of iffy" about the idea. They eventually gave in and she has been a wrestler ever since.

"When I got a little older, my mom was like, 'Maybe you should try out for basketball or cheerleading,'" Groft said with a laugh. "It's funny because now she's one of my biggest supporters."

Fike feels it's not just Groft and his team that are improving - he has a top recruit coming from Ohio next season - but said women's wrestling as a whole is on the way up.

"Right now, it's under the radar, but it's coming," Fike said. "It's coming in a big way. It's going to be interesting."

Wrestlers look good for nationals

April 11, 2008

SUSAN QUINN/Alberni Valley News Ucluelet wrestler Sidney Morrison, left, receives instruction from a coach at the B.C. wrestling championships in Port Alberni in February. Morrison will join the Alberni Wrestling contingent at the nationals this week.

Nine Alberni Valley Wrestling athletes and coaches are off to Saskatoon this week to compete at the National Cadet and Juvenile Wrestling Championships. The cadet nationals are open to athletes 15-16 years of age while the juveniles are for 17-18 year olds.

Competing at the nationals this year as part of the Team BC contingent are: Michael Cappus, juvenile 63 kg; Kyyle Plaunt, juvenile 58 kg; Cole Doskotch, juvenile 63 kg; Savannah Toth, cadet 65 kg; Cody McEvay, cadet 58 kg; Brandon Coates, cadet 63 kg; Kraig Doskotch, cadet 46 kg; Isaiah Taylor, cadet 76 kg; Cullen Hines, cadet 63 kg.

In addition, provincial high school champion Sydney Morrison of Ucluelet has been training with the Alberni club and will join them in the juvenile girls 60 kg class.

Laura Wilson (juvenile 57 kg from Courtenay) and Hillary Greening (juvenile 90 kg from Comox) have also been training with the Alberni team since their wins at the provincials and will travel to Saskatoon as part of their group.

Alberni coach James Messenger has been selected as one of the Team BC coaches.

Alberni Wrestling director Tom McEvay and longtime coach Grant Coates are also making the trip along with a number of parent supporters.

“We have a great group of young athletes representing our program at this year’s nationals,” Messenger said.

“They have been working hard all season, and have certainly kept at it since the high school season ended with the B.C.s in late February.

“Savannah Toth will be very tough to beat in the cadet girls division as she is a returning national bronze medalist.”

McEvay, Kraig Doskotch and Brandon Coates should surprise some people in their first cadet nationals, Messenger said, “as could any of our young wrestlers.”

Cappus and Plaunt are first-year juveniles so it will be a big step up from cadet for them where they have both been medalists in the past.

If half the battle is getting there, then Saskatoon wrestlers have a distinctive leg up on the competition at this year's national cadet and juvenile wrestling championships.

With nationals being staged in their back yard, it's a perfect opportunity for Saskatoon wrestlers to experience elite competition first hand.

A short journey translates into a big-time benchmark.

"It's exciting that it's here so they get that opportunity because some of them may not if it's away, like next year when it's in the Maritimes," says Saskatoon Wrestling Club coach Shane Bradley.

"For 90 per cent of (our cadets), it's their first national championship and it's an opportunity for them to see how they fare at this level of competition."

On the juvenile girls' side, Saskatoon's Kathleen Kent returns to defend her national title. She'll compete in the juvenile girls' 56-kg class.

"It's really exciting to be hosting national championships," she says. "It's a good chance for some of us to showcase what we can do. It's really great because we're going to have a lot of fan support. A lot of my family and friends who can't make it out to a lot of my competitions can come and see what I'm all about."

Bradley expects a strong showing in the juvenile girls category.

"On the girls' side, our juvenile team will be fairly strong," he says. "We have Brina Kurtenbach and Kathleen Kent, who were both national champs last year. We expect good things out of them. And Natasha Kramble's been working really hard this year, so she'll be exciting to watch.

"As far as cadet girls, Hannah Franson is certainly a medal hopeful, even though it's her first national championship. She's competed at the high school level very well and has lots of experience. She's wrestled since elementary school and she's had lots of success. She'll be exciting to watch.

"For the rest of them, who knows, because that's the way it is in cadets."

David Katabarwa, a member of the Bethlehem Stars, will compete in the 42-kg cadet boys category.

"It's pretty exciting," says Katabarwa, "but I'm pretty nervous. Hopefully I'll place -- that would be really good -- but I just want to try my best and hopefully I'll place."

Walter Murray's Kramble, who finished fourth last year, is looking for a medal this time around.

"I'm really hoping to win this year and it's kind of a big deal because it's hometown, Grade 12," Kramble says. "You just want to do really well. It's exciting."

From correspondents in Japan

April 11, 2008 04:26pm

OTTUMWA — Megan Black dares to dream big. Big as in state championships. Big as in the Olympics.

Black is just 13 years old and has already scratched one lofty goal off her list. Megan is a national champion wrestler, winning the Girls’ National Wrestling Tournament in Detroit last weekend.

She isn’t the only Black making a name. Her brother Tucker, 12, is also an accomplished grappler, finishing second in the same national tournament on the boys’ side.

The Blacks live in Batavia, but go to school in Pekin. Megan is already bringing her talents to the Pekin wrestling team. This weekend, she will compete in the middle school team duals in Indianola.

With all their talents, it’s likely the Black family will have to build a new trophy room just to house all the hardware.

“I love the competition,” Tucker said. “I love just going and trying to win. I like it because it is an individual sport. You don’t have to worry if somebody is going to make a mistake. It’s all on your shoulders. That’s what I like about it.”

Megan dominated the competition last weekend at the national tournament. She recorded pins in each of her seven matches in the 97.5-pound division.

Give a big assist to her little brother. Tucker and Megan are training partners and practice in Centerville with coach Scott Sebolt.

Neither showed a hint of sibling rivalry, though, both saying they traded wins in their matches against each other. Tucker holds the advantage when they are on their feet, but Megan controls Tucker on the mat.

“It’s pretty cool. I never have to go looking for a partner to wrestle with,” Tucker said.

Wrestling is nothing new to either sibling. Megan started when she was six years old and said it’s her favorite thing to do.

“I like seeing how far I’ve come since I started,” Megan said.

With all the travel and tournaments Megan and Tucker have competed in this year, Megan couldn’t even count her record because there were so many matches. Instead, both the Blacks are just enjoying the experience.

“There were a lot of kids [at the tournaments] and a lot of good athletes,” Tucker said. “It’s fun to see people from different states and how they wrestle. And of course, I like the food and the hotels.”

Hawaii

By ROBERT COLLIAS, Staff Writer 4/11/08

State champion. In any high school sport, those words are the mark of excellence.

In wrestling, it may mean a little more just because of the sheer determination and self-denial it takes to get there.

The Maui Interscholastic League has never seen a better duo than Travis Okano and Lake Casco on the same team. The Lahainaluna High School seniors will leave their West Maui campus with five state gold medals between them — they each were unbeaten state champs in 2008 — to go along with a state runner-up team trophy this year.

The pair also leaves Lahaina as The Maui News co-MIL Boys Wrestlers of the Year.

The MIL girls produced a pair of state champions this year, too — Kamehameha Maui’s Caronne Rozet at 108 pounds and Baldwin’s Kailee Andrade at 175. Those two are co-MIL Girls Wrestlers of the Year.

Okano was 79-5 the last three seasons, 30-0 this year, and finished his career on a 39-match winning streak on his way to becoming just the third MIL wrestler ever to win three state titles — at 119, 125 and 130 pounds.

He then showed his ability at the High School Senior National Tournament in Virginia Beach, Va., last month with a 2-2 mark in a meet limited to state champions.

‘‘I just believe that Travis can compete anywhere,’’ Lunas coach Todd Hayase said. ‘‘He has a mind-set that he can compete at any level. I just want him to go off to college and compete — it doesn’t matter what level. I know he opened some eyes at that national meet — there were 200 (college) coaches there. I just want him to get off of Maui, see the world and compete.’’

Okano is still deciding on a college destination, but Hayase — a former college wrestler at Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore. — knows he can find success.

‘‘Travis is probably the most focused one-sport athlete we have at Lahainaluna,’’ Hayase said. ‘‘His focus is strictly on wrestling, while our other kids have always been split between other sports. Travis and his family, which is always very supportive, have gone to Mainland events, Fargo (N.D.) Nationals, places like that. He has invested and his parents have invested a lot into wrestling.’’

Okano is not about to rest on his laurels.

‘‘Not really, actually, I haven’t really thought about it — it is a good accomplishment,’’ Okano said, via phone from Virginia, about being a three-time state champion. ‘‘I am not going to sit on that. I still have a lot of things to do. It is an honor being with them, but I have more things to do.’’

Casco, 18-0 this season at 160 pounds after missing a large part of the season getting into wrestling shape following the Lunas’ run to the state Division II football final, will hang up his wrestling gear to play football at the University of Pennsylvania.

Like his brothers Kawika and Kai-noa, he is a two-time state champ.

‘‘Wrestling wasn’t as fun as football, but now that it is gone you wish you could still do it,’’ Casco said before leaving on a trip last week to explore the Penn campus. ‘‘I will miss more the team camaraderie, miss being able to hang out with those guys all the time, being able to do stuff together.’’

The Casco family legacy is cemented at Lahainaluna. The family wore T-shirts at the state tournament saying ‘‘Casco bloodlines 97671,’’ referring to the West Maui ZIP code.

‘‘Yeah, Kainoa, he said, ‘Good job,’ ’’ Lake Casco said. ‘‘Kawika said the pressure is off now. It was a weight off our shoulders.’’

Hayase, the MIL Boys Coach of the Year, said he will miss his two senior captains.

‘‘Travis is Travis, just the best,’’ Hayase said. ‘‘Lake is the consummate student-athlete. I watched the University of Penn wrestle at the NCAA meet. At one time they were in the top 20, and while Lake will be playing football there, he could wrestle there if he wanted to. He is just an all-around great kid athletically and more so his academics. Shoot, he is going to the University of Penn and that says a lot.’’

Casco and Okano are joined on the MIL All-Star team by the league champions — Rory Young (103) and John Lotulelei (189) of Baldwin; Lahainaluna’s Edison Hidalgo (112), Rodrigo Tabladillo (119), Jared Panlasigui (135), Holden Mowat (140), Ryley Mayo (145), Daniel Quinlan (152), Cole Loewen (171) and Marvin Agmata (215); and Molokai’s Kaena Puaoi-Dawson (125) and Kawika Kaahanui (285).

Andrade and Rozet are joined on the MIL Girls All-Star team by league champions Brittany Bermudez-Lynch

(98) of Lahainaluna; Malia Medeiros (103), Makanalani Hussey (125) and Eva Kaaa (130) of Kamehameha Maui; Jasmine Dollopac (114) of Maui High; Kayla Giannotto (120) and Piikea Kalalau (140) of Baldwin; Anjahlee Akuna (155) of Hana; and Shanthally Alboro (220) of Lanai.

Rozet has her college list down to five — Hawaii, Oregon, Pacific, San Diego and San Francisco. If she attends Pacific in Forest Grove, Ore., she could wrestle for one of the few female college teams in the nation.

‘‘Even if I don’t wrestle from here on out, I know I will stay with this sport that I love so much somehow, like coaching,’’ said Rozet, who is also a standout cross country and track runner for the Warriors. ‘‘I will find a way.’’

Rozet already helps with the school’s youth program, the Keiki Warriors, that was started by Anthony Souza, the MIL Girls Coach of the Year.

‘‘He is a great coach,’’ Rozet said. ‘‘He taught us values, execution, how to push ourselves. He deserves to be coach of the year for sure.’’

Souza said Rozet is deserving of the honor.

‘‘Caronne Rozet just has an unbelievable work ethic,’’ Souza said. ‘‘She would keep up with all the boys in the room, with all the drills we did. She would come early and stay late — she pretty much led the team in all the drills that we did. She just really has a great attitude. She has been a team captain last four years and she just led the way for the last four years.’’

Souza was told that he will not be asked back for next season by the school, but he will never forget the first MIL champions in the sport for Kamehameha Maui.

He leaves after four years at the helm and his seniors will go out at the same time.

‘‘Now that I have been released, shucks, it is just great that I had the chance to work for them, these kids, and mold them into leaders that they are today,’’ Souza said.

Andrade wrapped up her career by leading a 1-2-3 sweep for the MIL in the 175 division at the state tournament. She will report to basic training for the U.S. Marine Corps at Parris Island, S.C., on Aug. 4. Her goal is to become a pilot.

‘‘It feels awesome; it feels so good,’’ Andrade said of the state title she won after being second as a junior and fourth as a sophomore. ‘‘To share this award with Caronne is pretty cool. She is an awesome wrestler and she works really hard. It has all started to sink in for me. When I went back to school, everybody was like ‘congratulations’ and stuff so it sunk in.’’

n Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com