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The only thing Midland Secondary School's (MSS) Adrianna Bilinski can think about is disappointment of not achieving gold at the 2008 Georgian Bay Secondary School Association's (OFSAA) Wrestling Championships in Caledonia earlier this year.
Having been to OFSAA for the past four years, all pressure was on her shoulders to obtain the gold.
"This year it was kind of expected I would get gold, so in the semi final match I was determining whether I would get gold or get bronze again, so I was nervous."
Bilinski was upset that, in her final year of high school, she did not achieve her gold status in her unlimited heavyweight class.
"When I lost that match I was devastated. I don't think I ever felt anything like it," she conceded.
"I was just furious with myself because I knew I could beat her and she knew I could beat her," Bilinski added.
She said a misplacement of the foot that caused a trip, put her in a very vulnerable position -one she couldn't get out of - that resulted in her loss.
"It's my last year. It's my last chance to prove to my coach that I can do even though he said I could - it's not the same as actually doing it."
Bilinski has wrestled for MSS for four years. Her involvement with the sport started in Grade 10 when a friend asked if she would accompany her to the tryout.
In her first season she earned a 'most skilled' trophy. That year she placed sixth at OFSAA. The second year was uneventful as she didn't receive any awards, but placed eighth at OFSAA. Her third year she placed third at OFSAA and received the school award for the team.
Her love of wrestling is not related to competition.
BOX ELDER — Not everything went as planned but the first all-girls wrestling tournament in South Dakota was considered a success Saturday at Whitehead Auditorium.
Weather kept the number of participants to just 24, which was below the 40 or
50 that tournament organizers hoped for, but the level of wrestling did not
suffer. With girls from four different states taking the mat there was plenty of
competition to be had.
“This is a pretty good start,” said Ed Malone, who
was one of the event’s organizers. “The girls are out there trying to do some
good, technical moves. No one is out there just lying down or just
trying
to bully someone.”
The all-girls tournament meant there would be no boys
to deal with or their parents who refuse to let them wrestle or make remarks
about their gender.
“Usually, parents will tell their kids to take it
easy on me, but if I win, they jerk them off the mat and they are upset,” said
14-year-old Brittany Palato of Wyoming who has been wrestling for 10
years.
This tournament was more low key with parents or coaches allowed
to sit matside and give instruction and encouragement while their wrestler was
taking part in a match.
The idea of girls wrestling is still relatively
new in South Dakota, but that is not the case in all states and many of the
wrestlers who competed Saturday have much bigger aspirations.
Montana’s
Austin Wortman, 13, has already secured three girls state wrestling titles, but
is hoping wrestling can open doors for her.
“Girls’ wrestling is not that
big yet, so it is easier to get college scholarships,” Wortman said. “That is
what I am going for right now.”
Like many of the wrestlers, Wortman’s
wrestling career began six years ago because her brother was a wrestler, and her
parents felt both kids should get involved in the sport.
“I have been
wrestling guys for five years, but it is hard to get a lot of mat time because a
lot of boys don’t want to wrestle me because there is a chance I might beat
them,” she said. “There was one guy that dropped three weight classes to get
away.”
When comparing girls and boys wrestling one coach said while the
boys may have the strength advantage he believes that girls are quicker to pick
up the technique and different moves without as much repetition.
Malone
began thinking of putting together an all-girl wrestling tournament three years
ago when his daughter first took up the sport. It was not an easy thing to do, but he is hoping this sparks enough
interest to get other tournaments started.
His daughter, Amanda, couldn’t
agree more.
“This is awesome and I am glad my dad supported all the girls
here,” she said. “It has been fun and it gives you a chance to meet new people,”
she said.
Amanda may have been happy to get this tournament started, but
the fact that this was the first all-girls tournament was hard for her to
believe.
“I think it is kind of sad that we have to get together as just
one club, and we can’t get together as a state and make it a bigger tournament,”
she said.
Amanda’s wrestling career got off to an impressive start with
an overtime win over the first boy she ever squared off against in the
circle.
Regardless of how each wrestler did Saturday, they were glad to
have a chance to wrestle other girls closer to their age and physical
abilities.
“This tournament is really good because there are girls from
all over that I haven’t seen,” said Palato.
Every girl who participated
at the tournament received a medal — with an engraving of a girl wrestler on it
— and congratulations from their peers. The organizers closed the tournament by
thanking everyone for attending and promised the first all-girl tournament would
not be the last.
Washington
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Columbian Staff
La Center’s Cox places second in national event
Christina Cox of La Center has apparently wrapped up her wrestling career.
She did it in style, too.
Cox recently finished second at the United
States Girls Wrestling Association national tournament outside of Detroit, her
highest finish in four trips to nationals.
“This was a big accomplishment for
me,” Cox said.
Sarah Rowen of Columbia River, meanwhile, finished eighth in
her weight class at nationals.
Cox won her second consecutive high school
state championship at Mat Classic in February, going undefeated against female
competition during the season. She also won the USGWA state title in early
March. Combined, she went 40-1 this season with two state titles and the
runner-up at nationals.
“That was it,” she said. “It was a great way to end
it.”
Cox, a member of the U.S. Navy Reserves, is planning on attending the
University of Hawaii at Manoa to study marine biology. There is no women’s
wrestling team at the university.
Instead, Cox, also a state academic
champion, plans on being an assistant coach at a local high school.
Gourley caps season with title
Published: April 16, 2008
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Sweet Home High School junior Laura Gourley recently won a national wrestling title.
In February, Gourley went 2-0 to win the state championship in the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association. She traveled to Washington to win state there the following weekend.
Two weeks ago, she won the national championship at 146 pounds in a field of 15 girls.
"It was tough, but I pinned all my girls," Gourley said. With her first opponent, she went to the second round before throwing and pinning her. Until the finals, she pinned each of her opponents in the first round. In the finals, she went two rounds, again throwing and pinning her opponent.
"I feel really good because that opens my chances for colleges to look at me," Gourley said. The title also gives her a chance to participate in an open college tournament and a chance to hit the Olympics next year.
She is a seven-time all-American wrestler, and she has won four national titles.
