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Boy howdy, she can wrestle!

By GLENN HIBDONTulsa World Sports Writer
1/21/01

When boy meets girl it can be a beautiful thing, especially if you're a wrestling fan. Cheyenne Stokes, an 11-year-old sixth-grader at Lewis and Clark Middle School in Tulsa, has met lots of young males and pinned several of them to their backs. It's boy howdy -- and goodbye.

Stokes is the only girl grappler in Tulsa competing against boys, having to sometimes travel great distances to find other young mat ladies. Robert and Beth Stokes, her parents, criss- cross the country in an effort to further a career many of her male opponents' parents don't think should ever have started.

"I want to wrestle in the Olympics and I want to wrestle for the East Central High School boys team," said Cheyenne, just after going 2-2 against males in the 46th Cliff Keen Athletic Tulsa Nationals Saturday at Expo Square. "I wanted to wrestle because it looked like fun and I wanted to win. It doesn't matter who I wrestle."

Female grappling is a sport for the future whose time has apparently come. It is expected to be added to the 2004 Olympic Games as an exhibition, then achieve full status in 2008. Right now, though, all Cheyenne and her father want is a place for her in Oklahoma, a mat she and other girls can call home.

"She won the 2000 AAU girls triple crown championships of freestyle, Greco-Roman and folkstyle," Stokes said. "She's the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association elementary national champion and she was sixth in the state last year competing against boys. But there are no more than five other girls her age competing in Oklahoma. We travel quite a bit to see new kids and to get exposure for her.

"Girls wrestling is growing by leaps and bounds in Texas and in Kansas, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Texas has nine high school girls teams and there are three colleges that have teams -- Missouri Valley, Minnesota-Morris and Cumberland College in Kentucky. It would be nice in Oklahoma because Title IX killed some of the boys programs and it's an easy solution to form girls teams. They use the same facilities."

Stokes wasn't always so gung ho about girls grappling. Cheyenne wanted to get involved for years before the family visited some wrestling relatives in Albuquerque. He spied a little girl competing on the mat and thought why not? Cheyenne began her career four years ago.

"She really works hard and she's a perfectionist," said Stokes, whose daughter is mentored by the coaches of the Tiger Wrestling Club. "We're competing to go to the junior high state tournament this year, but since there is no athletics in the Tulsa middle schools, we'll go as an independent.

"It is hard for Cheyenne to compete against boys and she has to work on her speed and technique to overcome their strength. I know some boys' parents won't let them compete against girls, but it hasn't happened to us yet and I allow her to wrestle because she's a competitor. I've had parents come up to me and tell me I shouldn't allow her to compete against boys. They say it's not fair to boys be cause it's a no-win situation for them and when they lose, it diminishes their egos. But she's not out to win an ego deal."

Participating in the 12-and-under 100-pound class, Cheyenne is no bully. She and her father are simply waiting for the day girl wrestlers have a league of their own. Tricia Saunders, a nine-time world champion, is Cheyenne's hero, but you won't find her endorsing products on TV. There is still a long way to go for Cheyenne and her sport to gain acceptance and visibility.

"Every year we've seen more and more girls get involved," Stokes said. "We like to travel and be competitive so we can show other girls they can win and be competitive against boys. Cheyenne is competing against boys just so she can get better against girls. Someday, when she gets to international competition, it will be on a woman's basis. Anything women can do that allows them to be competitive, I'm all for it."

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2001 Napa Valley Girls Classic Results

3RD Annual Napa Valley Girls Classic
Vintage High School
Napa, CA
January 20, 2001

Results

99 pounds
1. Maika Watanabe, Vintage / pin 2:40
2. Megan Davidson, Mesa Verde
3. Kerstin Pols, Vallejo / pin 3:17
4. Jessi Brown, Thousand Oaks
5. Lynette Soto, Thousand Oaks / inj def

104 pounds
1. Sara Fulp-Allen, Half Moon Bay / 5-0
2. Melissa Moore, Del Mar
3. Lenci Lendaker, Vallejo / 1-0
4. Jessica Hsieh, Vintage
5. Melanie Grim, Jesse Bethel / 10-1

109 pounds
1. Sheila Lerit, Vallejo / pin 1:58
2. Jessica Daugherty, Las Lomas
3. Alisa Gammon, Half Moon Bay / pin 3:20
4. Alexis Gonzalez, San Leandro
5. Asia Abad, Hogan / 8-5

114 pounds
1. Danni Presley, Vintage / pin 5:22
2. Lauren Mancuso, St. Francis-Sac
3. Debbie Mullin, Mt. Tamalpias / 9-1
4. Jackie Penyacsek, Gilroy
5. Rebecca Deane-Alviso / 7-6

119 pounds
1. Christie Rafanan, Vintage / 4-0
2. Elizabeth Domagas, Vallejo
3. Brianna Rooney, Thousand Oaks / pin 2:35
4. Cassandra Cassingham, Gunderson
5. Erin Shea, Lowell / wbDQ

123 pounds
1. Teresa DalBen, Laguna Creek / pin 5:30
2. Stacie Takeshita, Thousand Oaks
3. Allison Cornelius, Mesa Verde / inj def
4. Rhonda Kay, Thousand Oaks

127 pounds
1. Carina Valle Santana, Vintage / pin 3:41
2. Jackie Fields, Highlands
3. Michelle Timenovich, Birmingham 8-6, OT
4. Terrie Nguyen, El Camino
5. Amy Marter, Highlands / ff

131 pounds
1. Shanita Towne, Highlands / pin 3:27
2. Renee Green, Silver Creek
3. Rhianna Wilson, Montgomery / pin 5:50
4. Nicole Mazzafeno, Jesse Bethel
5. Sara Grumley, Rancho Cotate / pin 4:44

136 pounds
1. Emily Rinehart, Orland / pin 1:56
2. Madeline Briones, San Leandro
3. Christie Ravera, Berkeley / pin 3:50
4. Francis Lee, Lowell
5. Julie Johnson, Mesa Verde / ff

140 pounds
1. Helaina Day, San Mateo / 4-1
2. Emilee Murphree, Vintage
3. Diana Martinez, Ygnacio Valley / tf 3:15
4. Theadora Gould, Berkeley
5. Taryn Foster, Thousand Oaks / ff

145 pounds
1. Toccara Montgomery, East Tech- Cleveland / pin 1:30
2. Monica Scoggins, Highlands
3. Stephanie Hobert, Thousand Oaks /pin 4:41
4. Nancy Fahene, San Leandro
5. Patricia Showen, Highlands

152 pounds
1. Heather Martin, Keystone- LaGrange, OH/ pin 1:47
2. Amber Gomez, Thousand Oaks
3. Katie Bienek, Camarillo / pin 3:01
4. Juana Juarez, San Leandro
5. Teresa Cashen, Half Moon Bay

171 pounds - round robin
1. Erica Hartman, Amador Valley 2-0
2. Lori Tuituyuki, San Leandro 1-1
3. Wendy Hunter, East Tech- Cleveland 0-2

Outstanding Wrestler
Toccara Montgomery, East Tech- Cleveland