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WRESTLING NOT JUST FOR BOYS

January 24, 2001
ED RICHARDS Daily Press.com

As a wrestler, Warry Woodard has been laughed at, ridiculed, and heard cuss words in her ears, but she's loving the body-slamming, head-butting sport more and more each day.

Yes, the 13-year-old with the heart of a daring fighter realizes she's invaded a typically all-boys domain, but what's she to do? Turn cheerleader or gymnast just to please public opinion?

No way. She's been a member of the Smithfield Youth Wrestling Club team for the past four years and there's no bailing out. She's also landed a spot on Smithfield High School junior varsity this season.

At 5 feet tall and a wiry 95 pounds, she is no laughing matter when it comes to taking on the boys in her weight and age division. Her opponents have gone away with everything from a bloody nose to a battered ego.

Of course, the current Smithfield Middle School eighth-grader has had her share of busted lips, scratches and bruises. It's part of the sport, but she isn't afraid of getting hurt; nor is she intimidated by bigger and stronger opponents.

She's always loved a challenge. In a recent JV match against Matoaca, Woodard thought she might have to sit out the match because there was no one in her 95-pound weight class on the other team. Rather than do that, she moved up to the tougher 112 class.

Matoaca's 112-pound wrestler found that amusing. He took one look at Woodard - who's not that imposing-looking - and started smiling.

"He didn't even warm up; he probably thought he was going to pin me in 30 seconds," Woodard said.

She got the last laugh, winning on points with quickness and better technique.

"I was ready. I was in a zone; you have to get into a zone to wrestle," she said emphatically prior to a recent practice.

Woodard has been in a zone most of the season, especially with the youth club. In her first tournament last month, she won a gold medal - a first - by winning the 95-pound Schoolboy Division in the Bayside Winter Classic.

It wasn't a fluke. Woodard went 3-0, pinning her last two opponents.

In the recent Poquoson Classic, she took third place. After automatically advancing a couple of rounds, she lost her first match in overtime, then pinned her next opponent.

"She's really improved," said coach David Bugin. "Technically, she's very good and that's what it takes to beat the boys."

To Woodard, wrestling is fun. It's so much fun that she does double duty several days a week after leaving classes at Smithfield Middle School. First, she practices with the Packers' JV team Monday through Friday. Then, after a short breather, she goes through a normal two-hour workout with the Smithfield Youth Wrestling Club on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Going against older and stronger boys, Woodard hasn't had as much success as the only girl on the JV team but she's still winning almost half of her matches.

"If she sticks to it, we're expecting her to land a spot on the varsity next year," Bugin said.

It's easy to see why Woodard got stuck on wrestling. She comes from a wrestling family. She has four brothers - their last name is Batchelor - who currently compete for the wrestling club. They are Tommy, 8; Perry, 7; George, 6; and Ransom, 5. Her 16-year-old brother, Robert, used to wrestle for the team.

Sibling rivalry had a lot to do with her getting into the sport. Her older brother, Robert, kept teasing her about not being good enough to wrestle. That was a mistake.

Woodard admits she's gone through some tough times. In the end-of-season Peninsula Youth Wrestling League Tournament, she's failed to win a match the past three years.

But she vows that's going to change this season.

"This year I'm going to win it; I know it. I just feel the power. I'm determined," she said.

Learning a couple of new moves and increasing her strength and endurance by running and lifting weights with the JVs has bolstered her confidence.

Woodard's mom, Rebecca Batchelor, is her daughter's biggest cheerleader and makes all the practices and tournaments she can. Yes, she's heard the typical negative comments that her daughter shouldn't be wrestling against the boys and that girls aren't supposed to do that.

"But I'm behind her," she said. "Whatever she wants, that's what I want."

Woodard has become accustomed to some boys trashing her at tournaments, "things like 'She's a girl. She can't wrestle. I'm going to pin her.'"

She said one boy said cuss words in her ear at a match last year. He paid the price.

"I was losing at the time, but that made me mad. I got so mad that I got a boost of energy and beat him," Woodard said.

Woodard's mom has seen a gradual change in attitude.

"For most of the boys, you don't hear anything negative now because she's been in the league so long that they know her."

It's been different with the SYWC.

"I've never seen them view her as a girl but as a teammate," Batchelor said. "And I don't think they've taken it easy on her just because she's a girl. They're still out to get her, but in a good way."

Woodard has won the respect of teammates. Ten-year-old Clay Collins, a state champion last year, sees her as a tough training partner.

"We're good competition for each other," he said. "Last year I used to win against her, but now that she's learned some moves on the JV team, she wins."

Collins isn't uncomfortable wrestling against Woodard. He's so used to going head-to-head against her that "it's nothing now."

Woodard wasn't the only girl on the team last year. Another girl about the same size but older than Woodard wrestled about half the season before dropping out.

Bugin, coach of the team since its inception six years ago, said the girl's mother didn't want her wrestling.

For a girl wrestler, "the biggest part of the battle is what mothers think. A girl has to fight lots of odds," Bugin said.

Batchelor doesn't feel her daughter's passion for wrestling is a bad thing.

"As much as she is athletic, she's just as much feminine. She does all the things other girls do. She does her hair, paints her nails and likes going to dances."

Woodard and her mom see rewards in wrestling - like the prospect of a ticket to college and a shot at the 2004 Olympics. Colleges like Iowa and Washington State offer college scholarships in wrestling to females, and the next Summer Games will include women's wrestling for the first time.

"I'm going to work my hardest to somehow get to the Olympics," Woodard said.

Her mom isn't about to discourage anything she does in wrestling. "I believe in her. I know she has the skills, the ability and the heart for it," she said.

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Wearing makeup is OK for T.O. wrestlers

Ventura County Star

February 4, 2001 Sunday

In its third year, Yancey developing a strong program with 20 girls.

Another sweat-filled practice has ended for the Thousand Oaks wrestling
squad. The wrestlers make their way into the locker room to shower and
prepare for a team-bonding night.

Each one finds a place in front of the mirror to check the hair and clothes.
Coach yells to hurry up.

"Just another minute for our makeup," is the collective response.

Who said that wrestling is for the boys? Thousand Oaks High is fielding a
girls' wrestling team for the third consecutive year. The philosophy is
simple:you can be tough and still be feminine. No girl is required to
wrestle against boys, but have the option.

Head coach Shannon Yancey, an English and physical education teacher at
Thousand Oaks, started the program.

Yancey wrestled for the Chaffey High School boys' team her junior and senior
seasons. She went on to make the women's national team from 1991-98,
becoming a 4-time national champion.

She credits wrestling for giving her direction in life.

"Iwouldn't have gone to college unless Ihad found wrestling. It really
motivated me," said Yancey.

Now she wants to see other girls achieve the same.

Freshmen wrestler Stacie Takeshita, has already benefited,"It gives you a
lot of self-confidence. I have learned that it is fun to do something
different," Takeshita said.

Junior Mollie Craven agrees, "I kind of just fell into it (wrestling), but I
love it. It has changed my life. It has given me something to focus on," she
said.

The biggest challenge facing the team is getting other schools to form
all-girl teams.

"Myhope is that everyone will start catching on. We want the girls to be
able to wrestle on a weekly basis and eventually become a CIF
sport,"saidYancey.

More girl wrestlers would be required for that to occur. Yancey feels that
once girls know they don't have to wrestle against guys, more would be
willing to try out. Parental approval, which is often a reason girls don't
wrestle, would also increase. At Thousand Oaks they have gone from six girls
the first year to more than 20 the past two years.

Becoming a CIFsport would mean receiving needed funding for travel and
tournament fees. Thousand Oaks has participated in three tournaments this
season: The Williams Cup, The Napa Valley Girls' Classic and the Hawaii
Tournament.

The trip to Hawaii, where girls' wrestling is a varsity sport, enabled the
team to miss three days of school.

"Hawaii was the best vacation ever," said Craven. "We got to experience a
dual-meet type environment for the first time."

The team gets some of its funding through fundraisers and the other expenses
are left to the girls.

"We sold beenie babies for one fundraiser with little purple T-shirts that
said 'Girls' Wrestling Rocks,'" said Craven, who is in her third year on the
team.

The idea of girls and wrestling coming together is still under the scrutiny
of stereotypes and false assumptions, according to Craven.

"Some girls wear the baggy pants and cut their hair short, but we are not
like that. We wear green bows in our hair and act like girly girls," said
Craven.

"They don't have to act like boys to fit in because we have a full team of
females. A lot of the fears would go away if that occurred at other
schools," said Yancey

Yancey knows that coed wrestling puts both sexes in awkward positions, no
pun intended. If the girl wins, the guy looks like a wimp, and if the guy
wins, it is back to the 'I told you girls shouldn't wrestle' theory.

At Thousand Oaks, the team has been accepted since its inception. "People
think it is cool. The guys are nice and the coaches accept us. No one has
ever spoken badly about it," said Craven.

"Once you establish you are serious they don't bother you. When Ifirst
started coaching, Ihad to prove myself to the boys' team," added Yancey.

Yancey realizes getting other schools involved isn't easy. She takes it upon
herself to call the teams the boys face and encourage them to bring any girl
members. She makes separate weight classes and gives them mat time in
between the JV and varsity boys' matches. Word is spreading slowly. "In San
Diego, they are getting more and more girls. It is just going to take
exposure. There are so many females out there who like to compete," said
Yancey.

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Bloomington advances 12, takes team championship

By Pantagraph staff 2/4/2001

Bloomington High School advanced 12 wrestlers to next week's individual sectional while earning the team championship Saturday at the Morton Class AA Regional Tournament.

The Purple Raiders racked up 229{ points thanks in part to individual titles from Kyle Kidwell (119 pounds), Dustin Gordon (140), Nate Gaddy (145), Brad Jameson (171), Greg Callahan (215) and No. 1-state ranked Seth Livingston (275).

Other BHS qualifiers for next weekend's Mahomet-Seymour Sectional were TeJa Stypolkowski (second place at 103), Mike Lininger (second at 112), Alec Lininger (second at 130), Jeff Stauter (third at 135), Noah Wyatt (third at 160) and Andre Brown (third at 189).

"I really thought we had a good shot at getting all 14 through (to the sectional) and we got 12, so I was a little disappointed in that," said BHS coach Mark Gardner, whose team will compete in the Peoria Woodruff Dual Team Sectional semifinals Feb. 20 against No. 7 Mahomet-Seymour.

"I thought Dustin Gordon wrestled extremely well, and Kyle Kidwell won his first tournament of the year at 119. Greg Callahan avenged a Big 12 (Conference) finals loss to Jeff Purcell of Normal Community at 215. Those guys really did a lot for the team today."

Normal Community, led by champions James Scott (103), Jake Stone (130), Jerimy Weatherly (135) and Scott Winter (189), had 208{ points to place second. Normal West was fourth with 105{.

Other NCHS qualifiers were Brett Parmenter (second at 140), Jack Kohoutek (second at 152), Mark Larsen (second at 160), Purcell (second at 215), Sam Weatherly (third at 145) and Simon Anderson (third at 275).

Normal West will be represented at Mahomet by champion Andy Deacon (125) along with Seth Delahunt (second at 145), Brett Henderson (second at 189), Nick Fannin (third at 119) and Keith Perkins (third at 130).

Other Pantagraph area qualifiers were champion Pat Barth of Morton (112), second-placers Travis Kidd of Morton (119) and Ryan Sullivan of Lincoln (125), and third-placers Chris Robinson of Morton (125) and Drew Fehr of Morton (215).

At Urbana: Mahomet-Seymour used six individual championships to cruise to the team title in the Urbana Regional.
The Bulldogs totaled 240{ points to win easily over Champaign Central and Mount Zion with 146 each. They advanced to the Peoria Woodruff Dual Team Sectional Feb. 20.

Earning spots in Mahomet-Seymour's own individual sectional were champions Michael Slade (112), No. 5-state ranked Chris Nowak (135), Bobby Hill (130), No. 4-ranked Ryan Armetta (171), No. 5-ranked Joe Sapp (215) and No. 2-ranked Chris Little (275).

Other Bulldogs to advance were Mary Kelly (second at 103), Brent Johnson (third at 119), Josh Jeffers (third at 125), Jason Johnston (second at 140), Matt Nowak (third at 152) and Ryan Stites (third at 160).

At Metamora: No. 18 East Peoria amassed nine individual titles on the way to the team championship in the Metamora Regional.
The Raiders had 223{ points to prevail over Metamora (154). East Peoria also advanced to the Woodruff Dual Team Sectional where it will face No. 11-ranked LaSalle-Peru.

Earning titles for the Raiders were No. 6-ranked Chuck Patten (103), Beau Brummitt (112), Ryne Kim (119), Matt Warren (130), Jimmy Kim (135), Brian Burks (140), Nic Hand (145), Alex Brown (152) and John Jatkowski (171).

Metamora had three champions in Kenny Robertson (160), Jared Mensinger (189) and John Mischler (275).

At Minooka: Pontiac's No. 1-state ranked Jake Willock won the 119-pound championship to lead Pantagraph area wrestlers in the Minooka Regional.
Willock advanced to the Mahomet-Seymour Sectional with a 7-2 decision over Ottawa's Casey Carrino.

He will be joined at Mahomet by teammate Josh Rupprecht, who took second at 152.

Also advancing was Streator's Mark Medema, the runner-up at 135.

Pontiac placed fifth in the eight-team regional with 130 points, while Streator was seventh with 37. LaSalle-Peru (210) won the team title.