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Oxford Hills wrestler repeats as girls' national champion

4/7/2001

SOUTH PARIS-The end results were favorable to Jenn Wormwood who
successfully defended her national championship at the United States Girls'
Wrestling Association tournament.
The Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School senior further elevated her
statue by winning four matches, en route to being crowned the 2001 national
champion in Lake Orion, Michigan March 24 and 25. The Viking wrestler had
already drawn attention to her self by winning the USGWA title last year,
however, a return trip wasn't taken for granted.
Rumford native and former Oxford Hills coach Mark Dolloff coached Wormwood
for second-straight year.
"Actually, I was kind of nervous about defending my title,"Wormwood said.
"I didn't want to have my National title taken away from me, but just being
able to wrestle was more important."
Wormwood prepared for the event both physically and mentally- through a
series of activities. These included having individual practices with
Dolloff, helping the middle school program, running and weight-lifting.
"I'm really proud of her,"Dolloff said. "I told Jen that repeating wasn't
going to be easy because it's better to be the hunter, rather than the
hunted. She took quite a while warming up between matches and it paid off
because she was pumped up on the mat."
Wormwood didn't waste any time establishing some momentum in the first
match and recorded a pin in the second period. Following a 6-3 decision in
a quarterfinal match, Wormwood had escaped twice and then was awarded
one-penalty point (illegal move), in a 3-2 semi-final win. The match score
was close, however, Wormwood felt confident on the mat.
In the finals, Wormwood had plenty of determination and recorded a 5-0
decision.
"I was very much relieved after the finals match,"Wormwood said. "Because
all the pressure was taken off my shoulders."
Wormwood was top-seeded at 137-pounds and ultimately all six All-Americans
were in the top bracket. A wrestler from Maine Central Institute placed
sixth at 119.
The performances in the national tournaments have provided Wormwood with
plenty of exposure and has produced an avenue to continue a wrestling
career. The popularity of the sport has led to female teams competing on
the collegiate level.
The University of Minnesota-Morris and Cumberland College in Kentucky have
both actively recruiting Wormwood and have offered athletic grants. The
Division II institutions
"I had to try and keep the coaches from distracting her," Dolloff said.
"They were trying to talk with her between matches, which is great, but she
had to maintained her focus."
The success that Wormwood has achieved in wrestling hasn't surprised
Dolloff and current Oxford Hills coach Chris Cobbett. They have both
commented that Wormwood has developed solid techniques on the mat, but she
was often over matched against stronger male wrestlers.
"The females were much stronger and more of a challenge,"Wormwood said,
referring to the tournament. "I just used the basics and tried my best. I
didn't use any flashy moves. I just went out there and wrestled to win."
Wormwood, who has six brothers and three sisters, had started wrestling in
junior high and merited a positive impression, largely because of her
strong work ethics and dedication to the sport. The coaches recognized this
and the mutual respect carried over through out the entire team.
Wormwood was voted one of the team captains this past season and enjoyed a
successful regular season, which led to a historic post season. She placed
third in the East regionals and became the first-ever female to qualify for
the Class A state meet.
Following the season, Wormwood received the "Viking award" which is
symbolic of the most valuable wrestler.
"I just want to thank everyone for their support,"Wormwood said.
"Especially to my teammates, family, community and coaches."

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Shoni Plagmann on top of the nation
Lebanon wrestler takes national title, looks to globe

By Matthew D. LaPlante
Lebanon Express Writer 4/4/2001

The birthplace of the Olympic games may see the dawning of a new medal sport in 2004. And Lebanon wrestler Shoni Plagmann may be there.

Plagmann met a four-year goal last week in Michigan, taking the gold medal in the 122-pound class for her first national title. Now, the Lebanon High School senior has a new golden goal - she wants to compete in Athens as one of the first female Olympic wrestlers.

Plagmann is no stranger to meeting goals. As a freshman wrestler at LHS, she decided she wanted to compete in the state tournament. Last month in Portland, she become the first woman to do so in division 4A competition.

Her gold medal in Michigan was the culmination of another freshman-year goal. That year, Plagmann took a third place finish. She followed that effort with seventh and third place finishes in her sophomore and junior years. This year, following an anticlimactic appearance at the OSAA finals in Portland, Plagmann knew what she wanted most.

She got it, and has no intention of slowing down.

After returning from Michigan, Plagmann used the remainder of her spring break to polish up her freestyle at a camp in Portland. She's also preparing for another national tournament in Las Vegas later this month.

Success there will put Plagmann in good shape to be selected to the U.S. national team. U.S. Wrestling, the governing body of amateur wrestling in the U.S., and the International Olympic Committee have indicated that women's freestyle wrestling will be a medal sport in the 2004 games.

In the meantime, Plagmann is scoping out colleges with planned or existing women's wrestling programs. She's also learning a new sport: Plagmann picked up a tennis racket for the LHS team for the first time this year.

It might be enough to stretch some a bit thin, but Plagmann insists she's doing fine.

"I've done this for my whole high school career," she said. "I'm really used to having a busy schedule."

Shoni's father, Allan Plagmann, said he's exited about his daughter's Olympic potential, but is still in shock about her national title.

"When the referee held up her hand, all the years of hard work and obstacles overcome all went through my head at the same time," he said. "It was just unreal. I was so proud of her."

Shoni said her first thought was a bit simpler.

"I just thought: Finally."

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Girl power FHS wrestling team taking ’em down

by RENEE SCHELL
Forest High School 2/21/2001

There she is. She’s a cheerleader. She’s a dancer. She is a wrestler. A wrestler? Is that too far-fetched? Maybe not.

Since the passing of Title IX in 1972, gender equity has been mandatory in schools. This applies to both academic and athletics. Title IX reads: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to, discriminations under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid."

Forest’s Sarah Wood closes in for the pin during a December meet with Gateway High School.

This means girls must have the same opportunities as boys to participate in sports. This opens the door for females to partake in sports such as wrestling.

Sure, wrestling on a guys team wouldn’t be that bad — but why not have a girls team? After all, girls wrestling has become one of the fastest growing sports in our nation. There are 48 states with high school-sponsored championships (Mississippi and Arkansas do not), but only two states — Texas and Hawaii — have wrestling sanctioned as a female high school sport. Why not Florida?

Last year in Florida alone, 52 girls participated in Florida’s state championships. This number increased to 72 girls representing their schools in the first girls tournament of this season.

According to Kent Bailo, director of the United States Girls Wrestling Association, 432 girls participated at the national level last year.

So why would a girl want to become a wrestler in the first place? Wrestling isn’t exactly the most feminine activity, but it has its own perks.

For one, it gives girls a way to stay in shape and become fit, and with all the hype in today’s society about staying in shape and being healthy, fitness can’t be a bad thing. She can learn how to work out well, tone her muscles and get rid of some of that baby fat.

Another benefit of becoming a girl wrestler is learning a great type of self-defense. Whereas it may take years to master a martial art for self-defense, it only takes a few weeks to be proficient enough in wrestling to take someone down.

Friendship. That’s another reason to become a wrestler. It has long been known a special bond is created between teammates, and wrestling is no exception. Susan Puder, a freshman on the Forest High School team, said it’s fun to be a part of something meaningful.

"We (the team) have gotten to know each other and become friends," she explained.

Just like the boys, the girls laugh, sweat and cry together. They get bruised, knocked down and helped back up — just like one of the guys.

"It (wrestling) is extremely difficult," said Meredith Alford, a senior on the Forest team, "yet you are encouraged to push beyond your comfort zone. It’s definitely worth it."

And what do the guys think about the girls?

"I’ve got to hand it to them, the girls learn their moves and techniques. They are just as dedicated as the guys are," said wrestler Mike Novak from the Forest guys team.

And, there is some good news for any girls participating in wrestling. Many colleges are now looking to build unique girls sports such as wrestling, and they are handing out huge scholarships. You go girls!


Who are they?
The Forest girls wrestling team is Jennifer Campbell, Meredith Alford, Jennifer Schell, Holly Peters, Susan Puder, Ashley Reynolds, Aime Nelson, Bekah Peranio, Sari Wood and Jessy Kennedy.

"They are more than a team, they are a family," said Coach Scaglione. They have team-bonding nights — gathering at each other’s houses, bowling and going to movies.

They practice just as hard as the guys and are just as dedicated — getting their necks strained, dislocating shoulders and elbows, spraining wrists and ankles and getting really beat up.

State championships were Feb. 3. The team placed second overall.

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Bringing home the gold

4/1/2001

None of the Racine County contingent at last weekend's WIAA State Individual Wrestling Tournament won gold medals, but Racine did have one state champion.

At the second annual United States Girls' Wrestling Association Wisconsin State Championships held Sunday at Middleton, Park senior Katie Neis won the championship of the 149-pound weight class of the grades 9-12 division.

Neis, who like her 12 Racine teammates had just a week of practice to prepare for the state tournament, pinned her first opponent, Kyla Schulenberg of Cross Plains, Minn., in 1:02. Neis then pinned Becky Schultz of Sun Prairie in just 37 seconds to set up her championship match against Jenna Hunter of Elburn, Ill., an Illinois state defending champion and national place-winner.

Hunter was leading 15-5 going into the third period, when Neis reversed her and earned a pin (4:36), eliciting a standing ovation from the crowd, said Park wrest-ling coach Andy Fenderson, who served as the girls' coach.

The other entrants and their places were: freshmen Ciara Kaprelian, fourth place, 147 pounds; Megan Clausen, 4th, 107; Hailey Webb, 3rd, 147; Rachel Azarian, 4th, 120; Daisy Sotelo, 4th, 94; Stephanie Hempel, 3rd, 145; sophomores Mandy Michael, 3rd, 160; Jennifer Runke, 3rd, 118; Katy Krekling, 3rd, 103; junior Angelina Velasquez, 4th, 125; and seniors Andrea Shove, 3rd, 123; and Tiffany Towery, 4th, 125.

The national tournament is March 24-25 at Lake Orion, Mich.

"They all want to go,'' Fenderson said.