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Coquitlam wrestlers have a hold on gold

by Dan Olson
Sports Editor 4/11/2001

With one quick hip-throw, Heather Ball found out what it meant to be Canada’s best.

The Pinetree Secondary athlete, who picked up a silver medal at last month’s high school provincial championships, turned the tables on her B.C. rival last week when she defeated her 4-1 at the Juvenile (-18) National Wrestling championships in Saskatoon.

For Ball, the result was a great cap to an awesome season.

"Retribution," Ball laughed when asked whether the provincial loss played a factor. "It felt good. I don’t know if I learned anything from (their BC match), but it was just a different feeling going in."

Ball’s decision was just the tip of the iceberg for local grapplers, as members of the Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club captured three juvenile and two cadet (-16) titles. The Mountain crew also nailed down the juvenile and cadet girls and cadet boys club championships, giving them two of four national crowns.

It was a pretty heady string of events, including Centennial’s Jill Campeau delivered the juvenile 65kg title and Maggie Ng achieving the same result in cadet 40kg competition.

For Ball, the decisive victory came with an unusual move, on a day when not everything went as smoothly. Waiting for the final, she managed to get away from it all and enjoy a nap. When she stepped onto the mat later in the day, she discovered her singlet was on backwards. It didn’t distract her from reaching a new pinnacle, though, when she tossed Jen Hippisley of Hazelton.

"I’d like to think that I’m a good shooter but I’m not a good thrower," Ball noted. "It’s not the kind of thing you can chase, because if you look to throw it won’t be there."

It depends upon the opposition leaving herself open at just the right time, and this time the 5’1" Ball completed the combination.

"I had beaten (Hippisley) a couple of years ago and I knew I could beat her but you can beat anybody on any given day, if you are having a good day and they are having a bad day. Part of it is luck."

A provincial title to her name, Campeau entered feeling confident. Appearing in her fifth national championships, she was hoping to break into the top-three and knew it would likely have to be against a B.C. opponent.

Facing Burnaby Mountain teammate Jennica Day in the final, Campeau stayed with her strengths to register the win.

"We practice together, so it was more of a challenge because we knew each other’s moves, she knew my strengths," Campeau said.

The grade 12 athlete tossed her way to the gold, winning all five matches by 10-0 scores.

A novice wrestler, Ng out-pointed her final opponent for her cadet medal. Earlier, she won every match with a convincing pin.

Also grabbing a medal was Dr. Charles Best’s Chris Painter, who collected silver in cadet 110kg.

Other Burnaby Mountain gold medallists were girls’ juvenile 48kg Sara White and boys cadet 76kg Gavin Reagh. Centennial’s Heather Kamitakara recorded a bronze medal in juvenile girls’ 65kg contest.

Best’s Jordan Gallagher placed fourth in his category, as did Centennial’s Erin Morissette, while teammate Jane Yeoh finished fifth overall.

B.C. dominated the tournament, pocketing 13 individual gold medals and finishing 18 points above the next-best team.

Both Ball and Campeau prepare for next month’s junior World trials at Simon Fraser University.

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Whittier girl wrestler sports winning mark

By Dave Dyer 2/17/2001
Eagle-Tribune Writer

HAVERHILL -- At 103 pounds, soft-spoken and well-mannered, Whittier Vo-Tech's Vanessa Clark hardly seems like a pioneer.

But Clark, a senior for the Wildcats, has broken new ground for girls wrestling this winter as a starter for the Wildcats.

There have been a number of female wrestlers at Whittier, and indeed throughout the area, in the last five years, but none like Clark. She is the first regular and valuable varsity contributor.

When the season started, there were undoubtedly many throughout the Commonwealth Conference who made light of Clark. But no longer.

Through last week, with just the Division 1 North sectional remaining, Clark sported a winning record of 13-11 that included an impressive nine pins. Among the wins were several that were pivotal for the Wildcats, who were 13-7 in dual meets and won the State Vocational title.

"In the state Voke meet, she had two points for advancement and two points for a pin, and we won by three points," said Whittier coach Rich Durkin. "And her win helped us beat Minuteman."

With surprising strength for her size and solid technique, Clark not only has a high percentage of pins, but she rarely gets pinned herself, a trait that further helps the team.

"If she does lose, she's very difficult to pin," said Whittier assistant coach Alex Valhouli. "She's definitely a force. I tell other coaches that I guarantee she'll outrun and outwork anyone. She's in tremendous shape."

As a member of the cross country and spring track teams, Clark distinguishes herself from some girl wrestlers by being in outstanding condition. She's also more focused.

"At first, we had girls who just wanted to be part of the team," said Durkin. "I wasn't as favorable to it (girls wrestling) then. But Vanessa and some of the girls now are not there to flirt with the boys. She's really into the sport."

Clark started wrestling as a sophomore on the suggestion of teammate Amber Feole. She couldn't be happier that she tried it.

"I loved it right away," said Clark. "I'm very serious about it. It's a fun sport and I look at it as a great challenge. When I pin someone, I feel great."

Of Clark's varsity opponents, only two have been girls. She pinned one of them and lost a close decision to the other, something that still bothers her.

"I was really upset when I lost that match," said Clark. "I felt I should have won.

"I prefer wrestling guys. They're better wrestlers and I feel more pressure if I wrestle a girl. Everyone says that I should win against a girl."

And what do Clark's friends and parents think of her wrestling?

"I don't think my friends like it," she said. "They don't understand why I do it.

"My mom is not surprised. I used to wrestle my little brothers all the time and beat up on them. She supports me."

If anyone doubted Clark's love of wrestling, they should consider her plans for the end of the season. She has committed to joining a girls club team in Brookline, and may join a new local AAU club being started by former Pentucket coach Sean Kiley.

"I was giving out fliers about the club and was surprised when she wanted one," said Durkin. "As a senior, I didn't think she'd be interested."

As for next year, her competitive days on the mat will probably be over. She plans on attending Northern Essex Community College, where she will run cross country.

If that's the case, she's already gained a lot from the sport.

"I think I proved I can do whatever I set out to do," said Clark. "Even though everyone said I'd get beat all the time, I showed that wasn't true. I think I'll look back and be really proud of what I did."

For that, all she has to do is think back to that State Vocational title.

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Parents file lawsuits against area schools

By Jennifer Stone Unknown Posted by The Old Coach on April 27, 2001 at 8:24 pm
This article appeared in The Athens News.

Class action lawsuits have been filed against two area school districts in the U.S. District Court's Tyler division.

Separate but similar suits have been filed against Cayuga and Malakoff ISDs by parents of female students in those districts. The Malakoff suit was filed Thursday and the suit against Cayuga was filed Monday.

The parents, all of whom have daughters who participate in athletics in those districts, claim their children are not afforded the same opportunities as male athletes, which violates Title IX of the Education Amendment. Title IX mandates girls and boys have equal opportunity to participate in interscholastic and other school-sponsored athletics and enjoy equal treatment and benefits.

Allegations in both lawsuits claim the school districts provide better treatment to male athletes in several areas, including:

¥ funding of athletic programs;

¥ equipment and supplies;

¥ scheduling of games and practices;

¥ provision of meals and travel;

¥ the care taken when assigning coaches;

¥ the provision of practice facilities and locker rooms;

¥ access to training facilities and services; and,

¥ publicity.

The plaintiffs allege fewer girls are allowed to participate in sports than boys, that the districts do not have a history of continuing program expansion for girls sports and that the district has not accommodated the interests of female students.

The suits ask for class action status on behalf of all current and future female students in those districts. They do not seek any monetary restitution b

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Branham Earns All-American Status

A.J.H.S. junior wrestler places 5th in National Tourney

By Chuck Baker

The News

Apache Junction High School wrestler Kelly Branham earned All-American status in just her second season of competitive wrestling. The junior competed March 24 and 25 in the United States Girls Wrestling Association Nationals in Lake Orion, Michigan, and took fifth place in her weight class.

Branham, who admits she had to drop ten pounds the week before the tournament, competed in the 144-pound weight class along with twenty-one other wrestlers from across the country.

Branham won her first match of the tournament pinning her opponent from Iowa. Next up, she pulled out a 7-6 victory over a wrestler from Minnesota. With the two wins, Branham advanced to the semifinals of the winner’s bracket, where she had to go up against the tournament’s #1 seed, a wrestler from Ohio.

"We knew this would be a tough match for Kelly," said Eric Johnson, an assistant wrestling coach from Apache Junction High School, who accompanied Branham on the trip to Michigan.

"All I told Kelly was to wrestler hard and make sure this girl remembers who she is."

Just seconds into the match, Kelly was put into a headlock and taken down to the mat. Her opponent also picked up three near-fall points and was leading 5-0.

But Branham fought off the attempted pin and once she was able to get off her back, wrestled tough the rest of the match. The #1-seed from Ohio was able to hold on for a 7-6 victory over Branham, although Coach Johnson is convinced Kelly could have beaten her.

"You should have seen Kelly wrestle after that poor start," Johnson said. "We had a couple of questionable calls go against us in the match, but you know what, Kelly wrestled her heart out. I bet that girl remembers who Kelly is now."

Branham then dropped into the consolation bracket where she lost her first match, which put her in the tournament’s 5th-6th place match. Branham responded by pinning an opponent from Minnesota, and earned 5th place in her weight class. The top eight wrestlers in the Nationals all earn All-American status, a distinction rare for any high school athlete, particularly one from Apache Junction High School.

"Kelly did really well," Johnson said. "Girl’s wrestling is huge on the East Coast and the Midwest, and Kelly was at a disadvantage. Some of her opponents had wrestled over a hundred matches this season alone. I think Kelly has wrestled about thirty matches in her entire career. And most of those have been against guys."

Johnson said that many of the girls in the tournament arrived with their entire state team, which is important especially as a support group.

"These girls would be on the mat with their teams warming up," Johnson added. "For us, it was just Kelly and me. It seemed kind of awkward, just the two of us warming up with all these teams around us. But I made sure Kelly never lost her focus."

On the East Coast and in the Midwest, girl’s wrestling is considered a major sport, just as in boy’s wrestling. There are plenty of teams, state tournaments, and regional tournaments just for girl wrestlers. By comparison, here in Arizona, girls have to wrestle along with boys. In fact, in the two years as a member of the Prospector wrestling team, Branham has faced only four girl opponents, easily beating them all. She has also won a couple of matches against male opponents, one last season on the junior varsity team, and one this past season on the varsity team.

Branham said she made a decision to go out for wrestling two years, mostly because she wanted the challenge. She says she has the full support of her parents, as well as most of her teammates. Kelly’s mom also accompanied her on the trip Michigan.

"I was bummed out losing to a girl," Branham said of her losses at the Nationals. "But overall, it was a pretty good trip. I sure am glad Coach Johnson was able to come with me. I don’t think I would have gone if he hadn’t come."

Coach Johnson said when they first arrived at Lake Orion High School, located just outside of Pontiac, it was fairly warm out, guessing a temperature around fifty degrees. But that first night it began to get cold, and then two days after arriving, it snowed.

"I can’t remember the last time I had to scrape snow off a windshield," Johnson said.

It is rare for any high school athlete to earn All-American status. The only way to do so is to finish in the top eight in a National Tournament, or be named All-American by an organization such as the McDonald’s All-American Basketball Team.

At Apache Junction High School, it is difficult to remember the last time any athlete earned such a distinction. Donny Longstreth (1966-69), it is believed, earned All-American status in track and field at the Junior College Nationals while running for Mesa Community College. And a couple of former Prospector wrestlers, most notably, Wayne McMinn (1985-88) and Danny Faqir (1989-92), were named All-American while wrestling for Arizona State University. Is it possible that Branham is the first at A.J.H.S. to earn this distinction while still in high school?

"So being All-American is pretty good?," Kelly asked naively.

"Kelly, being All-American means that you are considered one of the best in the nation," Coach Johnson answered. "Yeah, I’d say it means you’re pretty good."

Johnson says that Branham, if she continues to wrestle and improve, has a good chance to earn a college scholarship in the sport. But she will always be at a disadvantage living here in Arizona. Kelly will have to continue wrestling mostly against male opponents since girl’s high school wrestling has never really taken off here in Arizona.

There were a couple of girls from Arizona who competed in the Nationals in Michigan. Coach Johnson said that there are plans to send a entire team from Arizona to next year’s Nationals. But it’s a wait and see plan, cautions Johnson.

Branham plans to continue wrestling. She also plays volleyball and is a member of the track and field team at Apache Junction High School. And she’s also an All- American girl.