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Wrestler's bias claim jolts UCD

By Gary Voet
Bee Staff Writer
(Published June 4, 2001)

A gender bias complaint filed by a female wrestler at the University of California, Davis, has shaken the athletic department, leaving in its wake accusations of misuse of funds by the department, the dismissal of a coach who supported her and the intervention of an assemblywoman who is threatening to withhold state funds to the school.
Shortly after Chris Ng filed her complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights on April 24, Ng and two other female wrestlers were reinstated to the men's wrestling team. Last Thursday, the civil rights office notified the university that it considers the matter closed.

But in Davis the situation appears far from settled and involves a coach who says all he wanted was to give women a chance to wrestle competitively and university officials who acknowledge that the issue of women on the men's wrestling team was not handled in a proper way and that the university is now "defining it and cleaning it up."

A private meeting is scheduled for today between university officials, including Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef, and Assemblywoman Helen Thomson, D-Davis, who has met with the three women wrestlers and is not satisfied with how UCD has handled their complaint.

Thomson inquired about the women's predicament in a May 3 letter to Vanderhoef but received no response, according to her staff. On May 20, Thomson took a different route.

She wrote a letter to Assemblyman Tony Cardenas, D-Sylmar, chairman of Assembly Budget Committee. Thomson asked Cardenas to remove funding for UCD's sciences laboratory building from the state budget until the gender equity dispute was resolved. No action has been taken on the request.

Even though the university has reinstated the women, the matter of "whether or not the women are being treated fairly is still in question," said Craig Reynolds, Thomson's chief of staff. (A supplemental complaint dealing with past and present treatment of women on the wrestling team is pending with the civil rights office.)

In addition, Thomson's office is concerned about the dismissal of the wrestling coach, Mike Burch, for what some believe is retaliation for pushing the gender equity issue. Burch, who in his six years as coach has turned around the formerly moribund program, was told last Tuesday that his contract as part-time coach would not be renewed after it expires June 30.

"You have someone who had the most successful season in the history of the school, who apparently made the mistake of speaking out in favor of women athletes," Reynolds said. "The women sought assistance from their elected representative and the response was to fire the coach.

"What is the message the university is trying to send to its employees? Keep your mouth shut and don't stand up for your atheletes? Don't go public, (or) you might get fired? Don't seek help from your assemblywoman because you might get your coach fired? It doesn't look very good."

UCD athletic director Greg Warzecka said he couldn't comment on why Burch's contract wasn't renewed. "Since it is a personnel issue ... we do not discuss publicly the reasons we decided not to renew his contract," Warzecka said.

The controversy has erupted at a time when UCD athletics have never been better from a competitive standpoint. The university has won the Sears Directors' Cup three of the last five years, an award given to the best Division II athletic program in the nation.

UCD is on track to win the cup again this year.

For about a decade, female wrestlers have practiced and wrestled with the Aggie team. As head coach, Burch has encouraged women to attend UC Davis and wrestle. He says about 2,300 high school girls nationally -- about a third of them in California -- wrestle competitively.

At UCD, the women only would wrestle other women when opposing teams had female wrestlers, which wasn't often. They practiced with the team and used the weight and training rooms.

There are no NCAA-sanctioned women's wrestling teams.

Then last October, the wrestlers -- Chris Ng, Sam Reinis and Arezou Mansourian -- were removed from the team. The main reasons given by the athletic department were concerns about insurance and liability.

But the issue of women wrestlers on the roster had been festering for at least a year. Burch said he was told last year by associate athletic director Pam Gill-Fisher to exclude the women from the team roster.

Burch said he ignored the directive and the women continued wrestling and training as usual.

Going into this season, Burch said Warzecka told him to exclude the women from the team. This time Burch complied. He said his ongoing contract negotiations were a main reason why.

"They made it clear I had to take women off my roster," Burch said. "I didn't make a big stink about it ... because I knew I would find myself out the door. But I clearly have a philosophical difference as to why women belong on the team."

In a prepared statement released Thursday, Gill-Fisher said, "We will continue to work with any prospective female student-athlete who chooses to try out for the men's wrestling team."

Warzecka said the issue of women wrestlers probably has not been handled in the proper way and that the university is "defining it and cleaning it up."

"There clearly could be some misunderstanding between the athletic department and what we are trying to do for women," said the athletic director.

The issue was mainly confined to the athletic department until Ng filed her complaint April 24. After that, not only did Thomson's office get involved, but other spinoff issues became public.

At the recent Aggie Auction, a major athletic department fund-raiser attended by more than 1,000 people at Rec Hall, members of the wrestling team took off their coats and ties and revealed their wrestling uniforms. They handed out information questioning whether the school was properly spending money from a 1994 student-approved referendum.

At that time, students voted to tax themselves to allow all sports at UCD, including so-called minor sports such as wrestling, to continue.

"For nearly eight years, we believe the athletic department has acted deceptively in securing millions of dollars from UC Davis students through an 'athletic tax,' " read the information handed out by the wrestlers. "That tax ... guarantees all UC Davis students that their money would be used to keep sports like wrestling, swimming, and others alive. Well, we are alive, but we are on life support."

Both the current and previous student body presidents have expressed concerns how the money has been allocated. Ty Bledsoe, the current president, has called for an investigation into how the funds are being used.

Warzecka was emphatic in saying there had been no misuse of student referendum funds. The athletic department's budget is about $5.6 million a year, of which about $60,000 is earmarked for the wrestling team, including Burch's $30,000 salary.

"We have gone through two university audits and one NCAA audit and we run a very clean program," Warzecka said. "We have done nothing to misappropriate student funds."

On May 10, just a few weeks after the gender bias complaint was filed, the women wrestlers were reinstated on the team. Warzecka said the university did the right thing in reinstating the wrestlers.

But for the women, the case is not closed.

"This doesn't satisfy me," Ng said. "I want them to admit they were wrong, that (the university) took the women off the team and not the coach."

"I am going to talk to my attorney ... They have taken away a year of wrestling from us ... I believe we deserve some sort of compensation."

For Burch, it appears a rocky six-year ride is coming to an end. He was initially hired for $18,000 a year as the part-time head coach. He said he has consistently worked 70 to 80 hours a week during the season. He said the university twice has denied his worker's compensation claims based on stress and heart problems that he said were connected with the "part-time" job.

Under Burch, the wrestling program has had a resurgence. The UCD program competes in the Pac-10 at the Division I level. This year, the Aggies' 10-7 dual record was the program's first winning mark since moving up to Division I in 1991, and they sent four wrestlers to the NCAA championships for the first time.

Burch said he is being dismissed in retaliation for the gender bias complaint, the controversy over the student referendum funds, his support of the women wrestlers and for his comments to the media about the tenuous funding and support for the wrestling program and other minor sports.

"It is clearly a case of retaliation, and I hope the department, the other coaches and the university take note of the censorship," Burch said. "I am going to fight this until June 30, and then try to find work."

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Ailene Voisin: This female collegian finds wrestling is a perfect match

(Published June 6, 2001)

While the issue festered over at UC Davis, El Camino High graduate Kierstin Hyatt -- Class of 2000 -- packed her belongings, bought a plane ticket and went away to college.
She went away to wrestle.

She left, mostly, because she had no choice, or because she had three choices: Missouri Valley College, Cumberland College (Ky.) and Minnesota-Morris, the only schools that offer women's wrestling teams, though Menlo College and Neosho Community College (Kan.) are introducing programs in the fall.

"I didn't even know you could get a scholarship until I heard it announced during a tournament two months before graduation," said Hyatt, 19, back home following her freshman year at Missouri Valley. "I felt so fortunate."

Girls/women's wrestling is one of those emerging sports that you've probably never heard of, though one-third of the nation's approximate 2,100 female wrestlers reside in California. According to the CIF, 752 girls competed in 2000-2001 -- against boys and girls -- virtually doubling the figures from 1997-98.

This relatively sudden swing has led to several developments, among them an increase in the number of statewide tournaments for girls; the gradual, if often grudging acceptance of female wrestling within athletic circles; and political pressure by those demanding inclusion at several institutions, including UC Davis.

Assemblywoman Helen Thomson, D-Davis, has submitted a proposal utilizing Missouri Valley and its 32-member squad as the prototype for a women's team at Davis -- and a solution to the protracted feud involving the removal of three women from the team roster and the impending dismissal of coach Mike Burch.

Hyatt, who grew up in Carmichael, is monitoring the Davis situation with renewed interest. She's been there. She knows the feeling. Her own background isn't unlike that of the three Aggies and other females who forced their way onto the mat.

She can't explain her motivation, other than her love of sport. Nor should she have to. "Kierstin was the type of soccer player who ran through people, not around them," says her father, Kevin, chuckling. "I tried to nudge her toward basketball, but she kept going back to wrestling."

Hyatt in many respects is your typical teen. Her blond hair is long and straight, and she has wide blue eyes and smooth, almost flawless features. She could be the conventional girl next door, and in fact has posters of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White on her bedroom doors. Even more revealing? To her family's great surprise, she entered Sacramento's Junior Miss pageant in 2000. And won.

But Kierstin has also been a rebel, and during what she calls her "punk phase" favored the following daily attire: Purple hair, 17 rings, seven necklaces, bracelets covering her arms, a dress, tights and combat boots.

Her parents rolled with it, rolled their eyes. She survived. And ultimately, Hyatt, who delights in the conflicting images of her youth, liked herself best in athletic tights.

She should. It fits.

Seated in the kitchen of her parents' house, the former prep All-American has the toned arms and legs of a finely tuned athlete. Though only 5-foot-4 and 123 pounds, she projects much taller, and definitely stronger. "People know me as TGW (The Girl Wrestler)," she says, laughing, "but just don't say I look like a cheerleader."

She wrinkles her nose.

She says it wasn't always fun.

Kierstin recalls days when she limped into the house, bruised and beaten, emotionally spent, times when her high school teammates were skeptical and opponents snickered and pointed. She absorbed a lot. She had a lot to learn. She still does.

"I had a pretty good year," she said. "I made it to the Junior National team and met Jory (her boyfriend). He's a wrestler, too, which is good. I don't think I could date someone who wasn't a wrestler. I don't think they'd understand."

The Bee's Ailene Voisin can be reached at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com.

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Bogren named Outstanding Wrestler for second straight year at FILA Cadet Women’s National Championships

6/2/01
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling

[Tournament Photos]

Brooke Bogren of Cardondale, Kan. was named Outstanding Wrestler for the second straight year at the FILA Cadet Women’s National Championships. The tournament, held at Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio, featured the best 15-17 year old women wrestlers in the nation.

Bogren claimed the 52 kg title, pinning Debbie Sakai of Mililani, Hawaii in the gold-medal match in 38 seconds. She won five matches on the way to the gold medal, including a pin in 3:10 in the pool finals against 2000 FILA Cadet National champion Malinda Ripley of Antioch, Calif.

Three other 2000 FILA Cadet National Champions reclaimed the title this year: Erica Dye of Elizabeth, W.Va at 43 kg, Sara Fulp-Allen of El Granada, Calif at 46 kg and Brandy Rosenbrock of Warren, Mich. at 60 kg.

Dye won two matches on the way to the title, including a 10-0 technical fall over runner-up Rachel Holthaus of Little Falls, Minn.

Fulp-Allen retained the title with a 6-1 victory over Amanda Hordaga of Sunnyvale, Calif.

Rosenbrock won five matches, including three pins and a technical fall. She scored a convincing 11-0 technical fall over Linse Meados of Katy, Texas in the gold-medal finals.

Claiming their first FILA Cadet National titles were Keristen LaBelle of Davison, Mich. at 49 kg, Brittany Shell of Big Lake, Alaska at 56 kg, Ali Bernard of New Ulm, Minn. at 65 kg, and Toni Copeland of McDonough, N.Y. at 70 kg.

The Most Falls went to Heather Martin of Wellington, Ohio, who scored 3 falls in 1:47. Martin was the runner-up at 65 kg.

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Wong named Outstanding Wrestler at FILA Junior Women’s Nationals and World Team Trials

6/3/01
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling

Jenny Wong (Lock Haven, Pa./Sunkist Kids) claimed the 50 kg weight class and was named Outstanding Wrestler at the FILA Junior Women’s Nationals and World Team Trials in Dayton, Ohio, June 3.

The tournament featured the best 17-20 year old women wrestlers in the United States. The winners qualified to represent the United States at the FILA Junior World Women’s Championships, which will be held in Martigny, Switzerland this summer.

Wong scored an impressive 10-0 technical fall over high school star Mary Kelly (Mahomet, Ill.), in just 3:39 in the gold-medal finals.

Four wrestlers qualified for their second straight FILA Junior World Team: Clarrisa Chun (Kapolei, Hawaii/Missouri Valley) at 46 kg, Melina Hutchison (Soldotna, Alaska) at 54 kg, Erin Tomeo (Volant, Pa./Sunkist Kids) at 63 kg and Toccara Montgomery, Cleveland, Ohio (Sunkist Kids) at 68 kg.

Chun scored a 12-1 technical fall over Sandra Padron (Scottsville, Mich./Shelby WC) in the gold-medal match. It was a rematch of last year’s finals, also won by Chun by technical fall.

Hutchison defeated Brooke Bogren (Carbondale, Kan.), 9-3 in the finals match. Bogren had won the Outstanding Wrestler award at the FILA Cadet Nationals the previous day.

Tomeo scored a hard-fought 3-0 win over Tori Adams (Amarillo, Texas /Missouri Valley) to claim her individual title. Tomeo was a runner-up at the 2001 U.S. Senior Nationals in April.

Montgomery pinned Kaci Lyle (Eureka, Calif./Missouri Valley) in 4:11 for the victory. Montgomery was the Outstanding Wrestler at the 2001 U.S. Senior Nationals a month ago.

The 75 kg finals featured a pair of sisters, Elena and Alicia Mena (St. Paul, Minn./Minnesota Wrestling). Older sister Elena won the spot on the U.S. team, pinning Alicia in 1:09 in the finals.

Also winning individual titles to earn a berth on the U.S. team were Erica Dye (Elizabeth, W.Va.) at 43 kg and Brandy Rosenbrock (Warren, Mich./Shamrocks) at 58 kg. Both were also individual champions at the FILA Cadet Nationals the day before.

The Most Falls award was won by runner-up Brooke Bogren of Carbondale, Kan., who scored a pair of falls in 4:05.

The head coach of the U.S. team for the FILA Junior World Championships will be Tadaaki Hatta of Ohio.