SACRAMENTO - Unseeded Kelley Charlton of Tam High and top-seeded Courtney Madson of Novato on Saturday captured titles in the NorCal Championships girls wrestling tournament, a precursor to the unofficial girls wrestling state tournament to be held Feb. 1.
Charlton, a senior who won the North Coast Section title at 154 pounds last season, captured the NorCal title at the same weight Saturday by winning three matches at Inderkum High. She scored a first-period pin in the quarterfinals, then won her semifinal match against top-seeded Alyssa Hess of Newark Memorial 9-7 in overtime. In the title contest, Charlton stopped third-seeded Alex Holt (Albany) 12-7.
"She's really in her element," Tam assistant coach Chris Fredrich said of Charlton, who wrestles with the boys team at Tam. "She's such an aggressive, hard-working wrestler. Her technique may not be the best, but she more than makes up for it with desire."
Madson, a sophomore who finished second in the state at 103 pounds last year, repeated as the NorCal title-winner at 103 pounds to improve to 26-2 against boys and girls this season.
"She's probably the best technical wrestler around," Novato coach Steve Sanner said. "And she's in excellent condition because of cross country. She's the real deal, the complete package."
After a quarterfinals win by pin, Madson defeated Cassie Devlin (Sacred Heart Cathedral) 4-2 in the semifinals, then stopped Jasmine Yanez (Gilroy) 3-2 in the final.
"I was really happy," said Madson, who said her remaining goals this year are to win the state title, the NCS crown, and finally a title at one of the two national championships being held in Michigan and Oklahoma in March. "I wrestled my semifinal match really tough. And I wrestled a really smart final match, I knew it was going to be a close match where I couldn't just dominate."
Texas
Lady 'Horns take down Tascosa to win state
Caprock's Daffney Barbosa and her teammates celebrate after winning the Texas High School Wrestling Coaches Association Dual Championships on Saturday at the Courts of Amarillo. Barbosa won her 148-pound final with a pin.
Caprock and Tascosa squared off in a dual for the second time in three days, except Saturday the match was in the finals of the 2009 Texas High School Wrestling Coaches Association Dual Championships at the Courts of Amarillo.
The Caprock Lady Longhorns didn't take long to prove that Thursday's 42-18 victory over Tascosa wasn't a fluke.
Caprock used quick pins and three forfeits en route to 36-21 victory over the Lady Rebels to win the state dual championship in 33 minutes.
Finals: Caprock defeats Tascosa, 36-21.
Impact: Caprock wins its fifth state dual tournament.
Key stat: The Lady Longhorns take 33 minutes to defeat Tascosa in the finals.
"I knew Tascosa would be our toughest competition," Caprock coach Scott Tankersley said. "They will be tough to beat at state, right there with Hereford. These are the three teams in Texas, mark my words."
In the finals, Caprock and Tascosa traded pins for the opening four matches, with Tascosa's Janesha Woods (138) and Jami Martinez (165) and Caprock sisters Daffney Barbosa (138) and Britnee Barbosa (185) recording wins.
Caprock then received three straight forfeits and Samantha Nava's pin of Alexis Morgan in the 110-pound division to put the championship dual out of reach.
"It was a hard-fought match," Tankersley said. "We knew going in it could go either way. I liked it.
"These are the top 12 teams in the state. To be able to win this gives me satisfaction."
Tascosa had a tough road to get to the finals, missing two wrestlers and having another fail to make weight, meaning the Lady Rebels were behind 18-0 starting every dual. Despite losing to Caprock on Thursday, the Lady Rebels said they were eager to face the Lady Longhorns again.
"The girls were actually excited," Tascosa assistant coach Donna Welch said. "They put Thursday behind them. They weren't nervous or worried. They were excited."
It was not surprise that Caprock, the five-time reigning UIL state champion, won the duals tournament, despite not having done so since 2006.
"We have been in dual state five times," Tankersley said. "We have won the tournament five times. Every time we come here we come out on top."
Caprock's win Saturday added a dose of confidence to the Lady Longhorns.
"I haven't won dual state since my freshman year," Daffney Barbosa said. "Winning it just makes us more confident that we are going to go on to win state this year."
"Since we beat Tascosa, it's going to make (Tascosa) more determined," Tankersley said. "It will also make our girls more determined to protect our state title. Tascosa wants to take it from us, and we want to keep it. I am just proud of the girls for fighting every time. At every turn it was a battle. We will celebrate this victory tonight, but after the celebration is over, it is back to work.
Barbosa said beating Tascosa twice in three days proves that the Lady Longhorns are the team to beat.
"Beating them again shows us that we are going to win district, we are going to win regionals and we are going to win state," she said.
2009 THSWCA Dual Championships
Girls Finals
Caprock 36, Tascosa 21
95: Mitzi Rodriguez, Caprock, forfeit
102: Hilary Cordero, Caprock, forfeit
110: Samantha Nava, Caprock, pinned Alexis Morgan, 3:19
119: Shelby Morrison, Tascosa, pinned N. Garcia, 3:28
128: Sarah Alpar, Tascosa, dec. Nichole Almanza, 2-0.
138: Jenisha Woods, Tascosa, pinned Rebecca Gallegos, 3:23
148: Daffney Barbosa, Caprock, pinned Breena Maul, 0:45
165: Jami Martinez, Tascosa, pinned, Veronica Rodriguez, Caprock, 0:54
185: Britnee Barbosa, Caprock, pinned Faith Robertson, 0:58
215: Malexis McAdoo, Caprock, forfeit.
Semifinals
Tascosa 33, El Paso Chapin 24
Caprock 39, Hereford 18
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The U.S. won a pair of women’s wrestling
exhibition matches against Canada during the halftime break at the Oregon State
vs. Iowa State dual meet on Sunday afternoon.