CT.
In a perfect
world, Jessica Bennett wouldn't be best known for being a female wrestler.
“It would definitely be nicer to kind of just blend in and
be the same as everyone else,” Bennett says with a smile. “But I can't change
who I am.”
Nor would anyone want her to.
Wise beyond her 17 years, Bennett understands that's what
she will be known for - at least for now - in the high school sports circle.
So the soft-spoken Bennett, No. 1 scholastically in her
Montville High School class all four years, puts her head down and forges ahead
on a path that has led her to become one of the most successful female wrestlers
in the history of the state.
Earlier in the week, Bennett won her 100th career match,
becoming what many believe to be the first female in Connecticut history to
accomplish the feat.
For those who know Bennett - even slightly - it comes as no
surprise.
”It's very rewarding when you win matches and you see
something come of your perseverance and your work ethic,” she said. “I always
try to put my best effort into everything that I pursue, so the fact that I put
so much into the sport, getting something back feels good.”
Her wrestling career began in fourth grade, the first year
she was eligible to compete in the Montville youth
program. She had spent the previous year watching her older brother, Dylan,
after he began wrestling.
Once she began, she was hooked.
”I'm a pretty competitive person by nature,” said Bennett,
who's earned an academic scholarship to Purdue University. “I like challenges in
my schoolwork; I like challenges in my athletics. Wrestling combines a lot of
things: discipline, technique, physical ability. ... You have to train every
part of your body and you have to train your mind to really become a talented
wrestler. Once I got into it, I couldn't stop.”
Now Bennett can see the end of her high school career on
the horizon, with this weekend's Eastern Connecticut Conference Tournament,
followed by the Class M championships and, hopefully, the State Open. As a
sophomore, Bennett became the first and only female wrestler to place at the ECC
tournament, when she finished sixth at 112 pounds. This year, she's seeded
second at 103 with a record of 29-4.
”Because I'm at 103, a lot of my opponents happen to be
freshmen and sophomores that haven't quite gotten to the same level,” Bennett
said. “I think that's where I see a lot of my success.”
But that's not the whole story.
Montville coach Gary Wilcox says her success comes directly
from what she puts into the sport that has helped define her.
”Jessica has trained herself to be just as tough as the
boys by doing the same things the boys do. And we've trained her the same way,”
Wilcox said. “We expect the same things from her as the boys, and that makes her
tougher than a lot of the boys.
”To win 100 matches without testosterone, let's face it,
that's an impressive feat. I don't think people realize just how special this
kid is. She's not just winning in a boys' sport, she's thriving in it. She's
accomplished something that very few boys do and that's the real measuring
stick.”
And in a few weeks, when her final high school wrestling
season is over, Bennett can take solace in the fact that she has helped pave the
way for more females to pursue a male-dominated sport, although that's hardly
the entirety of the Jessica Bennett story.
”I think we're all given certain talents and not
necessarily others,” Bennett said. “I'd like to just make myself the best human
being I can. I want to contribute to my society, athletically, academically,
however I can. I'd like to make myself the best person I can and the lessons I
learn from wrestling kind of carry over into the rest of my life. That in itself
has proved it worthwhile.”
Montville's Jessica
Bennett cheers on a teammate from the sideline during a wrestling meet against
Avon on Jan. 24. Bennett, 29-4 this season, is believed to be the first female
in the state to win 100 career matches.
Georgia
ALBANY — Sandriana Cribb grew tired of basketball and wanted to
stay in shape for track season.
What happened next caught most everyone by surprise.
The petite Monroe High School senior tucked her hair locks in a rubber band
and underneath a skull cap became a wrestler. People were not only surprised,
they were concerned.
A funny thing happened, however, once her family watched her wrestle.
“At first, they were like, ‘My baby is out there doing what?’ “ Cribb
laughed. “But after watching me wrestle, they were like, ‘Well, I have NOTHING
to worry about now. She’s going to be fine.’”
Since taking up the sport last season, she won city and area titles as a
junior and placed third in the area this season at 103 pounds. Advancing to the
GHSA Class AAA West Sectional at Riverwood High School this weekend, she’s doing
more than staying conditioned.
She’s earning respect. With a 12-8 record, she’s also a wrestler — whether
male or female — who opponents have no choice but to respect.
“It’s empowering,” Cribb said. “The only female (two other girls tried out
for Monroe but quit). In the region? In the city? I’m the only one who actually
had the courage to stick it out for two seasons straight and not quit. That
means a lot to me.”
The GHSA had no way of verifying how many other female wrestlers have
advanced this far. Nonetheless, her past success on the mat has kept her
teammates from taking her lightly.
“She’s just quick because you know you have to stay two steps ahead of her,”
said 130-pound teammate Kanya Lewis. “I just have to be quick on my toes.”
On the track, Cribb competes in the 100 and 200-meter dashes and both relay
teams, being part of last season’s 4x100 region championship squad. The closest
she has come to an individual region title was third in last season’s 100,
failing by one place to qualify for state.
Battling with a wrestling opponent for three two-minute periods, she said, is
somewhat similar to the beginning of a sprint event.
“It gives me the stamina and speed that I need to pop out of the block,” she
said. “My reaction time is better, from the time they pop the gun on track or
blow the whistle on the mat.”
During Cribb’s two years of wrestling, she has developed a strategy that led
to her winning record.
“(From track) I use my speed a lot more,” she said. “When there are certain
holds or if I’m in a certain position, I can get up quicker. I’m also the type
who tries to tire them out, and then I put a hold on them.”
One of those instances happened in what Cribb called her best moment this
season against Crisp County when she carried the match into overtime. She played
defensively until the opponent unsuccessfully went for a move and she
capitalized, earning two points and a 22-20 victory.
“It will take a lot for someone to pin me,” she said. “Either pin me or you
beat me by points. For you to pin me, you’ve got to tire me out, so you’ve got
to work really hard.”
Working hard on the mat has, in Monroe track coach Octavia Jones’ eyes,
groomed her for an even better track season.
“I think it’s helped emphasize that if you want to be successful, you have to
work hard,” Jones said. “With her being an upperclassman, that attitude will
carry over to the freshman girls and be a good example.
When Cribb wears that skull cap, however, she can’t go too far without some
good-natured teasing by friends and coaches.
“Coach Jones would go like, ‘Now who’s that little boy right there?’ “ Cribb
laughed.
While Jones teases her, he also admires her for taking a step he did not
think she would take.
“She had always been the prissy type,” Jones laughed, noting Sandriana’s
middle name is, “La’Princess.” “A lot of times, athletic girls are known as
tomboys, but she was far from it. When she told me she was on the wrestling
team, I was very shocked. I was even more surprised that she won a couple of
matches against the boys.”
That’s when Cribb enjoys the moment.
“I don’t consider it, but when I win, I go, ‘YOU JUST GOT BEAT BY A GIRL!, “
Cribb said. “It’s so funny.”
After being asked if she has defeated any males on her team, she played coy.
“Want me to name names?” she smiled. “I’m not gonna name any names. Let’s say
I’ve beaten about four or five guys on the team.”
Her record and work ethic on the mat has only added to her team’s admiration
of her.
“We think of her as a little fireball,” Monroe coach Isaac Wooten said. “She
never gives in, she never quits. Wrestling is a sport where you depend more on
yourself than anybody else to get everything you need done. So once she
accomplishes that goal, she’s more ready mentally and physically to accomplish
anything.”
While some may tease Cribb about her skull cap, some guys are warned as they
try to tease her.
“Some say, ‘Better stop before she balls you up,’ “ Cribb said. “They say
that because I can really ball you up.”
That kind of confidence by both friends and teammates also has helped her
reach this far in the postseason.
“In my mind, I see her as my little sister,” said Seawn Lewis, who advanced
to sectionals by winning area at 189 pounds. “When she is beating people and
working hard, I just say, ‘Doing well, little sister.’ I’ve got to give my
little sister props, it’s good to see her beat other dudes.”
Cribb only hopes to continue winning. If opponents want to think of her as
just a girl they can beat, that’s fine with her. Besides, she has gone further
than many thought she would.
“I expect (this weekend) to be hard, but I’ve trained hard enough that I can
make it out of it,” Cribb said of sectionals, in which the top eight from each
weight class advance to state the following weekend at the Gwinnett Center. “If
I don’t make it out, I’d be a little mad, but be also proud that I made it this
far, though.”
Texas
By JASON McDANIEL For the Chronicle
Feb. 13, 2009, 12:31AM
Terry’s Rivas paves the
way
Terry junior
Adrianna Rivas became the first and only Lamar Consolidated ISD wrestler to
qualify for the regional tournament last week after winning a silver medal at
the District 22 Wrestling Championships.
“I’m extremely
proud of her,” Terry coach Travis Kirby said. “This is the first year for LCISD
to have wrestling, so everybody was brand new to it.
“She had a
little experience with club wrestling, so that gave her an advantage over most
of the kids who were completely new to the sport.”
Rivas fell to
Morton Ranch’s Tamyra Mensah in the 148-pound championship match to finish
second. The top two wrestlers in each weight class moved on to the Region III
tourney this weekend in Allen.
Rivas was the
only girl in the school district to come out for wrestling this season. She
compiled a 6-2 record in eight matches prior to the tournament. Most competitors
had at least two dozen going in.
“It was
challenging for us in practice day to day, and her not having any female
compatriots I’m sure (it) was hard on her, although she never complained,” Kirby
said. “You could never tell by the way she worked.”
Canada
Posted By Ed O'Leary 2/13/09
PJC captured the girls' crown with 80 points.
Paris District got 39, SJC 34, NPC 18, BCI 10, ACS 10, VHSS 10, WRM seven and
WDHS four.
Female placings
44-K: Laura Boudreau (PDHS).
47.5-K: Madison Parks (ACS), Carolyn Stuart (PDHS), Emily Morgan (SJC).
51-K: Meriah Swanson (PDHS), Faith Smale (SJC), Taima Laforme
(PJC).
54-K: Gloria Hernandez (PJC).
57.5-K: Kristen Mal (SJC), Mathy Gurnet (NPC), Angel Delisle (PJC).
61-K: Jen Giannetti (PJC), Samantha Tiffin (PJC), Keisha Eitel (WDHS).
64-K: Bryanne Henry (PDHS), Jackie Horton (SJC).
67.5-K: Tricia Renne (VHSS), Sarah Hargreaves (WRM).
72-K: Jessica Kirk (NPC), Stephanie Prymark (PJC), Dannielle Repington (PJC).
77-K: Sydney Sallazzo (BCI), Colleen Armstrong (PJC), Angelica Severino
(SJC).
83-K: Ann-Marie Maunder (PJC).
83-plus-K: Viktoria Barsok (PJC), Paige Laforme (PJC).
canada
SFU after 6th straight mat title
By GERRY MODDEJONGE 2/13/09
Conference championship bragging rights are on the line as the U of A
Pavilion has rolled out the mats and the red carpet for the Canada West finals
this weekend.
On the men's side, Simon Fraser University is looking for its sixth-straight
conference title while the Simon Fraser women's team is coming off a national
championship last year.
The University of Calgary women's squad will also look to repeat their
conference championship performance from last season.
"Calgary women are always strong. It's kind of a toss-up between anybody at
this point," said U of A wrestling program interim coach Anthony Kulak - a
three-time Canada West gold medallist, himself.
"There's a lot of younger teams."
For the U of A, four out of its six female competitors and six out of its 10
males are under age 20.
"To be honest, I don't think we're going to get a bunch of gold medals," said
Kulak.
"But our goal is just to qualify as many as we can to (nationals) so they get
to see kind of the bigger picture and make some goals for that later on."
With the top three competitors in each division qualifying for the Canadian
Interuniversity Sport championships, Kulak is counting on the team's home turf
this weekend to help send a contingent of his wrestlers on to the University of
Calgary at the end of the month.
But those who make it there won't have done it without overcoming some
adversity this season.
"Injury-wise, we've had quite a bout of them. Especially on the women's
side," said Kulak.
"We tried to rehab them as best we can and we'll see if we can put a good day
together."
Westerns begin today with the U of A women duelling the University of
Saskatchewan at 2 p.m. and the men taking on the University of Regina at 3
p.m.
Tomorrow's rounds get underway at 9 a.m.
Montana
By MIKE ZIMMER 2/13/09
Gazette Sports Editor
The way Molly
Trindle sees it, she's not a girl wrestling against boys. She's a wrestler
wrestling against other wrestlers.
And that, in Trindle's eyes, is no big
deal.
The talented Fort Benton freshman has a chance to make Montana
wrestling history this weekend by becoming the first girl to place among the top
six in the state tournament. But regardless of whether that happens, Trindle is
not interested in focusing attention on herself.
"Molly is really only
interested in talking about the team and her teammates' success," Fort Benton
head coach Kevin LeFurgey said while Trindle and her teammates worked out at
Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark. "She would really rather not do any interviews
about herself until after the tournament.
"She doesn't want the attention of being a girl wrestling at the state
tournament. She just wants to compete to the best of her ability and be part of
our team."
Trindle is not the first girl to wrestle in the Montana state
tournament, which begins this morning and concludes Saturday evening. But few
girls, if any, have come to state with her credentials.
After finishing
second in last week's Southern B-C divisional tournament, Trindle is 28-12 on
the season and is ranked sixth at 98 pounds in the Class B-C coaches
poll.
Trindle's success has come as no surprise to the folks in Fort
Benton.
"This is an oddity to everyone else, but we've been expecting
this," said Fort Benton assistant coach Dan Holskey. "We've seen Molly come up
through our middle school program, so we knew how good she is.
"To Molly,
this has never been a boy-girl sport. When she started wrestling in grade
school, there were a lot of girls competing ... the whole boy-girl thing has
never been a big deal to her. Her attitude is that on that mat, everybody is
equal."
Holskey added that two of the keys to Trindle's success are her
smarts and her flexibility.
"She wrestles smart, and she keeps everything
basic," he said. "She doesn't try to do anything fancy that's going to get her
in trouble in a match. And she's incredibly flexible. She's only been pinned
once this season ... she's so flexible that she's tough to control even when you
have her down on the mat."
Away from the mat, Trindle is an A-student and
plays the oboe in the Great Falls Symphony. LeFurgey said she approaches all of
her interests with the same effort.
"Molly is a great student and an
all-around great kid," he said of Trindle, whose twin brother, Riley, is also
among Fort Benton's seven state qualifiers. "She is very focused and she pushes
herself to succeed whether it's in wrestling or academics.
"Everything
she does, she does 100 percent."
Published on Friday, February 13, 2009.
Last modified on
2/13/2009 at 1:15 am
Copyright ©
The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
Canada
By Kevin Rothbauer, The CitizenFebruary 13, 2009
The Cowichan Valley Wrestling Club was busy over the final weekend of January
and first full weekend of February, attending meets in Campbell River on Jan. 31
and in Port Alberni on Feb. 5-7.
The Cowichan club took 10 wrestlers to the Campbell River Invitational at
Phoenix Middle School, and the entire contingent performed well. At the junior
girls level, Cenna Parlee (Queen of Angels) placed fifth in the 43kg class,
Meagan Kuruvita (Q of A) finished first at 54kg, and Hanna Lauridsen (Mt.
Prevost) placed third at 69kg. Queen of Angels placed third in the team
rankings, while Mt. Prevost was ninth.
At the junior boys level, brothers Lincoln and Ames Rae (independent)
finished second and third, respectively, in the 35kg class, Owen Pite (Q of A)
placed first at 48kg, Kadon Ricord (Q of A) was fourth at 51kg, and Dax Parlee
(Q of A) placed third at 57kg. Quamichan's Dylan Lowe also wrestled well but
finished outside of the top six. Q of A finished in a three-way tie for fourth
place in the team standings.
At the senior boys level, Cowichan Secondary's Mitch Larmand suffered a
slight concussion and placed sixth at 60kg.
The Port Alberni Invitational attracted about 600 wrestlers from as far away
as Saskatchewan for two full days of wrestling after a day of weigh-ins. The
competition included 16 wrestlers from Cowichan.
In the School Boy division, Matt Pickerington (Q of A) placed sixth at 35kg,
Troy Jones (Quamichan) placed fourth at 42kg, Pite placed third at 47kg, Lowe
finished sixth at 57kg, and Zach Moskovicz (Q of A) placed third at 60kg.
In the School Girl division, Kim Christofferson (Q of A) placed sixth at 45kg
and Cenna Parlee was seventh, Meagan Kuruvita placed first at 58kg, and
Lauridsen placed first at 63kg. Q of A finished eighth among boys' teams, and
seventh among girls' teams, while Mt. Prevost was ninth among girls' teams.
Canada
Dave Waddell, Windsor Star
Published: Friday, February 13,
2009
L'Essor's Linda Morais and Riverside's Brittany Belanger will likely meet
again at next week's SWOSSAA wrestling championships and OFSAA after that, but
it'll be as fellow competitors cheering each other on.
The two avoided a titanic clash Thursday when Belanger opted to remain in the
47.5-kg class allowing both to walk away with WECSSAA titles.
Morais won her first WECSSAA crown at 51-kg while Belanger repeated as the
ruler of the 47.5-kg class.
Belanger also won the Nicky Tisdale Award as the outstanding female wrestler
while Riverside's Kyle Bertrand won the Bill Hogarth Award as the outstanding
male wrestler.
"I was really looking forward to wrestling her again because it's always a
tough match," said Morais, who lost to Belanger in the 47.5-kg OFSAA final last
year. "I had wrestled her three times this year. They were all close
matches."
Morais won all three of those meetings and their anticipated matchup was
going to be one of the highlights of the meet.
Instead, Morais defeated teammate Natalie Chauvin in the final.
While there wasn't the buildup to that match, Morais was no less thrilled
with her first WECSSAA championship.
"I never assume any match is going to be easy," said the 15-year-old Morais,
who has won 10 tournaments this season. "I wrestle every girl as hard as I
can.
"I've wrestled her twice this year and they were both tough matches."
For Belanger, who is in Grade 12, finishing her last WECSSAA meet with
another gold medal and outstanding wrestler honours was a satisfying conclusion
to her career at the local level. The 18-year-old downed Lajeunesse's Melissa
Marcotte in the final.
"It's kind of sad," Belanger said. "Wrestling has been such a big part of my
life.
"This year, I wanted to leave everything on the mat. I've really pushed
myself knowing I'll never be able to wrestle like this again.
"I really want to place at OFSAA again."
That desire was also behind her decision to remain at 47.5-kg rather than
move up to face Morais.
"I was halfway between the two weights and it made more sense to cut weight
and wrestle girls lighter than me than move up and wrestle girls heavier than
me," Belanger said.
"I would've loved another chance to wrestle Linda. She's an amazing
wrestler.
REALITY CHECK
"She's going to win OFSAA. For me, this way gave me a better chance to win
gold at OFSAA."
Thursday also proved a great triumph for Morais' L'Essor Aigles team.
The Aigles successfully defended their team title in the girls' division
while the L'Essor boys' team made it a clean sweep for the Tecumseh school.
Finishing second in both divisions was River-side.
"We thought we had a very good team this year," Morais said. "We thought we
had the potential (to win the team titles)."
dwaddell@thestar.canwest.com or 519-255-5784
ONLINE
windsorstar.com
Photo gallery of WECSSAA meet
Canada
Island School Wrestling Championships run Saturday at Carihi
Courier-IslanderFebruary 13, 2009
The Campbell River wrestling program had yet another strong showing this past
weekend at the competitive Port Alberni Invitational, as they get set to host
the Island championships this Saturday at Carihi.
Grade 12 wrestlers Brandon Robertson (Timberline) and Colson Driemel (Carihi)
led the way in the Juvenile Division. Neither wrestler surrendered a point while
dominating the opposition, taking gold in the 84 kg and 130 kg divisions
respectively.
"On top of their leadership, Brandon and Colson are showing that they will be
forces to be reckoned with at the upcoming Provincial championships," said
Campbell River coach Paul Murphy.
Tanis Benoit and Nicole Cunning of Timberline showed improvement, both
placing third.
Gold place medals also came from Anthony Hollinger (Phoenix, 51 kg), Ashley
Osachuck (Southgate, 54 kg) and Brett Nelson (Southgate, 39 kg). As well, Nelson
was voted by all coaches at the tournament as most outstanding wrestler in the
School Boy Division.
"Brett wrestled exceptionally well this weekend," said Southgate coach Scott
McKenzie. "We see a ton of potential in Brett and are excited to see him
continue to grow in the sport."
Silver medals were won by Cass Bedard (Phoenix, 54 kg), Keigan Smith
(Phoenix, 45 kg), and Emelia Gibson (Southgate, 58 kg). Fighting to third place
finishes were Kyle Turner (Phoenix, 51 kg), Olivia Carter (Phoenix, 54 kg),
Emily McIsaac (Phoenix, 51 kg), and Justice Janveaux (Phoenix, 41 kg).
The Phoenix girls took home top team honors in the School Girl Division.
Phoenix coach Adam Janveaux had high praise for his talented squad, "This is a
tough tournament and the girls wrestled really well. All of the coaches are
really excited about the work ethic and talent displayed by our young
wrestlers."
Local wrestlers will be looking to continue this season's success at the
Vancouver Island School Wrestling Championships, which take to the mats 9 a.m.
to 4 p.m. at Carihi.
Canada
Staff photo by Daniel Ho
Noelle Simms, a
Grade 9 student at St. Francis Xavier Secondary School, celebrates as she finds
out that her team has won the championship.
By: Gary McCarthy
February 13, 2009 09:30 AM - The St. Francis Xavier
junior women’s wrestling team is the toast of the town.
The lady Tigers
captured four individual weight divisions to grab the team title yesterday at
the Peel high school junior wrestling championships.
Isabelle Azevedo,
Mercedes Psenicnik, Paige Simms and Noelle Simms propelled St. FX to first place
overall by winning gold medals in their championship bouts.
“Isabelle is
without a doubt the most improved wrestler and Paige went to OFSAA (Ontario
Federation of School Athletic Associations) last year as a Grade 9 student,”
said St. FX co-coach Jason Cormier. “They’re both pretty good.”
Azevedo
captured the gold medal in the 57.5-kilogram weight class and Paige Simms took
gold in the 61-kilogram division. Psenicnik was the gold-medal winner in the
77-kilogram class and Noelle Simms was the winner in the 67.5-kilogram category.
Those four wins pushed the lady Tigers ahead of Turner Fenton of Brampton at the
day-long tournament held at Stephen Lewis Secondary School in Mississauga.
It
was the third female wrestling title for St. Francis Xavier in the last five
years. The two previous championships were won by senior teams.
“The senior
girls won in 2005 and our program just grew from that,” said Cormier. “We get a
lot of support at our school for the program and it just keeps getting
better.”
Daniel Ciliman of the Tigers took the gold medal in the 83-kilo
class, the only victory by St. Francis in the junior men’s
competition.
Wrestlers from Mentor College, Meadowvale Secondary and St.
Aloysius Gonzaga enjoyed a good tournament as well.
Meadowvale's Joel
Hillman, following in the footsteps of his brother Shane, was the gold medal
winner in the 51-kilogram division by beating teammate Karlo Galang.
“We
practice against each other,” said Hillman, adding he wasn’t about to give his
friend a break. “This is different. This is competition.”
Shane Hillman won a
gold medal for Meadowvale in the 64-kilogram division.
Steven Crews of
Meadowvale dominated his match against Alix Thompson of Turner Fenton in the
72-kilogram category and Meadowvale’s Farid Ahmordli was the winner in the
44-kilogram division.
Jesse Kokorudz of Mentor College won the unlimited
weight division, while teammate Ben Kupka came out on top in the 38-kilogram
class and Mentor’s John Ngo was the winner over Brandon Radhay of Rick Hansen in
the 54-kilogram final.
Mentor’s Lynda Vu took the women’s 44-kilogram title
and teammate Catherine Truong captured the 47.5-kilogram crown.
Wrestlers
from St. Aloysius Gonzaga grabbed three titles. Tomek Kononowicz was the winner
of the men’s 89-kilogram division, Adrian Dzuria took the men’s 44-kilogram
title and Breann Pellizzer was the gold medal winner in the women’s 54-kilogram
class.
mississauganews@live.com
USA
|
|
Megan Myers USA Wrestling
02/13/2009
|
|
 Moving to a new place at 17 without your parents is never easy.
Adeline Gray left everything and everyone behind in Colorado to move to
Michigan in order to fulfill her dreams of being one of the top women wrestlers
at 67kg/147.5 lbs.
“I made my decision to come up here because I wanted
to improve my freestyle wrestling. My family has always been very supportive,”
Gray said. “They knew it was where my heart was at and what I needed to do.
Since she left Colorado, she has not looked back on her
decision.
Gray is a senior at Marquette High School in Marquette,
Michigan and when she is not in school, she is training at the U.S. Olympic
Education Center at Northern Michigan.
“She has good fundamentals and is
a joy to work with. She is in high school and at the training center, that says
a lot about her right there,” USOEC National Coach Shannyn Gillespie said. “I
have been happy to work with her and enhance her skills to get her at the next
level.”
Gray made 2008 a year to remember. She was the FILA Junior World
Team champion, Junior Nationals champion and placed second in the Women’s World
Team Trials.
Her greatest accomplishment of last year was bringing gold
home from the Junior World Championships in Turkey. She defeated 2008 World
bronze medalist Ochirbat Nasanburmaa of Mongolia in the gold medal finals.
“Junior Worlds was unreal. I went in very under confident. It drove me
to work harder so I could be that good,” she said. “I was in shock. I never put
myself at that level. Even though I competed with the top wrestlers, I didn’t
view myself on that caliber of wrestlers. Everything fell in to place. It gave
me a lot of confidence knowing I am on my way to the top.”
Currently,
Gray is ranked No. 1 in her weight class on the Senior level. With all of the
success she has had, she still finds it unbelievable that she is at the top.
“Being at the top is always fun. It’s been shocking because I have
always looked up to these girls and they’ve been my inspiration,” Gray said.
“It’s nice to win the tournaments, but it hasn’t hit me yet that I am competing
with these top girls, and that I am becoming one of the top
girls.”
Included in her weight class is 2008 U.S. Nationals champion
Stefenie Shaw, and could include her training partner, 2008 Olympic bronze
medalist Randi Miller, if Miller returns to competition at this division.
This year, Gray plans on making the U.S. Junior World Team and U.S.
World Team.
In order to achieve her goals she wants to get more
experience. Gray said she is getting in extra workouts after practice to get
better and wants to wrestle against the older girls as much as she
can.
Gray will be getting the experience she wants as she will be
competing in her first Senior level event representing the USA at the World Cup
in Taiyuan, China, March 21-22.
“I’m so excited. I can’t believe the
competition that is going to be there,” she said. “I don’t even know what to
expect. I am going in with an open mind but I am nervous because I have never
experienced anything at the senior level.”
Gillespie said he believes
Gray has what it takes to make it at the Senior level.
“She is a high
performance athlete,” he said. “She is already the best in the world in her age
group. I think she can get stronger to become better. She has a good shot at
making our Senior World Team this year.”
With high and reachable goals
for this year, Gray is looking toward the future and where she wants to be.
“London 2012!” she said.
|
