Little wrestler making it big

Pablo VillaSpecial to the Times1/29/02

They call her "iddy biddy." But one glimpse at Montwood's Mariana Chavira on the mat will show that there is nothing little about her.

The sophomore has almost single-handedly made the Rams more than just a blip on the wrestling radar. And she has done it with unmatched intensity.

Chavira, all 87 pounds of her, has been taking it to opponents all season with a ferocity that has Montwood coach Leo Garcia thinking about a trip to Austin.

"She's all heart and desire," Garcia said. "She is always intense. She's a hard worker, goes hard all the time."

That desire has resulted in success. Every ounce of ability has been extracted from Chavira and molded into something. And it shows. Two weeks ago in hostile Caprock, Chavira captured the 95-pound individual title and was named the meet's outstanding wrestler to boot. She returned to El Paso to take part in the Bowie Tournament a week later, where she earned another championship, and led her squad to its first team title at Bowie in school history.

The win marked a turnaround for Montwood wrestling, which has often folded in team competition.

"We've been trying to get rid of the "me" factor around here," Garcia said. "It has to be a team effort that will make the way you wrestle successful."

That bodes well for Chavira, who will look to garner more accolades this weekend at the District 2 Championship Tournament at Hanks. A successful outing at Hanks will give the fireplug a trip to regionals, a place she knows well. Chavira finished fifth in the competition last year.

"It's been a great year for me," Chavira said. "I want to go to state, but as coach says, I have to concentrate on district first."

It's a task that Garcia says his grappler is not only up for, but also determined to succeed in.

"She's been so determined since day one," Garcia said. "She knows what it takes from her. She knows how to wrestle with pain. She's already gotten a taste of regionals and she wants to take it to the next level."

Chavira, who has been garnering the attention of opposing coaches, has already told her coach that she will need to live up to her billing. He has no doubts that the effort to do that exists.

"Right now we're just going to perfect what we've been doing all year," Garcia said. "She knows what to expect. We just need to get ready mentally and physically."

Will the preparation pay off?

"I'm working on that," Chavira said.

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Caprock girls capture state duals mat title

1/26/02

GRAPEVINE - Lindsey Bohensky, Yvette Madrid and Hope Jones went undefeated Saturday as the Caprock girls' wrestling team won the state duals championship at Grapevine High School.

The Lady Longhorns defeated Arlington Sam Houston by a 42-24 margin in the championship match.

The Caprock boys finished fifth in the annual tournament, falling 50-25 against Arlington Martin in the team's final match.

Caprock's dominance in the girls' division was evident in each of the team's five matches. The team shut out Trinity and Bishop Dunn by the same 60-0 margin, scored a 52-6 win against Colleyville and knocked off Arlington 48-12 before eventually claiming the title against Sam Houston.

Overall, the Lady Longhorns were 39-9 on the mat during the tournament.

Tara Eubanks went 3-0 in her matches during the tournament, while Crystal Valdez, Amenda Howland and Nina Rodriguez all went 4-1.

Seeded fourth in the boys' draw, the Longhorns struggled in a 54-28 loss to Trinity before eventually regrouping for the fifth-place finish. Caprock earned a 57-26 victory against Lake Highlands and a 58-26 win against The Colony in the tournament.

Kenny Holmes, a state finalist last season, went undefeated in his four matches during the tournament. Rigo Mendoza, Patric Solis, Michael Littlejohn and Tim Murphy all went 3-1 during the tournament.

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The popularity of girls wrestling is on the rise.

The Beaumont Enterprise 1/21/2002

In the overheated portable next to the track at Central High School two young women square off. Standing in their stocking feet, clad in sweatpants and T-shirts, they grab each other by the hands and begin pushing and shoving. Their legs and shoulders twist, their faces grimace. A few moments later they hit the mat, literally and figuratively, with a loud "thud" and begin wrestling.

Kimberly Brooks and Jerrie King are friends, classmates and teammates at Central High School. Along with six athletes at Ozen High School, the 15 year-old freshmen are two of the almost 500 girls competing in high school wrestling programs in Texas this season.

Two girls angle for position by squiggling across soft maroon mat, a tangle of arms and legs. Brooks hooks her left arm around King's neck and it looks like it's over for her. But King gets herself out of trouble, flips Brooks over and pins her. They burst out laughing.

"We weren't supposed to laugh," said King after standing up and reaching down to help Brooks off the mat. "But it's fun."

"Fun" is the invariable response when you ask these girls why they are competing in wrestling, a sport that is being offered for first time in the Beaumont Independent School District.

Like all of the girls competing in Beaumont's high school wrestling programs, Ozen's Jasmine Hilts was new to the sport.

"I like being able to get aggressive and not get in trouble for it or hurt," said the 16 year-old junior who also participates in drama and debate. "It's a lot of fun to be in control of what you're doing. There aren't that many ways that you can do that."

Apparently a lot of girls agree.

Girls high school wrestling in the United States has seen a phenomenal 86 percent increase in participating over the past five years. According to Gary Abbot, Director of Special Projects for USA Wrestling, the sport's national governing body, wrestling's growth has been fueled by a number of factors, including the popularity of martial arts such as judo and taekwon-do, and diminishing barriers to women competing in nontraditional sports.

Although women's wrestling is not a NCAA sport, five colleges sponsor varsity women's programs and approximately 12 schools have women competing on men's teams. The addition of women's freestyle wrestling to the 2004 Olympics in Athens is expected to fuel growth of the sport further.

West Brook, the only BISD school to participate in district competition this year, does not have any girls in its program, a situation that coach Phil Hemmings hopes will change next season.

"I'm here to teach them if they want to," he said.

Hilts' Ozen teammate Brittany McFadden, a 17 year-old junior, said that there was more to wrestling than - as one of her classmates commented-"getting sweaty."

"It has a mental aspect to it," said McFadden. "You have to think two or three moved ahead, know what (your opponent is) going to do and know what you're going to do. It's a good combination of mental and physical."

Added Hilts: "A lot of girls think that it's manly, but it's not."

For the most part, the girls said that they have heard little criticism about their wrestling, and that their parents, coaches and male teammates have been overwhelmingly supportive.

Said Paul Buxie, a junior at Ozen, about his female teammates: "It's cool. They can perfect the moves just like we can, they can compete just like we can."

Buxie has wrestled some of his girl teammates in practice, but he can't do so at meets. All states allow girls and boys to practice with each other and every state except Texas. Hawaii allows them to compete against each other. However, only Texas and Hawaii sponsor a girls state wrestling championship.

The sport is still gaining momentum in Southeast Texas and the Houston area where there are often not enough - or any - girls in each of the ten weight categories at meets and tournaments. Hilts has not competed yet this year because no one at the meets she has attended has been in her heavyweight category.

"I'm ready, I'm so ready," she said about her situation.

Said Ozen coach Bo Granger, "The ladies have done a real good job and when they have more opportunities they'll get even better. I'm expecting a lot more to turn out next year."

Central coach Tony Baltutis said that coaching the girls on his team "is in someways about the same" as coaching the boys. The girls on the team are only allowed to wrestle each other, not the boys. But Baltutis yells at them just as loudly as he does their male teammates: "Chin up! Chin up! You can't lift a pin but you can spin it!"

After the session King and Brooks were winded and smiling, their T-shirts soaked with perspiration.

"We can laugh in practice," said King, "but in a match it's serious business. You're ready to win."

Wrestling surge

Growth of girls high school wrestling nationally

1979-80 48 athletes in 3 schools

1996-97 1,629 athletes in 217 schools

2000-01 3,032 athletes in 896 schools

Growth of girls high school wrestling in Texas

1998-99 363 athletes in 49 schools

2000-01 485 athletes in 115 schools

Reporter Paula Hunt may be reached at phunt@beaumontenterprise.com or at (409) 833-3311, ext. 485.

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