Womens wrestling news 09

STUARTS DRAFT — When it comes to high school wrestling, most people think of it as a boys’ sport.
Just don’t tell that to Stuarts Draft’s Savannah Fitzgerald.

Now a senior, Fitzgerald has been at it for five years, ever since she took up the sport as an eighth-grader.

The 103-pounder this season has a 15-6 record heading into this week’s action. And that’s not a shabby mark at all.

Her five years of mat experience leads her team in that respect, and the knowledge gained during that time has been invaluable.

But wrestling technique is just part of it. To be a good wrestler, you also need strength and endurance. It is said that a wrestler expends more energy on the mat during a six-minute match than does a football player during the entire length of a game.

“She’s always been a very physical girl,” Cougars coach Chip Campbell said. “It goes back to her wanting it, and her effort in the offseason. She puts in a lot of extra time working out with us in the spring and summer.”

It all started for Fitzgerald when a fellow classmate encouraged her to go out for the sport.

“Petya Rogers talked me into it,” she said. “We both came in at the same time.”
Rogers, likewise, would have been a senior this year on the team, but she tore an ACL and that forced her out of the sport.

Still at just about every Cougar wrestling meet you will find her in the stands lending encouragement to her teammates.

For Fitzgerald, wrestling has been a challenge. She was in the 112-pound weight class her first three years, then moved to 119 last season as a junior.

“Last year, I wrestled up at 119 although I only weighed 109,” she said. “That was because Adam (Davis) and Brett (Talley) were at 103 and 112. That’s why I bumped up.”

But even with that disadvantage, she finished the season with a 14-19 record, was third in the Southern Valley District and advanced to the Region III tournament.

This year, with Davis and Talley moving to higher weight classes, it gave Fitzgerald a chance to drop all the way back to 103.

“I had to lose (weight),” she said. “And, for me, that’s hard to do. I’m a constant eater — it’s my best habit.”

Fitzgerald got down to 103, and it’s been an immediate success, as shown by her 15-6 mark so far.

“For Savannah, this year’s lineup has worked out,” Campbell said. “She is where she should have been for four years. She made up her mind to give it one last hurrah this year. And she is on par as far as my expectations.”

Asked what the difference was between wrestling 119-pounders and those at 103, Fitzgerald gave an answer you wouldn’t have expected.

“Well, at 119, you could just eat a lot,” she said, “and the guys were better, and maybe that was because they had extra pounds on me.”

Surely there’s an advantage wrestling someone your own weight, and that has benefited the Cougar grappler this year.

And there has also been some other pluses. Wrestlers at that weight are sometimes new to the sport and less experienced.

“You can feel it,” she said. “Sometimes you get out there and find they are not very good.”

Most, if not all, of Fitzgerald’s wins have come against boys. And in a macho sport like wrestling, how do they react getting pinned by a girl?

“Sometime they throw their head gear down,” Fitzgerald said. “And sometimes, they don’t shake hands.”

Chris Henkel, a senior wrestler for Stuarts Draft who wrestles at 215 pounds, has a lot of respect for his teammate.

“She intimidates a lot of the people she wrestles,” Henkel said. “It’s my third year with her, and she works as hard as everyone else does. She’s up there with us.”

There are enough girls in the sport where there are a few tournaments around just for them.

“We have a girls’ state tournament,” Fitzgerald said. “I’ve gone the last three years and was second place all three years.”

Fitzgerald plans to go to Blue Ridge Community College next year, but she’s well aware there is wrestling at the college level for women.

“Iowa has a girls’ team and there are some in Montana,” she said. “They are mostly up north. I’m keeping my options open.”

For now, Fitzgerald continues to have success at the high school level.
And why wrestle?

“It’s just fun,” she said. “You get to meet a whole lot of new people.”

Calvary boys, Western girls do well in wrestling

Broward individual, team rankings

Western High School's Kari Sickles and Shanice Torres competed in the Florida Girls State Wrestling Championships in Orlando.

Sickles placed third in the 103-weight class. She pinned Jacquelyn Culver of Colonial in 1:40. Karina Jimenez of Cypress Creek then pinned Sickles in 0:22.

Sickles rebounded by winning by technical fall over teammate Torres, 20-4, and then pinned Alexis Mumzich of Fort White in 1:48. She won by major decision over Tobie Jones of Osceola, 11-1, and avenged her loss by pinning Jimenez in 3:52.

• Calvary Christian 42, Deerfield Beach 39: 103: Callender (CC) p. Sapp, 3:59. 112: Christos (DB) p. Delez, 1:12. 119: Conte (CC) p. Herndon, 3:24. 125: Gamble (CC) p. Trebejo, 5:41. 130: Morgan (DB) p. Fitch, 1:12. 135: Williams (DB) by forf. 140: Reeves (DB) p. Rattray, 0:54. 145: Nesmith (DB) p. Christman, 1:59. 152: Moortgat (CC) p. Dixon, 1:10. 160: Carrillo (DB) p. Scherrer, 1:26. 171: Lima (CC) p. Noriega, 2:45. 189: Pierre (CC) p. Valle, 2:24. 215: Gadson (DB) dec. Schneider, 9-7. HWT: Rodriguez (CC) p. Rice, 1:33. Records: Calvary 9-1. Deerfield 15-16.

• Calvary Christian 51, Monarch 27: 103: Callender (CC) maj.dec. Arvelo, 13-0. 112: Delez (CC) p. Carter, 4:30. 119: Conte (CC) p. Kobyashi, 1:32. 125: Gama (Mon) dec. Gamble, 8-1. 130: Otero (Mon) p. Fitch, 3:59. 135: Lalloo (Mon) by forf. 140: Gomes (Mon) p. Rattray, 2:40. 145: Scates (Mon) p. Christman, 1:28. 152: Moortgat (CC) p. Puglisi, 3:59. 160: Scherrer (CC) by forf. 171: Lima (CC) p. F. Davis, 1:04. 189: Pierre (CC) p. Parise, 2:22. 215: Schneider (CC) tech. fall T. Davis, 22-6. HWT: Rodriguez (CC) by forf. Record: Monarch 12-15.

• Broward County Rankings: Week seven: 103-pounds: Callender (Calv), Uhre (STA), Arvelo (Mon), Sierra (CSC), Kuse (Ev). 112: Crocker (STR), Benni (AM), Walters (CG), Christos (DB), Clein (CB). 119: Wisdom (N), Lomax (AM), M. Souza (Tar), Malca (W), Gama (Mon). 125: Gomes (D), Bowles (N), Pearce (AM), Sutton (CCrk), Mitchell (SB). 130: Mark (SB), Conroy (AM), Ordonez (CM), Goodman (NE), Kenna (STA. 135: Burke (CG), Eterno (STA), G. Jiovenetta (Doug), Rodriguez (AM), Campbell (Str). 140: Becks (N), Conte (Calv), Grossman (Doug), Schot (STA), McKay (Pl). 145: Martinez (CGL), V. Jiovenetta (Doug), Pellecer (STA), Mancini (CB), Ojeda (W). 152: Dahl (CB, Lagriola (CG), Walters (W), Darshan (CS), Smolich (CSC). 160: Speiller (STA), Duncan (AM), Friedfeld (Ev), Brady (CG), Goulet (CCty). 171: Boggio (CB), Englar (Fl), Baeza (W), Kolley (NE), O'Donnell (CG). 189: Pierre (Calv), Weiss (STA), Civilma (DB), Jones (Pl), Cassius (Ev). 215: Marshall (AM), Montejo (STA), Mera (SB), Pittman (Mir), D. D'Attilo (Tar). HWT: Williams (Fl), Whittaker (CG), Montoya (CB), Smith (CCty), Jacques (SB).

Teams: 1. St. Thomas Aquinas; 2. Cardinal Gibbons; 3. Archbishop McCarthy; 4. Cypress Bay; 5. Douglas; 6. Coral Springs; 7. Western; 8. Cooper City; 9. Coral Glades; 10. South Broward.

CARBONDALE - Carbondale picked up five pins while Murphysboro could only manage two pins and a decision as the Terriers beat their cross-county rivals, 48-33, in a nonconference wrestling match on Carbondale's Senior Recognition Night.

With both teams giving up three forfeits each, the match came down to the remaining eight weight classes, and Carbondale picked up pins by senior Alli Ragan, juniors Tom Leonard and Zach Johnson, sophomore Eldren Staten and freshman Codey Stanton good for 30 points.

"We have a lot of kids hurt out of the lineup, so we had to try to get the right matchups," said Carbondale coach Dennis Ragan. "One of the moves that really worked out was bumping Eldren Staten from 171 to 189 so he could go against the least experienced wrestler. Then, Zach gave us a big boost winning at 152 after we bumped him up away from one of the best wrestlers in the south, Jake Miller."

Ragan got the Terriers off to a good start at the 135-weight class pinning fellow senior B.J. Greer with 56 seconds remaining. Leonard followed at 140 with a quick pin of junior Caleb Stanton in 58 seconds.

After senior Jake Miller won by forfeit at 145, Johnson pinned junior Chris Scholz at 152 with 22 seconds left in the third period to up the Terrier lead to 18-6.

"This was a really good match for me," said Johnson. "I tried to work what I could, but he kept tying me up. I was working my double leg a lot, and then the pin was there for my half nelson, and I took it. I was glad they bumped me up."

103 - Trey Topp (MUR) forfeit; 112 - Codey Stanton (CAR) pinned Nick Kupcikevicius (MUR) in 1:13; 119 - Prentice Thomas (CAR) forfeit; 125 - Mike Glaub (CAR) forfeit; 130- Zane Richards (CAR) forfeit; 135 - Alli Ragan pinned B.J. Greer (MUR) in 5:04; 140 - Tom Leonard (CAR) pinned Caleb Stanton in :58; 145 - Jake Miller (MUR) forfeit; 152 - Zach Johnson pinned Chris Scholz (MUR) in 5:38; 160 - Zack Todd (MUR) decision Tommy Hamilton (CAR) 12-7; 171 - Napoleon Hughes (MUR) forfeit; 189 - Eldren Staten (CAR) pinned Noah Brown (MUR) in :25; 215 - Kory Graff (MUR) pinned Wes Toombs (CAR) in 2:40; 285 - Brad Sauer (MUR) pinned Christian McIntosh (CAR) in 2:54.

Sarah Anderson poised for No. 100… maybe

1/28/10

The following article in the Syracuse Post-Standard on a female wrestler from Onondaga reaching 100 career wins brought Schuylerville’s Sarah Anderson to mind.

Anderson, a junior, is poised to win her 100th match Thursday evening, if the Black Horses wrestle her against winless Cambridge in the Wasaren League finale. Schuylerville coach Paul Zebrowski sounded pretty sure when I spoke to him Saturday night that Anderson would make an appearance in the dual meet. As I mentioned in my column in Tuesday’s Post-Star, she has been sidelined with a shoulder injury for most of the last year. She will most likely be sidelined for the rest of the season, but may be in the lineup at 112 pounds against Cambridge.

Anderson, whose career record is 99-12, would become the third female wrestler in state history to win 100 matches. Amy Whitbeck, a 2008 Duanesburg graduate, finished her career with 116 victories. Anna Cummings, the wrestler from Onondaga, accomplished the feat the other night.

By Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald 1/28/10

When you are the defending champion, everyone has you in their sights anxiously wanting to knock you off your pedestal.

Imagine the target you are when you have won three straight national championships.

That's the position University of Calgary wrestling star Gen Haley finds herself in this season. She's a three-time university champion and in the fall beat Olympic gold medallist Carol Huynh in an international tournament in Phoenix.

"It's definitely a challenge every year. I mean, you don't want to do worse than you did in the previous year. So maintaining that is a challenge in itself," says Haley. "Not only just on the wrestling skill level, but just being healthy and knowing the opponents you're going to be facing and people are hungrier and hungrier every year to get you out of your spot."

As she prepares for the march to the national championships, Haley knows who her top opponents are and she is focusing on their skills and weaknesses.

Dino head coach Mitch Ostberg says beating Huynh, who is a club-mate with the Dino wrestling program, was impressive considering Huynh captured a gold medal in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

"That's a pretty good performance any time you beat an Olympic champion. And so Gen's won CIS three times in a row and is ranked No. 1 in her weight, of course, and is looking to win a fourth. She's the performance leader of the team," says Ostberg, who took a break from coaching last year after 18 seasons. He was on the national team for six years and won gold at the Commonwealth Games in 1986.

The U of C hosts the Canada West championships Feb. 19-20 and the

CIS championships March 5-6 for the third straight year.

The school's women are the top-ranked team in the country and they have a tradition of success. They've been dominant in 11 CIS seasons, claiming five national team titles and six silver medals.

The U of C men are still looking for an elusive first CIS crown, but have collected a pair of team silver medals and five third-place finishes over the past 15 years.

"In women's wrestling, we were one of sort of the initiators in Canada of women's wrestling and I played a big part in getting the women's division added to the CIS league and we've had great success," says Ostberg. "We had one of the great early successes who is now assistant coaching, Christine Nordhagen, who was moving our women's national program along. She didn't represent Calgary in the CIS at all because it didn't exist at that time."

Ostberg says Nordhagen, a six-time world champion, has been a great role model, giving the wrestlers a goal to aspire to the highest level.

The Dinos put on a clinic in the 2009 national championships, winning six of the eight available individual gold medals to run away with the team title. While fifth-year wrestlers Justine Bouchard and Vanessa Wilson ended their CIS careers last season with national championships at 63 and 67 kilos, respectively, the other four are all back led by CIS Outstanding Wrestler Heidi Erdle.

Erdle won individual gold at 59 kg last year and joins gold medallist Gen Haley (51 kg), Erica Wiebe (72 kg) and Leah Callahan (82 kg) as returning champs in 2009-10.

The national championship was also held in Calgary in 1995 and 1975, before women's wrestling was added to the CIS program in 1998-99.

Ostberg, a three-time CIS women's wrestling coach of the year, says the national championships gives the U of C an opportunity to showcase its wrestlers, who should once again contend for the national team titles.

mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com

Female wrestler holds her own

Calvary boys, Western girls do well in wrestling

Broward individual, team rankings

Sarah Anderson poised for No. 100… maybe

1/28/10

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