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12-year-old Hannah Bloom wins 112-pound title with late pin.
Girl power came to the USA Kids Wrestling Greco-Roman Nationals at the Chisholm Trail Expo Center Coliseum Thursday.
Hannah Bloom of Webberville, Mich., came back from an 8-3 deficit to pin Reid Chivers of Washington in 3:59 to win the 112-pound championship in the Novice (12-under) Division.
"It feels good.'' said Bloom. "It feels a little better because I'm a girl.''
Bloom was one of only two girls in the Greco-Roman tournament. She would be the only All-American.
"Greco-Roman is harder for me because girls aren't as strong as the boys,'' Bloom said. "It's always been harder for me because it's more of a strength-type deal.''
Bloom had wrestled only in a few Greco-Roman tournaments before the nationals.
Bloom had a two-point throw to take a 3-1 lead in the first period but Chivers scored seven unanswered points and appeared to have the match in control until Bloom turned things around in the last 20 seconds.
"I just re-rolled it,'' she said. "He used an over-and-under and I had the same thing. When he hit it, he was too far over. I then rolled around to the right.''
She was fighting the clock to get the fall. If she hadn't gotten the pin, the match would have had to go overtime at 8-8.
"I was pretty sure I had gotten it,'' Bloom said. "I kept saying he's flat, he's flat.''
Bloom is wrestling in her third national tournament. She first went as a Midget three years ago and did not place in the top six. She was third two years ago in freestyle but did not wrestle last year because the tournament was too far away in Fresno, Calif.
"I had placed ahead of him (Chivers) before in tournaments,'' Bloom said. "I think I did pretty well.''
Bloom has wrestled for five years. Her older brother, Joe, and two younger sisters also wrestle. Her interest in the sport came from her father and coach, Mike.
"I told her that I would treat her the same as her brother when we were working out,'' Mike said.
Neither of her parents have any problems with her being in a male-dominated sport.
"We're really proud of her,'' said her mother, Deborah.
She has blazed a trail for girls in the sport, gaining respect from opponents who might have taken her lightly because of her sex.
"At first, it was hard for me because I wasn't used to being around boys,'' Bloom said, "but after a while I began to get to the feel for it and started to get better.''
No girls jokes around her, please. Don't call her a girl wrestler. Just a wrestler.
"I get a lot of respect from the boys on my team,'' she said. "They know if they say anything that they're in trouble.''
Has she had to set a few straight?
"Sometimes,'' Bloom said with a smile. "I think I have changed their (opponents) minds. Sometimes they talk a lot, but they quiet down once they see me wrestle.''
She feels she has to be better than her male counterparts.
"Sometimes before I wrestle them, they think just because I'm a girl, they're going to win,'' Bloom said, "but I get a lot of respect after I win and they know how good you are.''
She has gotten strong support from her girl friends and other females in the crowd.
"My friends think it's cool,'' Bloom said.
For a boy, wrestling her can be the ultimate nightmare for a 12-year-old - losing to a girl.
Even if she is a national champion now.
"I've seen boys cry,'' Deborah Bloom said.
"Sometimes I feel sorry for them,'' Hannah said. "If they had been a little cocky before the match, it feels really good to beat them, but you still have to feel badly for them.''
The Blooms have seen fathers get mad at their sons for losing to a girl.
Hannah never felt intimidated by the boys. Her parents say they haven't worried about her getting hurt.
"It would be good to see more girls wrestle,'' Bloom said. "Girls mature faster than boys. It shows.''
Bloom has a boyfriend on her team in Michigan. He, too, shows respect for Hannah, the wrestler, even if he's bigger than she is.
"He knows I can beat him, too,'' she said with a smile.
That hasn't stopped some opponents from trying to romance Hannah, the girl.
"One kid asked me for my phone number before, but I told him no,'' Bloom said.
Bloom lives two lives - one on the mat with the boys and one off the mat with the girls, especially her two older sisters. One is in college and the other is a senior in high school.
"Sometimes, when I'm with my older sisters, I feel like I fit in,'' she said. "I want to go shopping, I want to talk on the phone, I want to paint my nails, I want to talk about boys all the time ...''
Hannah had pink toenails for the tournament, but she was "one of the boys.''
"When I'm around my brother and some of the other kids, it's different,'' Bloom said.
Bloom comes from a state that has had a female wrestler advance to the state high school tournament. She idolizes former Iowa coach Dan Gable and proudly wears John Smith wrestling shoes.
"I want to wrestle as long as I can,'' she said.
There will be opportunities ahead for her with women's wrestling being added to the 2004 Olympics.
She has wrestled at some all-girl tournaments.
"It has to be a really big tournament for me to go there,'' she said. "There's really not a lot of girls out there.
"Sometimes it's a little weird wrestling against all girls. It's kind of weird saying this, but it's more comfortable wrestling against guys because I have done it all the time. When I get older, I know I will have to wrestle the girls because the guys will be further ahead.''
But not right now. Her personality is well-suited for the sport.
"She's pretty aggressive,'' Mike said.
Bloom often wins on fundamentals and guile. She is comfortable both on the mat and on her feet.
"When I'm on top or bottom, I feel like I have a lot of leverage because I feel strong,'' she said. "When I'm on my feet, I feel fast because of my agility.''
Her dream is to have women's college wrestling teams. Ironically, Title IX has been blamed for the demise of many college wrestling programs. Oklahoma coach Jack Spates once suggested women's teams could be a solution. Hannah is a big Michigan State fan
"Girls are as competitive as the guys are,'' Mike said.
"A wrestler is a wrestler,'' said Hannah.
Title IX or no Title IX, wrestling has built up Hannah's self-esteem. She also competes in cross country and track and is thinking of going out for another male bastion - football - this fall. She competes in wrestling from October to July.
"I'm not for sure if I'm going to do it (football),'' she said. "I can't throw it real far but I have a lot of fun playing. Sports has given me confidence that I can compete in the world.''
There have been girls national champions before, according to USA Wrestling officials.
She pinned her way to the finals, flattening Matthew Scraficio of Arizona in one minute, Jon Dauterman of Indiana in 52 seconds and Jose Rivera of New York in 1:41.
"A win is a win,'' Bloom said.
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CHRISTINE NORDHAGEN-VIERLING WRESTLING VIDEOS
A three video set on introductory to high level wrestling.
CONTACT INFORMATION - WESTPOINT@CADVISION.COM
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7/12/2002
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
The nation’s best girls high school wrestlers are being honored with the announcement of the Second Annual TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team.
Five athletes made the First Team of TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team for the second straight year. They were Brooke Bogren of Santa Fe Trail High in Kansas, Erica Dye of Wirt County High in West Virginia, Mary Kelly of Mahomet-Seymour High in Illinois, Alicia Mena of Humbolt High in Minnesota and Brandy Rosenbrock of East Detroit High in Michigan.
TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team is selected by a nationwide panel of wrestling experts. It is the only national all-star team for which female high school wrestlers competing on all four grade levels are eligible. Athletes from across the nation were considered for their achievements in high school wrestling, as well as the major post-season freestyle and folkstyle competitions.
TheMat.com is the official web page of the Amateur Wrestling Alliance, and is one of the leading sports web pages on the internet. ASICS is a national sponsor of USA Wrestling and a major supporter of wrestling at all levels. ASICS has sponsored the nationally respected Asics Tiger High School All-American Team for boys wrestlers for 16 years.
“The ASICS Tiger Corporation is proud to be a sponsor of the All-American wrestling team for girls,” said Neil Duncan, Vice President of TW Promotions which represents ASICS. “We see this sport having a huge potential for growth, and look forward to the day when many high schools and colleges across the country offer wrestling programs for the female athlete. These are our future Olympians in women’s wrestling.”
Members of the First Team, as well as TheMat.com/ASICS Wrestler of the Year, will be honored prior to the finals of the ASICS/Vaughan Junior National Championships July 27 at Fargo, N.D. This will be the first time that a women’s division will be held at the ASICS/Vaughan Junior Nationals.
Michigan led the First Team selections with four athletes: Rosenbrock, plus Alaina Berube of Escanaba High, Laura DiCesare of Monroe High and Gina Heinzelmann of Heritage High.
Three states had two First Team selections. California featured Sara Fulp Allen of Half Moon Bay High and Malinda Ripley of Deer Valley High. Minnesota boasted Ali Bernard of New Ulm High and Alicia Mena of Humboldt High. Oregon athletes on the First Team were Samantha Lang of Tualatin High and Shawn Swartzlender of Burns High.
Many of the First Team members are nationally ranked on the Senior level in freestyle wrestling, competing against the best women wrestlers of all ages.
Rosenbrock placed second in the Senior World Team Trials at 130 pounds, and was also fourth at the U.S. Women’s National Championships. Kelly placed third in the Senior World Team Trials at 105.5 pounds. Both are now considered members of USA Wrestling’s Women’s Team USA.
Other wrestlers on the First Team who earned All-American status by placing at the U.S. Senior Nationals this year were Bogren, Fulp-Allen and Ripley.
The First Team featured 11 wrestlers who won national scholastic-style titles this year, by claiming gold medals at the 2002 USGWA National Championships in Michigan. The USGWA National champions on the First Team were Bernard, Berube, Bogren, DiCesare, Fulp Allen, Heinzelmann, Lang, Ripley, Rosenbrock, Swartzlender and Wendy Casey of Binghamton High in New York,
Three First Team members won USA Wrestling age-group national freestyle titles this year. Bogren was a FILA Junior National champion and Lang was a FILA Cadet National champion. Fulp Allen was a champion at both the FILA Cadet and FILA Junior Nationals.
The First Team featured seven seniors, four juniors and three sophomores. In total, eight states were represented on the First Team. All 14 First Team members were recognized at some level on the first TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Team last season.
The Second Team was also star-studded, led by USGWA National Champions Shani Alvarado and Stephany Lee, both of Moanalua High in Hawaii. Four of the Second Team members won USA Wrestling FILA Cadet National titles this year: Heather Martin of Keystone High in Ohio, Amberle Montgomery of Tahoma High in Washington, Deanna Rix of Marshfield High in Maine and Na’Tasha Umemoto of David Douglas High in Oregon.
The Third Team featured one USGWA National champion, Melissa Fukushima of Punahou School in Hawaii, plus five USGWA runners-up. California had four athletes on the Third Team while Michigan and Hawaii featured three Third Team members.
As the National Federation of State High Schools has yet to determine specific weight classes for girls wrestling, the athletes were selected based solely on achievement and ability. The top 14 athletes were named to the First Team, the second 14 athletes were named to the Second Team and the third 14 athletes were selected to the Third Team. Thirty athletes were named as Honorable Mention. An effort was made to make a reasonable spread of weights on each team. If the National Federation sets specific girls weight classes in the future, the selection committee will consider using those weight classes for the selection criteria at that time.
For the TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team, athletes were identified in three weight ranges: Light (100-121 pounds); Middle (122-140 pounds); Upper (141 pounds and above).
In total, 72 wrestlers were selected to TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team. California led all states with 17 selections, followed by Michigan with nine selections, Hawaii with eight selections and Minnesota with seven selections. New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio had four selections each.
A total of 20 states were represented on the All-American Team. The team included 34 seniors, 20 juniors, nine sophomores and nine freshmen.
Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports among youth sports for women. Women’s wrestling has been added to the program of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Ga. There are an estimated 5,000 girls competing on the high school level in the United States today, and the number has grown each year for the last dozen years. A number of colleges have begun to add women’s wrestling on the varsity and club level across the nation.
TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team will be prominently featured on TheMat.com web page, as well as in USA Wrestler, the official publication of USA Wrestling.
2002 TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team
First Team (alphabetically)
Name/year in school, hometown, high school, weight range
Ali Bernard, sophomore, New Ulm, Minn., New Ulm High School, upper*
Alaina Berube, senior, Escanaba, Mich., Escanaba High School, middle*
Brooke Bogren, senior, Carbondale, Kan., Santa Fe Trail High School, light*
Wendy Casey, junior, Binghamton, N.Y., Binghamton High School, middle*
Laura DiCesare, junior, Monroe, Mich., Monroe High School, upper*
Erica Dye, senior, Elizabeth, W.Va., Wirt County High School, light*
Sara Fulp Allen, junior, El Granada, Calif., Half Moon Bay High School, light*
Gina Heinzelmann, senior, Saginaw, Mich., Heritage High School, light*
Mary Kelly, senior, Mahomet, Ill., Mahomet-Seymour High School, light*
Samantha Lang, sophomore, Tualatin, Ore., Tualatin High School, upper*
Alicia Mena, senior, St. Paul, Minn., Humboldt High School, upper*
Malinda Ripley, senior, Antioch, Calif., Deer Valley High School, light*
Brandy Rosenbrock, junior, Warren, Mich, East Detroit High School, middle*
Shawn Swartzlender, sophomore, Burns, Ore., Burns High School, middle*
Second Team
Shani Alvarado, junior, Mililani, Hawaii, Moanalua High School, middle
Jen Chu, junior, Philadelphia, Pa., Germantown Friends School, light*
Keristen LaBelle, senior, Davison, Mich., Lapeer West High School, light*
Stephany Lee, senior, Honolulu, Hawaii, Moanalua High School, upper
Shiela Lerit, senior, Vallejo, Calif., Vallejo High School, light*
Heather Martin, junior, Wellington, Ohio, Keystone High School, upper*
Linse Meadows, senior, Katy, Texas, Katy High School, middle*
Amberle Montgomery, freshman, Maple Valley, Wash., Tahoma High School, light
Emily Rhinehart, senior, Orland, Calif., Orland High School, middle*
Christine Rivera, senior, Berkeley, Calif., Berekely High School, middle*
Deanna Rix, freshman, South Berwick, Maine, Marshfield High School, light
Lizz Sanders, freshman, Newton, Iowa, Newton High School, upper
Anna Tong, senior, Honolulu, Hawaii, Kaiser High School, upper*
Na’Tasha Umemoto, freshman, Portland, Ore., David Douglas High School, light
Third Team
Madison Bangert, freshman, Midland, Mich., H.H. Dow High School, light
Madeleine Briones, junior, San Leandro, Calif., San Leandro High School, middle
Samantha Collett, junior, Millersburg, Ohio, West Holmes High School, middle*
Yesenia De LaMora, junior, Spring Valley, Calif., Granite Hills High School, light
Laura Felix, senior, Calibassas, Calif., Calabasas High School, light*
Melissa Fukushima, senior, Honolulu, Hawaii, Punahou School, light
Megan Goldsmith, senior, Merillan,Wis., Black River Falls High School, upper
Rachael Holthaus, freshman, Little Falls, Minn., Little Falls High School, light
Kathryn Jones, senior, Modesto, Calif., Grace Davis High School, upper*
Hillary Lucarelli, junior, Ishpeming, Mich., Westwood High School, middle
Rocky Magdeleno, senior, Little Lake, Mich., Gwinn High School, middle*
Jennifer Miyahara, senior, Honolulu, Hawaii, Mid-Pacific Institute, middle
Dawn Schneiderwent, junior, Oconomowoc, Wis., Oconomowoc High School, middle
Caylene Valdez, junior, Honolulu, Hawaii, Moanalua High School, light
Note: Lightweights (100-121 lbs.); Middleweights (122-140); Upperweights (141 and above)
* - Member of 2001 TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Team
Honorable mention
Amanda Barley, sophomore, Sunbury, Pa., Shikellamy High School, middle
Kari Bible, senior, Minneapolis, Minn., Roosevelt High School, middle
Siobhan Bower, senior, Sinclairville, N.Y., Cassadega Valley Central HS, middle*
Kelly Branham, senior, Apache Junction, Ariz., Apache Junction High School, upper*
Teresa Dal Ben, senior, Sacramento, Calif., Laguna Creek - Elk Grove HS, middle*
Erin Faber, senior, Fridley, Minn., Fridley High School, upper
Yvonne Fernandez, senior, El Paso, Texas, Hanks High School, light
Rachel Groft, sophomore, Abbotsford, Pa., New Oxford High School, light*
Amantha Hordagoda, senior, Sunnyvale, Calif. , Fremont High School, light
Nickia Jensen, sophomore, Eden Prairie, Minn., Eden Prairie High School, upper
Bethany Jezierski, junior, Port Huron, Mich., Port Huron High School, middle
Casey Johnson, junior, Spencer, Iowa, Spencer High School, upper
Michael Kaufmann, sophomore, Flinton, Pa., Glendale High School, upper
Lenci Landaker, senior, Vallejo, Calif., Vallejo High School, light
Iris Mucha, junior, Anchorage, Alaska, West Anchorage High School, middle
Emilee Murphree, senior, Napa, Calif., Vintage High School, upper
Jessica Myrice, sophomore, Toledo, Ohio, Sylvania Southview High School, light
Melissa Orden, senior, Ewa Beach, Hawaii, McKinely High School, light
Vanessa Oswalt, freshman, Mount Vernon, Ohio, Mt. Vernon High School, middle
Lindsey Owens, senior, Ripon, Calif., Ripon High School, middle
Jessica Pierce, freshman, Parish, N.Y., Altmar-Parish-Williamstown HS, light
Jill Pierce, junior, Parish, N.Y., Altmar-Parish-Williamstown HS, upper
Chelynne Pringle, freshman, Hugo, Minn., Forest Lake High School, middle
Christie Rafanan, senior, Yountville, Calif., Napa Vintage High School, light
Tabithia Ramsey, senior, Elgin, Texas, Austin Lanier High School, light
Debbie Sakai, junior, Mililani, Hawaii, Mililani High School, light
Misty Stalley, junior, San Mateo, Calif., Aragon High School, heavy
Kristie Sweat, senior, Cookeville, Tenn., Cookeville High School, middle*
Amy Volz, sophomore, Los Alamos, N.M., Los Alamos High School, upper
Maika Watanabe, junior, Napa, Calif., Vintage High School, light
Note: Lightweights (100-121 lbs.); Middleweights (122-140); Upperweights (141 and above)
* - Member of 2001 TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Team