News Page
Wrestling team lacks experience
Lone girl can't practice; defending champs need boys to grow up fast
11/15/2002
By SCOTT McDONALD / The Dallas Morning News
Pedaling on a stationary bike, Jennifer Miller watched the Martin
wrestling team practice. She would have joined the team on the mats, but school
rules prevent her from wrestling a boy. There weren't any other girls for her
to wrestle.
But there were plenty of guys. Thirty-six to be exact, and not many
with the varsity experience coach Tony Warren would like. The Warriors (1-0),
district champions for the last four years, will start as many as four
freshmen, six sophomores and only one senior on their 15-man roster.
This happens when a total of 15 starters graduate in the last two
years.
"We had eight graduate from our state [runner-up] championship team [in
2001] and seven from last year's team that finished third in state,"
Warren said. "I guess this would be our rebuilding year."
WRESTLING SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time
Nov. 12 Jesuit 7:00
Nov. 16 at St. Mark's tourn. 8 a.m.
Nov. 19 Fossil Ridge 7:00
Nov. 22-23 Southern Assault% 5:00
Nov. 26 at Weatherford 7:00
Nov. 29 at Oklahoma Open# 8:00
Dec. 5 South Grand Prairie 7:00
Dec. 10 Bishop Lynch/Keller 7:00
Dec. 14 Iron Man Invitational* 9:00
Dec. 20 Coppell Quad Dual 3:00
Jan. 3-4 Hilton Lone Star Duals^ 8:00
Jan. 9 Arlington 7:00
Jan. 10-11 at Lamar Invitational 6:00
Jan. 16 Sam Houston 7:00
Jan. 18 at The Colony 9 a.m.
Jan. 23 Lamar 7:00
Jan. 25 at Houston Westlake Tourn. TBD
Feb. 1 District Finals& 10 a.m.
Feb. 7-8 Regional Finals^ 10 a.m.
Feb. 21-22 State Finals@ 10 a.m.
% Martin High School
# Norman, Okla.
* Grapevine
^ South Grand Prairie
& Lamar
@ Austin Convention Center
Back are sophomore Matt Sansone and junior Chris Shinn. Both are
co-captains
for this year's team, which has the theme of "Whatever it Takes."
Senior Justin Bradley, junior Parker Ryan and sophomore Tim O'Brien
also are
expected to help the Warriors in their quest for another district
title.
Miller, who finished runner-up last year at state as a sophomore,
practices
with a club team in Fort Worth. She can wrestle either boys or girls
there.
Martin had other girls on its roster, but injuries have kept them from
participating lately.
Martin defeated Jesuit, 64-17, at home on Tuesday night in the season
opener. The Warriors won 12 of 15 varsity matches and 14 of 17 junior
varsity matches. Martin visits St. Mark's this weekend for an
eight-team
dual tournament. The top team from each pool advances to the
championship.
------------------------------------------------------------
Praise isn't fake for wrestling museum
11/17/2002
By MARY ELLEN BOTTER / The Dallas Morning News
STILLWATER, Okla. – The National Wrestling Hall of Fame ... No, wait.
Not that wrestling. Not the theatrical one. This museum is about amateur
wrestling, the sport built on strength and leverage, discipline and
determination.
The 18,000-square-foot facility wedged onto a corner of the Oklahoma
State University campus is a surprise for non-fans and a shrine for
enthusiasts of mankind's oldest sport. (Wrestling holds are depicted in European cave
art dated at 15,000 to 20,000 years old.)
Dedicated in 1976, the museum captures U.S. wrestling's history,
winners and heroes and has just been chosen by FILA, wrestling's international
governing body, to house the world hall of fame.
"Wrestling's a small sport," says Myron Roderick, hall of fame
president and a charter inductee. And the hall's location in the shadow of OSU's
football stadium and basketball field house is a reminder that other high school
and collegiate sports collect the lion's share of financial and public
support.
But exhibits prove that underdog status is no barrier to pride and
achievement.
Of most interest to devoted fans will be the 18 walls of champions
listing more than 5,000 winners of national and international tournaments.
Olympic gold medalists are remembered in a room bright with banners. And the
library, which includes one volume dated 1674, offers a broad look at
the sport.
Uninitiated visitors can follow the sport's history and modern
competitions in displays hemming the room where the honor walls stand. Artifacts,
many donated by champions or their families, include medals, letter sweaters
and form-fitting uniforms that prove you don't have to be a hulk to
wrestle.
Engraved plaques of Oklahoma granite and exhibits of personal items
showcase Hall of Famers' impressive achievements. Next door in the Hall of
Honors, however, is an exhibit populated with surprises.
The Hall of Outstanding Americans reveals the sports past of people
you'd never guess spent time grappling and grunting in wrestling contests.
But there they are:
• George Washington, who at age 47 defeated seven men from the
Massachusetts Volunteers in consecutive matches.
• Abraham Lincoln, another among our nine wrestling presidents, who
lost only one match.
• Actors Tom Cruise, Michael J. Fox, Kirk Douglas, William and Alex
Baldwin, and Tony Danza. Plus comics Jay Leno and Robin Williams.
• Maj. Gen. Kenneth C. Leuer, who developed the modern U.S. Army Ranger
program.
• Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, military leader in the Persian Gulf War.
• Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
• Astronaut Michael Collins.
• Speakers of the House Dennis Hastert and Carl Albert.
Touch-screen computer terminals link to details on these and more
honorees.
Honored in a nearby area that hails courage are disabled wrestlers and
three wrestling-linked heroes of Sept. 11.
No women are yet honored in the galleries, but Mr. Roderick says the
ranks of female wrestlers are growing fast, and it won't be long, despite the
rule that a wrestler must be retired five years from competition to be
eligible for the hall. His prediction: The first woman inductee will be
four-time world champion Tricia McNaughton Saunders.
The museum's location is fitting: OSU has won more wrestling titles
than any other U.S. college. But a Lone Star challenge may be in the offing.
"Texas is the next big state in wrestling," says Mr. Roderick a former
championship wrestler and coach. "It fits the mentality of Texans. It's
a tough sport, rugged. They like that."
The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, 405 W. Hall of Fame
Ave., is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. and evenings and
weekends by appointment. Allow two or more hours. Admission is free; donations
are welcome. Contact: 405-377-5243; www.wrestlinghalloffame.co m.
Stillwater is about 41/2 hours north of Dallas via Interstate 35.
Artifacts, many donated by champions or their families, include medals,
letter sweaters and form-fitting uniforms that prove you don't have to
be a hulk to wrestle.