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In wrestling, traditionally a male sport, women are beginning to make their mark.

White Lake Beacon 12/02/02

Heidi Haughn, a sophomore at Whitehall High School, is making her mark locally and nationally in the sport.
This Thursday she and her male Whitehall teammates will begin the wrestling season at Mona Shores High School, and her father, Larry Haughn, will be her coach.
Last year Haughn, a freshman, finished third in the West Michigan Conference at 103 pounds.
And, this summer (July 26-27) she gained national attention by finishing eighth in the 110 pound weight class at the first Asics-Vaughan Junior Nationals tournament for girls held at the FargoDome in Fargo, North Dakota. The tournament was held on the campus of North Dakota State University.
Haughn was a member of the 10-girl Team Michigan which competed at the event. Among that team, there were two national champions, Gina Heinzelman at 101 pounds and Brandy Rosenbrock at 138 pounds, and eight All-Americans, including Haughn.
In unofficial team results compiled from the Women's Junior Nationals, Michigan finished third behind California and Minnesota.
Before the competition, Haughn participated in a wrestling camp at the site.
"The camp made everything worth it," Haughn said. "I did everything the guys did.
"It was a huge eye opener for me," she added. "It made me realize what my goals are."
Her main goal is to place at the boys MHSAA state championships.
"Finally I know what I have to do to get there."
She wasn't far from it last year. The two wrestlers above her at 103 pounds in the West Michigan Conference were state qualifiers.
Haughn said she came away from the camp with improved physical and mental endurance.
During the camp she worked out with boys who were participating in the boys' Junior and Cadet National Championships. In all, 4,387 wrestlers participated.
The national championships had Olympic-like pageantry. The wrestlers marched into the arena by state. There were 24 mats on the floor, and three referees per mat.
What was odd, she said, was being around so many girls with her same passion for wrestling.
Haughn opened the tournament by winning by a technical fall (10-0) over Rachel Monroe of Indiana. She took another technical fall (11-0) over Jessica Jauck of California before losing by a fall to Mary Kelly of Illinois who finished second in the nation at the 110 pound weight class.
Haughn was eliminated from the tournament by a fall to Claire DuPont of Colorado. Haughn was ahead on points, 5-4, going into the second period before losing by a fall.<

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Warrior wrestlers prepare to reap success this year

By: Don Ratzlaff December 04, 2002

Marion will have a combination of six state qualifiers and seniors on their squad this winter. Pictured from left are Thad Looper, Steven Boone, Chelsea Arnhold, Chris Freeby and Zac Ewert. Not pictured is letter-winner Evan Sharp.

MHS Wrestling
With at least four out of a program record six state qualifiers returning this season, Marion wrestling coach Chad Adkins is pleased with the way his fledgling program is developing.
"It's slowly building," Adkins said. "We're now getting to the point where we're going to be seeing a lot of success."

Those expectations for success start with junior Steven Boone, a state qualifier each of his first three seasons and the team's pace setter.

"I'm excited about Steven Boone," Adkins said. "He's only a junior, and at 171-the same weight class as last year-he has the possibility of placing for sure at state.

"He lost a couple of matches at the state tournament last year that he very easily could have won," Adkins said.

"This ought to be his break-out year. If he works like he should, the sky's the limit with him. He's got all the technique, all the power.

"He staying at the same weight class, and a lot of the guys he wrestled with are going to be moving up. He should be one of the strongest kids in the state at 171. He's going to have to work at it, but he's got all the opportunity in the world."

Adkins said he thinks each his returning qualifiers has a chance to grab a medal at state, but Boone and Thad Looper may have the best opportunity.

"It kind of depends on how he goes through the season," Adkins said. "He's got the ability. He went to a camp this summer and learned some new techniques."

At the lightest end of the scale is Chelsea Arnhold, who wrestled in the 103-pound class and became only the third girl ever to qualify for the state tournament a year ago.

"She's stronger this year and learned a few more techniques at camp this summer," Adkins said. "She'll be a contender. It's all going to be in how she approaches things. She's got the positive attitude, though."

The Warriors' fourth qualifier is Chris Freeby, who may be a class or two heavier this season.

"He's heavier this year, so he'll have some new challenges," Adkins said.

Evan Sharp, a fifth qualifier, is injured and may not be back this season.

Heading the list of other returning letter-winners is Zac Ewert, a senior who just missed qualifying for state.

"He should have qualified last season, but he's got a good chance of making it again this season," Adkins said.

Though Adkins said he likes the athletes he has coming back this season, he feels the future looks bright, too.

"I'm really excited about a couple of freshmen," he said. " Casey Nelson was really successful in middle school and is looking good so far. Dale Coe and Gavin Moore-they're all freshmen, so we've got a lot of good years with them."

Adkins also welcomed the return of Tyson Heidebrecht, who wrestled in middle school but played basketball last year as a freshman.

"He's back wrestling now, so that's a plus," Adkins said. "He's a good, quality kid.

"They're just a good group of kids. They've all got a positive attitude. They all want to be champions, and I don't see why we shouldn't be."

Even with 19 athletes out, Adkins said his team will probably have to leave a couple of weight classes open. Still, the spread of his wrestlers is "much better than in the past."

He feels the kids club and middle-school programs are paying off.

"The more experience they get when they're young, the less we have to teach them from step one (when they reach high school)," he said.

"That's the biggest difference. For the first time, we can come in wrestling from the start. We don't have to begin at the very bottom (with the basics). That's a plus for everybody because you don't have to slow practice down."

The Warriors' schedule is about the same as last season's, except for the addition of a dual with Flinthills on Jan. 28 and a tournament at Chase County the weekend before regionals.

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Panel to Recommend Changes to Title IX

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM
Associated Press Writer

PHILADELPHIA (AP)--Universities could find it easier to comply with Title IX under proposals that a federal commission began considering Wednesday.

Title IX, the law that requires gender equity in collegiate athletics, has greatly increased opportunities for women in sports over the past 30 years. But critics say the law discriminates against men, and schools complain that the government doesn't enforce the law evenly and has failed to provide enough guidance on how to comply.

Meeting in Philadelphia, the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics on Wednesday began formulating recommendations for making the law clearer and more flexible. The panel will vote on the recommendations in January and submit them to Education Secretary Rod Paige, who has final say over whether any are implemented.

Several proposals discussed Wednesday would overhaul a three-pronged test used by the federal Office of Civil Rights to determine if a school is complying with Title IX. Schools meeting any of the three tests are presumed to be in compliance.

The first and most controversial prong measures whether the percentage of women participating in sports is roughly equal to the proportion of female students in the school. A lawsuit filed by the National Wrestling Coaches Association seeks to ban the proportionality standard, saying it has forced universities to cut men's programs to achieve parity.

None of the panelists suggested doing away with the prong altogether, but many favored allowing schools to deviate significantly from strict proportionality.

Deborah Yow, the athletic director at Maryland, proposed that as a starting point, 50 percent of a given school's athletes should be female and 50 percent male. But schools would also be permitted to deviate from the benchmark by several percentage points.

That would give schools ``wiggle room'' to account for walk-ons, transfers and athletes who become academically ineligible, while ``vastly improving the current status for women in sports,'' she said.

But panelist Julie Foudy, captain of the U.S. national soccer team, said the proposal would weaken Title IX by rendering the proportionality standard essentially meaningless. Universities would automatically ``go to the point of least resistance,'' she said.

Title IX is ``not about making significant improvements, it's about equality,'' she said. ``We're not there.''

Other proposals would eliminate or reduce paperwork requirements; clarify Title IX regulations; create a standardized survey for schools to measure female interest in sports; and encourage universities to stop the ``arms race'' in which schools spend ever-increasing amounts of money on training facilities, coaches' salaries, chartered planes and other measures designed to recruit the best athletes.

The 1972 law requires schools receiving federal money to provide equal athletic opportunities for men and women. Since it took effect, the number of girls playing varsity high school sports has risen sharply, as have budgets for women's collegiate athletic programs.

The 15-member commission was formed by Paige in response to the wrestling coaches' lawsuit, which is pending in U.S. District Court in Washington.

Paige told the commission Wednesday that its work is ``going to influence policy, going to impact the lives of Americans for years.''

The panel of sports professionals and educators took testimony at meetings around the country before convening in Philadelphia to hash out its findings and make recommendations.

``This is a difficult issue. ... We just want to make a good thing better,'' Paige said.

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Title IX Commission to Recommend Actions

MICHAEL RUBINKAM
Associated Press 12/03/02

PHILADELPHIA - A federal commission studying Title IX, the law that requires gender equity in high school and university sports, is wrapping up its work and plans to issue recommendations Wednesday.

The Commission on Opportunity in Athletics is trying to determine whether the 1972 law discriminates against men while expanding athletic opportunities for women. A lawsuit pending in federal court makes that argument.

Universities also have complained that the Department of Education doesn't provide enough guidance on how to comply with Title IX and enforces the law haphazardly.

The commission's recommendations are eagerly anticipated by Title IX's critics, as well as by boosters of women's athletics, who fear the Bush administration wants to weaken the law.

Title IX requires schools that receive federal money to provide equal athletic opportunities for men and women. Since it took effect, the number of girls playing varsity high school sports has risen sharply, as have budgets for women's collegiate athletic programs.

The 15-member commission was formed in June in response to a lawsuit alleging Title IX helps women's sports at the expense of programs for men. The lawsuit, filed by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, is pending in U.S. District Court in Washington.

The dispute centers largely on a three-pronged test used by the federal Office of Civil Rights to determine if a school is complying with Title IX. Schools meeting any of the three are presumed to be in compliance.

The first prong measures whether the percentage of women participating in sports is roughly equal to the school's female population. The coaches' association favors abolishing the test, saying it has forced universities to cut men's programs to achieve parity.

"We don't see enrollment as a fair measure of interest," said Michael Moyer, executive director of the coaches association.

But law professor Nancy Hogshead-Makar, an Olympic gold medalist in swimming, said the problem isn't with Title IX, but with athletic directors who don't make the effort to expand opportunities for women while retaining them for men.

A school that doesn't achieve proportionality has two other options for proving it complies with Title IX: Either it has a history of expanding athletic opportunities for women; or it has accommodated female athletes' interests and abilities.

But commission co-chair Ted Leland, Stanford's athletic director, noted that strict proportionality is a school's only absolute defense against charges that it discriminates against women.

"On a day-to-day basis, schools don't believe there's flexibility," he said. "The three-pronged test is elegant, but it's not operational. It doesn't work."

The commission took testimony at meetings around the country. On Tuesday, it began a two-day meeting in Philadelphia to hash out its findings and make recommendations.

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Wrestling can teach youth many skills

By Lisa Wilson 12/03/02

My seven-year-old son has expressed some interest in wrestling. I usually let my kids join any sports programs that they want, but I didn't have a clue about wrestling and what it entails. So, I did some research and had all my questions answered at www. usawrestling.org.

How does wrestling compare with team sports such as soccer, baseball and basketball?

Wrestling is considered an individual sport, but includes many of the benefits of team sports. Wrestling differs from most team sports in that during competition, athletes must rely entirely on their own individual abilities for success.

Similarities exist in that teammates still depend on each other in team competition. Other team sports may be better for developing interactive player-to-player skills such as passing and blocking, but wrestling can offer benefits that other team sports lack. The individual nature of the sport provides an outstanding opportunity for young athletes to develop a sense of responsibility and self-esteem, while learning the relationship between effort and achievement.

Does wrestling teach or promote aggressive or violent behavior?

Aggressiveness, yes. Violence, no. Wrestling is often referred to as the toughest sport, and in many ways it is, but it is certainly not violent, nor does it lead to unruly or destructive behavior.

One of the factors that makes wrestling so different from most other sports is that wrestling involves head-to-head competition. Each wrestler's efforts work in direct opposite from each other as in a tug-of-war contest. Success in wrestling requires the ability to attack, as well as the ability to stop your opponent's attack. The same factors apply with boxing and martial arts, but an attack in wrestling is nonviolent. Wrestling does not permit opponents to strike one another, and imposes strict penalties or disqualification for violent behavior. In essence, wrestling is unique in the fact that it can be very aggressive without being violent. The objective is not to destroy or harm one's opponent, but to out-maneuver them and to gain control.

Would my child be required or expected to gain or lose weight?

No. There is no weight cutting in youth wrestling programs.

At what age should kids get involved?

Some parents feel that wrestling is too intense for young kids, and that it is better suited for post-pubescent teenage years. Denying a child the opportunity to participate in wrestling until high school greatly reduces his or her chance of success. Wrestling is a sport involving very complex technique that can take many years to master. A great high school athlete with little or no wrestling experience has little or no chance against an eight- or 10-year veteran. Some kids can close this gap by their last year of high school, but like most sports these days, starting younger seems to be the norm.

There are two entry points prior to high school - kids clubs and middle school wrestling. Both are very accommodating for new wrestlers. Age and maturity level is not a factor by the time kids are in middle school, but at the club level, kids can enter wrestling as young as four or five years of age.

Is wrestling a dangerous sport?

Wrestling is a contact sport and injuries can occur. Wrestling has more injuries than tennis and swimming, but most wrestling injuries are minor, consisting of sprains and strains. Wrestling has fewer serious injuries than football, basketball or ice hockey.

So, the next time my son asks me to sign him up for wrestling, I'm sure I will.

Lisa Wilson is a freelance writer. Her email address is kitty02@grapemail.net.
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