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A Look Back

By Johnny McMahan 12/26/02

Sports Editor Woodward news

It takes a pretty big event to attain equal billing or
even top a Boomer state championship in
basketball.
Something along the lines of a world
championship.
Like the one Buffalo’s Buster Record won in
November.
In the highlight moment of his steer roping career,
Record stepped up at the National Finals Steer
Roping in Amarillo and won his first world
championship. In fact it was the first world title for
anyone other than roping legend Guy Allen since
1991.
Record took a narrow lead over Allen into the finals
and pulled away from everyone by picking up nice
round money and placing third in the average.
Record finished with $56,572 in winnings this year,
and his accomplishments included the steer
roping average victory at the Woodward Elks
Rodeo.
“There are really no words to describe it,” Record
said. “You dream about winning the world when
you are young. It’s pretty special.”
Record’s performance is joined at the top of the
charts by the Woodward Boomer girls basketball
team.
The Boomers won their third state championship
in four years with a 39-36 win over Ardmore at
Oklahoma State University’s Gallagher-Iba Arena
in March.
In reality, the really memorable effort may have
come in the semifinals with a 42-21 victory over
then top-ranked Claremore at OU’s Lloyd Noble
Arena. That win reversed an early season loss and
left the Lady Zebras wondering what had hit them.
The next day was the finals and the Boomers
celebrated an epic four years with a gold medal
performance, rallying from a halftime deficit to
claim a gold basketball.
Four graduating seniors left a legacy that included
a 103-5 record, three state championships and a
runner-up finish in four years. Two of them,
Melissa Hobbs and Lindsey Van Dorn, were
named All-State and are playing in the Division I
basketball ranks now. Hobbs was also named the
Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year.
And, by the way, the Boomers close out 2002 with
another solid season going, at 5-2.
There were other state champions at Woodward
High School in 2002, specifically in the spring
sports.
Jon Hart became the first Boomer golfer to win a
state medalist title with a score of 218 over 54
holes in Ardmore in the Class 5A state
tournament.
Sophomore Malerie Merry won the state
championship in the shot put with a throw of 37-1
1/4.
In wrestling, Matt Johnson medaled in the 2002
state tournament, the first Woodward freshman to
accomplish that feat.
The Boomers also had representatives at state
tournaments in tennis, girls golf and soccer during
the spring and in the state high school rodeo
where Kelly Day, Kelsey Powders and Randy
Hughes all competed. Day, in fact, took part in the
National High School Finals in June.
All-State is one of the top honors in high school
athletics and the Boomers had their fare share.
Caleb Barrick and Kelsey Kline took part in the
All-State soccer games and Van Dorn and Hobbs
in the girls basketball games in the early summer.
During All-State week at Tulsa in August,
Woodward High School was represented
everywhere.
Julie Bell competed in girls golf and Hart did the
same on the boys side. Hart was also named the
Jim Thorpe winner in golf.
Tom Haynes was the All-State football coach and
Justin Danner played in the game, as well as the
Oil Bowl earlier in the summer. Kim Kramer
coached the All-State girls game, the first time a
girls game was held as part of All-State week, and
Hobbs and Van Dorn played. Hobbs was the Jim
Thorpe winner in that sport.
Of course, not all the sports highlights were
centered on Woodward.
In basketball, the Laverne Tigers made a big run at
a state championship before losing to Ripley in the
Class A finals at the State Fair Arena. Just to get a
shot at the title, the Tigers knocked off Cimarron
and Frontier in previous rounds.
Fargo’s boys fell one game short of qualifying for
state with a team that had just one senior.
And the first part of the new season - Laverne and
Fargo are both currently undefeated.
The Beaver Lady Dusters also made a strong run
before losing to Hydro-Eakly in the Class A girls
title game.
Leedey’s girls were in the state tournament as
well, losing a wild double overtime game to
Chattanooga in the quarterfinals.
The Lady Bison came back in the spring to win a
state slow-pitch softball championship for the
second year in a row. Fargo was a participant in
the state tournament as well, making its first ever
trip to state in softball.
In the fall fast-pitch season, Leedey reached the
Class A semifinals.
In the spring baseball tournament, Leedey made it
to the finals before losing to Dover. Vici was a
semifinal team and Taloga a quarterfinalist.
The Bison made a return trip to the finals in the fall
and this time lost to Lookeba-Sickles. Taloga was
a quarterfinal team.
Mooreland’s girls had a big year in golf and
finished third in the Class A state tournament.
In football this fall, the Shattuck Indians returned to
prominence with an 11-game winning streak and
appearance in the Class C semifinals before
losing to eventual champion Pond Creek-Hunter.
Waynoka was also in the Class C semifinals and
fell to Forgan.
Mooreland won its fourth consecutive district
championship in Class A and advanced to the
second round of the playoffs, falling to eventual
semifinalist Crooked Oak.
Need more highlights?
Woodward senior Michelle Thorn was selected
Miss Teen Rodeo in Oklahoma and will represent
the state at various events throughout the year.
Woodward middle school wrestler Joey Miller
continued her success with a championship in the
girls national tournament, plus various state
tournament titles. Miller is in her first year with the
Boomer Middle School team and is unbeaten (15-0)
going into the 2003 portion of the schedule.
Mike Ratigan of Woodward collected some
national honors in the little known field of bench
rest shooting.
In 2002 you could look through every area of the
sporting world and find a highlight or two or a
dozen, including some that slipped through this
fast-aced wrapup.
Can 2003 top that?
Let’s find out, but first, Merry Christmas and Happy
New Year.

Johnny McMahan is sports editor of the Woodward
News.

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Top-10 Story No. 7: Lerit, Landaker repeat mat success

By Ken Hart, Times-Herald sports editor 12/26/02

There has been plenty of life in Vallejo High School's wrestling program since Mark Munoz won two state titles in the 1990s.

The year of 2002 was no exception. The Apaches had a stellar season under coach Mike Minahen, sending several wrestlers far into the postseason.

And leading the way for Vallejo's program were two young women who barely topped the 100-pound mark -- actually, one was just at 100.

Shiela Lerit and Lenci Landaker each repeated as girls state wrestling champions for the Apaches. They each finished their senior seasons by winning California Girls State Championship titles Feb. 3 at Bottari Gym.

"It feels nice to win," Landaker said after she pinned Bethel's Maribeth Grim to win the 100-pound class. "It's wonderful to be able to do it in my hometown, with my friends, family and wrestling team supporting us."

Lerit won the 110-pound class by pinning Sierra Vista's Ivy Lopez.

But she recently said she was even prouder of her accomplishments in the national tournament. Both she and Landaker went on to place fourth in the United States Girls Wrestling Association's national championship March 23 in Lake Orion, Mich. They also became three-time All-Americans.

The 110-pound class was arguably the toughest in the event.

"Minahen said if I would have went in a higher weight class, I would have won," Lerit recalled.

Both wrestlers have since graduated and gone their separate ways. While Lerit has enrolled at Solano Community College, Landaker is attending Mesa College in San Diego.

But the two have remained the best of friends and try to call each other every day. And what do they often talk about? Wrestling, of course.

"It's something that I truly, truly miss," Lerit said.

Lerit misses it so much that she often makes trips back to her alma mater to assist Minahen in coaching Vallejo's present stable of around 10 girls.

Landaker recently said she didn't know how much she missed wrestling until she stopped competing. She said the time she used to spend wrestling has now turned into time uses to think about the past.

"Sometimes, the majority of free time I have, it's making me think too much (about wrestling)," Landaker said in a telephone interview from San Diego.

Their new free time, however, is something that both deeply value. Though neither has ruled out a post-high school career, neither currently has plans on returning to the mat any time soon.

Lerit is just fine with coaching and reminiscing, for now.

"Anybody can do what I did as long as they work hard," she said.

Wrestling was not the only sport that Lerit excelled in during the year. She later teamed with Judy Nguyen to win the Monticello Empire League badminton doubles title March 14 in Fairfield. Lerit's success in wrestling and badminton garnered her the Times-Herald Female Athlete of the Year award for the second straight year.

Two of Vallejo's male wrestlers also made waves. Bobby Gonzalez finished fourth in the 130-pound class at the boys state meet March 2 in Stockton. Louie Puno finished fifth in the 103-pound class, arguably the toughest class for the boys.

Gonzalez and Puno made history by marking the first time that Vallejo had two wrestlers on the medals stand for the state meet.

Puno, who had won the Sac-Joaquin Section title, later took fifth at the 13th Annual National High School Senior Wrestling Championships in Cleveland.

Puno has since graduated while Gonzalez has began his senior season at Vallejo. Once again, he is ranked as one of the top wrestlers in the state.

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TheMatside View by Gary Abbott: All I want for Christmas is...

12/24/2002
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling

So, how did that old kids Christmas song go? “All I want for Christmas is... my two front teeth.” Something like that?

In the spirit of the holiday season, I would like to publish my wish list for wrestling. Actually, since we are are also celebrating the upcoming New Year, Santa is allowed to provide these gifts any time during the 2003 year. Let’s make this a wish list for wrestling during the year ahead.

All I want for 2003 is...

* ...a sold-out World Championships in New York - Picture this. September 14, 2003, every seat in New York’s Madison Square Garden sold out, with thousands watching the best freestyle wrestlers in the world battling for medals. Can we dream this big? Why not?

* ...Title IX reform - Since June 2002, there has been a heated public battle over the future of Title IX enforcement. Sometime in 2003, the Title IX Commission will complete its work. Sometime after that, the Department of Education might do something about it. Here’s hope that those involved have the courage to do the right thing, and eliminate or correct the quota system.

* ...a close NCAA Championships finals - Why can’t we have one of those nailbiter NCAA Div. I Championships, where we go into the gold-medal matches without knowing which team has won? How about going into the finals matches with two, or three, or even four teams still in the hunt?

* ...World Champions in all three styles - With the cutback in weight classes, there are now only 21 gold medals up for grabs in international wrestling each year. In 2003, wouldn’t it be great if we can have at least one World Champion in all of the styles - men’s freestyle, women’s freestyle, men’s Greco-Roman? Would it be OK to be greedy and try to get a few in each style?

* ...another Sullivan Award winner - Three times since 1990, wrestlers have won the top award in amateur sports, the Sullivan Award. Could 2003 be the time another wrestler comes out on top? Perhaps that Cael kid, the one who had a perfect college career, might join John Smith, Bruce Baumgartner and Rulon Gardner by holding that neat looking trophy in his hands.

* ...successful pay-per-view of the World Championships - Right now, USA Wrestling is trying to determine if there is enough interest to sell the World Championships on pay-per-view to those unable to get to New York for the event. All we need is 3,000 people to sign up and let us send wrestling into their homes. All we need is a chance to prove that there are enough wrestling people to make this a winning venture. Sound good to you? Spread the word...

* ...NCAA emerging sports status for women’s wrestling - It will take 20 club or varsity women’s wrestling teams within the NCAA to qualify for emerging sports status for women’s wrestling. This might be a bit wishful for 2003. Perhaps the wish should be for more of America’s colleges (and college wrestling coaches) to consider adding women’s wrestling, and at least listen to the reasons why it makes good sense.

* ...a growing and popular e-newsletter - In December 2002, USA Wrestling teamed with the USOC to produce its first e-newsletter (a wrestling publication sent via the e-mail system). The USOC was very pleased with the response to the first issue. In 2003, by building the list of subscribers and improving the product, the USA Wrestling e-newsletter could become a powerful tool for wrestling promotion.

* ...the addition of new college wrestling teams - In 2002, Utah Valley State decided to add a college wrestling team. Why not wish for more colleges to see the wisdom of this choice? Maybe, the wrestling community on the local and national level can find another success this coming year, by convincing a new college administration to make room for wrestling on their campus. Certainly, it’s worth the effort.

* ...another official state girls high school tournament - For the past few years, Texas and Hawaii have been the only states with an official high school girls state wrestling tournament. Well, this is great, but it is long overdue to add another state to this list. How about California? or Michigan? or Minnesota? What’s so hard to understand about the value of wrestling for everyone, including our high school girls?

* ...a great time in Boise at the World Cup - A new city will be hosting the Freestyle World Cup in April, Boise, Idaho. I’ve heard that wrestling is a big deal around there. How about a big crowd and some tremendous action at this annual dual-meet extravaganza? A U.S. team victory would also be nice, as would be a number of individual gold medalists.

* ...another USA Wrestling membership record - Coming off 2001-2002, the most successful membership season ever for USA Wrestling, why not move the records a little farther? With new and expanded programs for our members, as well as a hard-working team of dedicated state leaders, there’s no reason that USA Wrestling can’t break records every year, right?

* ...a success in Indianapolis at the World Team Trials. With a strong USA Wrestling state organization and a very active wrestling community within driving distance, this year’s World Team Trials in Indianapolis could set a new level for this exciting (but under-developed) wrestling event. With the Olympic Trials also in Indy in 2004, why not see the same kind of tremendous action there a year in advance?

* ...a step forward for TheMat.com - Already one of the most active and successful sports web pages in the nation, TheMat.com has established a foothold in the wrestling community. However, as the page continues to mature, and more of wrestling’s needs are met on the page, wouldn’t it be nice if TheMat.com truly became “the ultimate source for real wrestling?”

* ...better weight management for all - Although wrestling has taken great strides in cleaning up weight cutting in the sport, it would be insincere to say that this problem has been completely solved. With another year of education, as well as a stronger commitment from everybody in the sport, wouldn’t it be great if we actually changed the culture of the sport for good?

* ...Vegas fun for everyone. With the U.S. Nationals back in Las Vegas, and in a much better hall in the Las Vegas Convention Center, why not wish for the most successful U.S. Nationals, Veterans Nationals and Western Junior Regionals event of all time?

* ... a wrestler on the cover of Sports Illustrated. In my years working in communications at USA Wrestling, pretty much all of my goals for our sport have been reached, or at least advanced forward. However, it seems wrong that the last and only wrestler on the cover of Sports Illustrated was Dan Hodge. That was back in the 1950’s, my gosh. If somehow, somebody within wrestling was able to make such a powerful impact on the national sports scene to merit this magazine cover, maybe 2003 will be the year. Please, please Sports Illustrated, give us a chance just one more time...

We all have our dreams, don’t we? Well, these are some of mine. Happy holidays!!!

(Anybody who wants to share their wish list for wrestling for the year ahead is encouraged to send them to me at gabbott@usawrestling.org. If I get enough of these, and they are interesting enough, perhaps we can do another column with your list of wrestling wishes)

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Montwood junior making name for herself on the mat

Pablo Villa 12/25/02
El Paso Times

Marisol Chavira doesn't mind the attention that her sister gets.

But it's a little different when her sister, Mariana, is getting accolades that rightfully belong to her.

Take the Montwood Tournament two weekends ago. Both girls won their respective weight classes. And Marisol was named the meet's outstanding wrestler in the lower weight division. But the attention went elsewhere.

"I looked in the paper the next day and saw my sister's name instead of mine," Marisol Chavira said. "I guess someone messed up somewhere."

But make no mistake -- coaches know who Montwood's 102-pound stalwart is, and they dread having to face her.

"She means a lot to this team," Montwood coach Leo Garcia said. "She helps motivate the kids. They listen to her. Her and Mariana are the heart of the team."

That heart has been a catalyst for Chavira's stellar season. The Ram junior has only faltered once so far, that loss coming in Arlington. No one in the city has been able to match up with her.

And at last weekend's Andress Triangular, Chavira proved that she can go up against bigger opponents. The 5-foot-3 Chavira moved to the 110-pound class for the meet and did little to disappoint, pinning both Andress' Christina Mata and Chapin's Samantha Gonzalez.

"She looked great," Garcia said. "For her giving up eight pounds, she did very well."

But not even heaping servings of Christmas dinner, nor a week without practice, will create a permanent move for Chavira, who plans to stay at the 102-pound class.

How?

"I've been working up to it," Chavira said. "It's going to be hard, but I'm really determined to do well. I want to go to state this year."

It's that subtle determination that has made this shy junior, who only joined wrestling at the request of her twin sister, one of the region's most revered grapplers.

"She's a humble kid," Garcia said. "They both came over from Parkland and I told them what wrestling was about. Wrestling's not easy, but it's rewarding. These girls have been believing, they've been focusing. They have a goal every season, and they have met each one."

Her performance thus far proves that a journey to Austin isn't far-fetched. Chavira, the reigning District 4-5A champion, has put forth an inspired effort. Her mat presence has kept her in the upper echelon of competition.

And away from the mat, Chavira is just as impressive. She is an A-B honor student and plans to attain a higher education, probably in Dallas where she has already received interest from area colleges. And she helps out at home, where she and sister Mariana assist in housekeeping, while single mother, Emma Chavira, goes to work.

"They have it rough at home," Garcia said. "I help them out as much as I can. But they are such determined individuals. I can't imagine anything really bringing them down."

And today is one of those days where the time apart only makes the time together even more splendid.

But the Chavira family will be without Mariana, who is out of town visiting relatives. It pains Marisol to be apart from her sister.

"I'm very proud of Mariana," Chavira says. "She really deserves everything she's gotten recognized for because she works so hard."

The competitiveness they show on the mat doesn't seem to carry over to their private lives, where the sisters garnish each other with support constantly.

"I think that's been a good tool," Garcia said. "Them together, they keep each other motivated."

But even on this holiday without her sister around, Marisol Chavira can take solace in one thing -- no one will confuse her identity.

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West Covina Wrestler proving herself

By Dave Melendi ,12/24/02

In eighth grade, Norine Cruz's boyfriend told her she wasn't tough enough to make the all-boys junior high team.

Three years later, Cruz is the No. 1 female high school wrestler in the state in her weight class. She ranks fourth out of 16 West Covina High School wrestlers in team points. The 5-foot-3, 96-pound Cruz is 10-5 on the season, with eight of her wins coming against boys.

"I had to prove myself because he said girls couldn't handle it,' said Cruz. "I joined because they told me I wouldn't last.'

Cruz was named outstanding wrestler of the North Coast Girls Classic on Dec. 7, finishing first in her weight class. She was fifth last January in the California Girls State Wrestling Championship and was a match away from finishing in the top 12 at a national tournament.

And as it turned out, the boyfriend who told Cruz she couldn't handle wrestling didn't last. He quit the team his freshman year.

But before Cruz hit the mat for the Bulldogs, she had to make a believer out of wrestling coach Don Stephens.

"I haven't been a real big fan of girls wrestling because they usually come out for the wrong reasons and quit,' Stephens said. "They want to see some boy on the team they have a crush on. They want to come and just be around him.'

Cruz proved to Stephens she was serious about the sport even before she started high school when she broke her nose in one of her last matches for Edgewood Middle School.

"I was (leading in points) and I broke my nose,' Cruz said. "I finished the match and I won.'

Afterward, the doctor gave Cruz two options: Season-ending surgery or break the nose again and continue competing with a face mask.

"She wrestled the rest of the season (about three weeks) with a busted nose and had surgery afterward,' Stephens said. "She came to our banquet with a taped up nose job and two black eyes. That's when I knew she was tough enough.'

Cruz, a junior, squared off last week with Covina High sophomore Eric Castaneda, an opponent she had beaten a year ago. Castaneda vividly remembered his loss to Cruz.

"She got so many points that they called the match,' he said.

But this time the 15-year-old boy was able to defeat the 16-year-old girl, 6-0, by holding her to the mat for virtually the entire six-minute match.

"She's pretty strong,' a spent Castaneda said afterward. "She's flexible, too.'

"He played it safe,' Cruz said. "He has a lot of upper body strength and he knows how to use it.'

Stephens's wife Shirley was Cruz's first coach at Edgewood.

"From day one you could tell she really wanted to wrestle,' Shirley Stephens said. "Her mother hated it at first, but now her mom is like super wrestling mom.'

Nora Ramirez is not the only mother who has ever had her little girl come home to declare she's going out for wrestling.

In 2001, 752 high school girls wrestled competitively in California, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.

"I was a little bit nervous because it's a contact sport,' Ramirez said. "She's kind of small. But her devotion to be different and to succeed in the sport was so much that I couldn't do anything else other than support her. She has always been a tough little girl.'

Cruz has had to deal with more than just competitions, Ramirez said. In the beginning, some parents were her daughter's toughest critics.

"The mothers always felt, 'What is she doing with a whole bunch of boys?'' Ramirez said. "The fathers would really get on their sons if they would get beat by Norine. It was like they would get disciplined if they would lose to Norine.'

Cruz has also had to put up with some boys getting extra rough with her during matches.

"She has had her arm twisted behind her head,' Don Stephens said. "She's had her bloody noses. They take the attitude like, 'Hey, you want to be out here in a boys sport? You want to see how it feels?'

"She likes that. She has more of a problem with people taking it easy on her. She wants them to bring it when she wrestles.'

While the coach said some boys "try to be gentle with her,' Cruz doesn't see that.

"I haven't really wrestled a guy that's gone easy on me,' she said. "They go their hardest.'

For that, she thanks them.

"I think if I didn't wrestle guys, I wouldn't be where I am with the girls,' she said. "The guys kind of rough you up a little, make you tougher. That's what I need.'

While some parents and opponents may treat her differently, her teammates see her as one of them.

"She's like a sister to all of us,' said senior captain Gilbert Guardado.

Teammate Jesse Armendariz said he would have mixed emotions about wrestling a girl - "I would go hard, but then I would feel bad,' he said - but likes watching Cruz in action.

"She's impressed me a lot,' he said. "Especially when she pins guys. It makes them cry. It's awesome.'

But Cruz still faces doubters every time she suits up to wrestle a boy.

"When we weigh in, the other coaches say, 'Does she stand a chance?'' Don Stephens said. "I say, 'Yes, unless your kid has been wrestling for awhile.' '

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