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Proving her point: Tahoma girl shows she belongs with area's best
2003-01-10
by Erick Walker
Journal Reporter \n
MAPLE VALLEY -- Tahoma High wrestling coach Doug Pecha couldn't help but bare a smirk early last month when the Bears' meet against top-ranked Spanaway Lake came down to the final match.
Pecha knew what was going to happen.
All in attendance did.
Up 34-29, Tahoma was poised for the upset with only the 112-pounders to go. The Sentinels' only hope for a victory was a pin in that final match.
``They were pretty confident,'' Pecha said. ``I knew what that guy was about to experience. I had seen him wrestle before, so I knew we were sitting pretty good.''
Pecha sat back and watched - and smiled. The Spanaway Lake wrestler stepped in against Tahoma sophomore Amberle Montgomery, the top-ranked girl wrestler in the United States.
The match lasted 1 minute, 25 seconds. Montgomery came away with her third - and certainly biggest - win of the season.
``He went in for a head-and-arm throw, and she picked him up and threw him down,'' Pecha said, laughing. ``I was like, `Wow.' (The place) went crazy. The whole school was going nuts.''
The win silenced critics and doubters. Those who believe a girl can't wrestle with boys are quickly learning to bite their tongues when it comes to Montgomery. Persistent naysayers change ``can't'' to ``shouldn't'' and avert their eyes.
``I think she's earned her place out here,'' Tahoma heavyweight Will Blaschko said. ``She's wrestling really well. I don't see any reason why she shouldn't be out here. If she wins out here being varsity, I think she belongs.''
Montgomery was excited because the win against Spanaway Lake was more than an individual victory. It wasn't about a girl competing with the boys. It was about Montgomery proving - male or female - that she belonged.
``It was a good feeling because it was for my team,'' she said. ``It meant a lot to me because I wasn't just helping me, I was helping my team.''
Off the mat
Montgomery carries the look of a regular teenage girl. She has a long, brown pony tail and big brown eyes lightly coated with blue liner. She has a boyfriend, loves to shop and get her nails done - in the offseason.
She looks like the girl next door.
But high school wrestlers around the South Puget Sound League are learning her looks are mighty deceptive. Montgomery wants to be the first girl to stand atop the podium at Mat Classic in February - as a Washington state high school wrestling champion.
``I have daydreamed about it (Mat Classic) a lot and what it would be like if I won state,'' she said. ``I think about how the fans would be and what the match would be like and what my moves would be.''
Montgomery's state-title quest is legitimate. The 15-year-old sophomore, who has been a competitive wrestler since she was 8 years old, is the real deal.
And she has the hardware to prove it.
Montgomery has 10 female national wrestling titles to her credit, and a passport that shows wrestling has taken her around the world. From Tennessee to North Dakota and Minnesota, to China, and with stops all over the Northwest, she has won at every level.
Her accolades go well beyond the high school mat. Montgomery has compiled an impressive 983-374 record in seven years and has lost to only three females - all of whom were older than 22. She also is the top-ranked 114-pounder in the nation, according to the United States Girls Wrestling Association. She is the only female wrestler from Washington among the 117 girls among the USGWA rankings.
But none of that compares to what Montgomery faces this year at Tahoma: wrestling with high school boys.
For Montgomery, who has endured insults from parents and opponents alike, the daunting task is nothing new.
``There have been steps through my life where I've had to prove myself over and over again. When I was little, they were like, `Oh, when she gets to junior high, the guys are going to kill her.' So I went to junior high and was undefeated for two years in a row and was league champ,'' she said. ``Now that I am in my first year of high school, they are saying the same thing again.''
Montgomery has proven herself worthy so far this season. Competing at 119 and 112 pounds, she has compiled an 8-5 record with three pins and two technical falls. By next week, Montgomery anticipates being down to the 103-pound weight class, where skill and experience - of which she has plenty - often overcomes strength.
``This is the year I have to prove myself,'' she said.
The real deal
``She's really a girly-girl in school,'' Pecha said. ``You would never know she's a wrestler when you see her walking around at school. She is not a tomboy by any means.''
Her leisure pursuits include shopping and hanging out with friends. But during the season, wrestling is a 24-hour a day, seven-day-a-week passion for Montgomery. Her commitment leaves little time for ordinary ``girl'' pursuits.
Montgomery relentlessly trains throughout the year. At least three times each week during the school year, she wakes up as early as 4:30 a.m. to run as far as seven miles.
Her love affair with wrestling began when she was 8. Montgomery tagged along with her younger brother, Matthew, to a tryout for a Bellevue-based AAU team. One practice and she was hooked.
``I went out there and watched and it really interested me,'' she said. ``I was like, `Oh, I want to do that.'''
Montgomery has been a mainstay on the mat since. Her dedication has both surprised and mesmerized her parents, Bradley and Jacklyn.
``She did track, basketball, baseball ... I never dreamed she would wrestle,'' Bradley Montgomery said. ``I was probably the most shocked person of all. She proved to me when she was young that she could handle not only the physical pressure, but mental, as well.''
Montgomery's lightning-quick takedowns, extraordinary strength and knowledge of the sport no longer warrant surprise around Tahoma High.
``She has been wrestling so long that she has become part of the wrestling community,'' Pecha said. ``She's not new to the sport around here. She'll be new to the rest of the state, but not to Maple Valley.''
In 10 years as a wrestling coach, Pecha has seen girls come and go. Not one has made it through an entire season. Pecha cites several reasons, chief among them that the sport is too physically demanding and the heavy pressure of competing with boys.
But Montgomery isn't simply trying to blaze a trail for future female wrestlers. She dreams of earning a college scholarship - female programs are increasingly common - and earning a spot on a future U.S. Olympic team.
``If she wasn't very good, she'd be just trying to prove a point,'' Pecha said. ``But she already is good. She's already won. She's the best woman in the country right now. In the men's, we'll see how she does.''
Doubters everywhere
As a girl competing in a male-dominated sport, doubters have been there every step of the way. And with each step, Montgomery has risen above the derogatory comments and the stereotypes to show she belongs on the mat with boys.
It has been a test of resilience and courage for her and her parents.
``She takes a lot of crap from more mothers and fathers (than wrestlers),'' Jacklyn said. ``Mainly, it happens when she beats their sons.''
Parents have posed the biggest threat.
``One time, a dad came after me on the mat,'' Bradley said. ``His son just won the title (over Amberle) and he wanted to beat me up because everyone was cheering her name. We've had parents call her names, physically abuse her ... We've had a lot of negative experiences. But every year, they get less.''
The more success Montgomery enjoys, the less she has been doubted.
``She's the strongest girl wrestler I've ever seen,'' said Nick Tompkins, who competes at 140 pounds for the Bears. ``She's a hard worker, a very determined individual to get to the top and set records as girls. (Is she) legit? She is.''
Added teammate Mike Caniparoli, who Montgomery regularly competes with in practice, ``(I didn't think she'd have this much success) at the high school level. I didn't think so. But she's showing me she's tough.''
Montgomery didn't start making serious waves in the sport until joining Tahoma Junior High's team in the seventh grade. What followed was a three-year reign as the most successful female wrestler in the school's history. Montgomery lost just one match in three years of junior high and came away with two league titles and a 26-1 record - all while competing with the boys.
But until a girl places at the state tournament, skeptics will remain.
In 1998, Montesano High's Arielle Bradbury, competing at 101 pounds, became the first and only female wrestler in state history to qualify for Mat Classic. Bradbury lost both of her matches.
``There are doubters everywhere,'' Pecha said. ``There are doubters in this room -- everyone wonders when the going gets tough, how tough is Amberle going to be? There always will be doubters until a girl actually becomes a state placer.''
Message sent
Montgomery's wrestling talents have been documented in USA Wrestler, a magazine focusing on up-and-coming stars. During a practice last month, every step she took on the Tahoma High mat was monitored closely by a camera for a KING-TV special.
Montgomery admits the attention can be overwhelming. She isn't just another girl giving the sport a shot. She is a wrestler who's wrestling - and wrestling well.
``I love doing the impossible. I want to send a message that girls can do this sport,'' she said. ``Girls can do anything they put their minds to. Just as guys can.''
• Tahoma's Amberle Montgomery,a 112-pound sophomore, is the top-ranked high-school female wrestler in the nation. Montgomery had the clinching pin in the final match when Tahoma beat Spanaway Lake, the state's top-ranked Class 4A team, 35-34 this season.
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'Girl Power' caps it for Cherokees
By Ward Gossett 12/13/01
Assistant Sports Editor
ATHENS, Tenn. -- The outcome of the meet was settled, but McMinn County's 119-pounder was feeling the pressure.
She didn't want to be the only Cherokee to wrestle and lose Wednesday, and not in front of the Cherokees' student body.
Falling behind 5-0 and barely avoiding an early first-period pin, former McMinn County cheerleader Jennifer Layman rallied to pin Linda Bevins as the Cherokees rolled to a 72-0 victory over county rival McMinn Central in a high school dual meet.
"I didn't think I'd like wrestling this much," Layman said after pinning in 1:23. "It's something I can really focus all my energy on.
"I'm not a feminist. I just want to do my thing," she said. "I haven't really been embarrassed, although one of the guys I wrestled asked me for a date."
The win was her second, but the first victory came on a forfeit.
Bevins already had a victory, winning her match -- against another girl -- at Lookout Valley.
But girls are in another venue formerly reserved for guys, and it looks like they are there to stay.
"Women's wrestling has already been approved for the 2004 Olympics," McMinn County coach Dave Stoika said. "An all-girls' program would be great. I mentioned girls wrestling at a coaches' meeting a couple of years ago. You have a girls' match, then a guys' match and you'd fill the gym."
Stoika currently has six girls in practice every day. "They practice with each other, but we don't cut them any slack in practice and they keep up."
Like Stoika, McMinn Central coach Ken Williams has more than one girl in the wrestling room, and like Stoika neither he nor his wrestlers cut the girls any slack.
"I coach them just like I do the guys. I expect them to do what the boys do, and they do," said Williams, who is trying to keep wrestling afloat in McMinn Central.
Layman has proved she can keep up, even to her mother.
"At first, she didn't want me to wrestle," said Layman, who has suffered a broken nose and a pulled shoulder muscle. "She thought I was doing it just to be around boys. But I looked up in the stands today and she was smiling and clapping after I won."
The girl-vs.-girl bout was a first for referee Howie Sompayrac, who also is athletic director at Notre Dame.
"I've only had girl-vs.-guy matches, but there was a girl at Cumberland County who was down 12-2. She was a strong girl and turned the guy over and pinned him, and the best wrestler at our all-sports summer camp was a girl from Orchard Knob," Sompayrac said.
Still, Sompayrac, a former state champion, has reservations. "I don't like the girls vs. the guys," he admitted. "I see nothing wrong with girls wrestling, but if this is going to work, I think it ought to be girls vs. girls."
The guys who are wrestling with girls, working out beside them in the wrestling room, don't have a problem with girls entering the wrestling arena. Just don't give them special treatment.
"It doesn't bother me," said McMinn Central captain Ben Lawson, the Chargers' 112-pounder. "They've got just as much right to be there as we do. I treat (Linda) just like a guy."
McMinn County 160-pounder Adam Randle, a team captain with Ryan Banks, agreed with Lawson.
"It's a good thing," he said. "It's a lot like a guy cheerleading. I have no problem with it. If they work hard and put in the same time we do, they have as much right on the mat as any of the guys."
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PSJA girls embracing wrestling
By Todd Mavreles
The Monitor 1/13/03
ALAMO — Sabrina Sandoval walked the halls of Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial high school last week sporting a black eye, the result of a physical confrontation in her winter sport.
Surely, she took an elbow under the basket. Or maybe another cheerleader kicked her in the face?
No, Sandoval is neither a basketball player nor a cheerleader. The PSJA Memorial junior has embraced a more physical undertaking to occupy her time after school — wrestling.
“We just want to show the guys that they’re not the only ones who can wrestle,” Sandoval said.
Sandoval is one of three female wrestlers at PSJA Memorial. Sophomores Olivia Moreno and Priscilla Gonzalez join Sandoval to work on reverses, escapes and pinning combinations with their male counterparts at Wolverines practices every day.
“It’s good to have girls out there,” PSJA Memorial coach Joe Clark said. “Assistant coach Eddie Gonzalez takes care of the instruction. They’ll watch me and (Gonzalez) will make sure they do it like me.”
While Clark spells out the basics and makes sure the girls understand wrestling is a tough sport by including them in drills with the boys, Gonzalez frequently works with the girls on the side, preparing them for their infrequent opportunities to wrestle in matches.
“They’re developing well,” Gonzalez said. “They come in here with the correct attitude — they come in here to learn.”
PSJA Memorial is the only Rio Grande Valley school with varsity girls wrestlers. They have to wait until out of the Valley invitationals to take out their aggressions in actual matches because University Interscholastic League rules prohibits boys from wrestling girls in a non-practice setting.
“Sometimes, I can see the frustration because they’re practicing, practicing, practicing and they hardly ever have a chance to compete,” Gonzalez said. “Still, they show enough that coach Clark and myself are very proud of them because we know they can do it.”
Although they can’t wrestling in meets against boys, the Lady Wolverines take their shots against the boys in practice. The results might surprise some male chauvinists.
“Sometimes I pair them up with guys of lighter weights in practice and we’ve had guys of lighter weights lose,” Clark said. “I’ll put the girl on the guy and say, ‘I want you to go out there and rip into this guy with all you’ve got. Don’t hold back.’ Olivia’s pinned a couple of guys. Afterwards the guy has a look like, ‘Oh man.’”
Adds Moreno: “It’s cool. It’s like, ‘Yeah, I took you.’”
Even though they practice with the boys, there are some obvious differences the Lady Wolverines have to consider. The girls have to put their hair in a cap similar to those worn by meat cutters at the local grocer.
Another example of the difference between boys and girls in this sport occurs at weigh-ins.
“When Olivia weighs in, I’ll say, ‘All right, I know you’re weighing 200 (Moreno weighs in at 148 pounds),’” Clark said. “She’ll say, ‘No I’m not.’ Then she stands in front of the scale and takes her hair pin out. Guys don’t do that. Girls do that.”
Explaining to their female friends that they wrestle isn’t as difficult as one might believe.
“They’re inspired,” Priscilla Gonzalez said. “They say it’s cool that I’m in wrestling and they ask if I can teach them some moves.
“Sometimes they want to join, but then they get scared. I tell them they shouldn’t be scared. They can try a new sport and maybe they’ll be good at it.”
Now that females are grappling, their ultimate goal is to prove that girl power exists on the wrestling mat as well as anywhere else, even if a black eye or a bruise if part of the price to be paid.
“I like the feeling when I know what I’m doing and I have the girl pinned and knowing that I did that,” Priscilla Gonzalez said. “It’s a very good feeling.”
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Vallejo wrestling teams headed for Girls Classic
By Staff report 1/13/03
VALLEJO - Vallejo, Hogan and Bethel High will participate in the fifth annual Napa Valley Girls ClassicSaturday at Vintage (Napa) High.
The Vallejo schools are three of over 30 that are participating in Saturday's event. Past tournaments have featured athletes who are some the best wrestlers in the country, (past champions have included several national champions), and tournament director Carl Murphree, who is Vintage's coach, believes that trend will continue.
The tournament also offers opportunities for the less experienced wrestler, with place matches through 8th place. Wrestling begins at 9:30 am Finals will begin about 5:00 p.m.
For more info contact Carl Murphree, Tournament Director ASICS Napa Valley Girls Classic (707) 224-3068 nvgc@aol.com
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Former Monterey High assistant Marcie VanDusen keeps climbing the
ladder.
The one-time No. 1-ranked grappler at University of Minnesota-Morris
recently accepted an invitation to attend the Resident Program at the
U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. VanDusen, the subject of a
Herald profile last year, is gunning for a spot in women's' wrestling
at the 2004 Games in Athens.
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Mixed-gender sports discussed
Group no longer enforces ban of girls on boys' teams
By Russ Keen 1/14/03
American News Writer
The issue of letting girls play on boys' high school teams could hit Aberdeen public schools soon.
"As early as fall, there might be a young woman who would like to play football," Gene Brownell, the district's athletic director, told the school board on Monday night. "And we may see it in wrestling, too."
The bylaws of the South Dakota High School Activities Association prohibited mixed gender teams until Nov. 25, when the association's board voted to no longer enforce the bylaw after meeting in executive session with the parents of a girl who wanted to be on a boys' wrestling team in Sioux Falls.
"The association's attorney was adamant that it would not have a leg to stand on in court" if the bylaw were challenged, Brownell told the board. It violates the 14th amendment that allows equal access, he said. At the April annual meeting of SDHSAA, its board will propose language that will bring the association's constitution in line with federal law. Member districts, including Aberdeen, will vote on the proposal after the annual meeting.
In the interim, districts can make their own decisions regarding allowing girls on boys' teams. Aberdeen has no written policy on the issue, but has subscribed to the now defunct bylaw, Brownell said. He appeared before the board on Monday to explain the developments.
The change at the state level does not allow boys to play on girls' teams, Brownell said. That's because federal courts have consistently found that girls as a class have been historically discriminated against, while boys have not.
The alternative to allowing girls to participate in boys' football or boys' wrestling would be to create a girls' football and/or wrestling team, Brownell said. When a sport is offered to both genders, South Dakota districts do not have to allow one sex to play on the team of the other.
Local board member Mike Miller said the issue could lead to districts dropping sports. "This is parental meddling that's going to cause districts to say, 'We'll provide the facilities, but you parents can run it and handle the politics.' It's a sad state of affairs. Is it best for kids?"
Brownell said these types of gender equity issues will continue. "It might be a headache. But if it were my daughter, I might have a different viewpoint."