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Female wrestler's questions all answered
By Ann Tatko 5/26/03
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Over and over, she heard the same question.
How do you expect to do at nationals?
Malinda Ripley didn't answer the question. How could she?
A fractured back had kept her off the wrestling mat for almost three months. She had been back on it for only 21/2 weeks. Yet, she headed into the U.S. National Women's Wrestling Championships three weeks ago as the No. 2 seed.
"I wouldn't answer the question," said Ripley, a 19-year-old Deer Valley High School graduate. "Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect of myself."
Ripley lost 15 pounds to make weight, fought through pain, overcame her limited training and won the 112-pound national title. With that one competition, she has put herself on the fast track toward this year's world championships and maybe even next year's Summer Olympics.
One of the guys
Over and over, Ripley is asked the same question.
Why wrestling?
This one she can answer. Sort of.
After playing youth softball for seven years, she knew entering Deer Valley as a freshman that she wanted to try out for a team. That's when she saw a flier for wrestling.
Ripley, then 5-foot-3 and 95 pounds, never had lifted weights in her life. None of her relatives had competed in wrestling.
She chose the sport not necessarily because of the sport itself.
"Not growing up with a father, I lacked a male figure in my life," Ripley said. "(Wrestling) kind of helped me out with that case. And I fell in love with it."
Turns out she had a talent for it, too.
Lifting gave her an extra 10 pounds of muscle. Her first junior varsity tournament gave her a win. Her all-male teammates gave her acceptance.
And the sport gave her some wild ideas that prompted amused smiles from former Deer Valley coach Casey Rhyan.
At the end of her first year, Ripley told Rhyan she one day would compete in the Olympics -- a prediction made before women's wrestling had gained Olympic status. The sport will debut next year at the Summer Games in Athens, Greece.
It was that goal that Rhyan trotted out 18 months later when a driver's license and other typical 16-year-old diversions almost lured Ripley away from wrestling.
"I was being a junior, goofing around," Ripley said. "(Rhyan) sat me down and straightened out my priorities."
Her focus renewed, Ripley went back to work. By the end of her high school career in 2002, Ripley had become the first girl to win a match at the North Coast Section Championships. She also won back-to-back titles at California's first two sanctioned girls prep wrestling championships.
What's more, she qualified for her first U.S. national championships -- she finished seventh last summer -- by winning the 2001 junior women's state wrestling championships.
But equally important, she had earned a distinction that had taken four years to attain.
"I don't want to be a girl wrestler," she said. "I want to be a wrestler. By my senior year, I got that."
A few months later, she got even more -- an invitation to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
One of the girls
Over and over, Ripley thinks back to the day she was asked the question that changed her life.
Would you like to train on the national team?
She readily answered yes, even though it meant leaving her mother and identical twin sister back in Antioch, even though it meant being separated from her boyfriend, who now lives in San Diego.
Twelve female wrestlers had been accepted into the resident-athlete program at the Olympic Training Center. No way was Ripley turning down that opportunity.
So last September, she packed up, left home and moved into the dorms, across the hall from Jenny Wong, the wrestler whom she would beat nine months later at nationals.
For U.S. coach Terry Steiner, bringing the athletes together was only the first step in building the women's program in a male-centric sport.
"Support is starting to grow in the U.S., but there are still a lot of people who think the sport should be a guy's sport forever," he said. "Changing that attitude is a big part of my job."
Women's wrestling held its first world championships in 1987 with less than a dozen countries participating. The United States competed in its first world championships two years later. Since then, the sport has grown to more than 50 countries.
"This sport can teach these women life lessons that they can take with them forever. It's my job to get that point across," Steiner said. "Why should we try to hold that back from half of our population?"
The transition to an all-female team initially wasn't easy for a group of women who had gotten their starts on high school boys teams.
Ripley struggled with the change, especially because of the array of personalities surrounding her.
"I was almost shy being here at first," she said. "I was used to having all the guys and being the only girl."
Then, just as she made the adjustment, the pain in her back hit.
It was October, at some point during her wrestling, although to this day, Ripley doesn't know exactly when she fractured the L4 vertebrae in her lower back.
"There was never a point when I was in incredible pain," she said. "It was just sore as I kept wrestling. I didn't pay attention to it really."
One of the elite
Over and over, Ripley ignored the questions in the back of her mind.
Why was this happening, and when would it stop?
She didn't dwell on the questions because she didn't know the answers.
By late January, signs of the injury became outwardly more visible. She struggled to walk. At one point, she couldn't bear to have her back touched.
The pain dissipated only when she was on the mat.
"When I wrestle, I don't feel it at all because the adrenaline is so high," she explained. "The second I step off the mat, I feel it instantly."
On Feb. 9, Ripley placed third at the Dave Schultz Memorial Tournament. Three days later, she had X-rays taken, and the fracture was detected for the first time.
The national team's head trainer immediately sidelined Ripley for almost three months.
"That was worse than the injury. I thought I could wrestle the next week," she said. "I finally accepted it when the head trainer promised I'd be ready by nationals."
Ripley speaks so casually about her injury that, at first, it's hard to gauge the severity of it. She downplays the pain, saying instead that her back hurt or was sore. Only when pressed does she admit that even now, "My lower back feels like it's breaking in half every time."
An unaligned disc pinched off nerves, often causing numbness in her right leg. Her hamstrings tightened. Sometimes the pain shot from her pubic bone to her neck.
Even after about three months of rehabilitation, Ripley still experienced some of those problems. The virtual inactivity left her with 15 extra pounds on her still 5-3 frame, weight she needed to lose in order to make 112 pounds. Yet, she refused to miss the national championships.
She needed to place in the top seven there to qualify for the world team trials, which determine the U.S. squad for the world championships. The trials will be held June 20-22 in Indianapolis.
She went into the national championships with that objective. Six days later, she found herself in the final against Wong.
Six months earlier, Wong beat Ripley by one point in the semifinals of the Sunkist International Open in Phoenix.
Now, Ripley already had her trials spot secured. She already had bettered her finish from last year's nationals. But she refused to forfeit the championship match.
"I didn't cut weight for nothing," she said. "I have a hard time stopping something when I've started."
Ripley won the match 5-2.
"Her toughness really carried her through," Steiner said. "That and she hates losing. She's not satisfied too easily. If she's not getting her hand raised at the end of a match, she's not happy."
With the win, Ripley enters the world trials as the U.S. champion. That means the other nine U.S. wrestlers at 112 pounds must compete in a single-elimination tournament, with the winner advancing to face Ripley in a best-of-three wrestle-off. The one who wins twice earns a trip to the world championships in New York City in September.
Nationals gave Ripley a small measure of redemption for the frustration she's experienced this year, she said. But she's also quick to add that she's not satisfied yet.
"Nationals doesn't matter anymore," she said. "I have to win something else now."
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US National Championships: Women Freestyle Finals Photos Page 1
US National Championships: Women Freestyle Finals Photos Page 2
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Format causes confusion at wrestling nationals
Chennai, May 25 (UNI)
Grapplers from Punjab, defending champions MTNL, Haryana, Uttaranchal, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Orissa and NCR dominated in the senior section qualifying for the semi-final round in various weight categories of the Seventh Wrestling National Championship for Women here tonight.
In the 63-kg category, Maharashtra's Kuldeep Kaur defeated Seema of Uttaranchal by fall, while Punjab's Manjeet Kaur beat MP's Rukhana Khatun in a one-sided bout by points (5-0). Rajasthan's Bimla Raj pinned down NCR's Gurpreet Kaur by fall.
In the 59-kg category, Manipur's L Kiran, Maharashtra's Sangeeta Kumble and NCR's Pankej and MP's Nasim Khatum, all winning by fall made it to the semis.
In the 55-kg category, NCR's Indu Kaushik winning by fall, Haryana's Krishna, Uttaranchal's Sanu, Punjab's Gurmeet Kaur and Manipur's Vimcha Devi, all won by fall to enter the last-four stage.
However, there were no more controversies about teams in fray or overage but with as many as 55O grapplers on view, the organisers, forced to grapple with time, had to conduct the bouts early in the morning at 0500 hrs to complete the initial league rounds. The evening session had to be extended into late in the night.
With the finals slated for tomorrow and to complete the bouts in time, the organisers pressed home another mat--but only a judo mat-- by the side of the main arena which had only a mat being used for wrestling.
However, the event attracted a lot of media attention with the private television channels turning up in full strength as the competitions were for eves. They flocked to important federation officials and a few internationals on view to record their view on the stature of this sport in the country.
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By Our Sports Reporter
CHENNAI MAY 25.
MTNL Delhi (67 points) emerged champion in the senior section of the seventh National women's wrestling championship, which concluded at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium on Sunday.
Haryana, with 49 points, came second while Manipur (43) finished third.
Seventeen-year-old year-old Kamini Yadav of MTNL was declared the best wrestler of the championship and took home a cash prize of Rs. 2,100. She won the 48-kg category, overcoming the challenge of Delhi's Babita Nagar in just 10 seconds (by fall) in the final.
Kiran Sihag, also of MTNL, continued her domination in the 67-kg section with an easy victory over Vandana Chaudhry of Uttar Pradesh.
The chief guest M.S. Malik, President, Wrestling Federation of India, announced a cash award of Rs. 25,000 for the 25-member Tamil Nadu team which made its debut in the championship.
In his speech, among other things, he spoke about the AKHARA scheme through which the Sports Authority of India will provide coaches, mats and gym facilities for the grapplers.
Malik said the scheme is in vogue in States like Delhi, Maharashtra and Haryana. A similar scheme, he said, would be implemented in Tamil Nadu soon.
In this meet, the winner, runner-up and third-place wrestlers in each category received Rs. 7,000, Rs. 5,000, and Rs. 3,000 each respectively.
In what seems to be the norm in such events, the evening bouts began two hours late.
The results:
Overall championship:
Juniors:
1. Haryana (69 pts), 2. Punjab (61), 3. NCR Delhi (41); Sub-juniors: 1. Haryana (77), 2. Rajasthan (70), 3. Punjab (63).
Seniors (finals): 48-kg: Kamini Yadav (MTNL Delhi) bt Babita Nagar (Del) by fall; 51-kg: Sumail (MTNL Delhi) bt Neha Rathi (Har) on points; 55-kg: Sheenu Jain (MTNL Delhi) bt Krishana (Har) by fall; 59-kg: Alka Tomer (MTNL Delhi) bt L. Kiran Chanu (Man) by fall; 63-kg: Manjeet Kaur (Pun) bt Geetika Jakhad (Har) by fall; 67-kg: Kiran Sihag (MTNL Delhi) bt Vandana Chaudry (UP) by fall.
Sub-juniors (top-two): 38-kg: 1. Minaxi Garg (Raj), 2. Manjit (Har); 40-kg: 1. Geeta (Har), 2. Neetu (UA); 43-kg: 1. Rachna Shekhawat (Har), 2. Sumesh (UA); 46-kg: 1. Guddi Pawar (U.P.), 2. Rekha Rathod (UA); 49-kg: Lromila Devi (Man), 2. Pinky (Har); 52-kg: Sunita (Har), 2. Ychan-Changani (Man); 56-kg: 1. Gurjit Kaur (Pun), 2. Mukesh (UA); 60-kg: Rajni Bhalla (Pun), 2. Meena Suman (Raj); 65-kg: 1. Suman (Raj), 2. Minaxi Garg (Har); 70-kg: 1. Neeru (Har), 2. Uma Deswal (Raj).
Juniors (top-two): 44-kg: 1. Ritu Bala (Pun), 2. Pushpa (Del); 48-kg: 1. Nirmal (Har), 2. Rupinder (Pun); 51-kg: 1. Meena (Har), 2. Santosh Sharma (Del); 59-kg: 1. Anita (Har), 2. C. Lalvul Mowil (Miz); 63-kg: 1. Poonam Bamal (Har), 2. Shuhwinder Kaur (Pun); 67-kg: 1. Suman Preet (Pun), 2. Jyoti (NCR Delhi); 72-kg: Kavita (Raj), 2. Seema (UA).
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More Hawai'i wrestlers train at Olympic center
By Dennis Anderson 5/25/03
Advertiser Staff Writer
Four young women from Hawai'i are at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs this week and three others will fly there next month to train for the Team USA Trials for the World Wrestling Championships.
Hawai'i has one of the largest contingents of female wrestlers contending for positions on the U.S. National Team and for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, where women's wrestling will make its Olympic debut.
Clarissa Chun (Roosevelt '99 of Kapolei) and Katie Kunimoto (Castle '99 of 'Ahuimanu) have been among 20 invited permanent residents at the Training Center since last August.
Debbi Saiki (Mililani '03) and Cathy Migita (Castle '01) are already training with the permanent residents at the center.
Stephany Lee (Moana-lua '02) will train with head Olympic coach Terry Steiner and his staff June 3-12.
Jill Remiticado (Iolani '99) and Donell Bradley (Radford '99), both of 'Aiea, also are expected early next month.
Saiki, Migita, Lee, Remiticado and Bradley earned "training opportunities," as USA Wrestling calls them, at the Olympic Center and opportunities to compete in the World Team Trials June 20-22 in Indianapolis by finishing in the top eight at the USA Wrestling Senior Nationals in Las Vegas May 10.
Winners at the World Team Trials will represent the U.S. in the World Championships Sept. 12-14 in New York City. Additionally, winners in the Olympic weight classes (105, 121, 138 and 158 pounds) will make history in the first women's wrestling competition at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republican, in August.
For Lee, who returned to competition in April a year after shoulder surgery, it is all a little overwhelming.
"The amazing thing," she said, "is that after four years wrestling, and only 2 1/2 years in freestyle (the Olympic style), and all the injuries I've had, I am still doing this and competing with the best in the nation."
Lee won three state championships (Hawai'i and Texas are the only states that have sanctioned high school championships) and marked her comeback from surgery by winning the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association Can-Am (Canadian-American) folkstyle and freestyle championships in Michigan March 29-30.
Two weeks later she finished second at USA Wrestling's Women's University National Championships and a month after that she placed third in the USA Wrestling Senior Nationals in Las Vegas.
She has qualified for the Junior World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, Aug. 22-29.
Last week Lee announced she had accepted a wrestling scholarship to attend Missouri Valley College. She wants to study sports training or physical therapy.
Lee is one of Saiki's heroes. And they will be teammates at Missouri Valley next year.
Saiki, who will graduate from Mililani High on June 1 at Aloha Stadium, said she was "kind of surprised" that she got the same scholarship to Missouri Valley as Lee did. "I got a $10,000 wrestling scholarship, and some work study. The total cost is $18,000," Saiki said. "My dad said it will be cheaper than going to UH."
Saiki said "I choked" at the state championships March 1 when she lost in the semifinals of the 114-pound bracket and missed an opportunity to go against Caylene Valdez for the championship (Valdez pinned Timitha Hufana in 44 seconds to win her fourth state title). "I wrestled more not to lose than wrestling my match," she said.
Later in March, at the U.S. Girls national championships, she was relaxed. "I was not expected to win. I was a nobody," she said. "It was like, 'It doesn't really matter, I can't wrestle as bad as I did at states.'
"After I got into the finals, it was 'Wow!' "
Saiki fell behind 8-3 in the first round, but pancaked her opponent and pinned her in 20 seconds of the second round.
She finished fourth at the Senior Nationals earlier this month. "Every girl I wrestled was in college. It felt good to make it that far," Saiki said.
Training at the Olympic Center has been another eye-opener, Saiki said. She had a practice match with Patricia Miranda, perhaps the highest-regarded U.S. wrestler.
"I'm getting warped trying to grab her," Saiki said. "I didn't score one point. She's the whole package — fast and strong."
Miranda has taken time to help her, Saiki said. "She's teaching me good stuff, like my base is too wide."
Saiki started wrestling when her mother made her stop playing football four years ago.
Since last fall, wrestling has taken her to Arizona, upper Michigan, Minnesota, Las Vegas and Colorado Springs. "I made gold member for Hawaiian Airlines," she said.
Wonder what the frequent flier mileage to Athens is?