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Girl scores first touchdown in 67-0 rout

Last Update: 10/12/2003 8:44:32 AM
By: Associated Press

(Las Vegas, New Mexico-AP) -- Freshman tailback Vanessa Lucero scored the opening touchdown Saturday in West Las Vegas High School’s 67-0 rout of Pojoaque—and was homecoming princess to boot.

But as for football, Lucero said, “It’s only a guy sport until a girl joins.”

She says both the TD and being princess were equally exciting, the best thing that’s ever happened to her.

Her black hair tucked under her dark green helmet, Number 11, all five feet and 103 pounds of her, ran the ball in from the one-yard line with 8:03 remaining in the first quarter.

And it was 14-year-old Dona Vanessa standing there in green and gold with the Dons congratulating her.

Lucero came back into the game as a decoy wide receiver in the fourth quarter and made a block.

She’s also on the school wrestling team.

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Sport spots: USA beat defending champions Japan to win women’s World Cup wrestling

TOKYO: American Toccara Montgomery edged past five-time world champion Kyoko Hamaguchi to help the United States defeat Japan 4-3 and win their first women’s team wrestling World Cup here on Sunday.

The Americans finished the seven-nation round robin with six straight wins while two-time defending champions Japan were in second place with five wins and Canada in third with a 4-2 win-loss record. Last year’s runners-up Russia were fourth with three wins. “Japan is a very strong team. We just stayed tough in situations to give us an opportunity to win,” said US coach Chris Horpel. “We knew if we always keep the matches close and hang in there, we have opportunities. “But that was the biggest thing, sometimes we haven’t stayed strong mentally to give us opportunities to win. Today, we did.”

The US team got off to a flying start with world silver medallist Patricia Miranda narrowly besting Makiko Sakamoto 4-3 in the 48kg class and world bronze medallist Jenny Wong beating Chiharu Icyo 4-2 in the 51kg. But world champions Saori Yoshida, Seiko Yamamoto and Kaori Icyo made it 3-2, repeating their performances in New York last month by beating world silver medallist Tina George, bronze medallist Sally Roberts and silver medallist Sara McMann in the 55kg, 59kg and 63kg categories. America’s two-time world champion Kristie Marano levelled the contest again in the 67kg division by beating Norie Saito by a fall in the last 16 seconds. Montgomery, the runner-up to Hamaguchi in the world championships, avenged her loss in New York with a 5-3 points win in the 72kg class to complete the US victory. “All of them were key matches, but I would say that we won the 51kg against Icyo, that was the key match. For Jenny, that was a good step to her, just stay in the match mentally,” said Horpel. “But all the girls gave all of their credit to beat Japan, they brought out their best.”

Looking forward to the Athens Olympics next year, Horpel added: “Japan is the opponent. We know that we must beat them to win the gold in the Olympics. Hopefully, we can do that.” —AFP

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Female Wrestler Wins Gold Back to Back

Daily Trust (Abuja)October 13, 2003

In spite of not participating in any international competition since she won a gold at the 7th All Africa Games, Nigerian female wrestler, Happiness Burutu, has clinched a back-to-back gold in the 63kg at 8th edition of the games taking place in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quotes Happiness as saying: "I give thanks to God for doing this for me because it was not easy for me to win gold four years after I performed the same feat in South Africa.

" I dedicate the medal to God, who made it happen," she said.

She also attributed her victory to the overseas training, which, she said had revived her winning instincts and appealed to the federal government to sustain such foreign training.

Happiness commended the national wrestling coach, Stonye Panov, for his exemplary attitude, which, she said, motivated wrestlers to win laurels for the nation as part of their efforts to make the nation popular in sports.

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