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Four girls wrestling for MDI
Three players reach 1,000-point plateau
By Ernie Clark 12/10/03
Elizabeth Damon enjoys wrestling."It's different from other sports," said Damon, a Somesville resident who is a senior at Mount Desert Island High School in Bar Harbor. "It's not like basketball, it's like survival of the fittest. You're more on your own, except for the coach on the sidelines, so you have to figure things out on your own."
As a freshman, Damon was the first female wrestler in the history of MDI High School. But with few female peers from other schools to wrestle against, she opted against active competition as a sophomore and junior.
"I was the team manager the last two years," said Damon. "I thought I'd try keeping score, because I thought I could learn a lot from watching, and I did."
Now she's back on the mat, one of four girls on this year's MDI team. Whether they actually see action during regular meets remains to be seen, because current plans call for Damon, sophomores Adrienne Carter and Helen Bradshaw, and freshman Sally Swift, to be part of a club team that will compete in freestyle matches against girls from other schools as well as intrasquad exhibitions during regular-season meets.
Damon and her teammates don't see themselves as trailblazers, but hope interest in schoolgirl wrestling will increase to the point that someday there might be separate boys and girls teams.
"I hope it picks up and more schools get involved, to have more competition," she said. "What I feel for the last three years is that guys think it's more of a joke when they wrestle girls, they're either uncomfortable wrestling girls or think it's a joke, and they feel like they have to pin the girl as quick as they can. When wrestling other girls, there's no problems like that, you just go out and compete."
Women's freestyle wrestling will make its Olympic debut at the 2004 Games in Athens, with competition scheduled in four weight classes, according to MDI coach Peter Weaver. The U.S. team figures to do well, he said, because it earned seven medals at the most recent world championships, including one gold.
Weaver, who has guided the MDI team through its infancy - this is the Trojans' third year of varsity competition after one year as a club team - has been active in amateur wrestling at the national level and is a supporter of women's wrestling through the local Island United Wrestling Club, which was started last summer.
The four MDI schoolgirl wrestlers will compete this winter in conjunction with that club, and hope to be joined once the high school season ends by other girls throughout the region and state interested in freestyle wrestling.
"I want to see the sport grow," said Weaver. "I have a little girl who's 5 who really likes it, but right now there's really nowhere for her to go with it. My goal is to give girls an opportunity."
This year's MDI team, which also includes 10 male wrestlers, is slated to host its first home meet of the season Wednesday. The school recently acquired a new mat, which is set up for high school wrestling on one side and freestyle competition on the other side.
The Trojans also are scheduled to host the Penobscot Valley Conference championship meet Saturday, Jan. 24, 2004.
Openers produce milestones
Three top Eastern Maine basketball players wasted no time this season in scoring their 1,000th career points.
Seniors Darius Parker of East Grand of Danforth, Matt Donar of Erskine Academy of South China and Charlie Calligan of Maranacook of Readfield all reached the milestone during their 2003-04 season openers.
Parker, a fourth-year starter for coach Troy Cilley's Vikings, scored 31 points in East Grand's 70-60 win at Lee Academy on Saturday night. As has been his style since his freshman year when he helped lead the Vikings to the 2001 Eastern D championship, many of those points came from the free-throw line. Against Lee, Parker made 14 free throws, including nine in the fourth quarter as East Grand outscored the host Pandas 18-7.
Donar, the reigning Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B player of the year, entered Friday's game against Lincoln Academy needing 41 points to reach 1,000. He scored 42 to join current Eagles coach Tim Bonsant, Tom Maines and Joe Roach as the only Erskine boys players in the 1,000-point club.
Calligan scored his 1,000th in the final two minutes of the Black Bears' big 72-69 victory over Camden Hills on Friday night. He finished the game with 20 points, as did backcourt mate Matt St. John, whose 3-pointer with two seconds left provided the margin of victory and gave Maranacook an early edge in what appears to be one of the most competitive leagues in the state - with the Black Bears, Camden Hills, Erskine, Mount View of Thorndike and defending state champion Winslow all harboring Eastern Maine title hopes.
Calligan joins Greg Creek, Brian Gerrity and Jeremy Horne as Maranacook schoolboy players to top 1,000 points.
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Girls take over mats in Texas Ladies Classic
By MILENKO MARTINOVICH / The Dallas Morning NewsDecember 10, 2003
In the hierarchy of high school wrestling, the usual order is varsity
boys, junior varsity boys and varsity girls.
This weekend, it is the girls' turn to take center stage. The Texas
Ladies Classic will bring together the best wrestlers in the state. The
tournament is Friday and Saturday at Frisco Centennial.
"We've got about 150 entries, and that's just early registration," said
Frisco coach Chuck Brown, the event's organizer. "If we can get to 200,
it should be the biggest meet of the year."
Brown wanted to put together an event that highlighted girls wrestling
at the high school level and beyond. He achieved that by bringing in some
big names. In conjunction with the high school competition, three wrestlers
from the Olympic Training Center – including world bronze medalist Sally
Roberts and U.S. national champion Tela O'Donnell – will face wrestlers from
Cumberland College (Ky.).
Cumberland, which boasts former Hurst L.D. Bell standout and last
season's SportsDay All-Area Wrestler of the Year Suekoilya Shelly, is the
top-ranked team in the United States.
"So many times, the girls don't get recognized," Brown said. "They'll
maybe get one or two mas while the guys are competing in the big gym. I told
my girls that this is strictly a girls tournament."
This weekend's showcase may also be a preview of the 2004 Olympics,
where women's freestyle wrestling will be a competitive sport for the first
time. Brown said Roberts and O'Donnell should vie for spots on the national
team.
"This is kind of like the women's national soccer team coming," Brown
said. "But more like the first time, when they weren't that big. The second
time they came is when they got a lot of attention and the big crowds."
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Dec11, 2003
By Rick Pedone News-Gazette Staff Writer
Osceola High’s girls and boys wrestling teams will host key matches Friday and Saturday.
The girls team, the defending state champion, will welcome county rival St. Cloud Friday at 2 p.m. in an assembly match.
The Kowgirls had two individual champions at the Winter Springs tournament last weekend in Vanity Vasquez (100) and Candice Pellerin (112).
Runners-up included Katie Orben (185), Jolene Sun (132), Taquera Baker (138), Kerri Zupofska (155) and Krystalee Navarro (145).
“It’s going to be a good match. St. Cloud’s got a good team and we expect them to give us a challenge,” said Osceola Coach Jim Bird.
On Saturday, the Osceola boys will host an Eight-team dual meet featuring St. Cloud, Melbourne, Olympia, Ridgewood, Evans, Cypress Creek, South Miami and the Kowboys.
Matches begin at 9 a.m. and continue throughout the day.
Osceola took a depleted roster to Seminole Osceola in Pinellas County last weekend. Three starters have been injured, said Bird, forcing the Kowboys to rely on young wrestlers to fill in.
“It gives them a chance to step up,” he said.
Angel Olmo (3-1), Ramzy Spencer (7-1) and Devon Todd (6-2) have been bright spots early in the season.
But, Anthony Boles (shoulder), Josh Glover (collarbone), Keith Walter (wrist) and Jacob Moore (elbow) all could be out until January.
“We’re not at full strength, but we’ll put our young guys out there and what happens,” said Bird.
St. Cloud coach Vic Lorenzano said his team also is working through injury problems, although it easily dispensed Jacksonville Menendez (72-4), Dr. Phillips (82-0) and Sanford Seminole (65-13) at the Seminole duals last weekend.
“We’re off to an all right start, but we’re going to have a test at Osceola on Saturday. Melbourne is real tough, Olympia is good, and Ridgewood and South Miami are always strong,” said Lorenzano.
The Bulldogs will compete without heavyweight Mike McMahon and 112-pounder Eric Taft. Both may return to the team in January, said Lorenzano.
“This is a pretty tough tournament, but we’ve got a good group of kids and we’re looking forward to it,” he said.
Todd Squires and Seth O’Crowley are among St. Cloud’s unbeaten wrestlers.