Herald & Review / Carlos T. Miranda
April Dick practices her technique with Monticello teammate Michelle Bousquet during a recent practice. Dick, a senior, has secured her spot at 119 pounds and hopes to reach the sectionals this season.
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Not just another wrestler: Monticello's Dick eyes next step, sets sectional as her goal for season
By TODD ENGLE - H&R Staff Writer 12/16/03
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Herald & Review / Carlos T. Miranda |
April Dick is your typical high school senior. She has no complaints, really.
But, there is one aspect of herself she wouldn't mind improving.
"I don't want to wrestle like a girl anymore," Dick said. "Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I have to wrestle like one."
Other schools in the area are starting to realize that she doesn't wrestle like a girl - she just wrestles.
"She's pretty good," Argenta-Oreana coach Gary Cook said. "She'll beat some guys."
In fact, she already has. Dick was 2-3 - not counting a forfeit - heading into this week. The 119-pound slot in the Monticello varsity lineup is hers alone.
And the Sages are loaded this year. Monticello has three potential state qualifiers in Michael Feeney (Sr., 145), Laramie McMasters (Sr., 135) and Jason Hardimon (So., 125). Not to mention Tim Dick (Fr., 112) - April's brother - who finished third at the IESA state tournament last year.
April has had no trouble gaining acceptance - at least from her teammates.
"She's as much as part of the team as anybody else," first-year Monticello coach Doug Kunde said. "She's treated the same way, and nobody as an attitude or problem with it."
In fact, the only negative feedback Dick has received thus far has been from the opponents she's beaten.
"They really don't like to lose to a girl, so it's not always positive," Dick said. "If they win, usually I get along with them pretty well. If they lose, they really don't want to talk to me, which I guess is understandable."
There are any number of options for female athletes anymore. With basketball, softball, track and soccer all available, wrestling seemingly resides near the bottom of the list for prospective female athletes.
So how exactly did Dick get involved in the ancient sport? It was sort of a family tradition. Dick said her uncle wrestled in high school, and she and her brother would always wrestle for fun.
When the chance arose to pursue wrestling through a club in elementary school, Dick's parents were hesitant to the idea.
"At first they didn't let me because it was kind of weird, I guess. But then another girl joined. So they allowed me to join and I've been in it ever since," Dick said.
She managed to hold her own, although her bump up to 119 has presented considerable challenges, the most notable of which has been the lack of strength.
"April has a little bit of a hard time going upper-body against anybody," Kunde said. "She doesn't have quite the same strength. But as far as grit and determination ... I wish some of our guys had her determination."
Dick has to concentrate instead on her technique, which must be flawless if she wants a chance to compete with stronger opponents.
"It's like my Dad said, I have to work twice as hard. I wouldn't say I work twice as hard, because (the team) works their butts off, too," Dick said. "The more technique I use, the less muscle I need.
"I used to be good at takedowns. I'd like to get that back, to be known as awesome at takedowns. I need to be aggressive, too. My teammates always say I'm too nice."
Female wrestlers are slowly becoming more than just a rarity. Michelle Bousquet is a junior who is in her first year of wrestling at Monticello. Patricia Hobson, a junior at Warrensburg-Latham, wrestles at 125 pounds, although she is currently out with a knee injury.
Female wrestlers still aren't commonplace, however. And they might not ever be.
"I'm not going to say there will be a lot more, but there are a few who can and will be successful," Kunde said. "I just think there are some girls who have the attitude and determination that can be successful."
Dick's immediate goal for the season was to be a varsity starter. With that accomplished, Dick is now aiming higher.
"Making it to sectionals would make me really happy. I've always wanted to make state, but right now I can't set that as a goal," Dick said. "At 119, state is out of reach for me because of strength. But right now, sectionals seem really awesome to me."
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12/16/2003
Jeff Weidekamp/Indiana Sports Corporation
To order call (800) HI-FIVES and ask for the Olympic Trials Holiday Offer or print the order form available by clicking the link below and mail it to the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling at the address on the order form.
Click here to download your ticket order form for Olympic Trials Holiday Offer.
Two All-Session ticket packages are available. The first is the Gold Medal Club All-Session ticket package for $150, which features reserved seating, access to the Gold Medal Club Lounge, a souvenir program, a commemorative gift, autograph signings with former Olympic athletes, free parking and an exclusive opportunity to meet the new U.S. Olympic Team. The Silver Level All-Session ticket package is $80 in general admission seating.
The U.S. Olympic Team Trials competition format features a two-day challenge tournament and a championship finals series. The challenge tournament in all three styles will take place Friday, May 21 and Saturday, May 22. This will include all of the competitors except the 2004 national champions who will advance to the finals. The 2004 national championships will be in Las Vegas April 9-10.
Sunday, May 23, will be the championship finals in each weight class, featuring the national champion against the challenge tournament winner in a best-of-three series.
There will be seven weight classes in Greco-Roman and men's freestyle. The four women's freestyle weight classes contested will be 48 kg./105.5 lbs., 55 kg./121 lbs., 63 kg./138.5 lbs. and 72 kg./158.5 kg. Only the champions in each weight class will be on the U.S. Olympic Team and compete at the Olympic Games August 22-29, 2004, in Athens, Greece.
The RCA Dome - home of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, the 1991, 1997, 2000, 2006 and 2010 NCAA Men's Final Four, 2005 NCAA Women's Final Four and the 1991 World Gymnastics Championships - will be the site of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. It will be the first time an elite-level wrestling event will be staged in a domed stadium. USA Wrestling and Indiana Sports Corporation are organizing the event.
For hotel reservations, fans should contact the Wrestling Housing Bureau at 1-800-556-INDY (4639) or housing@indianapolis.org, or visit www.trials2004.com on the Internet to reserve hotel rooms.
2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling Quick Facts
When: May 21-23, 2004
Where: RCA Dome, Indianapolis
Who: The top eight finishers in each weight class from the U.S. National Championships in Las Vegas April 9-10, 2004, qualify for the event as well as champions from five Olympic Trials Regional events. Competitors include a mix of champions and upcoming superstars.
Athletes expected to compete in Indianapolis include: Olympic champion Rulon Gardner; World champions Dremiel Byers, Kristie Marano and Melvin Douglas; Olympic medalists Brandon Paulson and Garrett Lowney; World medalists Cael Sanderson, Tina George, Patricia Miranda, Kerry McCoy, Sara McMann, Joe Williams, Toccara Montgomery, Jenny Wong and Sally Roberts and many other top wrestlers.
Tournament Schedule:
Day - Date - Session Time - Competition
Day 1 - Friday, May 21 - 10 a.m.-2 p.m. - Challenge Tournament Preliminaries and Consolation Rounds
Day 1 - Friday, May 21 - 5-9 p.m. - Challenge Tournament Quarterfinals and Consolation Rounds
Day 2 - Saturday, May 22 - 10 a.m.-2 p.m. - Challenge Tournament Semifinals and Consolation Rounds
Day 2 - Saturday, May 22 - 5-9 p.m. - Challenge Tournament Finals and Consolation Rounds
Day 3 - Sunday, May 23 - 10 a.m.-12 noon - Championship Finals Match #1
Day 3 - Sunday, May 23 - 3:30-5:30 p.m. - Championship Finals Match #2
Day 3 - Sunday, May 23 - 5:30-6:30 p.m. - Championship Finals Match #3 (if necessary)
Ticket Information: Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster. All-Session ticket prices are: Gold Medal Club - $150, Silver Level - $80. In central Indiana, call (317) 239-5151, or visit www.ticketmaster.com or www.trials2004.com over the Internet.
Hotel Reservations: Contact the Wrestling Housing Bureau at www.trials2004.com, 1-800-556-INDY (4639) or housing@indianapolis.org.
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12/16/2003
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
The December 15, 2003 TheMat.com U.S. Women’s College Wrestling Rankings for teams and individuals have been released. This is the first ranking of the year for U.S. women college wrestlers.
Cumberland College, a NAIA school in Kentucky, was named as the top U.S. women’s college team in the preseason poll. The team is coached by Kip Flanik. Cumberland received two of the three first place votes.
Cumberland has been very active in the early season, competing a number of times in Canada. The team placed third in the Women’s Championship Cup of Wrestling in Regina, Canada, and won the team title at the Brock Invitational Dual Championships.
Missouri Valley College, a NAIA team coached by Carl Murphree, placed second in the poll, with one first-place vote. Missouri Valley has not yet started its competition schedule, but is led by a number of veteran wrestlers and top recruits.
Placing No. 3 in the poll was Pacific Univ., a NCAA Div. III program in Oregon coached by Scott Miller. The athletes from Pacific have participated in their own Mike Clock Pacific Open, as well as at the Clansman International Open in Canada.
Taking the No. 4 spot was NAIA school Menlo College in California. At No. 5 was Lassen College, a junior college in California. Tied at No. 6 was NCAA Div. II Minnesota-Morris and NCAA Div. III MacMurray College of Illinois. Rounding out the Top 10 was No. 8 Univ. of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine WC, No. 9 Princeton Univ. and No. 10 Cal-State Bakersfield.
The poll can be found at:
http://themat.com/rankings/default.asp?CategoryID=108&RankingID=614
The team ranking poll is elected by a panel of three U.S. women’s college coaches. Eligible for ranking are college varsity and club women’s wrestling programs.
Top-ranked athletes in the individual rankings was spread among many of the teams in the rankings.
Cumberland College had the most No. 1 athletes with three, led by two-time World silver medalist Toccara Montgomery at 72 kg/158.5 lbs. Also top ranked from Cumberland is Suekoiyla Shelly at 55 kg/121 lbs. and Alaina Berube at 59 kg/130 lbs.
Missouri Valley College has a pair of No. 1 athletes: Debbi Sakai at 51 kg/112.25 lbs. and Mollie Keith at 67 kg/147.5 lbs.
UM-Morris also has two athletes ranked No. 1 in their divisions: Ranae Faaborg at 63 kg/138.5 lbs. and Megan Goldsmith at 80 kg/176 lbs.
The other top ranked wrestler in the nation is MacMurray College star Mary Kelly at 48 kg/105.5 lbs.
The 59 kg/130 lbs. weight division is perhaps the most competitive in the nation at this point. Berube gets the top spot, followed by Women’s National Team member Lindsay Owens of Menlo College. Leigh Jaynes of Missouri Valley College is at No. 3 and Othella Lucas of Cumberland College gets the No. 4 spot. All eight of the ranked athletes at this division have been successful on the age-group national level in USA Wrestling women’s competition.
The December 15, 2003 North American Women’s College Individual rankings can be found at:
http://themat.com/rankings/default.asp?CategoryID=108&RankingID=615
The individual rankings are selected by TheMat.com. Athletes who are considered for ranking are eligible full-time college students, and are members of their college women’s varsity or club program, or a member of their college men’s wrestling team.
The International Olympic Committee has named women’s freestyle wrestling as the newest sport added to the Summer Olympic Games program. Women have competed in college wrestling in the United States since the mid-1990s.
Copyright 2003 by USA Wrestling and TheMat.com.
Media outlets may reproduce these rankings only if they identify them as TheMat.com U.S.Women’s College rankings
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Tears are shed as Valhalla girl wrestles her way towards Athens
By TERRY JONES -- Edmonton Sun 12/14/03
There's no cryin' in rasslin'. Well, now that they have women's wrestling in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, apparently there is.
And dang near everybody who was part of the hanging-from-the-rafters crowd for the Canadian Olympic Trials at Millennium Place in Sherwood Park had at least a lump in their throat for Christine Nordhagen.
It's always something special to experience the moment when an athlete becomes an Olympian for the first time. On occasion my eyes get weary of watching multimillionaire hockey players bore me to tears sucking the life out of a game I used to love. But I never tire of watching Canada's best when four years of work comes down to a twist, a turn, an inch or a blink. Even if it's wrestling, a sport that's very hard to love.
But Nordhagen made it better than usual.
Nordhagen is the 32-year-old six-time world champion, the winningest woman in the history of women's wrestling. From Valhalla Centre, 50 km west of Grande Prairie, she's long been the toast of the town of 50 ("including dogs and cats''), where only the dogs and cats were in residence yesterday because everybody else was here.
The gal grappler started the day crying. And it ended that way when she finally put Onenewa Akuffo of Guelph, Ont., away to manufacture her Olympic moment.
"I've never cried at a tournament before, ever,'' she said when it was over and she'd recovered from a 7-1 loss in the first match to score 12-3 and 6-1 wins to seize her Olympic moment.
"I woke up bawling. There was so much anxiety. I cried two other times today. I couldn't stop myself. It's my final year. There is no next year. There's never been an Olympics for me until now and there won't be an Olympics for me after this.
"Then when I lost the first bout, I thought, 'This is it, I'm done.' ''
TOUGH LOVE?
Either a good coaching job or a good tough-love bit of husbanding saved the day.
"My coach, who is also my husband, did a good job talking to me,'' she said.
Nordhagen doesn't go direct to Athens. She will have to secure a spot by finishing in the top three of one of the two remaining qualifying tournaments. But she believes it'll be a slam dunk for not only herself but the other Canadian women to make it to the Olympics in all four women's weight classes and that "each of us will have a chance to medal.''
And that's when she started crying again.
"This is going to be the best ending,'' she sobbed.
But Nordhagen wasn't the only emotional athlete on the property.
Evan MacDonald and Viola Yanik ranked right up there with her. They're the two who do go directly to Athens.
Both pre-qualified for Canada at the world championships. But that's where it got heavy.
"I've been sleeping, tops, for two hours a night for the past couple of months because of the idea that someone could come here and win two matches and take away the Olympic spot I earned.
"As far as I was concerned that was my spot and nobody was going to take it away from me,'' said the 66-kg competitor from Ottawa.
"This is all I've thought about for the last four years. Sometimes you wonder if it's worth it, but right now I can tell you it sure is.''
Yanik, from Saskatoon, had to go to a rubber match against Tara Hedican of Guelph to win the spot she'd already won in the 63-kg women's event.
"I qualified Canada for the Olympics, but I came here telling myself it was going to be no better than 50-50 that it was going to be me getting to the Olympics.
"It's really hard to deal with. You have everything to lose. But now it's mine and nobody can take it away. It's my dream come true. I've been watching the Olympics since I was a little girl. I knew I was going to get to the Olympics, I just didn't know what sport it would be in until I got to about Grade 9.''
Zoltan Hunyady won a 74-kg match but must face injured Sydney 2000 gold medal winner Daniel Igali in a wrestle-off.
Atlanta 1996 Olympic silver medal winner Gia Sissaouri won his class but not in the usual breeze.
"I'm getting challenged now,'' he said of the competition. "It means Canada is getting better. Sooner or later somebody is going to replace me.''
Later.
Jennifer Ryz and Lindsay Belisle of Burnaby, B.C. won the other two women's spots with men's titles copped by Dean Schmeichel of Calgary and Mikheil Japaridze of Montreal.
WEATHERS OR NOT
That left Wayne Weathers.
The Toronto Argos defensive lineman ended up against Edmonton's Colbie Bell and won the heavyweight title 6-0 and 8-5 to set the stage for Olympic controversy.
It was Weathers' fourth Canadian title but only once, at the Pan-Am Games in Winnipeg when he was conveniently a Winnipeg Blue Bomber at the time, did he wrestle for his country.
"I know the organizers didn't want me to win it, but I don't lose to other Canadian wrestlers on Canadian soil.''
But while Weathers and his coach were both expecting another empty win, with Canadian officials telling them that until he could guarantee he wouldn't miss training camps while he played football, he wouldn't get the spot, it didn't work that way.
"I don't see any reason he can't go and qualify for Canada,'' said Mike Payette of the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association.
"I see no reason why he can't do that first and worry about the rest later. His international experience is so limited, it might be a huge advantage for him.''
That suddenly enlightened stand might even make Weathers' eyes wet.
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George wins silver in World Wrestling Championships
Story: By Tim Hipps 9/22/03
USACFSC Public Affairs
NEW YORK – Army Pfc. Tina George considers her second consecutive silver-medal performance in the World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling Sept. 12-14 at Madison Square Garden the first step in her quest for Olympic gold next summer at Athens, Greece.
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This battered Army of One departed the world's most famous arena facing one rugged road to the birthplace of the world's most famous Games after securing a spot for the United States in the 55-kilogram division of the 2004 Summer Olympics, where women's wrestling will be contested for the first time.
After winning five consecutive matches in overpowering fashion, George, a member of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program at Fort Carson, Colo., lost 5-2 to the ultra-quick hands of two-time world champion Saori Yoshida of Japan in the 121-pound final Sunday night.
Yoshida’s lightning-quick lunges to grab George’s ankles led to five one-point takedowns.
“That particular move was something I wasn’t prepared for,” George said as she wiped tears of disappointment from her face. “Obviously I wasn’t as focused as I thought I was. I’m usually pretty good in that position – defending a single leg – but I just didn’t do well in that position in this particular match.”
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The bloody match was stopped three times after both wrestlers swatted each other in the eye and for trainers to tend George’s mat burn on the side of her cheek, which opened and oozed during the finale.
George opened like gangbusters and took a 1-0 lead in the first 20 seconds with a takedown. After one three-minute period, Yoshida led 2-1.
In the second period, George quickly pulled into a 2-2 tie at the 3:19 mark. Yoshida then registered three one-point takedowns as gold slipped from George’s grasp and her shattered dream ended in a pool of tears.
In hindsight, George, 24, a carpentry/masonry specialist from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, felt she did her best against the two-time world champ.
“I don’t think at this point I would change anything about the way I wrestled,” she said in a post-match press conference. “I wanted to be the best in the United States and I just wanted to show what the United States has to offer. This is just another step to getting to our Olympic dream.”
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George secured an Olympic berth for the United States’ 121-pound women by finishing among the top five in the world before a supportive crowd of 12,757. Individuals will qualify for Team USA in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials May 21-23 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.
Shon Lewis, coach of the Army World Class Athlete Program wrestling team, thinks George will continue to improve.
“She closed the gap on the same girl she lost to in the final last year,” he said. “In the middle of the match she started thinking about what she should do instead of reacting and keeping her motion, but I think this is just going to be a steppingstone for her winning the grand finale in the Olympics in Greece.”
George dominated her division until the finals. She opened with a convincing 9-3 victory over Bulgaria’s Julieta Okot, who recently spent several weeks training with George at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
In Friday’s second session, George pinned Moldova’s Ludmila Christea in 2:36. On Saturday morning, she posted a 10-2 victory over Elvira Rasulova-Mursalova of Kyrgyzstan.
That night, George grappled to a challenging 7-3, quarterfinal victory over Puerto Rico’s Mabel Fonsoca, who defeated George in the 1999 U.S. National Championships.
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“I’ve been holding onto that loss for four years,” said George, who received extra inspiration from a group of cadets from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
“I could see them cheering up in the stands – a whole big section of cadets in white uniforms,” she said. “They were going nuts. I went up and met them before my match.”
The cadets attended the event when they heard an Army wrestler would be competing, said George.
“That meant a lot to me,” she said.
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On Sunday morning, George prevailed 4-3 after a scoreless first period over muscle-bound Sun Dongmei of China to earn a shot at the world champion.
For six sessions, the World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling drew 53,665 fans to Madison Square Garden.
“It meant so much to have so many people cheering for us, some of whom I’m sure never had seen women wrestle before,” said George, who by this time next year hopes to set the world on its ear by turning people on to women’s wrestling.”
One day later, she embarked on another mission.
“Today marks the first day of my new competitive year,” George said Monday. “I’m out to win an Olympic gold.”