ARTICLES DETAIL 2006 (PART 6)

Female wrestler proves tough foe

ENGLEWOOD - For all the guys out there who believe they're tough, Audrey Shockley has a message.

If you are going to step out on the wrestling mat with her, be prepared for a tough match.

The Lemon Bay High 112-pound sophomore won 26 matches, finished second at the district meet and was one win away from qualifying for the state meet.

"I made about seven guys cry and another quit during the match," Audrey said. "I had 15 pins. It feels amazing, just out of this world when you pin a guy."

If Audrey sounds as if she's on a mission, well, she is. She wants to prove girls are as tough as guys, while maintaining her femininity and promoting girls wrestling.

The 5-foot-3 Shockley is undefeated against girls and has won two girls state championships. The last one came this past weekend, when she won the United State Girls Wrestling Association (USGA) state crown with two pins and a technical fall.

At the boys high school region tournament this year, she pinned her first opponent, but then lost two matches and failed to qualify for state. It's something she still hasn't forgotten.

"I hate losing, and next year, I want to be the first girl ever to place at state in Florida," Audrey said. "I want to go down to 103 pounds.

"I feel I can win at that weight because there are not a lot of experienced wrestlers there."

Though wrestling is her passion, Audrey is certainly not a one-dimensional person.

The 16-year-old is president of her sophomore class and a JV cheerleader. She used to compete on the cross country, track and field and weightlifting teams, but gave those sports up this year to concentrate on wrestling.

"I want to be strong and tough, but I don't want to have 30-inch-around arms. I don't want to be a body builder," Audrey said.

The next big event for Shockley is the girls national tournament in April, when she will wrestle in the 110-pound class. She got roughed up pretty bad last year in the tournament, but is much-improved this year, which is a reason she was so successful against the boys.

Audrey says nearly every guy she wrestles is stronger than her, but that she uses her intelligence and technique to beat them.

"I outsmart them and outthink them," she said. "I use some muscle, but not as much as them. When I beat a guy, they are amazed because they see a girl and think it's going to be easy."

Arundel (Maryland) sophomore wrestler Nicole Woody.

Brittany Woodall of West Virginia.

Class 2A/1A wrestling

SALEM -- It didn't surprise Misty Corwin that she was the subject of much conversation Friday, culminating with an enthusiastic introduction before her semifinal match.

The 15-year-old understood she had no control over the attention for being the first female wrestler in Oregon history to ensure herself a spot on the medal award stand.

But if the Waldport sophomore had her way, she simply would be known as a wrestler -- no prefix needed.

"I don't really feel any different or look at myself as a girl wrestler," Corwin said after taking care of many skeptics by pinning her first two 103-pound opponents in the OSAA Class 2A/1A wrestling tournament at The Pavilion at the Oregon State Fairgrounds.

And though she was disappointed after her semifinal loss by pin in 1:38 to Culver junior Michael Williams, Corwin still was able to flash a smile when reflecting on her first experience at state.

"I think I proved to everybody that I'm a lot tougher than they all thought," said Corwin, a district champion who could place as high as third and no worse than sixth today. "I heard that a lot of people thought I would go two-and-out."

While Corwin provided a unique storyline, the team competition remained familiar. Six-time defending champion Nyssa (137.5 points) is on its way to a seventh consecutive state title, which would set a 2A/1A record and equal the all-class record.

The Bulldogs qualified five wrestlers into tonight's championship matches, including top seeds Nick Hartley (140), Braden Bair (189) and Bobby DeLeon (215). In all, nine of the 14 top seeds advanced to the finals.

Nyssa coach Luke Cleaver opened the day by watching Corwin pin Bulldogs sophomore Jon Nicholes in 5:03.

"She's very, very good," Cleaver said.

Corwin, a three-time girls national champion as a sixth-through-eighth grader, made more believers out of people with a 43-second pin of Myrtle Point freshman Chancy Johnson in the second round.

"I was really excited after that match because I knew that no matter how she does from there, she's walking home with a place at state," said Bobbi Corwin, Misty's mother, who also was proud of son, Paul, a finalist at 171 pounds.

Helen Maroulis hears the occasional disparaging comment, but to those who have trouble accepting her participation in the male-dominated sport of high school wrestling, the Magruder freshman has the perfect response:

She wins.

Magruder freshman 112-pounder wrestler Helen Maroulis, who has emerged among the county's top wrestlers at her weight class. Maroulis just wants to be treated like one of the guys when it comes to wrestling. (Preston Keres -- The Washington Post)

Maroulis has a 25-4 record in the 112-pound weight class this season, which could wind up being the most successful ever by a female wrestler in Montgomery County and, possibly, the state.

"I kind of feel sometimes when people talk to me afterwards, that they don't understand this is a big goal of mine," Maroulis said. "I'm not just doing this for a high school sport; I'm doing this as part of my life. It's definitely a big part of my life."

No female wrestler has ever won a match at the Maryland state tournament, said Jim Meehan, Montgomery County's sports director for wrestling, a regional tournament director and a member of the state wrestling committee. In fact, Meehan said, no girl had reached Maryland's state wrestling tournament before last season, when Arundel's Nicole Woody qualified in the 4A/3A division and Jade Hendricks of Baltimore's Western Tech competed at 2A/1A.

Meehan also believes that a girl has never wrestled in the Montgomery County Tournament.

Magruder Coach Max Sartoph said it would be "pretty cool" for Maroulis to be the first girl to win at the state tournament, but he had not really considered the historical significance because he does not view her differently than the team's other wrestlers.

"She's talented enough to wrestle with anybody," Sartoph said. "She works just as hard as anybody else. From day one she was just another wrestler, and all she wants to be treated like is a wrestler. She just wants to be a wrestler."

For Maroulis to be a state tournament wrestler, however, she must first advance past the county and region tournaments. The top six finishers in each weight class at the county tournament -- tomorrow and Saturday at Northwest High School -- advance to the 4A/3A West Region tournament. A wrestler also can advance by accumulating enough points (based on matches won and placement in tournaments) throughout the season. Either way, Meehan said Maroulis should advance.

The top four finishers in each weight class at the region tournament, Feb. 24 and 25 at Sherwood High School, advance to the state tournament at the University of Maryland's Cole Field House on March 3 and 4.

Maroulis has considered what it would mean to be the first female to win a match at the state tournament.

"There's been some big tournaments where no girl has placed [before], and I placed there. It's a better feeling than just winning," she said.

Maroulis didn't set out to challenge history. She was a soccer player before she ever gave a thought to wrestling. Six years ago, when Maroulis was 8, her mother, Paula, asked whether she could give the sport a try to help her younger brother Tony, then 6, who needed a partner if he was to continue competing in the Gaithersburg Sports Association.

Tony "was a year young to join, so he didn't have a partner. So if somebody didn't work out with him, he would have to quit," Paula Maroulis said. "We never thought she would compete. We didn't plan it that way. She just really liked it. She played a lot of other sports and gave everything else up for this. . . . This is her sport."

By the seventh grade, wrestling became a year-round pursuit for Maroulis. As she got better, the toughest part wasn't the things people said but finding opponents willing to share the mat with her.

"I'll get a lot of stuff from people. What I hate the most though is when people forfeit to me," she said. "That's something I've kind of had to deal with ever since I started wrestling, just because I'm a girl.

"In eighth grade, I was on a junior league team, and in about my first 10 matches I got forfeits, and it was because I was a girl. I was really disappointed about that. You put in a lot of effort, and then people just forfeit to you. It didn't happen before I got good, that's the worst part."

But with only two forfeits in her first high school season, Maroulis has had plenty of opportunity to prove herself. She is second on the Magruder team in wins and was named the outstanding wrestler last month at the Hub Cup in Hagerstown, where she finished third and defeated the same opponent in overtime matches on consecutive days.

Maroulis can't be in the locker room during weigh-ins, but she said her Magruder teammates have been unanimously accepting of her and "the team will definitely back me up for anything." She also said that fellow students approach her in school to say they respect what she does on the wrestling mat.

"She's in a good place," Paula Maroulis said. "I think it's nice that she has support. I'm really proud of her because I admire her for being able to do this. It's got to make her pretty tough mentally as well as physically. This is hard. This is a boy's sport."

Maroulis is not the only girl succeeding as a wrestler. Arundel's Woody is expected to make another run at the state tournament, and girls in other states have reached new heights in the sport.

In Alaska earlier this month, Michaela Hutchison became the first girl to win a state high school wrestling championship competing against boys. The growth of the sport led to women's wrestling making its Olympic debut at the 2004 games in Athens.

In Montgomery County, 855 high school wrestlers were certified this season. Fourteen of them were female.

"I'm almost 1,000 percent confident we haven't had [a girl] wrestle or entered in 44 years of the county tournament," Meehan said. "This year there could be half a dozen

Loretta Heystek Heads to Iraq By : Eddie Siguenza : 2/17/06 Like her father years before, Loretta Heystek wears her uniform proudly. But for today, Heystek’s U.S. Marine uniform sits on the shelf. Plenty of time for that when Heystek deploys to Iraq in just a couple of days.   U.S. Marine Loretta Heystek For now, she is the older sister and loving daughter of her San Leandro family. Inside the Heystek home, there’s happiness. Lots of it. Outside, there’s concern. Heystek’s military career is at its peak. She will deploy to Iraq with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) based out of Camp Pendleton, San Diego County. So the past few days have been days of acceptance. Days of answering and planning. “I have no problem with going over there,” said Heystek proudly. “I want to go basically because it’s duty. I won’t say I’m worried. If I was worried, I wouldn’t be going. But I am concerned. Anyone would be concerned when put in a new environment.” The news hardly stunned the family. They were well-informed of the possibilities of an Iraq mobilization, Heystek said. That just comes with wearing a military uniform. “Anyone who joins the service knows you’re going into battle some day,” added Heystek. “For me, it’s an honor. It’s duty. This is what’s expected of me.” The 29-year-old sergeant is a 1994 San Leandro High School graduate. She joined the Marines three months after graduation. Her senior year, Heystek publicized the Pirates by being a competitive varsity wrestler. She was one of three grapplers who pioneered the school’s girls’ wrestling program. Heystek also competed in shot put and discus throwing. However, those activities were merely the start of her toughness. “She’s the toughest woman I know,” said Jennifer Heystek, Loretta’s sister-in-law. “She can take care of herself.” “I’m not worried about her. I’m more concerned for the enemy,” added her brother Louis. “My sister can defend herself to the fullest.”   Loretta Heystek, center, sits with her family on Monday, a day before heading to Camp Pendleton in preparation for duty in Iraq. From left: sister-in-law Jennifer, father Rene, mother Yeap Nee and brother Louis. Not shown is brother Lamar. Rene Heystek said his daughter has been special since birth. She was born in Alor Setar, Malaysia, while he served in the American Peace Corps. This followed a three-year stint in the 1950s with the Netherlands Army, Rene’s country of origin. “Oh, she can handle herself. She put her uncle in the hospital one time,” said Rene. “It wasn’t a hoax. You should have read the doctor’s report.” The San Francisco Chronicle reported recently that, “The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force is putting together 35 teams of 11 to 15 men each who will spend the next seven to 12 months training, developing and working alongside their Iraqi counterparts to help them become the military presence in their own country.” About 13,000 troops are scheduled to return to the U.S. in the coming weeks as the Marines rotate out of Iraq and are replaced by troops from other bases. After 11 military years, seven as a Marine reservist, this will be Heystek’s first overseas deployment. She’s a correspondence noncommissioned officer. Her duties are with the 1st MEF command staff. Heystek calls North Hollywood her home now. Until recently, her days were occupied as a technical support specialist for J-2 Global, a computer/internet service. That changed when she was activated to full-time duty at Camp Pendleton. Iraq is Heystek’s next stop. She’s heading into unstable territory for approximately a year. All of the Heystek family agrees there are no worries. But as long as Iraq is Iraq, there will always be concerns. “I can say one thing,” says Rene. “She’s serving her country, and I’m very proud of that. She’s old and wise enough to know what to do. But all I want is for her to come back alive.”