ARTICLES DETAIL 2006 (PART 7)

They are sometimes mistaken for friends; best friends.
They are seldom mistaken for fighters. In fairness, Stephanie and Heather Han do not even look much like sisters, certainly not like twins. Stephanie is taller, heavier. Heather is shorter, lighter. They look more like cheerleaders (which Heather would like to be) than fighters.

But, oh, are looks deceiving.

Following in the footsteps of older sister Jennifer, the 15-year-old twins are accomplished boxers, kickboxers, martial artists and even wrestlers. It is a part of them, growing up with father Master Bae Han in his Northeast El Paso martial arts studio. This week they are in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., fighting in the National Golden Gloves Junior division -- Stephanie at 132 pounds, Heather at 110.

Laughing, Heather said, "I like it when I see the expression on my opponent's face when they find out they are fighting me. It's like they are thinking 'I get to fight her? OK. Great.' I know I don't look like a fighter."

Stephanie said, "I just remember playing around on the bags when I was three. I like boxing, then kickboxing, then wrestling. I'm really excited about theNational Golden Gloves, and I'm really determined to win state in wrestling this year."

Stephanie and Heather Han each have won the World Ringside Junior Boxing Tournament twice. Last year, as freshmen at Irvin High School, Stephanie finished fourth in the state in wrestling and Heather was the District 1-4A champion.

"They are both really, really talented," said older sister Jennifer, 23. "Stephanie was fighting this girl in a tournament once, and the girl just destroyed her opponent in the first fight. She looked across the ring at Stephanie and

made the sign like she was slashing her throat and pointed at Stephanie. Stephanie gave that girl the worst beat down I have ever seen. And that girl was good. And I think Heather is going to be the best. The best of the best."

Master Bae Han said proudly, "All of my girls are ready; all the time ready. I am so lucky that all my family follows me, trains under me. One goal. Nobody does that. My children are very special."

Stephanie and Heather laugh and recall a similar introduction into their rough-and-tumble lifestyle.

"I grew to love all this," Stephanie said. "My dad made us come at first and I didn't want to come. He forced us into it. And now I'm glad he did because I love it."

And Heather said, "I didn't start until the sixth grade. I felt left out. But I didn't want to do it at first because my dad made us. I felt left out until I started practicing. Then I didn't want to do it. But now I love it."

And now they are going to another national tournament, another huge competition.

"They are both very talented," trainer Jerry Wright said. "Stephanie hits hard. She hits like a man. Heather is also really, really talented. They are good athletes and both are really good girls."

Sisters. Twins. Best friends. And fighters. Very good fighters.

By Times-Herald staff 7/29/06

Gonzalez: Already a repeat All-American in freestyle wrestling

Monica Gonzalez is hoping a little trickery will help her out today.
Gonzalez, a Vallejo High wrestler heading into her junior year, is competing at the USAW Junior National championship for freestyle wrestling in Fargo, N.D., and enters the final in the 160-pound bracket today.

But her opponent, Amy Havens from Paradise, has some ownage on Gonzalez by defeating the Apache in each of their four lifetime matchups, whether high school or post-season tournament - including a second-round pin at the west region qualifying tournament for this nationals meet.

Gonzalez can take solace that she won the first round of that match on points, 6-2. Gonzalez, too, said she's got a few tricks up her sleeve today for Havens, whom she described as muscular and strong.

"I'm going to switch up my technique a little bit, not too much, but just enough so that I can beat her," said Gonzalez, reached by phone Monday night. " I've got some moves she doesn't I have."

Gonzalez, who went 24-3 in the fall school season and helped lead the Vallejo girls to another state title, landed in the final in Fargo after a good bit of wrestling - she gave herself a "9" on the 1-to-10 scale (with 1 being low).

In her first match, she toppled Gladys Barrientos

(Texas) with a first-round pin in 30 seconds; her second match was a second-round pin against Florida's Katie Crouch after a 6-0 first round. Gonzalez's third match ended after she shut out Oregon's Laura Gourley 2-0 in each of the first two rounds (note: at this freestyle tournament, wrestlers must win two of three rounds).

"I'm doing good," Gonzalez said, adding of the final, "Excited. I can't wait."

No matter today's outcome, Gonzalez has improved on her result from this meet last year, when she took sixth (top eight earn All-American status).

In the fall high school season, Gonzalez was the Northern California 158-pound champion, claimed an individual state title and led the Apaches to a second straight state banner. She was also seventh at the USGWA national meet, earning All-American status there in the Greco-Roman wrestling featured in the school season.

Also making history was a wrestler in the 4A/3A 112-pound weight class. No, tournament attendees didn't see a typo when they read the name "Helen Maroulis" 11 notches down on the bracket sheet. "Helen" is the wrestler's real first name, and she is a girl.

She also placed sixth at 112 pounds, becoming the first female to place in the MPSSAA wrestling tournament. And it was no fluke.

I printed out the bracket sheets from the MPSSAA regional and state tournaments. Maroulis competed in the 4A/3A west region. She came in with a record of 27 wins and only five losses. She pinned her first opponent, Jason Chen of Springbrook High School in Montgomery County. Chen was no slouch himself. He had a record of 19 wins and seven losses.

Sean McCarty of Northwest High School in Montgomery County - who would win the regional and then place third in the state tournament - pinned Maroulis in the next round. But Maroulis came back to beat Jason Lessans of Wootton High School and Joe Hancher of Walt Whitman High School in the consolations to place third in the regionals.

Hancher won 23 matches this season. Lessans won 35.

At the state 4A/3A public school tournament, Maroulis won by injury default over the more than capable Jarrid Bosque of Chesapeake High School in Anne Arundel County. Then Edwin Randall of Northern High School in Calvert County pinned Maroulis, but it took him five minutes and 29 seconds of a six-minute match to do it. (By comparison, Randall pinned Mervo's Lamone Wilson in only one minute and 32 seconds.)

Maroulis then went on her reign of terror in the consolation bracket. She beat Hancher for the second time in as many weeks by a score of 16-4. She beat her next opponent by four points and then lost to McCarty again and then to Bosque to place sixth.

When Maroulis was done, she had beaten, in two weeks, five guys who had won a total of 138 matches among them. Three of her four losses in that stretch were to guys who eventually placed second and third in the 4A/3A state public school tournament. Maroulis is just a ninth-grader. By the time she starts dating, any guy getting out of line with her might get a bent-leg Turk ride slapped on him.

Eventually, Lauren Knight got into shape.
That's all she wanted to do as a sophomore when she signed up for Mike Minahen's P.E. wrestling class. She didn't want to join the school team - oh my, no.

"I didn't even know girls could wrestle," she said. "I went into there blind."

Now, as she prepares to leave for college, Knight is Vallejo High's third three-team All-American female wrestler.

Her senior season was the most dominant of the three, as Knight won the unofficial state title at 138 pounds in February, took fifth at nationals on April 1, and finished with a stellar 28-4 record.

And for the first time ever, she is a nominee for the Times-Herald's female Athlete of the Year award.

Along the way, the soft-spoken Knight needed a few jump-starts to fuel her fire. The first came during her freshman year, when Minahen, then her P.E. Fitness teacher, found out that Knight could wrestle.

"One day while we were wrestling on the blacktop after doing some fitness work, she knocked me to the ground," Minahen recalled. "She apologized to me about 20 times, but I said, 'no, I liked it.' "

The coach insisted that Knight wrestle competitively the next year. She and wrestling proved to be a match made in heaven.

"I tried volleyball once in middle school," Knight said. "It never really stuck with me. I felt I was too physical when I played."

By the time Knight was a junior, she was considered a contender for a state title and possibly more, entering the year ranked No. 3 in the nation at 140 pounds.

The state title proved out of reach, however. In her own words, Knight simply lost focus, winding up fifth at the state meet, and leaving the mat in tears.

"It was something I had looked forward to and didn't accomplish it," she said. "When I did accomplish it this year, it was extra special."

If placing fifth at state lit a fire under Knight, the season-ending injury to Maria Angara, probably her best friend on the team, started an inferno.

A senior like Knight, Angara was eyeing a state title at 103 pounds this year.

"When she wound up getting hurt (at a mid-season tournament), I was scared. I would lean on her a lot," Knight said. "She was my inspiration, sort of. I used her to be strong and be focused."

It showed at the state meet. Knight made the title look easy, winning all five of her matches by pin to earn Times-Herald Athlete of the Week honors.

She knew the United States Girls Wrestling Association tournament in Lake Orion, Mich. wasn't going to be as easy. Especially after sustaining a high ankle sprain at the USGWA Northern California tournament on March 5.

"I think it made her stronger mentally," Minahen said of the injury, "because it put a big road block in front of her that she did have to overcome."

Knight wound up taking fifth at nationals, matching her finish from the previous year. How far she could have gone without the injury is anyone's guess.

But Knight isn't done wrestling. Next year, she plans to attend Cumberland (Ky.) University, one of the few NAIA schools to offer the sport to women.

Her legacy at Vallejo is sealed.

"Lauren's probably right there with both Shiela (Lerit) and Lenci (Landaker), probably tied for second, with Michelle (Domagas) being the best," Minahen said when asked to rank his best female wrestlers of all time.

Not bad for someone who, as little as four years ago, didn't know girls could wrestle.
 

Remember not too long ago, Feb. 4 to be exact, Granite Hills High wrestler Erica Torres won the California Girls Invitational Tournament at Hanford West High.

In wrestling circles it's considered the “unofficial girls state championship.”

By winning the 122-pound division, she can represent California in the National Girls' Wrestling Tournament, April 1 and 2, in Lake Orion, Mich. The event is sanctioned by the United States Girls Wrestling Association.

First, she has to come up with some cash - enough to cover airfare, lodging and meals.

Erica's coach Marty Kouyoumtjian and her mother are going to make the trip with her. Her father would like to also go.

Money is not really a sticking point. From what I hear, they will get Erica there even if they have to take out a loan. Of course they'd like to not do that which is where the gracious citizens of Porterville can jump in and help.

The Granite Hills Booster Club is accepting donations to help defray the cost of the trip.

If you are wondering about the character of Erica, I can tell you she has a 3.12 GPA in college prep classes and is definitely worthy of the support.

Plus, the donation is tax deductible. When making a contribution, please make it out to the Granite Hills High Booster Club with a note earmarking it to Erica Torres-National Girls' Wrestling Tournament.

For more information, call Granite Hills High.

Girls wrestling alongside boys on high school teams has almost become commonplace in recent years.

An occurrence that was rare only a few years ago, isn't that surprising these days.

But there aren't very many female team members.

That won't be the case this weekend however, as the largest girls wrestling tournament in the world unfolds at Lake Orion High School with the ninth annual United States Girls Wrestling Association National Championships on Saturday and Sunday.

Last year, 622 females between the ages of 5-44 participated in the event, which features wrestling in four divisions - elementary school age, middle school age, high school age and collegiate women's open.

Among the marquee names expected to be on hand are 2005 world champion Iris Smith, Olympic team member Tocarra Montgomery of the University of the Cumberlands, 2005 U.S. Senior Women's National Champion and 2004 Olympic Team alternate Alaina Berube, an Escanaba High graduate and junior at Cumberlands who is a four-time USGWA National Champ. Montgomery is a three-time finalist who owns one USGWA National Championship.

Texas and Hawaii are the only states with state-sanctioned high school wrestling championships for girls. Washington this year held its third annual girls state exhibitions as part of their boys high school tournament and appears close to sanctioning girls wrestling.

California's CIF sanctioned a North and South Championships for girls this year and appears ready to sanction a girls season with championship finals.

Expected to compete in the high school division are several girls who have done well wrestling against boys in their state tournaments.

Two-time USGWA National Champ Joey Miller, who finished fourth in the Oklahoma State Championships in 2005, should be there. Alyssa Lampe, who finished second at 103 pounds in the Wisconsin state tournament, is another who's expected, along with Kristi Pearse, who was second at 103 in Maine, and Andrea Hughes, who was fourth in Arizona.

Randi Beltz, who has gone 35-6 for her Missouri boys team and finished fifth at 103 in this year's state tournament, is another notable who should be on hand.

Others who should contend are Misty Corwin, who was fifth at 103 in the Oregon state tournament; Whitney Conder, a two-time Washington state placer at 103; Camie Yeik, who was sixth at 103 in Washington and met Conder in the state tournament; two-time New Mexico state placer Vanessa Lucero; two-time Missouri qualifier Ashley Hudson; Colorado state qualifier Brook Sauer; Kentucky state qualifier Patricia Brownfield; and New York state qualifier Amy Whitbeck.

Michaela Hutchison, who recently won the boys high school state tournament in Alaska, may compete. She flew to Columbus to compete in a USGWA event on March 5. Her father works in the oil fields in Alaska on the North Slope and is working this weekend so her attendance is dependent on making other travel arrangements.

The Flint area won't be without its fair share of competitors. Among them is Goodrich's C.C. Weber, who is ranked No. 8 in the country at 100 pounds and is the sister of Mark Weber, who won his second state championship as a sophomore this year. Goodrich's Kristi Garr is a top title contender in the middle school division.

LAKE ORION, Mich. - Just when Erica Torres didn't think her season could get any better, it did.

Torres, who won the 122-pound California state title for girls in February, took her athleticism to the national level over the weekend.

And the Granite Hills High School junior didn't disappoint with a fourth-place finish in the 122-pound weight class at the United States Girls Wrestling Association National Championships at Lake Orion High School.

“I wasn't going to leave this place empty-handed,” Torres said. “I wanted to do the best I could and place in the top six.”

She did that on Sunday but on Friday, it almost didn't come to pass.

Torres was three pounds over about seven hours prior to weigh-ins. So she rode the bike for an 1 hour, 25 minutes. She was still over and went for another 10 minutes before finally reaching her goal.

“I didn't come all this way to not wrestle because I was overweight,” Torres said.

Torres went 4-2 in the tournament. She reached the semifinals before getting pinned by eventual national champion Sarah Peasley from Wisconsin.

That put her in consolations but Torres' shoulder began to flare up. Instead of forfeiting out to a possible sixth-place finish, Torres chose to wrestle and beat Kristina Koennig, the same girl she beat for the California state title.

Only this time, the match was a little easier as she won 8-0 as opposed to the 8-7 decision in February. Torres then lost her third-place match to Ohio's Shelby Shirley 5-0.

“I told coach I wasn't leaving with fifth or sixth,” Torres said. “I wrestled really hard but I felt bad because I dislocated (Koennig)'s shoulder. We ended the tournament with my shoulder on ice and her's in a sling.”

Christina Cox of La Center won the championship for 118-pound high school girls during the 2006 United States Girls Wrestling Association Washington State tournament, held Saturday at Ridgefield High School.

A total of 53 girls from Washington, Oregon and Idaho participated in the tournament.

Sarah Rowen of Vancouver was the runner up in the 105-pound high school division.

Melissa Watkins from Camas was third in the 118-pound weight class won by Cox.

Brenda Mendoza from Ridgefield took third place at 85 pounds for middle school wrestlers.

Lucy Stewart of Woodland placed third in the 49-pound elementary school division.

A team of girls from Washington, coached by Kim Simmons of Ridgefield, will compete at the USGWA nationals March 31 in Michigan.

First Female Wrestler

During the preseason intrasquad green & gold scrimmage, senior Laura M. beat a male teammate 6-0. Laura became Lincoln’s first female wrestler recently by successfully finishing four days of gut check tryouts. “I do everything they do in practice,” Laura said of her male teammates. “I just have to push a little harder since it is a guy’s sport.”

EL MONTE - With their long black hair and slender frames, no one would guess that sisters Rosemary, 10, and Inez Martinez, 8, are accomplished wrestlers.

Flexible, strong and quick to learn, both girls recently took first place in their weight classes in the California State Wrestling Championship.

"They're just happy little girls," said their mother Mary Arenas. "When they come to the mat, they really get really serious."

So serious, in fact, that they've built a tough reputation for winning, despite the fact the girls are more petite than most classmates.

"A lot of the boys when they see my girls here, they go `Oh my God,"' said their father, Hector Martinez. "They don't want to wrestle the girls because they always win ... When boys lose to the girls, they cry."

"You should see the dads," Arenas added. "The dads cry too."

Inez, a third-grader at Maxson Elementary School in El Monte, claimed the fastest pin time - three seconds - last season. This year, Inez also won the Arizona Girls' State Wrestling Championships in her weight class.

"I like winning," said Rosemary, a fourth-grade student at Maxson.

The Martinez girls train three times a week with the San Gabriel Valley Kids Wrestling organization at Arroyo and El Monte high schools. They run, do pull-ups, jog in place and practice different wrestling moves. Rosemary competes in the 60-65 pound class, and Inez is in the 50-55 pound class.

Wrestling seems to run in the family. Their father was a Mission Valley League Champion in 1983 when he went to Mountain View High School in El Monte. Their older brother, also named Hector Martinez, an eighth-grader at Kranz Intermediate School, is a wrestler too.

"My dad teaches my brother, and my brother teaches us," Rosemary said.

Hector Martinez Sr. said he never intended for his daughters to become wrestlers. When she was a baby, Rosemary sat in the corner watching her older brother practice and compete. By the time she was 2 years old, she was imitating some of those moves by herself.

When she was 4, Rosemary officially entered the sport.

"She said, `Dad, I want to wrestle."' Hector said. "Her first tournament, she dominated."

It wasn't long before Inez followed her siblings' footsteps.

Besides wrestling, Rosemary and Inez like to play video games and softball, and Inez is on a local cheerleading squad. Rosemary likes writing and science, and Inez says she likes learning in general - except for social studies.