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TheMat.com/Asics Tiger Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team set;
Michigan leads nation with three First Team selections
The nation*s best girls high school wrestlers are being honored with the
announcement of the First Annual TheMat.com/Asics Tiger Girls High School
All-American Wrestling Team.
TheMat.com/Asics Tiger Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team is
selected by a nationwide panel of wrestling experts. It is the only national
all-star team for which female high school wrestlers competing on all four
grade levels are eligible. Athletes from across the nation were considered for
their achievements in high school wrestling, as well as the major post-season
freestyle and folkstyle competitions.
TheMat.com is the official web page of the Amateur Wrestling Alliance, and is
one of the leading sports web pages on the internet. Asics Tiger is a national
sponsor of USA Wrestling and a major supporter of wrestling at all levels.
Asics Tiger has sponsored the nationally respected Asics Tiger High School
All-American Team for boys wrestlers for 16 years.
*The ASICS Tiger Corporation is proud to be a sponsor of the first All-American
wrestling team for girls,* said Neil Duncan, Vice President of TW Promotions
which represents ASICS. *We see this sport having a huge potential for growth,
and look forward to the day when many high schools and colleges across the
country offer wrestling programs for the female athlete.*
Michigan led the First Team selections with three athletes: Katrina Betts of
Milan High, Keristen LaBelle of Davison High and Brandi Rosenbrock of East
Detroit High.
Ohio and Pennsylvania each had two First Team selections. Ohio featured Toccara
Montgomery of Cleveland East Technical High and Jessi Shirley of Northmor High.
Pennsylanians honored on the First Team were Lisa Bisers of Hampton High and
Erin Tomeo of Grove City High.
The First Team featured a number of wrestlers who are nationally ranked on the
Senior level in freestyle wrestling, competing against the best women wrestlers
of all ages. Montgomery was a 2001 U.S. Senior Nationals Champion and earned a
spot on the U.S. Senior World Team that will compete at Madison Square Garden
in New York City in September. Montgomery beat two past World Champions to
qualify for the U.S. team.
Tomeo placed second in the 2001 U.S. Senior Nationals, and has held national
rankings on the Senior level for the past two years, while Bisers was third at
this year*s U.S. Senior Nationals.
Other wrestlers on the First Team who earned All-American status by placing at
the U.S. Senior Nationals were Mary Kelly of Mahomet-Seymour High in Illinois,
Erica Dye of Wirt County High School in West Virginia, Melina Hutchison, a
homeschooled student from Skyview High in Alaska, Cathilee Albert of Fairview
High in Colorado and Alicia Mena of Humboldt High in Minnesota.
The First Team featured four wrestlers who won national scholastic-style titles
this year, by claiming gold medals at the 2001 USGWA National Championships in
Michigan. The USGWA National champions on the First Team were Montgomery,
LaBelle, Betts, and Rosenbrock.
Seven First Team members won USA Wrestling age-group national freestyle titles
this year: Montgomery, Tomeo, Hutchison, LaBelle, Rosenbrock, Dye and Brooke
Bogren of Santa Fe Trail High in Kansas. Rosenbrock and Dye won two USA
Wrestling age-group titles this year, the FILA Cadet Nationals (ages 15-17) and
the FILA Junior Nationals (ages 17-20). Also qualifying for the First Team was
former Cadet World medalist Jenna Pavlik of Cape Henelopen High in Delaware.
The First Team featured eight seniors, five juniors and one sophomore
(Rosenbrock).
Each year, a TheMat.com/Asics Tiger High School Wrestler of the Year will be
selected and honored, recognizing the best individual wrestler in the nation.
This award winner will be announced at a later date, and the award will be
presented at a major national wrestling tournament. Each of the First Team
members will also receive their award at an appropriate major wrestling event
next season.
The Second Team was also star-studded, led by two-time USGWA National Champion
Jennifer Wormwood of Oxford Hills Comprehensive High in Maine. Other Second
Team members claiming 2001 USGWA National titles were Alaina Berube of Escanaba
High in Michigan, Melyssa Fuqua of Westfield High in Massachusetts, Erica
Hartman of Amador Valley High in California, Gina Heinzelman of Heritage High
in Michigan, Samantha Lang of Tualatin High in Oregon and Shoni Plagman of
Lebanon High in Oregon. Also on the second team was Tanya Miyasaki of Castle
High in Hawaii, a Hawaii state high school champion who also placed sixth at
the U.S. Senior Nationals in freestyle.
The Third Team featured three USGWA National champions, Laura Felix of
Calabasas High in California, Wendy Casey of Binghamton High in New York and
Shawn Swarzlender of Burns High in Oregon. The Third Team also included a pair
of sisters, Rebekka and Rosaria DeCola of Ann Arbor Community High School in
Michigan.
As the National Federation of State High Schools has yet to determine specific
weight classes for girls wrestling, the athletes were selected based solely on
achievement and ability. The top 14 athletes were named to the First Team, the
second 14 athletes were named to the Second Team and the third 14 athletes were
selected to the Third Team. Thirty athletes were named as Honorable Mention. An
effort was made to make a reasonable spread of weights on each team. If the
National Federation sets specific girls weight classes in the future, the
selection committee will consider using those weight classes for the selection
criteria at that time.
For the TheMat.com/Asics Tiger Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team,
athletes were identified in three weight ranges: Light (100-121 pounds); Middle
(122-140 pounds); Upper (141 pounds and above).
In total, 72 wrestlers were selected to TheMat.com/Asics Tiger Girls High
School All-American Wrestling Team. California led all states with 13
selections, followed by Michigan with 12. Pennsylvania had seven members,
Hawaii had six members, and Ohio had five team members. A total of 23 states
were represented on the All-American Team. The team included 33 seniors, 24
juniors, nine sophomores and six freshmen.
Women*s wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports among youth sports for
women. There are an estimated 5,000 girls competing on the high school level in
the United States today, and the number has grown each year for the last dozen
years. A number of colleges have begun to add women*s wrestling on the varsity
and club level across the nation. Women*s wrestling is expected to be added to
the program of the Olympic Games in the near future.
TheMat.com/Asics Tiger Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team will be
prominently featured on TheMat.com web page, as well as in USA Wrestler, the
official publication of USA Wrestling.
2001 TheMat.com/Asics Tiger Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team
Name (listed alphabetically), year in school, city, high school, weight class
range
FIRST TEAM
Cathilee Albert, senior, Boulder, Colo, Fairview High School, middle
Katrina Betts, senior, Milan, Mich., Milan High School, light
Lisa Bisers, senior, Allison Park, Pa., Hampton High School, middle
Brooke Bogren, junior, Carbondale, Kan., Santa Fe Trail High School, light
Erica Dye, junior, Elizabeth, W.Va., Wirt County High School, light
Melina Hutchison, senior, Soldotna, Alaska, Skyview High School (homeschool),
light
Mary Kelly, junior, Mahomet, Ill., Mahomet-Seymour High School, light
Keristen LaBelle, junior, Davison, Mich., Lapeer West High School, light
Alicia Mena, junior, St. Paul, Minn., Humboldt High School, upper
Toccara Montgomery, senior, Cleveland, Ohio, East Technical High School, upper
Jenna Pavlik, senior, Lewes, Del., Cape Henelopen High School, upper
Brandi Rosenbrock, sophomore, Warren, Mich, East Detroit High School, middle
Jessi Shirley, senior, Galion, Ohio, Northmor High School, middle
Erin Tomeo, senior, Volant, Pa., Grove City High School, middle
SECOND TEAM
Sara Fulp Allen, sophomore, El Granada, Calif., Half Moon Bay High School,
light
Ali Bernard, freshman, New Ulm, Minn., New Ulm High School, upper
Alaina Berube, junior, Escanaba, Mich., Escanaba High School, middle
Laura DiCesare, sophomore, Monroe, Mich., Monroe High School, upper
Melyssa Fuqua, junior, Westfield, Mass., Westfield High School, upper
Erica Hartman, senior, Pleasanton, Calif., Amador Valley High School, upper
Gina Heinzelman, junior, Saginaw, Mich., Heritage High School, light
Tanya Miyasaki, junior, Kaneohe, Hawaii, Castle High School, light
Samantha Lang, freshman, Tualatin, Ore., Tualatin High School, upper
Heather Martin, sophomore, Wellington, Ohio, Keystone High School, upper
Tela O*Donnell, senior, Homer, Alaska, Homer High School, middle
Shoni Plagman, senior, Lebanon, Ore., Lebanon High School, middle
Malinda Ripley, junior, Antioch, Calif., Deer Valley High School, light
Jennifer Wormwood, senior, South Paris, Maine, Oxford Hills Comp. High School,
middle
THIRD TEAM
Wendy Casey, sophomore, Binghamton, N.Y., Binghampton High School, middle
Patrice Crenshaw, senior, East Point, Ga., Tri-Cities High School, light
Rebekka DeCola, senior, Ann Arbor, Mich., Community High School, upper
Rosaria DeCola, senior, Ann Arbor, Mich., Community High School, middle
Laura Felix, junior, Calibassas, Calif., Calabasas High School, light
Jessica Hseih, freshman, Vallejo, Calif., Vintage High School, light
Dyana McIntire, senior, Amarillo, Texas, Palo Duro High School, upper
Cathy Migita, senior, Honolulu, Hawaii, Castle High School, middle
Molly Seleska, senior, Dexter, Mich., Dexter High School, upper
Liz Short, senior, Lombard, Ill., Glenbard East High School, light
Shawn Swarzlender, freshman, Burns, Ore., Burns High School, light
Ashley Sword, senior, Lake Worth, Fla., Lake Worth High School, upper
Dani Presley, senior, Napa, Calif., Vintage High School, middle
Christine Rivera, junior, Berkeley, Calif., Berekely High School, middle
HONORABLE MENTION
Siobhan Bower, junior, Sinclairville, N.Y., Cassadega Valley Central High
School, upper
Kelly Branham, junior, Apache Junction, Ariz., Apache Junction High School,
upper
Casey Brittan, senior, Amarillo, Texas, Palo Duro High School, upper
Jen Chu, sophomore, Philadelphia, Pa., Germantown Friends School, light
Samantha Collett, sophomore, Millersburg, Ohio, West Holmes High School, middle
Teresa Dal Ben, junior, Sacramento, Calif., Elk Grove High School, middle
Ashley Dow, freshman, Waterbury Center, Vt., Harwood Union High School, middle
Kristy Ferguson, senior, Great Bend, Kan., Great Bend High School, middle
Kiristen Fujioka, senior, Kaneohe, Hawaii, Castle High School, light
Brandy Golt, senior, Chesapeake, Va., Oscar Smith High School, upper
Rachel Groft, freshman, Abbotsford, Pa., New Oxford High School, light
Carmen Hunter, junior, Gladys, Va., Rustburg High School, middle
Wendy Hunter, senior, Cleveland, Ohio, East Technical High School, upper
Devin Kelly, sophomore, Mercer, Pa., Mercer High School, upper
DeAnna Lau, senior, Kaneohe, Hawaii, Punahou School, middle
Amanda Lee, senior, Hastings, Mich., Hastings High School, middle
Kathryn Jones, junior, Modesto, Calif., Grace Davis High School, upper
Sheila Lerit, junior, Vallejo, Calif., Vallejo High School, light
Rocky Magdeleno, junior, Little Lake, Mich., Gwinn High School, middle
Linse Meadows, junior, Katy, Texas, Katy High School, middle
Malissa Mort, senior, Fredericktown, Pa., Bethlehem Center High School, light
Melissa Moore, junior, San Jose, Calif., Del Mar High School, light
Jennifer Perrin, senior, Boswell, Pa., Somerset Area High School, middle
Emily Rhinehart, junior, Orland, Calif., Orland High School, middle
Erin Soli, senior, Plainville, Conn., Plainville High School, light
Kristie Sweat, junior, Cookeville, Tenn., Cookeville High School, middle
Anna Tong, junior, Honolulu, Hawaii, Kaiser High School, middle
Elizabeth Torres, sophomore, Kahuku, Hawaii, Kakuku High School, light
Sarah Williams, senior, Interlochen, Mich., Benzonia Benzie High School, middle
Alicia Wilson, senior, Santee, Calif., Santana High School, upper
Note: Lightweights (100-121 lbs.); Middleweights (122-140); Upperweights (141
and above)
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