Takedown Report

Girls Championship News

Stephen Decatur female wrestler wins state title, dominates the mat
In the past, Stephen Decatur wrestling coach Todd Martinek has joked that he’s the only state champion in the room. Prior to taking the head coaching role in 2011, Martinek wrestled at Bel Air High School and won a state title in 1989. He also took his skills to the college level, wrestling at Salisbury University. But Martinek is no longer the only state champion currently associated with the Decatur wrestling team. Prior to the start of the season, the Seahawks added a transfer from Urbana High School in Fredrick County who came in with a loaded resume, including a state, national and junior Olympic title. Anya Knappenberger, a sophomore who often wrestles in the 113-pound weight class, has become one of Decatur’s most reliable weapons. Rest of the story at https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/sports/high-school/2019/02/09/stephen-decatur-female-wrestler-wins-state-title-dominates-mat/2801886002/?mc_cid=e751cf5fe8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

In Idaho – Champs get a title belt at Idaho’s first (unofficial) girls wrestling state tournament
Read more here: https://www.idahostatesman.com/sports/high-school/article226003840.html?fbclid=IwAR0N0md8BmJmzhWKQt8tKgEUymeGQ11CzRWSdnSn6a0cLMSuThCMwMcglIE&mc_cid=e751cf5fe8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b#storylink=cpy

Girls wrestling dawns in Colorado with first state tournament
On two mats in the Thornton High School gym, a girls sport came of age in Colorado on Saturday. The state held its first recognized girls high school wrestling state championship at Thornton where nearly 80 qualified athletes competed in 10 weight classes from 100 to 215 pounds. One of the athletes in the field was JoJo Cummings, a Northridge High School sophomore who had not wrestled before this season. Cummings, 16, went 2-2 in the daylong tournament and finished fourth in the 105-pound weight class. Fans and wrestlers, both boys and girls, sat in bleachers on three sides of the dark blue mats during the tournament. Others stood to watch in an open space on another side of the mats. More spectators sat matside on the gym floor, up close and nearly on top of the history in progress in front of them. Rest of the story at https://www.greeleytribune.com/sports/girls-wrestling-dawns-in-colorado-with-first-state-tournament/?mc_cid=e751cf5fe8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b


Girls to make history with first Arizona state wrestling championships
The high school wrestling landscape was altered with the addition of girls teams to the sport this season.  “Just like anything else, they want an opportunity to compete,” said Arizona Interscholastic Association Executive Director David Hines. “If they can compete with their own gender, why wouldn’t we allow that?” The first Arizona state championships for girls wrestling will be held Friday.  Allowing girls to compete against each other instead of against boys, it takes away the intimidation factor that was there in the past.

Breaking Gender Barriers

For many of the girls who wrestle, it was a sport that had been in their family for years. Growing up they had heard the tales of their fathers’ success on the mat or witnessed their brothers’ development in the sport.  “My dad was in wrestling since he was really little and he passed it on to my brothers,” Chandler sophomore Carla Rivas said. “Since they were younger, I’ve been trying to practice with them, but my dad always told me I couldn’t do the sport.”  It was a similar situation for Basha High School sophomore Amber Rodriquez, who has two older brothers already involved in Basha’s wrestling program. Rest of the story at https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/high-school/2019/02/07/girls-wrestling-grows-state-championship-sport-arizona/2780669002/?mc_cid=839c0f9f72&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

March 26, 2019 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized