Takedown Report

Women’s Wrestling News # 47

TDR Editor’s Notes ; A late summer look at women’s wrestling experiences on a variety of levels from the international to collegiate and on thru scholastic programs. We are especially encouraged to see the growth of wrestling teams which bring opportunities for more wrestlers.
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1 } – Girls Wrestling Team Proposed for Central Mountain High School
BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP – With school board approval next month, Central Mountain High School will be among the first Pennsylvania high schools to field a girls wrestling team.
District officials advanced the proposal at the Tuesday night meeting of the Keystone Central School Board’s curricular and extra-curricular committee. Among those endorsing the proposal were school district superintendent Jacquelyn Martin, Central Mountain athletic director George Bidwell and Wildcat wrestling coach Biff Walizer. The superintendent said after the meeting that a presentation on the proposal will be heard at the school board’s work session Sept. 3 with a possible vote at its Sept. 10 voting session. If approved, Central Mountain would join a handful of such programs in the state, including Easton, North Allegheny and Lancaster McCaskey High Schools. As explained by Bidwell, there would be no additional cost to the district as the present boys program (which included two girls in the most recent season) already has the needed uniforms and equipment. Bidwell detailed the growth of girls wrestling nationally and in Pennsylvania. He said most recently there were 239 girls on 139 boys’ teams across the state, including 26 girls on teams that Central Mountain competes with. He said a girls team would demonstrate the school district’s commitment to “being a leader in the areas of equity and diversity.” He said there are five area schools part of some 42 schools across the state exploring establishment of a program. … rest of story at _{http://therecord-online.com/site/archives/61505?mc_cid=27a5988c78&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

2 } – Sarah Hildebrandt: My Wrestling Hero
Today’s installment of My Wrestling Hero features Sarah Hildebrandt. The 2018 World silver medalist shares her thoughts on her wrestling heroes: Her siblings.
These are Hildebrandt’s words on her wrestling heroes:
“My heroes are my siblings — my younger brother, Drew, who is a Division I wrestler and seeing how hard he works. Everything that has happened recently and not being able to wrestle at NCAAs because of COVID and seeing his resiliency with all that is inspiring. It’s been cool to chase a dream with him. “Then my older brother, Cory, who also wrestled collegiately for a couple of years. He’s the person who brought wrestling to our family. He brought the flier home one day and obviously none of us would be in this sport without him. He’s the biggest wrestling hero, I think, in our wrestling family.  “Then my little sister who became the women’s wrestling head coach at Trine University … rest of story at _{https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1597893407283&twSessionId=rroijpjdfz&postId=859671135&mc_cid=b69497687c&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

3 } – Iranian immigrant Afsoon Johnston became the first U.S. World medalist in women’s wrestling
Afsoon Johnston’s incredible journey from Iran to the United States is the subject of a new book. Could her history-making wrestling career become the subject of a film? . … rest of story and video at _{https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPlayer.jsp?TIM=1597893615559&twSessionId=spsyxwfzcn&videoId=859739135&mc_cid=b69497687c&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

4 } – Sesker’s story of Johnston’s painful immigration from Iran to enjoying the American dream
The English translation of “Afsoon” is “good omen” and that was never more true than on Aug. 16, 1972, when a little girl by that name was born in Tehran, Iran, to Manu and Jila Roshanzamir. Because 48 years later, wrestling fans — or anyone who loves the American dream — will likely be inspired by one of the sport’s newest books. It’s an amazing story of the U.S.’s first World medalist in women’s wrestling — an incredible feat that gave hope to her parents at a time when world events made life very difficult. And thanks to the effort of wrestling author Craig Sesker, the story of that woman — Afsoon Johnston — can be read in the book, “Afsoon.” Sesker has written 10 books on wrestling — including “Bobby Douglas” — but this may be his best effort. The 206-page biography of Afsoon (Roshanzamir) Johnston is an easy read and in three hours time Sesker does a masterful job of drawing readers into her unique life. In addition, I felt like I was reading a future movie screenplay about this woman, who admitted a movie producer actually approached her about making a movie about her life when she was in high school. … rest of story at _{https://www.win-magazine.com/2020/08/sesker-tells-the-story-of-johnstons-painful-immigration-from-iran-to-enjoying-the-american-dream/?mc_cid=1321811b68&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b#utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sesker-tells-the-story-of-johnstons-painful-immigration-from-iran-to-enjoying-the-american-dream}

5 } – Family fled life-threatening danger to find roots, success in United States
By BRYCE MILLER COLUMNIST 
Imagine being lined up military-style as a 7-year-old in a first-grade class, ordered to bark venom-laced chants and stomp on a flag before watching it set ablaze.
Try to process the fear, the confusion, the blur of thoughts bouncing around fragile minds like pinballs at a time when you’re supposed to learn how to count to 10 and master the alphabet.
El Cajon’s Afsoon Johnston understands the unsettling swirl of it because she lived it in Tehran, Iran. The country jarringly shifted from westernized lifestyles under the exiled Shah to the terrifying, tight-fisted religious rule of Ayatollah Khomeini. … rest of story at _{https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/sports-columnists/story/2020-08-14/afsoon-johnston-iran-wrestling-world-bronze-first-medal-womens-olympics?mc_cid=fca2dfc53b&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

6 } – Julia Salata: My Wrestling Hero
Today’s installment of My Wrestling Hero features Julia Salata. The four-time women’s freestyle National Team member and King assistant coach shares her thoughts on her wrestling hero: Jacque Davis. 
These are Salata’s words on her wrestling hero:
“I’m going to go with Jacque Davis. I worked with Jacque on a number of different things. I first met her in Fargo in 2014 when she first got the job as Beat the Streets New York women’s coordinator. I didn’t really know Jacque. She was never a high profile senior-level athlete. She was unknown to me. It was like, ‘Who’s this person coaching with me on Team New York? I don’t really know her.’ After being around her for 10 days it was like, ‘Holy crap, she’s incredible.’ “From that point we started collaborating on several things and a couple different projects. Everything she does, she puts 100 percent into everything.  … rest of story at https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1596678206992&twSessionId=vsretnndpf&postId=788178135&mc_cid=dabfe2c4a0&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

7 } – My CU Story: McKayla Campbell reflects on her quarantine experience
During quarantine I was handling my classes pretty well and our professors were working really well with us in our “new normal”. Having all of the classes the last seven weeks move online was challenging because we didn’t have that face-to-face interaction. But challenging moments are what student-athletes strive for and it taught me something new through this whole experience. 
Outside of my class work, I was happy to spend time with family. At home to stay entertained I helped restructure a pool deck and remodel a kitchen. My family was happy that we had time to spend together and we are thankful none of us had contracted the virus. 
After I was told that the national championship was canceled, I was very upset. It was more upsetting because we were already in North Dakota and weigh-ins were the next morning. What hurt the most was seeing our seniors not have their last chance to get on the podium. Those teammates worked so hard to achieve their goals and I had been there with them the entire time. It was heartbreaking to see their dreams shattered and not have another chance.
On the flip side, I am fortunate to say I have another year to look forward to and I promise to not take it for granted. When we were practicing as a team, our workouts every morning were very structured. I had to learn how to take that structure and develop my physical fitness on my own which included smaller workouts throughout the day – mainly body workouts. I also was able to implement a running program and I took a lot of walks. … rest of story at _{https://campbellsvilletigers.com/news/2020/8/19/womens-wrestling-my-cu-story.aspx?mc_cid=b69497687c&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

8 } – Five-time world champ Gray eager to get back on mat
Adeline Gray had the dates circled on her calendar.
August 2 and 3.
That is when Gray was supposed to compete in women’s freestyle wrestling at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. The five-time world champion was set to cap her Hall of Fame career with an Olympic gold medal. But Gray’s dreams, similar to those of athletes around the globe, were put on hold when the sports world was shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Olympics were postponed to next year. “It’s obviously disappointing the Olympics didn’t happen this year,” Gray said. “It’s been a challenge to stay focused and find training opportunities.” … rest of story at _{https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/23821?mc_cid=b69497687c&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

9} – 31. Coach Jessica Medina: National Women’s Development Coach for USA Wrestling/Champion On and Off the Mat
In this episode, Coach P speaks with Coach Jessica Medina, who is the Women’s National Development Coach for USA Wrestling.  Coach Medina is a former head college wrestling coach, USA Wrestling National Team Member, 3 x US Open Champion, Multi-time college All-American, and more. She now works for USA Wrestling in helping to develop our elite female wrestlers ranging from teens to the USA World Team.  During the conversation, we discuss Coach Medina’s start in sports, what drew her to wrestling, how she ended up coaching, and lessons she’s learned along the way. Make sure to share this do not miss episode with the female athletes in your life and all those looking to make a positive impact in this world! … rest of story at _{https://coachchadparkspodcast.libsyn.com/31-coach-jessica-medina-national-womens-development-coach-for-usa-wrestlingchampion-on-and-off-the-mat?mc_cid=503739b0f8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

10 } – Jenna Burkert – 3x World Team Member, Army Sergeant
Jenna Burkert is a 3x World Team member for the Red, White and Blue. She currently resides in Colorado and represents the Army WCAP program. Enjoy this one folks!
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ABOUT THE WRESTLING CHANGED MY LIFE PODCAST
Hosted by Ryan Warner, the Wrestling Changed My Life Podcast features in-depth interviews with wrestlers and coaches to learn how the sport shaped and molded their lives. By stitching together stories of sacrifice, triumph, defeat and perseverance, the Podcast takes the listener deep inside the world’s oldest sport. … rest of story at _{https://wrestlingchangedmylife.com/jenna/?mc_cid=27a5988c78&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

September 7, 2020 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized