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Athlete of the Week: Rogers is a quick learner
Nov. 16, 1999
The first entry in Kelly Rogers' day planner for Nov.10 is "wrestling practice" with a line drawn through the words. Right below that, she jotted the words "run in SCL cross-country meet."
Not only did Rogers make a last-minute decision to run in the Sonoma County League championship meet contested at the Spring Lake Park course, the Healdsburg freshman outran the best runners in the conference with little training for the grueling race.
In only her second cross-country competition, Rogers traversed the nearly 3-mile course in 17 minutes, 25 seconds. At the finish, she had a 14-second cushion over pre-race favorite Elissa Briggs. The Analy runner was undefeated in her first four dual meets this season and took first place at the frosh/soph division of the Artichoke Invitational.
When school started in September, cross country wasn't even on Rogers' list of things to do.
"I played midfielder on the Healdsburg soccer team and after the season ended, I was going directly into wrestling," the 5-1, 95-pounder said. "Rob Lee (cross-country coach) is also my physics teacher and when soccer season ended, he asked me to come out and help the cross-country team."
Lee knew Rogers had running ability because she had been successful competing at Healdsburg Junior High. He also knew long-distance running was in her pedigree. Her parents, Wayne and Pauline, are marathon runners and Pauline, in fact, competed in the 1997 Boston Marathon.
"When I asked Kelly to come out I had no idea she would be this good," Lee said.
It didn't take long for Lee to see his new runner was a diamond in the rough.
The first day she practiced, Lee told Rogers to take a run with the boys. She had no trouble keeping up.
"She'd only had one race and two weeks of training leading up to the conference championship," Lee said. "She's just running on raw talent now. We haven't come come close to seeing how fast she can run."
Having successfully handled the competition in her conference, Rogers' next challenge will be Saturday in the North Coast Section Division IV championship at Hayward.
When cross country ends, Rogers reports to the wrestling team to prepare for a season of grappling in the 103-pound division.
Last year, competing for the Coast Mountain Wrestling Association, coached by her father, Rogers finished 14-7 in matches against boys.
"I'm proud of that because boys try harder against me," Rogers said. "I guess they find it humiliating getting beat by a girl."
First up, however, is NCS cross country.
"My goal is the same as it was for SCL," said Rogers, who turns 14 today. "I just want to have fun and finish the race." -- HOWARD SENZELL
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Guys bowling = Girls wrestling?
By: AARON KING
January 27, 1999
WRITER'S NOTE: The following is a fictitious story. The writer is using it to convey his point with persuasion and a little humor.
I was only a stones-throw from the bowling alley when something hit me. Hit me with such a force I usually dealt out to bowling pins in my harsh games of over 200.
A horror plagued my bowling craved heart. I had the most inexplicable feeling that I was not to be here this day. From all corners of the parkway they were emerging "they" being the collective known as girls.
Upon entering Bowladrome the coach or leader of the Bruin Bowling Team, I don't know, what would you call a bowling coach? Anyway, the coach knew I wasn't right for the job after she heard what I had decided to call her. I called her the only thing I could relate her with, so I called her Mom. It went downhill from there.
I was in the midst of giggly girls who found myself humorous seeing me in my favorite bowling jock strap and wearing a helmet. Some guys have football, some guys have basketball, but my spanking five feet four inches say bowling is life. I just like to wear my lucky apparel when I bowl. I could see why they thought it was humorous, but back in the 80's it was a fashion statement. (So says my uncle...but he may just be joking with me.....hmmmm)
My style wasn't the only thing I was laughed at about. When the bowling mom came over to me to give me a number she said very loudly, "If I'm not mistaken you are either a guy or a girl who was beaten by the ugly stick really really hard."
It was at that point when my heart fell, resting near my pancreas, and the tears started to well up in my eyes. I had realized the vital word I had missed upon hearing the announcement; the one word which changed everything from cool to utter embarrassment. I couldn't believe that I had missed the word GIRLS in the announcement. It was Bruin GIRLS bowling try-outs. I left the alley with my sullen shoulders hanging low as I kissed goodbye my crippled dream.
Had this actually happened to anyone, it would not be debatably far from the truth. Many guys wish the school had a boys bowling team. A game so full of pure-fun with no real devastating competition. You battle yourself in the game of bowling. Your real objective is to defeat your old scoring record and defeat your opponents. Alike track, in bowling you can only blame yourself for a bad game.
But honestly, I know some guys who would like to be on a bowling team. I understand that girls' bowling is the sport that equalizes guys wrestling. However, don't you think we can come up with another girls sport to equalize guys bowling? Like take for instance, you've all seen those gorilla chick wrestlers who look like they've been hit by the ugly stick, perhaps more than a few times. If we slapped those tight spandex wrestling uniforms on a few of our finest bruin ladies, the number of spectator dollars would shoot through the roof.
Girls' wrestling isn't the only new sport we could implement to balance the gender sports. Take for example the following: underwater basket weaving...a sport of it's own, A Powder Puff football season...not only the guys want this sport, a school supported Dance squad, an all female Sumo championship, Knitting Regionals, Bikini Boxing...seriously, girls would love a Girls Boxing season. The possibilities are endless.
Both sides of the story would enjoy the new sports. While the boys would love to have bowling as an extra-curricular activity, many girls would actually enjoy being apart of a Girls Wrestling team or a Girls Boxing team. Five years ago there was no such thing as the WNBA but sexist liberals made the dream come to pass. With guy sports becoming co-ed almost everyday despite the contrast of the sexes, pretty soon there won't be a sport on Earth that doesn't include both genders. The moral of the story is don't let sex get in the way of your dreams. Pardon the pun.
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Williams wrestles the world
John McCormick
Staff Writer
-Wednesday, February 8, 1995
Sugar and spice and everything nice, that's what girls are made of.
Well, maybe most girls. But not Chico State graduating senior Shannon Williams. True, she may have the spice and everything nice, but don't tell her she can't have the snips and snails and puppy dog tails, too.
That would be a big mistake.
Shannon Williams is currently the best women's freestyle wrestler in her weight class in the country. And, unfortunately for her competition, she's not going to stop until she is crowned world champion, the best in the world.
She began her wrestling career in 1987 as a junior in high school. Being that her father was a high school wrestling coach, Shannon was well-exposed to the sport and had an easier time than most picking it up.
"I didn't like any of the other sports during that time of year, so I tried wrestling," said Williams.
Her coach at Chaffey High School in Southern California couldn't accept it at first and worked Shannon extra hard to try and "break her," so she would quit on her own.
But Shannon Williams has never heard the word "quit" before.
Once she started wrestling, her teammates could see that she wasn't just wrestling to make a political statement. She really was good.
The only problem was that there weren't any other women for her to wrestle, so she had to wrestle the guys.
"It's really a no-win situation for a guy wrestling me. He doesn't want to forfeit and lose the match without even competing. If he wins, then he's thinking 'Oh well, I just beat a girl.' And if he loses, he has to deal with, 'Oh no! I just got beat by a girl!'" Williams said.
Fortunately nobody ever forfeited a match with Shannon, and she began to win and gain recognition.
Shannon didn't wrestle her first woman until the year after she got out of high school.
In 1989, she qualified for the US National team. Shannon said she found out, while competing overseas, that the United States is inferior in promoting women's wrestling and that it is very popular in other countries.
In 1990, Shannon competed in her first World Championships in Sweden, and placed fourth. The following year, Tokyo, Japan hosted the tournament and Shannon placed second.
In 1992, Shannon took a brief respite from her wrestling career to try her hand with the American Gladiators. She made it on the show, winning the first day and losing the second.
In 1993, she went to the World Championships in Norway. And in 1994, she went to the championships in Bulgaria. She finished second both years.
Two weeks ago she won the Schwab Tournament in France.
Shannon was also recently named the 1994 Woman Wrestler of the Year, an award bestowed upon her by the US Olympic Committee and USA Wrestling.
She travels to local high schools to give exhibitions, and even trains with some of the local high school teams.
"I would like to coach at a national level, when I'm done competing," Williams said.
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Battle of the sexes take to the mat
By: Stephanie Tilley
January 12, 1999
And in this corner weighing in at 98 pounds and standing in at 5 feet and one inch is Meredith Washam! No, Meredith is not going to be in the next Tyson fight. She is not only the lightest member of the team, but she is the only girl as well. Meredith joined the wrestling team because of her love of the sport and to prove to herself and her father that she could do it. "My father thinks that I can't handle it because I am a girl," Meredith said.
She was first introduced to wrestling by an old boyfriend. "My boyfriend and I would wrestle around and I have loved it ever since," Meredith said. Because she is so light she has to compete in the 103 category. She was defeated in the last two matches that she participated in. Meredith attributes her losses to her lack of aggressiveness and
experience. Meredith is supported by family and friends with her choice to wrestle. "I support Meredith, but I don't want to see her get hurt," her brother, Richard said. Meredith's
fellow teammates treat her like one of the guys according to teammate John Stalcup. "The guys beat me up a lot, but they are all supportive and helpful," Meredith sad. The only thing that Meredith has to do differently from the other guys is that she has to
wear a swim cap (to hold back her hair), and she has to wear a t-shirt under her uniform. According to Meredith there are both advantages and disadvantages to being the only girl on the team. "Some opponents will slack off because I am a girl. They won't try as hard and it will be easier for me to win," Meredith said. However, in discussing the
disadvantages, the downside of being a girl and wrestling boys is that boys don't want to lose to a girl and they worry, Meredith said. Meredith enjoys being on the team and plans on trying out next year. Her teammates are
looking forwards to her return. "She is doing something different, and I think that it is cool because she is proving that a girl can do anything a guy can," teammate Josh Garrett said.
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Woman wrestles gender role
By: Chung-Lim Yew
March 01, 1999
Senior Sarah Hayes drops to the floor and attacks her opponent. Reaching forward to grab a limb, she stretches the limits of her being and lunges to lock him in place. Trapping the competitor for a second, Hayes is quickly overthrown. With one rough move, the advantage is reversed, and Hayes finds herself facing the ceiling lying flat on the mat.
In her first time ever participating in a school sport, Hayes redefines the norm. She is the first female wrestler in Smoky Hill history. A transfer student from Fairview, Hayes recently completed her first junior varsity wrestling season in the 112 and 119-pound weight classes.
Hayes describes the impression she first received from wrestling coach Scott Barker.
“I don’t think that he expected me to stay, “Hayes said. “He might have thought that I’d come for one day and get the tar kicked out of me and just change my mind.”
Hayes remained in the sport and loved it. Sarah’s younger brother, Jevon, got Hayes interested in the sport through his own participation in wrestling at Fairview.
“I figured I could do it and it would be fun,” said Hayes. “It was something [my brother and I] could do together.
“We’ve been at tournaments together and it’s really fun because Fairview is a better team,” said Hayes. Hayes enjoys the benefit of participating in a sport with a sibling.
Hayes welcomes the challenge of being involved in such a demanding sport but realizes that her participation is not common. Although she doesn’t feel a bias from her own teammates, Hayes has experienced gender-related conflicts in tournaments with other schools.
“One guy forfeited to me in a match because I was a girl,” Hayes said. “He said it had something to do with his religion.”
Although it might be hard to accept for others, Hayes’ family encouraged her and offered nothing but support.
“My dad comes to see all my matches,” Hayes said. “He is there all the time and he and I play at home. It’s awesome.”
Although Hayes doesn’t feel a prejudice from teammates, she feels her gender limits her from participating in certain team activities.
“If I could do anything, I’d want to go into the guy’s locker room,” said Hayes. “It’s like the sacred place. That’s where all the bonding takes place and I wish I could invade the territory.”
But special privileges are not rewarded either. Hayes follows the same work out regiment as all the male teammates, which includes weight lifting approximately for 45 minutes before school during the season.
Certain moves, she admits, are difficult to execute because she doesn’t have the strength. However, she feels that wrestling is difficult not only because of the physical challenges but the mental challenges as well.
“Getting the mental side down is the toughest part,” Hayes said.
She likes the sport because it keeps her in shape and helps her to maintain her physical fitness. Considering wrestling as one of the most difficult things she has ever done, Hayes feels that it is the most rewarding.
“I have the best coaches,” Hayes said. “They’re awesome.”
Regardless of all that she has accomplished, Hayes realizes the misconceptions that can form as a result of female participation in wrestling.
“I don’t want to be butch,” Hayesn said. “I’m into the woman gender role. But there is no female version of John Wayne.
“I can have all the attributes guys can. I don’t have to fit the stereotype.”
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