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Coaching females presents challenge
12/09/99

By John Marshall / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

By nature, wrestling is a sport best taught through contact. It is much easier and more efficient for a wrestling coach to get down on the mat to teach a move instead of just doing it verbally, so most take a hands-on approach of teaching.

But when it comes to female wrestlers, that doesn't happen. In most places, it can't.

The University Interscholastic League, which sanctions wrestling, prohibits girls from wrestling boys in matches or in practices. Although the UIL does not prohibit coaches from making contact with the girls, many school districts have adopted rules that do not allow contact between coaches and female wrestlers.

Without being able to physically demonstrate moves, it limits a coach's ability to teach and slows the development of the wrestlers.

"It's so much easier to show them how to do something instead of just pointing and instructing them," said Hurst L.D. Bell coach Bo Medley, who is coaching girls this season for the first time in his five years as a wrestling coach. "You can tell them if they're doing something right or wrong, but you can't demonstrate it. It can become tiring."

With a huge boost in popularity of girls wrestling in recent years, the dilemma of how to teach wrestling to girls has grown much larger.

Girls wrestling got its start in Texas a few years ago in Arlington, but now girls programs are spread throughout the area and the state. According to the UIL, there are currently 76 girls wrestling teams in Texas, which is more than twice the number in the state last year.

That means more and more coaches are having to find ways to teach with a hands-off approach.

"We try and have the girls do the same things that the guys do, but it's tough when you can't actually show them what to do," said Lake Highlands' Pete Grieder, who coached girls last year for the first time in his 14-year coaching career. "You can praise them when they do something right and tell them when they do something wrong, but it just isn't the same as being able to show them."

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Geanie Jaffe wants to win her second state title in wrestling and her twin brothers want to match her success
By Rick Mauch
Special to the Star-Telegram

Thu, 09 Dec 1999

ARLINGTON -- Geanie Jaffe has only herself to blame. She wanted a sport all her own that she didn't have to share with her younger twin brothers, so Geanie joined the Arlington High girls wrestling team as a sophomore in 1997.

She had immediate success, winning a state title in the 185-pound class as a sophomore and finishing second in the 165-pound division as a junior.

Seeing how much their sister enjoyed the sport, Josh and Jake Jaffe decided to give it a try. While they've not enjoyed the same success as Geanie, they appear to be headed in the same direction.

"I'd been wrestling about four months before they decided they liked it enough to try it. I didn't want them to wrestle," said Geanie, 17, who is a senior this season. "But now I'm glad they got involved.

"They're good. Not as good as me, of course," Geanie said, chuckling.

Said Josh: "I saw her wrestle, went to a couple of her tournaments, and decided it was something that looked like it would be fun."

Said Jake: "Geanie was winning most of her matches and she seemed to be enjoying it, so I thought it was at least worth trying. Then, I pinned a guy in 20 seconds and realized how thrilling it is, so I stuck with it."

Geanie is 3-1 this season wrestling at 165, with her only loss coming against Brandi Killingsworth of Sam Houston, who defeated her in the state final last season. Jake and Josh, both 16-year-old juniors, are 12-5 and 11-4, respectively.

None of the Jaffes had even thought about wrestling until Geanie was recruited out of the school band by coach Henry Harmoney. She said at first it seemed like something fun to do, but before long she found herself infatuated with the sport.

"It was something girls weren't into, for the most part, and I'm into breaking ground," Geanie said. "But I quit after the first day of practice. Then, my mom talked me into coming back.

"It paid off. I won state."

It also led to her brothers joining the boys team. They, however, did not get off to the fast start that Geanie enjoyed.

Josh was 0-13 wrestling at 119 pounds as a freshman on the junior varsity and Jake was 0-14 at 112 pounds as a freshman on the varsity. Last season, Josh was 21-13 wrestling at both 130 and 135 on the varsity. Although he weighed only about 130, Jake was 4-9 wrestling in the 140-pound weight class.

"Most of my matches were against guys who were bigger than me," Jake said. "But it made me a better wrestler."

There were times last season when the two brothers wrestled each other for the right to compete in bouts in the 130 and 135 categories. That made for some interesting talk around the dinner table.

"We hated each other for a while after those matches," Josh said. "But we're brothers. We'd get over it and move on."

Harmoney then decided he'd get better production by moving the twins into different categories.

"It was a bloodbath when they would wrestle," Harmoney said. "But it showed what a competitive spirit they both have. They absolutely hate to lose."

The brothers are hoping to have their own state championships to brag about soon. Geanie, meanwhile, has her sights set on avenging her loss to Killingsworth and bringing home another state title. Harmoney has faith in all three.

"I feel they can both be in the top six at state," Harmoney said of the twins, adding, "and Geanie, well, we've already seen what she's capable of doing."

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FSHS wrestling mix of old, new faces

Wednesday, December 1, 1999

By Robert Sinclair

Journal-World Sports Writer: Lawrence, Kansas

Free State High's wrestling team features a
lot of new faces this year and some familiar
ones as well.

Among the newcomers are senior transfer
Owen Lehmann (from Salina South), who
placed fifth in the state as a sophomore and
third last season, and senior transfer
Michelle Caster (from Texas), who was the
10th-ranked girl in the nation last year.

That's right -- girl.

"The kids have really accepted her and
responded to her real well," FSHS coach
Darrell Andrew said of the first female
wrestler in school history. "She's got a lot of
good skills. I think as the year progresses
she'll do the job for us."

The Firebirds open their season tonight at
home against Blue Valley North. The dual
will begin at 6 p.m. in the FSHS gym.

In addition to experienced newcomers, Free
State also returns five state qualifiers from a
year ago in seniors Jeff Frenya and Scott
Smith, plus sophomores Ian Börk, Kyle
Case and Justin Stevens.

All told the Firebirds have seven seniors.

"Our senior group this year is a real special
group because they were the group that
really got us started off," Andrew said.
"That's the first group that we've seen go all
the way through their high school career
here at Free State.

"This will be the first year that Free State's
got some real senior leadership behind it."

Frenya (171 pounds), a two-time state
qualifier, had hernia surgery after football
season and is just now getting into wrestling
shape. He won't be in the lineup tonight.

"Jeff was a kid who last year I always said
just his presence made a difference,"
Andrew said. "We're already seeing that
now in practice."

Smith jumped in weight from 125 pounds
last season to 160, where he will wrestle
tonight. Also competing tonight is senior
Ryan Fowler (125), who qualified for state as
a sophomore, but had his season ended
early by mononucleosis last year.

Free State also has its fair share of juniors
and sophomores.

"We've got a pretty good mix," Andrew said.
"We've got a lot of sophomores who need to
step up and come along during the season.
Then we have some juniors who are some
quality wrestlers, looking at Paul Dyer in
particular."

Dyer, who will compete at 112 tonight,
wrestled last year as a sophomore and went
to various camps over the summer, Andrew
said. The Free State coach also cited Brian
Chaussee (152) as a junior to watch.

The strength of the sophomore class
probably is at the upper end of the weight
scale in Stevens (215) and Börk (275). Börk
is the No. 1-ranked sophomore at his weight
class in the country and Stevens is No. 10.

Free State also has both new and familiar
faces on its revamped coaching staff.
Joining the team is Anthony Brixious (former
state champion at Wichita Heights), Clint
White ( two-time state runner-up at Wichita
South) and Brett Larson.

If the last name sounds familiar, it should.
Larson was one of the Firebirds' first seniors
in 1997 and still holds team records for the
quickest pin, points in a season and falls.

"I think we have the hardest-working group
of kids that we've had since I've been a head
coach here at Free State," Andrew said.
"Added to that work ethic, I think we have
some super coaching behind them in our
assistant coaches. I think that's going to
make a big difference in our program."

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State falls in wrestling

Posted Thursday, December 2, 1999

By Robert Sinclair

Journal-World Sports Writer

Free State High's wrestling debuts received
mixed reviews.

Senior transfer Owen Lehmann won his first
match as a Firebird, but senior transfer
Michelle Caster was pinned as Blue Valley
North defeated Free State, 48-28,
Wednesday night at the FSHS small gym.

"It was a very different experience," said
Lehmann, who transferred from Salina
South. "I found a lot of room for
improvement. We've got a lot of guys who
need to come together, bust our butts and
make this into a solid team."

Lehmann's victory at 189 pounds over
BVN's Mohammad Nomani didn't come easy
as the Firebird had to come from behind,
scoring the match-tying point with one
second remaining in regulation.

The senior then won in the sudden-death
overtime period by a score of 7-5.

"I thought I was ready," Lehmann said.
"Then I got out there and found out I wasn't
entirely focused and it really got me in
trouble. But the skills began to come back
and I was able to do what I needed to do."

Caster, who had never wrestled a male
before, wasn't as fortunate in her debut.

"I am not happy at all about it," she said. "I
got scared. It was a natural reaction. I've
never been in a match where I've wrestled
guys before. It was something that I should
have been expecting, but I wasn't."

Caster seemed to have the upper hand early
in her 171-pound match against the
Mustangs' Brandon Murphy, but Murphy
turned the tables on her with a pin at the
46-second mark.

Despite the setback, Caster has enjoyed her
new surroundings so far.

"It's a nice school," said Caster, who
transferred from Arlington, Texas. "Small
town, but nice school."

What does she miss most about Texas?

"The girls wrestlers," Caster quipped.

Caster hasn't received any special
treatment, she said, and has been going
through the same conditioning drills and
exercises as everyone else.

"I don't think any of us treat her like a girl,"
FSHS senior Scott Smith said. "She fits in
just like a teammate and we're treating her
just like a guy."

Smith treated BVN's Ben Spittler more like a
ragdoll than a guy in their showdown at 160
pounds. Smith, who wrestled at 130 last
season, needed just 56 seconds to pin
Spittler.

"With the seniors in the past -- Anthony
Santaularia last year and Brett Larson the
year before -- they really had incredible
senior seasons," Smith said. "I think they just
felt something different, and I'm feeling that
too. I've never felt this confident before.

"This year I just want to go out and have a
lot of fun. I definitely think if I take that
approach, I'll have a good year."

Free State lost six of the first seven matches
against BV North on Wednesday night, the
lone exception being sophomore Kyle
Case's pin at 119 pounds.

But after trailing 36-6, the Firebirds finished
strong winning 22 of the final 34 points --
including pins by Smith, sophomore Justin
Stevens (215 pounds) and Ian Börk (275).

But Free State will go back to the drawing
board in preparation for this weekend's
tournament at Effingham.

"The most disappointing thing for me tonight
was the lack of shots that we took," FSHS
coach Darrell Andrew said. "We looked a
little lazy on our feet. We preach to the kids
all the time that the best defense is a good
offense and we just didn't see the offense
tonight that we need to see and that we will
see."

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Brooke Bogren ranked #6 in Kansas this year.

Wrestling rankings

Posted Thursday, December 2, 1999

High School Rankings

CLASS 4A

Team: 1. Goodland. 2. Abilene. 2. Columbus. 4.
Scott City. 5. Santa Fe Trail. 6. Augusta. 7.
Mulvane. 8. Clay Center. 9. Chapman. 10.
Concordia.

Individual

103 -- 1. David Deitrich, sr., Mulvane. 2. Marc
Steinbrook, jr., Spring Hill. 3. Michael Pelz, sr.,
Clearwater. 4. Daleri Welsh, jr., Anderson County.
5. Emery McReynolds, so., Columbus. 6. Brooke
Bogren, so., Santa Fe Trail.
----------------------------------------------------------------------Santa
Fe Trail Chargers

Coach: Regan Erickson (third year). Last year's
dual record: 9-5. Top returners: Jeremy Long
(37-1), sr., 130; Shaun Moore (33-4), sr., 171;
Brooke Bogren (27-7), so., 103; Cody Betsworth
(21-17), so., 112; Travis McBurney (20-2), so.,
135; Brad Bogren (19-4), sr., 215; Ryan Temple
(26-12), jr., 160; Jeremy Connelley (20-12), jr.,
125.

Notes: Three-time 4A state champion Long and
defending state champion Moore lead the
Chargers. ... Brooke Bogren last year became the
first girl to qualify for the state tournament. ...
McBurney, whose promising season last year was
cut short with injuries, is back.

Schedule: Dec. 2 -- v. Topeka Seaman, Highland
Park. 9 -- at Topeka Washburn Rural. 11 -- at
Anderson County. 16 -- at KC Piper. Jan. 6 -- v.
Lansing, Perry-Lecompton. 8 -- at Rossville. 14-15
-- at Newton. 18 -- v. Leavenworth Immaculata.
22 -- at Topeka Washburn Rural. 27 -- at DeSoto.
29 -- at Osawatomie. Feb. 3 -- at Free State. 12
-- Kaw Valley League at Santa Fe Trail.