Maine Amateur Wrestling Alliance

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MAWA Board

Need team for 7th Annual Sulliva York Duals - Dec.6th
We are in need of an 8th team to fill out the field at the Sullivan York Duals on Dec. 6th at York HS in York, Maine. This is an 8-team dual meet tournament and is very competitive. Please contact Bryan Thompson, wrestling coach at 207-363-3621 x229 ASAP or have your AD contact mine (Ted Welch, AD, 207-363-3621.)

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Bryan Thompson
York High School
1 Robert Stevens Dr.
York, ME 03909

York named coach at Bridgewater State
Congrats to Jason York! Jason, a 2X State champ for Bonny Eagle and a member of the MAWA Hall of Fame has been named head coach at Bridgewater State University in MA. Great step for the program as Coach York will be a great representitive for the sport and the College. Best of luck.

Youth Safety part 2
I just saw the Mar 31 2008 post on Youth Safety...I did not post that... That was actually a copy of a person email I sent to the Maine Interscholastic Wrestling Officials Association after a frustrating time at the New Englands. Its o.k. that someone put up here...because the bottom line is still the same...the refs do need to tighten up on the unnecessary roughness calls...or this sports future will be substantially effected.

Ron Aromando Kennebunk Youth Wrestling

2008 NAGA World Championships

Newark, New Jersey - Team Irish and American Sambo Association member James "Chico" Hernandez, 54 of Washburn, Maine won a pair of world titles April 5, competing at the North American Grappling Association's (NAGA) World Championship. Over 2,500 Competitors filled the Essex County College in Newark, New Jersey in what was by far the world’s largest grappling event ever.

Hernandez won a Bronze medal in the No-Gi competition by defeating Phil Kavowski, New York, NY by choke submission. In the Gi competition; Hernandez won the Silver. He lost to Neil Keegstra, of New Jersey 2-2 ref. dec split decision. Hernandez had defeated Keegstra before at the North American Championships in 2006 by a score of 6-2.

Hernandez said after the fight "Neil told me that he was lucky to win the World Championship Title Belt "; " I told Neil that he made his own luck that he wanted the belt a little bit more than me " "I tried to milk or nurse out a 2-0 lead with 30 seconds remaining in the fight and he tied it up. It was very close. "I am happy with a World Silver and Bronze". Chico now has 11 World titles. A fifth place at the FILA World Veterans Freestyle Wrestling Championships, 2 World FIAS West Bronze medals at the Federation International Association Sombo World Championships; one in Sport Sombo and the other in Combat Sombo, World FIAS West Masters Championship and World Masters Silver, 2 World Cup of Sombo Wrestling Silver medal and a fifth, a pair of World AAU Iron Man Wrestling Championships Gold and 2 NAGA World Titles.

Chico is Maine's very First Wrestler to be inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 as a wrestler.

Youth Safety

Two days ago our Pee-Wee team competed in the New England Championships.

Three kids were taken away on stretchers...one from our team....he is now o.k....but this is unacceptable.

My wrestler who got hurt had a match that looked more like the UFC or WWF than pee wee wrestling.

Throughout this year he has been repeatedly guillotine choked by the same kid. Last year he beat this kid and won the new England's..

Some matches this year the particular kid has been called for choking 3 and 4 times.

This years new England were no different than the rest of the season...in the finals for 1st and 2nd the kids met again.

The match consisted of a slam,a guillotine choke...where the father ran out on the mat because his son was obviously slapping his hand on the mat to stop the match because he had no air...and the ref did nothing...When the match started again the kid slammed my wrestler on his head..bad.

The match was stopped...our guy was hurt...not moving...fans were horrified...and the coaches from the other team were concerned about the call...and not the kid laying motionless on the mat.(I could attach video if needed)

I am not complaining cause our kid lost..actually the ref disqualified the other kid and gave us 1st place...but that is not the issue.

I think a coach may be teaching this talented wrestler the wrong way to do a cement mixer...intentionally or unintentional...and refs are missing it.

I don't know if you are the right person to talk to about this situation ...but if you are not...who can I talk to.

Thanks,

Ron Aromando
Kennebunk Youth Wrestling
207-752-6083

Help start a program at the University of Maine at Orono
I am a student at the University of Maine at Orono and I am trying to start a wrestling club. I am unable to do so now due to lack of equipment, mainly a mat. The only mat that is available to us is a cut up 15 year old mat that that when put together is too small to fit a 10 circle in. This is you might guess is not sufficient to start a program with.

I have support from many great wrestlers who would like to get out on the mat again. I get asked about if there is a club every time I tell someone that I am a wrestler.

What I need is help with this equipment, ideally I am hoping to find a team with an old wrestling program that would be willing to donate a mat. If anyone can give me information that could help me please e-mail me at cbstambach@yahoo.com.

Thank you,

Charlie Stambach

WRESTLING TOURNAMENT!!!!
at westbrook high school weigh ins are from 7-9 k-6th

Looking for mats for sale
Calais High School is looking to obtain new wrestling mats. We are looking for advice and /or good quality used mats. We are also looking for practice mats as well.

New Coach at Dover Foxcroft Jason
Congrats goes to Jake who will take over the helm at D-F. Jake has been around for a long time and he will bring continued success to a winning program. I have known Jake since he was a State Champion at Sanford. Jake was also a NAIA District #5 ALL NEW ENGLAND selection at the University of Maine @ Presque isle in the 1977-78 season. He captured Silver at the Northern New England Championships held at Plymouth State College 1978. He was my teammate there. (Along with Champion Earl Boyes) He joined the US Air Force and was on the ALL Air Force Team for a few years. Jake was a National YMCA Sambo, Greco Roman and Freestyle Champion. He was Maine's first Sambo Wrestling Champion with US National Honors as well as a 5th place at the World Cup of Sambo held in Spain in 1981. Jake has a exhaustive, lengthy wrestling resume and I am very proud of him of what he has done for Maine Wrestling and as my former Teammate! Good Luck to Jake as he is one of a kind Champion!!! (A Tuff one too!) James Chico Hernandez the First Maine Wrestler on the Breakfast of Champions Wheaties and Maine's first and only Maine Sports Hall of Fame Member as a Wrestler.

Portland Youth Wrestling
Portland's first Youth Wrestling Program will begin 1/6/2009. It will be at Portand High School, Tues. and Thursday, from 6:00 -7:30 pm. Cost is $75 for the 12 week program. Grades K-5 included. Call Dave at 415-0014 or 865-9100 ext.101 or Tony at 939-1154

Long Day

My son is in the fith grade. He was asked to be at the Marshwood tournament at 7:30 a.m. for weigh ins. We arrived on time and had to sit and wait untill 1:30 p.m. for his first match. Then he wrestled his seconed match within 20 min. It was a long and drawn out day. I also want to add we drove 2 and 1/2 hours to get to the tournament.

6th Annual PAL Team Dual Tournament
Dec 1, 2007 in Danbury CT. Eligibility: Grades 1-8 Format: Two four team pools (Each team will wrestle all teams in their pool and two teams in other pool) Five total matches per team. Contact:Jeff Jennings at alanejennings@sbcglobal.net

Need a team for Sullivan Duals Dec.8th at YHS
We are looking for an 8th team to round out the field at the York Sullivan Dual Meet tournament Saturday, Dec. 8th at York HS..contact Bryan Thompson at 363-3621x229 or have your AD call my AD - Ted Welch - 363-3621 x217 (twelch@yorkschools.org)

Need used wrestling mats for MMA team
I have a MMA team that trains in South Berwick. I have recently fought in my first MMA event and now have multiple local fighters wanting to train with us. So now we need more mats to fill our gym. If any wrestling program has any extra mats they could sell to us it would be greatly appreciated.

Virginia Dual Team Tournament

The Town of Marion, VA and Marion Senior High School is currently looking to fill five spots in the up coming Brutal Clash Dual Team Tournament. We are an AA school with a solid history in our wrestling program. This will be held Dec. 21-22, 2007 using six mats and two gyms. There is no entry fee and we will provide your hotel accommodations (5 rooms/ 1 night). Tournament has commitments from teams in VA, NC, and WV. If you are a team that can travel and are looking for an exciting out of state tournament then gives us a shot. Serious inquiries only please. Contact Coach Hunter Trivette (huntertrivette@scsb.org).

Travel Info: Marion High can be seen off I-81 exit 47 traveling from Wytheville or exit 45 from Bristol, VA
ur 30 min from Roanoke, VA
2 hours 30 min from Charleston, WV
2 hours 30 min from Charlotte, NC
3 hours from Knoxville, TN

Format: Dual Team (16 teams)
Mats: 6 using two gyms
No entry Fee!!!

We will provide hotel accommodations (5 rooms/ 1 night) Custom medals for all teams and wrestlers for entering tournament

Starting a wrestling program for my school
I go to school in job corps and is try to get a wrestling program started. Here's the thing: we don't a lot of money to get one started. I can get head gear and singlets but not mats. What I'm thinking about doing is linking up with EMCC and be a part of there wrestling program, but what scares me is that if I do that it will not be my program any more. Does anyone know what I should do?

Maine Exchange 23
Are they going to post all the results of the Maine Exchange 23 up or do you have a web site that I can go to and find the information? My son participated in this and I would like to see some results. Thank you Maine Exchange!

RESPONSE

Thanks for bringing this point to light

McCrillis Champ in both Veteran Greco Roman and Freestyle at U.S. National Championships

Wrestling for New England All Star National Team -Westbrook's Ben McCrillis has the best three days of his life winning a Veteran US National Greco Roman title in Las Vegas Nevada on tuesday April 3, 2007. 4 matches and 24 hours later he wins again claiming the US National Freestyle Championship with a huge win over California's Jason Blakeman. McCrills is now preparing for the Veteran World Championships in Turkey this September.

Check it out at: http://www.themat.com/results.php?page=display_results_style&ResultID=100824

or

Las Vegas/ASICS U.S. National Championships  
Las Vegas, NV 
April 04 - 07, 2007
 
Veteran Greco-Roman Results
Event Results
Division A 

69 KG/152 lbs.
1st Place - Kalhor Fadaiekalhor of Unattached

85 KG - 187.25 lbs.
1st Place - Sarkis Cholakyan of S.K. GOLDEN BOYS
2nd Place - Matthieu Burkett-erice of Radford Wrestling

Sarkis Cholakyan, Van Nuys, Calif. (S.K. GOLDEN BOYS) tech. fall Matthieu Burkett-erice, Aiea, Hawaii (Radford Wrestling), 7-0,7-0
Sarkis Cholakyan, Van Nuys, Calif. (S.K. GOLDEN BOYS) tech. fall Matthieu Burkett-erice, Aiea, Hawaii (Radford Wrestling), 7-0,6-0

97 KG - 214 lbs
1st Place - Ben McCrillis of New England All Stars
2nd Place - Jason Blakeman of Channel Coast Pirates
3rd Place - Jason Fincher of Palm Desert Enforcers (P.A.L)

Jason Blakeman, Oxnard, Calif. (Channel Coast Pirates) tech. fall Jason Fincher, Rancho Mirage, Calif. (Palm Desert Enforcers (P.A.L)), 7-0,6-0
Ben Mccrillis, Westbrook, Maine, Maine (New England All Stars) pin Jason Blakeman, Oxnard, Calif. (Channel Coast Pirates), 0-6,1:20
Ben Mccrillis, Westbrook, Maine, Maine (New England All Stars) pin Jason Fincher, Rancho Mirage, Calif. (Palm Desert Enforcers (P.A.L)), 0-6,1:04

Chico Wins British Silver

Sittingbourne/Kent, England... James Chico Hernandez, 53 of Washburn, Maine won the Silver medal in the Vets Division at the 2007 British Sambo Championship held March 24 at the Swallow Leisure Center in Sittingbourne.

Chico competed in the Open Class ( No Wt.Class) defeating Oktam of Uzbekistan 1-0 in the Quarterfinals. ( The first time he has ever beaten a Russian in Sombo)

He defeated returning Silver medalist Graham Mann of Norfolk, England by Total Victory in the semi-finals. Hernandez was leading 8-0 before he slam his opponent to his back while remaining standing for Total Victory. In his 40 plus lifetime Sombo Fights and competitions; it was Chico's very first time ever winning a Sambo Fight by Total Victory.

Chico was defeated by World Sambo /Kurash Medalist Darren Richardson, Portsmouth, England 2-0 in the finals.

This is Chico's third time he won British Silver. He also won in 2004 and 2005. Hernandez representing TEAM IRISH of Bangor and the American Sombo Association

"I thought before when I went over there that I was going to have a hard time making 90KG in the Open and they group everybody in the Vets (35 & over). Competing in the Vets it is not as easy as people would think it is. "

From my exprience You are fighting either professional instructors or season fighters who are no rookies at this. Just because someone is over 30 or competes in the Masters/Vets make winning the Division a peice of cake. There are very few cupscakes in competitions like these.

The guy I lost to in the finals 2-0 ( 1 passivity point and he capitolized on a crappy takedown attemp by me) ( I could of won this if my head was screwd on right before the fight) Darrin Richardson is a Profighter in the Cage Rage /Cage Warriors. ( The UFC in Briton). He is a Big Boy with a lot of strength and he has won many different kinds of Martial Art Discipline Tournaments and a few times a TRUE World SAMBO medallist.

I did get a 2nd.Bronze in the Open Division but it was a True 4th.pl not 3rdpl. that I medically forfeit to the eventual Champion Danny Carrot of England.

Everybody commented on how well my level of conditioning is and was thru the tournament. They were telling me that it appears that conditioning is no issues for me. Before I went over I felt it was going to be a issue.

I represented Maine once again in the ring of international competition proudly!

Keep up the great work!

Awesome bulletin board! I sincerely wish there was more support structures for our great sport, like this website, when I was wrestling (Presque Isle High School; 1991-1995; 160, 171, 189). Keep up the great work - I'd love to return to Maine to find more vibrant programs in state for my kids than were available to me.

Regards,
David Allen
Wrestler, Presque Isle High School
91-92: 160lbs; 92-93: 171lbs; 93-94/94-95: 189lbs

Copy of Note to Portland Press

Below is a copy of comments sent to the Portland Press Herald:

Once again, the Portland Press has failed to cover high school wrestling. What a pathetic performance this season. Incomplete box scores two days after the events have occurred, few or no write-ups of major tournaments and rivlary matches, and finally, NO coverage of the regional championships. You seem to do fine with fall, spring, and basketball regional acknowledgements, though. I'll give you this - you've kept wrestling coaches across the state guessing when (or if) coverage will come, which sells extra papers...but let's call it like it is. Pathetic. Do us a favor - issue a press release indicating that the Portland Press will no longer cover high school wrestling and leave it at that. Or beter yet, drop high school sports from your paper entirely. It would save you the money, trouble, and realistically, embarrassment. At least I won't have to stop and buy your paper any more.

Exeter NH JV Invitational

Exeter NH JV Invitational

Where are people wrestling for the 2006-07
What weight classes are everyone planning on going for?

Moved to maine looking to take judo for olympics
I am 32 years old. Place in state tournaments, Mass state champ in greco and freestyle, went to junior olympics, wrestled at BU. I`m looking to make a comeback, just move to Maine and want to know what is the best club to learn judo. I want to try to qualify for the next olympics. Any advice would be helpful.

Maine Sports Hall of Fame and other Maine Sombo Champions!

I was just recently inducted in to the Maine Sports Hall of Fame! It was pretty cool to be hanging around with Mike Bordick. I ask him what was his biggest thrill and he told me "Being in front of 55,000 Yankee stadium, Subway series. He also mention to me replacing Cal Ripken and the 1990 World Series VS the big Red Machine with Caseco and Big MAC as his teammates.

I am the First Sambo Wrestler to be inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame and Wrestler. There are 263 other members inducted. I am in with a elite group of Athletes from the State of Maine... Joan Benoit. Olympic 1984 Marathon Champion, Danny Bolduc 1976 US Ice Hockey Olympic Team, Billy Swift, P. SF Giants, a few Olympic Skiers and Track & Field members and now Sombo is represented and enshrined here in Maine.

Maine also boast other Sambo Fighters such as Maine's First medalist on the National Level and my old College Teamamte, Jason Allain. He was a 1981 World Cup 5th place and US Champion, 1984 US Olympic GR.Team Member Alt. Romey Pellitier. He was also my College Teamate and he took a 1984 Silver at the Sambo Nationals. Dr. Brett Jacques a HS Wrestling Champion from Sanford, Maine. He has won many US Sambo Titles in the early 1990's and I ran in to him at the AAU/US National hosted in Bakerfield, CA. I was looking at the wall brackets and he was too and we each notice each other and had a slight reunion durring those Championships. We have not seen each other since 1981. He went on to take a Silver and I won the Gold in the Masters Division.

I took a Bronze in the Open Div. finishing behind the up and coming Dean 'The Boogeyman" Lister who took the Gold.( Yes Tto was there also). There was a young 16 yr old who finished a Silver in the Cadet Div by the name of Joey Stevenson, who recently won the Season 2 'The Ultimate Fighter". Sam Hazwinkle 2x NCAA Champion from OSU won the same Schoolboy Division. There were many others quality fighters there as well as 2X NCAA Champion, FILA World Champion and now Guard for the Former Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots... A guy name Stephen Neal...

I am training now with The Ultimate Fighter Season 2 Fighter and Boxing Champion Marcus Davis at his place in Bangor.(about 1 1/2 hr drive for me after work, 2 X a week 150 miles round trip 300 total). I am learning Mu-Thai and Boxing and in return am showing them Sambo, Greco/Freestyle Wrestling.

I hope to do the NEW England Grapplng Championships in a couple of weeks. I was hoping to go to England for the English championships but the airfare is thru the roof this time of yr. and no bargins in site. Thanks for readind this and Good Luck to all! I've been watching a lot of Star Wars lately so "May the Force be with you!" Chico The Wheaties Guy!

Hi, looking for youth leagues in the York area
Hi, can anyone please give me the contact info for youth leagues in the York area that would take kids 4 y/o and up? Thanks! E-mail me at Ringen142@att.net.

Taylor Carey 7 time New England Youth Classic Champion

Taylor Carey a sixth grader of Mountain Valley Middle School made history on Saturday, April 1, 2006 at the New England's Youth Wrestling Classic held at the Portland Civic Center. He became the youngest wrestler at this tournament to become a seven time New England Champ only in the 6th grade.

John Hussey now a 2 time High School State Champ and standouts holds the record of 8 time New England Champ. Over the past seven years Taylor posted 177-3 record having 4 undefeated seasons in Maine wrestling. Taylor Carey still has two more years to be able to wrestle in this tournament which could make him a nine time New England Champion!

Freestyle tournaments?
I am wondering whether anyone knows of any freestyle tourneys coming up this spring in Maine or New England in general? Not sure if Marshwood is hosting their annual event in April. Is there a team or group going to the NE regionals in Brockport?

Donation for Wrestling Club start-up
I am in the process of developing a wrestling club in the southern Maine area in Westbrook, Maine. Currently I own a 8000 square foot business here and looking to put in a wrestling mat or at least a practice mat (aka, Jr. high mat) and have the facility available for anyone and everyone to practice year round for freestyle & greco-roman as well as folkstyle competitions. Growing up, and some of you may recall "THE BARN" - hosted by Ted Reese- was a place where anyone who even thought about getting to the next level trained. A place where student athletes from rival and even non-rival schools would come togather to practice. It would add to the already vastly improving oppertunities for the open, high school, and youth wrestlers in the southern Maine area.

Brute Empire Nationals Championship 3/25/2006

Announcing the Brute sponsored Empire Nationals Individual and Team Championships. This will be held at R.I.T. College on Saturday, March 25th in Rochester, NY. Information and online registration can be found on our website at http://www.empirenationals.com.

The tournament will be held in the brand new 160,000 square-foot, two-story center Gordon Field House. We have 88 weight classes that span K-12th and we are capping the tournament to the first 2000 paid entrants. We will have 16 full mats. Individual and Team Champions will receive a custom NYS singlet from Brute.

It will be an organized and efficient tournament with plenty of mat space. Email questions to information@empirenationals.com. Pre-Registration ends March 8th, 2006.

Marshwood Pee-wee Tourney last week...
I am just a bit confused why I received an E-mail last week with regards to the Marshwood Pee-Wee tourney. I sent an E-mail to register my son from MA, and at first I received a reply back that I was all set :). I then later received another E-mail telling me that the head coach of Marshwood High said that it was for Maine Pee-Wees only :( , and it was not listed as Maine only on this site. I have been coming up from MA for a couple years now, and enjoy the competition.. We are brother states, and it would be sad if we started to shut down each other from participating in our Youth tourneys :). We are suppose to be advocates for the sport of wrestling, and should never shut out someone from coming from another state... I have met many many many good Coaches as well as parents in Maine, and my family and I love to travel up to Maine as much as possible :). I am just confused because this is the first time this has happened, and I would understand if it was the Pee-Wee states but this was just another Youth Tourney. A team that holds the Youth NE tourney should not be predigests with regards to any other states in NE making the drive up for some good wrestling. Kids do get better wrestling different competition from time to time rather then the same kids every time :)... If its a Maine ONLY tourney please post it so that people from other states do not drive up for nothing. Thank You, Fan of Maine Youth Wrestling.

US College Wrestling Teams, with Rosters & Schedules, A to Z

Here's the link at Masswrestling.com:

US College Wrestling Teams, with Rosters & Schedules, A to Z: http://www.masswrestling.com/cms/topic-23-129172.html

Camden Hills wrestler dies

CAMDEN (Nov 5): Gilbert "Gibby" S. Bryant, 15, son of Gilbert "Gibby" and Christine (Wallace) Bryant, of Camden, died unexpectedly Nov. 4, 2005, in Camden.

Visiting hours are 6-8 Monday, Nov. 7, at Laite Funeral Home, 9 Mountain St., Camden. A service will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, at the Rockport Opera House. Immediately following there will be a reception/celebration of life at the Camden Legion Hall.

Memorial donations may be made to the Mid-Coast Wrestling Club, P.O. Box 304, West Rockport, ME 04865.

Gibby, a sophomore, was Camden Hills 215 lb Varsity wrestler. He placed third in the Class B state in 2005. The Maine wrestling family has lost one of its shining young stars and this has also left a big whole in the hearts of Windjammer wrestling family. Good bye Gib, We love you.

Dual Meet Trnt Jan. 7th

North Attleboro, MA is hosting a 8 Team Dual meet trnt. on Jan. 7th 2006. Want to have ME team. JV wrestling in between rounds.

contact griffiw@massed.net

Quad meet
Timberlane HS in Plaistow NH - Looking for a team or 2 to fill out a quad meet on Dec. 10th. If interested contact me at bchooljian@timberlanehs.com

West Spfld Mass. Dual Tourny looking for Maine team
West Springfield High School is looking for 1-2 Maine teams to participate in its annual 9-team Dual meet tournament. The format is a 3 pool system with 3 teams per pool. At the conclusion of preliminary pool comp. the 3 pool champions enter into a Championship pool, while the 1-1 teams and the 0-2 teams enter into 1-1 and 0-2 team pools respectively. Last years event was finished by 5:30PM. Teams commited are Western Mass D1 Sect. Champions Springfield Central, Western Mass D3 Sect. Champions Southwick, West Spfld, Agawam, and Glastonbury Connecticut. I would like to get a team from each New England State and possibly New York.

If interested contact Coach Tom Svec at tjscoach34@hotmail.com

Mass Bay State Games
Some of the best summer wrestling in NE.

New Wrestling Organization

Hello Maine!! My name is Maurice Atwood and I am the Executive Director of the recently created United States Scholastic Wrestling Association. This post is designed to introduce those interested to the USSWA and our insurance policy. After reading the post, if you are interested in hosting a USSWA sanctioned event feel free to Email me.

Before getting into the insurance, I am sending out an invitation to any wrestling person (coach, parent, active community member) in Maine who may be interested in volunteering as the State Director for the USSWA in Maine. The State Director is simply a liaison between the people of Colorado and the USSWA. The State Director can schedule USSWA sanctioned events, which includes National Qualifiers for the USSWA Summer National Open. If you are interested in being involved within this capacity simply send me an Email.

We are also looking for teams or coaches to host National Qualifiers for our Summer National Open the first of which is scheduled for June 18-21, 2006. If you are interested in hosting a Qualifier feel free to contact me.

Here are the insurance rates for the USSWA:

If you are hosting a one day tournament, clinic, or camp the amount of insurance is $2.00 per coach/wrestler. There is a minimum flat fee of at least $200. That means you will have at least 100 coaches/wrestlers insured. If you have any number over 100 then you'd have to add $2 for each attendee past 100. Examples are as follows: If you have 1-99 attendees then you would only owe $200. If you have 150 attendees you would owe $300.

If you're hosting a multiple day event the cost of insurance is $2.75 for each attendee. There is still the flat fee of $200, which would insure 72 coaches/wrestlers. Any number over 72 would be an additional $2.75. Examples are as follows: If you have 1-72 attendees you would owe $200. If you have 150 attendees you would owe $412.50.

For club teams, there is a minimum club fee of $225. This will insure 15 coaches/wrestlers. Any additional coach/wrestler will be an additional $15. Insurance for clubs is an annual fee that will run from September 1-August 31. The amount of liability coverage offered by the USSWA is as follows:

Looking for

ME Coaches Directory to share with College coaches interested in recruiting ME Wrestlers.

Please email copy to james.maher@verizon.com

Bronze Clinic postponed
The Bronze clinic scheduled for April 29/30 at Noble HS has been postponed due to lack of interest. We will try to host the same clinic in the fall. Any questions, please contact Bryan Thompson at 363-3621 x229.

Freestyle Wrestling Workouts

The Mid-Maine Grappling Club will be conducting open wrestling practices at Hyde School. Sessions are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will run from April 26 to May 26. Cost is $1 per session or $10 club membership. 50% of membership fees support the Maine Amateur Wrestling Alliance College Scholarship Fund. FMI contact me at 442-0674 after 4 p.m. or the following Hyde School staff:

Bill Barron: W 443-7109/H 837-3223
Logan Kidwell: H 442-0568
Brian Mulligan: W 443-7142/H 443-4589

This is great training for upcoming spring and summer tournaments.

Hall of Fame

Congrats to the inductees, I would like to see John Kelly put in, 299 coaching victories in 14 years. Look at Camden's stats over in the years John was coach. Who comes close?

Looking for a place to volunteer

Hey everyone

I'm currently in the Navy stationed in Brunswick. I wrestled for Granite City HS in Illinois and for Illinois College.

I'm a bit out of my geographic element here in the Northeast. I've always tried to maintain contact with the sport, even after college and after joining the Navy, usually volunteering at whichever local high school had a program.

That being said, I'd like to get back into volunteer coaching but am unfamiliar with who has programs and where they are, and if they'd even be open to a Midwest guy coming in and helpng out. Any help would be greatly appriciated.

I can be reached at bry134@msn.com and thanks in advance for any responses!!

Brian

Senior's league
I have been approached by several individuals in the Bath area that are interested in creating a senior wrestling league in Maine. Other sports currently compete at the senior level, why not wrestling. I am interested in developing a dual meet schedule with weight classes and league rules etc. If there is any interest in your area please contact me.

2005 British open Sombo Championships
British Open Sombo Wrestling Championships
Swallows Leisure Centre
Sittingbourne
Kent
By Grandmaster Martin Clarke
Saturday March 12th

This was the 4th British Open held at the Swallows Leisure Centre, which has been organised by Sittingbourne Judo Coach Keith Costa as with most events Keith organises, it was extremely well run.

Countries that took part in the event were England, Scotland, N Ireland, Germany, Iran, Uzbekistan, USA, France, Cameroon. Many other countries had booked into the competition but were refused visas, it seems if you enter this country illegally you are welcomed with open arms but if you try and entered legally you are stopped. Those people who were refused entry to the UK were genuine sportsman in a lot of cases people known to UK only Sombo Grandmaster Martin Clarke. This ridiculous situation must stop as Keith had been asked to run the World Championships in Sittingbourne, a prestigious event for the town and the county, he had to refuse purely because of the fact that a lot of countries would not get visas. If London got the Olympics maybe the same could happen at least that is a few years into the future, by then we have a government who got their priorities right. It is also a sorry state of affairs that some of the officials from other countries do not attend this event it what is now the best supported Sombo event in Western Europe. Most of these bureaucratsare quite happy pontificating about how Sombo should expand and everyone should unite on the internet etc but the only way is to meet people face to face.

With the World Team Cup being cancelled last year it was decided to run our own version, which we called the "Multi-Nation Cup" sadly, to say this had to be cancelled as the only Country to enter teams was England. So at the start of the senior we had an inter association Team Challenge Cup between Sambo UK & British CombatSombo Association.

Sambo UK Team was lightweight Paul Sawyer, Middle Lee Till, Heavy Darren Richardson

British CombatSombo Association Team Lightweight Ashley Costa, Middle John Clarke, Heavy Neale Arkley.

BCSA beat Sambo UK 3 fights to nil in what was interesting start to the senior tournament. .

Now on to the success of the British Open, each year we make small steps forward in promoting Sombo in previous years we allowed children to wear Judo jackets because nobody could supply Sombo Jackets well this year we have a supplier. The BCSA lent out jackets but lots of the children have purchased their own some even have Sombo boots. In previous years the seniors were allowed different coloured shorts and bare feet this year all players had boots and wore the matching shorts corresponding with the jacket. Next year only Sombo boots will be allowed ie soft soled, wrestling style boots will be forbidden. You may ask why has taken 20 years for us to get to this point: Firstly the only people to make Sombo Jackets & Boots were the Soviets when the Soviet Union collapsed so did the supplies of equipment. To have jackets and boots made cost several thousands of pounds, with the two International Sombo organisations at logger heads with each and very few events being organised it looked like Sombo would fold until about six years ago when the BSF decide to try and regenerate International Sombo form the UK, Tim Thomas spent several thousand pounds producing Sombo Jackets and Martin Clarke doing the same with Sombo Boots, now Sombo is beginning to come to life again especially with the Open and with plenty of foreign competitors Sombo in the UK looks very healthy.

The children’s Sombo is going from strength to strength in the past it has looked like poor quality Judo but not anymore there were some really exceptional fights and some really good technicians, if some of these youngster keep with it in 10 years we will have a whole bundle of World-class athletes.

With the children being the apprenticeship class the seniors are the Master Class and everyone looked forward to the Senior Men’s Final, interestingly enough we had plenty of young girls competing but not one Adult female.

Finals Men u68 kilo

Paul Sawyer England v Yousef Seyed Jaber Mousavian Iran

Once again veteran player Paul Sawyer makes the final of yet another British Open but nobody could tell who was going to win as Iranian Yousef is new to this competition. After only a minute Yousef threw Paul for two points this shocked the audience as Paul looked the dominant player. Paul treated this as a minor irritant and slowly built up his scores Yousef would not score again, eventually Paul got Yousef to the floor and finished him with one of his famous armlocks.

Finals u74 kilo

Ashley Costa England v Umid Bozzorov Uzbekistan

This was an eagerly awaited final with Ashley being the audiences darling especially as he was a local man, in the team event he had beaten his old rival Paul Sawyer and all subsequent matches proved spectacular. Umid an International Kurash wrestler form the birth place of Kurash also had been in good form and looked very strong. On coming to grips Umid looked the much stronger but Ashley had done his homework he knew that Kurash was about throws above the waist ( he recently won a Bronze in an International) so his tactic was to keep going for pickups on the legs. This work so well he beat Umid 12 pts to Nil , the spectacular and unexpected win of the tournament.

Final u84 kilo

Danny Carrott England v Johannes Alder Scotland

Johannes was in his 4th consecutive British Open Finals and he was matched against 19-year-old Danny Carrott already a seasoned International Sombo wrestler. The fight went the distance with furious attacks coming from both players but unshakeable Johannes won his 4th title on a slim points victory

Final u96kilo

John Clarke England v Lee Till England

John was in a league of his own in this event and it showed in the semi-finals bout, he beat Chico Hernandez in 12 seconds, in the final he done the same to Lee Till. Lee had a good win against the old but very experienced Shaun Scott USA in the semi finals. John retained his British Open title; he has been on good form lately after recently winning Gold in the International Kurash tournament.

Finals O96 kilo

Neale Arkley England v Oleg Derkach Germany

Once again was a very one-sided affair with Oleg completely out classing all his opponents, he armlocked Neale into submission. The only injury of the day was in this category with Darren Richardson taken to hospital with suspected broken ankle. Other events to look out for, Scottish Open Sombo & Judo Championships, South Of England Sombo Championships. The Warriors Grappling Academy intend running several different style of grappling at their club premises in Sittingbourne, CombatSombo Wrestling, Kurash, Belt Wrestling and Combat Wrestling, they are also looking to form links with the Briton Wrestlers in France and Georgian “Chidaoba” wrestling

British Open Sombo Results 2005

NAME CATEGORY POSITION CLUB/ASSOCIATION COUNTRY
ASHLEY JORDAN BOYS U25K GOLD WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND
LIAM ALLEN SILVER WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND
CHRISTOPHER GIBSON BRONZE DUMFRIES SSF SCOTLAND

KIERAN ALLEN BOYS U30K GOLD WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND
BEN FRANKS SILVER WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND
ANDREW GIBSON BRONZE SCOTTISHSOMBO SCOTLAND

JACOB HYLAND BOYS U40K GOLD WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND
JANNEK REDENIUS SILVER LUNEBURG GERMANY
GEORGE CLEMENTS BRONZE WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND

SAM MILLER BOYS U50K GOLD WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND
JAMIE MARZETTI SILVER WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND
KARL ST JOHN BRONZE N IRELAND SOMBO NORTHERN IRELAND

SPENCER EVANS-WEBSTER YOUTH MALE GOLD NORFOLK SOMBO ENGLAND
CHRIS GATH U55K SILVER NORFOLK SOMBO ENGLAND
PHILIP JACKSON BRONZE WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND

JAMIE MCMANUS-TODD YOUTH MALE GOLD BEXLEY JUDO/SOMBO ENGLAND
WAYNE SHARMAN U60K SILVER NORFOLK SOMBO ENGLAND
SAM LAWSON BRONZE NORFOLK SOMBO ENGLAND

CHRISTOPHE PETERHAGEN YOUTH MALE GOLD LUNEBURG GERMANY
SONKE REDENIUS U66K SILVER LUNEBURG GERMANY
JASON FATHERS BRONZE WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND

LAUREN JONES GIRLS U34K GOLD WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND
ROHAN CULLEN SILVER WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND
NIAHM FINLAY BRONZE WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND

MARTINE CLARK GIRLS U50K GOLD NORFOLK SOMBO ENGLAND
VALENTINA SCHICK SILVER LUNEBURG GERMANY
SHEENA FATHERS BRONZE WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND

ALYX COSTA YOUTH FEMALE GOLD WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND
SAMANTHA CLAYTON U63K SILVER NORFOLK SOMBO ENGLAND
WENDY SIMNET BRONZE NORFOLK SOMBO ENGLAND

PAUL SAWYER SENIOR MALE GOLD SOMBO UK ENGLAND
YUSEF U66K SILVER WARRIORS BCSA IRAN
LUKE BROWN BRONZE NORFOLK SOMBO ENGLAND

ASHLEY COSTA U74K GOLD WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND
UMID BOZZOROV SILVER UZBEKISTAN UZBEKISTAN
CHRIS FREEBORN BRONZE SOMBO UK ENGLAND

JOHANNES ALDER U84K GOLD SCOTTISH SOMBO SCOTLAND
DANNY CARROTT SILVER WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND
ROMOULD LEGROS BRONZE NICE FIAS FRANCE

JOHN CLARKE U96K GOLD WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND
LEIGH TILL SILVER SOMBO UK ENGLAND
SEAN SCOTT BRONZE TEAM USA USA

OLEG DERKACH U120K GOLD LUNEBURG GERMANY
NEALE ARKLEY SILVER WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND
DARREN RICHARDSON BRONZE SOMBO UK ENGLAND

PAUL SAWYER LIGHTWEIGHT GOLD SOMBO UK ENGLAND
CHICO HERNANDEZ VETERANS SILVER TEAM USA USA
GRAHAM MANN BRONZE NORFOLK SOMBO ENGLAND

OLEG DERKACH HEAVYWEIGHT GOLD LUNEBURG GERMANY
NEALE ARKLEY VETERANS SILVER WARRIORS BCSA ENGLAND
DARREN RICHARDSON BRONZE SOMBO UK ENGLAND

2005 British Sombo Championships
NEWS

2005-03-13 American sombo veteran James "Chico" Hernandez of Washburn, claimed a Silver medal at the 2005 British Open Sombo Wresting Championships in Sittingbourne, England. Entrants from England, Scotland, France, Germany, Iran, Uzbekistan, Cameroon, Ireland, Monaco and the United States contested for medals given to the top three place winners in each weight catagory. Hernandez of Maine, a five time World Sombo Medallist, won a silver medal in the Masters division (age 35 and older) at 90 kilograms. Hernandez lost to ten time British Open Champion and World Champion Paul Sawyer of England by a score of 2-0, in the Finals. He defeated Graham Mann of England by a score of 12-0 in the Semi-Finals. Hernandez also entered the Senior division, but failed to make the 84 kilogram weight class by a single kilo. Hernandez defeated Ben Lawson of England in his first match 6-1. Fighting his way into the Semi-Finals; Chico lost to ten time British Open Champion John Clark of England in his second match. ( Clarke is also the World Kurash Wrestling Champion. Due to a conflict in competing in two division, Chico forfeit to Guillame Duchehim of France, a pankratian specialist. Chico placed 5th in the 96 kilogram senior division.

Wrestling Camp
Hello my son is 9 years old. This is first year that he is wrestling. He is wrestling pee wee wrestling for howland maine. I am looking for a wrestling camp that i can send my son so he can learn great technics. He loves the sport and is doing very well this year. Someone plz help.

Youth Tournament K-8 March 20 at Rockland High School
Rockland Youth wrestling tournament.Pre-K thru 8th grade. March 20,2005 at Rockland High School (400 Broadway, Rockland Me.). The cost is $7 pre-registration or $10 at the door. To pre-register by e-mail: coachkelly@rocklandwrestling.org or by phone: Gene Kelly at 596-1059. Weigh-ins 7:30am to 9 am and wrestling begins at 10am Medals will be awarded to top 4 places. We thank you in advance for supporting our program.

Deanna Rix
Deanna will be featured on channel 6 Maine 207 on Thursday February 24th @ 7pm.

USAW-MAINE
MAINE WRESTLERS:

If you are interested in joining TEAM MAINE contact: V-Pres. Tim Morris at tmorris16@hotmail.com or Pres. Celeste Anderson at usawme@maine.rr.com

In-State Tournaments will be announced. A list of Maine Wrestling Clubs and their practice times will also be made available.

Out of State Tournaments which TEAM MAINE will tentatively attend are :

Off-season Wrestling Programs

My name is Brian Pond I wrestled at Massabesic high school. I now work at Howard Sports complex. I am in the process of starting a wrestling program here. I feel that maine could benefit from the experience of off season wrestling. I would like to have at least one wrestling tournament here, and if possible a few clinics. I have been working with the massabesic program as a volunteer coach, and I feel I have some knowledge that young wrestlers could benefit from.

I have also noticed from beeing around other sports at work that other athletic programs, such as soccer, basketball, field hockey, and baseball all have offseason leagues. I think wrestling should follow in those footsteps, And create wrestling clubs that could compete against each other, instate, and out of state. Giving young wrestlers a tremendous amount of experience. I would be very interested in coaching such a team, and if there is a few more coaches interested in this we could really get something great going.

If you would like to talk in more detail about my ideas you can e-mail me. Call me at work 282-4005. Or call me at home 324-2346

Thank you
Brian Pond

York Youth Wrestling
I am the varsity and one of the youth wrestling coaches here in York. Our youth team starts Tuesday, Feb 15th at the York Middle School. We run 4:30 - 5:30, tuesday/thursdays. We are in our 4th year and have 20 kids this year.

Hope to see you and your son. My number at York HS: 207-363-3621 x229.

Bryan Thompson

Finally, a New Wrestling Novel

Greetings,

We needed more stories about amateur wrestling, so I wrote and self-published one. My name is Dave Conifer and my story about high school wrestling is called THROWBACK. On Saturday I appeared on Takedown Radio, America's only radio show dedicated to Amateur Wrestling.

Excerpts from THROWBACK are appearing in WrestlingUSA Magazine all season long. It's "G"-rated but filled with realistic wrestling action. It's also about high school, so it's a good fit for young adults.

The book is available at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com, and at just about any other online book-seller.

Get more information, buy the book, or read the whole thing for free at:

Click here to view website as http://home.infionline.net/~cpharm/Throwback

Finally, a new book for wrestlers! Check it out! Help defray my publishing costs! (LOL?)

...Dave Conifer

team needed for 1/15 dual meet tourny in Mass
West Springfield needs 1 team for its 9 team dual meet tourny on 01/15. pool format with 4 meet guarantee. Teams in are: Agawam, Spfld Central, Putnam, Southwick, Northampton, West Spfld, Amhest and Hartford Public Ct. Contact Tom Svec at tjscoach34@hotmail.com

Looking for Maine Teams
Merrimack, NH is looking for 1 or 2 Maine teams to compete in a 12 team 1 day tournament on January 15th. Looking to get a teams from around NE. Please email back if your team is open and interested.

College Committments

From my contacts I have learned the following Maine seniors destinations to wrestle in college.

Derek Guisto (Lisbon) Southern Maine
Nate Hix (Lisbon) Southern Maine
Seth McAllister (Oxford Hills) Edinboro
David Gregory (Lincoln Academy) Wheaton

There have to be more out there. Let's take pride in products of wrestling in Maine who go on to compete at the next level. I'd love to see a link for College Committments on the front page of this website.

Response

Thanks, Bryan. I will look at making such a link avaialble on the MAWA home page.

J Cole MAWA

Where are they going?
Does anybody know where Maine seniors are heading to continue their wrestling careers? I know David Gregory(Lincoln Academy) will be wrestling for Wheaton College(NCAA D.III) in Illinois. I've also heard rumors about others. It would be cool if MAWA advertised college committments as many of us like to follow the Maine guys as they go on.

Good Luck Maine in NE
Congratulations to the team of wrestlers chosen to compete in Nebraska. I know you will represent the great State of Maine with honor and pride. Good luck and have fun!!!

Mike Brown and Tim Silvia Are Set to Fight at the UFC in Vegas

Lets all wish and give our support Maine's own Former State Champion Mike Brown and Former Ultimate Fighting Champion Tim Silvia as they both fight in the ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS in Las Vegas this April 2, 2004.

Maine that has a low population State; now has two of the Tuffest Men on the Planet Squaring off for Championship Title Belts in two Divisions. I know that the Wrestling Community, Fans and people ofMaine are Very Proud of both of these Classy Warriors.

I am happy to know and train with them as well. Pride in Wrestling...

Chico 2004 British National Sombo Wrestling Silver Vice Champion.

Ouchymac Photo's New Englands

Congratulations to all the Maine wrestlers this past weekend in New Haven Conn.

I took alot of photo's this weekend and want you to view them and take what you like by down loading the ones you like onto your computer.

I really enjoyed watching Decotta Cotton and Chris Remsen wrestle. Both are the real deal and will do well wherever they decide to go to school. I also took photo's of some of the wreslers from Maine who came into our room for a workout the day before the NE's.

I took a nice shot of Decotta receiving his outstanding wresler award. I hope someone lets him know its on the web site.

Enjoy the Photo's !

Click to view 2004 New England Wrestling

Looking to get my son in wrestling need some
Hi

All I am fairly new to Maine and I am interested in getting some information on wrestling clubs that start young ones 6+. In California they call them Mighty Mites is there such a thing in Maine? Any information would be great.

RESPONSE

Yes, there are clubs associated with USAWrestling. You want to speak with Celeste Anderson, State Director for USAWMaine. She has a website called http://USAWMaine.org and you can email her at usawme@maine.rr.com. There are also towns that offer grade school wrestling but you are better off checking with your local high school coach and have him tell you who are the point people for these groups. It is different for each town. Some are booster run, some are clubs to USAW, some are associated with schools, etc. Hope this helps.

JCole
MAWA Board

Senior Nationals
High School Senior Nationals will be held this year in Cleveland April 2 2004 to April 4 2004. One time weigh in on Thursday, April 1 2004 plus 3 lbs. for entire event. You must have wrestled at least one match during regular season at weight you chose to compete. The tournament will be held at the Public Hall Convention Center in downtown Cleveland.

I am currently planning to attend this tournament and coach any Maine wrestler that chooses to go, that needs transportation and lodging and has a high school coach that can not make trip. I have taken close to 150 wrestlers to this event in past 10 years. It has been the highlight of many of the Maine wrestlers that have gone in the past. Your chance to mix it up with the best wrestlers in the country.

Some information on Event:

How To Maintain Your Weight

For those of you wrestlers that have a hard time to stay under weight. I have something for you, I was the same way.

My weight class is 112 see, and I did this twice I was one 110.4 and come in the next day before a match, and be 117.8 my coach was mad.

Now I am able to stay under weight by using the Atkins diet, meaning just eat fruit, vegetables, and low carbohydrates keep those under 12gs if you can.

It worked for me. Now my team does not have to keep forfeiting my matches anymore because I keep coming in on weight.

There were two times were I did not make weight for my team and I was mad, this was the first time they said "You have got to stop pigging out! Your under weight all the time and come in at a match over. That's bad." They also said "The night before a match eat only peanut butter." So I did and the next time I was over weight because I ate HAFT A TUBE of peanut butter.

So its better for me to use the Atkins diet. If it worked for me it should work for you, but I cant speak for you. Try it see what happens just don't pig out on all the stuff you can eat.

Maine female wrestlers
Are there any female wrestlers in The New England/Maine area that would like to attend a all girl wrestling camp? I know of one girl who I spoke with at a Ken Chertow camp, named Nicole from Maine she is in the 11th grade and very tough, I'm sure some of you have heard of her. If there are any other female wrestlers that would like to attend a camp of this kind in the Boston area please contact me at Realwrestling33@aol.com.

Article on maine girl wreslters
That was a great article on Nicole Lemay and Deanna Rix, writen by Bob McPhee. I think its really awesome how well Nicole is doing this year. Im glade to see it, she wrestled very tough at the Ken Chetow camp and I see that all her hard work has paid off! Keep up the good work Miss. Lemay

Viking Preseason Duals
Oxford Hills will be hosting a dual meet tournament with the top place winners of the 2003 season attending. Teams that are registered so far are Noble, Lisbon, Oxford Hills, Biddeford, Mt. Valley, Dexter, Foxcroft Academy, Belfast We are looking for four more teams to add to the tournament field, the tournament is on November 29th @ Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School. The team fee is $150.00 we will also have a challenge mat for all JV wrestlers. Please contact Mark Dolloff @ 743-9575 or email me at pbhc@megalink.net for more details if you are interested.

HS SENIORS
HS SENIORS, College coaches will be doing the majority of their recruiting in the Fall, so if you are interested in Wrestling in College. email me james.maher@verizon.com and I will forward you a questionnaire to fill out. After you return it to me, I will forward it to 120 College Wrestling Coaches. If they are interested in your resume, they will contact you directly. this is free.

The real truth
I was really impressed with not only the Maine State Games, but with the effort into creating more summer tourney's. Hats off to Nepalitano and Reese and all of those who have contributed into making it available for Maine kids to wrestle year 'round. Now here is the bad news...

What is the deal with all these kids? We have 2 meets in Hyde, 1 in Scarborough, The Maine States, Maine State Freestyle, Camden Rockport, and countless others. So where are all the wrestlers. I have seen many peewee's and opens and even women's, but where are all the State Champs?

IT seems to me that it's the same names meet after meet. Nebraska came here again and deolished us, at New Englands we were not much better. High school nationals was a waste of time for us and North East Regionals was not very pretty.

I have so much pride for Maine, there are so many great coaches out there and not only are they available but we (Maine) have so much more oppertunity now than we did 10 years ago.

Why are we not taking advantage of this? I have so much to say about this subject about lack of interest but I'll end it with this... and that is to all wrestlers and coaches when you or your kid lose and he says he wasen't prepared or whatever tell them that they had plenty of time to prepare and then hand them a schedule off the MAWA website.

Re: Maine State Championship Wrestling Meet
For the last two years, I have attended the above championship meet. It's all exciting to watch and I am, of course, biased in favor of Marshwood wrestlers. What keeps occurring to me is............

In geographically long and populated California(34 million in 2000 census), there are about 800 high schools with wrestling programs. At each weight, there is ONE CHAMPION ONLY. AMAZING FEAT OF GRANDEUR FOR THE WEIGHT CLASS WINNER!

So why in sparsely-populated Maine(population 1.2 million) and only about 60 high schools with wrestling teams, can't we have only one weight-class champion instead of Class A, B, and C Champions? When glued to Class A wrestlers at the yearly State Meet, I feel that, sometimes, I'm missing the "real" overall state champ from a smaller school. After all, it's hard to watch three class state championship matches going on at once. But more than this, FOR THE WRESTLERS, one state champ would be more meaningful than three champs at each weight.

Washburn's Hernandez wins world titles
Washburn's Hernandez wins world titles

James "Chico" Hernandez of Washburn captured two world wrestling championships at the 6th AAU World Ironman Wrestling Championships, which were held May 23-26 in Knoxville, Tenn.

Hernandez won nine fights in a row in the Senior Open and Masters division. In the finals of the Greco-Roman championships he pinned Glen Toleson of Orlando, Fla., in 1 minute, 30 seconds. Hernandez pinned Toleson in the Olympic freestyle championships in 1:22.

Hernandez has a total of 31 National AAU All-American titles and nine world titles. He was featured on the back of Wheaties Energy Crunch Cereal boxes last year.

From Staff and Wire Reports Bangor Daily News 5/29/2003

New England Tournaments
If you are looking for tournaments in the New England area you can go to www.riwrestling.com/schedule . If you know of any tournaments and/or clinics not listed, please get in touch with me.

Folkstyle Tournament/Mass 4/27
I am planning on attending and can provide transportation to any wrestlers interested in attending tournament in Marlboro, Mass. on 27-April. USA Card is neccessary. Can be purchased there. This is in response to some wrestlers asking if anything was going on that weekend. Only a 11/2 hour ride from southern Maine. Call 799-3490 or email ramrestlin@yahhoo.com if you want to hook up.

Mouth away, shoes on
I really have to congradulate Maine wrestling for really taking off this year. I have never thought that Maine wrestlers would ever be at the level thay are at today. Maine kids are showing great technique and not rolling throughout the state with 3 polished moves on unexperienced kid like in the past. I have see freshmen hitting high crotches and duckunders to perfection. It's really exciting how well we're doing and I am quite anxious to see where it will go.......................

However, this all state argument has to end. C'mon man! There have been some great wrestlers that have lost in the regional finals or state finals and still they don't conceed the right's to being a state or regional champion.

I think that there is a little more feeling at the State touney and not the Tourney of Champs as a qualifier for New Englands; and this can be attributed to the fact that you have kids placing or even winning the All State tourney who have not won the states or EVEN PLACED. The truth is...No One Deserves ANYTHING! Point blank. In the Mid to early 90's and 80's we weren't even invited to the New Englands. Which not only hurt us as a state, but made it almost impossible to get recruited by ANY college program.

And this talk about, " well it's not fair because I beat him this many time times and I had one bad match, and this reason and that!" Well, what if there weren't ANY New England's? Would their still be a gripe about who beat who, when. Man you really want to know what the real truth is?! It's this, not many wrestlers wrestle year round.

Case in point: Hyde has a freestlye tourney every year and they have like 12 people there... and it's the same 3 people. Another case in point: Marshwood had another freestyle meet for all ages, and again, it's like the same 12 people who show up! But I tell you this: those 12 people who do, are usually the same who win the States and don't have "BAD" matches or whatever.

But that's just it. Life is all about "bad" matches. And the old saying goes, "you can't win all the time!" but you can WANT TO all everytime.

My suggestion is this. Lace up the shoes, knuckle up and wrestle. It's that simple. Just wrestle. Start a club. Join one. Put on a wrestling meet yourself. Whatever. Maine is only going to become better if everyone agrees to help Maine to become the pride it has become in the near future at the same rate as it has become now.

Peace , I'm outta here.

Freestyle/Greco Roman Tourney
The Northeast Regional Tournament will be held in Brockport,NY 4/11-4/13 in both Divisions for Junior Level wrestlers. Junior level age requirement is anyone born 1983 orlater that is enrolled in grades 9-12.

This is one of 6 Regionals held across U.S., and is an important meet for wrestlers who are considering attending Nationals in Fargo,ND. in July. It is also a great chance for tough competition to start off the spring season.

I will be leaving to tournament mid afternoon on April 10. We currently have 4 Maine wrestlers on board. I am willing to take more, but need to get commitment by Monday in order to assure accomodations.

The cost is $150 which includes 3 nights stay in Brockport, transportation and paid $40 entry fee. The only other reqirement is a USA Wrestling card that is available at tournament.

Call me @799-3490 or email ramrestlin@yahoo.com ASAP if interested.

Here ya go
Well I feel that the all state tournament would be more on the lines of weeding out the weaker class B and or C state champions because the majority of the time class A kids get omitted.

Womens Wrestling: Deanna Rix
Congratulations to Deanna Rix she is the 2003 Womens New England Champion .She had 5 first period pins and recieved the Outstanding Wrestler Award.

OK?
Heres the deal... yes a wrestler could have 1 bad match and not go to New Englands because he didnt win a state championship... but also a wrestler could have 1 bad match at the "ALL STATE TOURNAMENT" and not go to New Englands. I am not against the All state tourny... I just feel you have a weak point.

Maryland Girls State Wrestling Championships
USGWA Maryland Girls Wrestling State Championships on march 22nd 2003. Bishop McNamara HS No experience required, Girls if you have always wanted to try wrestling this is the place to start. New thru advanced. very good responce so far alot of very good competition coming in youre own back yard from all over USA, with a few national champions and nationally rank girls.I already have confirmations of girls coming from NY,NJ,PA,WV,VA and there is usually a crew that comes from midwest to eastcoast tournys OFFICIAL REGISTRATION FORM http://www.usgwa.com/info/tournaments/mary.html More detailed info: www.leaguelineup.com/clintonjets or e-mail Coach welch red1skins@aol.com Divisions: Elementary K-5 graders. Middle School 6-7-8 graders. High School 9-10-11-12 Graders. ** GREAT NATIONALS TUNEUP ** !!!for EASTCOAST girls as the weekend after is the USGWA NATIONAL Championships in MI. (Over 700 girls/women expected for the Nationals)

Senior Nationals
Looking to see if there are any seniors that are interested in attending Senior Nationals in Cleveland 3/27 -3/30 that have not made arrangements yet. We have taken close to 130 Maine wrestlers to this event in past 9 years. Great experience to round out your high school carreer. You must have placed in top 2 of your state tournament in any year and be a graduating senior to be eligible.

If intersested, my phone # is 207-799-3490 and email ramrestlin@yahoo.com I have Maine National singlets for those attending and we will be travelling to Conn. for MAWA tournament 3/22 to enable the seniors to get some competition. I have forms for that tournament and will be bringing them to New Englands Friday night.

Good luck to all the Maine wrestlers this weekend.

Alan Kinerson

response to
I was reading the board and saw some comments made about "off season" wrestling.....I personally feel that any wrestler benefits thru this....we have a club that is USA Wrestling sanctioned and I know for a fact that alot of wrestlers have had the opportunity to come and join .....most don't take advantage of this and then I see comments about how they have nothing available to them ...my son has been involved in this "year round" wrestling and has greatly benefited from it....he was 33-5 this year as a sophmore...and took 3rd at states.....his only losses in state were to the 1st and 2nd place finishers at states...maybe more of the wrestlers that feel they get the "raw end " of any match should step up to the mat "off season" as well and take advantage of what is out there....there is plenty of good competition out there....you just have to take the initiative and commit to it!!!!

New Englands
I realize Kyle Hale is "not trying to complain", actually it's more of a whine. The way it works is the #1 in the state goes on to the New Englands. It has always been that way. As Kyle stated, he made a mistake and someone else won. It can happen to anyone at any time. It has happened to the best at Westbrook too. It's as simple as this.... Kyle Hale didn't get it one when it counted, and Nick Lavigne did. Let it go!

College programs in Maine
I am trying to start a program at Husson College in Bangor. I need help to find out an intrest level. I have two good connections in the Braves' atheletic department and I think WE! can get one off the ground. My e-mail is swami@midcoast.com please reply. Thanks, Dwight

The problem with New England Qualifying

I wrestle for Noble High School in North Berwick, compete in the one-hundred-nineteen pound weight class, and finished third place at the State Meet. I had one loss in Maine the entire season, and that was at States, to somebody I had previously pinned.

I am writing this letter not to complain, but to show why Maine wrestling is considered a lower caliber not only to New England but the country. I have defeated the state champion at my weight class every time we have faced this season, including a match at the so called, tournament of champions which took place this last weekend.

I also have beaten each and every wrestler in all three divisions of Maine by either pin or technical fall. I made one small mistake and lost the opportunity to compete at the New England Classic this year. Now I am only a junior and have another year to wrestle. I have competed throughout New England and also outside of New England this season, and I can assure you that the ruling of qualifying for New Englands in Maine is the reason why we do so poorly consistantly.

This is the reason that Maine has such a horrible reputation around the nation in wrestling competition. It is interesting that we send someone to this tournament that is not prepared for such an opportunity. Granted there are individuals who do deserve to go, but honestly if we want to improve our reputation, we need to take a step further into the wrestling world and give everyone the opportunity to shine.

Where's the Freestyle?
Are there any freestyle practices scheduled for the next few months. Where can our wrestlers find opportunities to stay involved with wrestling. Email me at surveyor@adelphia.net if you have any info to pass on. Good Luck New England qualifiers.

All State Tournament
I defianetly think Maine would benefit from an All State format. I know my senior year we visited the Sanford Maine Invitational and left pretty impressed with what Maine had for talent. At the New England tournament I didn't see some of the better wrestler I had seen at the Redskin Classic. Instead I saw a few of the kids and a bunch more I felt didn't belong at the tournament. The All State tournament would weed out those wrestlers and Maine would probably have more placings at the NE along with more respect wich they deserve ,but will never be able to get under the current format. Then again that's just another flatlander's opinion.

Jan 26 top ten?
I am very puzzled on why mt. valley got first in the top ten the week of jan 26.

Don't get me wrong there a strong team with many good wrestlers, but is it because they beat Lisbon by 3 points in MSL. I don't want to sound negative but that tournement can't really be counted for anything.

Most class had only 5 wrestlers or less, Mt. valley won cause they got more first round matches then Lisbon. Lisbon had 8 champions 2 runners up and 3 thirds and still lost. That tournement was won due to byes not actuall talent.

But this isn't ment negativly towards Mt. valley, congratulations on being first in the top ten and good luck next weekend.

As FYI for you, MAWA gets a poll of top ten from Bob McPhee and we never question his list. Its only a list and is intended to show relationships between teams and level of strngth.

I sometimes feel that the sequence may be different in my opinion but its Bob's call.

I like your positive approcah to asking your question and hope you keep that up. GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP always takes priority over any poll, article, or beliefs of some wrestling folks.

Regards
John Cole
MAWA Board

Response to article on 'Womens wrestlilng/skill defeats strength'

I recently read your article on womens wrestling and it's great to see the female wrestlers get well deserved recognition in a mostly male dominated sport. My daughter Deanna Rix is a 2 year varsity wrestler for Marshwood High School @ 119 lbs weight class, she just captured her 2nd Western Maine Conference Champion title and is entering the Regionals with a 19-2 record. She also placed 3rd in the USGWA folkstyle Nationals and 1st in the Cadet Womens World Team trials.She is ranked no 1 in both divisions in her weight.

Thank you.

Bronze level Clinic
If you are not a certified copper level coach and attend the Bronze clinic can you still become Bronze certified if you attend the clinic and pass the test ,or do you get no certification at all if you are not previously certified as a copper level coach?

Wrestling Tournament Software
We just finished running two wrestling tournaments at Marshwood H.S. over the weekend. One was a 2-day H.S. tournament, 12 teams, 16-person brackets. The second was a 1-day tournament with 350 K-6 graders.

We have had great success with a program that we developed for our New England Tournament at UNH (over 1100 kids from 65+ teams last year, with team scoring, 8 and 16 person brackets, running 16 matches at a time) and would like to make others aware of it's availability.

The program is a Microsoft Access (Access97 or Access2000) database. Several teams in Maine are using it now and have found it to be very user-friendly and a time saver when running your larger tournaments.

Currently, it is not for sale - it is available for you to use if you want. If you're using it for a tournament where you charge for registration, admission, etc., I do ask a small per-use "fee" to help with updates and answering questions as tournaments approach.

If you would like more information about it, email me at rmccormack01@attbi.com.

If this sounds like a sales pitch, and you are offended by it, email me anyway and I will send you the program to use for nothing - if you like it, you can decide whether or not it was worth $25. [Also, if your are offended by this, I apologize]

Title IX Online Petition

I took your poll on Title IX and I was surprised at the results. When it comes to considering if Title IX is a quota system or not, the VAST majority of people said it is.

One of the problems we face as supporters/athletes/fans/parents of collegiate athletes is disinformation that the ultra-feminists spew out about our motives. They are able to do this because few people really understand the problems. It is through educating people on Title IX that we will begin to make more headway. Title IX is not a quota system and, in fact, prohibits quotas. Proportionality is a quota system and is not and never has been the law. It is a policy. The policy is what we oppose, not the law. We want Title IX enforced in the spirit it was written.

We have some info in our Title IX section you can link to, but we also have a printable petition as well as an electronic petition. The petitions will be collected, published and sent to Congress and the President in late March. We are hoping to get the written petitions passed out at all college and high schools meets, not just wrestling, but hopefully swimming and other sports. In March, people can email me for instructions on how to send them back (free of charge--I will pay the postage) or you can have them sent to you and forward them to me.

Sanford Tournament?
Does anybody have the results for 97/98 season?

World's on PPV
This coming September, USA Wrestling has the rights to the Freestyle and Women’s World Championships to be held at Madison Square Gardens. They would like to televise it as a pay per view event as opposed to doing a one-hour highlight show like the NCAA’s. If you are interested in seeing this live,

Click here on TheMat

and sign in.

This is an opportunity to participate in a first for real wrestling exposure.

All-State Tournament
We definitely need to start up the All-State tournament so that we are sending our best kids to the New England tournament, and to shorten the gap between state and New Englands. Our finishes @ New Englands over the past few years has been pathetic....and from my experience New England is the weakest region in the country. We need to give our kids all possible oppertunities to suceed out of state too.

Watch them wrestle
Zack Braasch and Kellen Hollenkamp both with no losses won Mc Donalds, Zack looks strong at 140lbs and the same for Hollenkamp at 189lbs who just upset Pike of Bonney Eagle. Look for these two at upcomeing tournys.

Prices for advertising space in the State Tournament program
Here are the prices for ad space in the state tournament program:

Full page-$400.00
3/4 page-$320.00
1/2 page-$240.00
1/4 page-$150.00
1/8 page-$90.00.

Please contact me at terryd198@yahoo.com for more info.

Click to Email Terry Devereaux

Looking for sponsors
If anyone (parent, business, supporter) is interested in placing an ad in the state tournament program, please contact me for further information.

My email address is terryd198@yahoo.com

The problem with Maine wrestling
The problem with Maine wrestling is the pride.When a state title is held in its class it is accepted and rejoiced but not challenged. Tis is the very reason that the ALL-State or the old Tourn. of Champions never really took off. Class C and B kids who were happy with thier win that they wantedt end the season on a good note. The Class A kids who primarily live in or near the city were in an advantage due to the fact that traveling expenses were less and they themselves were a pick of a large student body. ( by that I mean look at how many students you can pick or have the chance to coach from in a school the size of Bonney Eagle compared to MCI). The same is true for the summer wrestling. You'll have maybe 2 tough (state place winners) and a bunch of 1st year wrestlers. In my day, all the real deal wrestlers were the ones who were at the summer tourneys. THe problem is that Maine coaches are lazy because the wrestling season is just oo long for them. You see, when you have a family you expose them throught the long hours and dual meets that run over. Your tired throughout the season and it's (wrestling season) during a really hard time of year in Maine with the snow, bad economy, x-mas, thanksgiving and new years . I don't blame a coach to just say great year but i need a rest. And then they relax all summer with an occassional summer camp or so to stay in touch. Here's my solution and i'll tell it to you like this ....Maine has had it's share of some pretty REAL DEAL scrappers in it's day: Brian Brunk, Jason York, Brian Walch, Ben McCrillis, Bill Brocheu, Matt Wedgewood, Nate Phillips, Jason Woodwoard, Matt Waite, Dominic Cafone, Kevin Gray, Milliken, just to namea few. What happen to these guys is that not only were they really good but they wrestled all year round. The head coach took a brake for the summer and the assistant or other coach would be responsable for a summer schedule. I'll tell you why we always have problems at the New Englands and national meets...it's because we don't have the oppertunity to wrestle or schedule a meet for a maine team to travel.

What does George known about wrestling?
"I support Title IX. Title IX has opened up opportunities for young women in both academics and sports, and I think that's terrific. I do not support a system of quotas or strict proportionality that pits one group against another. We should support a reasonable approach to Title IX that seeks to expand opportunities for women rather than destroy existing men's teams."

President G Bush

2002-2003 Maine Wrestling Schedules NEEDED
If you have access to your school's wrestling schedule, please sent it via

1. Email to JDCole@UnumProvident.com
2. Fax to 207-575-7223 attn JCole
3. SnailMail: JCole 40 Arbor View Dr Scarborough, ME 04074
4. Pnone: 207-575-9089 W 207-883-6927 H after 6pm

   Thanks
   JC