Girls Wrestling Invite Next Week

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Inaugural Girls Wrestling Is Next Week

 

 

 

Forty-eight years after the first boys traditional state wrestling tournament (1961), the inaugural TSSAA girls invitational occurs next week at McKenzie Arena.

 

 

The girls traditional will be held Feb. 19-20 with competition occurring on adjacent mats to the boys state competition.

 

 

Girls brackets in nine weights are posted at www.tssaa.org/girlswrestling/2009/home.htm.

 

 

"Having the invitational in the same building with the guys is great for the sport and will give girls wrestling enormous exposure,'' said Soddy Daisy boys and girls coach who has nine girls entered in the tournament.

 

 

Forty-six young ladies representing 18 schools will make history in Tennessee when quarterfinal action begins at noon on Thursday, followed by championship semifinals at 5 p.m.

 

 

Competition continues on Friday at noon with consolation semis, followed by championship and consolation finals.

 

 

Boys Schedule: The D-I state traditional has rounds of 32 and 16 beginning on Wednesday at 4 p.m., followed by Thursday's quarterfinals (10 a.m.) and semifinals (6 p.m.). D-II starts on Thursday at 10 a.m. with round of 16 action, followed by quarterfinals and championship semis at 6 p.m.

 

 

Friday shows D-I and D-II consolations beginning at 10 a.m. and championship finals at 6 p.m.

 

 

Soddy Daisy and Science Hill, with nine entrants each, are the pre-tournament favorites to win the team title, closely followed by Red Bank (6) and Stone Memorial (4).

 

 

Soddy-Daisy and Science Hill finished one-two in the inaugural invitational duals last year in Clarksville.

 

 

"We are excited about the possibilities of the girls' tournament, mainly for the girls that are participating this year and the opportunities it presents them,'' said TSSAA executive director Ronnie Carter.

 

 

The state of Washington high school association held its first girls' invitational in 2003 with 58 participants. In 2004, the numbers nearly doubled (109) and increased to 158 in 2005.

 

 

A sanctioned girls state tournament began in 2006 and today the event is a 16-girl bracket in 11 weight classes. Six hundred and sixty girls wrestle state-wide.

 

 

"The invitational tournament gives girls wrestling great exposure and leads to increased numbers and better wrestling, and for our state, a sanctioned state event,'' said WIAA assistant executive director Jim Meyeroff.

 

 

"Last year we had one girls' final decided on criteria in overtime,'' he stated. "That shows how far the sport has developed in six years.''

 

 

The WIAA has 285 schools with wrestling programs and half of those offer girls wrestling.

 

 

Washington holds the nation's largest state wrestling tournament at the Tacoma Dome with six classifications on 24 mats.

 

 

Texas and Hawaii also have a girls state tournament, while Maine holds an invitational next week.

 

Texas, which has had a girls state tournament since 1999, hosts the boys (one division) and girls state finals at the Delco Center in Austin at the end of February.

 

 

According to Mark Cousins of the Texas University Interscholastic League (TUIL), 220 schools in the state offer boys wrestling and 175 have girls wrestling.

 

 

For the 46 Tennessee girls who weigh-in at McKenzie Arena next Thursday, the present is exciting. And if results in other states are a good measuring stick, the future is bright in the Volunteer state.

 

 

"As far as the possibilities for the future, we will have to see the response from the student-athletes and coaches,'' said Carter, now in his final five months as the TSSAA leader.

 

 

"We think it (wrestling) has great possibilities for girls that want to participate in this great sport,'' he stated. ''It has been a excellent addition in Texas and would present a great addition to the sport of wrestling in Tennessee.''

 

contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net

[MVM]

I'm surprised that The Toppers did not have any girls in the 185 weight class.

[countrypk]

I'm surprised that The Toppers did not have any girls in the 185 weight class.

 

 

Too funny. If my wife caught me posting that, I'd get a sever tongue lashing about being insensitive.

[bbb]

I'm surprised that The Toppers did not have any girls in the 185 weight class.

 

 

 

last year SH had Sarah (165) and Hannah (185) Austin, but maybe they graduated.

 

 

 

Soddy Daisy has an entrant at 185 but because the second entrant pulled out, TSSAA did away with weight. the SD girl deserves a medal and probably finals points but TSSAA says no. what if 31 guys at 103 all had food poisoning and could not wrestle? would they say no champ at 103 .. I doubt it . so what is the difference?. Soddy's girl was on the team last year and wrestled in the duals but is not allowed to wrestle this year.

 

 

 

b.b.b.

[StarRaider]

No chick is gonna whip Emily at 138. Not all the guys either.

[MVM]

No chick is gonna whip Emily at 138. Not all the guys either.

 

Emily is good, no doubt about it....

[MVM]

last year SH had Sarah (165) and Hannah (185) Austin, but maybe they graduated.

 

 

 

Soddy Daisy has an entrant at 185 but because the second entrant pulled out, TSSAA did away with weight. the SD girl deserves a medal and probably finals points but TSSAA says no. what if 31 guys at 103 all had food poisoning and could not wrestle? would they say no champ at 103 .. I doubt it . so what is the difference?. Soddy's girl was on the team last year and wrestled in the duals but is not allowed to wrestle this year.

 

 

 

b.b.b.

 

It is a shame....This girl has worked hard this year to get her shot. Last year at the state duels she wrestled her match in her own weight class then wrestled both Sarah and Hannah so they both would have matches at the duels, and did this coming out of a cast with a broke leg, less than 2 weeks before those duels. By the end of her third match in less than an hour she found out how tough wrestling really was.

 

I hate it for this young lady.

[Strider]

It is a shame....This girl has worked hard this year to get her shot. Last year at the state duels she wrestled her match in her own weight class then wrestled both Sarah and Hannah so they both would have matches at the duels, and did this coming out of a cast with a broke leg, less than 2 weeks before those duels. By the end of her third match in less than an hour she found out how tough wrestling really was.

 

I hate it for this young lady.

 

 

I agree, eliminating the weight class, which puts her on the sidelines, isn't right. I know a lot of these girls have worked day in and day out to get very few matches. They are blazing the way and have kept great attitudes.

 

I can remember watching the Lady Vols basketball team in their first years back in the early 70s. They played just a few teams in the old gym at UT for free to those of us that would go watch.

[wrestledadD]

This is great for the girls and the sport. But any one who was at state last year knows that this venue can't hold any more fans. I beleave it's time to move the competition to a bigger building in the future. This year we'll just have to move in a little closer and get to know each other a little better. After all wrestling is a contact sport. LOL

[Freestyle4life]

Some of these girls arent even going to make it past weigh ins because they all have raging cases of cooties. It is really bad and some are calling it the new "plague"

[THEANIMAL]

Some of these girls arent even going to make it past weigh ins because they all have raging cases of cooties. It is really bad and some are calling it the new "plague"

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PLEASE EXPLAIN!

[matbrat5]

It is a shame....This girl has worked hard this year to get her shot. Last year at the state duels she wrestled her match in her own weight class then wrestled both Sarah and Hannah so they both would have matches at the duels, and did this coming out of a cast with a broke leg, less than 2 weeks before those duels. By the end of her third match in less than an hour she found out how tough wrestling really was.

 

I hate it for this young lady.

 

 

Rules different for the ladies? We could not wrestle an exhibition because you had to have an hour between matches.