All-Kansas Girls High School Wrestling Team announced by USA Wrestling-Kansas

Jeff Mercer
03/15/2005

The state´s best girls high school wrestlers are being honored by USA Wrestling-Kansas with the announcement of the first annual All-Kansas Girls High School Wrestling Team. USA Wrestling - Kansas is the governing body for all USA Wrestling sanctioned wrestling clubs, tournaments, and camps in Kansas. The All-Kansas Girls Wrestling Team is the only Kansas all-star team for which female high school wrestlers competing on all four grade levels are eligible. Athletes from across the state were considered for their achievements in high school wrestling, as well as freestyle and folkstyle competitions. There are currently over 230 girls with USA Wrestling memberships in Kansas and roughly 50 girls compete on Kansas high school teams each year. As is the case in most girls high school wrestling programs, competition in Kansas is most intense at the light-middle weight classes. "We’re proud to be a sponsor of the All-Kansas Girls Wrestling Team," said Mike Juby, Executive Director of USA Wrestling-Kansas. "We see this sport having a huge potential for growth, and look forward to the day when many high schools and colleges across the country offer wrestling programs for the female athlete. These might be our future Olympians in women´s wrestling and we are proud to recognize their achievements." Stand-outs on the First Team were Kate Hicks of Hope, the only girl to qualify to compete at the recent KSHSAA Wrestling Tournament, and three nationally ranked girls who compete primarily against other girls in amateur club wrestling programs. National rankings published by the United States Girls Wrestling Association includes senior Jenny Schridde of Great Bend (110 lbs.) 6th in the nation, freshman Beth Johnson of Garden City (118 lbs.) 3rd in the nation, and senior Krisha Childres of Goodard (126 lbs.) 3rd in the nation. The All-Kansas Girls High School Wrestling Team is selected by a statewide panel of wrestling experts. Ed Edison, director for the USA Wrestling women’s wrestling program in Kansas chaired the selection committee. "We feel it is time to acknowledge the efforts of these women’s wrestlers. They accept the challenge to compete in one of the most demanding contact sports possible. Instead of just tolerating their existence in a male dominated sport, we need to celebrate their spirit and determination and acknowledge their accomplishments." In addition to serving as director for the women’s wrestling program, Ed Edison serves as head coach for the Kansas Krusaders, the official girls wrestling program of USA Wrestling - Kansas. The Kansas Krusaders is the name given to Kansas entries at major regional and national tournaments. These girls generally wrestle with local clubs and on school teams within the state then come together to represent Kansas at major folkstyle and freestyle wrestling competitions. A total of twenty-one high school girls from eleven different weight classes were selected for All-Kansas honors. These included six seniors, four juniors, five sophomores and six freshmen. 2005 All-Kansas Girls High School Wrestling Team Weight Wrestler / School-Club / Yr in School 95 lbs. 1st Team - Hannah Geer / Silver Lake / Freshman 102 lbs. 1st Team - Danette O’Hara / Columbus / Freshman 2nd Team - Regina Ward / Lakin / Freshman 110 lbs. 1st Team - Kate Hicks / Hope /Junior 2nd Team - Jenny Schridde / Great Bend / Senior 3rd Team - Chelsea Arnold / Marion HS / Senior 119 lbs. 1st Team - Beth Johnson / Garden City YMCA / Freshman 2nd Team - Emma Mercer / Lawrence High / Sophomore 3rd Team - Jill Wingate /Richmond-Central Heights/Junior 128 lbs. 1st Team - Krisha Childres / Goddard / Senior 2nd Team - Tina Karol / Derby High / Sophomore 3rd Team - Chandra Engel / McPherson High / Freshman 138 lbs. 1st Team - Rachel Lopez / Paola High / Sophomore 2nd Team - Britnay Seitz / Olathe North HS / Sophomore 148 lbs. 1st Team - Tiffany Ince / Onaga High / Junior 2nd Team - Cherasa Leak / Washburn Rural HS / Sophomore 160 lbs. 1st Team - Sara Hilliard / Free State High / Senior 2nd Team - Kailen Scott / Wellington High / Freshman 175 lbs. 1st Team - Libby Bowser / Holton / Junior 195 lbs. 1st Team - Colette Curtis / Gardner-Edgerton High / Senior 220 lbs. 1st Team - Tiffany Hanson / Mulvane / Senior Notes about rankings: Rankings are always open to debate. Without a state-wide girls wrestling program featuring head-to-head competitions to determine state champions by weight class, the selection did their best to compare records, compare results against common opponents, and consider first hand accounts of scouting reports from coaches and tournament directors. Making the challenge even more difficult is the fact that some girls choose to only wrestle either freestyle or folkstyle and the fact that some girls choose to compete only against girls while others continue to compete predominantly against boys. Selection committee members tried their best to take all factors into consideration when making these selections. As is the case in most high school girls programs, the number of participants is greatest in the light-middle weight classes. The selection committee, while challenged to select three wrestlers per weight class, decided to select fewer wrestlers to honor in specific weight classes when, in their judgment, the skill levels of wrestlers did not meet All-Kansas Team standards. Follow-up questions may be directed to: Ed Edison, Kansas Krusaders (316) 721-5122 http://eteamz.active.com/ksgirlswrestling/ Mike Juby, USA Wrestling-Kansas (620) 663-1312 http://www.usawks.com/