The nation's best girls high school wrestlers are being honored with the announcement of the eighth annual TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team.

The 2008 First Team members were announced at the ASICS/Vaughan Junior National Championships in Fargo, N.D. in July, where they were presented with their trophies. At the same time, it was announced that Tatiana Padilla of Northview High School in California was named the ASICS High School Wrestler of the Year for the second straight year.

There were 10 members of the 2007 First Team who were selected as First Team members again in 2008.

Three senior wrestlers made the First Team for the fourth straight year: Padilla, plus Michaela Hutchison of Skyview High School in Alaska and Joey Miller of Woodward High School in Oklahoma and.

Making the First Team for the second straight year were Victory Anthony of Marina High School in California, Brittany Delgado of Hillcrest High School in South Carolina, Beth Johnson of Garden City High School in Kansas, Marina Lambert of Indian River High School in Virginia, Helen Maroulis of Magruder High School in Maryland, Amy Whitbeck of Duanesburg High School in New York and Camie Yeik of Olympic High School in Washington.

TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team is selected by a nationwide panel of wrestling experts. It is the only national all-star team for which female high school wrestlers competing on all four grade levels are eligible. Athletes from across the nation were considered for their achievements in high school wrestling, as well as the major post-season freestyle and folkstyle competitions. 

TheMat.com is the official web page of USA Wrestling. ASICS is a national sponsor of USA Wrestling and a major supporter of wrestling at all levels. ASICS has sponsored the nationally respected ASICS High School All-American Team for boys wrestlers for 24 years.

"The ASICS Tiger Corporation is proud to be a sponsor of the All-American wrestling team for girls," said Neil Duncan, Vice President of TW Promotions which represents ASICS. "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 are our future Olympians in women's wrestling."

California and Virginia led the nation with two First Team selections each. The California athletes are Padilla and Anthony. The Virginia athletes are Lambert and Schuyler Brown of Patrick Henry High School. 

Two members of the First Team members were All-Americans on the Senior level in freestyle wrestling, competing against the best women wrestlers of all ages. Maroulis placed second at the U.S. Women's Nationals, while Padilla placed fifth. At the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Padilla placed third at 55 kg/121 lbs.

The First Team featured 12 wrestlers who won national scholastic-style titles this year, by claiming gold medals at the 2008 USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals in Oklahoma or the 2008 USGWA National Championships in Michigan. 

The USA Wrestling Folkstyle National champions on the First Team were Padilla, Maroulis, Miller and Delgado. The  USGWA National champions on the First Team were Padilla, Brown, Delgado, Whitbeck, Johnson, Yeik and Lambert plus Randi Beltz of St. Clair High School in Missouri and CC Weber of Goodrich High School in Michigan.

There were 10 First Team members who won USA Wrestling age-group national freestyle titles in 2008 including Padilla, Maroulis, Gray, Hutchison, Miller, Brown, Johnson, Anthony, Lambert and Weber.

The First Team featured seven seniors, six juniors and one sophomore. In total, 12 states were represented on the First Team. 

The Second Team was also star-studded, led by 2008 ASICS/Vaughan Junior National freestyle champions Carlene Sluberski of Fredonia High School in New York, Erin Clodgo of Vermont, who attended Marquette High School in Michigan, and Alisha Beach of Kelso High School in Washington. Also on the Second Team were USGWA National Champions Kristie Garr of Goodrich High School in Michigan, Andrea Hughes of Sahuarita High School in Arizona and Jessica Smith of Fitch High School in Ohio

The Third Team featured USA Wrestling Folkstyle National champion Olivia Fatongia of Iolani School in Hawaii plus USGWA National champions Emily Harper of DeForest High School in Wisconsin and Laura Gourley of Sweet Home High School in Oregon

As the National Federation of State High Schools has yet to determine specific weight classes for girls wrestling, the athletes were selected based solely on achievement and ability. The top 14 athletes were named to the First Team, the second 14 athletes were named to the Second Team and the third 14 athletes were selected to the Third Team. Thirty athletes were named as Honorable Mention. An effort was made to make a reasonable spread of weights on each team. If the National Federation sets specific girls weight classes in the future, the selection committee will consider using those weight classes for the selection criteria at that time.

For the TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team, athletes were identified in three weight ranges: Light (100-121 pounds); Middle (122-140 pounds); Upper (141 pounds and above).

In total, 72 wrestlers were selected to TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team. California led all states with 11 selections. Texas had seven team members, followed by New York with six. Both Hawaii and Michigan had five individual selections.

A total of 28 states were represented on the All-American Team. The team included 36 seniors, 19 juniors, 14 sophomores and three freshmen. 

Women's wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports among youth sports for women.  It has been an Olympic sport for the last two Olympic Games, the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. There are an estimated 6,000 girls competing on the high school level in the United States today, and the number has grown each year for the last dozen years. A number of colleges have added women's wrestling on the varsity and club level across the nation.

2008 THEMAT.COM/ASICS GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL ALL-AMERICAN WRESTLING TEAM 

First Team (alphabetically)
Victoria Anthony, junior, Huntington Beach, Calif., Marina High School, light
Randi Beltz, junior, St. Clair, Mo., St. Clair High School, middle
Schuyler Brown, junior, Montpelier, Va., Patrick Henry High School, light
Brittany Delgado, senior, Fountain Inn, S.C., Hillcrest High School, upper
Adeline Gray, junior, Denver, Colo., Bear Creek High School, middle
Michaela Hutchison, senior, Soldotna, Alaska, Skyview High School, light
Beth Johnson, senior, Garden City, Kan., Garden City High School, middle
Marina Lambert, sophomore, Chesapeake, Va., Indian River High School, upper
Helen Maroulis, junior, Rockville, Md., Colonel Zadok Magruder High School, light
Joey Miller, senior, Woodward, Okla., Woodward High School, light
Tatiana Padilla, senior, LaVerne, Calif., Northview High School, middle
CC Weber, junior, Goodrich, Mich., Goodrich High School, light
Amy Whitbeck, senior, Duanesburg, N.Y., Duanesburg High School, light
Camie Yeik, senior, Bremerton, Wash., Olympic High School, light 

Second Team (alphabetically)
Sara Anderson, sophomore, Schylerville, N.Y., Central High School, light
Alisha Beach, sophomore, Kelso, Wash., Kelso High School, heavy
Veronica Carlson, junior Addison, Ill., Addison Trail High School, middle
Erin Clodgo, senior, Richmond, Vermont, Marquette High School (Mich.), upper
Kristi Garr, sophomore, Goodrich, Mich., Goodrich High School, light
Gabby Henry, senior, Columbus, Ohio, Briggs High School, light
Andrea Hughes, senior, Sahuarita, Ariz., Sahuarita High School, light
Emily Martin, senior, Frisco, Texas, Centennial High School, light
Hanna Martin, sophomore, El Reno, Okla., El Reno High School, light 
Paige Nemec, sophomore, Mantua, Ohio, Crestwood High School , light 
Tessa Plana, senior, Irving, Texas, Coppell High School, middle
Tiffany Sliuk, senior, Mason City, Iowa, Mason City High School, light 
Carlene Sluberski, junior, Fredonia, N.Y., Fredonia High School, light
Jessica Smith, sophomore, Austintown, Ohio, Fitch High School, upper

Third Team (alphabetically)
Tani Ader, senior, Honolulu, Hawaii, Farrington High School, middle
Priscilla Caldera, senior, Imperial, Calif., Imperial High School, light
Katie Crouch, senior, Kissimmee, Fla., Marquette High School (Mich.), upper
Christina Cox, senior, Ridgefield, Wash., LaCenter High School, middle
Olivia Fatongia, sophomore, Honolulu, Hawaii, Iolani School, upper
Laura Gourley, junior, Sweet Home, Ore., Sweet Home High School, upper
Lakia Henderson, senior, Kissimmee, Fla., Osceola High School, upper
Emily Harper, senior, DeForest, Wis., DeForest High School, light
Kelly Kusumoto, senior, San Jose, Calif., Prospect High School, middle
Alli Ragan, sophomore, Murphysboro, Ill., Carbondale High School, light
Chelsea Suchocki, junior, Summit, N.Y., Cobleskill-Richmondville High School, upper
Brittney Taylor, freshman, Omaha, Neb., Omaha North High School, light
Kat Perez, junior, Atwater, Calif., Buhach Colony High School, light
Candace Workman, junior, Vernal, Utah, Uintah High School, light

Honorable Mention (alphabetically)
Keiko Akamine, senior, Honolulu, Hawaii, Iolani School, light 
Melissa Apodaca, senior, Chugiak, Alaska, Chugiak High School, middle
Amanda Athon, senior, Arlington, Texas, Arlington High School, upper
Danica Auna, senior, Hauula, Hawaii, Kahuku High School, middle
Sherri Berube, freshman, Escanaba, Mich., Escanaba High School, light
Lauren Birks, senior, Dallas, Texas, Bishop Dunne High School, upper
Jenna Burkert, sophomore, Middle Island, N.Y., Longwood High School,  light
Misty Corwin, senior, Waldport, Ore., Waldport High School, middle
Anneliese DeAragon, sophomore, Sandpoint, Idaho, Sandpoint High School, upper
Brieana Delgado, freshman, Fountain Inn, S.C., Hillcrest High School, middle
Chandra Engel, senior, McPherson, Kansas, McPherson High School, middle
Brittany Gadd, senior, Mercer, Pa., Mercer High School,  middle
Firen Gassman, senior, Fairfax, Va., J.W. Robinson High School, middle
Erin Golston, sophomore, Lake In The Hills, Ill., Crystal Lake South HS, light
Alex Gomez, sophomore, Bakersfield, Calif., Frontier High School, light
Monica Gonzalez, senior, Vallejo, Calif., Hogan High School, upper
Stephanie Han, junior, El Paso, Texas, Irvin High School, middle
Pi'ikea Kalalau, senior, Wailuku, Hawaii, Baldwin High School, middle
Samantha Lopez, junior, West Covina, Calif., West Covina High School, light
Angie Mayes, senior, Las Vegas, Nev., Arbor View High School. light
Jamilla McBride, junior, Sacramento, Calif., Inderkum High School, upper 
Amelia Munson, senior, Windsor, Conn., Windsor High School, light
Nikita Netjes, senior, East Grand Rapids, Mich., East Grand Rapids High School, middle
Yadinma Nwaiwu, junior, Coppell, Texas, Coppell High School, upper
Shana Lee Prifte, sophomore, Shoreham, N.Y., Longwood High School, middle  
Alex Sanchez, senior, San Jose, Calif., Santa Teresa High School, upper
Haley Slivensky, junior, North Branch, Mich., Hazel Park High School, upper
Jessica Scott, senior, Arlington, Texas, Martin High School, upper
Angela Vyborny, junior, Citrus Heights, Calif., Del Campo High School, upper
Katie Yoder, junior, Beaver Creek, Ohio, Beaver Creek High School, middle