The nation’s best girls high school wrestlers are being honored with the announcement of the 10th annual TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team.

The 2010 First Team members will be recognized at the ASICS/Vaughan Junior National Championships in Fargo, N.D. in July, where they will be presented with their trophies. At the same time, the ASICS High School Wrestler of the Year will be announced.

There were four members of the 2009 First Team who were selected as First Team members again in 2010: Brianna Delgado of Hillcrest High School (S.C.), Erin Golston of Marquette High School (Mich.), Alex Gomez of Frontier High School (Calif.) and Paige Nemec of Crestwood High School (Ohio).

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 25 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.”

Illinois and New York led the nation with two First Team selections each. Illinois natives on the First Team were Golston and Brittany Goebel of Lena High School. New York natives on the First Team were Jenna Burkert and Tanya Kusse of Schroeder High School.

Golston and Burkert are members of the USOEC women’s wrestling program at Northern Michigan Univ. and attend Marquette High School in Michigan. Golston is a native of Lake in the Hills, Ill., while Burkert hails from Middle Island, N.Y. Another First Team member in the USOEC program is Anneliese DeAragon, who hails from Sandpoint, Idaho.

First Team member Kayla Brendlinger of Slippery Rock High School (Pa.) was an All-American on the Senior level in freestyle wrestling, placing fifth at the U.S. Open this year.

The First Team featured nine different wrestlers who won national scholastic-style titles this year, by claiming gold medals at the 2010 USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals in Oklahoma or the 2010 USGWA National Championships in Michigan. 

The USA Wrestling Folkstyle National champions on the First Team were Burkert, Golston, Brendlinger, Delgado, Goebel, Kusse and DeAragon. The USGWA National champions on the First Team were Kusse, Goebel, Nemec and Roni Goodale of Bettandorf High School (Iowa).

Six First Team members won USA Wrestling ASICS/Vaughan Junior National titles in the summer of 2009, including Burkert, Delgado, DeAragon, Hanna Martin of El Reno High School (Okla.), Julia Salata of Canton High School (Mich.) and Emily Webster of Cameron High School (Mo.).

Also qualifying for the First Team was Sarah Hildebrandt of Penn High School in Indiana.

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

The Second Team was also star-studded, led by ASICS/Vaughan Junior Nationals champion Alicia Beach of Kelso High School (Wash.), and USA Wrestling Folkstyle National champions Lorrie Ann Ramos of Cypress Creek High School (Fla.) and Marina Sanchez of LaSierra High School (Calif.)

The Third Team featured USGWA National champions Amanda Prough of Wayne Memorial High School (Mich.), Shannon Constantine of Whittier Regional High School (Mass.), Samantha Klingel of Pleasant Valley High School (Pa.), Shadiya Howell of Ligonier Valley High School (Pa.), Cheyenne Cardon of Branford High School (Conn.), Hanna Hall of Chippewa High School (Ohio) and Crystal Borrow of Durand High School (Mich.).

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. Michigan had eight selections. States with six selections included Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas.

A total of 26 states were represented on the All-American Team. The team included 28 seniors, 30 juniors, 13 sophomores and one freshman. 

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 7,000 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.

2010 THEMAT.COM/ASICS GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL ALL-AMERICAN WRESTLING TEAM

First Team (alphabetically)
Kayla Brendlinger, junior, Slippery Rock, Pa.. Slippery Rock High School (MI), light
Jenna Burkert, junior, Middle Island, N.Y., Marquette High School (Mich.), middle  
Anneliese DeAragon, senior, Sandpoint, Idaho, Marquette High School (Mich.), upper
Brieana Delgado, sophomore, Fountain Inn, S.C., Hillcrest High School, middle
Brittany Goebel, senior, Lena, Ill., Lena High School, upper
Erin Golston, junior, Lake in the Hills, Ill., Marquette High School (Mich.), light
Alex Gomez, senior, Bakersfield, Calif., Frontier High School, light
Roni Goodale, junior, Muscatine, Iowa, Bettendorf High School, middle
Sarah Hildebrandt, junior, Granger, Ind., Penn High School, light
Tanya Kusse, senior, Webster, N.Y., Schroeder High School, middle
Hanna Martin, senior, El Reno, Okla, El Reno High School, light
Paige Nemec, junior, Mantua, Ohio, Crestwood High School , light 
Julia Salata, junior, Canton, Mich., Canton High School, middle
Emily Webster, junior, Cameron, Mo., Cameron High School, light

Second Team (alphabetically)
Alisha Beach, senior, Kelso, Wash, Kelso High School, upper
Miranda Bennett, junior, Neosho, Mo., Neosho High School, light
Rony Elor, senior, Pleasant Hill, Calif., College Park High School, upper
Brittney Faust, senior, Butler, Pa., Saxonburg Knoch High School, light
Hanna Grisewood, sophomore, Warsaw, N.Y., Warsaw Central, light
Kirsten Harmon, senior, Bellefontaine, Ohio, Indian Lake High School, middle
Amanda Hendey, junior, Beaumont, Calif., Beaumont High School, middle
Kat Perez, senior, Merced, Calif., Central Union High School, middle
Lorrie Ann Ramos, junior, Orlando, Fla., Cypress Creek High School, upper
Krista Revelle, junior, Meriden, Kansas, Jefferson West High School, upper
Natalie Rutt, senior, Belle Plaine, Minn., New Prague High School, light
Marina Sanchez, sophomore, Riverside, Calif., La Sierra High School, light
Kara Stratton, senior, Frisco, Texas, Wakeland High School, upper
Demi Strub, junior, Guilford, Ind., East Central High School, middle

Third Team (alphabetically)
Pamela Abshire, senior, Azle, Texas, Azle High School, upper
Sherri Berube, sophomore, Escanaba, Mich., Escanaba High School, light
Crystal Borrow, junior, Durand, Mich., Durand High School, middle
Cheyenne Carden, junior, Branford, Conn., Branford High School, middle
Shannon Constantine, senior, Haverhill, Mass. Whittier Regional High School, light
Hanna Hall, sophomore, Doylestown, Ohio, Chippewa High School, middle
Shadiya Howell, junior, Bolivar, Pa., Ligonier Valley High School, light
Tonya Keegan, junior, Troy, Pa., Troy High School, upper
Samantha Klingel, junior, Kresgeville, Pa., Pleasant Valley High School, light
Sheridan McDonald, junior, Benton City, Wash., Kiona Benton High School, middle
Amanda Prough, junior, Wayne, Mich., Wayne Memorial High School, upper
Brianna Rahall, senior, Yorktown, Va., Grafton High School, light
Casey Silkwood, junior, Kenosha, Wis., Bradford High School, upper
Jessica Smith, sophomore, Austintown, Ohio, Fitch High School, upper

Honorable Mention (alphabetically)
Sara Anderson, senior, Schylerville, N.Y., Schylerville High School, light
Marian Bosma, sophomore, Hesperia, Mich., Hesperia High School, middle
Hayley Childs, senior, Lakeland, Fla. George Jenkins High School, upper
Chrissy Chow, junior, Honolulu, Hawaii, Punahou High School, middle
Kendra Creamens, senior, Spanaway, Wash., Graham-Kaposin High School, upper
Brittney David, senior, Brentwood, Calif., Liberty High School, middle
Erin English, junior, North Royalton, Ohio, North Royalton High School, upper
Kristie Garr, senior, Goodrich, Mich., Goodrich High School, light
Emily Gessler, junior, Tullahoma, Tenn., Tullahoma High School, middle
Alex Holt, senior, Albany, Calif.,Albany High School, upper
Ashley Hooper, sophomore, Warren, Mich., Lincoln High School, upper
Monica Hovemale, senior, Smithburg, Md., Smithburg High School, light
Janelle Jones, senior, Evanston, Ill., Evanston Township High School, upper
Kayleigh Longley, junior, North Berwick, Maine, Noble High School, light
Brazel Marquez, junior, Diamond Bar, Calif.,Northview High School, middle
Anna McAleavy, sophomore, Houston, Texas, Cypress Creek High School, light
Tamyra Mensah, junior, Katy, Texas, Morton Ranch High School, middle
Miriam Moreno, junior, Hereford, Texas, Hereford High School, upper
Shelby Morrison, sophomore, Amarillo, Texas, Tascosa High School, light
Samantha Ortiz, sophomore, Covina, Calif., West Covina High School, light
Alli Ragan, senior, Murphrysboro, Ill., Carbondale High School, light
Christina Reif, sophomore, Racine, Wis., Bradford High School, light
Emilii Russell, senior, Hendersonville, Tenn., Hendersonville High School, upper
Ericka Rutt, senior, Lincoln, Neb., Waverly High School, upper 
Kim Spiegel, junior, Port Trevorton, Pa., Port Trevorton High School, upper
Lizette Tenorio, senior, Santa Ana, Calif., Santa Ana High School, upper
Stephanie Tucker, senior, Flint, Mich., Swartz Creek High School, middle
Mary Westman, sophomore, Cattaraugus, N.Y., Cattaraugus-Little Valley Apple School, upper
Jasmine Yanez, junior, Gilroy, Calif., Gilroy High School, light
Alesha Zappitella, freshman, Conneaunt, Ohio, Conneaut High School, light