2012 ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team named

The nation’s best girls high school wrestlers are being honored with the announcement of the 12th annual ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team.

The 2012 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 Girls Wrestler of the Year will be announced.

There were four members of the 2011 First Team who were selected as First Team members again in 2012: Haley Augello of Lockport High School (Ill.), Rachel McFarland of DeWitt High School (Mich.), Kayla Miracle of Culver Academy (Ind.) and Cassy Herkelman of Cedar Falls High School (Iowa).

The 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. 

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 27 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 more 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 New York led the nation with three First Team members each. Californians on the First Team were Marina Doi of Kingsburg High School, Alyssa LaFrancis of West Covina High School and Amy Spafford of Royal High School. New Yorkers on the First Team were Rosemary Flores of Curtis High School, Crista Hartinger of Lancaster High School and Mary Westman of Cattaraugus-Little Valley Apple School. 

Augello competed in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City, the only high school wrestler in the competition in any style. She was also the only member of the ASICS Girls High School High School Team to place at the 2012 U.S. Open, placing seventh at 121 pounds. 

Three First Team members won USA Wrestling ASICS/Vaughan Junior National titles in the summer of 2011, including Augello, Flores and Bree Raposa of Kamehameha High School in Hawaii. Three were USA Wrestling ASICS/Vaughan Cadet National Champions, Flores, Miracle and Raposa.

The First Team featured four different wrestlers who won 2012 USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals in Oklahoma: McFarland, Miracle, Spafford and Rachel Hale of Mount Anthony High School in Vermont. 

Two First Teamers won a gold medal at the 2012 USGWA National Championships in Michigan: Hartinger and Hanna Hall of Chippewa Falls High School in Ohio.

Augello was a FILA Cadet World champion in 2011, for athletes age 15-17 from all around the world. First Team members who won 2012 Body Bar FILA Cadet National titles and will wrestle in this summer’s World Championships are Miracle, Hartinger and LaFrancis.

Also qualifying for First Team honors was Cody Pfau of Grand Valley High School in Colorado.

The First Team featured four seniors, four juniors, five sophomores and one freshman. In total, 10 states were represented on the First Team. 

The Second Team was also star-studded, led by USA Wrestling Folkstyle Junior National champions Alesha Zapittella of Conneaut High School (Ohio), Becka Leathers of Choctaw High School (Okla.), Yvonne Galindo of Jefferson High School (Texas) and Malexis McAdoo of Caprock High School (Texas), Body Bar FILA Cadet National champions Regina Doi of Kingsburg High School (Calif.) and Francesca Giorgio of Wilson High School (Pa.) and USGWA National champions Jasmine Bailey of Iowa City West High School (Iowa) and Jaimie Reif of Bradford High School (Wis.)

The Third Team featured USA Wrestling Folkstyle Junior National champions Ashley Miles of Morgan Ranch High School (Texas), Savanna Nickols of Arcata High School (Calif) and Katelyn Eddy of Hood River Valley High School (Oregon), plus USGWA National champions Jessi Kee of Scottland High School (N.C) and Victoria Francis of Litchfield High School (Ill.)

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 16 selections, followed by Texas with nine. New York and Hawaii had five each. Ohio and Michigan had four each.

A total of 26 states were represented on the All-American Team. The team included 25 seniors,  19 juniors, 21 sophomores, six freshmen and one eighth-grade student who wrestled on the high school varsity team.

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 9,000 girls competing on the high school level in the United States today, and the number has grown each year for the last dozen years. Colleges continue to add women’s wrestling on the varsity and club level across the nation.

2012 TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Team

First Team (alphabetically)
Haley Augello, junior, Lockport, Ill, Lockport High School, light
Marina Doi, sophomore, Kingsburg, Calif, Kingsburg High School, light
Rosemary Flores, junior, Port Richmond, N.Y., Curtis High School, light
Rachel Hale, sophomore, Bennington, Vermont, Mount Anthony High School, light
Hanna Hall, senior, Doylestown, Ohio, Chippewa High School, middle
Cristta Hartinger, sophomore, Lancaster, N.Y., Lancaster High School, middle
Cassy Herkelman, sophomore, Cedar Falls, Iowa, Cedar Falls High School, light
Alyssa LaFrancis, freshman, Vista, Calif., West Covina High School, upper
Rachel McFarland, senior, Dewitt, Mich., DeWitt High School, light
Kayla Miracle, sophomore, Culver, Ind., Culver Academy, light
Cody Pfau, junior, Parachute, Colo., Grand Valley High School, light
Bree Rapoza, junior, Honolulu, Hawaii, Kamehameha High School, light
Amy Spafford, senior, Camarillo, Calif., Royal High School, upper
Mary Westman, senior, Cattaraugus, N.Y., Cattaraugus-Little Valley Apple School, upper

Second Team (alphabetically)
Jasmine Bailey, sophomore, Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City West High School, light
Regina Doi, sophomore, Kingsburg, Calif., Kingsburg High School, light
Yvonne Galindo, junior, El Paso, Texas, Jefferson High School, middle
Francesca Giorgio, sophomore, West Lawn, Pa., Wilson High School, middle
Hanna Grisewood, senior, Warsaw, N.Y., Warsaw Central, light
Becka Leathers, freshman, Choctaw, Okla., Choctaw High School, middle
Anna McAleavy, senior, Houston, Texas, Cypress Creek High School, light
Malexis McAdoo, senior, Amarillo, Texas, Caprock High School, heavy
Alexia Moreno, senior, Turlock, Calif., Turlock High School, middle
Jaimie Reif, sophomore, Racine, Wis., Kenosha Bradford High School, light
Hope Steffenson, junior, Kenai, Alaska, Kenai Central High School, light
Juliana Triplett, senior, Ripon, Calif., Ripon High School, upper
Alyssa Wong, senior, Vacaville, Calif., Jesse Bethel High School, middle
Alesha Zappitella, junior, Conneaut, Ohio, Conneaut High School, light

Third Team (alphabetically)
Jakeitha Baker, sophomore, Raleigh, N.C., Broughton High School, middle
Kaelynn Canyete, junior, Waianae, Hawaii, Kapolei High School, light
Mindy Chow, junior, Honolulu, Hawaii, Punahou High School, middle
Katelyn Eddy, senior, Hood River, Ore., Hood River Valley High School, middle
Victoria Francis, senior, Litchfield, Ill., Litchfield High School, upper
Jessi Kee, sophomore, Laurinburg, N.C., Scottland High School, middle
Aleah LaFrancis, sophomore, Vista, Calif., West Covina High School, middle
Ashley Miles, senior, Katy, Texas, Morgan Ranch High School, upper
Savanna Nickols, senior, McKinleyville, Calif., Arcata High School, upper
Samantha Ortiz, senior, West Covina, Calif., West Covina High School, light
Gibby Paxton, junior, Crawfordsville, Ind., Southmont High School, light
Stephanie Simon, senior, Vancouver, Wash., Evergreen High School, upper
Areana Villeascusa, sophomore, Rio Rico, Ariz., Rio Rico High School, middle
Gabrielle Weyhrich, junior, Fremont, Neb., Fremont High School, light

Honorable Mention (alphabetically)
Alexis Bleau, eighth grade, Schoharie, N.Y., Schoharie High School, light
Kierra Boyce, junior, Plugerville, Texas, Hendrickson High School, upper
Virginia Burkett, freshman, Mountain View, Wyo., Mountain View High Schook, upper
Kaylee Chevez, junior, Anaheim, Calif., Savannah High School, light
Lily DeAragon, sophomore, Sandpoint, Idaho, Sandpoint High School, light
Korynna Gacad, freshman, Cape Coral, Fla., Ida Baker High School, light
Shelby Hall, sophomore, Doylestown, Ohio, Chippewa High School, light
Steffanie Hampton, sophomore, Onondaga, Mich., Leslie High School, light
Amy Hou, junior, Rome, Ga., Rome High School, light
Hanna Jewell, freshman, Goodrich, Mich., Goodrich High School, light
Devyn Johnson, sophomore, Osakis, Minn., Osakis High School, light
Kasey Kruczek, senior, Easton, Pa., Easton High School, upper
Cadence Lee, sophomore, Los Altos Hill, Calif., Gunn High School, l
Anastacia Lobsinger, sophomore, Martinez, Calif., Alhambra High School, upper
Julia Long, sophomore, Mountain View, Wyo., Mountain View High School, light
Michelle Lomas, junior, Amarillo, Texas, Tascosa High School, light
Haley Moreno, junior, Fort Worth, Texas, Saginaw High School, light
Shelby Morrison, senior, Amarillo, Texas, Bushland High School, light
Quinn Nagatani, senior, Waipahu, Hawaii, Pacific Buddhist High School, light
Mikayla Pico, senior, Hoolehua, Hawaii, Molokai High School, light
Vanessa Smith, junior, St. Paul, Minn., Apple Valley High School, light
Stephany-Sarara Mix, senior, Arlington, S.D., Arlington High School, middle
Michell Organ, senior, Baraboo, Wis., Reedsburg High Schook, upper
Elizabeth Phillips, junior, Manteca, Calif., East Union High School, light
Autumn Rux, sophomore, Lansing, Mich., Lansing Eastern High School, upper
Samantha Urban, senior, Salem, Ore., McNary High School, upper
Mallory Velte, junior, Cameron Park, Calif., Christian Brothers High School, middle
Sierra Vulgamore, freshman, Williamsport, Ohio, Westfall High School, middle
Kira Wyckoff, senior, San Carlos, Calif., Phillips Academy (MA), upper
Nina Wyre, senior, Katy, Texas, Taylor High School, upper

Light (100-121 pounds); Middle (122-140 pounds); Upper (141 pounds and above).