TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team being researched; First-team members

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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
04/10/2002


The nation's best girls high school wrestlers are again being honored with the announcement of the Second Annual TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team.    This year, the First Team athletes will be honored and receive their awards during the ASICS Junior National Championships in Fargo, N.D., July 27. For the first time, USA Wrestling will hold a women's division as part of the ASICS Junior Nationals. Traditionally, the ASICS High School All-American Team for boys is also announced and recognized at the ASICS Junior Nationals.    TheMat.com/Asics Tiger 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.     In total, 72 wrestlers are selected to TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team. This includes 14 First Team members, 14 Second Team members, 14 Third Team members and 30 Honorable mention members.    Each year, a TheMat.com/ASICS High School Wrestler of the Year will be selected and honored, recognizing the best individual wrestler in the nation. Last year, the TheMat.com/ASICS High School Wrestler of the Year was Toccara Montgomery of Ohio.    TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team will be prominently featured on TheMat.com web page, as well as in USA Wrestler, the official publication of USA Wrestling.    TheMat.com is the official web page of the Amateur Wrestling Alliance, and is one of the leading sports web pages on the internet. ASICS is a national sponsor of USA Wrestling and a major supporter of wrestling at all levels.    All female wrestlers who would like to be considered for TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Team should send in an application or athletic resume right away. In addition, athletes may apply for the team online at TheMat.com, click here for application.    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. An effort will be made to make a reasonable spread of weights on each team.  Athletes will be identified in three weight ranges: Light (100-121 pounds); Middle (122-140 pounds); Upper (141 pounds and above)    Send information to Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling, 6155 Lehman Dr., Colorado Springs, CO 80918. With questions, contact Mr. Abbott at 719-598-8181, or via email at gabbott@usawrestling.org.    Six members of the 2001 First Team are still in high school and will be eligible again for this year's team. They include Brooke Bogren of Santa Fe Trail High (Kan.), Erica Dye of Wirt County High School (W.Va.), Mary Kelly of Mahomet-Seymour High(Ill.), Keristen LaBelle of Lapeer West High (Mich), Alicia Mena of Humboldt High (Minn.) and Brandi Rosenbrock of East Detroit High (Mich.).    Women's wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports among youth sports for women. There are an estimated 5,000 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 begun to add women's wrestling on the varsity and club level across the nation. Women's wrestling has been added to the program of the Olympic Games for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.    Asics Women's Team application