Montgomery named Outstanding Wrestler, as first ASICS-Vaughan Junior Nationals for girls crowns its

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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
07/28/2002


Amberle Montgomery of Washington, the champion at 119 pounds, was named Outstanding Wrestler as the first ASICS-Vaughan Junior National for girls concluded with an exciting gold-medal round at the FargoDome in Fargo, N.D., July 27.    The first nine women's Junior National champions were crowned, as female wrestlers were included in the competition during its 32nd year of the tournament's existence.    Montgomery was dominant in her finals match, dominating Rachel Groft of Pennsylvania with a 10-0 technical fall in just 2:39. Montgomery, who will be just a sophomore in the fall, displayed great skills throughout the tournament.    The first Junior National girls champion ever was Rachel Holthaus of Minnesota, who clinched the gold medal at 95 pounds with an 11-0 technical fall over Bernadette Javier of Hawaii to open the finals round. This was a roundrobin match, and the win gave Holthaus the gold and Javier the bronze. The silver went to Peggy Whitaker of New York, who pinned Javier in 1:34, but lost to Holthaus, 11-1.    The next two lightweight bouts featured a pair of mild upsets, as Gina Heinzelmann of Michigan won at 101 pounds and Malinda Ripley of California captured the 110 pound title.    Heinzelmann used a cradle to pin Sara Fulp Allen of California in 56 seconds in the finals. Fulp Allen placed fifth at the 2002 U.S. Senior Nationals this year, while Heinzelmann has just recently begun competing on the national freestyle scene.    Ripley wrestled a mistake-free bout to defeat Mary Kelly of Illinois, 4-0. Kelly is currently ranked No. 3 on the U.S. Senior national team, while Ripley holds a No. 5 Senior national ranking. Kelly dominated all of her first five opponents, pinning them all, and receiving the most falls award with five in 4:03.    The highest rated wrestler in the field, Brandy Rosenbrock of Michigan, captured the 138 pound title by pinning Wendy Casey of New York in 3:54. The match was very competitive until Rosenbrock powered for the pin. Rosenbrock was named TheMat.com/ASICS Wrestler of the Year in ceremonies before the finals, and is currently ranked No. 2 on Women's Team USA at 130 pounds.    The other pin in the gold-medal round came in the final match, when Alicia Mena of Minnesota pinned Misty Stalley of California in  54 seconds. Mena has been successful on the Senior level in past years, and is a graduated senior.    At 165 pounds, Samantha Lang of Oregon won by technical fall over Ashley Gaspar of Hawaii, 10-0, in just 1:09.     The other individual gold medalists were Lindsay Owens of California at 128 pounds and Heather Martin of Ohio at 150 pounds.    Owens stopped Shawn Swartzlender of Oregon in a tight 7-5 bout. Martin also had a close finals, edging Ali Bernard of Minnesota, 8-6.    A total of 103 athletes entered the event, representing 24 states. USA Wrestling officials are confident that based upon this strong start that the event will have considerable growth in the next few years.