Weight Class

It has been eight days since North Carroll's top wrestler, Tom Goretsas, was sidelined by a weigh-in interpretation at the state duals, taking down with him the Panthers' plans for a state championship. Despite the setback, Goretsas and his teammates are doing their best to look ahead to next weekend's county individual championships, and then to the state individual championships, secure in the knowledge that they have played a role in reviving a sport that is important in the North Carroll community.

Mount St. Joseph wrestler Ryan Herwig compared last Friday to a Christmas in January.It was the day that Maryland's annual 2-pound growth allowance for high school wrestlers went into effect, so instead of having to cut weight to 119 pounds for every match, Herwig's new target is 121."For me, 2 pounds makes a huge difference. You just can't believe how happy I am about it," he said.The weight allowance "is intended to allow for the in-season growth of the athlete," said Baltimore County athletic coordinator Ron Belinko, a former coach at Overlea and Eastern Tech.

The deaths of three college wrestlers last winter because of complications from rapid, excessive weight loss prompted national officials to take action.The National Federation of State High Schools Association required its member schools, including Maryland's public schools, to put restrictions on the number of weight classes wrestlers compete in.For example, wrestlers from the federation's member schools no longer can weigh in more than one weight class above the weight of a doctor's certification without recertifying at a higher weight.

A Montgomery County Circuit Court judge denied yesterday the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association's move to block a lawsuit seeking another upper-weight class for public high school wrestling.Attorney Robin Ficker, who sued in September, said Judge James Chapin also scheduled four days beginning Jan. 10 to hear arguments, after which he will rule on whether a 215-pound weight class should be created. The state's heaviest classifications are 189 pounds and unlimited (a maximum of 275 pounds)

A lawsuit has been filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court to require the Maryland Board of Education to institute an additional upper weight class for state high school wrestling.Attorney Robin Ficker filed the suit last week on behalf of himself and several parents of wrestlers in an attempt to create a 215-pound weight class. The state's heaviest classifications are 189 pounds and unlimited. Lighter unlimited wrestlers often are matched against much heavier opponents."It's a real health and safety issue," Ficker said.

For Arundel heavyweight Jeff Blachly, success has come with the ability to compensate.What the senior lacks in size, he more than makes up for with speed, conditioning and heart. The result is wins."Jeff's a very hard worker. He has a lot of guts, just never quits and hates to lose," said Arundel coach Buddy Hepfer. "That's half the battle any time you wrestle."At 195 pounds last winter -- light for his weight class -- Blachly made the most of his first state tournament appearance, reaching the final before losing 10-4 to Bel Air's Jeremiah Albright, an undefeated, 275-pound senior.

Last wrestling season was disappointing for Glenelg's Ferguson twins, Kevin and Dave.So far this season, the seniors have reversed that disappointment. Kevin is 14-0 and Dave is 15-3.Last season Kevin finished what he considered to be an unsatisfactory second at the county tournament and was upset in the state semifinals. And Dave blew out a shoulder during an early tournament at Catoctin and missed the rest of the season. "My rotator cuff was worn out and needed to be rebuilt through therapy," Dave said.

My 6-year-old son has been enrolled in a karate class for almost a year.Can karate be harmful to his physical development?How about soccer, gymnastics and other organized athletic activities?With a few exceptions -- boxing and weightlifting come immediately to mind -- it is perfectly safe for a young child to participate in sports, provided a few guidelines are followed:The sport should be fun for the child and the motivation should come from the child, rather than a parent or coach.The sport should not take all the child's free time.

Six a.m., April 6, 1977, on a highway in central Oregon.It is a time, date and place indelibly etched on Joseph Singleton's memory. Returning to his Coast Guard base in Oregon after a brief furlough, Singleton was asleep in the passenger's seat when the driver hit a median strip and the car hurtled out of control."

Francis Scott Key junior Steve Lessard tries to explain what weightlifting is all about.Dedication, strength, speed, technique, mind set and time -- a lot of time."

WHAT: Class 4A-3A and 2A-1A state tournament WHEN: Today and tomorrow. WHERE: Cole Field House, College Park TIME: Today: Preliminaries, 2:30 p.m.; quarterfinals, 6:30 p.m.; consolation prelims, 8:30 p.m.; Tomorrow: Consolation first round, 9:30 a.m.; championship semifinals, 11 a.m.; consolation quarterfinals, 1:15 p.m.; consolation semifinals, 2:15 p.m.; consolation finals, 4 p.m.; championship finals, 6:30 p.m. OUTLOOK: Nine wrestlers enter the...

Nathan Kraisser is a freshman at Centennial High School who has already become a standout in the Eagles' wrestling program. According to Wrestling 411.com, he is the No. 9-ranked wrestler in the country at the 103-pound weight class and is ranked No. 1 in his weight class by the Maryland State Wrestling Association. "His work ethic sets him apart," said Centennial coach Dave Roogow. "I've never seen a kid at this age work as hard as he does. Last weekend, he went through a two-day tournament Friday and Saturday in which he made it all the way to the finals, and I'm almost positive he wrestled at a local club on Sunday.

BEIJING - Natalie Woolfolk's knees were steady, her arms straight and her smile big as the room. Above her head, she proudly hoisted a lifetime of training and her Olympic dreams - not to mention more than 250 pounds of weights. But she also lifted high the dreams of her fiance, a fellow weightlifter who learned just one day before the opening ceremony that he wouldn't be competing at these Games. There'd be no gold medal for Woolfolk, an Arnold native and Broadneck High graduate, but at that moment, it didn't really matter.

wrestling Wrestler of the Year Karl Green Mount St. Joseph One of many talented wrestlers for the Gaels, Green was a standout in his weight class (285 pounds), posting a 48-8 record with 24 pins. The sophomore placed first in numerous tournaments, including: the Germantown Academy tournament in Philadelphia, the United States Marine Core Ultimate Challenge, the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association Championships and the Maryland Independent State Championships. He was third at Mount Mat Madness and fifth at National Preps.

Glen Burnie junior Zach Jankiewicz has never shied away from hard work, particularly when it comes to wrestling. In early spring of his freshman year, he broke the L4 and L5 vertebrae in his lower back and suffered a herniated disk during a weightlifting session. With successful therapy and rehabilitation, his doctor said Jankiewicz could possibly resume playing sports in a year. Jankiewicz ended up cleared to play football in the fall and was back on the mat for his sophomore wrestling season.

It has been eight days since North Carroll's top wrestler, Tom Goretsas, was sidelined by a weigh-in interpretation at the state duals, taking down with him the Panthers' plans for a state championship. Despite the setback, Goretsas and his teammates are doing their best to look ahead to next weekend's county individual championships, and then to the state individual championships, secure in the knowledge that they have played a role in reviving a sport that is important in the North Carroll community.

Wrestling teams could be facing a weighty issue in the early weeks of this season. Under a new rule from the National Federation of State High School Associations designed to discourage rapid weight loss, wrestlers this season will only be able to drop up to 1.5 percent of their body weight per week. It's a big change from past years, when wrestlers were able to more rapidly diet and sweat their way to lower weight classes. "It's going to be an adjustment for everybody," North Carroll coach Dave Dodson said.

It's fair to say that Jim Bardsley and his son, James Bardsley III, have formed a powerful relationship over the past several months. Jim Bardsley took up powerlifting in the early 1980s in college and competed for more than a decade, but he drifted away from the sport when he and his family moved in the mid-1990s from the Philadelphia area to Georgia. Now living in Hanover, the elder Bardsley has returned to lifting, and he has gained a partner in his son. They seem to have inspired each other.

When competitors line up for tomorrow's New York City Triathlon, there will be a sea of compact, trim men and women preparing to swim 1,500 meters, bike 40 kilometers and run 10 kilometers. Most of the men will be probably be about 150 muscled pounds. Head and shoulders - and then some - above the rest of the competition will stand Rich Nelson and Richie Petitbon. So who invited the big guys? "We are the largest human beings in every race we go to," said Petitbon, of Thomas Point. Nelson, who is 6 feet 5 and 294 pounds, and Petitbon, 6-4 and 257, are so much bigger than most triathletes that there is a special classification for them - Clydesdale, the name for competitors 200 pounds and more.

Zach Johns has many of the attributes it takes to become a top-flight wrestler for Boston University. Determination, strong work habits and a vast knowledge of the sport have carried Johns through his high school days at McDonogh and his first two years in college. However, his Boston U. coach, Carl Adams, said if the 165-pound junior hopes to advance to the top level of collegiate competition, "Zach needs to improve his offense on his feet. He needs to become aggressive when he goes against people at the top level."