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Show D6 Wednesday, March 3, 2004 J)ir Kligjlhi gorD sefis soglhifts on wirestiDoirag) $Me By Maureen Spencer Express Writer Candace Workman doesn't take "no." lightly. In fact, the petite brunette decided six years ago, she wasn't going to let her gender prevent her from participating par-ticipating in Tiger League wrestling, as some had suggested. Her father, Vernal Junior High School head coach Jason Workman, remembers the first time he saw her wrestle-"She was using moves that I hadn't taught her. She was a natural." natu-ral." Today, the 13-year-old girl wrestler claims a fifth place finish in collegian at the 2004 Utah State Junior High Wrestling Tournament, and she is ranked second in the nation by the United States Girls Wrestling Association (USGWA), where she competed at Lake Orion, Mich., in March of 2003. March 26 and 27, she will go to USGWA again and this year, feels confident at garnering the number one seat. She also sees great personal potential at the Freestyle Nationals in St. Paul, Minn., where she will compete March 13 and 14. Her parents enthusiastically support sup-port her interest in this sport that matches mind and conditioning to produce champions. As the only girl on otherwise male teams, has stopped being an issue for Candace, although occasionally, occa-sionally, it becomes an issue for a competitor. So far, only one boy has refused to wrestle her, but her father wryly adds, the problem the young man had was the fact that Candace had already beaten some of this boy's teammates and he didn't want to have to endure the ridicule of having hav-ing been beaten by a girl! "I like more physical sports. They seem more fun than dancing," says this girl, who has discovered she can still look like a girl and be a wrestler. To keep in shape, she runs about an hour a day for conditioning, does pushups, sit ups, speed drills and lifts weights. Competing at the 90-pound 90-pound level, she says she wishes that she could eat anything and everything-but doesn't. She also wrestles with the local Uintah Rattlers Club and travels frequently with the group. She says she gets a good match with both junior and senior high teams. Utah coaches and wrestlers respect her abilities. Her father has had coaches tell him that they would pull their entire junior high school level teams if authorities tried to prevent Candace from wrestling. The family has appreciated the backing of others in the sport. Jason and Monique Workman are pivotal in this picture of a young athlete, supporting her decisions and her commitment to excel. Jason says he's never seen his team wrestle so well as when Candace was on the team. "They don't want to be beaten by a girl!" As the mother in a family of athletes, ath-letes, Monique says she is the family fami-ly team cheerleader and picture taker. They see their various competitions compe-titions as a "family affair." A son, Kayden, wrestles in Tiger League and freestyle. The Workman family has always been involved in athletics, and Jason has been a large influence. In addition to coaching, Jason is a world champion jet skier, and his trophies are prominently displayed in their home. When Jason evaluates his daughter's daugh-ter's wrestling, he says, "The biggest thing I see is how well she can compete at the junior high level. Other girls are shocked she wins matches the first time they see her competing." Candace is looking forward to her 14lh birthday this year when she can begin to try out her competitive abilities in jet ski. While most 13-year-old girls would be looking forward for-ward to turning 16 to begin driving, she is already anticipating turning "pro" with jet skiing at 16 so she can make money at the sport! Candidly, her mother admits Candace is a "natural born athlete." She says the girl is good at whatever whatev-er she wants to do. The attractive teenager has arms full of wrestling medals and ribbons she has won through these six years in the sport, and she anticipates many more. She received "Outstanding Sportsmanship" recognition at the Rocky Mountain Nationals, an event the family says attracts the "best of the best." - s, I Candace Workman wrestles in the 90-pound category. The world is beginning to recognize recog-nize women's wrestling as a legitimate legiti-mate sport. The only sport added to the 2004 Summer Olympics will be women's wrestling. Last summer, Candace spent eight days at a special camp with the U.S. Women's Olympic wrestling team in Colorado. In addition to meeting Olympic champion Rulon Gardner and other well-known wrestlers, she made many friends and hopes to go again to polish her skills with some of the world's best. Once she is 14, she hopes to attend the Colorado Springs Olympic training camp under "funded access." Women's wrestling is already recognized rec-ognized by many states. California has over 5,000 girl wrestlers and Texas and Colorado rank high in girls wrestling. Thirty-five colleges in the United States have women's wrestling teams. Her family anticipates scholarship and further traveling opportunities for her because of her proven abilities abili-ties as the sport comes of age in the United States. Candace has been named a Global Ail-American this year and will join 16 girls from the United States to compete internationally. She has yet to decide if she will compete in Austria, Hawaii or the Dominican Republic. When asked what the best part of wrestling is for her, Candace says simply, "Winning." 1 n4 L. tar--. Ju' (Jj" C - -r ' " ' j ' ' Ml Another worried wrestler can foresee his future, as Candace Workman gets ready for a win at the State Junior High Finals. Bent Light Studio photo. Uintah Rec. offers Tae Kwon Do The Uintah Recreation District is accepting registrations for Tae Kwon Do. This class is open to anyone any-one age 8 through adult. Instruction will begin in March at Vernal Junior High. Class will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. The fee for the class is $20 per month with a price discount if registering a family of three or more. Remember adults are welcome. For more information, call the recreation office at 78 1 -0982 or register reg-ister at 134 West Main, Suite 101. Final coed volleyball standings for C league CTI Bear Paw Construction Ashley Valley Mortgage Soft Touch JJ Adam's Body & Paint The Scorpions Wins 12 11 8 5 4 3 1 Losses 1 10 10 : "'J!1,,1.: " 1 1 A, rt f . " Emily Ogden and Janessa John John and Ogden selected for Academic All-State soccer Janessa John, daughter of David and Patty John, and Emily Ogden, daughter of DeLyle and Wendy Ogden, were selected for the Utah High School Athletics Association Academic All-State girls soccer team. They were given their awards during half time of the State 3A girls soccer game at Dixie State College in St. George on Oct. 25, 2003. John and Ogden were two of 10 student athletes in the 3A division named to the Academic All-State team; they were chosen because of their academic excellence and participation par-ticipation in girls soccer. Both girls carry a 4.0 grade point average. They are both seniors at Uintah High School. Uintah Ute hockey hits the road in Rocky Great ice fishing for Venture tournament Mountain YOLlth HOCkey Venture Scout Crew No. 233 lines up with their catch of the day. Shown are Mike Palmer, Leonardo Corzo, P.C. George, leader Rulon Ewell, Wesley Parkin, Kyle Parkin and Alex Braley. Winter temperatures added to the derby. weights were recorded and winners bonus of snow this season which The Scouts arrived for the mid- determined, made for a great day of ice fishing January competition at 9 a.m. and The Venture Scouts used the on Red Fleet Reservoir for the 2004 worked on their "total catch event to determine future winter District Venture Scout ice Fishing weight" until noon, when the top adventure competitions. f.Tryvt.i m M. MX iff-. Solitude and patience add up to a great catch during the 2004 Venture Scout ice fishing derby at Red Fleet Reservoir. The Uintah Ute hockey team hit the road this past weekend for three games in the Rocky Mountain Youth Hockey League. Friday afternoon, the Utes faced off against Glenwood Springs, Colo. The Glenwood Grizzlies are leading the Central division while the Utes are on top in the Northern division, so expectations were high for a good game. No one was disappointed disap-pointed as the game lived up to everyone's expectations with a great defensive battle between the two teams. The Utes jumped out to take the first lead early in the first period on a goal by Casey Long with an assist from Kyler McCarrel. The Grizzlies were determined, however, and tied the game at 1-1 with about five minutes left in the second period. Just as the second period was due to expire, the Grizzlies put another in the net to go up 2-1. The pace remained fast through the third period but once again with few shots at the goal due to good defensive efforts out front. The Utes' Brian Long scored with four minutes left in the period with an assist from Mitch McCarrel, ending the game with a 2-2 tie. Saturday morning, the Utes faced off against Eagle, Colo., in the first of two games in Eagle's impressive new indoor arena. The Utes peppered pep-pered the Eagle Wolfpack goalie with 24 shots in the game, but he was able to fend off all but one. Brian Long scored on a breakaway in the first period to put the Utes ahead 1-0. Strong defense by the Utes once again ensured the goalie Tappan Brown faced only 1 2 shots, but none were able to penetrate the net so the score at the end of the game remained 1-0. In the second game of the morning, morn-ing, the Utes vowed to continue their strong defensive game and to pick up the offense to continue their winning way. The first period was once again a defensive stand-off as neither team was able to shoot their way past the goalies in front of the net. Nine minutes into the second period, the Utes' Mitch McCarrel scored on a feed from Chase Cloward to take the lead in the game. In the third period, the Utes dominated domi-nated the play with great passing to allow them to score three more goals. Four minutes into the period, Mitch McCarrel scored on an assist from Devin Bradley. With seven minutes to go, Bradley scored on an unassisted goal from the slot. Bradley came back to score once more with two minutes left in the game on an assist from Mitch McCarrel to give the Utes' goalie Brown his second shut-out of the day. Back up goalie Nick Richens came into the game with about five minutes left to finish the shut-out victory of 4-0 for the Utes. Final regular season play for the Utes will be this week against Northern division rival Steamboat Springs, Colo., at Steamboat. Friday, March 5, the Utes will return to the Eagle facility to begin Rocky Mountain Youth Hockey League Tournament play. The Utes are 16-2-4 on the season going into their final weekend of play. A. |