1st
Annual Wrestling USA / Cliff Keen Dream Team Classic Dual Meet
2005 USA Dream Team Member
95 Pounder Vanity Vasquez
Kissimmee Osceola High School
Kissimmee, Florida
Senior Year Record: 14-0
I joined the wrestling team my sophomore year of high school.
It was always something I thought would be a lot of fun to do.
At first I thought wrestling was al-lowed for boys only. This
is what I was told in middle school. In high school I found out
about a few girls being on the high school team. So I joined.
When I started wrestling I began to love the sport right away.
But one thing was wrong. I was a terrible wrestler. I couldn't
learn the moves for anything. Some people even told me that I
should quit wrestling and try out another sport. But even though
I was bad, I really loved the sport. Wrestling is so much different
from all the other sports. So I stuck with it, working hard and
trying to get better. By the end of my first season I started
to improve. I was able to wrestle in state my first year and hoped
to place at least fourth, so I could stand at the podium.
Without ever placing higher than third at any of the tournaments, I ended up winning the 2003 state championships at 103 pounds. I peaked just at the right time. Winning state only made me want to work harder and wrestle more. I ended up wining state again my junior year. So far this year I wrestled fourteen matches against girls who weigh as much as me up to 120 pounds, winning all my matches by pin, except one. Now with state coming up for my third year I hope to become a three time state champion.
April
9, 2005, will mark two firsts in the history of the Wrestling
USA/Cliff Keen Dream Team Classic Dual Meet competition. It will
be the first time that the competition will travel to TEXAS, the
Lone Star State. It will also mark the first time the competition
will feature female wrestlers. Both will contribute to showcasing
the development of the sport in the state since the UIL (University
Interscholastic League) decided to adopt wrestling as an official
high school sport and also incorporate a girl's division.
The event will be a collaborative effort between Texas USA
Wrestling and the Wrestling Association of Arlington (hosts of
the Hilton Arlington / Cliff Keen Athletic Lone Star Duals). Dream
Team members will travel to Dallas, Texas, and be housed in the
Hilton Arlington (boys) and the Hawthorn Suites (girls) in Arlington,
Texas. These hotels are next to each other and right across from
the Ballpark in Arlington and Six Flags, 10 minutes from the Dallas
Fort Worth airport. Twenty minutes west is the Stock Yard area
of Ft. Worth and twenty minutes east is the West End area of Dallas.
Team members will arrive on Friday the 8th and get an opportunity
to absorb some of the local culture. Dinner will be held to allow
the competitors to meet.
On Saturday, April 9th, two competitions will be held at the
South Grand Prairie HS Warrior Coliseum (site of the Lone Star
Duals), beginning with the first ever Girls Dream Team versus
Texas' best at 5:30 PM. Hopes are high in Texas that the Lone
Star girls will be very competitive. Since the UIL sanctioned
the sport, the number of girls participating has skyrocketed and
the enthusiastic support on the part of the coaches has resulted
in a tremendous increase in the quality of the competition. Texas
wrestlers have joined the girls teams at Neosho College, Cumberland
College, Minnesota Morris, and Missouri Valley. With Bacone College
and Pacific adding new programs, we expect to see even more.
At 7:00 PM, the best senior boys in Texas will take to the
mat against the Dream Team. While Texas has had wrestlers on the
Dream Team in the past (Buck McLamb and Danny Ruiz), there has
never been a competition between Texas and the Dream Team. Will
Rowe's matches with Mike Poeta last year, and the success of wrestlers
like Brandon Slay (2000 Olympic Champion and 2x NCAA finalist),
Ben Heizer (2x Div I NCAA All- American and Runner-up), Mohammad
Lawal (NCAA Div II National Champion and Div I Runner-up), and
JJ Holmes (NJCAA National Champ and current Eastern Michigan team
member) demonstrate the depth of talent in the Lone Star State.
Wrestlers like Matt Sansone, James Aston, and Justin Wren are
likely Texas Team members and Texas native Olympic Champion Brandon
Slay has offered to assist with coaching the Texas Team. Actual
team members will be announced at a later date. We anticipate
a great competition and a tremendous opportunity for Texas wrestlers
to meet some of the best in the country. We are also looking forward
to the opportunity to expose the Dream Team members to Texas hospitality
and culture.
Many fans may have come to the Dallas Ft. Worth Metroplex for the 2000 Olympic Trials and discovered that there are many things to do in the area. The location is terrific and the hotels will be providing great rates, so come down and enjoy the wrestling and support the greatest sport in the world. Tickets will be available on the Hilton Arlington/ Cliff Keen Athletic Lone Star Duals website (www.lonestarduals.com) and at Texas USA Wrestling website (www.txusawrestling.com).