Stephany Lee attempted to turn over Toccara Montgomery for the pin at the 2004 National Duals in January.
Wrestling with Success
Stephany Lee is one of six Hawaii
athletes vying for a spot in the Olympics
For the first time in the 108 years of modern Olympic Games history, women's wrestling will be an official sport when the Games return to their birthplace in Athens, Greece, this August.
There will be only four weight classes and the United States will send one entrant in each. A tournament to determine those four pioneers will be held in Indianapolis next weekend.
Six of the 53 women who qualified for the tournament -- more than 11 percent -- are from Hawaii, the ninth smallest state.
Stephany Lee
Weight class: 158 1/2 poundsAge: 19
High school: Moanalua '02
Residence: Salt Lake
Notable: The Missouri Valley College freshman has an invitation to become a resident at the Olympic Training Center but says she will get her college degree first.
"Hawaii is a leader in women's wrestling in our country because of the effort put toward it and resources put toward it," said Terry Steiner, coach of the U.S. National Team.
Hawaii is one of two states in the nation (Texas is the other) that has a sanctioned high school state wrestling championship for girls.
"Hawaii made an earlier commitment and has developed a foothold in girls wrestling because they jumped in faster and harder than the rest of the country," USA Wrestling spokesman Gary Abbott said.
"It has opened up a lot of doors for these girls," Steiner said.
One of those for whom wrestling has opened doors is Stephany Lee, a three-time high school champion in Hawaii and national girls champion who graduated from Moanalua High in 2002.
"I was not sure about what I was going to do" after high school, Lee said. She had surgery on a shoulder and took a year off to rehabilitate.
In March 2003, Lee tried freestyle wrestling -- the Olympic style that is significantly different from the folk style of high school. In her first freestyle tournament, she won the Canadian-American collegiate championship.
Lee soon accepted a scholarship to Missouri Valley College, one of the pioneers of women's collegiate wrestling. She has thrived there, athletically and academically.
After Lee won the gold medal at last weekend's Pan American Championships in Guatemala, the national team coaches invited her to move to the Olympic Training Center as a permanent resident.
A year ago, Lee would have packed her suitcase immediately. But there has been a change in her outlook.
"School has become more important to me," said Lee, who is a freshman majoring in exercise science.
"I will get my degree in 2007," she said. "If they still want me, I will move to the OTC in time to train for the 2008 Olympics."
Lee's chances of making the U.S. team to compete in the inaugural women's wrestling Olympics this year are not strong. Toccara Montgomery of Cleveland, seeded No. 1 in next weekend's trials, is a two-time World silver medalist and Lee has never beaten her.
Roosevelt High grad Clarissa Chun, like Lee, is ranked No. 2 in her weight class, but she has never beaten No. 1 Patricia Miranda.
"It isn't the end of the road if they don't make it. Watch for them the next Olympics," Abbott said.
"Clarissa and Stephany have done everything right to earn the chance to pursue their dreams."
Will Hawaii fade as an incubator for Olympic wrestling contenders like it has in swimming?
Abbott says no. "As long as girls have role models -- as long as there are Chuns, Lees and (Katie) Kunimotos -- it would not surprise me to see more outstanding girls coming out of Hawaii," he said.
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Clarissa Chun
Age: 22
High School: Roosevelt '99.
Residence: Kapolei.
Chun was among the charter group of about 20 women invited to the U.S. Olympic Training Center when its women's wrestling facility opened in 2002.
Consistently ranked No. 2 by USA Wrestling behind Stanford alum and OTC resident Patricia Miranda.
Kristen Fujioka
Age: 20
High School: Castle '01
Residence: Ahuimanu
A junior at Pacific University in Oregon, she earned All-America honors by finishing second at the Women's Collegiate National Championships in March.
Earned invitation to the Olympic Trials by finishing eighth at the USA Wrestling Senior National tournament.
Kapua Torres
Age: 18
High School: Kahuku '03
Residence: Kahuku
A freshman at Pacific University in Oregon, she had a team-best record of 17-9 with five pins.
Qualified for Olympic Trials by winning the South Regional Trials at 121 pounds (55kg). She won the 2003 state high school championship at 108 pounds.
Katie Kunimoto
Age: 23
High School: Castle '99
Residence: Ahuimanu
After one year as a cheerleader at the University of Hawaii, she chose to pursue wrestling.
She was an All-American at Pacific University in Oregon in 2002; qualified for Olympic Trials by taking sixth place in USA senior nationals this year.
Debbi Sakai
Age: 18
High School: Mililani '03
Residence: Mililani
Has to come down from 112 pounds, where she finished second at the USA Nationals because there is no 112-pound weight division at the Olympics. Won this year's University Nationals championship at 112, beating Kapua Torres.
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