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By Mike Finn

Very few people can say a gamble paid off the first time they ventured into Las Vegas. Adeline Gray can.

“I’m so excited,” said the 18-year-old native of Denver, Colo. “It’s so much fun to come here. It’s actually my first time in Vegas and it was a little overwhelming.”

Gray didn’t win anything that she could put in her bank. Instead, her payoff in the Las Vegas Convention Center, April 9, was her very first U.S. National championship in women’s freestyle at 147.5 pounds; scoring an 8-0, 8-2 technical fall over Sheila McCabe.

Picking up a similar honor at the annual event was 18-year-old Helen Maroulis, who edged Leigh Jaynes, 1-0, 1-1, for the 121-pound championship.

The fact that both young women captured their first national championships — and earned the No. 1 seed at this year’s World Team Trials, May 30-31, in Council Bluffs, Iowa — wasn’t surprising.

Gray won the 2008 Junior World championship and Maroulis, a native of Rockville, Md., finished eighth in last autumn’s Senior World Championships. Both women also represented the U.S. at this spring’s World Cup, March 21-22, in Taiyuan, China.

What makes this duo unique is that they are still in high school … and they don’t live in their hometowns. Instead, they chose to travel to Marquette, Mich., where they are attending high school … and training at the United States Olympic Education Center at the University of Northern Michigan.

“They are showing that they are able to compete,” said U.S. coach Terry Steiner.

“You see (young athletes leaving home) a lot in every other sport. Gymnastics girls are leaving home when they are 12 years old. They made a commitment.”

“I don’t think they would have done it without their love for wrestling. If a 17-year-old kid is leaving home before graduating from high school, there has to be some love there.

We felt that we could put them in a great training situation and they could finish their schooling and get to that spot quicker and get a jump on others. They’ve showed they can do that.”

Both young women had won Junior National championships in 2007 and 2008 while also competing on their boys’ high school teams.

Gray, who was introduced at age 5 to the sport by her father — “He was the youngest of seven boys and then he had four daughters,” laughed Adeline — attended Chatfield High School in Denver.

“It was really hard to leave my family. It was quite a battle to leave my baby sisters at home,” said Gray, who rooms with Maroulis at Northern Michigan, where they will attend college after graduating this spring.

“A lot of it was the financial payoff. Going up there, they offer you a full-ride scholarship, which they have promised me for next year. A lot of it was taking that next step in pursuing wrestling.”

Maroulis, meanwhile, became the first female to place at the Maryland boys’ state tournament in 2007 while competing for Colonel Zadock Magruder High School.

“My dream is the Olympics so I wanted to work on freestyle,” said Maroulis, who made the move to Michigan in February 2008.

While neither young women qualified for last summer’s Beijing Olympic Team, Maroulis earned a spot on the World Team, which competed at the championship, Oct. 10-13, in Tokyo, Japan, where she finished eighth at 112 pounds.

She also represented the U.S. at that weight at this year’s World Cup, but decided to move up to 121 for the U.S. Nationals.

“I did everything correctly with my weight management (at the World Cup) and it was so hard,” said Maroulis. “I told my coaches that I wanted to focus on wrestling and not losing weight.”

Maroulis admitted the normal body changes of someone her age had something to do with moving up.

“People on my team tell me that they think I’m growing and I tell them it’s my shoes or something,” she laughed.

Gray, who just missed making the 2008 World Team when she finished second to Elena Pirozhkov (who dropped down to win the 2009 U.S. National title at 138.75 pounds), also grew with confidence over the past year.

“Last year, I went in thinking I’m just happy to be here,” she said. “Now I know this is where I’m suppose to be and where I should be training.”

The gambles on their future paid off.



Striking It Rich Gamble to move to USOEC while in high school paid off for women's freestyle champs Gray and Maroulis
By Mike Finn Very few people can say a gamble paid off the first time they ventured into Las Vegas. Adeline Gray can. “I’m so excited,” said the 18-year-old native of Denver, Colo. “It’s so much fun to come here. It’s actually my first time in Vegas and it was a little overwhelming.” Gray didn’t win anything that she could put in her bank. Instead, her payoff in the Las Vegas Convention Center, April 9, was her very first U.S. National championship in women’s freestyle at 147.5 pounds; scoring an 8-0, 8-2 technical fall over Sheila McCabe. Picking up a similar honor at the annual event was 18-year-old Helen Maroulis, who edged Leigh Jaynes, 1-0, 1-1, for the 121-pound championship. The fact that both young women captured their first national championships — and earned the No. 1 seed at this year’s World Team Trials, May 30-31, in Council Bluffs, Iowa — wasn’t surprising. Gray won the 2008 Junior World championship and Maroulis, a native of Rockville, Md., finished eighth in last autumn’s Senior World Championships. Both women also represented the U.S. at this spring’s World Cup, March 21-22, in Taiyuan, China. What makes this duo unique is that they are still in high school … and they don’t live in their hometowns. Instead, they chose to travel to Marquette, Mich., where they are attending high school … and training at the United States Olympic Education Center at the University of Northern Michigan. “They are showing that they are able to compete,” said U.S. coach Terry Steiner. “You see (young athletes leaving home) a lot in every other sport. Gymnastics girls are leaving home when they are 12 years old. They made a commitment.” “I don’t think they would have done it without their love for wrestling. If a 17-year-old kid is leaving home before graduating from high school, there has to be some love there. We felt that we could put them in a great training situation and they could finish their schooling and get to that spot quicker and get a jump on others. They’ve showed they can do that.” Both young women had won Junior National championships in 2007 and 2008 while also competing on their boys’ high school teams. Gray, who was introduced at age 5 to the sport by her father — “He was the youngest of seven boys and then he had four daughters,” laughed Adeline — attended Chatfield High School in Denver. “It was really hard to leave my family. It was quite a battle to leave my baby sisters at home,” said Gray, who rooms with Maroulis at Northern Michigan, where they will attend college after graduating this spring. “A lot of it was the financial payoff. Going up there, they offer you a full-ride scholarship, which they have promised me for next year. A lot of it was taking that next step in pursuing wrestling.” Maroulis, meanwhile, became the first female to place at the Maryland boys’ state tournament in 2007 while competing for Colonel Zadock Magruder High School. “My dream is the Olympics so I wanted to work on freestyle,” said Maroulis, who made the move to Michigan in February 2008. While neither young women qualified for last summer’s Beijing Olympic Team, Maroulis earned a spot on the World Team, which competed at the championship, Oct. 10-13, in Tokyo, Japan, where she finished eighth at 112 pounds. She also represented the U.S. at that weight at this year’s World Cup, but decided to move up to 121 for the U.S. Nationals. “I did everything correctly with my weight management (at the World Cup) and it was so hard,” said Maroulis. “I told my coaches that I wanted to focus on wrestling and not losing weight.” Maroulis admitted the normal body changes of someone her age had something to do with moving up. “People on my team tell me that they think I’m growing and I tell them it’s my shoes or something,” she laughed. Gray, who just missed making the 2008 World Team when she finished second to Elena Pirozhkov (who dropped down to win the 2009 U.S. National title at 138.75 pounds), also grew with confidence over the past year. “Last year, I went in thinking I’m just happy to be here,” she said. “Now I know this is where I’m suppose to be and where I should be training.” The gambles on their future paid off.