She earned respect
Royal's Jade Anderson is one of the best female wrestlers in the state
By Stephen Dorman sdorman@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers ALWAYS IMPROVING- Royal's Jade Anderson, left, attempts to take down her Highlander teammate during practice. Anderson won the CIF Southern Regional in the 138-pound weight class.

Respect.

It's the seven-letter word that's taken the sports world by storm.

Football players demand it, and complain fervently when they don't receive it. In baseball, there are unwritten rules, and to break those rules is to disrespect the game.

Perhaps that's the reason an athlete like Royal High's Jade Anderson is such a breath of fresh air. Instead of demanding respect, Anderson actually went out and earned it.

"She's a great allaround person," Royal wrestling coach Rich Carrillo said. "She's got a great GPA, it's darn near 4.0. She respects her competition. She works hard. Those are all the things that earn you respect in the wrestling community."

Two weeks ago at Channel Islands High, Anderson defeated Sunny Hills' Christen Paysee 8-1 in the 138-pound final of the CIF Southern Regional. It was Anderson's second consecutive regional championship. Last year she was victorious in the 132pound final.

"I wrestled 10 times better than I have in any other match," Anderson, 17, said. "Even though I didn't get a pin, I wrestled well, I wrestled consistent. I played it safe when I was out there and didn't do anything risky.

"I'm really happy I won my second CIF championship, especially being a senior. This is the best way to go out, knowing you wrestled your best and without any regrets."

Anderson was one of 191 girls that competed in the twoday event. Her teammate, Misty Major, finished fifth in the 108pound division.

Following her impressive victory, Anderson, the top-ranked 138-pound grappler in California, competed in the state championships in last weekend in Hanford, located in the San Joaquin Valley midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

At state, Anderson finished second, losing a controversial 5-4 decision to a wrestler from Northern California.

"They gave her points for an escape, but I never took her down," she said. "They also never gave me 'back points' after I had her on her back twice. That's at least three points I got gypped.

"I had NorCal coaches coming up to me and telling me I won the match. My coaches were telling me just to get her at nationals, which I'm going to do."

Anderson didn't start wrestling until she was a freshman at Royal.

During her first year at the school she tried playing tennis, basketball and soccer, but those sports left her feeling unsatisfied. When she discovered the wrestling team, there was an instant connection.

"It was the hardest, most challenging thing I'd ever done," she said. "I wasn't naturally great at it. In soccer and basketball, I was pretty good naturally; it didn't take any effort. Wrestling really pushed me. You can never, ever be the best at wrestling.

"It's the best thing I've ever done in my life. I'm so glad I got into it."

When she first started wrestling in girls' tournaments, Anderson often traveled to events without a coach or teammates.

"I went all by myself. It was all me out there," Anderson said. "Slowly I got respect from coaches for my wrestling. Coaches started to come up to me and teach me because they saw that I didn't have anyone in my corner."

After making a name for herself on the travel circuit, Anderson joined the San Diego Hot Beaches, where she began freestyle wrestling. Training with the Hot Beaches allowed Anderson to make even more contacts in the wrestling community.

This year Anderson became the only female wrestler in Royal history to stay in the program for four years. It's an incredible accomplishment, Carrillo said.

"We only want certain people to represent our team," Carrillo said, "and Jade is just the type of person we want to represent Royal wrestling."

When she's not participating in girls' tournaments, Anderson competes on the Highlanders' junior varsity team, where she goes up against the boys.

The biggest difference between wrestling against boys as opposed to girls is that the guys are much more powerful, she said.

"The girls can be a little sloppier on technique," Anderson said. "I've got some strength, but I can't hold a candle to the guys. The thing I have to rely on is my technique. My strength won't win me a match against the guys; my technique will."

Although she's competed on the track and field team at Royal for the past three years, Anderson said she's planning to sit out this season so she can focus strictly on improving her grappling skills.

When she graduates from RHS, Anderson expects to attend Pacific University in Oregon. At Pacific, she wants to study medicine and, of course, continue her athletic career.

"I want to help athletes- like wrestlers- be able to heal themselves and continue what they love to do."