Journal Reporter

Dallas Monreal-Berner, a 16-year-old wrestler from Niles, has been doing very well in national wrestling competition as well as in high school IHSA competition locally.

The Niles West sophomore recently grappled to a second place at a national high school championship, a third place in the FILA cadet freestyle competition, and a fourth in the FILA junior freestyle, all held in Minnesota.

All of this is very impressive and nice.

It becomes even more special, however, when it is revealed that Dallas is a young lady wrestler who is showing amazing, dominating talent against both other girls and boys.

Her second place nationally came in what is called folkstyle wrestling, a variation on freestyle. Against the top female teenage wrestlers in the country, she won six bouts and lost four in the medal rounds of the tourney. She settled a score from last year, beating the top-ranked Juanita Russell from New York by a fall. She then lost a close decision to another New Yorker, Toni Copeland, 6-3, in the championship match in her weight class.

"I am improving and this was a good test for me to compete against the top people in my age group and the junior age group," she said after the folkstyle competition. "I had to adjust to freestyle because my whole season has been wrestling folkstyle. I can do better and I intend to train hard for the senior competition in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the junior nationals in North Dakota in July."

She also plans to try and qualify for the U.S. Olympic team in mid-May as the youngest lady wrestler to attempt to be in the Athens games. She is respectful but not awed by her competition for the chance to go to the Athens Olympics this summer. "This may not be the year that I make it but I definitely want to make enough noise for those college girls to know who I am, where to find me, and that I'm coming up fast in their rear view mirrors," she said.

She has done well against boys, also. She won the freshman championship in the Central Suburban-South conference last year, and this past winter, she wrestled on both the Wolves JV and varsity teams in IHSA competition. "She has held her own with most boys and has won respect," said Wolves head coach Bryan Wittersheim.

Ms. Monreal-Berner practices with the Team West Wolves Wrestling Club that works out at Niles West and is open to all Niles West-area boys and girls through eighth grade.