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Posts Tagged ‘wrestling’

Run, scream, cry — she’ll still pin you!

Posted in Wrestling, tagged , , , , , , on December 2, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Izzy LeVine can’t be stopped, won’t be stopped. (Photo courtesy Sean LeVine)

Don’t get between Izzy LeVine and a championship medal.

The former Coupeville supernova is now the queen of the wrestling mats, terrorizing grapplers in a new city seemingly every day.

This weekend, Micky and Jae’s (not so) lil’ sister was at the 50th Annual Jerry Benson Tournament in Buckeye, Arizona, and all anyone could hear was the scream of wrestlers trying (and failing) to escape her grasp.

Izzy made a clean sweep of things, winning all seven of her matches, six by pins, to claim a tourney title.

Paced by her performance, Casteel High School’s girls’ wrestling squad finished fourth in the team standings.

While the LeVine family no longer lives in Cow Town, they left behind a towering legacy, with three family members having earned induction into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame.

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Izzy LeVine is destroying people out here!

Posted in Wrestling, tagged , , , , on October 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Wrestling sensation Izzy LeVine and her head of security/chauffer/that dude who buys her snacks. (Photos courtesy Sean LeVine)

She’s known nationally now.

Former Coupeville student Izzy LeVine, youngest in a family of athletic superstars, continues to plant people on their head and go for the pin.

Now living in Arizona, Mickey and Jae’s lil’ sis is prone to bouncing around the country, decimating folks on the wrestling mat.

This past weekend Izzy was at the 2023 Brian Keck Memorial Preseason Nationals in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned All-American status.

Sean and Joline’s ferocious youngest daughter — who used to give me rocks at Jae’s softball games — finished 6th in the 120-pound weight class.

Izzy opened on a three-match winning streak, before falling to eventual champion Sierra Chiesa in the semifinals.

Chiesa is the one they speak of in hushed tones, the first female grappler to qualify for the Pennsylvania state high school championships.

Bouncing right back, Izzy fought hard in her remaining matches against highly ranked foes from Oklahoma and Wisconsin to earn her All-American status.

They rule the mat.

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Her mat, her time to shine

Posted in Wrestling, tagged , , , , , on August 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Izzy LeVine (right), sporting her newest wrestling medal. (Sean LeVine photo)

Another day of grappling, another oversized medal to add to the ever-growing collection.

Former Whidbey wonder Izzy LeVine, youngest member of a family which has landed three inductees into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, continues to terrorize the wrestling mat.

Continuing a torrid run of pins and technical falls, “The Izzinator” claimed third-place Saturday at the MWP Grand Canyon Championships in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Competing in the 132-pound division, LeVine fought her way back after being narrowly nipped in the championship rounds.

Sweet revenge was hers in the final bout, as she won by major decision over the same foe who had beaten her earlier in the tourney.

“Long, but fun day!” said dad Sean.

LeVine, whose older sisters Micky and Jae are joined by pops in the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, has had a busy, super-successful summer.

Her last time out, in mid-July, she finished in the top half of competitors at the 16U Junior National Championships in Fargo, North Dakota.

Izzy followed that up by earning 3rd place at the USMC/USA 16U Junior Nationals Beach Bash the same weekend.

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She’s conquering the world, one pin at a time

Posted in Wrestling, tagged , , , , on July 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Izzy LeVine, wrestling phenom. (Photo courtesy Sean LeVine)

She had to leave Coupeville to truly embrace her destiny.

While a family move to Arizona will likely keep Izzy LeVine from one day earning her diploma at the same prairie-based high school where older sisters Micky and Jae were shining stars, it did open up a whole new world.

If she had remained at Cow Town schools, the youngest of Sean and Joline’s three daughters would have had a tougher time excelling on the wrestling mat.

For one thing, Coupeville has one of the few high schools in Washington state not to have a grappling program of its own.

But after trading Whidbey breeze for Arizona heat, Izzy found a never-ending series of mats, all perfect for slamming her foe into face-first.

Case in point, this past weekend, as she wrestled at two different mega tournaments, and did really well at both.

First up was the 16U Junior National Championships in Fargo, North Dakota, where she finished in the top 32 out of 81 competitors.

Izzy “The Wood Chipper” LeVine, who is in her second season of freestyle wrestling, had a first-round bye, then split her remaining four matches in the 122-pound class.

Her victories included a technical fall of Isabel Navarro of California and a pin of Maritza Martinez of Texas, while one of her losses was a tense nailbiter against Nyah Lovis of Illinois which came down to the final seconds.

The other loss?

A stout effort against top-seeded Kaylyn Harrill of Nebraska, who went on to win a national title.

Not stopping there, Izzy bounced over to the USMC/USA 16U Junior Nationals Beach Bash, where she made her debut under a completely different rule set.

Beating grapplers from North Carolina and Utah, with her only loss to a teammate from Arizona, she claimed 3rd place.

“Super proud of this kid,” said dad Sean, who coached multiple Whidbey soccer teams to great success back in the day.

“Next year will be interesting.”

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Former Wolf grapples for glory

Posted in Wrestling, tagged , , , , on June 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »

The older one’s a wrestling legend, the younger one an international superstar. (Sean LeVine photos)

The little girl who used to give me free rocks at her sister’s softball games is now ripping heads off.

On the wrestling mat, at least.

Izzy LeVine may not be on target to graduate from Coupeville High School like siblings Micky and Jae — she does live in Arizona now — but she’s upholding a family tradition of excellence.

Both of her sisters and dad Sean are in the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, while mom Joline is the true superstar, but it’s the youngest family member who is currently claiming the spotlight as her own.

Izzy finished first in her weight class at the five-day Wrestle the World Camp in early June, impressing a Colorado crowd which included Terry Brands.

I can pretend like I knew who he was prior to writing this story, or I can admit I Googled him.

Either way, Brands is a two-time NCAA wrestling champ, two-time world freestyle champ, a bronze medalist at the 2000 Olympics, a highly accomplished coach, and a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

He sort of knows his way around the mat is what I’m saying, and he’s in the pic at the top of this story.

Which means, one day, he’ll be able to say he shared the same frame with Izzy “The Destroyer” LeVine.

So, he’s got that going for him, which is nice.

Izzy LeVine’s collection of fine medals and trophies continues to grow.

The youngest LeVine isn’t stopping with her performance in Pagosa Springs, though.

Izzy is locked and loaded for the 16U Nationals, which runs July 15-23 in Fargo, North Dakota.

While there she’ll wrestle freestyle in the 122-pound class.

Just getting the invite to nationals is a big deal, as each grappler has to qualify through their state association.

Izzy is one of two 122-pound female grapplers on Arizona’s roster, joined by Brooklyn Perez, who can now Google herself and be all like, “What in the heck is Coupeville Sports?”

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