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Beaumont's Amanda Hendey In State Wrestling Final

Hendey in final of CIF State Championships at Lemoore High School at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Beaumont wrestler Amanda Hendey reached the CIF State Girls Championship final in the 126 pound weight class.

The tournament is being held at Lemoore High School about 250 miles north of Beaumont, in Kings County. The championship finals were scheduled to begin Saturday at 6 p.m.

Hendey's opponent in the championship final is Mabel Flores of Los Banos High School.

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Hendey won by pinfall in her two matches during Friday's opening round to reach the semifinals on Saturday. Hendey advanced into the final after registering a semifinal pinfall over Rocklin's Olivia Sepphini. The pin fall arrived at the 3:07 mark of the match.

She was seeded No. 1 at 126 lbs. going into the first-ever CIF State Girls Wrestling Championships being held upstate this weekend at Lemoore High School, in Kings County.

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Hendey pinned her first two opponents during Friday's opening round.

It seems like a lifetime ago that Hendey was a chubby, out-out-of-shape 14-year old.

It was her freshman year at Beaumont High School and Hendey had decided to join the school’s wrestling team. She tipped the scales at 154 pounds and couldn’t do a push-up.

“I had a lot of fat and no muscle,” remembered Hendey, now a senior. “I wanted to quit. I could hardly make it through practices.”

Today Hendey weighs in at a svelte 121 pounds. She can do push-ups forever.

And she is quite arguably the most successful athlete in school history.

“I’d say it’s been worth it,” Hendey said.

What an understatement.

Over the past four years Hendey has become one of the more recognizable female wrestlers in the country. This year alone she competed against the boys and placed third in the Mountain Pass League finals and helped her team win a share of the MPL team title.

Her resume is second to none. Hendey is a 3-time boys CIF qualifier, a 4-time girls CIF qualifier, a 3-time CIF champion and a two-time state finalist.

Just two weeks ago Hendey won her third straight CIF championship and this weekend she is at Lemoore High School where she will compete for a state title. She will be joined at the state meet by teammate Malian Nelson.

“This is the first time the state meet is sanctioned,” Hendey said. “That’s a big deal. Now we have a state tournament that we can go to and say we are a real state champion.”

Hendey has shown an intense focus on wrestling the last four years. But she did get plenty of help.

Her coach, Jason Lundblad, was instrumental in bringing the CIF Regional to Beaumont High School where she won top honors in front of family and friends.

“To see an athlete like Amanda is special,” Lundblad said.”An athlete like Amanda doesn’t come around very often.”

The tournament ran like clockwork with the help of her parents – Michelle and Art.

As it turned out the tournament will be a lifelong memory for the Hendey family.

“It really made her senior year that much more special,” Michelle Hendey said. “When she does her girls events, none of her teammates get to see her. They had never seen anything like that. Even her teammates hadn’t realized how many girls wrestled until that tournament.”

The tournament reached a peak when Amanda stepped atop the trophy stand to accept her Regional title.

“It made me feel so good, that it was all worth it for her,” Michelle Hendey said. “All the years of struggling, all the hard work; I feel she really finally got the appreciation, a real understanding by everyone of what she has been doing.”

And over the years Amanda gained invaluable wrestling knowledge from her uncle and grandfather, David and Victor, respectively.

Her uncle joined the Beaumont High coaching staff at the start of her senior season. He was fourth in the state at Redlands East Valley and wrestled at UC Davis.

“My uncle has definitely been a role model for me,” Amanda said. “I have looked up to him for as long as I can remember. He is my hero.”

Amanda’s grandfather coached wrestling at Fontana High and began helping her out at Beaumont during her sophomore season.

“He is real glad, a proud grandfather,” Michelle Hendey said. “He is happy that it has finally all come together to the point that it has been more than worth it.”

Once done with high school Hendey will relocate to Oklahoma where she will attend and compete for the Oklahoma City University women’s wrestling team. She signed her letter of intent in November of 2010.

“Her decision to sign this early to OCU is an indication of what she wants in her future: a great education and a chance to wrestle for the top women’s program in the nation,” OCU coach Archie Randall said. “Amanda Hendey is one of the top seniors in the nation. The opportunity to have her in our program next year can only be a plus.  We feel that she will make an immediate impact to our team.”

Hendey, a four-time all-American, was ranked first in the state and fourth nationally by USGWA at 124 pounds. Hendey is also third by the USWW freestyle rankings at 132 after winning the USAW girls high school folk style state championships. She took second in the USAW girl’s folk style national championships and the Body Bar women’s freestyle national championships as a junior.

“Getting to the finals (Body Bar) was a big surprise,” Hendey said. “I expected to go two-and-out but I got to the finals. I was really scared and nervous. I didn’t expect much from myself. There was no pressure on me so I was able to wrestle at my best.”

Hendey has had a big impact on Beaumont’s athletic program.

“She certainly at this point is one of the most decorated athletes we’ve ever hard, if not the most decorated female,” Beaumont High Athletic Director Martin DuSold said. “We are seeing other Beaumont athletes out this year because of inspiration from her. She has made a path for them to do so.”

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