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Unfortunately this is how he and his ilk conduct themselves when discussing a controversial issue. Beacon of tolerance and diversity...unless it's diversity of opinion. In that case, they have no tolerance. His rebuttal will be he doesn't tolerate, "racist behavior," never mind there is not one piece of evidence that would suggest this incident has anything to do with racism other than the wrestler involved is black. Any fair-minded person would see that the coach, wrestler, and official all play a part in this unfortunate incident but somehow the coach and kid get a pass and the official is the racist boogey-man. At the end of the day, the kid did not report legally equipped to wrestle and the official enforced the rule. The kid could have forfeited the match and then made sure he had a legal head cover for the next meet. He chose to cut his hair mat-side which is on him and his coach. Yes, this should have been resolved at weigh-ins and the official is at fault for that mistake. Again, all three parties are at fault for this debacle.

From a ref’s perspective, it seems as though the letter of the rule was enforced correctly—a local ref says he had seen the wrestler using an illegal hair cover a week prior and told both wrestler and coach it needed to be addressed. It sounds like they didn’t address it. The penalty point and starting the injury clock to give the wrestler time to address the issue is the right call per the rule 8-1-1 that is referenced above. I don’t think the intent of the rule is so that kids will cut their hair matside to make it legal. I think it is more so removing a brace that might not be legal or taping laces. I imagine we will see a ruling forbidding the cutting of hair matside. You either use proper legal covering or you don’t wrestle. I wanted to start this topic because I’ve seen my fair share of illegal hair coverings over the past years. I’ve always addressed it with the wrestler and coach, but I’ve permitted it if I didn’t think it would have the potential to cause harm (example: skull caps that don’t attach to the headgear). There is a rule emphasis that we are to not permit it. Hair coverings must be affixed to the headgear. If you are a parent or coach of a wrestler whose hair doesn’t meet the standards, please be sure your wrestler has a legal hair covering. I am getting frustrated reading all about this and getting texts from my nonwrestling friends asking about this. It is bad optics for our sport.

By JEREMY HINES Thehines7@gmail.com Kyle Cornwell was ready to give up wrestling for good. Almost every time he stepped on the mat, he would eventually watch his opponent have his hand raised in victory. The losses piled up, and the frustration mounted along with it. “I’ve had some mental blocks in wrestling,” Cornwell said. “In sixth grade I was something like 1-26. I was so frustrated with myself. I didn’t think wrestling was for me. I really wanted to just throw in the towel.” That’s when Cornwell got a little encouragement from his family and one of his closest friends. “My dad (Jade Cornwell) and friend Jalen Morgan talked me into sticking with wrestling,” Kyle said. “Jalen told me we have to start training. We’re not going to get better without putting in the work. So, we started training. We trained and trained and trained. By my 8th grade year we went to a preseason national tournament in Iowa and Jalen finished third in his weight class and I won mine.” That tournament success vaulted Cornwell’s wrestling career. He fell in love with the sport and is now ranked No. 1 in the state at 220 pounds and will wrestle for Indiana University next season. The Elwood senior’s training partner is still that same kid that told him in sixth grade to stick with wrestling. Morgan is ranked fourth at 182 pounds. “Jalen and I have been friends since fourth grade,” Kyle said. “We wrestle every day at practice. He has more speed than I do, so that helps me, and I am stronger than him, so that helps him.” Last season Cornwell finished fifth at 220 pounds. He was a state qualifier in the same weight class in 2017. He is happy to be ranked No. 1 this season. “It’s really a relief to be ranked No. 1,” Cornwell said. “Yeah, you have a target on your back a little, but I’ve been ranked behind Mason Parris for a while and it’s nice to have that top spot now. You have to be confident to be that No. 1 guy or you are going to lose. You don’t go to a match with your head down. You know who you are and that you can beat anyone.” Cornwell wrestled Parris last season in the New Castle semistate championship. That match didn’t work out well for Cornwell, as Parris pinned him in 1:14. “It was a really good experience to wrestle Mason,” Cornwell said. “He’s one of the top kids in the nation. It opened my eyes to what I need to be like and what I need to be training for. It really helped me step up to that next level.” Cornwell committed to improving in the offseason, with a focus on pushing the pace and scoring. His mission is to score as many takedowns and points as possible. He wrestled over 100 matches during the offseason and feels right now he’s at the best he’s ever been. “Kyle has a funk to him that he’s been getting into for the last few years,” Elwood coach Fred Short said. “He likes to do the scrambling like they do in college. In high school it’s a little weird to see when you’re not used to it. He is a lot slicker now than he was last year. I think a lot of that is because of wrestling with Jalen and really having to be quick against him.” Cornwell’s goals this season were to go undefeated and win a state championship. Elwood, as a team, is down this season. The team had 10 wrestlers early on but are down a few since that time. Coach Short, who has been a wrestling coach in some capacity since the early 1980s, is retiring after this season. View full article

Today footage of a varsity wrestler in NJ went viral. The video is of the wrestler having his hair cut matside in what I imagine allowed it to meet the the requirements for wrestlers’ appearance and health in accordance to NFHS rule 4-2-1. The wrestler appears to be African-American and his hair was in medium length dreadlocks. From what I gather, his hair cover wasn’t legal because it couldn’t be attached to his headgear. It is unclear to me if the hair cover he was trying to use was the same he had worn all year, or if it was different. I read that he had misplaced his normal headgear and was using something else. I also read that it was the same head cover and no other official made a big deal about it. You can’t always believe what you read on the internet, so I guess pick whichever version you like. Either way, something was apparently wrong. The main reason this seems to have gotten attention is the shock and awe factor of them hastily cutting the young man’s hair in the middle of the gym while he is clearly frustrated and emotional about the whole thing. Now asking a wrestler to cut their hair because their hair didn’t meet the standard/rule and they didn’t have the proper equipment has happened before, but it normally takes place in a lockerroom or wrestling room prior to the meet (as it should be addressed at the time of weigh ins). Having it happen in the middle of the gym in front of all to see is a much different thing and I can see how this video might catch the eyes of people unfamiliar with our sport. Many are sharing and commenting on the video and many people are viewing it through a racial lense—a white ref making the ruling while a white trainer/manager cuts a black adolescents hair while his white coach stands by allowing all this to happen. I get the optics. It isn’t good. Making matters worse, the ref who made the call allegedly had been disciplined a few years ago for using a racial slur to discribe another official. Really not good optics. All of this could and should have went differently. The ref should have addressed the hair at the weigh in. The wrestler could have had the proper legal haircovering (assuming he didn’t). The coach, ref, or AD could have decided that cutting the hair matside was wrong. All these things could have happened differently. Hopefully this viral video prevents this from happening again. I hope to never see this happen in Indiana. But it very well could. I could almost have seen it happen on my mat. As a ref, I have had to enforce this rule matside—just last weekend, even, at a multi-team individual tournament. Another ref forgot to check for hair coverings (probably assuming wrestlers had them but didn’t bring them to be approved as special equipment) during skin check and the the offending wrestler came onto the mat with hair similar to the boy in the viral video. Luckily the wrestler’s teammates had a spare legal covering and they were able to correct it (in my experience, this has always been the case). The offending wrestler pinned his opponent in the first period so the penalty didn’t play a factor. After the match he and his coach said they didn’t realize he needed the hair cover and said he had been wrestling like this all year. This is a problem. I’ve had wrestlers try to use pantyhose, skull caps that don’t meet NHFS regulations, swim caps, and even had a wrestler try to use a textbook cover as hair covers. Luckily they were all shut down during weigh-in/skin checks. If, in the heat of the moment, a wrestler didn’t have the proper equipment available like in the situation I mentioned above, I can imaging seeing a coach quickly doing something like this and me—with everything that refs have on their mind at a tournament—not thinking about how it might look or if it is appropriate letting it happen. We can do better to prevent these situations. I don’t know if the official was making the kid cut his hair because of racial bias. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. I try not to figure out intent—that isn’t my job. As a ref, I only see two colors: red and green. But I totally can see how this has become story. In the age of social media, stuff like this spreads fast and many people don’t care to look at all the facts. If this happened in the heat of the moment at a meet that I was working, I surely wouldn’t want people assocating my name with racism and hatred. So...let’s make sure this doesn’t happen in the Hoosier state. Below are some rules for this year’s verson of the rule book that partain to this issue. Rule 4-2-1 During competition all wrestlers shall be clean shaven, with sideburns trimmed no lower than earlobe level and hair trimmed and well groomed. The hair, in its natural state, shall not extend below the top of an ordinary shirt collar in the back; and on the sides, the hair shall not extend below the earlobe level; in the back; and on the sides, the hair shall not extend below earlobe level; in the front, the hair shall not extend below the eyebrows. A neatly trimmed mustache that does not extend below the line of the lower lip shall be permissible. If an individual has hair longer than allowed by rule, it may be braided or rolled if it is contained in a cover so that the hair rule is satisfied. The legal hair cover shall be attached to the ear guards. A bandanna is not considered a legal hair cover. The legal hair cover must be of solid material and be nonabrasive. The wrestler opting to wear a legal hair cover must wear it to the weigh-in procedure and be checked for grooming with it on. The legal hair cover must be removed prior to the wrestler stepping on the scale to be weighed. If a referee is not present at the weigh-ins, the hair cover must be checked by the meet referee upon arrival at the site. If an individual has facial hair it must be covered with a face mask. All legal hair covers and face masks will be considered special equipment. If an individual’s hair is as abrasive as an unshaved face, the individual shall be required to shave the head as smooth as a face is required or wear legal hair cover. 7-3-5 Reporting to the scorers table, not properly equipt, or not ready to wrestle or any equipment that is detected as being illegal after the match as started is a technical violation. According to 5-27, technical violations are to be penalized without warning. Rule 8 covers penalties and injuries. 8-1-1 states: Any contestant reporting to the scorers’ table not properly equipped or not ready to wrestle is a technical violation. A wrestler with greasy substance on the body or uniform, improper grooming, objectionable pads and braces, illegal equipment, illegal uniform or any equipment that is detected as being illegal after the match has started shall be disqualified if not removed or corrected within the 1 1/2-minute injury time. ... Most refs don’t want to be bad guys. We want to grow the sport. Help us avoid these types of calls by familiarizing yourselves with the rules and please share the information and knowledge you have gained with others. Also, if you have questions about these or any other rules, please use this site’s “Ask the Officials” Forum. A lot of times great questions can help us dig deeper into our knowledge of the rules and make us better officials...and from what I hear, everyone wants better officials.

Just curios, how many girl's some of you have in your program? Currently Greenwood HS has 0. Middle school has 2 and our club has 2. I'm looking and trying to figure how to recruit more. It's not as easy as walking over to a football field. I'm wondering those with big #'s, what avenue did you guys take to get those #'s up?

Wait, you just called other names and you post this, after the parents, lawyer, and coach admitted the ref was not at the weigh-in? Do better. https://people.com/human-interest/family-black-high-school-wrestler-cut-dreadlocks-speak/ Parents of Black Wrestler Forced to Cut Dreadlocks Blame Referee Previously Accused of Using Slur Andrew Johnson Courtesy of the Johnson Family MAURA HOHMAN December 26, 2018 05:20 PM After last week’s video of a coach cutting off a black high school student’s dreadlocks went viral, the family of the boy, Andrew Johnson, is criticizing the referee who made the call. A lawyer for Charles and Rosa Johnson, whose 16-year-old son attends Buena Regional High School in New Jersey, contended in a statement on Monday that the referee was late to the match on Dec. 19 and missed weigh-ins, which the Johnsons said is normally when the determination of any rule violations takes place. What’s more, “when he did evaluate Andrew, he [the referee] failed to raise any issues with the length of his hair,” the Johnson family’s lawyer Dominic A. Speziali said in the statement, which he released on their behalf. Andrew had wrestled the weekend before with the same hair style “without issue,” according to his family’s statement, and he had asked to “be allowed to push his hair back as he did the weekend prior, but the referee again refused because ‘it wasn’t in its natural state.’ “

Thank you for this. Sorry, he is the champ, but on this issue Burroughs is an idiot who does not appreciate all the hours non-wrestlers put in for the sport, paid or volunteer. It's bad enough for the sport trying to fill shortages of referees, but for him to go off without the facts or investigation being complete, is wrong. He has a higher responsibility to his accurate messaging and to the sport because of his following. This is all on the coaching staff who was warned, and even if they were not warned, did not prepare their teams. Every coach should have extra head guard/ with hair , and face-guard in event of injury. The kid wore a non-regulation equipment item, and the kid & coach made the choice to then cut the hair. They then admitted at the previous meet that the kid “pushed his hair back,” (trying to say he did not wear a regulation cover) - which is on the previous referee. Burroughs's lame excuse can be easily debunked by many internet videos. If I had a $1 for every-time I saw an official require hair clipping, shaving, and nail clipping being addressed I would have a new car. The best thing about wrestling is you compete with someone near your size, but style, length, strength, speed, technique can all be collectively unique and you can still win, regardless of race or ethnicity. But, this hair thing may be the one issue that may have uniqueness in a biological prevalence in ethnicity, but that does not make it a race issue. The National High School Association tried to address this in clarity of rules 4 years ago, and Burroughs is uninformed. And just like 5 O'Clock shadow is sometimes non-purposefully or disingenuously used to it's benefit, you can bet there are those that do and do not realize the effect that the abrasiveness of their hair style has on the eyes and face of an opponent, be it short and tight, or long and untamed. I don't begrudge that sly advantage if they were judicious in its application. Been around the sport long enough to have many black, latin, middle-eastern, and white teammates and opponents with tight, thick hair, who knew how to groom it for maximum effectiveness during the season, and were not shy about it; more power to you. In practice or matches, they would use the crown of their head to dig in on tie-ins like a sand pad, into the eyes, forehead, and face, and those were predominately guys who cut their hair or cornrowed it. Almost as bad is having a teammate whom doesn't follow appropriate methods to maintain and clean their dreadlocks, especially for wrestlers, who probably sweat and are in close quarters far more than any sport. Try going days with the equivalent of someone sticking an non-washed Force 10 Neoprene kneepad in your face and hour a day and tell me how lovely that is (and their were guys who liked to put on the smelly Force 10's for a match). You get an appreciation for the sweet smell of Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar on the days my teammates deep cleaned their dreads. And to to have uninformed non-followers of wrestling, aided by reactionary posts like that of Burroughs now try and make this a African-America cultural issue is also a bit disingenuous, especially when the practice also has roots in Greece, Crete, India, parts of East Asia, and even Jerusalem.

Current State or Semi-State (SS) ranking per weight class: 106 - Perry Meridian #1, Carmel #4, EMD #7, Warren Central #10, Brownsburg #11, Roncalli #14, Portage ss# 8, Cathedral ss#8, Col East ss#8 113 - Portage #1, Cathedral #2, Warren Central #3, EMD #4, Brownsburg #10, Northridge #16 120 - EMD #2, Roncalli #4, Brownsburg #7, Penn #9, Warren Central #10, Avon #13, Portage #15, Northridge ss#2 126 - Avon #4, Portage #5, Cathedral #6, EMD #7, Brownsburg #9, Warren Central #10, Roncalli #14, Col East ss#4 132 - Avon #1, Roncalli #2, Cathedral #3, Brownsburg #8, Portage #9, EMD #10, Carmel #14, Warren Central ss#5, Penn ss#5 138 - Col East #1, Brownsburg #3, Roncalli #6, Cathedral #8, Avon #11, Perry Meridian #12, EMD #13, Warren Central #14, Penn ss#8 145 - EMD #1, Perry Meridian #3, Warren Central #4, Cathedral #5, Penn #12, Avon #13, Brownsburg ss#4 152 - Cathedral #1, Avon #3, Warren Central #4, Perry Meridian #6, Col East #7, EMD #8, Portage ss#4 160 - Portage #1, Cathedral #2, Brownsburg #8, EMD #9, Warren Central #11, Northridge ss#3, Perry Meridian ss#5 170 - Col East #1, Carmel #5, Roncalli #6, EMD #7, Perry Meridian #12, Brownsburg #15 182 - Avon #1, Carmel #10, Cathedral #14, Penn #15, EMD ss#8 195 - Penn #2, Carmel #15, Warren Central ss#7 220 - Brownsburg #3, Col East #4, Penn #7, Perry Meridian #16, Avon ss#3, Warren Central ss#6 285 - Col East #4, Penn #5, Brownsburg #6, Roncalli #7, Warren Central ss#4, Carmel ss#6 RANKINGS PER TEAM: Brownsburg: 10 State & 11 Semi-State EMD: 10 State & 10 Semi-State Warren Central: 8 State & 12 Semi-State Cathedral: 8 State & 8 Semi-State Avon: 7 State & 8 Semi-State Roncalli: 7 State & 7 Semi-State Penn: 6 State & 8 Semi-State Perry Meridian: 6 State & 7 Semi-State Columbus East: 5 State & 7 Semi-State Portage: 5 State & 7 Semi-State Carmel: 5 State & 4 Semi-State Northridge: 1 State & 2 Semi-State

I follow what you're saying and I agree. I know for sure, though, that they're largely going on what coaches are saying will be their up-to-date lineups--which may include additions or changes not seen yet this year. As I said, this is in an effort to be as accurate as possible and may or may not fully reflect season results that were skewed by non-current lineups.

It's definitely a question of "how good is each team TODAY" that determines seeding. Otherwise, loaded Cathedral teams, for instance, would typically be way underseeded because of perennial early-season football impact on strict results. It's because of their "today" philosophy that the committee has been so accurate every year.

Few more days we’ll see . Maybe I’m wrong, maybe I’m right . Whatever right. That’s why the topic is called predictions . The Notorious

Some great seed meeting stories come from that one.

Lol we’re all allowed to be confident in our guys aren’t we? I’m sure if you had some highly ranked guys from Avon going up against other highly ranked guys, you’d certainly give them a fighting chance. For what it’s worth, I love Jesse’s style and hope he has a very successful wrestling career. I just don’t think he has a cakewalk against a returning state champion, and if he does.... very good for him.

Seed1-8

Size doesn’t matter much , about 5-6 years ago I seen 2 kids weight about 69 lbs and the other about 71 lbs soaking wet come away 2nd & 3rd place that year. (Trey Lane & Asa Garcia) If they got the Skill & Technique, let them wrestle . Kids weight is nothing but a number or a excuse .

Like all your picks but..... 126: *** Mendez will dominate 132: Bailey 138: *** Rooks will dominate 145: Mosconi 152: Rodgers 170: *** South will dominate *** Sure picks !

The toughest tournament in Indiana hands down!!! Glad to be back in this

Pass

Al Smith is as tough as it gets. I’ve seen plenty of people place higher at state than they did at the Al Smith; Hunter Watts didn’t even place his freshman year and ended up 6th at state. Our heavyweight did the exact same that year. This year is going to be insanely difficult too.

It is easy to blame officials for not checking at weigh ins. I get that they are the ruling authority figure at the tournament so they do deserve some blame--it is, of course, part of their duties. But I am shocked how quickly we are to point the finger at the official. What about the wrestler's responsibility to properly groom him/herself? It also is a responsibility of the coach to verify that their wrestlers are groomed, properly equipped and ready to wrestle. That is part of my issue with this NJ incident. Where is the personal responsibility of the wrestler? Why has his coach not worked with him to obtain legal hair covering? This wasn't a rule change this year. The rule that hair covering must attach to the headgear it at least 2-3 years old. Why has he been allowed to slide this long? Other officials should have enforced the rule. Then you wouldn't have the "well they him wrestle last week" excuse I am seeing many use and maybe he'd have the proper equipment. It is a point of emphasis this year that officials are not to allow illegal equipment (like hair covering that doesn't attach), so the ref wasn't in the wrong in the ruling on the mat. It just should have been addressed earlier. According to the NYT coverage an official who graduated from Johnson's school had warned them that the hair cover wasn't legal the week prior. I get that the ref has had the past experience/suspension with using the racial slur. That isn't ok. There isn't room for hatred and racism in the ranks of officials in the sport. If they deem he should lose his license because of that, I can understand and support that ruling. But I doubt that most of the outrage wouldn't be the same or similar had he not had that happen. People on social media were quick to respond prior to that fact coming to light. I don't want any wrestler to feel as if this sport isn't for them or that the rules don't allow them to express themselves (including having whatever hairstyle they want). Our sport is one of the most inclusive sports when it comes to accommodations for contestants. How many sports allow a 5' 100 lb participant to be able to contribute as much as a 6'6" 250 lb participant? How many other sports allow for female and male athletes to compete against each other? We allow all participants to wrestle with accommodation if need be. I can't think of another sport that alters rules so that visually impaired contestants can compete with those who aren't and that allows contestants without limbs to compete freely. I know there are religions that don't permit shaving or cutting of the hair, wrestling allows those individuals to compete using legal coverings or facemasks. If wearing your hair in dreadlocks or a Mississippi Mudflap (mullet for those who aren't familiar) help you express yourself, wear your hair like that to your heart's content. Just please use the proper hair covering.

Union County beat Father Ryan in a dual meet Friday 44-27

I really appreciate how Indianamat is showcasing our Indiana wrestlers this is a great thing for our state and sport,

So someone doesn’t agree with you so you have to call them names? C’mon man...

Call me whatever name you'd like but you have no evidence to support this had anything to do with race. I do find people like yourself comical...building straw man arguments to appease your political ideology. I've never taken the official's side, merely pointing out that many people played a role in this unfortunate incident.

It's 2018... EVERYTHING is about race. Even if it's not.....

The team won the dual handily, could the kid/coach chose not to wrestle that match? He and his coach would have had the ability to pursue a future solution. If it were a funding issue for proper equipment, I’m sure they could have used social media to unite everyone in financing a solution.

Last week in Springfield we had a kid that had to cut his hair at the scale and he just about cried. But I kinda laughed at him because he looked fine and no different in my eyes. Pretty sure that I shouldn’t laugh at him but I did, and don’t really care that I’m wrong. The kid made the choice to cut the hair. His choice. The kid was Latino American and the ref was white. And In my opinion race was not a factor. This summer I was at NHSCA duals. We had a kid that wrestled all day. The ref told him that he had to get a proper head gear or cut his hair. The kids family member cut the sleeve off his T-shirt and we fashioned a hair cover and attached it to the head gear. The ref said that it wasn’t acceptable. So we just gave the other team the win. The kid didn’t cut the hair. His choice. The kid was white and the ref was Asian. And In my opinion race was not a factor. In this case, the kid chose to cut his hair. It happens all the time. I seen it twice in the last 6 months. This is a non-story. And In my opinion race was not a factor.

It doesn't help that Jordan Burroughs has chimed in on Twitter excoriating the official but not mentioning the fact that the coach and wrestler also share responsibility for not reporting legally equipped. I'm not condoning what transpired mat side but it's sad to see a gold medal winner perpetuate the, "It's someone else's fault," mentality. I also find it baffling that somehow the race card got played as well when the kid didn't have the proper hair covering. It truly frightens me what kind of leaders we are producing after seeing incidents like this and seeing how many people are giving the coach and wrestler a pass on their role.

Some interesting facts are coming to light that favors the referee. 1. Official start date in New Jersey was December 14th. Thus this was one of the first meets. 2. The kid had an improper hair cover. On top of that the previous week he was allowed to wear the improper cover and him and his coach were instructed to obtain a proper one before the next event. Also of note some states do not require a referee to be present at weigh-ins. I do not know New Jersey's rule, but this could be why it wasn't caught at weigh-ins. Or simply the coach and kid "forgot" it at weigh-ins and the ref said make sure you have it for your match like has probably been done a million times when a kid forgets his mouthpiece or hair cover. We want refs, police officers, bosses, etc to enforce the rules, but when it comes to light about a rule we don't like somehow we can overlook it.

Thanks to these three schools for hosting women's only RTC. Mondays 7:00-8:30 pm William Henry Harrison High School, 5701 N. 50 West, West Lafayette, IN 47906 (doors 7-8) Chad Fauber, t: 765-714-9983 Mondays (Starting March 5) 6:00-7:30 pm Bloomington South High School,1965 S Walnut St, Bloomington, IN 47401 (door 22) Mike Runyon, t: 812-327-9690 Wednesdays (Starting Feb 28) 7:00-8:30 pm New Palestine High School, 4485 S. Victory Drive, New Palestine, IN 46163 (Auxiliary Gym doors) Jason DeLois, t: 317-201-8700 http://www.iswa.com/news_article/show/892002?referrer_id=3090499