grappleapple

http://thecouriertimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=258292

The right thing to do

Wrestler puts ethics ahead of sure victory

Jeremy Hines

Sports Editor

Saturday's New Castle semistate was loaded with drama. A No. 1-ranked wrestler was almost disqualified, a mammoth upset took place (Cody Phillips, the No. 3-ranked 112 pounder in the nation lost) and four New Castle wrestlers advanced to the state tournament.

Security had to be called onto the floor on more than one occasion during the day. One wrestler's mother was escorted off the mat. Wrestlers, coaches and fans vehemently argued calls. Such is the nature of the beast when it comes to semistate wrestling. So much is at stake, especially in the first two rounds when it's lose once and you're done.

But the most interesting story of the day belonged to a Western Boone freshman that by all accounts could have been awarded a victory over the No. 2-ranked 135 pounder in the state.

Austin McCloskey, a semistate qualifying freshman from Western Boone, had the dubious task of going up against Roncalli's undefeated senior Justin Kieffer in the opening round.

As soon as action began, Kieffer shot in at McCloskey's legs and lifted him up into the air. Kieffer then slammed McCloskey back to the mat in a way that he never intended to do, directly on McCloskey's head. McCloskey was hurt, and it was evident that he would not be able to continue wrestling.

Since it is illegal to slam an opponent on his head, McCloskey could have been awarded the victory. In wrestling, if a competitor performs an illegal move that results in the opponent being injured and not able to finish the match, the wrestler that is injured is awarded the victory.

A similar situation happened to New Castle's Eli Alafogianis a few years ago at the Richmond regional. Alafogianis performed a move that was deemed illegal, and the Milan kid he was wrestling milked it for all it was worth. The Milan kid acted like he couldn't possibly finish the match. Alafogianis was disqualified and later the Milan kid had no trouble climbing to the podium to receive his second-place ribbon.

Luckily for Alafogianis that loss didn't hurt him. He had already qualified for semistate. Big Greek, as people around New Castle call him, eventually placed third in state.

The McCloskey incident was in the first round of semistate. If he chose to injury default because of the slam, Kieffer's hopes for a state title would have ended right there. Kieffer, a senior, would have just wrestled his last high school match.

That's not what McCloskey wanted. If he was going to be given a victory over such a high-profile wrestler, he wanted to earn it on the mat, not on a legality that was the result of an accident.

McCloskey, his parents and Western Boone coach Adam Logue decided to default the match, which is basically withdrawing from the competition. That allowed Kieffer to be awarded the victory and advance to the next round. Kieffer eventually won the semistate. He is currently 40-0.

"What that kid (McCloskey) did was amazing," Roncalli coach Lance Ellis said. "I can't say enough about how much of a class act they were in the way they handled it. A lot of people wouldn't have done what they did. That could have been the end of Justin's high school career."

Logue said it was a decision based on ethics.

"You preach all season about integrity, doing the right thing and brotherhood," Logue said. "We really try to work on that. When it comes down to it, you have to put your money where your mouth is. At that point, it was the right thing to do."

McCloskey wanted to continue wrestling.

"I've been taught all my life not to quit at anything," McCloskey said. "But coach and my dad told me that I couldn't go back out there."

Ellis called McCloskey's dad Sunday evening to find out if he was recovering from the injury. The Roncalli coach said if there was anything they could do to help McCloskey out they'd be glad to.

McCloskey did have one, slightly unusual request. He wanted the Kieffer brothers (Justin, Joe and Josh) to come to Western Boone and wrestle with him after the state finals. He is hoping to learn from the older Kieffers. The Kieffers have agreed to do so.

"In order to be the best you have to beat the best," McCloskey said. "I want to learn from them. Justin Kieffer has a chance at winning state. He is a senior and this is his last year. I have three more years to leave my mark. It was only right not taking away his chance at this. I will be at state rooting for him to win it."

McCloskey's season ended Saturday, short of his ultimate goal of winning a state title. But in this me-first world it's refreshing to know that some people still look out for others. Austin McCloskey, you have earned yourself a whole bunch of new fans for your actions Saturday.

Jeremy Hines is the sports editor of The Courier-Times.

Awesome. Thanks!

Am I alone here or were the heavyweight matches at New Castle about as entertaining as being forced to watch Oprah reruns all day while your mother-in-law sat beside you talking about whether or not a doctor can remove the corns from her feet?

Organizations purchase a contract through the IHSAA to do a live feed.

The Todd vs. Phillips match was pretty onesided actually. Todd was able to bundle up Phillips arms on three different ocassions, and twice he used that to work takedowns. Todd used his length to his advantage.

If they wrestle again, I think it will be a closer match but the nod might still go to Todd because of the length difference.

It was a great moment for Todd Saturday, but also it was awesome to see just how classy Phillips was in defeat.

But the loss might be fueling Phillips right now too. He's a great, great champion that still has not been dethroned.

New Castle gets a lot of matches in! When was their last state champion?

 

[Reminds me of Roncalli a little bit...lots of great wrestlers (Ryan Schoettle and brothers, Matt Hickey, Mark Koers, Huser brothers, Nick Himes, Wiley Craft, Jake Blackwell, Kieffers, etc.) but can't remember their last state champion. Anyone remember Ryan Schoettle vs. Mac Taylor at New Castle semi-state semifinals? Classic match.]

 

Any of the Kieffers closing in on 200?

I knew Taylor couldn't have had just one loss, because he never won state. He did, at one time, hold the national record for career wins.

New Castle has had two state champions. Bill Lewis (1963) and Bubba Dickerson (1995).

Who knows, maybe they can match that amount this year if all goes well. I could see Campbell and Mullins on top of the podium this year, and they are both juniors. Of course there are a lot of wrestlers out there that are gunning for the same spots.

Harvey returned to mat too late. Was Dq'd. Bobby Cox eventually overturned it. I am matside and that's exactly what happened.

An example of good sportsmanship - Justin Kieffer slams McCloskey. Kieffer could have been dq'd in first round but McCloskey forfeited instead.

Welch is a great wrestler. But, with that being said, to discount Mullins and Ehr as some sort of consolation-prize wrestlers is ridiculous. Mullins has one of the most successful wrestling backgrounds of anybody in the tournament. To act like 152 is a one-horse race is ridiculous.

I personally hate when people start calling someone a lock to win state. They said that about Duckworth last year. They still say that about Tsirtsis, and he needed overtime to beat Jackson last year. Nobody in this sport is a lock, ever.

I think the individual tournament is so awesome because you just don't ever know what will happen. And remember, that side headlock shocker can claim about anyone. I can't wait until state though. There is no better finals in any high school sport.

Here is the preview from the New Castle paper.  I know it's not one that talks about every wrestler, but it is something.

Area wrestlers are two wins away from qualifying for state

Jeremy Hines

Sports Editor

Win two and you're in. That's the mission all 224 top-tier wrestlers will have Saturday in the largest event held anually in the Fieldhouse.

The New Castle wrestling semistate is loaded with highly ranked grapplers in all 14 weight classes. There is no easy road for anyone in the competition. The Trojans have eight wrestlers competing in the event. Shenandoah and Hagerstown both have two competitors and Tri has one.

If a wrestler wins his first two matches of the day, he qualifies for next week's state meet. The top four placers in each weight class advance.

"This is a huge event," New Castle coach Rex Peckinpaugh said. "We are hosting the middle school state on Sunday too, so that might make this the biggest sports weekend of the year for New Castle."

One possible matchup that has created quite a buzz in the wrestling community is the potential showdown between New Castle's No. 13-ranked Alex Catron and Roncalli's second-ranked Josh Kieffer in the 125 pound class. The two would potentially meet up in the ticket round of the semistate.

Catron is 44-1 on the season and Kieffer is 38-3. Last season Catron placed eighth in state at 119 pounds and Kieffer finished fourth.

"Alex is highly capable of winning that match if things go right," Peckinpaugh said. "Alex matches up well with about anyone. He's a solid wrestler on his feet. He's incredibly tough on top and very few guys can ride him. It's going to come down to who makes a mistake."

Before either wrestler can worry about the second round, they must get through their first-round opponents. Catron will go up against Franklin Central's Joey Tucker (32-7) while Kieffer will take on Indianapolis Tech's Aaron Thurman (29-5).

There are five ranked wrestlers out of the 16 competitors at 125 pounds (all rankings are made by indianamat.com). Perry Meridian's Jared McKinley is No. 1 in the weight class. Keiffer is No. 2, Carmel's Ben Sommers is No. 3, Catron is No. 13 and Alexandria's Luke Blanton is No. 15.

"I think someone figured it up and there could be over 20 ranked wrestlers not advance out of the semistate," Peckinpaugh said. "That just shows how tough the competition is here."

New Castle's Brenden Campbell is one of seven ranked grapplers at 119 pounds competing in the Fieldhouse. Campbell, who is undefeated at 47-0, won semistate last year at 112 pounds.

The wrestlers that finished behind Campbell in last year's semistate are all very highly ranked. Jared McKinley was second to Campbell last year. He is now ranked No. 1 at 125 pounds. Brian Harvey was third last year and this year he is the top ranked wrestler at 130 pounds. Mason Todd was fourth at 112 pounds last season and is now ranked No. 2 in that same weight class.

Campbell is the highest ranked wrestler at 119. He is currently second in the state. The No. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 16th ranked 119 pounders are also competing in the New Castle semistate.

Campbell's first-round matchup is against Alexandria sophomore Lincoln Kyle (32-9).

Hagerstown's Sean McDaniel is also competing at 119 pounds. McDaniel (21-7) will go up against Cathedral's No. 4-ranked Michael Venezia in the first round.

Campbell, Catron, Jonathon Decker, Connor Mullins and Jeff Mofield all won their weight classes in last week's Richmond regional.

Decker is surprisingly not ranked despite his stellar 47-2 record. The Trojan junior has wrestled at 160 pounds for most of the season but dropped to 145 before the North Central Conference tournament.

There are four ranked wrestlers in Decker's bracket, including No. 11-ranked Jordan Maple of Connersville who Decker defeated 8-0 in the regional championship.

Decker takes on Westfield's Lucas Rooney (18-14) in the opening round.

Shenandoah junior John Slivka will also compete in the 145 pound class. Slivka (34-7) will take on Carmel's No. 3-ranked Grant Scurria (36-0) in the opening round.

Mullins is one of seven ranked wrestlers at 152 pounds. The Trojan junior is currently 47-1 on the season and ranked third. The No. 4, 5, 11, 13 and 14th ranked wrestlers are also competing in the semistate.

Mullins goes up against Hamilton Heights sophomore Ethan Sloderbeck (27-15) in the opening round. If Mullins wins his first two matches and Tri Central's Montrail Johnson wins his first two, it will set the stage for a battle of the No. 3 and No. 4 wrestlers in the weight class. Johnson is currently 42-0.

Mofield is one of six ranked wrestlers at 215 pounds. The Trojan senior 215-pounder is ranked No. 16. The No. 14, 15, 17, 18 and 19th ranked grapplers at 215 are also competing.

Mofield (44-3) takes on sophomore Dalton Hardy (24-8) in the first round.

Trojan freshman Brad Broyles (22-9) will be competing at 103 pounds. His first match is against Alexandria's Ben Branson (39-5).

There are two local wrestlers battling in the 135 pound class. New Castle freshman Luke Decker (33-10) will go up against North Central senior Charlie Smith (36-5) in the first round. Tri's lone competitor, senior Robbie Parrish (22-15) will take on No. 18-ranked freshman Vinny Corsaro (35-5) of Cathedral.

New Castle senior Levi Rose will try to punch his ticket to the state finals at 140 pounds. Rose (38-7) will go up against junior Graham Lough (32-6) in the first round.

Shenandoah freshman Chandler Hale (35-8) is competing in the 130 pound class. His first match will be against Roncalli's Nick Ader (25-10).

Hagerstown junior Toby Fox (20-10) will wrestle No. 12-ranked Michael Taylor (21-6) in the opening round at 160 pounds.

Last year Campbell and Mullins won their semistate weight classes. Both ultimately finished third at state. Catron and 2010 graduate Cody Fellers also advanced to state.

Another interesting match in the semistate could come at 112 pounds where Union County's No. 1-ranked, two-time state champion Cody Phillips (36-0) could square off against No. 2-ranked, undefeated Mason Todd (27-0) of Pendleton. Phillips, a junior, has never lost a high school match.

According to the company in charge of the media relations with the IHSAA, here is the list of approved organizations that will be streaming the semistates:

SEMI-STATE #             HOST SITE                               APPROVED BROADCASTERS

1 Merrillville                Merrillville HS                         BroadcastSport.net

                                                                                         WDSO-FM (following Chesterton)

2 Woodlan                   Allen Co. Coliseum                 AdamsCountyVoice.com

                                                                                         BerneTriWeekly.com

                                                                                         BroadcastSport.net

                                                                                       WZBD-FM

3 New Castle                New Castle HS                        TheCourierTimes.com

4 Evansville Reitz        Roberts Stadium                   NONE

The Courier-Times will be streaming several matches from the New Castle semistate. Not sure what matches yet but probably all of New Castle's at least and all of the finals. It will be free at www.thecouriertimes.com.

I know the 119 pound class is stacked for the New Castle semistate this year. So I was looking through last year's brackets where Brenden Campbell won at 112. Campbell beat out Jared McKinley (now ranked No. 1 at 125), Brian Harvey (No. 1 at 130), Mason Todd (No. 2 at 112) and Dominque Price (No. 6 at 112).

Out of that 112 pound class you now have two guys ranked No. 1, two ranked No. 2 and a guy ranked No. 5. Just an interesting bit of information.

Yeah, Stacks is fantastic. Just watch out for the big guy they call Eli.

Alex Catron is a force at 125. He was winning when he slipped up and got pinned by Batt but other than that he hasn't lost. He went to state last year and placed eighth and he did beat the No. 9 ranked guy 8-2 this season.

OK. Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.

I was trying to find out what happened to Josh Ehr in the 2010 tournament. He is a very good wrestler and from what I can tell he was 40-0 after winning regional last year. Did he compete in semistate and lose in an early round or did an injury or something hold him out of the semistate?

Just have to make a point here. I see several people bashing fletcher for his actions last saturday. Fletcher has never gotten mad at another wrestler or taken it out on anyone when he has been beatenHe only gets mad at himself. He has what some people on here may not know about which is heart and desire and drive. He pushes himself so hard and sets the goal so high that when if/when he doesnt accomplish it, he gets mad at himself. I guess several people on here dont understand what that means. Maybe you can fail at something or fall short of your goal and it doesnt bother you. Well, that just make you not near as competitive as him, simply put. He has ALWAYS shaken the other wreslters hand and as someone else said he did it twice to the kid that beat him just so that kid knew he meant no disrespect to him. He also shook the other teams coaches hands, something that new castle and other teams fail to do every single time they wrestle anywhere. You want to talk about a sign of disrepect, thats not shaking the other teams coaches hands. Come on, win or lose with pride and dignity. When those teams dont shake hands, they look like crybabies and fools. I also know the coaches tell their kids not to do that so I am smart enough to understand its a reflection of the coaching staff and I hold no bad feelings for the wrestlers since they are doing what they are told to do . its just sad to coach and teach that kind of disrespect because I bet alot of those kids are raised to respect and show class and would have no problem shaing hands. Fletcher does this every single time win or lose. He also is one of only a few who pray before each match. I gaurantee you he prays for the safety of him and the opponent for the match. this is a kid who I know for a fact would bend over backwards to help anyone out. He totally respects his elders and loves his family and I am proud to call him a friend. say what you want about him to make yourself feel better but this is the facts.

Shaking a kids hand after a match is required. What Fletcher did was not shaking his hand. He grabbed Lumpkin's hand and slung it forward and then ran off the mat punching everything, slamming headgear and such. Like I said, he did the exact same thing last year and when a person, I'm assuming was his mother, tried to calm him down he said some very, very choice words to her.

Being competitive is great. I commend everyone for having a strong desire to win. But when you lose, you still have to show dignity. That, no matter how you try and frame it, was not dignified at all.

I am one of the most competitive people I know. I hate losing at anything. But when my wife doesn't trade me Boardwalk in Monopoly and ends up beating me, I'd never throw the game over and then go punching everything in sight because I'm mad at myself.

I have no doubt that the kid is probably a great person. I think it's awesome that he prays before a match, like you said. But that still does not excuse the actions after a loss.

Fletcher lost in a very close match. Had a latteral that could've been scored as a takdown and 3 back but the ref only gave 3 back. I spoke to the offical after the match re; the call and he said it was close. Fletcher was on top when the wrestlers had complete separation when the throw happened. but it all happen so fast the offical didn't have time to score it he jumped to the mat to look for the fall and never gave the escape or takedown. 2nd period he gave 2 nearfall to Shenandoah on a roll throu that led to a reversal. 3rd period Fletcher had what looked like a takedown near the line with a cradle locked up from the side and didn't get the call. All of these situations could've been called  either  way very close match. So it is not unreasonable to think he could win a rematch?

Here's the match exactly how it went. Fletcher scored a takedown and earned back points in the first period to go up 5-0. Lumpkin scored a reversal and got two back points to make it 4-5. At the end of the first period Fletcher earned an escape to go up 6-4.

Fletcher started the second period down and quickly got a reversal to go up 8-4, but Lumpkin countered with his second reversal of the match to make it 6-8.

In the third period Lumpkin started down. He earned the escape with 1:48 remaining in the match to cut Fletcher's lead to 8-7. Then Lumpkin earned a takedown to go up 9-8 and put Fletcher on his back as time expired to win 11-8.

Then, for the second year in a row, Fletcher violently shook the sectional champions hand then punched and slammed everything on his way out the door. It was a great match, and could go either way if they wrestled again. I just hope sometime Fletcher learns to lose a bit more gracefully, and that's not saying that he will lose by any means.

Coach Baumgartner, if I knew how, I'd be dishing you out some cool points for your last post. I totally agree with you in all regards.

I don't understand why coaches are crying over team state. I talk to coaches around the state and the general consensus with everyone is that the process is extremely flawed. It's not a secret that team state was probably already six feet underground and having dirt shoveled on it. If something as simple as one school pulling out can throw the entire state tournament off the edge, than it was already teetering anyway.

Everyone wants to see a new format. I don't think a single coach likes a mid-week dual coinciding with the weekend individual tournaments. How about work on a proposal to make team state and individual state work.

Put team state a week after the individual state tournament. I don't care whether you class it or not. But why not make it an all-day event. The more teams that are there, the bigger the crowd. The bigger the crowd, the more money coming in. Also, how sweet would it be to have 16 of the so-called best teams in Indiana at one venue, on one day, all vying for one crown.

Wrestling is perhaps the greatest "individual" sport ever invented. A wrestler goes out there and takes on his opponent on the mat. The best wrestler emerges as the victor. That is the splendor of this sport.

Yet, like so many of you out there, I also love the team aspect. I love the fact that a subpar wrestler who knows he can't beat his guy can do his team a service by being tough and fighting off a pin. I love the strategy involved in the dual format.

Now to get to my point. Wrestling is also one of the most physically demanding sports out there. A wrestler wants to advance as far as he can in the individual tournament, that is the nature of the beast. Rarely do wrestlers say "Our team qualified for regional"...instead they remember how they made it to semistate their junior year, or whatever. Kids start at four years old learning to go out there and win individual tournaments.

The individual tournament is still the Mac Daddy of the sport. Coaches may try to put up a front, but we all knew the current team format was dead way before the Eastern decision. To use them as a scapegoat for a dying tourney is ridiculous. They simply did what was best for their wrestlers to accomplish their individual goals.

Blame them all you want, but it's inaccurate and unfair.

Instead of everyone lambasting a coach for his decision, which is based on what's best for his kids (which all coaches should put first and foremost in my opinion), why not think of a resolution to save a team tournament. The bottom line is that something has to be done to make sure the two tournaments do not take place at the same time. Have an individual state followed up by a one-day, 16 team state team tournament. Would be a fantastic day of wrestling.

The New Castle Courier-Times has Mullins wrestling at 160. That puts Tyler Brand, who is a decent wrestler, in at 152 and would help the team earn some extra points.

If I added this up right, Merriville's semistate has 12 in the finals, New Castle 8, Ft. Wayne 5 and Evansville 3.

"Not really stunning.  New Castle has a lot of pretty records but don't get out and face a lot of great competition throughout the year.  That comes back to bite them when they have to face tough kids like Roncalli has."

New Castle does wrestle a good schedule. The kids on the team with good records, have went up against anyone the other teams throw on the mat against them. Those same kids beat the Roncalli kids. New Castle won seven matches in this bout, and gave up a forfeit at 171 pounds. I don't think anything came back to bite them, just Roncalli got more pins in this one.

Connor Mullins wrestled Clark from South Dearborn, who is ranked fourth, and he absolutely dominated him. He did the same to Keiffer (ranked No. 2 at 125 pounds). No reason to knock the NC wrestlers.