throw45

I do feel this discussion should only include the person's High School resume. 
 
I also feel like just seeing all of these great names being mentioned it really puts in perspective how special it is to be a State Champion, but also how being a multiple Champ even tougher.

Zack Davis Penn
 
9th-SQ
10th-6TH
11th- 2nd (Micic in Finals)
12th-2nd (Micic in Finals_
 
4x Letterman at the Naval Academy
100+ wins Naval Academy
1x Ncaa Qualifier
4x Academic All American
 
Currently Flying Jets for the Navy in Pensacola, FL
 

The customary EC chorizo breakfast for sectionals was always the bomb.

There's this thing that other states do in order to balance out opportunities for individuals and schools...

This is a very good idea. This has to come from Doug Welch 

Couple year's ago I brought up the idea of combining the Sectional and Regional Tourney into one tournament.
 
I don't have the numbers in front of me, so don't nail me to exact details.....
 
We have one of the largest regionals (most number of teams) and I'm thinking it's like 24ish teams.
 
You'd have to have a round of 32 in theory....most weights have more than 8 ffts if you combine sectionals.  That would be a quick round.
 
Seed top 12
 
Friday night: Rat tail matches (I believe the number was around 10 matches total).  Then have the round of 16 right after.  If you lose any of those, you're done.  
 
Saturday morning run an 8 man tourney with wrestlebacks.
 
When I looked at it I thought it would help with the ref shortage and make the state more money with less work.  It would also shorten the season a week, which might get us in the conversation of semi state wrestle backs down the road.

Pretty amazing job like always by Maldonado and company. 

They came back to win the regional 191-190 over Hobart with a pin by Streck at 220.

🎼 Glory days, well, they'll pass you by
Glory days, in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days 🎵 🎸 

I don't post often but when I do and there may be opposing views I post my name so there is no confusion where my opinion is coming from.  This is Steve Sandefer Sr.  Yes my son is the current head coach at Mishawaka, but other than that I am not an official administrator or coach at Mishawaka.  I proudly support our community, school and team.  I love wrestling and try to positively promote the sport at all levels....not just self serving to our own program.  As such I do have some disappointment and contention to see such negative comments regarding individuals within a profession that give so much to support our sport of wrestling.  The officiating crew that worked the Al Smith are top notch gentlemen that have given many many years of service to this sport.  Many of those being criticized openly on social media are Hall of Fame individuals that have literally been involved in promoting this sport most of their lives.
We will soon be reaching a crisis situation in our State if we are not able to recruit and develop young officials that will shortly be NEEDED to replace these lifelong veterans.  There is simply no way we can do this with the attitude displayed on social media by a few individuals that didn't have a match go their way this weekend.
 
To the simple fan or parent I can with almost 100% certainty guarantee that in the coach's meeting prior to the first match that this crew of officials explained exactly how stalling was going to be called.  Most likely with examples for each situation.  I can also assure you that 32 teams of coaches relayed this information to their wrestlers.  But lets face it....we are still dealing with high school kids.  They are still going to back up, play the outside edge, not circle in, lay on their stomachs no matter how many times a coach yells "UP", ride the hips while controlling on top without moving side to side.  The philosophy is increased action.  I get it....the call does not always go your way...but to get on a public forum and call out an entire crew for bias, call out the tournament director for being at fault, calling out a Hall of Fame Coach and official by name.....there is in my OPINION no place in this sport that allows for positive to come from that action.  
 
If you are a wrestler on a team, a coach, a parent, an alumni of a program or just a fan...you have a responsibility to REPRESENT your program with the dignity and character your program deserves.  Again IMO that cannot be done by casting shadows over others in our sport that selflessly have given their dedication and time to simply give YOUR kids the opportunities that are necessary for them to compete in this sport.  Also keep in mind that in particular to the Al Smith Invitational...the key word is invitational.  It has always been an honor to be a team that is invited and Mishawaka considers many factors when extending those invitations.  This year was no exception and may have been the best overall field ever.  If you have valid concerns that you feel can make this a better tournament...by all means...use the proper channels and communicate that with your coaches and Athletic Departments to relay those concerns to Coach Sandefer and his Athletic Department.  Negative feelings in the heat of the moment simply shared on social media doesn't really solve anything or even make you feel better if you are honest.
 
Thankful for the support of our Superintendent and School Board as a few were in attendance, our Athletic Dept, Officiating Crew and table workers both days.  Our announcers Mike & Mike...Mike Reiser in the Cave and Mike Kensinger in the big boy gym.  Coaches, team, parents, fans & MHS Alum for helping to make this another great Al Smith!!  Remember I am just a FAN so don't hold my views against those that are working hard everyday for your wrestlers.  POSITIVELY PROMOTE THE SPORT.
Steve Sandefer Sr.

Generally I agree with you on the response “well why don’t you just get your license” but getting out on the mat to officiate and seeing how difficult it can be gives you a little more appreciation to the ref. 

I'm a big fan of starting each and every match with the double stall call. Guarantees action the remaining 5:59 of the match. 

As an outsider, not rooting for any team just there watching wrestling, I thought the officiating was like any typical officiating at any other tourney. There were some head scratching calls, but I’ve seen those same calls at every tourney, it being here in the region or down in central Indiana. Nobody is perfect but those officials I thought did a helluva job. The only call I will always hate a ref make is double stalling. I absolutely hate that call especially in a heavyweight match, someone is pushing the pace, someone is making attempts. You will never see me agree with a double stall call. 

Anybody who don't think Henry Wilk is a top notch ref or bias is delusional.. he's by far 1 of the best refs I've ever seen and he's a no nonsense guy! Idk about all the others but I can guarantee there was no bias on his behalf! 

In your 11 years officiating did you ever hear a negative reaction from a crowd when you thought you made the right call??
Im not trying to say that they made every call perfectly in the tournament. I get upset about calls from officials every weekend. I think in that group some are better than others but overall I didn’t think the officiating was as bad as you stated. My main point was most of those guys in that gym are getting up there in age and probably would love to be sitting in the stands watching great wrestling while some younger people join the officiating ranks, but for some reason people aren’t beating down the door to walk out there and officiate and get ridiculed on the internet for the calls they made. 
Lastly if a kid is stalling it doesn’t matter  what the score is or how much time is on the clock. 1 minute into the match or 2 seconds left

Let me start by saying, Indiana officials as a whole are much better than many surrounding states. That’s pretty easy to say going to Regional or National tournaments with officials from multiple states. One of the reasons that Indiana is so good is a very real attempt to be consistent throughout the state however there are some nuances in different areas. The region typically is pretty aggressive with stall calls compared to Indy or down south. It probably appears worse to Indy guys because Indy has soooo many officials (some really good and some newbies) making consistency within Indy a little harder and it just seems too aggressive when you see refs from NW Indiana that call stalling without hesitation. 
 
Good or bad kids and coaches have to adjust and wrestle through it. 

Guys when’s the next screw the central board meeting? Bw3s again?

Maybe I didn’t see the match/matches you are upset about I thought the officials did a pretty good job all weekend. But you obviously have a bias as you feel like 2 of the schools who did the best were being “robbed” of points. The officials there have done state finals and semi states. 
 
I guess which match are you speaking on and I can give a more direct opinion of the officials on that mat. But to say the entire tournament was poorly officiated is untrue  

There is a difference in stalling depending upon the level of competition. A 0-22 kid might just be overpowered and not know how to stall or his stalling is much more blatant. A good ref will give better warning to a kid in this case. State level kids know how to stall better and conceal it better. A good ref will need to be able to see if certain positions or ties are stalling or they are looking to improve in those positions.
There is definitely a difference between stalling depending upon the level of competition.

http://www.ihsaa.org/Officials/Licensing/tabid/572/Default.aspx
 
By all means if you can do a better job go apply. 

It’s great we have so many expert officials out there in the stands. During the coaches meeting they said they need more officials you should grab a whistle and some arm bands and show them how it’s done. 

While I don’t agree with every call, I didn’t see any bias. Cathedral won by like 50 points so I doubt there was a bias against them. 
top 3 
cathedral, CP and perry 
also I am not sure how many refs are from the region? 
 
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Indiana
 
we can’t claim south bend as the region 

Great question. A couple of things make it so hard to answer. Recency bias will always favor Mendez. We saw it with our own eyes just a few days ago. He was no fluke. Clearly the best wrestler at 126 in the state of Indiana. He did not look like a freshman physically or in his technique. The real deal. 
On the other hand, lets discuss quality of competition. Mendez beat a defending state champion who is not ranked nationally (at least I couldn't find a rank, correct me if I am wrong) and came in with 2 losses. And that defending state champ was only ranked third in his own state (and finished third, nice job rankers). Lee lost, there is no denying that, but it was to a senior who was ranked #1 in the nation (and still #1 five years later). It is impossible to determine the magnitude difference between the levels of competition, but it must be acknowledged that it is vast.
So summing it all up....I have no freakin' idea, but I love the concept. Oh yeah, and I'll take Lee.

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