Kookie953

I disagree here - when Fattore started the tilt/spladle it did appear (as you can see in the photo) that Rader was able to post his arms and basically put Fattore in danger rather than himself.  I could see why the Peru coaches would want the ref to look for back points and possible loss of control.
However, when Fattore rolled back through to his left shoulder he did put Rader back in danger/nearfall position.  The ref for whatever reason decided to call the fall immediately when Fattore rolled back through.
I am not questioning the refereeing abilities.
YOU CAN STILL BE A GOOD OFFICIAL AND MAKE A BAD CALL
That is what happened here, in my opinion. Won't change anything. Doesn't mean that every other official has to stick up for the guy. It's happened before and it will happen again. It's unfortunate but Fattore handled it incredibly well and that speaks volumes to the young man's character. He's accepted to University of Chicago probably a top 10 US college. Congratulations to him on a fantastic season and I am happy that the other competitor (Peru's Rader) seemed to realize the situation and talk with Fattore about it - that was also a class act.

For the record, I am neutral. So please don't beat up the messenger. This is for all you Mathletes out there.
***
Official Team Scores: Cathedral 108, Brownsburg 100.5
If the Melloh-Mulkey match went the other way, Brownsburg gets 2nd (12pts for 2nd+ 2pt advancement in that match) & assuming Cathedral gets 3rd (9pts for 3rd). Plus, Snyder wouldn't have gotten the 3-point team penalty. So BB gets 8 more points & Cath gets 5 fewer points.
Hypothetical team scores: Cathedral 103, Brownsburg 108.5

Sounds like a couple impact freshman from the county with some family success are incoming also 
blaze garcia Avon and Landon Boe Danville 

If you google “highway robbery” the link should pop right up there at the top. 

1.) Congrats to Cathedral.  I’m not sure anyone who hasn’t been through it truly understands how hard it is to win an Individual State Title let alone a Team State Championship. 
2.) I didn’t cuss or anything like that.  I was booted and deserved to be because I left the mat and came back screaming again.  I was told that by Mr. Faulkens.  
3.)  I know I shouldn’t have come back on the mat.  Thanks to him for allowing me to stay in back of venue.  I lost it and would hope I could keep my compusure in the future.  I’ve never been tossed out before that I remember.  I deserved it.  I’ve already told my assistants to pull me from the mat.  I don’t see this situation repeating itself, though   
4.) I am not ever going to sacrifice a kid’s dream of a state title.  Brayton Lee is the ONLY kid I have ever coached that I told I must have bonus points from at Individual State.  Probably the first and last.  He’s special. I never worried about my actions causing a team title.  We are a family here.  I was able to meet with my team since Mr. Faulkens allowed me To stay in the venue.  I told them I was sorry I was unable to corner them.  (FYI I don’t corner BLee.  Ayersman negotiated that.)  Lol.  Immediately, Nathan Walton said, “Coach you have prepared us and we would want you to do the same thing for each of us.”
5.) I was out of control and returned to the mat after waking off.  That equals getting tossed.  I have no issue with it.  Most people hate me.  That fuels me and our program.  I have enough friends and I’m not looking to win a popularity contest.  As long as the Mishawaka And Brownsburg Wrestlers and fans love me that’s what I care about. Talk to them.  I have 100% administrative support here, which I have never had before.  
6.) Why did I lose it even though i shouldn’t have?  It is NOT an opinion or judgement call.  In the casebook - look it up - it literally says the front-headlock position is a stalemate. It’s cut and dry. Not debatable.  It was the wrong call.  Period.  Doesn’t matter if we were snapping or trying to score.  Makes no difference.  Says stalemate.  Watch the film. Blake is my guy.  He is facing me in 30 second OT. Im snapping to mat.  He does exactly what I tell him to do.  I know the rules.  Then, it costs him a chance for his state title.  I care about my wrestlers.  Our system is messed up.  I could not care less about a team title then.  I care about Blake and his goal.  If he and they win, we win.
7.) It is what it is.  Cathedral was freaking impressive. Blake’s opponent is a stud and seems like an outstanding young man. Just like Blake.   
I probably shouldn’t post, but I will. Discussing wrestling I think is good for our sport and my thoughts are always open for anyone.  
 
Snyder 

Nick and Zach
 
We have nothing but the ultimate amount of respect and appreciation for you and your family.. it does seem just like yesterday that Zach and Daws battled as youngsters, Zach always pushed Dawson to be better and share a special friendship.. Zach is a outstanding young man way past being a outstanding wrestler.. Purdue got the total package in Zach .. We will be cheering and following him and his career...
 
Blake Mulkey 
Thank you for being such a great kid and bringing out the best in the Columbus East opponents (especially Daws) , after the matches were over , you were back to always joking and being a good kid to be around ...We wish you nothing but the best with your next stop ...
 
Kris Rumph 
 The semifinals was the first  time that Daws got to wrestle you but of course we had heard so much about your ability and skills , you didn’t disappoint on your showing on that big stage.. Dawson said that was the most fun he ever had in a match , of course I was beyond nervous but you both pushed each to overtime coming up with the win .. Congratulations to you and your family...
 
This weight class was very deep and talented  .. Every round , it seemed like we had a ranked wrestler with a competitive spirit to the end .. it was truly a life experience and privilege to be in the mix..
 
 
The Combest Family 
 

The call is not debatable in any way you try to defend. As someone else mentioned, there is no such thing as situational stalling in the rule book. If he’s in a front headlock and not using it, it’s stalemate and stand them up. If that’s stalling, then almost every wrestler should have been hit multiple times from when they initiated a front headlock. If the defensive wrestler gets elbow control from a front headlock, it’s neutralized very quickly......not stalling but stalemate since no progress is being made by either wrestler.  What makes it worse is Mulkey was bouncing Mellohs head off the mat multiple times while having good angles for a possible takedown attempt if he wanted. 

Dear 138 pound weight class at state finals,
 
Congrats to all of you, lots of fierce competitors, and you should all be proud! Wrestling is the ultimate teacher of life lessons, so learn what you can from your experience!
 
Kris Rumph
You are a great wrestler and competitor and your interview showed some great character.  You have overcome a lot in life and I hope you understand that your wrestling achievements can transfer to anything you chose to pursue in life.  The Melloh family will look forward to seeing good things for you in the future, and will say a special prayer for Kris Rumph today at church.  Looking forward to rooting for you, not against you!  
Blake Mulkey
You are an awesome wrestler. Blake, you have a great wrestling future,  and we wish you the best.  Sometimes things don’t go your way, it will make you stronger if you let it.
Dawson Combest
We wish you the best at Uindy.  It truly seems like yesterday that you and Zach were battling it out for ISWA state finals.  I miss those days already.  Uindy is getting a good one and we know you will do great in wrestling and school.  Count your blessings son, you have an awesome support group with Columbus East wrestling family!  That’s a good group!  I will always hold Coach Trapp in high regard..... I saw how much he did for you guys with the youth program. What a great guy and mentor!
Lastly, to my son, Zach Melloh
With tears of pride, I want to tell you that I love you and I am so proud of you.  My sadness only comes from knowing this chapter is over.  I didn’t appreciate the ride like I should have while I was living it.......through wrestling, you have helped us grow as a family and expand our faith.  So few people know what you have been through to get to where you were yesterday. But God does and your family does, and we are proud to call you our son and your siblings are proud of their brother.  Part of trying to live a Christ centered life means that sometimes the target on your back gets bigger.  It’s ok, keep fighting the good fight.  Keep grinding and doing the right things in life.  With a heart full of pride for the young man you have become, looking forward to the next chapter. 
 
Your biggest fan club,
Dad, Mom, Corinne, Alex, and Cecelia
(Nick Melloh)

But sometimes with the familiarity, and official can get used to one wrestler's flow/style/schtick (can work both ways), hence sometimes focusing on the wrestler they have not seen; that's just human behavioral nature. Back in the day, we had several boosters, alumni, and teachers/administrators that were refs. During the season, they would occasionally get our team's dual meet, no big deal.  But in postseason, they always went to other regional or semi-state; at state, they were sure to take themselves off of a match that involved someone from our school, because it was common sense.
As a wrestler, I never wanted any of these guys doing my match for reasons on both sides of the ledger. 
It's a cop-out to say it is logistically difficult. At the State Finals, each mat has 2 officials; not hard to make a switch with the primary or 2ndary, or to tell the chief official, "hey put me on the other mat for a match, this kid coming up is from my school". It's not like they don't keep 2 extra refs on duty as they rotate. 
Sorry, I put this on the Supervisor of Officials, head coach, and the ref. Use some common sense. 
 
 
 

Is he or is he not a Cathedral alumni and program supporter?
Its flat-out wrong, if the above questions about the ref are true, for that guy to be officiating a match with a Cathedral kid wrestling.  That’s not just common sense, but is also the ethical thing to do.
The main reason?  Because in a close match, no matter what, the ref giving “his kid” a mystery point to tie it up is going to have the appearance to many as homering the call...and costing a kid a state title and potentially an entire team a championship.
He could be the most ethical guy in the world, but you don’t put yourself in that position, period.
so yes, when the organizers and that official put themselves in that position then people are going to question it.

So time to take a quick break and provide a distraction to the loaded regional and SS talk.
My son is new to the sport...it was a little over a year ago that he decided he wanted to give wrestling a try.  Something about watching kids under the lights at Bankers Life in 2015 provided that spark.  So as a 5th grader he started on his journey.  
After a bit of research, we learned about Red Cobra and he’s been in that sweat box ever since...and most nights I’m also spending a few hours listening to Coach Red bark instructions to all the kids.
Now true confession time...I never wreslted myself and frankly thought wrestlers were an odd bunch growing up.  One dude I knew in Junior High covered his singlet in deer attractant as an “advantage”.   Another kid claimed to rub onions on his pits and “area”.  I was a basketball player and that was my love...I wasn’t tough enough to wrestle even though I considered myself a tough guy.  So needless to say, I knew next to nothing when my kid started and know just a tiny bit more now.
More recent confession, during our first few meets man some parents were going insane during a match while I just saw some kids leaning on each other.  My inner monologue said “dude, what’s those people’s issue?  They’re some real nut-jobs.”
Fast forward to today, and a solid year of Coach Red training has not only helped my kid but also his old man that’s been sweating profusely on the other side of the partition while Coach Red instructs like only he can.  What I didnt know is that I was getting C-Red Trained too.   Now I find myself automatically and instinctively barking stuff like “Get Your HEAD UP!!!” And “UP AND OUT!!!” Or “GET THAT TIGHT AND SQUUUEEEEZE!!!” Or “God gave you two hands SO USE THEM!!”  Its like I can’t control it.
So to all you parents before that I was secretly being real judgey towards in my head, because y’all were losing your minds (or so I thought)...my bad.
To all you beginner parents wondering why the big dude in purple is losing his mind in the future....you’ll get it one day.
One thing I’ve learned while my boy has really embraced and taken to this sport and the process...if you’re the parent of one of these high schoolers that’s putting it all out there in the coming weeks, then really be proud of it and where you are.  Make sure to take a moment and take it in.  Be proud they’re there regardless of outcome. Unlike any other, wrestling is an awesome sport that requires some real courage to even walk out there on that mat.  Sometimes it takes the eyes of a newbie to bring the obvious into focus.
Good luck to all competitors and teams as each step gets a little tougher.  I’m glad I’m here...and I’m glad my son has chosen to be a wrestler.  
<Pound Sign>HendricksCountySmellsFunny #PainTrain #PoundSign

Exactly.  This.  In all sports many refs self-police / refuse themselves if they’re associated with a school.  
I didn’t know wrestling didn’t do this until tonight.

Exactly.  This.  In all sports many refs self-police / refuse themselves if they’re associated with a school.  
I didn’t know wrestling didn’t do this until tonight.

This- get over yourself a little bit bud. The opponent he was wrestling got up from a leg Turk after the first period and didn’t like the fact he had an arm across his throat giving up near fall for about 30 seconds in the match. Gets up- acts CLASSLESS himself by getting in Lee’s face and talks/shoves Brayton - that set off the chipness in the match. If you are going to “poke the bear” so to speak...gotta be ready for the repercussions. I saw nothing wrong with the knee breaker seeing as how the Portage kid acted

For the last year nine years I have spent a Sunday morning in February drinking coffee by the pool and watching the State Finals from 12 time zones away here in SE Asia.  Of course I have always enjoyed Coach Goebel's commentary, and with the addition of Blake Mauer, this year's broadcast was the best ever.  It was great to get some "new school" perspective, and I hope they bring him back next year.  
Anyway, thanks to the IHSAA, Coach Goebel, and Coach Mauer for keeping us displaced Hoosiers in the game .  I sure don't miss Indiana weather in February, but I do miss the heck out of that tournament.
Cheers.   

If you’re associated with a school...alumni, former coach, live in the district, etc...then no, you shouldn’t officiate those matches.  
This goes for anyone, including BBurg. Just to avoid this situation.

The reason it's a problem here is that he made a match-deciding stall call in a position that is extremely rare for a stall call to be made as opposed to a stalemate call. And he has the personal connection to the school that was favored by the call. 

Even if you think you can be impartial, just the illusion of there being any bias is enough taint a match or duel for some fans or wrestlers.
When I was in high school, we had a teacher who was also a wrestling official. I had no idea. He would make sure he would only take assignments that were not associated with us in any way. I never would have known, but we were added to a different tournament due to a weather related cancellation. He happened to have already been contracted for the tournament, but made sure he was not involved in any of our schools matches.

Asa has been lights out and Boarman on one leg deserves a lot of praise.

If you rewatch the match, he snaps him to the mat but doesn’t make any attempts to score off of it (i.e. get to a point where he could secure a takedown). The casebook shows an example were this could be called stalling: 6.4a:
“Typical holds/maneuvers contributing to stalling in the neutral position are: 
a) Upper body tie-ups with no attempt to take down the opponent.”
Per the rulebook, overtime is just the continuation of the match (rule 7-2) so normal rules would apply. The difference would take place in the ultimate tiebreaker. The offensive wrestler scores here by preventing the defensive wrestler from scoring. So riding a spiral ride with no attempt to breakdown or turn the opponent shouldn’t be penalized.
The casebook does reference a similar situation for the stall call that would favor the Mulkey fans: 7.6.6 Situation B:
“Should stalling be called in the following situations? A) In a neutral position, Wrestler A attempts a takedown and is stopped by Wrestler B who applies a legal front headlock. Wrestler B does not use the headlock to attempt to score a takedown but maintains the headlock....Ruling: In [this situation] Wrestler B has created a stalemate situation to avoid being scored upon. Repeating the same action to create a stalemate situation without using it in an attempt to score would be stalling on Wrestler B.”
The question here would be did Mulkey snap Melloh into the headlock, or did he apply it in an attempt to defend a shot. If the later, than no stalling should be called per the ruling above (as it should have been called a stalemate the first time it happened). But if Mulkey initiates the front headlock, then I can see how a stall call could be argued. I also acknowledge that a simple stalemate could have been called as well. 

Fattore was spotted warming up with Rader before the finals. Not sure I have ever seen two guys that just wrestled in the semi-finals warm up with each other.

Haters gon hate.
BLee is one of the most humble kids I’ve ever been around.  He is also one of the fiercest competitors I’ve ever seen, which is what makes him the wrestler he is.  If a kid just wrestls him, I have never seen him be anything but gracious.  If you try to show him up by doing a lot of talking and then shoving/punching him in the face after the first period, then you’re going to get the angry BLee that’s going to respond in kind.
If others on this thread are talking about  being unsportsmanlike in his takedowns and cutting kids...the kid likes TDs.  If he liked pins and pinned kids in a few seconds, is that more “sportsmanlike”?
The lesson?  Don’t be a jerk to BLee and things will be fine.
And if any of you people actually knew the kid, you wouldn’t be talking.  

I wasn't able to make to state this year. I got a text from someone there telling me they thought Mulkey got hosed by the stall call. Knowing that Mulkey was wrestling someone from Cathedral, and having our team be on the receiving end of a questionable call involving this referee and Cathedral at state a number of years ago, I jokingly asked "Was Frankie refereeing?" I thought he was joking when the response was yes - I really had to ask again thinking it was a joke. Couldn't believe that it was actually true.

Walton is pretty dang tough!
 

A finalist and 2 placers, ? well done.