friendofrunningwriter

South Bend Tribune: http://www.southbendtribune.com/sports/hildrebrandt-makes-no-excuses/article_9d0b4add-fc06-5b69-bdaa-36e21273f838.html

South Bend Tribune, Sunday, April 10, 2016: http://www.southbendtribune.com/sports/olympics/olympics-no-miracle-in-olympic-wrestling/article_e36ae2df-a5e6-5d8e-bea3-a42de92e04da.html

Sitting here behind DingoBrigade, just interviewed Kayla Miracle for the South Bend Tribune. She's not happy at all, says she didn't feel like herself all day, felt sluggish even in her wins. You can check out the story in Sunday's South Bend Tribune. Go to: www.southbendtribune.com Gotta get in a plug to justify my expenses.

OK, I know this won't make me popular, but facts are facts. As much as people on this board say they want a dual meet tournament, the fact is that when you had one, only a few schools really supported it. And by that, I mean this: Most years, when the tournament was at Center Grove, the stands were full. The IHSAA liked that. But most years, both Evansville Mater Dei and Bellmont were there, and 2/3 of the crowd was from those two schools. Then a strange year came along. I believe it was 2010. And horror of horrors, neither Bellmont or Mater Dei qualified for the meet. And what did the IHSAA discover when they got there? The bleachers were half-empty. And it was quiet. So, the IHSAA did some investigating, and what they discovered was -- other than the big two -- most teams only brought a couple hundred fans at most to the meet. Some schools barely brought a hundred. I won't name names, but all you had to do was look around and you knew who they were. So, a light went off in the heads of the IHSAA bigwigs. All of a sudden, they realized that whether they made a profit or not depended entirely on two teams. If there's one thing the IHSAA isn't going to do, it's lose money. And having your gate reliant on the fans from Mater Dei and Bellmont made them squeamish. Second, this investigation also made them realize something that the rest of us already knew: It was the same teams qualifying year after year. ​Not entirely, of course. But face it, you knew that Mater Dei was going to be there pretty much every year. And Lawrence North. And Mishawaka or Penn. And Portage or Crown Point. Yadda yadda yadda. There were exceptions, but for the most part, it rarely changed. So what was the motivation for everybody else? Heck, whether you realize it or not, one of the reasons the team semistate was dropped was because the same teams were winning every year. In fact, it got to the point that some schools were sending their jayvee teams to the semistate, because they knew they couldn't win. So they just punted it. Ask the folks at Bellmont what happened at their semistate one year. So, the IHSAA got the sense that other than the top 8 or 10 programs, nobody really cared about team state, because they knew their schools weren't going to be there. AND, they also saw that most teams that lost in the first round at the team state finals would immediately leave. If the wrestling was so good and the tournament meant so much to everybody, why didn't the fans stick around and watch, just a little bit. Combine this with the fact that the coaches -- who had begged for the team tournament -- continued to hand out their own championship trophy at the individual state finals. That did NOT go over well at the IHSAA. So the IHSAA said to hell with it, and dropped the tourney. My source for most of this, by the way, is somebody very high up at the IHSAA. Name rhymes with Rocks. As always, just because I report these things does not mean that I agree with them. But, again, facts are facts. So, be mad at the IHSAA all you want. But while you are doing that, take a look in the mirror. It's a very simple question: In the 17 years of the team state finals, where were you?

IHSWCA CLASS AA POLL Jan. 7, 2015 (First-place votes in parentheses) 1, Bellmont (7) 70 2, Jimtown 63 3, Yorktown 56 4, North Montgomery 42 5, Delta 37 6, Evansville Memorial 34 7, Lebanon 26 8, Leo 24 9, South Dearborn 18 10, Culver Academies 5 Also receiving votes: West Lafayette 4, Edgewood 2, Franklin County 2, Columbia City 1, Mt. Vernon (Posey) 1. IHSWCA CLASS A POLL Jan. 7, 2015 (First-place votes in parentheses) 1, Prairie Heights (5) 50 2, Southmont 45 3, Monrovia 40 4, Adams Central 33 5, Oak Hill 32 6, Knightstown 25 7, Bremen 16 8, Shenandoah 9 9 (tie), Delphi 7 9 (tie), LaVille 7 Also receiving votes: Central Noble 6, Triton 3, Attica 2.

BROWNSBURG ASSUMES TOP SPOT IN IHSWCA STATE WRESTLING POLL Jan. 7, 2016 Brownsburg, fresh from a victory at last weekend’s team state dual meet tournament, has assumed the top spot in this week’s state wrestling poll, released by the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association (IHSWCA). Brownsburg received all six first-place votes in this week’s poll. Warren Central slides to the No. 2 spot. The poll: IHSWCA TOP 20 STATE WRESTLING POLL Jan. 7, 2016 (First place votes in parenthesis) 1, Brownsburg (6) 120 2, Warren Central 114 3, Perry Meridian 106 4, Evansville Mater Dei 104 5, Penn 96 6, Portage 88 7, Bellmont 81 8, Crown Point 73 9, Carmel 70 10, (tie) Avon 56 10, (tie) Prairie Heights 56 12, Lawrence North 50 13, Columbus East 38 14, Indianapolis Cathedral 35 15, Jimtown 24 16, Carroll (Fort Wayne) 23 17, (tie) Hamilton Southeastern 21 17, (tie) Yorktown 21 19, Center Grove 20 20, Castle 17 Also receiving votes: Bloomington South 15, New Palestine 9, Hobart 8, Merrillville 6, Jennings County 4, Franklin Community 3, Delta 1, Lafayette Jeff 1.

Richard's obituary in the Northwest Indiana Times: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nwitimes/obituary.aspx?n=richard-jay&pid=177046680&fhid=10792

Calling is Wednesday, Funeral is Thursday http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Richard-Jay&lc=7158&pid=177034487&mid=6730553 Timing isn't good -- it never is for something like this -- but I know a lot of people who will be making the trip from the Al Smith Invitational to Schererville on Wednesday.

It is with an incredibly heavy heart that I must report Richard Jay passed away this afternoon. Richard was the publisher of MatBurns magazine, and the organizer of the annual Pick-The-Champions contest at the IHSAA state finals. He was at home, recuperating from a stroke that he suffered earlier this year, a few days after his wife died. Richard, who taught and coached at Hammond Gavit, was a well-known figure at wrestling matches across northwest Indiana, and a longtime fixture in the crow's nest at the Merrillville semistate. There were few, if any, people more knowledgeable about wrestling or Indiana's great wrestling history. Richard was a terrific friend to everyone who knew him, a tremendous supporter of wrestling, and most of all, a Class act. He will be missed. He already is. Funeral details will be released after Christmas.

IHSWCA CLASS 2A POLL Dec. 17, 2015 (First place votes in parentheses) 1, Bellmont (6) 69 2, Yorktown (1) 63 3, Delta 53 4, South Dearborn 42 5, Leo 30 6, North Montgomery 27 7, Peru 24 8, Lebanon 22 9, Jimtown 20 10, Evansville Memorial 17 Also receiving votes: Mount Vernon 15, Franklin County 3 IHSWCA CLASS A POLL Dec. 17, 2015 (First place votes in parentheses) 1, Prairie Heights (6) 60 2, Oak Hill 49 3, Southmont 39 4, Knightstown 38 5, Adams Central 32 6, Monrovia 30 7, (tie) Delphi 20 7, (tie) Bremen 20 9, Central Noble 12 10, Eastern (Greentown) 10 Also receiving votes: Elwood 6, Centerville 3, Woodlan 3, Eastern Hancock 2, Garrett 2, Monroe Central 2, Shenandoah 2.

WARREN CENTRAL MAINTAIN LEAD IN STATE WRESTLING POLL Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015 Warren Central and Evansville Mater Dei maintain the 1-2 positions in this week’s state poll conducted by the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association (IHSWCA). Warren Central received five first place votes, while Mater Dei collected two. Teams will soon begin gearing up for the annual IHSWCA state dual meet tournament, scheduled Saturday, Jan. 2, at Fort Wayne’s Memorial Coliseum. The poll: IHSWCA TOP 20 STATE WRESTLING POLL Dec. 17, 2015 (First place votes in parenthesis) 1, Warren Central (5) 137 2, Evansville Mater Dei (2) 131 3, Brownsburg 123 4, Perry Meridian 120 5, Penn 103 6, Portage 101 7, Bellmont 93 8, (tie) Avon 80 8, (tie) Crown Point 80 10, Carmel 61 11, Yorktown 54 12, (tie) Carroll (Fort Wayne) 53 12, (tie) New Palestine 53 14, Lawrence North 52 15, Indianapolis Cathedral 51 16, Jennings County 49 17, Hamilton Southeastern 36 18, Valparaiso 19 19, Prairie Heights 18 20, (tie) Merrillville 14 20, (tie) Delta 14 Also receiving votes: Franklin Community 10, Columbus East 6, Zionsville 5, New Castle 2, Westfield 2, Lowell 1, North Montgomery 1, South Dearborn 1.

If you are a coach and you would be interested in helping with the poll, I believe you can find the contact at this site: https://sites.google.com/site/ihswcacoachespoll/

IHSWCA CLASS 2A POLL Dec. 10, 2015 (First-place votes in parentheses) 1, Bellmont (8) 98 2, Yorktown (2) 97 3, Delta 76 4, South Dearborn (1) 66 5, Lebanon 51 6, Mt. Vernon (Posey) 41 7, Leo 29 8, Peru 27 9, Evansville Memorial 23 10, North Montgomery 21 Also receiving votes: Jimtown 19, Franklin County 9, Columbia City 7, Lawrenceburg 6, West Lafayette 6, Heritage Hills 5, Rochester 5, Frankfort 4, Culver Academies 2, Vincennes Lincoln 2, Edgewood 1, Gibson Southern 1. IHSWCA CLASS 1A POLL Dec. 10, 2015 (First-place votes in parentheses) 1, Prairie Heights (8) 79 2, Oak Hill 59 3, Southmont 53 4, Knightstown 49 5, Monrovia 44 6, Adams Central 38 7, Delphi 26 8, Bremen 16 9, Centerville 14 10, (Tie) Eastern (Greentown), Central Noble, Shenandoah 10 Also receiving votes: South Adams 6, Lewis Cass 5, North White 5, Churubusco 4, Eastern Hancock 3, Milan 3, Elwood 2, Frankton 2, Woodlan 2.

WARREN CENTRAL LEADS FIRST STATE WRESTLING POLL Dec. 10, 2015 Warren Central holds down the No. 1 spot in the season’s first poll released by the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association (IHSWCA). Defending state champion Penn is ranked No. 6. Warren Central received seven first place votes, while Portage and Penn each got one. The Top 20 poll: IHSWCA TOP 20 STATE WRESTLING POLL Dec. 10, 2015 (First place votes in parenthesis) 1, Warren Central (7) 173 2, Evansville Mater Dei 162 3, Brownsburg 147 4, Perry Meridian 143 5, Portage (1) 139 6, Penn (1) 137 7, Bellmont 112 8, Avon 106 9, Indianapolis Cathedral 100 10, Jennings County 86 11, Lawrence North 75 12, New Palestine 70 13, Carmel 68 14, Crown Point 57 15, Hamilton Southeastern 52 16, Carroll (Fort Wayne) 46 17, Yorktown 37 18, Delta 36 19, Valparaiso 30 20, Merrillville 27 Also receiving votes: Prairie Heights 20, Franklin Community 14, South Dearborn 12, Columbus East 10, Zionsville 9, Center Grove 8, Plainfield 5, Bloomington South 3, Lowell 2, North Montgomery 2, Hobart 1, Leo 1.

It is with a heavy heart that we must report Mary Jay -- the wife of Richard Jay, publisher of "Mat Burns" -- passed away last Friday. Making matters worse, at the same time, Richard suffered a stroke. He is in intensive care as this is written. Richard is a longtime fixture at wrestling meets all around Northwest Indiana. He missed the Merrillville semistate this season for the first time in decades, and many fans noted his absence from the crow's nest overlooking the floor. Richard maintains the famous "quick pins" list for Indiana wrestlers each season, in addition to publishing Mat Burns magazine. He also runs the "pick-the-champions" contest that many readers of this board enjoy at the state finals each year. At the request of the family, Mary's funeral is being delayed until April 10, in the hopes that Richard might be well enough to leave the hospital for the services. http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Mary-Jay&lc=7158&pid=174465555&mid=6373231

Matt Wills, 1991 state heavyweight champion and all-state running back from South Bend Riley, has just been released from prison after serving 11 years for manslaughter. His story is told through a series of interviews that ran Monday, Feb. 9, on FOX 28 television. Click here: http://www.fox28.com/story/28063231/2015/02/09/matt-wills-story-time-served It's not just one story; there are five video clips to check out. Pretty engaging stuff. Anybody who was at the 1991 state finals will remember Wills as an absolutely dominating heavyweight. He won his state championship match in less than a minute. He later went on to win a national championship.

Saw this movie a few weeks ago in Elkhart. A very dark and painful movie. People need to remember this is based on a true story and it has a very depressing ending. It is extremely well-acted and I can understand why it may get several Oscar nominations. It is a very well-done movie, as far as movies go. But if anybody thinks this is a "feel-good" movie about wrestling, you will be sorely disappointed. I think sometimes we want to see attention given to our sport, so much, that we just see "wrestling" in the description and ignore the context. John DuPont did a lot for USA Wrestling, but he was also insane. That's just the fact. And this movie has a true -- and very tragic -- ending. Parents might actually want to think twice about taking young wrestlers to see this. Don't go if you aren't prepared for what you already know is going to happen.

MATER DEI, PERRY MERIDIAN 1-2 in STATE TOP 20 POLL Evansville Mater Dei, fresh from a victory in Class AAA at last weekend's team state wrestling duals, is the No. 1 ranked team in the Indiana wrestling poll. The rankings were released today by the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association (IHSWCA). Perry Meridian is ranked No. 2, while Penn moves up to the No. 3 spot. IHSWCA WRESTLING POLL OF 1-8-2015 (First-place votes in parentheses) School Votes 1, Evansville Mater Dei (7) 140 2, Perry Meridian 133 3, Penn 126 4, Portage 114 5, Warren Central 109 6, Merrillville 103 7, Crown Point 100 8, Yorktown 84 9, Avon 75 10, Hamilton Southeastern 64 11, Carroll (Fort Wayne) 63 12, Lawrence North 59 13, Franklin Community 49 14, New Palestine 48 15, Bellmont 47 16, Indianapolis Cathedral 45 17, Brownsburg 44 18, Castle 25 19, Bloomington South 15 20, Jennings County 9 Also receiving votes: Center Grove 8, Elkhart Memorial 4, Carmel 3, Ben Davis 3, Valparaiso 1, Zionsville 1.

EVANSVILLE MATER DEI TOPS STATE WRESTLING POLL Evansville Mater Dei has taken sole possession of the No. 1 spot in the bi-weekly state wrestling poll released by the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association (IHSWCA). IHSWCA WRESTLING POLL OF 12-18-2014 (First-place votes in parentheses) 1, Evansville Mater Dei (5) 118 2, Perry Meridian 114 3, Warren Central 99 4, Portage 98 5, Penn (1) 96 6, Merrillville 87 7, Yorktown 85 8, Crown Point 77 9, Franklin Community 64 10, Hamilton Southeastern 57 11, New Palestine 54 12, Avon 52 13, Indianapolis Cathedral 51 14, Bellmont 42 15, Lawrence North 40 16, Brownsburg 35 17, Carroll (Fort Wayne) 29 18, Bloomington South 18 19, Castle 9 20, Elkhart Memorial 8 Also receiving votes: Valparaiso 7, East Noble 6, Hobart 6, Lake Central 3, Harrison (West Lafayette) 2, Pendleton Heights 1, Indianapolis Roncalli 1, Westfield 1.

PLYMOUTH CLASSIC SUPER DUAL WRESTLING TOURNAMENT Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014 TEAM RESULTS: Mishawaka 5-0, South Bend Riley 5-0, Goshen 3-2, Plymouth 3-2, Lowell 2-3, Peru 2-3, Delphi 0-5, Munster 0-5. MATCH SCORES: ROUND ONE Plymouth 38, Goshen 33 Mishawaka 39, Peru 31 Riley 62, Delphi 12 Lowell 44, Munster 30 ROUND TWO Mishawaka 52, Delpi 16 Riley 57, Peru 15 Goshen 48, Munster 29 Plymouth 42, Lowell 30 ROUND THREE Riley 65, Munster 11 Mishawaka 39, Plymouth 37 Goshen 45, Peru 30 Lowell 44, Delphi 30 ROUND FOUR Riley 55, Plymouth 11 Goshen 45, Delphi 27 Mishawaka 51, Munster 27 Peru 42, Lowell 38 ROUND FIVE Plymouth 48, Delphi 24 Mishawaka 48, Lowell 30 Riley 52, Goshen 18 Peru 52, Munster 25 UNDEFEATED WRESTLERS (At least 4 matches) 106: Lucas Finger (Lowell) 5-0 113: Colton Cummings (Lowell) 5-0 120: Hector Flores (Goshen) 5-0 126: Jason Crary (Munster) 5-0 132: Austin Laughlin (Riley) 5-0 138: Joel Byler (Goshen) 5-0 145: Kassius Breathitt (Riley) 5-0 152: Tommy Forte (Mishawaka) 5-0 160: Drew Hughes (Lowell) 5-0 170: Chase Deal (Mishawaka) 5-0; James Malone (Riley) 5-0 182: Jeremy Splix (Plymouth) 5-0 195: Gambino Perez (Riley) 4-0 220: Derek Paz (Goshen) 5-0 285: Brian Shaw (Riley) 4-0 KEY MATCHES MISHAWAKA 39, PLYMOUTH 37 106: Kian Kilbride (M) dec. Aaron Milton, 9-4. 113: Zane DeVault (P) pinned Kellen Jojo, 3:14. 120: Ryan Hardesty (M) won by forfeit. 126: Collin Meister (P) pinned Deven Beaver, 4:19. 132: Cody Allmon (P) pinned Preston Risner, 0:41. 138: Cameron Kahlenbeck (M) dec. Jesus Rebollo, 3-1. 145: Micah Calhoun (P) maj. dec. Mike Hixenbaugh, 10-1. 152: Tommy Forte (M) pinned Nate LaFree, 0:33. 160: Brock Staton (M) pinned Nate Nixon, 1:34. 170: Chase Deal (M) pinned Marcos Rodriguez, 2:40. 182: Jeremy Splix (P) dec. Zach Quimby, 2-0. 195: Jacob LaFree (P) pinned Alex Faulkner, 2:28. 220: Jake Hess (M) pinned Chaz Scruggs, 1:48. 285: John Lewis (M) pinned Jake Stayton, 0:24. IHSAA official: James Troyer RILEY 52, GOSHEN 18 106: Fernando Flores (G) pinned Arnell Shivers, 2:31. 113: Bryon Goering ® pinned Noah Cauette, 3:18. 120: Hector Flores (G) pinned Ray Davis, 1:38. 126: Chris McCormick ® dec. Logan Maynard, 5-2. 132: Austen Laughlen ® pinned Skylar Rodriguez, 0:12. 138: Joel Byler (G) dec. RZ Teague, 2-1 in OT. 145: Kassius Breathitt ® dec. Victor Flores, 7-2. 152: Leo Edwards (R ) pinned Christian Horton, 0:28. 160: Tristan Goering ® maj. dec. Miguel Navarro, 11-3. 170: James Malone ® pinned Eric Smith, 3:23. 182: Harrison Long ® pinned Oscar Chavarria, 1:36. 195: Gabino Perez ® pinned Eric Contreras, 3:57. 220: Derek Paz (G) dec. Jared Troxel, 7-2. 285: Brian Shaw (R ) pinned Jose Montanez, 0:30. IHSAA official: Mike Overmyer PLYMOUTH 38, GOSHEN 33 (Counts as Northern Lakes Conference match) 106: Fernando Flores (G) pinned Aaron Milton, 5:37. 113: Zane DeVault (P) pinned Noah Cauette, 3:38. 120: Hector Flores (G) won by forfeit. 126: Logan Maynard (G) pinned Collin Meister, 3:29. 132: Cody Allmon (P) pinned Skylar Rodriguez, 2:57. 138: Joel Byler (G) dec. Jesus Rebollo, 5-0. 145: Micah Calhoun (P) dec. Victor Flores, 7-4. 152: Nate LaFree (P) dec. Austin Marlow, 11-6. 160: Miguel Navarro (G) pinned Nate Nixon, 1:44. 170: Marcos Rodriguez (P) pinned Nathan Ellers, 1:21. 182: Jeremy Splix (P) maj. dec. Oscar Chavarria, 17-8. 195: Jacob LaFree (P) maj. dec. Eric Contreras, 9-0. 220: Derek Paz (G) pinned Chaz Scruggs, 0:49. 285: Jacob Stayton (P) pinned Jose Montanez, 3:18. IHSAA official: Mike Overmyer NOTE: James Malone (South Bend Riley) is 16-0 this season. He has 15 falls and one victory by injury default.

IHSWCA CLASSED WRESTLING POLL OF 11-20-2014 (First-place votes in parentheses) CLASS 3A (Large Schools) 1, Penn (3) 74 2, Evansville Mater Dei (5) 73 3, Perry Meridian 57 4, Indianapolis Cathedral 50 5, Merrillville 39 6, Warren Central 38 7, Avon 28 8, Crown Point 27 9, Franklin Community 20 10, New Palestine 14 Also receiving votes: Portage 7, Carroll (Fort Wayne) 4, Hamilton Southeastern 3, Harrison (West Lafayette) 3, Westfield 2, Bloomington South 1. CLASS 2A (Medium-Size Schools) 1, Yorktown (9) 90 2, Bellmont 66 3, Evansville Memorial 39 4, Gibson Southern 35 5, Danville 30 6, Leo 29 7, (Tie) Lebanon 28 7, (Tie) Mt. Vernon-Posey 28 9, North Montgomery 27 10, Southmont 23 Also receiving votes: Delta 20, Franklin County 10, Peru 8, New Prairie 7, Jimtown 6, Northview 6, Rochester 6, Culver Academies 5, Delphi 5, Madison 5, Columbia City 4, Edgewood 4, Western 3, Whitko 3, John Glenn 2, Lawrenceburg 2, South Bend St. Joseph 2, South Dearborn 2. CLASS 1A (Small Schools) 1, Churubusco (2) 59 2, West Central 54 3, Adams Central (4) 51 4, Union County 38 5, Tecumseh 33 6, Bremen 30 7, Winchester 29 8, Monrovia 24 9, Milan 20 10, Westview 19 Also receiving votes: Central Noble 18, South Adams 16, Prairie Heights-1 11, Alexandria-1 10, Triton Central 9, Eastern (Greentown) 8, Southwood 6, Cascade 3, Taylor 2, Fremont 1, Seeger 1.

PENN TOPS SEASON'S FIRST STATE WRESTLING POLL Penn has been voted Indiana's No. 1 high school wrestling team in the season's first Top 20 poll. The Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association (IHSWCA) has released its first rankings of the new season. Coach Brad Harper's Kingsmen edged perennial power Evansville Mater Dei by one vote, 153-152, even though the Wildcats received more first-place votes. Defending state champion Indianapolis Cathedral is ranked fifth. IHSWCA WRESTLING POLL OF 11-20-2014 (First-place votes in parentheses) 1, Penn (3) 153 2, Evansville Mater Dei (5) 152 3, Perry Meridian 134 4, Yorktown 121 5, Indianapolis Cathedral 118 6, Warren Central 113 7, (tie) Avon 112 7, (tie) Merrillville 112 9, Crown Point 92 10, Franklin Community 87 11, New Palestine 82 12, Portage 60 13, Carroll (Fort Wayne) 52 14, Bloomington South 32 15, Hamilton Southeastern 31 16, Bellmont 30 17, Elkhart Memorial 25 18, Westfield 21 19, East Noble 20 20, Lawrence North 19 Also receiving votes: Carmel 15, Harrison (West Lafayette) 15, Evansville Memorial 13, Lowell 13, Brownsburg 11, Mishawaka 11, Ben Davis 8, South Bend St. Joseph 7, Castle 6, Center Grove 5, Southmont 4, Fishers 3, Franklin Central 2, Lawrence Central 1.

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/high-school/wrestling/portage-s-torres-disqualified-coach-vega-ejected-at-merrillville-semistate/article_24911bc6-2412-5322-997b-63181b181251.html By friendofrunningwriter With 10 seconds remaining in the 120-pound quarterfinal match between Portage’s Gaige Torres and South Bend Clay’s Jake Hartman, during Saturday’s Merrillville Semistate, Torres was leading 5-1. Then the Portage star was called for an illegal slam, and all hell broke loose. It doesn’t matter what fans sitting 200 feet away thought about the call. The refs saw Hartman’s arm was trapped, he had no way to defend himself, and that was that. I’m not here to debate whether it was the right call. It doesn’t matter now. The call was made. I do have some words for the troglodytes in the stands, however. The ones who booed and cursed Hartman when he finally staggered to his feet. The ones who flipped off he and his father as they left the floor. The ones who screamed at the refs. You’re pathetic. Torres didn’t intend to slam Hartman. Of course not. Nobody believes that for a second. Any more than Hartman intended for his head to bounce off the mat. Or to pass out. Or to wake up and not know where he was, or what he was doing. For the record, after he regained his senses, and before he left for the hospital, Hartman asked if it would be possible for him to default the match. He didn’t want to win that way. He wanted Torres to move on. But the match was over and done. He was told it was too late for that. As of today, Clay’s coaching staff doesn’t even know if Hartman can compete next week. And after the way some of you brain surgeons in the stands reacted, I doubt that he wants to. I can understand why coach Vega would come unglued. I can understand why parents would be upset. That’s their kid out there. But the rest of you? P-a-t-h-e-t-i-c. I was going to write this for the newspaper, but then it occurred to me that people who would curse an injured 16-year-old kid probably don’t read newspapers. Or anything else, for that matter. Seriously, what planet are you from? Do you have any sense at all? Any? I had a fan tell me that he paid money to get in, he has the right to boo. The only problem with that logic, boo-boy, is that these are not professional athletes. These kids aren’t seeing any of that dough. You are booing the wrong people. If you want to shell out $105 and go to a Chicago Bears game and boo the players, go ahead. Boo your head off. Just pray that some drunk fan doesn’t kick your butt. Does that mean you should only cheer and think happy thoughts at a high school event? No, don’t be ridiculous. But cursing an injured kid? There’s a line. You crossed it. I’ve been watching this stuff for 35 years. I’ve seen idiots in every sport. I once watched a parent chase a ref into the locker room at a girls basketball game because he didn’t call a foul. I saw a parent walk onto the course at the state cross country finals and knock down the kid who was winning the race. (Fort Wayne Concordia’s Beth Drees in 1983, if you really want to know.) I’ve seen it and I’ve seen it and I’ve seen it. I’m tired of seeing it. At some point, the string just snaps. I guess yesterday was that point. So to the guy over to my left who was shouting, “Be a man, grow some balls!” as Hartman left the floor, I have a message. Be a human. Grow a brain.

FRANKLIN INHERITS TOP SPOT IN COACHES POLL Franklin Community is the new No. 1 team in this week's Top 20 poll, released by the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association (IHSWCA). The Grizzly Cubs defeated Evansville Mater Dei, 30-27, to win the Class AAA (large school) championship at last Saturday's Team State Dual Meet tournament. Mater Dei holds down the No. 2 position, while the previous No. 1 -- Perry Meridian -- slides to fourth. Penn is ranked No. 3. IHSWCA TOP 20 WRESTLING POLL Released 1-8-2014 1, Franklin (5) 117 2, Evansville Mater Dei 113 3, Penn 108 4, Perry Meridian (1) 106 5, Indianapolis Cathedral 89 6, Merrillville 87 7, Yorktown 84 8, Warren Central 81 9, New Palestine 67 10, (Tie) Crown Point 56 10, (Tie) Portage 56 12, (Tie) Bloomington South 51 12, (Tie) Carroll-Fort Wayne 51 14, Avon 40 15, Mishawaka 36 16, Carmel 35 17, Westfield 20 18, East Noble 17 19, Center Grove 10 20, (Tie) Hamilton Southeastern 8 20, (Tie) Lowell 8 Others receiving votes: Lake Central 7, Evansville Memorial 6, North Montgomery 5, Danville 3, New Prairie 3, Ben Davis 2, Jennings County 2, Southmont 2, Valparaiso 1.

FRANKLIN, YORKTOWN, CHURUBUSCO TOP CLASSED WRESTLING POLLS The champions of last Saturday’s Team State Dual Meet tournaments – Franklin, Yorktown and Churubusco – have inherited the top spots in this week’s high school wrestling rankings by class. The Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association (IHSWCA) has voted Franklin as the top team in Class AAA (large schools), Yorktown as No. 1 in Class AA (medium-size schools) and ‘Busco as the top squad among small schools (Class A). All three earned titles during the second annual IHSWCA dual meet tournaments at Westfield last weekend. Not coincidentally, the runner-up in each tournament – Adams Central, North Montgomery and Evansville Mater Dei – are each ranked No. 2 in this week’s poll. IHSWCA CLASSED WRESTLING POLL Jan. 8, 2014 (First place votes in parenthesis) CLASS A 1, Churubusco (5) 50 2, Adams Central 45 3, Lewis Cass 35 4, South Putnam 33 5, West Central 25 6, South Adams 24 7, Fremont 23 8, North White 15 9, Bremen 13 10, Central Noble 9 Also receiving votes: Clinton Centra1 1, Westview 1. CLASS AA 1, Yorktown (8) 80 2, North Montgomery 67 3, New Prairie 57 4, Leo 46 5, Bellmont 35 6, Lebanon 32 7, Twin Lakes 26 8, (Tie)Evansville Memorial 24 8, (Tie) Peru 24 10 (Tie), Danville 11 10 (Tie), Southmont 11 Also receiving votes: Hanover Central 9, Heritage Hills 9, Western 5, Culver Academies 3, Rochester 1. CLASS AAA 1, Franklin (5) 57 2, Evansville Mater Dei 53 3, Penn 48 4, Perry Meridian (1) 46 5, Indianapolis Cathedral 31 6, Merrillville 29 7, Warren Central 22 8, New Palestine 13 9, Portage 11 10, Crown Point 8 Also receiving votes: Bloomington South 7, Carmel 2, Carroll (Fort Wayne) 2, Mishawaka 2.