I had no interest on who won the match, except for the five bucks I lost based on point spread. :'( I just went to the meet to see some great wrestling.
Some of my thoughts:
-The match was the most intense one I have ever been to. I thought that both teams really came out with a fire in their belly to win. Castle was just the better team that night and maybe wanted it a little bit more.
-The refs did a decent job, except when it came to stalling calls. The stalling calls favored MD heavily. I wish I would have kept a tally on stallings just to see if it was as lopsided as it seemed to me. At one point a Castle wrestler took two straight shots and then was hit with a stalling call. They were really inconsistant with them the whole night. That was especially apparent when it came to round 2 and the same ref who kept hitting Castle for stalling wouldn't hit Jeffersonville when he didn't attempt a takedown for two periods.
-The castle people standing next to the rail weren't that bad during the MD/Castle match. They were fired up and on the officials for every single call, which I don't mind in a close match against your rival. As long as there isn't profanity being thrown out, and I didn't hear any. They did get bad when it came to the Castle/Jeffersonville match. The mat was moved to the center so the people had to yell louder to be heard half way across the gym. Toward the end it was obvious that Castle was going to win, and the people standing by the rail were still being just as loud and on the official on every little call. I guess you can do what you want, but I would have refrained by that point. But this was only 2 or 3 people, so its not that big of a deal. Castle brought a lot of people and most of them were fine.
-MD should not feel ashamed for their performance this year, they should be proud of what they accomplished. They wrestled well all year, and got beat by a really good team. It happens in all sports. There have been plenty of times that a good football team has beaten an opponent during the regular season, then lost in the playoffs. Just because you didn't win state, doesn't mean your season was a failure. If most teams in the state accomplished what you did this year, they would consider it the best season their program has ever had.
-If I were a Castle fan I would be pumped right now. After seeing their loss to MD earlier in the season, I didn't think they had a prayer against them in regional, I was wrong. Castle came out like a team on a mission. Their guys fought for every point and refused to give up an easy takedown. Keep that intensity up and you have a great chance at bringing home a state title. I think this is a positive thing for all of southern Indiana wrestling. Other programs around southern Indiana have spent years being overshadowed by MD domination. It will be good to get another team state exposure. So go get em Castle, bring a state title home!!!