Win with class lose with class

[DongerWrestle]

The coming out and acting like you’re in the WWE on the mat before you wrestle. A few guys get a victory and cowboy’d their coach on the mat TWICE, throw your headgear across to the other mat, point up in the stands after you win. Saw a haymaker thrown!

Seems like everybody is Showboat! Everybody look at me! Where did the humility and class go? If my son acted like that, it would be a bad night and next day! I guess other parents find it cute!

Indy, nice job! What kind of coaches or parents allow a teammate not to stand on the podium because their feelings were hurt and they did not get what they wanted. Snowflakes

I usually agree that flexing and acting out after winning is not great sportsmanship. My son has rarely done that type of thing. When he did, I would get onto him for it. But I believe the State Championship is different. It is what they dream about for years. They work hard year round, lift weights while others are playing, break up with girlfriends who try to take up too much of their time, cut weight and generally put more blood, sweat and tears into it than virtually any other athlete from any other sport. The idea of being a State Champion wrestler is the driving force behind it all.

So, when they finally reach that coveted goal, I think it is ok to celebrate a little bit. In fact, one of the reasons I like to come to the state tournament is the emotion of it. You can’t have an awesome event where so many participants and spectators are so emotionally invested with so much on the line and then have the participants act like robots. So, if they win, let them flex a little, dance a little or even toss a coach. It doesn’t hurt anyone and quite frankly it is part of what makes the state tournament great. I love to see these young men finally reach their goal.

Damn right. People get mad like the celebrati g is against the kid that lost, it is not, it is about their moment of fun.

You know, I agree! I guess lumping celebrations in with all the other crap that happened last night it’s probably not fair. I agree that the kid should have fun and have a little bit of crazy going on. But you would have to agree that some of the boys took it a little too far!

If I was in their shoes, who knows how I would act! Congrats to all the winners last night!

[vortexfan]

No words can describe how bad it was last night. The kids wrestling after the incidents were the ones that suffered. I’ve followed the state tournament over 20 years and never dreamed I’d see anything like this. Needless to say this may be the last one I attend. I was very saddened by everything that took place last night.

Agree and several coaches should be questioned on their behavior too! Wrestling has decreased as a sport in WV, from what it used to be it’s pitiful.

[aacoach61]

Dan Gable used to say that when you watched the end of a wrestling match you shouldn’t be able to tell who won or who lost except for whose arm was raised by the referee.

It’s a shame that with all the great matches this weekend, this whining thread is the most read. I guess it’s a statement of where our society is right now— our kids can do no wrong, and adults act like kids.

[phsnate]

I've been to every state tournament the last 13 years and this one was definitely the most eventful one I've been to. I honestly have no problem with the celebrating after the match, jumping on your coach , or any of that. As a couple others said, it is just the emotion of winning and having it all pay off. The lack of sportsmanship by some of the wrestlers and the lack of maturity and class by some in the stands were prominent this year. Egging on a fight is never a mature thing to do regardless of who started it and I saw this happen. It is risking an escalation.

As for sitting with the opposing team, I am a PHS fan and I tend to sit on the South side. I'm not looking for trouble and there is never an issue. It is just easier to find a seat on that side and I have friends/acquaintances that I like to talk to such as Gator. There isn't a bigger rivalry in the state than ours and I have no problem sitting on that side.

[mgr1980]

Call the stall, call the fall, but in the stands stop the brawl.

[WrestlingFan1]

Call the stall, call the fall, but in the stands stop the brawl.

I've heard the refs had the wrong score and refused to change it in the 145 match. It's a shame for a kid to lose a match because of incompetent officiating, much less a state championship match.

[aacoach70]

We can't have complete control of fan behavior, but we can have some influence. I won't name individuals or teams, but I saw several instances of good sportsmanship. Unfortunately, there was too much non-sense going on too. Throwing temper tantrums can't be tolerated. Throwing headgear, yanking down singlet straps, running, and things of that nature should be dealt with swiftly by officials and coaches. More troubling was the antics. Some pre-match, but mostly post-match. Things that were not spontaneous show of emotion between the wrestler/coach/and his own fans. Too much gesturing, use of props, and inciting of the crowd. When you are not humble enough to show due respect to your opponent and clearly are inciting a bad reaction, we get some of the stuff we saw in the stands. Don't turn a blind eye to it and excuse bad behavior by giving them a pass because it's their moment. It can be their moment to shine, or it can be their moment to behave like an idiot if we condone it.

[Blast_Double]

Call the stall, call the fall, but in the stands stop the brawl.

I've heard the refs had the wrong score and refused to change it in the 145 match. It's a shame for a kid to lose a match because of incompetent officiating, much less a state championship match.

You are correct. Video is up on Facebook and YouTube. Score was definitely wrong and there were several opportunities to correct it. I feel terrible for Alex Hart, one of the most humble, hardworking kids around. But I also feel bad for Ward. He had a terrific season and wrestled a great match. This is just another instance of taking the match out of the wrestlers hands. Happens way too much in WV. Several instances for the whole weekend, but that is a topic for another day....

[mscoach20]

Call the stall, call the fall, but in the stands stop the brawl.

I've heard the refs had the wrong score and refused to change it in the 145 match. It's a shame for a kid to lose a match because of incompetent officiating, much less a state championship match.

You are correct. Video is up on Facebook and YouTube. Score was definitely wrong and there were several opportunities to correct it. I feel terrible for Alex Hart, one of the most humble, hardworking kids around. But I also feel bad for Ward. He had a terrific season and wrestled a great match. This is just another instance of taking the match out of the wrestlers hands. Happens way too much in WV. Several instances for the whole weekend, but that is a topic for another day....

YouTube link? I’m interested.

[Blast_Double]

I've heard the refs had the wrong score and refused to change it in the 145 match. It's a shame for a kid to lose a match because of incompetent officiating, much less a state championship match.

You are correct. Video is up on Facebook and YouTube. Score was definitely wrong and there were several opportunities to correct it. I feel terrible for Alex Hart, one of the most humble, hardworking kids around. But I also feel bad for Ward. He had a terrific season and wrestled a great match. This is just another instance of taking the match out of the wrestlers hands. Happens way too much in WV. Several instances for the whole weekend, but that is a topic for another day....

YouTube link? I’m interested.

Sent video to you in a pm.

[69fan]

Indy and East are very classless. The ONLY people who would disagree are Indy and East supporters. This has been a common thing with East for 4 years now. Indy would never have acted like this in the past.

[matcoach90]

Indy and East are very classless. The ONLY people who would disagree are Indy and East supporters. This has been a common thing with East for 4 years now. Indy would never have acted like this in the past.

East has some wrestlers who have been classless all season. I hate to root against a kid, but I’m happy one of their wrestlers only placed 6th. That particular wrestler has been suspended a couple times this year, caused injuries to other wrestlers, penalty points etc... coaches should have kicked him off the team. At least he’s a senior and will be gone next year. Tired of seeing this lack of sportsmanship.

[Panther_coach]

Guys, I am at my beach house and missed my first tournament in years. 45th Anniversary though - Happy wife, Happy life. Anyway could someone unbiased please PM me and fill me in on what sounds like the circus, WWE and UFC combined?

[mscoach4]

In retrospect I feel that if similar situations arise in the future it may be better to stop the wrestling until things simmer down in the stands. It was very unfortunate for the 4 young men wrestling in the two 106 finals matches. It was disrespectful to those young men and especially unfortunate for Hartley of St Albans. He was somewhat of a darkhorse champion pulling the upset but most people totally missed the match because of the distractions.

[DongerWrestle]

In retrospect I feel that if similar situations arise in the future it may be better to stop the wrestling until things simmer down in the stands. It was very unfortunate for the 4 young men wrestling in the two 106 finals matches. It was disrespectful to those young men and especially unfortunate for Hartley of St Albans. He was somewhat of a darkhorse champion pulling the upset but most people totally missed the match because of the distractions.

Absolutely! What shocked me the most is the mentality of people to actually sprint to get a better view or video of the “fight”. That’s what sickened me the most. What have we become? Felt like we were in the Roman coliseum and the lion was about to eat the gladiator. As we all cheer and clap.

[vortexfan]

In retrospect I feel that if similar situations arise in the future it may be better to stop the wrestling until things simmer down in the stands. It was very unfortunate for the 4 young men wrestling in the two 106 finals matches. It was disrespectful to those young men and especially unfortunate for Hartley of St Albans. He was somewhat of a darkhorse champion pulling the upset but most people totally missed the match because of the distractions.

Absolutely! What shocked me the most is the mentality of people to actually sprint to get a better view or video of the “fight”. That’s what sickened me the most. What have we become? Felt like we were in the Roman coliseum and the lion was about to eat the gladiator. As we all cheer and clap.

Yes I thought the same thing, total lack of control stop the wrestling and escort the problems out. Total unfair to the wrestlers on the mats when that was going on!

[Man2man]

Indy and East are very classless. The ONLY people who would disagree are Indy and East supporters. This has been a common thing with East for 4 years now. Indy would never have acted like this in the past.

Indy’s supporters weren’t the ones booing other teams either.

[Geoswaff]

I am fan of a non-Indy region 3 team. I don’t root for Indy and almost always root against them as they are the Yankees of Region 3. They have a full team and with that many kids they also have a couple of kids who’s arrogance on the mat and bad sportsmanship heighten people’s natural dislike for The team at the top. By and large though I think they are good kids and should not be indicted as a group for the actions of one or two of them.