I spoke with the wrestling coach from Baker University this evening. He likes what he saw of my son at the State championship but also says that he has much room to grow. He wants us to take an official tour of the campus next week.
The second place champion
It’s over.
He finished second.
He lost to a four time state champion by a score of 11-0.
And he wrestled well…
The first period was exciting. Both wrestlers were in trouble several times in the first period but each time managed to fight the other off. The champion finally scored a takedown at time expired to take a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period.
My son chose the down position for the second period and that is where he lost the match. Twice the champion turned him on his back and was close to pinning him but Big A valiantly fought him off. The second period ended with my son trailing 10-0.
The champion started the third period in down position and quickly escaped to make it 11-0. The rest of the match was spent with both on them trying to take the other down with no success.
Before the match, my son told me that he was going to try a new move. I didn’t say anything but I thought “Why don’t you try it against somebody who isn’t that good. You’re wrestling the three time state champion!” because it was a difficult, risky move.
In the third period, after the champ had escaped, they were on their feet facing each other. The champ had grasped Big A’s neck with his right arm to try and control him. Big A then threw whipped his arm over the champ’s arm and spun 360° and grabbed the champ’s leg. The crowd oohed and aahed but the champion was again able to fight him off and they went out of bounds. Even though it didn’t work, my son was smiling as he walked back to the center of the mat. I think he was feeling His pleasure.
As time expired, Big A threw his arm in the air and held up three fingers. He lasted three periods with the champion. Everyone else was pinned by the middle of the second period.
Then he threw both arms up in the air and held up two fingers on each hand. He finished second!
I am glad that he was able to keep a good perspective and enjoy it.
He finished the year 41-8. He made it into the Husky Hall of Fame with his second place finish and he achieved his goal of 50 career wins in just 1 1/4 seasons.
The morning of the big day
It is bitterly cold here in Wichita this morning. 12° but it feels like 5°. Temperatures in the single digits make me laugh. It just sounds funny when I say it. Try it.
My son is sleeping in. The coaches are going to wake him up at noon. I am going to wake him up at 10:45. I have a surprise for him…
His oldest sister drove up from Dallas to watch him wrestle. She surprised her Mom last night when she knocked on the hotel door at 11:30 and said, “Housekeeping.” My wife answered the door and just stared at her. Finally, my daughter said, “Mom!”
“What are you doing here?”
Evidently, my wife couldn’t believe what her eyes were seeing.
We are going to eat breakfast together and then I will turn him over to the coaches.
This afternoon, he will wrestle the undefeated 3-time state champion for the title. Obviously, he will be a huge underdog.
However, I ended my last post with a comment about a dream…
Thursday night, my son had a dream that he would pin a kid in the semi finals and then watched it play out on the mat. That same night, one of his coaches dreamed that he pinned the three time champion in the finals!
Just like he dreamed
Last night, my son dreamed that he pinned a certain kid. For that dream to come to pass, both of them would have to win their first two matches to meet in the semi-finals.
They did,
The first period ended in a scoreless tie, 0-0. But, it was far from uneventful. There were at least four exciting scrambles and throws that ended with no points being scored.
In the second period, my son chose the down position and escaped his opponent’s control to take a 1-0 lead. The second period ended that way with several more unsuccessful but exciting take down attempts by both wrestlers.
The third period started with the other kid started in the down position. He quickly escaped to tie the score at 1 with 1:30 to go.
Forty seconds later, my son was called for stalling!
His coach protested for several minutes. The referees then held a conference for another minute. The ref then stepped forward and announced that the call would stand!
My son now trailed by a score of 2-1 with about 40 seconds to go!
With 17 seconds to go, they penalized the other kid for stalling. Regulation ended with the score tied 2-2!
In the first one minute overtime, they started in neutral position with both of them on their feet. Whoever scores first wins.
The action was again fast and furious but no points were scored. That meant two more one minute overtime periods.
My son chose to begin the second overtime in the down position and escaped to take a 3-2 lead. Although there were several more exciting, ‘almost’ skirmishes, the period ended that way as fatigue was setting in for both wrestlers.
In the third overtime, the other kid started in the down position. If he escaped, the score would be tied. If the period ended that way, they would go to a 30 second first score wins format until the match was decided. If my son was able to maintain control of the kid for the full minute, he would win by a 3-2 score.
In the first forty seconds, the other kid almost escaped twice but my son maintained control. Then came the climactic finish…
With twenty seconds to go, the other kid gave a huge effort to break free. However, my son countered and put him on his back and held him there for the remaining 15 seconds. He was awarded 3 points and won 6-2!
As for his dream, it looked to me like the kid was flat on his back but the ref didn’t call it…
but who cares…
He is in the finals!
Last night, one of his coaches also had a dream…
And then there were four
With each round, you can feel the tension starting to build. Every match means that one young man’s dream of a state championship is still alive and the other’s is crushed.
We have seen some very heavy favorites stunned in the second round. They grab their heads with both of their hands in disbelief at what just happened.
The match is over…
The decision is final…
There is no next week…
They will not be the champion…
Their dream has ended.
So, you can imagine the butterflies that were flying in my stomach as my son prepared for his second match!
Since the arena is much larger than a high school gym and there are several thousand people here, I realize that my shouts of exhortation can’t be heard. I am reduced to being a spectator…at his biggest moment.
My son began the quarter final match much more aggressively and won his quarter final match by a score of 7-3! He looked very good!
That means that he is in the semi-finals!
There are only four wrestlers left and he is one of them! Amazing!
One down, three more to go!
Our mechanic was able to temporarily fix our Super Crew for $40!!! It will cost $200 to fix it permanently.
We left our apartment at 6:45 and arrived at the Kansas Coliseum just in time to see the opening ceremony. This year, the Group 5A and Group 6A championships are being held in the same arena. Wrestlers from 64 schools paraded in with signs just like the Olympics. It was really nice.
There are eight mats: four for Group 5A & four for Group 6A. There will be 504 matches wrestled between the two groups today.
My son did not look all that impressive as he had his usual first round “blahs”. That being said, he wrestled very smart and controlled the match from the very beginning and won by a score of 6-2!
As I said, I am sure that he didn’t scare anyone, but he stays in the championship bracket and moves on to the next round and that is the goal!
Whoa, horsey!
I am supposed to leave for Wichita tomorrow morning at 6:00 A.M. with my wife and youngest daughter That will get us to the Kansas Coliseum just in time for the first round of wrestling at 9:00 A.M.
Do you remember how glad I was to report that our new Honda was fixed? The “Check Engine” light came back on yesterday morning and the car resumed it’s schizophrenic behavior.
No, problem. We’ll just take the SuperCrew 150.
My wife called to tell me that the “Check Engine” light just came on in that vehicle.
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Feel His pleasure
As I was praying for my son this morning, a scene from the movie “Chariots of Fire” popped into my head. He has to see that scene!
Since he and his team leave for Wichita tomorrow afternoon, that means that we had to watch it tonight.
Since I didn’t want to wake my wife so early in the morning, I called her after I got to work and asked her if we had the movie. We don’t.
Where am I going to find a 20 year old movie? Today?
A friend at work told me to try the public library. Great idea! They had a copy at the branch near our apartment! I put it on hold.
After work, I ran into the apartment, picked up my library card and went to go pick it up.
“I’m sorry. It is in transit to the Central Library.”
“What do you mean it is in transit? I put it on hold.”
“Yes, but the system has a default setting and you actually told us to send it to the Central Library.”
“Why would I tell you to send it to the Central Library?”
It turns out that there was a drop down box that gives me the option of sending material to whatever branch I want. I never saw it. I was so glad that they had the movie and that I remembered my PIN number!
The last time I checked something out of the library, you had to drive to the branch that had the desired item if you wanted it that day! And, because of my mistake, I ended up doing that…driving to another branch 15 minutes away so we could watch the movie.
I had forgotten how good that movie was!
Oh, yeah, the scene…
Eric Liddle, the son of a missionary to China and a famous rugby player, is telling his sister that he has decided to run the missionary in China…but first, he is going to compete in the 1924 Olympics in France.
She doesn’t understand. She is concerned for the state of his soul. He is leaving God’s work for medals and fame and glory…
and then Eric says, “Jenny, I believe that God made me for a purpose. But He also made me fast…and when I run, I feel His pleasure.”
After the movie, I told my son, “Son, God made you a good wrestler. When you wrestle this weekend, I want you to feel His pleasure.”
He can’t wait till Friday. Neither can I.
We definitely scored!
I wrote a few days ago that our Honda was definitely a “night” car.
I dropped the car off Friday night at the Honda mechanic so he could finally investigate the “Check Engine” light.
Before I bought the car, he thought that the car’s electrical problems might not be a bad computer but in the wiring of all of the aftermarket alarms, amps, etc. After they cleared the computer codes, the fixed all of the wiring.
I must tell you that I was a little apprehensive when I started the car this morning. The car had driven fine at night only to disappoint me the following morning. However, this time the check engine light did not come on!
After allowing the car sufficient time to warm up, I took off to work. The transmission shifts beautifully! The car runs beautifully. I had trouble keeping the thing down to 70 MPH! We got a beautiful green 1998 Honda Accord with a tan leather interior for $3,800!
And, to top it all off, the stereo works! I thought I would have to have that fixed separately.
I’m telling you, it pays to follow those “hunches”.
We be headin’ back to Wichita!
Last year at this time, I was buying a plane ticket from California to surprise my son at the Kansas state wrestling tournament. This year I will be driving with my wife and my youngest daughter! He won the Regional!
I am not making any predictions but…
here is what I know.
Two weeks ago, my son beat the third ranked kid in the state of Missouri by a score of 13-5. The same kid lost Friday night in the semi finals of the Missouri state tournament to the undefeated (56-0 record) state champ by a 12-4 score.
I’m not saying anything…
I’m just saying…
He is 38-7 and very few people have seen him wrestle.
The brackets came out this morning and the seeding came out about as favorable as my son could have hoped for. Hopefully, his opponents will see his name and think that they have an easy match with one of those “soft, rich kids from Overland Park”!
Now if we can figure out a way to shrink his ear…
