Cooper lives up to family legacy
Simon Kenton senior adds to clan’s haul

Ryan Ernst
Enquirer staff writer

FRANKFORT - At the conclusion of his state championship match, Simon Kenton senior Neil Cooper was scooped into the air by coach Jim Wilbers, then carried around the Frankfort Convention Center arena and into the stands to be with his family.

None of the 14 state champions crowned Saturday seemed to appreciate the moment as much as Cooper. After the expectations and burdens that have been placed upon him, few could.

Cooper beat Campbell County’s Mike Nolan 13-10 for the 152-pound title, avenging an upset loss to Nolan in last year’s final and becoming the fourth member of the Cooper family to win a state championship. He was one of three Northern Kentucky wrestlers to win individual titles Saturday.

Cooper said he thought about last year’s loss as motivation.

“The whole time, every second,” he said. “I just knew this was my chance to get my state championship and make up for last year.”

Exclamation points
St. Edward caps state title with team scoring record
Pat Galbincea
Plain Dealer Reporter

Columbus- Two years ago at the 66th state wrestling tournament, then-Walsh Jesuit coach Bill Barger approached St. Paris Graham coach Jeff Jordan and offered a witty observation.

“Our state record of 203 (points) will always belong to Billy B,” said Barger, whose Warriors set the state record of 203 points when Walsh Jesuit won the Division I state team title in 1995. Jordan’s squad fell short of that mark with 191½, the second highest total.

Today, Barger is probably the most depressed coach in the state because St. Edward surpassed that record with 209½ points Saturday at Value City Arena in winning its ninth straight big-school state crown and 21st overall. Massillon Perry (77½) was second, Wadsworth (73½) third and Mayfield (53) fifth.

The Eagles established their record in a supposed “rebuilding year” thanks to a record 13 state place-winners, including three state champs Saturday night in junior Lance Palmer (125), sophomore Sean Nemec (135) and senior Nick Marcellino (189).

Barger’s record was comparable to Babe Ruth’s 60 homers in a season. It was a record no wrestling expert thought would be broken.

WIAA SPORTS: Saturday’s highlights
Mike Kaebisch Wisconsin State Journal

Stoughton senior Rick Nelson waited until the opportunity presented itself. And when it did, he seized it and grabbed a WIAA state wrestling title while he was at it.

Nelson used a lateral drop to take down Portage senior Kevin Nolan and pinned him with 21 seconds left in their Division 1 championship match at 160 pounds before a sellout crowd Saturday night at the Kohl Center.

Nolan, the state champion at 152 pounds a year ago who finished 45-3 this season, went to his back off the move and it took Nelson just 9 more seconds to pin him.

“When I tossed him (and) he went to his back,” Nelson said, “I was pretty surprised.”

Especially considering he used a move he has only used sparingly since his junior year.

“My coaches told me to leave everything on the mat so I just did it,” said Nelson, who finished the season 41-9. “I have no clue how I was able to do this … just about everybody was telling me that I had a chance to win and that I should go out and give it my best effort. But this was a pretty big upset.”

PROFILE: Matt Gentry
Gentry-fied approach
Stanford now on wrestling map

Tom FitzGerald, Chronicle Staff Writer

ver the Thanksgiving break in 1998, a 122-pound high school junior and his dad visited Stanford. If the boy had shown you his driver’s license, you would have said it was a nice fake. Where’s your bicycle, kid?

Even when he was about to enroll at Stanford as a 145-pound wrestler, there were questions about his toughness. This kid’s too gentle, too humble, too polite. Even his family name denotes a person of — ugh — good breeding.

But know this about Matt Gentry: He’s as relentless as a clock. A clock with a smiling face.

“Nine out of 10 wrestlers slap their faces and get angry (before matches), ” Stanford coach Steve Buddie said.

But if you’re Matt Gentry, what you do before a match is smile.

“I wrestle best when I’m relaxed, when I’m focused on the wrestling, not the outcome,” Gentry, 22, said. “If I focus on the outcome, I get tense. Once I open up, I rely on my ability. I love the sport. I love the fight. I love going out there one-on-one. Every position is different. Every scramble is different. You can be really creative in the way you move your body.”

Vets Auditorium: A place in our hearts

Veterans Memorial Auditorium has played a part in countless Iowa moments

By KEN FUSON
REGISTER STAFF WRITER

It’s a strange building to love.

From the outside, Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, which opened 50 years ago this month, never pretended to be an architectural marvel.

It was practical, efficient, unadorned, like Iowa, and people initially gauged its impressive size according to how many tons of baled hay it could hold (58,400).

The building didn’t call attention to itself. What mattered most were the memories created inside.

Were you there when Elvis swiveled? Or when rocker Ozzy Osbourne snacked on a bat? How about that Saturday night in 1968, four years before Title IX and the eventual rise of women’s sports, when Denise Long of Union-Whitten and Jeanette Olson of Everly showed what two high school girls could do with a basketball?

This is a good time to reflect. Vets - and that’s what people called it, although “the Barn” worked, too - is hosting its last high school wrestling and basketball tournaments.

Abas takes silver, Rowlands bronze as U.S. wins five medals total at Cerro Pelado Tournament in Cuba
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling

2004 Olympic silver medalist Stephen Abas (Fresno, Calif./Sunkist Kids) was defeated in the finals at 60 kg/132 lbs. and won a silver medal during the final day of competition at the Cerro Pelado Tournament held in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, on Feb. 25.

Also winning a medal on Friday was Tommy Rowlands (Columbus, Ohio/Dave Schultz WC), who captured a bronze medal at 96 kg/211.5 pounds.

Exact match scores from the final session of wrestling are not available and will be reported when possible.

Youly Bonne Rodriguez of Cuba defeated Abas in the finals in two straight periods. In the opening period, Rodriguez threw Abas for five points to claim that period, then defeated him in the second period also.

Abas defeated 2004 Olympic champion Yandro Quintana of Cuba in the semifinals earlier in the day.

Abas won his silver medal in the 2004 Olympics at 55 kg/121 lbs. and was competing up a weight class at this tournament.

Tommy Rowlands (Columbus, Ohio/Dave Schultz WC) won two matches in the repechage to claim his bronze medal at 96 kg/211.5 lbs.. His only loss came in the semifinals to Haadzi-Murad Gozapov of Russia.

Note: Divisions based on total school enrollment, with Division I being the largest schools…

DIVISION I

First Place Final
103: Tony Jameson, Young. Austin.-Fitch dec. Ryan Fields, W. Chester Lakota West 7-3
112: Kevin Hardy, Solon dec. Shawn Harris, Lakewood St. Edward 3-2
119: Dan Mitcheff, Elyria dec. Keith Sulzer, Lakewood St. Edward 4-3
125: Lance Palmer, Lakewood St. Edward pin Ben Johnson, Massillon Jackson 3:01
130: Richie Spicel, Brunswick dec. Zach Mizer, Massillon Perry 3-1 OT
135: Sean Nemec, Lakewood St. Edward maj. dec. Derek Foore, Wadsworth 12-2
140: Josh Horne, Pickerington Central dec. Mikey Davis, Hilliard Davidson 6-4
145: Dustin Schlatter, Massillon Perry tech. fall Anthony Gigiliotti, Young. Austin.- 25-10
152: Anthony Ciraky, Westerville South dec. Travis Popham, Mt. Vernon 4-1
160: Mike Miller, Uniontown Lake dec. Bryan Koz, Lakewood St. Edward 8-4
171: Timmy Miller, Wadsworth dec. David Clemens, Beavercreek 9-4
189: Mike Ward, Mayfield Vill. Mayfield dec. Phil Hettlinger, Hilliard Darby 13-6
215: Nick Marcellino, Lakewood St. Edward dec. Nick Roman, Canton GlenOak 8-3
275: Zachary Marshall, Mason dec. Ben Kuhar, Lakewood St. Edward 7-6

DIVISION II

Mason senior wins state title in dramatic fashion
State wrestling

By Frank DiRenna
Enquirer contributor

COLUMBUS - Mason senior Zachary Marshall and Middletown Madison senior Patrick Lanham brought home state wrestling titles from Ohio State on Saturday.

Marshall won his match against St. Edward’s Ben Kuhar in the 275-pound weight class with .02 seconds remaining for a Division I title; Lanham, the all-time win leader at Madison, earned the program’s second state title with a 1-0 victory over McComb’s Justin Hill in the Division III championship match at 140 pounds.

“Last week I was working toward a goal of placing, and as it got closer and closer, I finally got realistic that I can actually do this,” Lanham said. “It really caught me by surprise. I think it caught a few other guys by surprise, a few state champs.”

Greg Gephardt earned the program’s other title in 1983.

Hill (42-2) released Lanham to begin the second period for the match’s lone point. Lanham (50-1) controlled Hill throughout the third period for the dramatic win.

“I did exactly what I practiced, said Marshall. “Snap down and go for his leg. After the snap was there, I was able to get around just in time.”

The end of an era at Vets

State wrestling meet will move next year

DES MOINES - Sometime around 10 tonight, a wrestling official is going to bring his hand to the mat or blow his whistle signaling the end of the final match of the 2005 state wrestling tournament.

That final match will end the tournament and an era of a storied tournament at a storied venue, Veterans Memorial Auditorium.

Next year the state wrestling tournament moves to the Wells Fargo Arena, located just across the street from Vets, the tournament’s home since 1970.

Gone will be the constant mobility of fans - “organized chaos,” according to retiring tournament manager David Harty - around the eight-match configuration. Gone too will be the charm of a site nicknamed “The Barn.”

When the Iowa High School Athletic Association began holding state wrestling tournaments, sites included Clarion, Mason City, Iowa State Teachers College (UNI) and then, somewhat of a permanent home at McElroy Auditorium in Waterloo.

The tournament has been at Vets since 1970, except for 1971 when it stepped out of the way for the National Bowling Congress tournament. Since coming to Des Moines, the tournament has grown from two classes to three and has expanded from two days to four.

Longtime official has seen it all since 1971
Johnna Espinoza

The Idaho Statesman

NAMPA — Wrestling has come a long way since Fred Hughes of Pocatello began officiating in 1971.

Back then, there was one classification. There were also concerns about some wrestlers losing too much weight and athletes possibly being exposed to blood on the mat.

The 65-year-old Hughes is thrilled to see the growth in high school wrestling and an increased interest in the health and safety of the athletes.

“The biggest change is the number of contestants participating,” Hughes said. “We had 16 kids (per weight class) coming to state (in 1971).”

Hughes, who was inducted into the Idaho Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999, officiated at the state tournament from 1971 through 1999 and in 2001. He has been the state rules interpreter since 1986, which means he is in charge of the 16 officials at the state tournament. In all, he has worked 34 of the past 35 state tournaments.

The state tourney has grown from 224 athletes to almost 900 wrestlers this week in four classifications.