There were countless story lines at this weekend’s WIAA individual state wrestling meet.
There were 13 students looking to defend their individual titles and 15 former champions in all at the tournament. And, as always, there were hundreds of wrestlers looking to claim their first title in 14 weight classes in three divisions.
There was one story that stood out among the rest.
After winning his opening match by a 9-8 decision, Whitehall junior Cole Myren was facing Iowa-Grant’s Bryant Edge in the Division 3 215-pound semi-final. Myren was one of 26 wrestlers entering the state meet with an undefeated record at 37-0.
Edge performed an illegal slam, and as a result, Myren had the option of accepting the victory and moving on to the finals. Instead, the junior chose to continue wrestling.
Myren displayed tremendous sportsmanship and respect for his sport. By wrestling, he saved himself and the 215-pound bracket from possible controversy.
The next morning, members of the media were praising his decision rather than debating who should be in the finals.
Despite his sportsmanship, Myren (39-2) lost his match with Edge. He placed fourth Saturday afternoon when he lost by major decision, 15-4, to Aaron Karlen (37-4).
Myren earned his fourth place medal, and he can be proud of that.
This is a great story Josh! When I was a senior there was a match like this in the sectional semi-final. The guy who was ranked no. 1 in the state got called for an illegal slam, which in my book is a stupid rule since wrestling is about great takedowns and adrenaline! When you blast a gut with a great double leg, the las thing you are worried about is how he is gonna hit the mat! The opponent was 'injured', and went on to take 3rd preventing the guy to wrestle back. Needless to say, the guy who was slammed lost first round at state and the no. 1 ranked guy sat in the stands watching...
ReplyDelete