Tie-breaks not good for ’Cats

By Jim Metcalfe, The Delphos Herald
Published:  Thursday, February 1, 2007 (1 year, 3 months ago)
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DELPHOS — Jefferson head wrestling coach Jeff Rex definitely does not like tie matches — or the sixth tie-breaker.

For the second time in eight days, his Wildcat grapplers lost a match on that very scenario.

Jan. 25th, it was a head-to-head with St. John’s.

Wednesday night, it was a 33-33 draw to McComb that ended up going the way of the Panthers during a triangular match at Jefferson Senior High School.

“All I know is, we lost another match on the sixth tie-breaker. I thought we’d beat McComb,” Rex began.

The Wildcats crunched Columbus Grove 46-15 in a more conventional, less “by-the-book” way in the third head-to-head, while the Panthers got out of town by dumping the Bulldogs 41-30.

Versus McComb, it came down to the final contested match — at 119 — with the home team leading 33-27. McComb’s James Williams pinned Murry Etzkorn with 1:30 left in the match to draw even and force the referee to look at the rulebook.

The first five tie-break criteria: penalty points; total wins per team; total falls; technical falls; and major decisions; all resulted in a draw.

The sixth — greater number of matches with first points scored — belonged to the Panthers.

Overall, though, Rex likes much of what he sees from his developing unit.

“Murry has gotten better. Jay Siefker (135) has become a force in his first season,” Rex explained. “Mark McElroy (140) is over .500 for a freshman; he’s doing OK. Taylor Andrews (145) has improved a lot. Stuart Miller (189) and Andrew Swick (215) are just very good; we knew they would be. Josh Osting (285) has done remarkably well for his first year; he’s something like 29-12 and he’s only about 214 (pounds).

“Some of the other youngsters still have a ways to go but they’re working.”

At the same time, Rex’s evaluation is based on the tournament.

“My focus has always been that the regular season is preparation for the tournament. That is true even more so because of our lack of numbers and we have never been a good dual team,” Rex added. “With the NWC tournament coming up in a week or so, we’re about trying to get individual champions and placers.

“If you really want to know what I think about a season, ask me after the state tournament.”

The NWC meet is Feb. 10 at Lincolnview.

For Bulldog coach Dave Hassan, it’s a struggle with having six spots among the 14 weight classes not filled.

“Our numbers are better. Part of the difficulty is having to unlearn bad habits they pick up in practice because we don’t have the competition,” Hassan said. “When you take those into matches, they get you beat. For us, it’s a matter of getting experience in these tournaments and learning one or two things each match.

“We still have one more dual (at Lincolnview Tuesday) before the league meet. We’d love to pull a surprise or two, get some placers and have that carry over to next season as far as seedings go.”

Jefferson 46, Columbus Grove 15

103: Double void.

112: Double void.

119: Murry Etzkorn (DJ) 16-1 technical fall over Michael Goedde.

125: Double void.

130: Keith Burritt (DJ), void.

135: Jay Siefker (DJ), void.

140: Mark McElroy (DJ), void.

145: Travis Tourjee (CG) 9-7 over Taylor Andrews.

152: Braytan Kruse (DJ), void.

160: Jeremy Harnishfeger (CG) pinned Adam Wollenhaupt, 2:54.

171: Eric Harshman (CG) pinned Cade Bevington, :40.

189: Stuart Miller (DJ) pinned Tyler Oney, 3:32.

215: Andrew Swick (DJ) 23-8 technical fall over Jeremy Vorst.

285: Jost Osting (DJ) pinned Alex Bell, :56.

McComb 33, Jefferson 33

(Jefferson lost on the 6th tie-breaker criteria)

103: Harrerra (M), void.

112: Double void.

119: Williams (M) pinned Murry Etzkorn, 4:30.

125: Double void.

130: VanAtta (M) pinned Keith Burritt, 1:24.

135: Jay Siefker (DJ) pinned DeLacerda, 2:35.

140: Cramer (M) 9-7 over Mark McElroy.

145: Taylor Andrews (DJ) 8-7 over Harden.

152: Hill (M) pinned Braytan Kruse, 1:19.

160: Adam Wollenhaupt (DJ), void.

171: Brickner (M) pinned Cade Bevington, 1:47.

189: Stuart Miller (DJ), void.

215: Andrew Swick (DJ), void.

285: Josh Osting (DJ), void.

McComb 41, Columbus Grove 30

103: Harrerra (M), void.

112: Double void.

119: Williams (M) pinned Michael Goedde, 2:24.

125: VanAtta (M), void.

130: DeLacerda (M), void.

135: Cramer (M), void.

140: Harden (M), void.

145: Hill (M) 15-0 technical fall over Travis Tourjee.

152: Double void.

160: Jeremy Harnishfeger (CG), void.

171: Eric Harshman (CG), pinned Bricker, 3:44.

189: Tyler Oney (CG), void.

215: Jeremy Vorst (CG), void.

285: Alex Bell (CG), void.

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