Winter Sports Wonderland
Dec. 6, 2007 @ 3:54 p.m. by Jeff LutzI’d be insulting your intelligence if I posed as an expert on swimming or wrestling. I’m a baseball guy, and much of my brain space is taken up by random baseball facts, like the fact that the Cincinnati Reds once featured a starting outfield of Dmitri Young, Mike Frank and Chris Stynes (get it, Young Frank and Stynes…I guess you have to be a fan of Mel Brooks to understand this).
But that doesn’t mean I don’t have respect for other sports, too. So I’m writing this blog about boys swimming and wrestling, two winter sports whose seasons started recently. In the interest of truth in reporting, however, I have to tell you that I’ve been a huge wrestling fan since age 6. But my hero is Triple H, not Rulon Gardner. And when I first covered a wrestling meet for The Eagle, I wondered why the referee only slapped the mat one time for a pin, as opposed to three. Or five for King Kong Bundy back in the day. Remember that? Tell me you wouldn’t go see a high school wrestling dual if steel chairs were allowed. I’m just saying.
But seriously, Kansas is an amazing state for high school wrestling. I’ve been to the state meet several times and I’m always impressed with how many people show up and how well each school is represented. I used to think the pre-match wrestling habits were odd but I learned to stop judging when I realized I would’ve gotten the tar beaten out of me even by the 103-pounders if I tried to step onto the mat. I also don’t think I could lose five pounds in 3 1/2 hours.
But there are a ton of great wrestling teams and individuals in the Wichita area. It’s unfortunate we lost the best name, Atticus Disney, to Shawnee Heights, but we’re definitely not lacking in talent in this part of the state. In fact, you don’t even have to go outside the City League to find studs — Carroll, Northwest and Heights practically have rosters full of them.
As far as swimming, this is a growing sport in Kansas, as new schools seem to initiate the sport every year. Maize is in its second season, and I think Campus and McPherson are relatively new to the game, as well. Swim meets are fast paced and exciting. This is another sport I avoided in high school because I didn’t learn to swim until I was 12, after nearly drowning in the Atlantic Ocean. And I still can’t breathe under water. True story.
So tell me some of the swimmers and wrestlers in the area that merit watching. I’m always looking for knowledge, even if the next wrestling meet I attend doesn’t have a main-event ladder match.
December 8th, 2007 at 12:09 am
Let’s have a Mid-Continent League-City League wrestling challenge. Carroll, Northwest, and two other schools (Kapaun, Heights) in a team dual round-robin vs. Smith Center, Norton, Phillipsburg and one other (proably Plainville or Osborne). Let’s see if the best league in 3-2-1A can hold up with the big boys.
December 10th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
I agree with your statement that swim meets are fast-paced and exciting. These are tremendous athletes - these kids are in great condition for the demands of the water. I encourage you to get out and enjoy some of the action this winter. We have some great swimmers in the area. These guys are every bit as “stud-ly” as the wrestlers. I do want to offer a correction, though: Campus has had a swim team for a number of years. I have a friend that swam for Campus in the early 80’s. They have a long-standing swim tradition there. Fun article, keep up the good work.
December 10th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
david do u not realize that in the senior classic the 321a schools dominate the 456a schools???
December 12th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
It is interesting to read a journalist actually comment on their lack of knowledge in the area of high school wrestling. Usually you see writers try to pass it off as if they have some knowledge of the sport. With the Eagle does a fine job of covering high school sports, it often seems that wrestling is left out. Rarely this year have dual and tournament results been published, and the season preview was scant, as it left out some of the areas teams, like Wichita Independent and Andover Central.
December 13th, 2007 at 10:44 am
I agree that we should have the wrestling challenge, but Carroll is the number one wrestling team in the state and 21st in the Nation. They went down to Perry, Oklahoma last weekend and won the Tournament of Champions (a national tournament) by about 20 points. They would dominate that tournament. But other than Carroll the City-League is pretty weak this year in wrestling, even compared to the last couple years.