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Huh?

What does this mean?

They already qualified and I believe had injuries no reason to chance it

I don't blame them at all. South has done the same thing many a time, as have many teams. Get them qualified, and try to give them a few more days to heal. It's smart if you ask me.

Dang ... I never thought of that. Hmmm ...but I wonder if the fact they were heavy underdogs in those matches had something to do with it as well? Maybe they had essentially nothing to lose?
Heck I dunno, maybe I'm thinking too much?
I apologize in advance.

Noticed the 126 had less than 20 matches so there is a good possibility he has been either ill or injured. Makes sense to "maneuver" to this old coach.

Absolutely, the kid HAS been injured. However neither kid appeared to suffer either an exacerbation of an injury or (in the case of 113),
HAD suffered an injury during the tournament itself. I feel the fact that both wrestlers were heavy underdogs was the main impetus for " forfeiting"... Neither wrestler utilized injury time during the early rounds.

Of course I blame the PILL , in part for such " maneuvers" .... And I apologize in advance for my opinion.

Nobody should have to apologize for having an opinion.

We (South) did do this very same thing, though in 2009. David McCoy, our 215-pounder missed a good part of the season with an injury, and didn't re-join the team until February, even though he was still having some issues. He reached the regional finals by registering 2 pins, but the coaches chose to default his finals match.

Also, in the semifinals of the 2012 OVAC, our coaches chose not to wrestle the injured Drake Mills against Wheeling Park's powerful Cody Amos. That could have been viewed as a "maneuver", as Cody was in the running for the OVAC Hercules Award, given to the wrestler with the most pins in the least amount of time. Winning by injury default obviously took away the chance to pin his way through the tournament.

In these two cases, our wrestlers were definitely injured, so not wrestling them was the smart and safe thing to do.

If both wrestlers are deemed healthy to wrestle prior to the tournament, (as in these regionals at PHS )then if no further injury or any injury occurred in the 1 or 2 matches prior to the finals ... Then what changed to deem them injured"??? Neither kid to my knowledge used any injury time in the 1 or 2 matches they wrestled prior to walking out of the finals...This has nothing to do with any Big Red animosity that I may harbor.

The Pill is partly responsible for such things. It doesn't take a PhD in " Pillosophy" to know that a second place region 1 kid will NOT face a
Region 1 champion until the final round , assuming both wrestlers keep winning.
Thus this was essentially a "
Manuever" that had the Pill in mind as well as some Hensonitis and Martinitis ...
And I am not the only one that had this opinion as many others in the stands where I sat felt the same way.
Bottom line is that such things take away from the competitive aspect of the tournament.

Once again I apologize to anyone I may offend, have offended or may offend in the coming months and years. My thoughts in no way reflect the opinion of WVmat, it's moderators and corporate sponsors.

My education DOES include a minor in Pillology. The pill separates the region champion from his corresponding regional runner up. Win or lose in the regional finals, the finalists are separated in the state tournament brackets.

Martin/South at 113 and Henson/University at 126 are the overwhelming favorites to win it all. If there is a game plan, a secret maneuver or the rubbing of a rabbit's foot in the mix....................save it for the state finals.

There is no way this was a decision to manipulate the pill.

Truesouthfaninhunt wrote:If both wrestlers are deemed healthy to wrestle prior to the tournament, (as in these regionals at PHS )then if no further injury or any injury occurred in the 1 or 2 matches prior to the finals ... Then what changed to deem them injured"??? Neither kid to my knowledge used any injury time in the 1 or 2 matches they wrestled prior to walking out of the finals...This has nothing to do with any Big Red animosity that I may harbor.

The Pill is partly responsible for such things. It doesn't take a PhD in " Pillosophy" to know that a second place region 1 kid will NOT face a
Region 1 champion until the final round , assuming both wrestlers keep winning.
Thus this was essentially a "
Manuever" that had the Pill in mind as well as some Hensonitis and Martinitis ...
And I am not the only one that had this opinion as many others in the stands where I sat felt the same way.
Bottom line is that such things take away from the competitive aspect of the tournament.

Once again I apologize to anyone I may offend, have offended or may offend in the coming months and years. My thoughts in no way reflect the opinion of WVmat, it's moderators and corporate sponsors.

If they did this in semi finals, maybe a pill move. Or a knock out the competition move. I just think next weekend is the better stage to win. You clearly stated these were not the favorites in the match. I can't see how beating three region champs is a smart pill move. The reason is...it's not. You definitely would not make your road tougher on purpose. Probably solid strategy to stay healthy you simply don't agree with.

Would the same decision have been made if the opponents had NOT been named Martin or Henson? Would these kids have still been held out due to "injury" if their opponents had been 5-20 on the season? Nooooooooooo
I NEVER said it was an attempt to "manipulate the pill"... But the decision to default and place 2nd is made easier knowing that you won't have to face Martin or Henson until the finals , ( especially in the case of 126) the Pill format guarantees that.( assuming both kids win in State Tournament).

My views are in no way meant to be construed as that of WVmat. Nor are my views meant to inflame, agitate or otherwise irritate any readers of WVMat. I am in no way affiliated with South Wrestling. (The greatest wrestling team of all time in WV)

Truesouthfaninhunt wrote:Absolutely, the kid HAS been injured. However neither kid appeared to suffer either an exacerbation of an injury or (in the case of 113),
HAD suffered an injury during the tournament itself. I feel the fact that both wrestlers were heavy underdogs was the main impetus for " forfeiting"... Neither wrestler utilized injury time during the early rounds.

Of course I blame the PILL , in part for such " maneuvers" .... And I apologize in advance for my opinion.

I agree they probably wrestle any other person. I also illustrated you did, in fact, say it was pill.

Why wrestle and risk injury for a championship match that doesn't really mean anything? Just save it for the state tournament and give yourself another week to heal up. It isn't that hard to understand.

There is no benefit being a runner up over being a champion at the state tourney unless someone knew what pill would be drawn and they don't so there is nothing to be argued here.

Regional champ and Regional runner ups are separated anyways. The pill would not effect at all. The wrestler and coach obviously feels he needs more rest from injury for the state. Smart call.... given the talent they will have to face starting Thursday.

You've got to face it Jeff. It's been proven repeatedly here that your initial logic was clearly flawed (and actually the exact opposite of getting the "easiest" path at the state tournament) regarding the decision being based on "the pill" idea. I'd say your apology was appropriate and hopefully those you somewhat insulted will accept it. I can almost guarantee you that neither of those two boys were afraid of the possibility of getting beat by the other wrestler. If you had a wrestling mentality you would realize that a good wrestler cherishes every time they get a chance to compete, especially when they are the underdog. What better than to get one more chance to possibly beat a "supposed" eventual state champ? You and I both know that we have to watch that our "South bias" doesn't interfere with our judgement and flaw our use of logic. You also have to watch where the support for your thinking comes from. You can kick my fanny in Huntington this week for saying all of this . I just thought that these two boys deserved as many people as possible coming to their defense and emphasizing that fear of wrestling had nothing to do with it.

I heard they both had an upset tummy.

both wrestlers are hurt. as far as injury time, Big Reds try not to use it. Not to take anything away from any of their composition getting them to the finals of the region and resting for the state, no plan just trying to be as healthy as possible. Thanks KDunbar!