Most Memorable Moments Of Ironman
Most Memorable Moments Of Ironman
Every tournament has those moments to remember, but this year's Ironman had a little something extra.
Every tournament has its unforgettable moments, but this year's Ironman had a little something extra.
Among the upsets and dominant performances in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, last weekend were some of the craziest moments in tournament history.
Out-Of-Bounds Rules
It's easy to forget how much we hate high school out-of-bounds rules until we see a moment in a match when they come into play and we nearly jump out of seats in a mix of confusion and a little anger. One of the instances that had us completely baffled was how no takedown was given in the Rocky Jordan vs. Carson Kharchlava match. [See example below]
That takedown ended up being a huge deciding factor in the match as Jordan went on to win 1-0 and eventually become the 170lb champion.
But as you watched the two wrestlers go to farther from the center circle, you never knew how things were going to be called since the rules don’t allow for much action to take place on the edge.
Fargo Champ Escalera DQ’d
After losing to returning 120lb champ Julian Tagg, Wyoming Seminary’s Zeke Escalera was fighting his way back in the consolation round when things took a weird turn. He put his opponent, Hunter Ryan, in a banana split. The referee counted back points but stopped the action when Ryan showed to be injured and deemed the move illegal.
However, he gave Escalera two back points despite calling the move illegal and one point to Ryan. Ryan wasn’t able to continue and Escalera was disqualified from the tournament. The twist here is that according to the NFHS rules, this move is not illegal. [Click here to view the rule book under "Illegal Holds"]
Watch the match between Zeke Escalera and Hunter Ryan [4:10 mark]:
Nevills Not Allowed To Compete
Before the brackets were even completed, the tempers were flaring when Clovis (CA) coach Adam Tirappelle and his coaching staff found out that their heavyweight, Seth Nevills, who is ranked third in the country, would not be allowed to wrestle.
Nevills did not pass the skin check despite having the proper paperwork stating that his skin rash had been treated for longer than the required time and that he was cleared by the team's dermatologist. Tirappelle pleaded with the tournament directors, called the treating dermatologist, and did everything he could to get Nevills into the tournament, but he was denied.
#Shoegate
As if the anger in the building wasn’t on a high enough level already, it went up another notch just two matches into the finals when Joey Silva and Real Woods met for the title at 132. Willie and Zeb didn't know what to think of the entire situation.
Watch the fallout in the finals here: