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Eli WINS 2012 Eastern Regionals, Middle School Wrestling
He’s done it again! Eli is now 25-0 for the season, and has repeated as Eastern Regional Champion in his weight class!!!! This year, Camden-Rockport Middle School was the sponsoring school for the event, which was held in the high school gym. There were 3 mats set up, and it went surprisingly smoothly and quickly. Here’s how Saturday went for Eli:
In wrestling with 8-person brackets, the rule is that if you want to end up in the championship match (for first and second place), you need to win two before you lose two. So here’s Eli’s first match:
First match, ended in 30 seconds with a pin. It happened so fast I had barely hit "On" on the camera that I didn't get any video....
I managed to mess up the photography, alas, despite doing test-runs last week. I brought out the GOOD camera, the DSLR Nikon and I really need to spend more time learning how to make it do what I want! But I got some good shots. And I took video…or so I thought…on my everyday digital, but I had taken it off Video and put it on still photo during the week and forgot to switch it back. So this first match ended so fast I didn’t get a chance to correct my error.
Second match: this one took a little longer. Remember there are 3 periods in wrestling; in middle school the first period is 2 minutes, then 2nd and 3rd are one minute long. In high school, matches are 3 2-minute periods; in college, it is 3-2-2-.
Second match: PIN! At 1 minute 31 seconds in the first period.
At least I got a really good photo…. the point of the match is to win. A great way to win instantly and end the match is to pin the opponent’s shoulders to the mat. That is why Eli is “T”‘d off on the kid on the bottom—you get the best leverage being chest-to-chest (Eli is a little far over) and at right angles–like a T–to the kid on the bottom. The Ref is using the hand with the red band to smack the mat to show Eli (in red…the other kid has on the green ankle band on his rear leg, but it is hard to see because he’s wearing tights under the singlet) wins by fall (pin).
Next: the championship round against a kid from Hermon, whom he had not wrestled during the season. This boy was also–up until Saturday–undefeated, but had fewer matches than Eli.
Murphy's Law lives at wrestling meets. No matter WHERE in the gym the parent is, the ref is ALWAYS immediately blocking the parent's line of sight to their kid as here. By the way...we LOVE this ref. He is one of the best in Maine, and happens to head up the Ref's association. He is fair, compassionate, understands kids, and when ref-ing--even when the kids make mistakes--takes the time to instruct ant teach while making calls. He's "the bee's knees!"
Here is a few moments earlier in the match, but a better shot:
Eli nearly gets the Hermon boy in a "cradle" for a pin. Alas, the Hermon boy got Eli in an illegal headlock which the ref did not see, so Eli had a bit of work to get out of it. He did, but the match went into a second period. In the photo above he is just about 2 seconds away from pinning the boy 30 seconds into the second period.
Three matches. Three wins. Three pins. Still undefeated.
The "Win" hands-up went up and down so fast I missed it, so here the refs are checking with the scorekeepers and Eli is running his bout sheet back to the head scoring table after the win.
Eli, as winner, gets to keep the bracket sheet which shows who wrestled in the weight class, with him as Champion:
Eli on the winner's stand! Alas, the camera was having trouble metering with the bright window behind and I missed the shot with the other 3 boys up there....
ALL the kids on the team wrestled their hearts out and did their coaches proud. One other kid, Elvis B., won his weight class, so he and Eli will continue on to States on March 31.
L to R: Coach True Bragg, Elvis B. 124-lb Champion, Eli at 138-lb Champion, and Asst. Coach Paul Smith (aka dad); photo taken in the high school wrestling room.
The other great news came on Sunday with the results of the Western Regionals. The winner was the boy from Bath, whom Eli has beaten in each of his three head-to-head matches with him. So there is a chance for Eli to win states! Paul reminds the kids that you are one move away from getting pinned by someone you have never heard of, though, so Eli will have to continue to keep his focus and determination. Stay tuned for results next weekend. No colds or injuries allowed between now and then! The Bath kid will have hometown advantage, as the State Finals will be wrestled in Bath, but we know Eli will excel. As a friend told Eli, TOTAL DOMINATION on the mat!
March 26th, 2012 at 1:46 pm
Onward and upward for both you and Eli! Way to go!
March 28th, 2012 at 7:01 am
Now this is so cool and I’m sure Eli will continue to do great in upcoming matches. And hurray for the rest of the team too 🙂
March 28th, 2012 at 8:41 am
You must be very proud!