In Minnesota, 7th and 8th graders are allowed to wrestle on the high school team. After a summer and fall of faithful early-morning weightlifting, Reggie was invited to join the high school team. There was one other 7th grader on the team. It is typical for a 106 or 113 pound middle schooler to fill the varsity roster, but a bit more difficult for a 126 pound kid to pull it off. Reggie spent most of the season hanging out in JV, which was fine with Bryan and I but frustrating for Reggie. I kept telling him to work hard and be patient. It took until the last opportunity of the season for him to get his big shot.
Here are the 5 matches I won't forget (click the orange headings to view the full matches on YouTube):
Reggie's first high school match was short and to the point with him pinning his opponent in 36 seconds. It was a home meet and I'm glad I was there to see it!
At the beginning of the season, Reggie was named a "varsity alternate". If a varsity wrestler in his weight was unable to wrestle (ill, injury, academic probation, skin issue, etc) or didn't make weight, he would fill the spot. He got a chance in a dual against Roseville, and I happened to be there! (Because we have other kids, usually only one and sometimes neither parent could be at his meets).
It was an exciting match to the end. His opponent was leading, but not by much. At the end, he was down by 2 and only needed a take-down to tie it. He took his shot, and it looked promising (watch his teammates cheering with their 2 fingers up), but his opponent hooked his arm around and that was all that was needed to secure the win. (Loss for Reggie.)
My uneditted footage is not great. When I get excited, I'm not looking at my camera!
3. The Thousand Dollar Match
I would like to forget the thousand dollar match, but I never will. It was the match Reggie was put in an illegal choke hold (wrestlers must have an arm along with the head in a headlock). The ref was looking for the pin and didn't notice Reggie had lost consciousness. The ref called the pin, Reggie regained awareness, got up, and then staggered back, losing consciousness again. It seemed like minutes but was probably only seconds. The trainer expressed a lot of concern, so we ended up taking him to the ER for an EKG. That's how it became the thousand dollar match.
Reggie was back on the mat by Monday.
After that, Reggie kept doing his thing on JV, hoping for his big shot. They have a system. Coaches determine the lineup for duals (team competion) but wrestlers can challenge for a spot in varsity individual tournaments. Reggie didn't think he could beat the 126 varsity wrestler (Caleb), but Caleb decided to cut weight and go to 120 at the end of the season. The 120 (Moises) had been struggling to make weight all season, so he went up to 126, and Reggie thought he had a chance.
The high school season ends with sections, and then, if you qualify, state. Reggie decided to do a wrestle off for the 126 spot and won!
To advance to state, you must finish 1st or 2nd at sections. We were so sure Reggie would not make a run for state this year that we booked a flight for spring break that same weekend.
At sections, Reggie was trailing in his first match, but that never seems to phase him. He went on the attack and pinned his opponent, to get his first varsity win and pin!
After that, he wrestled the guy who ended up getting 1st and lost. He won his 3rd match, putting him in the match for 3rd place. Third place doesn't get you to state, but if you didn't lose to the guy who loses to the guy who gets first, they have what is called "wrestling for true second". So basically the two wrestlers who lost to the champion (but noone else) wrestle each other for 2nd place. If Reggie won the match for 3rd, he would "wrestle for true second".
Again, Reggie found himself points behind in the match, but hanging on. He got a bloody nose, and that's when the ref noticed his mouth was also bleeding. The ref was mad. Because Reggie has braces, he is required to wear a mouthgaurd. He had forgotten to put it in before the match, so the ref gave his opponent an extra point.
Now behind 7-1, he was mad at the refs but he took it out on his opponent, and pinned him. (My video is really bad. I wasn't at a good angle for the mat he was wrestling on and people kept walking in front of me.)
Reggie went on to "wrestle for true second" and lost. If he had won, he would have been a state entrant at 126lbs as a 7th grader! There were only two 7th graders who made it to the state tournament at or above 120lbs this year. Reggie knows both of them!
Needless to say, Bryan won't be booking any more flights during the High School State Wrestling Tournament for many years. Two Woodbury wrestlers qualified for State. Sophomore Brad finished 5th, and junior Alex won! He was the Royal's first state champ since 1979.
When the high school season was over, Reggie was allowed to compete in the youth circuits. He went on to finish 6th at MN/USA State.
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