Bowie Wins Arlington District Championship
by Peter Dewey
The Arlington District is undoubtably the toughest in the State with four top caliber programs in Arlinton, Bowie, Lamar and Martin and some quality individuals in the other district programs. This year looked to be a barn-burner finish with Arlington favored by most pundits on the ITW forum. But it was good day to be a Bowie Volunteer as they destroyed the tough field, had the District title secured before the finals (if not mathematically as least practically) and advanced eleven wrestlers to Regionals where Highland Park and Coppell await, among others.
Most brackets had 6-8 wrestlers and the first round matches went down without any major upsets. But the showdowns began in the semi-finals.
Semi-Finals
103
#1 seed Danny Luttrell (Arl) and #2 Robert Myers (Lam) advance easily.
112
#1 Kevin Schmitt (Arl) advance but Shawn Klemm (Bow) wins with a 16- 0 TF over #2 seed Kevin Jacks (Mar) and the Bowie onslaught had begun.
119
#1 Matt Goolsby (Bow) and #2 Darren Delacruz (SGP) win handily.
125
#1 Vince Hawkins (Lam) pins his way to the finals but Tim Hadanand (Mar) struggles to win 8-6 OT over Ben Casey (Bow).
130
#1 Corey Miller (Mar) and #2 Matt Buckbinder (Bow) advance to the finals with falls.
135
#1 Clifton Thompson (Mar) squeaks by Alondra Harris (Lam) 8-7 and #2 Brad Atkinson (Bow) pins his way into the finals.
140
The first #1 seed is knocked off as Donnie Bell (SGP) upsets #1 Drew O’Brien (Mar) 8-5. #2 Whitton White (Lam) picks up two falls to make the finals.
145
#1 John Luttrell (Arl) records two falls in less than a minute to make the finals. But in the bottom half of the bracket is the first showdown of the day #2 Brent Rogers (Bow) against Scott Neill (Mar). It was all Rogers as he WBF in 1:27.
152
#1 Spencer Jernigan (Arl) had the #1 seed. In the bottom half of the bracket #2 Wes White (Lam) faced Luke Brigmon (Bow). Wes had beaten Luke 3 weeks earlier 7-3. There is no overstating how big this match was. The loser most likely does not advance to Regional and for Bowie the loss of Brigmon would pretty much end their State title aspirations.
Luke was ready for the rematch. He had his hood up over his head as the match approached but if you looked inside you could see the eye of the tiger. Bowie fans knew the importance of this one match. They chanted Rocky! Rocky! as Luke stepped onto the mat in tribute to Luke’s Italian heritage and his love for the Rocky movies. Early in the match, Luke overpowered Wes on a re-shot, stacked him, nearly pinned him and 30 seconds in the score stood Brigmon 5 White 0. The Bowie fans were LOUD. In fact LOUDER than I have heard any Texas wrestling fans anywhere, anytime for 6 full minutes. And Luke was in the zone. He built on that 5 point lead by keeping nearly all the action on the mat and not permitting Wes to wrestle on his feet where Wes had taken Luke down 3 times the match before. The lead built to 9-0 before Wes could manage a meaningless reversal with seconds left. Pandemonium (and a few tears) on the Bowie side.
Heartbreak (and a few tears) for Wes and his fans. But after probably the toughest defeat of his career, Wes exhibited nothing but class. He was gracious in defeat and won his wrestlebacks hoping for a chance to challenge. It didn’t happen. It is simply not right that Wes and other talented wrestlers are punished for being in tough districts. If the goal is to have the 16 best wrestlers at State, then the “system” is not working right and needs to be fixed.
Feeding off Luke’s huge win, Bowie would push its next 4 wrestlers into the finals and for all practical purposes lock up the District title.
160
#1 Matt Baker (Mar) and #2 Chris Brooks (Bow) advanced.
171
#1 Chris Corry (Bow) and #2 David Espinosa (GP) advanced.
180
#1 Derick Moore (Bow) advanced but #2 Josh Favara (Arl) was stuck by Jeff Kirwan (Mar).
189
#1 Michael Moon (Arl) and #2 Marcus McGraw (Bow) advanced.
215
#1 Jared Tadlock (Arl) made the fianls but #2 Jordan Spruiel was pinned in 5:43 by Michael Weber (Lam).
275
#1 Andrew Konkle (SGP) made the finals but Stephen Speer (Arl) upset Kelvin Jackson (Sam) 5-2.
Finals and Challenges
103
Luttrell (Arl) with a first period fall over Myers (Lam). No challenge match. Danny Luttrell will advance to State and should place.
112
Schmitt (Arl) WBD 11-5 over Klemm (Bow). Reinhold (SGP) challenges and Klemm WBTF 17-2. Schmitt and Klemm should advance to State. Placing will be a challenge in a loaded class.
119
Goolsby (Bow) trails in the finals until he locks up a spladdle (which he is very adept at setting up) and gets a first period fall over Delacruz (SGP). No challenge. Both can advance to State but must wrestle well in regionals to do so.
125
Vince Hawkins (Lam) WBF in first period. No challenge match. I don’t see Hawkins losing to anyone not named Sandoval.
130
Miller (Mar) WBD 9-2 Buchbinder (Bow). Buckbinder wins challenge match 2-0 against Nick Hawkins. Miller looking very good. He could be the best in a loaded Region 2 130 class including Horn and Gallatin. Buckbinder would needs to be at his best to advance out of regionals.
135
Atkinson (Bow) WBD 1-0 Thompson (Mar). No challenge match. Advancing to State will be tough for these guys but certainly not out of the question.
140
Whitton White (Lam)WBD 5-4 Bell (SGP). No challenge match. Both guys look to be right on the bubble for advancing to State and need to be at peak form next week.
145
The John Luttrell (Arl) v. Brent Rogers (Bow) showdown. First period Luttrell takedown Rogers escape …great wrestling. Second period Rogers reverses and rides tough. Third period Rogers WBF and Bowie fans erupt again. Rogers is simply wrestling great. Luttrell with an injured knee but must face Scott Neill (Mar) in a challenge match. Neill comes out very aggressive, leads 4-2 after the first period, and hits the big 5 point move in the second period to go up 9-4. Luttrell locks up a cradle to start the third period. He gets 3 put isn’t going to get the fall. Releases. Score 9-7 Neill, Luttrll riding and desperate. Forced to go for broke, he gives up a late reversal. Final Neill 11-7.
Stop me if you’ve heard this rant before but here is another weight class with 3 kids that are definite state-placer potential but one is eliminated at districts. Can we please allow 3 to advance to Regional?
152
The Spencer Jernigan (Arl) v. Luke Brigmon (Bow) showdown. Fired up by Luttrell’s defeat, Jernigan came out smoking. Luke understandably with some difficulty matching the intensity. It is Jernigan who hits the early 5-0 move and controls a match that is mostly wrestled on their feet. Final Jernigan 15-8. Jernigan fast, strong and showing no weaknesses. But Luke will have another crack at him, maybe two as they will both go to Regional and State. 3rd place finisher Wes White won’t get to wrestle either again and sadly goes home.
160
Baker (Mar) WBF in the 3rd period over Brooks (Bow). In the challenge match Brooks survives 6-5 against Ben Moreau (Seg). Baker on the bubble, Brooks a longshot to advance to state.
171
Corry (Bow) WBF 3rd period over Espinosa (GP). Espinosa wins challenge from Clifton (Mar) 13-1. Corry should advance to State; Espinosa will need to upset a higher seed.
180
Moore (Bow) WBF 2nd period over Kirwan (Mar). No challenge match. Moore will advance to State, notwithstanding a Region with Rowsey and Capodagli.
189
Marcus McGraw (Bow), improving every time he takes the mat, easily defeats Moon (Arl) with a shoot and cut approach in the first period that gets him 3 takedowns. McGraw WBMD 16-7. No challenge match. This is another very tough regional class. McGraw would need to up his game even a few more notches to advance.
215
Weber (Lam) stuns Tadlock (Arl) 8-5. Then Spruiel (Bow) challenges and wins 8-6. Even without Tadlock there will be four state ranked wrestlers in Region 2. But Weber and Spruiel both knocked off Tadlock so they are capable of doing it again.
275
Konkle (SGP) beats Speer (Arl) 1-0. Speer avoids a challenge when Jackson (Sam) down 8-1 to Umeh (Bow) gets the fall in 5:58. I’d say Konkle and Speer both on the bubble trying to advance to State.
Region 2
Bowie adavnces 11 to Regionals. A good day at districts was an absolute must to compete evenly with Coppell and Highland Park who advanced 13 and 11, respectively. Mission accomplished. But no time to smell the roses. To compete for the State Championship, I believe a team must have four placers (top 6) and contributions from as many other wrestlers as possible. Barring major upsets, Bowie will advance 4 potential state placers (Rogers, Brigmon, Corry and Moore). How many others can they get to State? HP and Coppell are in similar situations. Next week will tell us a lot about which of these teams is primed to make a run at a State Championship.
Nice job as always Peter. I was there for most of the afternoon and you summed it up perfectly.
Peter,
Good summary and accurate observations. Thanks for taking the time to go out there and see the matches.
I, too, was really impressed by the turnout from the Arlington Bowie fans who were loud and supportive of their team. It was great.
The Region 2 Championships will definitely be a showdown with the top-shelf talent coming together to see who gets to go “on the bus” to Austin. Hope to see you there.
Peter — Outstanding. Once again you show that you know your stuff. You made me feel like I was there.
Dewey is covering Region II and it looks like JR will cover Region II in Allen — unless I can talk someone into doing for me! For pay, too!
One other thing to say:
BaBaBowie BaBaBowie
I meant Region III in Allen, obviously.
I grew up in NEbraska which has 1/20th the population of Texas. they wrestle in class from A thru D for the state championships. Why doesn’t the state of Texas break it down by class? They don’t play football or basket ball cobining all classses.
Also, some of the best werestlers may finish 3rd in toughter districts such as at Lamar when other districts are weaker and they 1 and 2 finishers would not beat any of the top 3 at Lamar. They need to make both of the adjustments in Texas wrestling and make them soon.
There is no enough depth for more than one class at state. They have one class in California with 1000 schools wrestling. I like the one-class state meet. We find out who the best person is per weight. Period.
The district problem which is almost all the Arlington district everyone knows that has to change.
You can break it down by class and determine each champion and then if you want to know who is the best then you have each class/weight champion wrestle each other. You are now giving each person from a class the oportunity to be a class state champion and then you can have the Super state champion. It’s all about the boys and girls.
Does Texas want to raise their level on wrestlers up to other states such as Iows, Minneasota, Nebraska, Oklahoma etc. Majority of the best college wrestling programs come form places like OSA, Iowa, Iowa State, Nebraska, Missouri and Oklahoma and I’ll bet they don’t have a lot fo Californians on their teams. Let’s excell with the midwest powerhouses and not California.
In the last world championships out of the seven wrestlers three were from California, one from Texas one from Louisiana.
Frank, thanks for your comments. In note 7 you make two points. I agree with one and disagree with the other. I strongly concur that we need to let 3 wrestlers advance from districts. This would only create a 24 man regional bracket (give #1 seeds a bye) and regions could easily be wrestled in 2 days just like now. In fact they could even handle a 32 man bracket.
But I disagree with adding divisions to State. Lets keep this an elite tournament for awhile. Further down the road we can reassess. 16 man brackets is perfect. State needs to be a showcase. In 1975, LA went from 1 to 2 divisions (big school – small school) Then to 3 divisions. This was supposed to create more opportunites for State Championships, generate interest and get more schools wrestling. 30 years later I have to say these goals have not been achieved. There are 30-32 Dvision 1 (Big) schools, 12-14 Division 2 schools and 14-16 division 3 schools. Some people even argue that the in-season Lee High tournament Championship where all divisions wrestle is more valuable than a State championship because there are no divisions.
In Texas there is no reason to water down the State Championship. Making it to State, placing at State and winning State are still HUGE to the wrestlers. Let’s not diminish that.
Glad I got some people to respond. Action needs to be taken with the top three seeds as you have many very good kids being left at home in a tough district while other kids qualify in weaker districts.
Not certain what a world championship is as i was referring to Divison I college championships. How many years has teams like Iowa State, Iowa and Oklahoma State dominated at that level with many midwestern kids carrying the load. When was the last time USC or UCLA won National wrestling championship?
Enough said about that and thanks for this great web site. the Star Teltgram should get you on their staff if you are not already a contributor.
The Star-Telegram has one of the best wrestling writers in America in Heidi Pederson. (She’s an Iowa girl, too and knows her wrestling.) They just don’t know how to use her.
BTW I was talking about the USA World Championships team — the best seven freestyle wrestlers in America. Stephen Abas, Eric Guerrero, Mo Lawal, etc.