Mat Ethics Should Be Preached And Practiced
by Kyle Klingman

Does anyone remember when heavyweight Steve Mocco won his NCAA title for the University of Iowa in 2003? If you don't, let me remind you that he might not have won had it not been for an important ethical decision by former Iowa State head coach Bobby Douglas.

Mocco received a first round bye so his first match of the tournament was against Scott Coleman of Iowa State. The former Hawkeye wrestler was dominating his Cyclone foe during the match. But in going for the pin, Mocco barred Coleman's arm too far away from the body and Mocco was penalized one point for an illegal hold.

Coleman couldn't continue and was legitimately injured from the move. Had Coleman defaulted the match, Mocco would have been placed in the consolation bracket and the best he could have hoped for was third.

But when Douglas saw this unfold, he insisted that his wrestler continue wrestling for another second and then injury default. This decision by Douglas allowed Mocco to move into the quarterfinals.

It was classy move by Douglas. Mocco went so far as to say that he had “a lot of respect for the Iowa State coaches and their program.”

On February 20, 2007, an ethical decision of a different sort took place at a high school dual meet. And it shook Illinois high school wrestling — and eventually the Internet message boards — to its core.

“The reaction to this was unprecedented,” said Rob Sherrill, publisher of Illinois Best Weekly and W.I.N.'S high school editor. “The only other thing I can think of in 29 years of Illinois wrestling that caused an uproar of this kind was the Mount Carmel situation back in the early ‘90s, which resulted in the cancellation of the AA state duals. It might be a stretch to say this is the second biggest but in terms of an ethics and integrity standpoint it is way up there.”

First, some background information is required. In Illinois High School wrestling the there are two classes: A (the smaller class) and AA (the bigger class). Each class has a traditional state tournament and a dual meet state tournament. 

However, there is no team scoring in the traditional state tournament. If a wrestling coach wants to win a state team title, the only way he can do this is via the dual meet state tournament. Getting to the state dual meet tournament means something more in Illinois.

So when Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (GCMS) defeated Petersburg PORTA in the Class A Dual Team sectional at the neutral site of Eureka High School, they got an opportunity to wrestle at the state dual meet tournament on February 24.

The final score of the sectional dual was close, 31-29 to be exact. With the win, Ryan Birt — a 1999 NCAA Division III champion for Upper Iowa — and his squad avenged a 42-23 loss to Petersburg PORTA earlier in the year. GCMS had just knocked off the only undefeated team in Class A and — according to Rob Sherrill — the best team Petersburg PORTA head coach Jeff Hill had ever produced during his 15 years as coach.

The win should have been a cause for celebration. It was the first state tournament appearance ever for GCMS. It was a historic day for GCMS wrestling.

But many of those in attendance left with anger and disappointment. The questionable events that took place during the 215-pound match  “was the saddest, most painful, embarrassing, and disgusting thing that I've seen in high school wrestling,” according one of the officials and coaches present.

Entering the match in question, GCMS held a 25-14 lead. But the dual started at 119 pounds and Petersburg PORTA was getting to the meat of their lineup. The 215-pound match pitted Josh Ingold — a 189-pound senior who was 0-1 while wrestling for GCMS — against senior Adam Gurski. 

Gurski had compiled a 36-10 record during the season and qualified for the state tournament. In their earlier meeting, Gurki pinned John Williams — Gibson City's regular at 215 — to start off the meet. Obviously, Petersburg PORTA was heavily favored to win the match.

Within several seconds Gurski had taken Ingold down for two points. But Gurski was eventually penalized one point when he was called for an illegal full nelson (one where neither hand touched), which was called correctly by the official. Ingold was not injured by the move.

When wrestling resumed, Gurski applied another half nelson but snuck his other hand slightly under the armpit of Ingold and a full nelson was called again. Gurski was penalized a second point. The score was now 2-2.

Ingold jumped up immediately from the mat and then got back in the down position for a second time. He was waiting in the down position for nearly 10 seconds before the GCMS coaching staff stopped the match and asked for injury time.

Birt began rubbing Ingold's neck and after several seconds informed the official the match could not continue. Ingold was awarded the win and GCMS received six team points. That was a nine-point swing in a dual meet that was eventually decided by two points.

“I was stunned,” said Joe Cliffe, past president of the Illinois Wrestling Coaches Association and current head coach at Prairie Central High School. “(Birt) walked out on the mat, put his arm around the kid, massaged his neck a little bit and the next thing you know they're raising the kid's hand.

“I've got 31 years of coaching in junior high, junior college, and high school and wrestled in college at Northern Illinois. I've wrestled international, high school, and junior high. I've been in wrestling since 1962 and I've never seen anything so blatant. This kid was ready to wrestle right then and there.”

The official for the meet that night was Andy Warner of Savoy. The following quotes came from the Springfield Journal-Register in an article written by Dave Kane that was published on February 22, 2007.

“It was a full nelson, and I stopped the match and penalized (Gurzi),” said Warner. “Then (Ingold) gets back to the center and the (GCMS) coach says, ‘Whoa, I want recovery time to check my wrestler.'

“I'm like, ‘O-kaaay,' but there was not pressure on the full nelson. It was funny, because (Ingold) looked like he was ready to wrestle. But I'm not a doctor. After about 45 seconds, the Gibson City coach says his wrestler's unable to continue.

“He never called a trainer over. But it goes down as an injury by illegal hold, and (Ingold) is the winner by default. That's six points for Gibson City. I've been officiating 33 years, and I'd bet 90 percent of the kids don't know the rule.”

According to Sherrill, the events that took place that night at Eureka generated a record number of message board posts on Illinois Matmen.com and eventually found its way to the high school forums on USA Wrestling's themat.com. People across the nation watched the match on YouTube (simply type in “coaching ethics” in the search engine) and judged for themselves what took place.

“The way it unfolded was a blatant disregard for the ethics and integrity of the sport,” said Sherrill. “You have to look at what would have motivated Ryan Birt, who had no history of this kind of behavior, to do something that is going to be talked about for years and years.”

In Fred Kroner's article in the News-Gazette out of Champaign, Birt was quoted as saying, “maybe a month from now I'll think differently.

“My decision came on the effort of these kids and what they deserve. We've worked these kids like dogs. We had the opportunity to seize the match against a team that was undefeated.”

Birt later told Randy Sharer of The Pantagraph in Bloomington that it was “Josh Ingold's call” to stop the match.

“That's what makes me most mad about the whole thing,” said Mike Manahan, director of the Midwest National Tournament held in Bloomington who was in attendance. “(Birt) tried to blame the whole thing on the kid afterward.”

The only comment I personally was able to get from any member of the GCMS athletic department was through athletic director Mike Allen. He asked that all comments regarding this situation be directed toward him. However, I did leave a message for Ryan Birt in hopes of getting his thoughts. He did not return my call.

“You can think whatever you want and you're going to come to your own conclusions and be frustrated and be upset,” said Allen. “The bottom line is that if that kid hadn't have used two illegal moves they would never have been in that position.

“That kid (Gurski), he's a high school kid and he made a mistake. Unless you know our coach, he's not going to put his reputation, the program's reputation or the reputation of the sport in jeopardy and disrespect it at all.”

I can't write on the character of Ryan Birt, but Allen is absolutely right in his assessment. The full nelsons that Gurski applied to Ingold twice during the match were illegal. What Birt did that night was well within the rules of wrestling. 

But this is where ethics come into play. Just because something is legal doesn't mean it's ethical. Don't forget that slavery was legal in this country until Abraham Lincoln, our fellow wrestler from Illinois made sure that it wasn't. Legal or illegal, slavery was, and never will be, ethical.

One final note: Petersburg PORTA head coach was not present at the dual meet. He was at the hospital with his wife due to complications with her pregnancy. Jeff Hill was eventually named Coach of the Year. Hill and Birt have not spoken since before the dual meet.

“There is a sick taste in my mouth and there is going to be one for a long time,” said Hill. “Am I looking forward to wrestling Gibson City this year? Heck yes I am.”