2 Spartans win titles at Emporia High’s Winter Classic tournament
By Michael Ashford
Monday, December 18, 2006
It wasn’t an opposing wrestler that nearly took down Emporia High’s Justin Rose in the 112-pound championship bout of the Emporia High Winter Classic wrestling tournament on Saturday.
It was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Knotted in a 1-1 match with Maize’s Jabez Zinabu after three rounds, Rose had to go over to a trash can at the side of the mat and stand over it for a few minutes before the overtime period could begin.
“I got sick,” Rose said. “I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before the match, and it came up a little right before overtime. But it went away.”
No longer fazed by his earlier snack, Rose went on to pin Zinabu just 12 seconds into overtime to claim one of Emporia’s two titles on the day, as the Spartans finished third as a team in the Winter Classic.
“I didn’t think I was going to get it (the pin),” Rose said. “He was wearing me out. I was tired, and he was strong. He was a good wrestler. I just stuck with him as best I could and it paid off.”
Rose’s championship was followed by a victory by Sal Tovar in the 119-pound class, though Tovar’s match was not nearly as tightly contested as Rose’s.
Tovar got out to a quick 2-0 lead over Junction City’s Adam Charland with a takedown in the first period, and eventually he stretched that advantage out to 8-0 early in the third period with an escape and two more takedowns.
The match ended with a 10-2 decision, as Tovar dominated from start to finish by staying on the offense for nearly the entire bout.
“Sal is like that fly tape; he just blankets the kid and doesn’t let him breathe when he’s on top,” EHS coach Greg Buckbee said. “He’s always offense, offense, offense, and he just did a super job.”
Two other Spartans made it to the championship matches of their weight classes, as 103-pounder Jared Dakin and the 285-pound Josh Rodriguez each advanced to the last matches of the day. Each fell short, however, in their chase for titles — Dakin fell to Lansing’s Dennis Wood by an 18-3 technical fall and North Kansas City’s Jayson Palmgren, who was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler, pinned Rodriguez just 13 seconds into their match.
Dakin, after pinning his first two opponents in Wichita West’s Isiah Jackson and Eudora’s Cody Salzman and recording a 14-9 decision over Junction City’s Isaac Ruiz, had trouble with the speed of Wood in the championship match.
“I had a hard time stopping the single-leg (takedown),” Dakin said. “Single-leg really killed me. He was really fast, and I couldn’t stall fast enough to keep up with him.”
After the second-place showings from Dakin and Rodriguez, three other Spartans placed on the day, as Mark Kolmer earned a 7-5 decision over Seaman’s Matt Rice to take third at 189 pounds, while Tavo Dikin (125 pounds) and Zeb Peak (135 pounds) each finished fourth.
The Spartans were particularly effective in the lower weight classes, as Emporia’s first four wrestlers — Dakin, Rose, Tovar and Dikin — each finished in the top 4 of their respective weight classes. The quartet was a major factor in helping Emporia finish with 160.5 team points.
“The first four ... that’s a good start for us each time we come out,” Buckbee said.
Emporia’s run to the third-place team finish behind champion Goddard (222.5 points) and second-place Eudora (169 points) pleased Buckbee, who said he saw his team continue to improve in the areas that he had been stressing in practice.
“I’m seeing them do what they’re supposed to do, and I’m seeing them working the things that we’ve been working on in practice,” Buckbee said. “If they continue to do that and continue to improve, we’ll make strides every week.”