Thoughts on 2010 state wrestling tournament

Obviously there is so much that goes on during the state wrestling tournament that there is no way we can fit it all in our articles so I thought I would share a few thoughts on the early goings-on this year.
BIGGER IS BETTER — As the end of Day 1 approached last night, Pleasant Grove and Payson sat atop the team standings. That is, until the heavyweights wrestled. Box Elder and Bingham both have two outstanding 285-pound wrestlers, and all four (Box Elder’s Daniel Crook and Shane Hardy and Bingham’s Seni Fauonuku, and Kesni Tausinga) picked up pins for 11 points in the round to propel their teams to the lead. In all, the four wrestlers are responsible for 44 points, or 22 for each squad, the max possible.
NICE WORK — It truly is amazing to watch the precision with which this tournament is run. With So many matches, so many wrestlers, coaches, parents and workers running around, how smoothly things go is fantastic. But what impressed me most was watching how quickly a trainer was available when things went wrong. I was watching Jordan’s Dylan Howell vs. Viewmont’s Mitch McCloy when Howell basically blacked out. Within seconds the official had stopped things and a trainer was working to make sure Howell would be all right. McCloy was declared the winner by default, but it was good to see that Howell was getting the attention he needed at that point.
TRUE TO FORM — While there were some upsets (like Howell losing as he was the No. 1 ranked at 160 pounds in 5A), there weren’t any shockers. No defending champions were knocked to the consolation side on Day 1, and most advanced relatively easily with most getting pins or tech falls in their matches.
MEDIA ACCESS — This is my 7th year covering the state tournament, so I kind of have my routine down. With 10 mats of action going on simultaneously, it can be a little daunting at times. That task got even harder at the beginning last night. The UHSAA had decided that the media, besides photographers, was no longer going to be granted access out next to the mats and had to wait at the ends. This lasted all of one match for me when I had to wait several minutes for the first wrestler I wanted to talk to after his match to come out to where I could grab him. while waiting, I missed the next match I wanted to watch and cover. I found UHSAA official Bart Thompson right after this happened and explained — more like pleaded — my situation and he agreed to allow me back to matside in the “press box” (a little, and I mean little when you get more than one person in it, taped off box on the cement next to a mat). Thank you Bart for understanding we have a job to do and want to do it well.

Well, that is all for Day 1, check back tomorrow for more thoughts on Day 2.