Controversial 215 match leaves Porta crying foul
By DAVE KANE
STAFF WRITER
Published Thursday, February 22, 2007
The wrestling season ended for Petersburg Porta High School by the slim margin of 31-29 in a Class A Dual Team Sectional loss to Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley on Tuesday night at Eureka High School. It was the Bluejays’ only dual loss after 25 straight victories.
There always are “might-have-beens “for a team on the losing end of a narrow decision. But everyone in the Porta camp talked about just one thing on Wednesday: a controversial disqualification of Porta senior Adam Gurski in his 215-pound match against Josh Ingold of GCMS.
“The whole thing wreaks, to be honest, “said Porta principal Darren Hartry, who attended Tuesday’s match. “In my opinion, it was one of the most unethical things I’ve seen during my 23 years in education.”
GCMS led 25-14 going into the 215 match, which was the 11th of 14 bouts. Matches for 285-, 103- and 112-pounders still remained in the dual meet that sent the winning team to the Class A State Dual Team Tournament on Saturday in DeKalb.
Gurski, who had pinned Ingold earlier in the season, held an early 2-0 lead. Gurski then was assessed separate one-point penalties for illegal holds, tying the score 2-2 just 40 seconds into the bout. According to several individuals who were at the meet, Ingold returned to the center of the mat after the second one-point penalty and appeared ready to resume.
But GCMS coach Ryan Birt at that point asked referee Andy Warner of Savoy for 2 minutes of recovery time for Ingold.
“It was a full nelson, and I stopped the match and penalized (Gurski), “Warner said Wednesday. “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 no 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 (Birt) 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 that rule.”
It gave GCMS a 31-14 lead at that point. Porta earned a total of 15 points in winning the final three matches – one by pin, one by forfeit and one by decision – to account for the final two-point margin.
Warner said he has no authority as an official to rule whether a wrestler is able to continue. But he knew the significance of Birt’s decision.
“That’s a maximum of a 12-point turnaround, “Warner said of the 215 match, “or a minimum of nine points. Do I agree with what happened? You hate to say. But I’m not a doctor.”
Porta coach Jeff Hill was not present Tuesday night because his wife, Beth, was hospitalized. But several others from the Porta coaching staff who were present, including assistant Rick Thomas, questioned the ethics of Birt’s move.
Thomas said Birt was rubbing Ingold’s neck during the stoppage. But with Ingold originally appearing ready to wrestle, Thomas was skeptical about the injury.
“I don’t think coaches should have the authority to make a decision like that, “said Thomas, who did not take issue with Warner’s handling of the situation but said the Illinois High School Association should consider a rule change.
“Maybe the ref should talk to the kid first, “Thomas said. “I’d like to see something addressed with that. There’s nothing you can do the way it’s set up now.
“But if a kid is ready to wrestle and the coach steps in . . . I know if my kid might have a neck injury, I’d want a professional to look at him. There was a trainer there.”
When contacted Wednesday night, Birt declined to comment in detail about his decision in the 215 match.
“I respect Jeff Hill greatly, “Birt said of the Porta head coach and the Bluejays program. “To think that this was some type of attack against them . . . it’s just something that happened. Everyone will have to move forward from this.
“The way this came down, it’s not in any way how I wanted it to happen.”
Fred Kroner, a reporter for the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette who covered the match Tuesday night, said he interviewed Birt immediately following the match.
“My decision came on the effort of these (GCMS) kids and what they deserve, “Birt was quoted by Kroner in a story published in Wednesday’s editions of the News-Gazette. “We’ve worked these kids like dogs. We had the opportunity to seize the match against a team that was undefeated.”
Birt said Wednesday that his comments in the News-Gazette story were taken out of context.
According to Kroner, Birt later was interviewed by Randy Sharer of The Pantagraph in Bloomington after Birt had talked to Ingold in the locker room.
“It was (Ingold’s) call, and we stuck with it, “Birt was quoted in Wednesday’s editions of The Pantagraph. “It was Josh Ingold’s call. I said ‘Josh, I want to know the truth. If you feel I made you make that call, we’ll turn it over to the other team.’ He goes, ‘Coach, you did not make me make that call.’
“Trust me. I won’t sleep tonight, but when it comes down to it, I did what I needed to do as a coach.”
Hartry said everyone in the Porta contingent predictably was upset in the aftermath.
“Our fans voiced a lot of displeasure when the forfeit was awarded, and our wrestlers were distraught, “Hartry said. “But I was proud of our coaches. They kept things under control. It could’ve gotten ugly. “Hartry also credited Gurski, whose high school career ended on a disappointing note. “I went down and talked to Adam during second hour today, “Hartry said Wednesday. “I was proud of him. He’s handled himself with class. If anyone should be upset, it should be him.”
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