AIA disciplines S. Cruz wrestling for fight
Jose E. Garcia
The Arizona Republic
The Arizona Interscholastic Association placed Eloy Santa Cruz’s wrestling program on probation Tuesday in the aftermath of a brawl Jan. 15 involving Santa Cruz and Show Low fans and competitors at the Coolidge Invitational.
The disciplinary action, taken by the association’s executive board at a meeting in Phoenix, represents the first steps in addressing the recent trend of scuffles at high school sporting events.
Unlike Show Low, Santa Cruz presented a limited violation report to the AIA, prompting AIA executive director Harold Slemmer to recommend probation for Santa Cruz.
Show Low’s wrestling program and its activities program received a warning and an advisement, respectively, for its part. Coolidge’s activities program also received a warning.
Teams placed on probation are not allowed to participate in the state tournament. A warning eliminates programs from excellence awards and can lead to probation if another incident occurs. An advisement is a word of caution, which Maricopa High received after an incident that a fan started during a basketball game Jan. 28.
Santa Cruz Athletic Director Steve Hudgens said his school is going to appeal the penalty.
“It’s more a matter of paper work, “Hudgens said. “The AIA is not out to punish the kids.”
In a separate incident, Prescott’s girls basketball program was also placed on probation because its coach decided to take the team off the court with 21 seconds left in a game for what he felt was bad officiating.
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