Double Trouble

Today, the first day of the 2009 New York State High School Wrestling Championships provided a number of exciting matches--but that's no different than any other year.

One match, in the 96-pound weight class, provided something that may not have ever played out in the history of high school wrestling across the United States, to say nothing of New York. Kings Park Juniors Max and Mike Soria are twins participating in that weight class and after winning their respective first round matches, they were poised to face each other in the quarterfinals.



In seeding the tournament, two wrestlers from the same Section--and certainly two wrestlers from the same High School--should never have to wrestle each other so early in the competition. With a max of three wrestlers allowed per weight class per Section, there is no excuse for having these studs square off in the second round; by rule the earliest they should be able to meet is the semis.

I'm sure the state's response to this would be some bureaucratic blather about how seeding has to be blind.

Come on. THEY'RE TWINS WRESTLING IN THE SAME WEIGHT AT THE STATE TOURNAMENT. For two brothers to make the States is a huge deal. To do it in the same weight class is practically unheard of. Add to the fact that they're twins truly makes this a unique event. If there's ever been a time to bend the rules and regulations, this would have been the occasion.

The NYS High School Athletic Association really swung and missed here. Unfortunately, according to Chris Mascaro's blog at Newsday, here's how their uneventful quarterfinal match played out:

Max Soria of Kings Park injury defaulted before his 96-pound quarterfinal against his twin brother Mike, citing a toe injury. Max is expected to wrestle in the wrestlebacks later today. It is pretty clear Max decided to forfeit to his brother, rather than wrestle him. A forfeit would knock him out of the tournament, so he called it an injury default to at least stay in the wrestlebacks. Quite a sacrifice.

It's a shame that two wrestlers work so hard all season only to see things end up this way. This potential problem was clearly identified early on, and the powers that be should have shown more flexibility. Here's hoping that Mike makes it to the finals and Max wrestles back for third.

Update: Mikes in the finals and Max has won his wrestlebacks, so at a minimum both wrestlers have earned all-state status.

Here's Gregg Sarra's Newsday piece on the duo (link)

Video from Flowrestling.com