Favorite State Tournament Memories

[CrossAnkle]

Who was the kid from Chippewa Falls that won state and as he walked off gave his headgear away to a youngster, who then later also became a state qualifier? 

That is a cool story I have never heard. Who was the young kid?

http://chippewa.com/heart-of-a-champion/article_ca3a53f7-e205-5ded-bf1f-f26fd0499187.html

That was after the finals match where Joe Henning won wearing a Stoughton singlet as he was told his was too low cut and he'd be disqualified if he couldn't find a different one to wear in 5 minutes.

The young boy is Charlie Wanty of Waupaca who ended up winning a state title his Jr year I believe. Great story!!!

[maggie]

WOW, what a great wrestling story, with a great ending...

[wrestlingislife_189]

Zack Anglin making the semis is going to be on my list for many years to come. Let's see if he can keep it rolling!

[MarkK]

Who was the kid from Chippewa Falls that won state and as he walked off gave his headgear away to a youngster, who then later also became a state qualifier? 

That is a cool story I have never heard. Who was the young kid?

http://chippewa.com/heart-of-a-champion/article_ca3a53f7-e205-5ded-bf1f-f26fd0499187.html

That was after the finals match where Joe Henning won wearing a Stoughton singlet as he was told his was too low cut and he'd be disqualified if he couldn't find a different one to wear in 5 minutes.

The young boy is Charlie Wanty of Waupaca who ended up winning a state title his Jr year I believe. Great story!!!

I'll have to ask Charlie about that.   I see him often enough

[imnofish]

Zack Anglin making the semis is going to be on my list for many years to come. Let's see if he can keep it rolling!

The kid is amazing!  I'm pulling for him. 

[millert]

Kelly Bires, Mauston, and Mike Rohowitz, River Valley, standing and holding the warmup of Corey Henry, Viroqua, over the the top of the podium.  Bires was ranked #1, Henry #2, and Rohowitz #3, going into the same regional at Mauston.  Bires and Henry advanced out of the regional, but Corey was killed in a tragic car accident the next day.  Mike took Corey's spot and finished 2nd behind Bires at sectional.  Bires won state and Rohowitz finished 3rd I believe.  They planned the tribute all along and seeing 16,000 people stand and chear for what seemed like an eternity, gives me goosebumps to this day.  Proudest coaching moment I think I could ever have.  I recall the WIAA telling me that they shouldn't do it.  I grinned and said good luck stopping them.  I appreciated how they waited until all awards were handed out and then stepped up as to not take anything away from anyone.  The bond between Mauston and Viroqua will never end after that day.

[Orca]

I think every year we can appreciate all of the hard work that these athletes put in. Watching these kids grow up every year is tremendous. I feel that sometimes we forget that these are high school kids that will go on to much bigger and better things after wrestling (because of the lessons that they learned while wrestling). My favorite state memories are all of those incredible stories that we see at state each year because of hard work and all of the stories yet to come.

[woody53]

Kelly Bires, Mauston, and Mike Rohowitz, River Valley, standing and holding the warmup of Corey Henry, Viroqua, over the the top of the podium.  Bires was ranked #1, Henry #2, and Rohowitz #3, going into the same regional at Mauston.  Bires and Henry advanced out of the regional, but Corey was killed in a tragic car accident the next day.  Mike took Corey's spot and finished 2nd behind Bires at sectional.  Bires won state and Rohowitz finished 3rd I believe.  They planned the tribute all along and seeing 16,000 people stand and chear for what seemed like an eternity, gives me goosebumps to this day.  Proudest coaching moment I think I could ever have.  I recall the WIAA telling me that they shouldn't do it.  I grinned and said good luck stopping them.  I appreciated how they waited until all awards were handed out and then stepped up as to not take anything away from anyone.  The bond between Mauston and Viroqua will never end after that day.

Go back to page two on this thread and it is my #1 also. Thanks for explaining the full story Tom.

[npope]

Kelly Bires, Mauston, and Mike Rohowitz, River Valley, standing and holding the warmup of Corey Henry, Viroqua, over the the top of the podium.  Bires was ranked #1, Henry #2, and Rohowitz #3, going into the same regional at Mauston.  Bires and Henry advanced out of the regional, but Corey was killed in a tragic car accident the next day.  Mike took Corey's spot and finished 2nd behind Bires at sectional.  Bires won state and Rohowitz finished 3rd I believe.  They planned the tribute all along and seeing 16,000 people stand and chear for what seemed like an eternity, gives me goosebumps to this day.  Proudest coaching moment I think I could ever have.  I recall the WIAA telling me that they shouldn't do it.  I grinned and said good luck stopping them.  I appreciated how they waited until all awards were handed out and then stepped up as to not take anything away from anyone.  The bond between Mauston and Viroqua will never end after that day.

While I wasn't present for the actual event, having heard about it over the years, I have to say that it also stands out as perhaps the most poignant event that may have ever happened at the state meet (and there are many of them). The event transcends wrestling, the state meet, even time. The sport and the meet presented those young men with an opportunity to make a statement that was so much larger than "just" an athletic event. It is reflective of all that can be good about the sport and human nature. So much empathy and perspective exemplified by a couple of kids who were wise beyond their years. It was a good lesson for all of us to see.

[foose4]

Having our head coach tell my son and a couple friends 6 years ago while watching the video on Championship Saturday as a 4th grader "This is your wrestling goal, to make Saturday night under the lights at Madison, everything else is just a step to get you to this goal"......then having your son and one of his friends pull it off their freshman year. 

On a side note, the fine young man who he was watching in the finals that year came back to be a volunteer coach this year and was on a chair matside during the matches, funny how things happen.