Mannella is first state wrestling champion

In a tournament that started at 7:30 a.m. and lasted until 9:00 p.m., this was the culminating event for our wrestlers who for many, the season started last July following the annual wrestling camp. Anytime wrestlers compete at the state level the stakes are very high and the competition is extremely stiff. This years state tournament was no different and our wrestlers gave as much as they got in every match up.
The highlight of the evening for Dodge County was witnessing our first state wrestling champion, at any level, raise his hands in victory. In a match filled with sheer guts, raw determination, emotion, and suspense, Vincent Mannella emerged victorious. Wrestling in the 8U, 57 pounds, 24-man bracket, Mannella was our state hopeful when the season began last year. With the pressure squarely placed on his shoulders, Mannella clawed his way through the bracket as the number one seeded wrestler.
Winning his first match with a quick pin, Mannella ran into a much different opponent in the quarterfinals. Down early in the first period, Mannella needed to score quickly and get on the board. With a look of concern in his eyes, he scored a reversal to tie up the score. Through the second period, both wrestlers traded points making the score 4-4 going into the third period. Mannella chose to be the bottom wrestler, knowing he’d have to score a reversal or escape to win or risk going into over-time. With only a few seconds left in the match, the crowd, coaches, and fans were on their feet as Mannella scored a reversal to win the match at the buzzer. In the semi-finals, Mannella made easy work of his opponent recording a technical fall by a score of 11-0 and securing his spot in the championship finals.
Entering the gym with music rocking the house, smoke, and spotlights, the pressure was building for Mannella who knew he had the state champion title within his reach. Reporting in to the scorers’ table for his final, and most important bout of the year, Mannella was the epitome of determination and drive. After three periods of some of the most aggressive wrestling found in any youth tournament, the bout ended in a tie. With the score 4-4, Mannella looked at his coaches and dad and knew he was going into sudden death overtime; first score wins. Squaring off against his opponent at the center of the mat, Mannella’s face said it all. There was simply no way he was going to let his opponent take his state title. When the whistle blew, Mannella attacked. In a barnburner of activity that had his coaches holding their breath, he managed to fight off a tremendous opponent and with seconds left in sudden death, Mannella scored a takedown that would put him in the record books forever.
Wrestling just prior to Mannella’s bout, Joshua Rogers, 6U, 55 pounds, found himself in the consolation finals wrestling for third place. After winning his opening bout early in the day, he lost a very close match in the second round sending him to the consolation bracket with a very tough road ahead of him. Rogers, perhaps not recognizing the seriousness of his predicament, looked as if he felt no pressure winning his next four matches in a row and earning a spot in the medal rounds. Waiting patiently for his final match to begin, Rogers seemed to be taking it all in stride like a seasoned champion while his coaches and parents were nervous wrecks. Taking on a talented wrestler from the Ft. Benning Wrestling Club, Rogers gave up a take down in the opening seconds and suffered a cut under his right eye. Managing to put the pain behind him, he continued to wrestle with the voracity of a caged lion as he slowly chopped away at his opponents lead. By the end of the second period, his opponent couldn’t keep up. Late in the third period, Rogers scored a win by pin with only a few seconds left on the clock earning a third place finish at the state tournament.
Also displaying the courage and commitment that are hallmarks of great wrestlers, Christian Grauberger, James Rogers, Ty Belflower, Crosse Bearden, Anthony Mannella and Porter Faulk wrestled their hearts out throughout the day. In one of the most emotionally charged and upsetting bouts of the day, Porter Faulk was one match away from earning his first spot in the state consolation finals. Having lost earlier in the day, he wrestled back knocking off opponents one by one before suffering a disqualification in his final match. Faulk was up by a score of 9-4 and it appeared as if he was headed to the medal rounds. Unfortunately, three previous penalty calls for locking hands coupled with the final illegal hold violation ended his season in a heart breaking moment for him, his coach, and his family.