bestsport

Ok. I simply cant be the bigger person here and not say anything to defend my 19 year old son. Yes I am Masons Dad. I’m sure I’m biased but I do try and view both my boys objectively and call it like it is. I feel it’s the only way to prepare properly for life. I certainly don’t think either are perfect angels and do everything right. How could they…..according to what I know….there is only one perfect being, and its none of us! First Mason is not the “Crown Prince of Tennessee Wrestling” as it was written. There have been numerous wrestlers from Tennessee, with accomplishments/accolades far greater than Mason. I can name a few right off….Jordan Leen, Matt Keller, Simpson, Kevin Ward, Nick Marable (all from different schools) that have gone on after high school and accomplished great things. Mason is just starting his post high school career. I would however, include Mason in with some of the best Tennessee high school wrestlers. I would not say he was the best or even close to the best. There are numerous 4 timer state champions, and two 5 timers. Mason won only three. But, he was a 5 time state finalist and OW once. He was a 3 time National Prep finalist, 3 time NHSCA finalist 1 time Champ, Fargo double AA. He had the the great fortune of competing on a cadet world team. He received the State Dave Schultz award. In my opinion he was a pretty good high school wrestler. These accomplishments in high school mean absolutely NOTHING at this next level. Mason has just started this chapter and yes it has not been pretty thus far. Without being able to see in the future, I cant tell you what hes going to accomplish or not accomplish at this next level. But I assure you he wants to make the line up at Cornell. Hes experienced a couple of setbacks with injuries actually starting with a completely torn PCL and slightly torn LCL and posterior corner ligaments damaged in his knee back from summer prior to last season. He was off the mat for 6 months then. He reinjured the same LCL (no tear) at fargo again this summer. Missed another month plus before heading to Cornell. Had a great preseason of training there and then came down with something that rendered him unable to even snap his fingers with either hand. After numerous dr visits and another month off the mat, that was cleared up with medicine and gratefully not returned. 2 days after returning to practice, he injured his ankle spraining ligaments. Another 2 plus weeks off the mat yet again. Finally on December 16th after getting home for the break he got back on the mat to try and prepare the best he could for the Scuffle. Obviously I knew he was not prepared for this tournament, but he was not going to miss it for anything. It was apparent he doubted his readiness as well and was intimidated to wrestle Joe Smith right out of the gate. No question he was gassed very early into his second match. I agree with the comment for calling injury time to catch his breath….not acceptable in my book either. But im not the one out there competing knowing a lot of eyes are on him hoping he fails, confused and scared of what happens if he loses again. I can only assume he truly felt he couldn’t breath, panicked and called for injury time. I disagree with the fact he does this frequently. Hes wrestled big time situations like this before and should have been able to overcome this. But he didn’t….so we have a discussion and point out his faults and where he needs to improve. Believe me there are a lot of areas needing improvement. Like I said previously, don’t know the future, but I know him…. He will not give up on what he really wants! I realize my post may be viewed as a parent offering up excuses for his child, and that’s fine if it is. That’s not why I responded though. I just thought IGNORANT people might need some enlightenment, so the next time they attack the character of someone they do not obviously know, they have all the background. They might still have the same opinion of Mason after getting to know him?? Again I am his dad and maybe blind to some of his faults, but I most definitely do NOT think he is the villain some have attempted to make him out to be. I have told him to view these comments. I hope he does it in a way he can learn from them, make it positive and not only see it as a personal attack from individuals hiding behind screen names. Hoping only to see him fail. I thank you once again for another learning opportunity for Mason!! Please let me know if you would prefer my thank you in person. Darren Reiniche

First let me state I am Mason's Dad, and my perspective is obviously biased without trying. I do not know Parker Peterson at all. I couldn't tell you what kind of a young man he is....good or bad. However, I can say that during competition especially one that gets heated to the point referee(s) lose control, an athlete, coach and fan can get caught up in the situation and act/react in unfavorable ways and be judged by others only on those actions. Last nights finals match was one of those matches. Both Mason and Parker appeared to get caught up in the moment and lose sight of what they were there to do...….and that's Wrestle. Parker appeared to be going backwards and/or circling the edge of the mat the entire 1st period. This of course got the Baylor fans excited and wanting a stalling caution. The strategy/style frustrated Mason of course because in his mind he had predetermined the outcome with him getting the early fall and ending his final High School State Tournament on a good note. The first head butt (rather intentional or incidental) really got the Baylor Fans going. And from the stands (which is where I sat) it honestly looked pretty bad. I could tell Mason seemed dazed and could only hope he keep himself in check on focus on the big picture. Unfortunately he had a momentary lapse and offered up a little shove at the end of the period to let Parker know who be was on the mat with. This in turn simply added fuel to the fire and got the Father Ryan faithful up in arms. From here it just continued to escalate with (in my opinion) more brawling than wrestling. I'm all for hard hand fighting and aggressive wrestling to gain favorable position for a scoring opportunity. However, I didn't see really many attempts by parker to score only banging to keep Mason off balance and not in a good position to score. On the flip side Mason played into it and banged back trying to dig an underhook or utilize a hard snap, but not follow it up with solid leg attacks. Unfortunately for Mason he came out on the losing end of the brawl and suffered a couple more hard shots to face/head. Enough of them I feared the ref was going to stop the match due to Mason not fit to continue. This outcome would have most definitely been a tragic end to pretty darn good high school career. Mason being hit with a stall call when working from top while parker smartly controlled his hands, again grew frustrated in addition to being dazed from repeated blows to the head/face, and determined against his coaches instructions (which were to simply ride him out and finish the match and limit the opportunity for more blows to the head) that he was going to let parker up and take him down. He did that, and got that crowd (both sides) more fired up. The match ended and the score was 10-2 in favor of Mason. Neither Mason or Parker were happy with the results. I personally didn't see either wrestler do any gestures or unsportsmanlike actions after the match. I observed Mason recognize his cheering fans in an appreciative manner and give the freight train horn tug (that all of the Baylor finalists had done). I certainly observed him go shake Pat Simpsons hand as well as the other coaches. Now, I am uncertain if Coach Ben Nelson didn't see the original handshake or just didn't think one was enough but he made Mason go shake their hands again. I did notice Mason did not shake Parkers hand again as he offered one up as they exited the mat. What happens next is a blur to me. I watched Mason leave the mat and go toward the fence where he was abruptly stopped by someone (which I was told later was a brother of an MBA wrestler...I wont name them), and that person blurted out derogatory comments directly at and to Mason along with some other dissatisfied fans including one on the Father Ryan coaching staff (not the two in the corner). This is when Mason reacted and completely lost control and had to be escorted back to refs lounge by another member of Baylor's coaching staff. I missed a lot of this as I was in the process of leaving my seat in the stands to get down there to be at my son's side and eliminate any further reactions. Upon my arrival in the refs lounge, Mason was lying on his back. The bridge of his nose was bloody with tape on it, his cheek bone was cut and bleeding, and mouth was full of blood making all of his front teeth red. He was distraught and utterly confused as to why and how so many people hated him. He couldn't comprehend that grown individuals could be so hostile hanging over the railing yelling out awful things (things that I cannot repeat here) especially from a coach that he thought liked/respected him. The saddest thing for me is I had no good response for him. There is not a good response to that question. Somebody else commented that the late Coach Jim Morgan wouldn't have tolerated his wrestler acting in such unsportsmanlike manner is correct, and neither would Coach Ben Nelson or any other Baylor coach on the staff. I personally don't think either Mason or Parker demonstrated unsportsmanlike manners while on the mat. I honestly don't think ill of Parker either. I truly think he simply had a game plan to survive against Mason early and still be there at the end with a chance to win. His strategy did come across as stalling for sure, and his aggressiveness did lend to pretty severe blows to Mason's head. Its unfortunate and Mason most certainly did not want this experience for his last showing at the Tennessee State Tournament where he is a 5 time finalist and 3 time Champion. I hope and will do my best to turn this weird and terribly unfortunate incident into a positive learning experience for Mason moving forward. And ScottOsters, I am absolutely positive that is exactly what Coach Jim Morgan would want!!

Mason Reiniche won 12u. Great to see TN kids making the trip.....Congrats to all of them and the individuals making it possible for them to be there!

182 6th rank is Cooper Reiniche (incorrect sp originally).