Rather than face girl, wrestler defaults

[2blLeg]

DES MOINES, Iowa -- An Iowa high school wrestler who was one of the favorites to win his weight class defaulted on his first-round state tournament match rather than face one of the first girls to ever qualify for the event.

 

Joel Northrup, a home-schooled sophomore who was 35-4 wrestling for Linn-Mar High this season, said in a statement that he doesn't feel it would be right for him to wrestle Cedar Falls freshman Cassy Herkelman. Herkelman, who was 20-13 entering the tournament, and fellow 112-pounder Ottumwa sophomore Megan Black, who was 25-13, made history by being the first girls to qualify for the state tournament. Black was pinned quickly in her opening round match.

 

 

“

As a matter of conscience and my faith I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner. It is unfortunate that I have been placed in a situation not seen in most other high school sports in Iowa.

 

â€

-- Joel Northrup

 

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Cassy and Megan and their accomplishments. However, wrestling is a combat sport and it can get violent at times," wrote Northrup. "As a matter of conscience and my faith I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner. It is unfortunate that I have been placed in a situation not seen in most other high school sports in Iowa."

 

There were several thousand fans on hand Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena, but many were watching other matches when the referee raised Herkelman's hand to signal her win. There was a smattering of cheers and boos from the crowd before Herkelman was whisked into the bowels of the arena.

 

Tournament organizers declined to make Herkelman available for questions. Her next match is Friday.

 

In a text message to The Associated Press, her father, Bill Herkelman, said he understands Northrup's decision.

 

"It's nice to get the first win and have her be on the way to the medal round," Bill Herkelman wrote. "I sincerely respect the decision of the Northrup family especially since it was made on the biggest stage in wrestling. I have heard nothing but good things about the Northrup family and hope Joel does very well the remainder of the tourney."

 

Linn-Mar athletics director Scott Mahmens said the school would not penalize Northrup for defaulting. Because he defaulted and didn't forfeit, Northrup is eligible to compete in consolation rounds. Black will also compete in the consolation rounds.

 

Wrestling is hugely popular in Iowa, and this is the first time girls have qualified for the state tournament, which began in 1926.

 

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, just more than 6,000 girls competed in wrestling in 2009-10 -- compared with nearly 275,000 boys. Though most states require girls to wrestle boys, California, Hawaii and Texas now sponsor girls-only high school wrestling tournaments.

[takedown3]

Have to admire a kid who follows his principles and all the more so because he appears to have been the higher seed.

[maj]

Have to admire a kid who follows his principles and all the more so because he appears to have been the higher seed.

 

 

Mommy and Daddy probably had the bigger problem. He should have pinned her and moved on to the next guy.

[takedown3]

Mommy and Daddy probably had the bigger problem. He should have pinned her and moved on to the next guy.

Either one of them could have pinned her too. It's a case of conviction and principle. Difficult for many to understand.

[rjennings91]

I completely understand this situation having 3 girls on my team this year. We recieved forfeits form other teams many times due to wrestlers, parents, or coaches not wanting them to wrestle a girl. Why not just accept that girls are becoming a part of this sport and like maj said if he could have, he should have pinned her and moved on.

[maj]

Either one of them could have pinned her too. It's a case of conviction and principle. Difficult for many to understand.

 

Oh I see, only highly evolved persons such as yourself can understand principle and conviction. I wonder how well thought out your position is on the topic of defaulting to someone you don't care to wrestle? Would it be highly pricipled for an arab to refuse to wrestle a jew ? Or vice versa ? A white or black refusing to wrestle each other if their respective culture and upbringing discouraged it ? Would you be leading the cheer if a straight guy threw in the towel to a homosexual before stepping on the mat?

 

I wasn't thrilled the 2 or 3 times my kids wrestled a girl, but that horse has left the barn. Get used to seeing a couple of girls at the tournaments and duals. In our case each time said female was pinned and we focused on the next guy. If you think about it, a better statement may be made by pinning the grappling females than avoiding them. Girl vs girl competition is the ultimate answer and by proving there really are some differences in the sexes will pave the way for female only teams. Do you see many girls trying out for men's basketball teams these days ?

Edited February 18, 2011 by maj

[Vonvesthell]

Maj nailed it on the head. The principled position takedown speaks of is of a faulty base. His and his parents principles blew his chance at a state title. The sad thing is that this kid will look back on this years from now and want to kick himself in the arse.

[takedown3]

Oh I see, only highly evolved persons such as yourself can understand principle and conviction. I wonder how well thought out your position is on the topic of defaulting to someone you don't care to wrestle? Would it be highly pricipled for an arab to refuse to wrestle a jew ? Or vice versa ? A white or black refusing to wrestle each other if their respective culture and upbringing discouraged it ? Would you be leading the cheer if a straight guy threw in the towel to a homosexual before stepping on the mat?

 

I wasn't thrilled the 2 or 3 times my kids wrestled a girl, but that horse has left the barn. Get used to seeing a couple of girls at the tournaments and duals. In our case each time said female was pinned and we focused on the next guy. If you think about it, a better statement may be made by pinning the grappling females than avoiding them. Girl vs girl competition is the ultimate answer and by proving there really are some differences in the sexes will pave the way for female only teams. Do you see many girls trying out for men's basketball teams these days ?

 

Your analogies are so far off target as to indicate a complete lack of undertanding of the issue but do point out one of many pathologies in our society. Your solution and others', "pin her and move on" represents an expeditious solution but indicates a complete lack of understanding of the kid's principled reaction. BTW I participated on TN's first integrated wrestling team. The black wrestlers on that team would be offended by your poor attempt at analogy.

[cbg]

I don't see the problem with a family making the decision to not wrestle someone of the opposite sex. The decision may be based on principals or even religion. The female wrestler won the match and the male wrestler took the loss. Every family has "house rules" or values and most will not compromise those values for anything. While some people would tell their son to do his best to break the girl in half and mess her up others make the decision not to wrestle. No one is right and no one is wrong with their beliefs.

[maj]

Your analogies are so far off target as to indicate a complete lack of undertanding of the issue but do point out one of many pathologies in our society. Your solution and others', "pin her and move on" represents an expeditious solution but indicates a complete lack of understanding of the kid's principled reaction. BTW I participated on TN's first integrated wrestling team. The black wrestlers on that team would be offended by your poor attempt at analogy.

 

 

I understand the issue quite well. I just don't agree with you. Many people don't see women in all kinds of roles ( military, police, doctors, EMTs, etc ) but the reality is they fill these positions and many others traditionaly held by men. Your mind set and principles seem more in line with some of the deep thinking folks inhabiting the middle east. Get over it. I actually would prefer females only wrestle other females but until it becomes obvious to even the dumbest among us they cannot compete against the men then I guess we will have to suffer a few coed matches. Again the real solution is to offer females teams who compete against other female teams. The idea is slowly catching on. Tennessee is hardly known for trend setting type thinking but we do have a female state tournament now. Iowa will one day follow suit.

[jackass]

Mommy and Daddy probably had the bigger problem. He should have pinned her and moved on to the next guy.

[/quote

 

mommy and daddy?? you say that like it is terrible that a parent should influence their child? that is why you become a parent...to raise your children how you see fit! as the child matures he will then have his/her own value sets, and can then choose his /her way. to express that it was possibly the mommy and daddy that made him make a terrible mistake that he will hate them forever for, is not only a lack of character but also demonstrates what is so wrong with many kids these days. hold on to your values and don't down another for theirs. just sayin!!

[takedown3]

I understand the issue quite well. I just don't agree with you. Many people don't see women in all kinds of roles ( military, police, doctors, EMTs, etc ) but the reality is they fill these positions and many others traditionaly held by men. Your mind set and principles seem more in line with some of the deep thinking folks inhabiting the middle east. Get over it. I actually would prefer females only wrestle other females but until it becomes obvious to even the dumbest among us they cannot compete against the men then I guess we will have to suffer a few coed matches. Again the real solution is to offer females teams who compete against other female teams. The idea is slowly catching on. Tennessee is hardly known for trend setting type thinking but we do have a female state tournament now. Iowa will one day follow suit.

Again, your analogy to mideastern msysoginistic customs completely misses the point. I agree with you that the solution is to allow girls to wrestle each other on female teams. As a father of both daughters and sons (who wrestled in college) and as a former high school and college (pre Title IX) wrestler, putting kids, both boys and girls, in this position isn't right. The pin move that Schaack called a "Saturday night ride" just doesn't seem like something parents want to witness as their son puts it on someone else's daughter in front of a couple of thousand screaming fans.