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Wrestleback match nothing short of amazing for Annon
3/19/2008
By CONOR NICHOLL
Hays Daily News
Cody Bickley, Fort Hays State University's head wrestling coach, has received several phone calls about James Annon's consolation match against Adams State University's (Colo.) Josh Hensley last weekend at the NCAA Division II National Championships at Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Bickley called the match "phenomenal" and "hard to explain," while Annon described it as "crazy" and "intense."
The match, in the wrestlebacks second round, determined All-American status. The winner finished in at least the top eight and earned All-American honors, while the loser went home without standing on the podium.
Hensley hurt his knee in the first period and had to take an injury timeout. Annon, a Norton graduate and two-time Class 3-2-1A state champion, lost both his contacts during the match and couldn't read the scoring monitor.
However, he managed to win 15-14 and earn All-American honors. Annon, with Norton head wrestling coach Bill Johnson in attendance, finished the season in fifth place with a 25-11 record.
"I knew it was going to be a struggle and I knew it was going to be a battle," Annon said this morning. "We both were just constantly moving, constantly going. Neither of us wanted to give up."
He was the only Tiger to earn All-American honors this season and joined Pete Koster, a former state champion at Hoxie and the current head wrestling coach at Oakley, and Phillipsburg's Andrew Ubben as the area athletes to earn All-American status under Bickley.
Annon is also the first collegiate All-American to come from Norton's strong program, a program that produced three straight state titles from 2005-07.
"Just looking on paper, the track that James had to take, it was probably one of the most difficult for the guys that were going," Bickley said. "He was wrestling extremely well this weekend. In a stacked weight, he was unranked all year, but we felt he was a top eight guy.
"He definitely put his name on there and when it all settles and we start back up again, James Annon is a guy that is going to be talked about for a national title," Bickley added.
Annon started the national tournament against University of Central Oklahoma's Kyle Evans, the eventual national champion and one who hads beaten multiple Div. I wrestlers, and Annon lost 4-0. In the first consolation match, he defeated St. Cloud State's (Minn.) Gabriel Suarez, the No. 8 wrestler in the country, 9-5.
That set up the match against Hensley, eighth-ranked in Div. II and a transfer from Div. I University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Hensley had defeated Annon by technical fall earlier this season.
"James' style and his style were a lot alike, his style, they scramble extremely well, hard to coach and teach, put themselves in positions that a lot of guys can't do," Bickley said.
The match featured constant scrambles and reversals from two flexible wrestlers. The public address announcer even told the crowd to look at Mat 3 where the two wrestlers were putting up points rarely seen in collegiate wrestling, especially at the national tournament.
At one point, Bickley turned around for a second and lost track of the score.
Annon couldn't remember the last time there were 29 points combined in one wrestling match. Generally, a collegiate match has between nine and 15 points.
"There was so much going on, as soon as one guy scored, literally within one to two seconds, the other guy would score," Bickley said.
"Because the points were just boom-boom-boom-boom. Action everywhere, you don't see that very often."
Hensley hurt his knee in the first period and Annon lost both his contacts. Everything was a blur; Annon couldn't see the monitor or Bickley. He didn't know how much time was left in the match and asked Bickley for the information.
However, Annon kept tallying points. In Johnson's eyes, it reminded him of how Annon wrestled as a freshman and sophomore at Norton.
"He was always very good at scramble situations and very exciting for the crowd to watch," Johnson said.
The scorers' table got behind on the score and needed a few moments to tally up the final calculations.
It was 14-14 with 15 seconds left in the match, but Annon won with riding time.
"It defined what James' weekend was about and him wanting to win so bad," Bickley said.
Annon next faced Western State's Kyle Francis, who had beaten Annon three of four times. Annon won 12-3.
Annnon lost to University of Nebraska-Kearney's Jeff Rutledge, the eventual third place finisher, before he defeated Minnesota-State Mankato's Travis Elg 4-2 to finish fifth.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| BB | 5/11 | Central Missouri | L 4-2 |
| BB | 5/10 | Missouri Western | W 4-3 |
| BB | 5/09 | Emporia State | L 6-5 |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | W 17-5 |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | L 4-3 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 15-7 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 5-4 |
| SB | 5/02 | Central Missouri | L 3-1 |
| SB | 5/02 | Missouri Western | W 3-2 |
| SB | 5/01 | Pittsburg State | W 6-0 |
