The kid from Colby @ 140 lbs (believe it is Gracia)- this wrestler had a tough Beloit tournament. I heard that he stormed off the mat in a childish fit after losing in the finals and barely made the award presentation. I watched the Semi match with jordan where I felt Jordan didn't get back points on 2 occassions which cost him a close match. Gracia won 1-0 in that match and I felt he barely made it to the finals. Then he throws a fit because he got beat- need to learn some respect. I wish something could be done to wrestlers that act in this matter. I know it is hard when you get beat but hold it in until you get off the mat. Gracia isn't the only one that I saw do this all weekend but I just expected more from him I guess. I know a few Con wrestlers had trouble as well. They are all great wrestlers but with very bad sportsmanship and tempers

just my thought

ya i observed that too. he didnt even have his shoes or anything on. i dont think he was planning to go on the awards stand

Emotions run very high in championship matches. Some competitors focus so strongly on wrestling their best and winning that defeat is
not an option to be considered, and when it happens it takes an adjustment period to calm down. Cole garcia is a very good, very motivated wrestler that has caused some other very good wrestlers to act in a similar manner when he beats them--- If you knew him very well you would know that he is a nice kid from a very freindly family. I feel that to single out one incident and belittle one competitor is grossly unfair to that wrestler, whomever he may be. When you are good enough to beat the likes of a Jake Kriegbaum, as Cole did last year, then maybe you have a right to criticize, but that would qut you in a VERY small group.

Sorry if you thought I was saying Garcia wasn't a great kid. From the actions I heard about I was wondering about it. I hear you on giving it your all and being very competitive but you still have to act in a proper way. Shake hands then go off by yourself for a brief time to rethink the match and see what happens. It is true I don't know the Garcia kid and if this was a one time thing then it happens but hopefully he learned about sportsmanship. He is a great wrestler that I know from watching him at Beloit but there is more to a sport then just the 6 minutes on the mat.

Like I said as well their was alot of others that acted that way- I hadn't seen him act this way before and was surprised. Most of the other kids that act this way I have seen do it before so was not surprised.

I wish the Garcia kid the best of luck and hope he didn't think I was being disrespectful just commenting is all in a forum

I'm not sure what we are talking about here. Cole shook Brady's hand and then shook Harry's hand and then ran off the mat out of the gym to a secluded hallway where he wanted to just be alone. He threw nothing, broke nothing, and made no display in public. He was very upset and emotional, but his actions in public or private were not out of line. He was upset he lost and needed some time to cool off. He was overcome with emotion, but did not make a public display.

Cole sprinted to the awards stand as soon as he heard that the awards presentation had started. No one had to tell him to go, and he planned on going to get his award all along. Anyone who was there should know that the Grater match was a fall and the awards came sooner than expected.

I witnessed both the Jordan match and the finals. The semi was close and there could have been a bad call, but the moral is don't depend on the ref to win the match. They're human and make mistakes, so control the match and take the ref out of the decision. As far as Gracia's behavior, I believe that he was mad at himself for making a mistake that made the difference in the match (plus, LaMar isn't too bad himself). He did show up late at the awards stand, but Grater pinned his opponent early in the second period. He was in the hallway and most likely was not ready for the awards to be presented that early. I don't believe that his behavior was that out of line compared to some of the other wrestlers that lost.

RJW- well that is good to hear because see when you get info second it doesn't always come out right.

That is why we post thanks again

I was in the corner, and I thought Cole handled himself very well. He shook hands graciously and I did not notice a thing to be concerned about.