Westfield’s Connor Maddox won the 106-pound championship at The Ironman, a prestigious national youth wrestling tournament that took place last weekend at Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Maddox (left) is pictured with Lawrence North’s Michael White; he won the 190-pound championship. White and Maddox are the first Indiana wrestlers to win The Ironman. (Manford Photography)
Westfield sophomore wins 106 with sudden victory in championship
The REPORTER
Westfield’s Connor Maddox is currently the No. 1 wrestler in Indiana at 106 pounds.
Last weekend, Maddox proved he is one of the best in the country. The Shamrocks sophomore won the 106-pound division at The Ironman, an annual national youth wrestling tournament that took place at Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
Maddox beat Cohen Reer of Edison, Ohio in the championship match. Neither wrestler scored in the first period, then Reer began the second period in the down position. He made a one-point escape, then took down Maddox for a 4-0 lead.
Maddox made a reversal to score two points, but Reer escaped again, giving him a 5-2 lead going into the third period. Maddox began the third in the down position, made an escape, then took down Reer for a 6-5 lead. But Reer quickly escaped to tie the match at 6-6 and neither wrestler scored again in the period.
So, that brought the match to a sudden-victory overtime. Maddox only needed 10 seconds to get the win, making a takedown to give him a 9-6 win and the championship.
Maddox won five matches to claim the championship. After receiving a first-round bye, Maddox beat Collin Bagdonas of Perrysburg, Ohio in the second round. Maddox won by a 21-5 technical fall, finishing the match with a takedown at the 3:52 mark of the second period.
In the third round, Maddox scored another 21-5 technical fall win over RJ Phelan of Lake Gibson, Fla. Maddox took control with a takedown and four-point nearfall at the end of the second period, then took the match with a takedown 10 seconds into the third period.
Maddox picked up another tech fall in the quarterfinals, beating Andrew Mlynarczyk of St. Edward, Minn. 19-3. Maddox led 15-3 after two periods, began the third period with a one-point escape, then quickly made another takedown to end the match.
Next up for Maddox was a semifinal against Lincoln Valdez of Pomona, Colo. Valdez won the Colorado state championship at 106 pounds last winter, and got an early takedown for a 3-0 lead.
But Maddox escaped and made his own takedown to go up 4-3 by the end of the first period. Maddox led 8-3 after the second period, then cruised through the third period, scoring nine points on three takedowns.
Maddox gave Indiana its second-ever Ironman champion, just minutes after the first-ever Indiana champion had been crowned. Michael White of Lawrence North won the 190-pound division.
