Chapter 30: State Tournament

Saturday morning Ron sprawled out on his back and tried to calm himself down and rest. Here he was at the Pinnacle Village Civic Center, competing in the Colorado State Wrestling Tournament. He should be elated to have made it this far but he was more exhausted than happy. Not only was his hip swollen and painful, but his thumb was sore from where he had hit Monty with the Ridge Hand. While these injuries were by no means life threatening, they were affecting him. He couldn't grip well with his right hand and he didn't have that powerful drive off of his right leg. Yesterday the competitors had wrestled two rounds. Ron had won his first match and lost his second match. He was one loss from being eliminated and two wins from placing. Dave had won his first match and lost his second, just like Ron. Both Oscar and Bruce had won both of their matches.

Ron was nervous and disappointed about how alone he felt. His fellow Middleton wrestlers were there, of course, as well as the Middleton wrestling cheerleaders. Felix had been named the student manager and was there as well. But on this Saturday morning, with the third round of competition about to start, Ron was very aware that he was the only Middleton wrestler whose parents hadn't made the trip to see him compete. He looked around to try to find something to take his mind away from the pity trap he had fallen into.

More and more competitors were making their way out onto the mats to stretch out and chat with each other. They mixed without regard to their own teams. Ron spotted Oscar and Dave in a small group a few feet away. Feeling too lazy to get up, he did a couple of summersaults towards them and joined the group. He had no concern of not being welcome to join in.

Wrestling tournaments always meant several of these informal groups, with the boys constantly joining, leaving, forming, and dissolving them. All of the wrestlers present were always welcome to join any of them. It was one of Ron's favorite things about the sport. Ron spent the next several minutes mostly listening to the other boys. After a roundtable discussion involving the merits of four cars, two motorcycles, two movies, several dating 'techniques' and a half-dozen dirty jokes, the boys were interrupted by the paging system.

"Please clear that mats, we're ready to start the first session of the day."

"Well gentlemen, good luck." Oscar offered everyone as way of goodbye. The rest of the boys agreed with the sentiment as they heaved themselves up and off of the mat. Roughly a quarter of the competitors had been eliminated yesterday so it didn't take as long to run through this round of competition. Ron watched Dave win a close match shortly before it was his turn.

Ron managed to win his match by three points. Both his hip and his thumb were really bothering him. He checked with Felix, who managed to find two icepacks for him. Ron sat in the bleachers and put the packs on his injuries while watching the matches. Oscar won his match, his third of the tournament. He now advanced to the championship round. Bruce had his first loss of the tournament. There was then a short break before the next round.

Ron grabbed a light meal then returned to the mat to rest. He was too wound up to sleep but he didn't really feel like talking much with his fellow competitors. The boys who felt like talking formed groups near the center of the mat. The boys who wanted a little solitude tended to sprawl out along the sides.

"Trying to sleep?" Ron recognized Felix's voice. Ron didn't bother to open his eyes.

" No," Ron replied, "I'm counting the lights."

"Why?"

"If I count them now, I won't have to count them during my match."

Ron heard Felix snort out a laugh. He also heard another, feminine, giggle. He looked over to see a laughing Cindy, and a confused Kim, next to Felix. Ron sat up while Cindy explained to Kim that the phrase 'counting lights' was wrestler slang for being thrown to your back. Kim then gave Ron a pained look.

"I see that success hasn't improved your sense of humor."

Ron grinned sheepishly. "What brings you out here, KP?"

"Mon and I had the day free and thought we'd see how you were doing."

Ron was truly grateful. "Thanks, KP. I really appreciate it."

KP gave him a warm look. "So, where's your 'rents?"

"They…didn't make the trip." For some reason, Ron didn't feel so bad about it anymore. Both Cindy and Kim, however, clearly didn't approve of that. Before either could comment the PA system announced the next round of matches.

Ron first met with Dave, Oscar, Bruce, and Coach Winters. Once Coach gave them a short talk, he released them until match time. Ron joined Kim, Monique, and Felix for small talk and to thank the girls, again, for coming to the match. Monique said that it wasn't any big deal because she had come to check out the sea of fine posteriors on display. She then set Ron to blushing by pointing out that his was also part of the scenery. She had then informed Felix that she was checking him out, as well. The three teens talked until the 112-pound competitors started to wrestle. Ron excused himself and went to one of the warm up mats and started to stretch.

Soon Dave had his next match. Ron watched as Dave managed a four-point victory. Dave would now place no lower than sixth. A few minutes later one of the officials came to the warm-up mat and called Ron and his opponent. The official sent the two boys to one of the three mats in use, where they reported to the scorekeepers. Coach Winters showed up and talked to Ron while the Middleton Cheerleaders found seats close by. Soon the current match was finished and it was Ron's turn.

The two boys trotted out onto the mat, shook hands, and took up ready positions. Coach Winters took up a position at one corner, the opposing coach at the other. Both teams' cheerleaders set their cushions next to the mat and started their routines.

"Ron's hip is really bothering him," Kim whined to Monique.

"How can you tell? He looks fine to me."

"I've known him since we were four and we've been fighting crime for over two years now. He's favoring that hip. I sure hope he'll be okay."

Monique was actually happy to hear the concern in Kim's voice.

The referee started the match. Ron closed in and faked a Single-Leg at his opponent's right leg. The other boy reacted instantly. Now Ron had a good indication of his speed, fast. Ron then faked another Single-Leg at the boy's right leg and followed with an immediate Ankle-Sweep at his left foot. The other boy pulled his foot back just in time as Ron's right hip wouldn't support the quick move. The other boy made his move while Ron was still recovering.

The boy grabbed the back or Ron's head with one hand then pulled backwards and down. Ron stepped forward to keep from falling. Keeping his grip on Ron's head, the boy reached down, caught Ron's forward ankle, and lunged into Ron, knocking him over. The folding motion aggravated the pain in Ron's hip. Ron could tell right away that he was going down so he spun to his belly on the way. He gave up the Takedown but prevented being thrown to his back. He didn't give his opponent a chance to try for a pinning hold.

Ron executed three Sit-Outs, as fast as his sore hip would allow, then rolled away from his opponent. The other boy, straining to keep up, couldn't stop in time. Ron's roll sent him over the top of Ron, and Ron was quickly on top of him, earning two points for a reversal. Ron wormed a Chicken-Wing hold onto his opponent's right arm, then reached under his waist with his left hand and grabbed his opponent's right wrist. With his favorite pining hold in place, Ron spun his opponent counterclockwise, using the Chicken-Wing to twist him over towards his back. The period ended before he could roll the boy over. The score was tied.

Ron had the choice for the second period and chose the up position. The boys took up their stances and the match was on again. The first half of the period was a stalemate. Ron broke down his opponent's base with Ankle-Picks three times, but his clever opponent managed to work back to his base without giving Ron an opening for a pinning hold. Ron had then tried to wrap the boy up with a Cradle when his opponent managed a Gramby-Roll on Ron. He got his hips out from under Ron's body and rolled across his shoulders while holding one of Ron's arms tight around his waist. The result was a reversal and the other boy had a Hammerlock on Ron. The period ended before either boy could do anything else. Ron was behind by two points.

Panting and sweating, both boys set up for the third round. Ron took his all-fours stance with the other boy in the up position. Ron tried the combination that had worked for him in the first period. He executed three Sit-Outs followed by a roll. His opponent kept up with him and almost trapped him for back points. Time was running out. Ron sat back into his opponent, catching him by surprise. Ron was seated, his opponent was behind him with one arm around Ron's waist and his forehead in the middle of Ron's back. Ron dug in his feet and pressed back into his opponent while his opponent pressed forward. The two boys came up off the mat. Ron faked left then spun right.

The move worked. Both boys were on their feet. Ron gained a point for the Escape and shot a Double-Leg at his opponent. The other boy wasn't expecting the sudden move. Ron ignored the pain in his hip and drove his shoulder into his opponent's stomach. Ron kept driving forward, lifting the other boy off of the ground and driving him backwards. Even as they two boys were falling with Ron on top, the period came to an end. Ron hadn't managed the Takedown.

He had lost by a single point.

He had missed placing by a matter of seconds.