Web posted
Monday, February 18, 2008
Martin makes dad proud
By DAVID WOLMAN
Traveler Sports Editor
sports@arkcity.net
VALLEY CENTER -- Arkansas City junior Michael Martin received congratulatory handshakes and hugs from his coaches and supporters following his consolation semifinal win at Saturday's Class 5A regional wrestling tournament. But the biggest hug followed -- from his father, Danny.
Father and son embraced for over a couple of minutes. The two not only shed tears and exulted in victory for Michael's win which qualified him for the two-day state tournament, which starts Friday in Hutchinson, but also let out 11 years of disappointment.
Over that span, Danny has taken in nearly all of Michael's matches, going back to when he first competed in youth wrestling. But with Michael losing many of those matches, he felt that he let his father down.
"He never liked sitting in the stands (at Michael's wrestling matches) because he didn't want to see me lose," Michael said. "He thought it was boring to come somewhere and see me fail, when I worked so hard or tried real hard that week."
Even with the losses piling up, Danny always encouraged his son on.
Danny once told his son, "Michael don't do this for anyone but yourself.."
Michael added, "But I always do it for my family because they're always the ones that push me."
Danny has always supported Michael, but didn't always have faith in his wrestling abilities.
That started to change last season.
Michael won only seven varsity matches, but excelled at the junior varsity level. He also placed at a youth state tournament.
Dad was finally starting to believe.
"Until now, my dad didn't really start getting excited because my eighth grade, middle school and all my other years didn't go so well," Michael said. "I never won a match at all. The only time I medaled was because the other (wrestler) wasn't there. Now, my dad sees that I'm starting to grow and starting to become better."
Michael entered Saturday's tournament just 9-18.
With his sub-.500 record, he knew that he needed to pull an upset somewhere.
He got it in his first match.
Martin pulled out a 9-8 decision over Wichita West's Matt Jenkins, who entered the tournament with a 15-6 record.
Martin then lost to Valley Center senior Jake Brietigan by a 12-8 decision in the semifinals, moving Martin into the 140-pound consolation bracket.
Needing to place in the top-four in his weight class in order to advance to state, Martin needed one more victory to do just that.
Martin scored a reverse on Bishop Carroll's Kyle Dugan less than a minute into the second period of their consolation semifinal match for a 2-0 lead.
The match appeared it was headed for overtime after Dugan scored a reverse of his own to tie the match at 2 with 45 seconds remaining.
But somewhere in the crowd, Michael's could hear his father cheering him on -- and with Danny's support, that's all the motivation he needed.
"I tried to listen to his voice and coach (Shawn) Silvis' voice and they both helped push me," Martin said.
Martin sucked up all the energy he had left and scored a reverse on the edge of the mat with 10 seconds remaining. Martin was then able to block a last-second scoring attempt by Dugan to preserve a 4-2 decision and qualify for state.
Father and son then rejoiced.
Danny told his proud son, 'Michael, you're going to state. I'm proud of you. You've worked so hard to get here, so you deserve it.'
Michael was ecstatic to see his father that happy.
"That's one of the few times that I've seen him emotionally excited," Michael said.
The first-time state qualifier lost the third place match to Emporia's Zeb Peak by an 8-4 decision, but Martin was still caught up in the moment after defeating Dugan earlier in the day.
Michael placed fourth at a youth state wrestling tournament last year, but that paled in comparison to qualifying for the 5A state wrestling tournament.
"I've never been to state before," Michael said. "It's exciting going to state. I've been to Kids' state, but this is a whole another level."
Martin will have a tall order in his first-round match at the state tournament, where he will face top-ranked Aldon Isenberg (28-0) of Gardner-Edgerton.
Martin will again have to score an upset, possibly several, in his quest for a state title.
But one thing's for sure: Michael has already made his father proud.
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