Northrup decision made long before state meet

MARION - Linn-Mar's Joel Northrup saw the storm brewing long before he stood in its eye.

Instead of seeking for shelter, he decided to withstand it while holding on to his personal convictions.

Northrup finally talked Wednesday about his controversial decision to default his first-round 112-pound match to Cedar Falls' Cassy Herkelman, the state first female qualifier for the Iowa High School Athletic Association Class 3A state wrestling tournament Feb. 17 at Wells Fargo Arena. At the time, a press release cited Northrup's "conscience and faith" for the default.

Northrup noticed the performances of Haerkelman, and Ottumwa's Megan Black, who also qualified for the 112 bracket, during the regular season.

"All year I had seen there were two girls that possibly could make it to state,"  Northrup said, "and I already made the decision long before, about fifth grade, I made the decision that I just wouldn't wrestle a girl if I was put in that position."

He had been in that position once before, which formed his attitude that influenced his decision that captured nationwide attention. He wrestled a girl in third grade and vowed never to do it again.

"I felt bad about it afterward," Northrup said. "Just the physical aspect. Just caring for a girl. All the moves you do on the mat, if you do those anywhere else you'd get in trouble so I just don't think it's right."

Linn-Mar and Cedar Falls are both Mississippi Valley Conference programs. The two teams met during the regular season, but Northrup elected not to wrestle 112 that meet. He wrestled the other dual at 112, while 103-pounder Alijah Jeffery moved up to 112 against the Tigers. The moved handled Northrup's conflict, while helping Jeffery with weight issues.

"It happened to work out that way," said Linn-Mar Coach Doug Streicher, adding Jeffery wasn't asked to make 103 every Thursday. "That was our plan with Alijah all along for the year."

Northrup, a sophomore, said it was a tough decision, and that he was not very happy about the pairing, which he became aware of the evening after winning a district title Feb. 12. He entered the state meet ranked fifth with a 35-4 record. Northrup placed third at 103 at last year's state meet, posting a 38-4 mark. Northrup was a legitimate contender for a state crown, but that goal became unattainable with the bracket draw.

"I was sad about it at first," said Northrup, who improved to 37-6 after a win in Linn-Mar's regional dual win Tuesday night. "Then I realized I could still get third ..."

Northrup was prepared for the sacrifice and the controversy that followed. Northrup, Herkelman and Iowa wrestling were splashed on the national news, which included interviews with Northrup, and his father, Jamie, on various national morning shows Wednesday.

Streicher and Athletics Director Scott Mahmens discussed the situation with Northrup and warned him of the consequences.

"They told me I might get a lot of pressure," Northrup said. "I might get a lot of people against it. They told me what would happen."

Mahmens was on the arena floor and ready to distribute a news release with a statement from Northrup. He also answered questions immediately afterward, shielding Northrup from the media onslaught. The administration and the staff voiced their support, which meant a lot to Northrup.

"I think we all knew going in where he stood with it, so it's not like it was a surprise to anybody," Streicher said. "That's No. 1. No. 2, the first meeting we have of the year before the season starts we go through what our expectations are and how we run our program and your family and religious beliefs, whatever they may be, comes before wrestling.

"That's how it has been, that's how it always will be and this is still high school wrestling. As bad as I want to win (and) as bad as a lot of these kids want to win you have to put perspective on it."

Streicher said he wanted the family to be well-advised about the possible reaction of a default. Streicher and Northrup both said the coaches did not attempt to persuade Northrup to reconsider, avoiding controversy by wrestling Herkelman.

"The decision is going to have some consequences," Streicher said he told the family. "We wanted them to be very clear that there was going to be a lot of attention placed on this, so there will be a lot of pressure placed on Joel for interviews and that kind of stuff.

"We wanted Joel and his parents to at least have our input, as far as, what we thought out outcomes would be so they can use that to weigh in their decision-making process." 

The controversy was inevitable, but it didn't play out the exact way Northrup expected. The grand scale became a little larger and he claimed more support than opposition.

"I was prepared. I thought there would be a lot more boos from the crowd and stuff," Northrup said. "A lot more people against me. I didn't know it was going to go national like this, but a lot more people stood for me than I was expecting. It was great.

"It just says there's still a lot of people there that they just stood for me by making a moral decision. They might not have agreed with the choice. They were glad I made the moral decision."

The decision and subject of females competing against males on the mat have become polarizing. So has the views of Northrup, who is applauded by many for not compromising his beliefs while others consider him chauvinistic. He expected a backlash, but said he did "was right" and no choice is liked by everyone.

"I think what I did respects her more than anything," Northrup said of Herkelman. "There's a lot of people out there that don't really respect it. They have certain view points, but I just had to stand strong to my conviction that wrestling a girl wouldn't be the best thing."

Herkelman advanced to the quarterfinal, but was eliminated after losing her next two matches. Northrup disputed the idea that he robbed Herkelman of competition and pulling Herkelman and Black, unwillingly, into the national spotlight. He even cast a blame for a broken system that doesn't provide a females-only tournament and forces co-ed competition. Northrup said he thinks more females would participate if they had their own competition.

"If they made it so girls just wrestled girls then it wouldn't be like this," Northrup said. "I don't think I'm the only boy out there who wouldn't wrestler a girl. I know some of my teammates wouldn't."

Northrup refuted the notion he let his team down by bowing out of the winner's bracket. Northrup was one of eight Lions wrestlers in the field, and the team had a strong potential of a top-10 finish. Linn-Mar went 2-6 in the first round and Jeffery (third at 103), Ross Lembeck (seventh at 135) and Mitch Wantock (sixth at 171) were the team's only medalists. Northrup won a consolation match before losing a double-overtime match in the final tiebreaker to Pleasant Valley's Tyler Willers, who won the 103-pound title in 2010 and was seventh this year.

"The coaches, they weren't worried about that too much," Northrup said. "It really just came down, even if I lost, I still had chances on the losers side to get some major points and I didn't do the best there."

Streicher attributed the lackluster showing to an absence of offense. Although he couldn't rule it out entirely, Streicher said he didn't think the team was distracted by the situation. He also promised his continued support of Northrup.

"Obviously there are some team things going on but he's the one making the ultimate sacrifice," Streicher said about Northrup giving up a possible state title. "I've learned as I've gotten older there are some things you can't control and this is one of them. You just have to do the best to manage it and make the best out of it."

The choice was solely Northrup's, and wasn't forced by his parents. He said his parents stood by his decision and share the same beliefs. Northrup noted if he would have changed his mind, leading up to the match, they would have supported that as well.

Does Northrup have any regrets?

"No," he said. "If next year I get put up against a girl, I would do the same thing."