Wrestling Notebook: Talking with the TrackWrestling guy; Injured Creston wrestler improves

DES MOINES — Mark Kenny scans each item on his checklist, making sure he doesn't skip any steps. Organizing the technology at the state wrestling tournament can be daunting, and skipping anything could be disastrous.

During the last four years as the TrackWrestling computer operator for the Iowa High School Athletic Association at the state wrestling tournament, it's a system Kenny's gotten down to a science. His attention to detail has made sure of that.

'It takes awhile, but it's something that I'm passionate about,' Kenny said. 'Time usually flies by.'

TrackWrestling, the program Kenny oversees annually at the state tournament, is responsible for organizing results, scores and matchups throughout the state tournament. Kenny is a former assistant coach at Benton Community and is now a wrestling official in Eastern Iowa, but has held his position as a computer operator at the state tournament since 2011.

Keep up with Iowa State Tournament action as it happens at our wrestling hub page

Prior to each tournament, Kenny compiles district qualifiers into a list that he sends to TrackWrestling, which then enters the information into a software program that can be managed at the tournament. The initial process can take as much as a few hours, and the intricacies go as deep as double-checking the abbreviations of every school name that has a qualifier.

'With all the qualifying tournaments and everything, we want to make sure it's being done right,' Kenny said. 'We send it to the writers of the program so we can make sure we get it loaded up right.'

Once tournament action begins, Kenny is one of the first to arrive at the arena. For events that start at 9 a.m., he gets to the venue at 6:15 and begins the process of setting up the computers at each of the eight mats.

Every person that operates a computer mat-side, Kenny said, is someone that he trusts and one that is constantly engaged to the action. The results of every match then appear on Kenny's computer, are printed at the head table and shown on the large video board hanging above the arena floor.

'From the time the results are saved at the table, and before a match is saved, a bout sheet worker has to communicate with a TrackWrestling operator to make sure they both agree on the score and that fall times agree,' Kenny said. 'Then they send the bout sheet with the results up to the head table and then we check it again. Everything goes really smoothly.'

Kenny's seat may be at the head table, but he is constantly running from mat to mat, making sure each operator has what they need. He even runs things as simple as pencils, but anything he can do to help those that are putting in work for him is satisfying.

There isn't much downtime when there is action on the mat — Kenny said he takes between 20,000 to 30,000 steps a day — but it's his passion for wrestling that brings him back each year to operate the TrackWrestling system.

'I absolutely love wrestling,' Kenny said. 'I think the biggest thing is I want to innovate technology, but for me this is all about connections and doing things to help out.'

JUST FOR KICKS

Linn-Mar's Noah Ajram suffered a disappointing loss that derailed his state title bid. Ajram fell, 2-1 in an overtime tiebreaker, to West Des Moines Valley's Grant Stotts.

The decisive point came from an unsportsmanlike conduct call from the official in the waning seconds of the final 30-second period as Stotts clung to Ajram's ankle on the edge of the mat.

Ajram attempted to separate himself with his feet for an escape when Stotts received the penalty. Linn-Mar Coach Doug Streicher said the official said Ajram kicked Stotts, but he disagreed.

'It was a pushoff,' Streicher said. 'Before that it's stalling, if he's not on the ankle for so many seconds. That's my opinion. My opinion doesn't count.'

Ajram would have had the choice in the ultimate tiebreaker had no one scored. Streicher said it was a case of 'should have, could have, and would have.'

'I teach the kids to take care of business,' Streicher said. 'Don't put yourself in those situations.'

The Lions' Shea Hartzler fell in a semifinal at 160, but was assured of a top-six finish.

Linn-Mar senior Matt Wempen posted two wins after a quarterfinal loss to Bettendorf's top-ranked Fredy Stroker. He will place sixth or better, becoming the school's fifth four-time state medalist and joining Jay Borschel, Matt McDonough, Alijah Jeffery and Ross Lembeck.

-By K.J. Pilcher

Creston wrestler breathing on own

Creston-Orient/Macksburg Coach Darrell Frain said Taylor Pettit showed some signs of progress and was undergoing more tests Friday.

Pettit collapsed after a semifinal dual Wednesday. Emergency medical personnel tended to him, executing CPR on the mat and as they carted him from the arena. He was sedated earlier in the week, but didn't need procedures they originally considered.

'When they took the breathing tubes out in the night, he started responding,' Frain said. 'They didn't have to go through the process of lowering his temperature and let it rise back up and let him come through on his own. We're looking good now.'

-By K.J. Pilcher