Elkhorn’s Heidemann loses match based on multi-colored underwear
It’s not every day that you see “#underweargate” come across your Twitter notifications.
Especially from a former mayor.
But that’s exactly the post I received from former City of Elkhorn mayor Brian Olson Saturday concerning the Elkhorn Area High School wrestling team.
“Opposing coach should be embarrassed,” said Olson, referring to the ruling, which led to Elkhorn 220-pound wrestler Richie Heidemann being disqualified at Saturday’s sectional competition.
It wasn’t something Richie did on the mat. He didn’t lose his cool or use profanities or do something egregious.
Richie simply wore multi-colored underwear, an obscure rule violation, though he wore the same garments in his earlier match and in previous matches during the season.
“Most of the refs and coaches usually don’t care about things like that,” Heidemann said Monday. “The coach waited until overtime to point them out because I was wrestling most of the match with them barely showing.”
“And it was just a crappy way to end my senior season, and I feel like it would be just as crappy to win that way.”
The DQ, which occurred during Heidemann’s second match of the day, ultimately didn’t allow him to qualify for this weekend’s WIAA Individual State Wrestling tournament at the Kohl Center.
Overtime thriller
Competing against Miguel Chestnut of Sun Prairie, Heidemann forced overtime at 4-4 before things got weird.
The Sun Prairie coach rushed outside of his designated area early on in the overtime period to point out Heidemann’s wardrobe violation – literally.
According to Elkhorn coach Ken Reynolds, the coach pointed directly at Heidemann to emphasize his point.
“It does fall back to Richie, which is the first thing we said,” Reynolds said. “But for a coach to run on the mat pointing at one of the guys – come on. Let the kids figure it out.”
Apparently, it was determined Heidemann was wearing multi-colored underwear, and he lost a point, which in sudden death overtime means the end of the match.
Heidemann went on to win the third-place match, 6-0, before losing in the second-place match.
Had he beaten Chestnut in overtime, something nobody can determine, Heidemann would’ve been in the championship match with a chance to win the sectional.
Chestnut went on to beat Heidemann by rule for second place.
Even if Heidemann would have lost the championship match, he either would have won second by rule, or had to beat the same kid he beat in the third-place match. So he would most likely be wrestling at state.
It sounds like Heidemann knew his gear could have been questionable based on his comment, and just because it hadn’t been pointed out doesn’t mean it didn’t break a rule.
And the Elkhorn coaching staff, understandably busy tending to all 14 wrestlers and making sure to help kids win their matches throughout the day, probably wasn’t prioritizing the fashion side of things.
One opposing parent, Kirk La Du, father of undefeated 106-pound Beau La Du of Lake Geneva Badger, witnessed the match.
“Richie’s underwear was visible from the first period on,” La Du said. “If the ref had called it right away and awarded a point, it would have been easier to digest, as Richie would have known he had to make up a point. For the opposing coach to wait until the beginning of OT and take the victory after the point was granted was ridiculous.”
“I don’t know if the ref was wrong. He is charged with enforcing the rules, no matter how stupid. Once it was pointed out, he may felt like he didn’t have a choice. The Sun Prairie coach should be embarrassed. I would never want my kid to win that way.”
Fashion show or wrestling match?
A hot topic in the wrestling community, many are outraged the match had to be determined by a fashion show.
Underwear? Really?
A match with such high stakes needs to be determined on the mat, no questions asked.
Yes, the letter of the law states no multi-colored underwear, but why do want to accept that rule?
Let the kids settle things on the mat.
It’s comical that anyone actually cares what underwear a young man wears in the first place.
Are we grasping at straws for reasons to reprimand student-athletes?
What difference does it make that Heidemann wore multi-colored underwear? Wrestling, one of our purest athletic endeavors, got reduced to a fashion faux pas.
The Sun Prairie coach ensured the best-dressed wrestler, and not the most qualified, advanced to state.
The aftermath leaves a two-time state qualifier on the sideline, and another playoff, high-stakes match determined by a strange, seemingly useless rule.
Competition and high school athletics are about the best student-athlete winning because of what he did during the game or match, not what he wore and who made him pay for it.
La Du put things into perspective.
“I think what is most upsetting to the wrestling community is that you want the outcome decided on the mat,” he said. “People outside of this sport have no idea how hard it is. The sacrifice these kids make to compete at a high level is insane.”
“From cutting weight, to conditioning, to giving up Friday nights and Saturdays. To have a kid’s opportunity to wrestle at state determined by a rule that had no effect on the actual contest is hard to stomach.”
Nothing can be done now, so it’s time to move on.
But that doesn’t mean this ruling was right. Hopefully, the WIAA can look at his rule in the offseason and critically examine if it’s worth costing a young male or female athlete his or her dream of competing at a state tournament.
Four years of waking up at 5 a.m. to lift weights in the offseason, condition until 7 or 8 p.m. on school nights and sacrifice study time, work hard and try to do the “right” things, all erased by a rule about underwear.
Heidemann is a strong, humble kid, and the 2015 Elkhorn Independent Athlete of the Year is keeping things positive.
He plans to be in Madison alongside his five state-qualifying teammates.
“It sucks because that’s not a good way to end a season but I can’t really change anything about it that I know of,” Heidemann said.
“It’s just time to move forward and cheer on the Elks.”
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