ASIJ competed against the Humphreys Blackhawks in the 3rd place match of the Division I dual meet tournament in front of a raucous crowd with many parents and supporters to round out the third and final day of the Far East Wrestling Tournament at Kinnick on Saturday.
ASIJ and Humphreys battled back and forth with ASIJ falling into an early 4-0 hole before pulling ahead 14-4. The Blackhawks clawed back to tie it at 14-14, the Mustangs scored 9 straight, then allowed 5 for a very close 23-19 lead, with a 5-point forfeit at heavyweight looming for the Korean team. The remaining three contested matches saw all the Mustangs end their seasons on a high note as ASIJ swept them to take the win 35-24. The awards ceremony highlighted the razor-thin margin between the top 3 teams in the individual tournament: Kubasaki, SMIS, and ASIJ. St. Mary's reversed the order for the dual meet tournament, but the top three remained the same: SMIS, Kubasaki, ASIJ. Edgren took the D-II individual and team crowns, as Yokota just missed out on a 4-peat. The quickest pin went to a kid from Kubasaki with an unbelievable 0:09. Steve Schrock was the Kadena coach for a long time. He started the wrestling program there, brought the team to respectability, and was well liked by all. The Team Sportsmanship award is named after him. The coaches from each school vote on the team they believe best exemplifies the principles espoused by the award's namesake. They voted for (drum roll, please)...The American School in Japan! That was not a surprise to anyone who knows the team, but it's nice to see all the other schools in the Far East recognize their individual grace in victory and defeat, their friendly and magnanimous interaction with fellow competitors, and their humble and grateful attitude towards other coaches and tournament staff. The good name these wrestlers give the school is in keeping with the values of the team and school's current leadership and the legacy left by their forebears. The most outstanding wrestler in the Far East didn't go to Kojiro VanHoose (3-time Far East Champion from Osan) or Marshall China (2-time Far East Champ from MC Perry), both of whom were in consideration over all the other excellent performances from several other Far East Champions who had also dominated their competition at the tournament and gone undefeated throughout the season. The most outstanding wrestler at this year's Far East, as voted on by the 14 head coaches, is from ASIJ: Rin Zoot! - 2 Champions and 3 runner-up Mustangs complimented by 3 taking 4th and 2 finishing 6th - 3rd place individual freestyle team - 3rd place D-1 dual meet team - Most Outstanding Wrestler: Rin Zoot - Steve Schrock Team Sportsmanship Award That's a lot of hardware! This is an amazing team!! The contributions from each wrestler (at each weight class - including JV - and coaches, managers, parents, and school officials) were invaluable in creating this tremendous success.
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