Event 37 – When I Pinned My Hopes on Some College Wrestling

The view from high atop McKenzie Arena, site of the annual Southern Scuffle.

The Written Word

Still Photos

  • The exterior of McKenzie Arena.
  • The 1982 Dedication Plaque.
  • The 1992-93 UTC men’s basketball team was a dominant group, running away with the Southern Conference championship.
  • A mural along the McKenzie concourse.
  • Some of the banners flying in the rafters.
  • A look at the scoreboard and team banners from the SoCon.
  • More banners aloft in the rafters.
  • Penn State’s Josh Barr, right, shakes hands with Maryland’s Branson John prior to their 197-pound semifinal.
  • Barr shaking hands post match.
  • Cornell’s Greg Diakomihalis, left, shakes hands with North Dakota State’s Zeke Witt prior to their 125-pound semifinal.

Video

Penn State’s Josh Barr when’s his Southern Scuffle semifinal.
Northern Colorado’s Dom Serrano wins his semi in extra time.

Fun Facts

  • Traveling Party – Me, my friend Wayne, and his friend Todd.
  • Last Time Visited – I had never been to a sporting event at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. I’d visited the city twice as a child (my great aunt and uncle lived there) and visited in 2022 during a trip to Tennessee with my wife.
  • Seven Minutes of Fury and a Lot of Waiting – By and large, wrestlers are some special cats. College wrestlers are certainly no different. The three rounds of a college wrestling match last three minutes, two minutes, and two minutes which comes to a whopping seven minutes of potential action (barring overtime). And then, as Tom Petty used to sing, “The Waiting.” Especially during massive tournaments such as the Southern Scuffle, your next match could be anywhere from within the hour to the next day, depending upon where you’re at in the bracket, your weight class, and how many total matches are on the docket. That’s why it’s always interesting to walk around the facility of multi-school events to see how the athletes occupy their time. During my time in Chattanooga, I saw a little bit of everything including: sleeping, eating, watching match footage, reading (presumably for pleasure because it was between semesters), visiting with family and friends, chatting up fellow wrestlers, to leaving (back to the hotel, perhaps?) with teammates and coaches.
  • Running List of States Traveled To/Through (28 total) – Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, & Wyoming
  • Running List of Countries Traveled To/Through (8 total) – Argentina, Canada (Manitoba, Ontario, & Quebec), England, Japan, Korea, Scotland, United States, & Wales
  • Distance Traveled – My home to Chattanooga, TN, was 659 miles.
  • Cumulative Distance Traveled After 37 Events – 72,637 miles
  • Up Next – The Football Championship Subdivision National Championship game in Nashville, TN.