'Boys, here's a new way to PIAA glory:

Wrestling writer Brad Wilson of the Express-Times in the Lehigh Valley came in for some rough treatment on the District 4 Wrestling website for a post-state tournament column which began this way:

'Boys, here's a new way to PIAA glory: hang on a leg, win a state title! No need to improve your position or make the remotest effort to score or generate offense - wrap your arms around a leg, cling on for dear life and wind up winning!'

What had the District 4 site abuzz was one of the two bouts Wilson cited - Benton's Eric Hess' 1-0 win for his second state title over another two-time state champ, Coudersport's Dirk Cowburn. The other bout Wilson cited was one between Pittsburgh Central Catholic's Lorenzo Thomas and Easton's Mike Hartenstine in the AAA semifinals.

Wilson accused Hess of grabbing onto Cowburn's leg for the whole third period and chided the referees for not calling him for stalling.

I watched that bout closely and disagree with Wilson's assessment. Hess twice fought off reversal attempts by Cowburn in the third period in what was as dramatic a battle of wills as you'll ever see. For a 1-0 bout, it was exciting in its own way.

That being said, Wilson has hit on something which is particularly annoying at the state tournament - there are a whole lot of wrestlers there who have absolutely no interest in offensive wrestling. While that may be smart, and pay off for them, it flies in the face of the rulebook, which stresses that wrestlers must try to score points and work for pins.

In a sport such as basketball, holding the ball can be a very effective way for a lesser team to stay close with a superior team, and as long as there is no shot clock, is within the rules. A baseball pitcher who can work the corners and not give opposing players much to hit will make millions of dollars. But the wrestling rulebook is different in its preference for almost continuous offense.

But there are obviously coaches out there who are coaching their kids to be cautious and defensive, to the point that their whole offensive arsenal is predicated on the other wrestler making a mistake. North Star's Richard Baker decisioned Shamokin's Derek Shingara 3-2 in the 140-pound AA quarterfinals and did not take a shot the entire match. His takedown at the buzzer came at the end of a lengthy tie-up with Shingara after Shingara's shot.

Miraculously, the referee at one time called a double stalling warning against both wrestlers, prompting Shamokin assistant coach Bob Nye to yell out, "We're the only ones doing anything."

Shingara, who is almost always on the hunt, did almost all the work in his first bout, a 4-2 win over Bermudian Springs' Dalton Anthony.

Saegertown's Tim Clark did not take a shot, or barely did, against Shamokin's Josh Lahr in Lahr's first round 3-1 tiebreaker win at 135. Lahr kept waiting for a stalling call, and it never came.

No column from a wrestling writer is ever going to change the way officials work a bout. But watching some of the non-wrestling at the state tournament gives you a greater appreciation for kids like Shingara, Brandon Pesarchick and Line Mountain's state champ Zain Retherford, all of whom are always on the move.

John Huckaby, former sports editor of the Sunbury Daily Item who is in both the Pa. Wrestling Coaches and District 4 Wrestling Coaches halls of fame, said after Pesarchick's overtime loss to Pen Argyl's Mikey Racciato in the third-place bout at 130, "One thing you can say for Pesarchick; if he loses, it isn't for lack of trying."

That's the way it should be for all wrestlers.

Medals count

Our good pal Rod Frisco, late of the Harrisburg Patriot-News and now of www.rodfrisco.com, updated the medals count for all state schools following the tournament. We'll share some of his work with you:

* Easton is far and away the state leader in total medals with 117. Tied for second are Northampton and Reynolds at 95. The rest of the top 10 - 4. Clearfield (84), 5. Waynesburg (77); 6, (tie) Canon-McMillan and Nazareth (73); 8. Trinity (District 7) 71; 9. State College (64) and 10. (tie) Bald Eagle Area and North Allegheny (63). Among area schools, Shikellamy is 13th with 55, Line Mountain is tied for 15th (49), North Schuylkill is tied for 23rd (40) and Shamokin is 33rd (37).

* Shamokin, though it hasn't had a state champ since 1994, continues to hover just out of the top 10 in that category, at 11th with 18. Clearfield is the all-time leader in both champs (40) and runners-up (25). Easton is second in champs (34) and Waynesburg third (30). Line Mountain, with its fifth champion in six years, continues to climb up that list and is now at 11. Benton, which never had a champ until 1988, is threatening Shamokin's District 4 leadership. The Tigers now have 15. Shikellamy and Hughesville each have 13 and North Schuylkill (District 11) 11.

* We did a little numbers crunching of our own, assigning an 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 point value for first through eighth places for some of the top schools. Using that formula, Easton is top point-getter with 697 points, followed by Clearfield (592) and Reynolds (539). Rounding out that top 10 - 4. Northampton (531), 5. Waynesburg (494), 6. Trinity (455), 7. Nazareth (443), 8. North Allegheny (400), 9. Canon-McMillan (395) and 10. State College (394).

We didn't figure out places below the top 10 but point totals for some area schools - Shikellamy (320), Line Mountain (274), Shamokin (253), North Schuylkill (241), Benton (234), and Danville (201).