Sheldon Sharp faces tough competition in wrestling nationals
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA.Fresh off winning the AHSAA State Wrestling Championship in the heavyweight (285-pound) division, Bob Jones junior Sheldon Sharp chose to pursue All-American status by participating in the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) Nationals held in Virginia Beach, Va. Weighing in at 220-pounds, Sharp chose to drop a weight class and wrestle in the 220-pound junior class where he was seeded third.
Facing some of the top competitors from across the country, Sharp, who is also starting offensive and defensive lineman for the Patriots’ football team, first faced Greg Stull of Graham High School located in New CarUsle, Ohio.
“I went down a weight class in the Nationals and the difference in weight and my opponent having quick reaction time threw me off a bit and I didn’t have as much advantage with mobility compared to competing in the heavier weight class,” said Sharp.
In his opening match, Sharp fell 10-5 to Stull, who eventually made his way to the weight class quarterfinals. Falling behind early, Sharp and Stull were at a more or less a stalemate as Sharp preferred more hand-fighting while Stull was more aggressive in his waiting to make his moves as Stull had three takedowns to take the lead. Sharp scored four of his five points in the third period.
“In my first match on the second day, scoring equipment failure at the end of the first period caused a 30-minute delay, but in the second period I had a takedown and near fall and went on to an 8-1 decision,” said Sharp, of his match versus Camani McDaniel of Connecticut.
In his third match, Sharp used an escape with 14 seconds remaining to pull out a 5-4 decision versus Fred Brown of South Carolina. “I could tell he was getting tired and won it at the end,” added Sharp.
Facing Louisiana’s Brennen McGill in his fourth match, Sharp trailed by two points going into the third period. “It was a close match until the end, but I had him on his back most of the third period,” added Sharp, who had an escape, take down and near fall in the last 90 seconds and scored his eight points in the match to win 8-2.
“I went into desperation mode late in the match,” said Sharp, of his fifth and final match against Kenneth Hamilton from Virginia who scored six points in the final 30 seconds to secure a 9-1 win. “I was on top of him and tried to flip him over in that third period in my desperation attempts when he had that reversal.”
Sharp was accompanied on the trip to the East Coast with his parents and several friends and teammates from both his school team and club team. He and his buddies went out to dinner and visited the beach where Sharp said the water was cold. The group of friends also played the beach game of “Spikeball.” He added, “I met a lot of nice people while I was there as the facility had at least 70 mats hosting matches at the same time.”
“I’m glad I attended as the entire weekend was a good experience,” said Sharp, who said he learned a little more about of his ‘inner-self.’ “Yes, to try and embrace it and to keep going even when it’s bad.”
Sharp’s wrestling and football talents will be highlighted in the upcoming May issue of the Madison Living Magazine.
