Participating Teams All teams linked to their results page | Ironman Schedule Coaches Meeting: | Friday, December 5, 9:30 AM at Walsh Jesuit High School.
Bracket sheets will be handed out at the meeting and all necessary adjustments discussed. Shuttle service will be available for any coaches staying at the Holiday Inn. Contact Grant Conzaman at Walsh Jesuit High School.� | Weigh-Ins: | Friday, December 5, medical checks at 10:30 AM and weigh-ins beginning at 11:00 AM at Walsh Jesuit High School. The Tournament scales will be available after 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 4, at Walsh Jesuit High School. Second day weigh-ins will take place Saturday, December 6 starting at 8:00 AM.�
| Saturday Mass: | A mass will be celebrated on Saturday, December 6, at 5:00�PM
All fans and teams are welcomed. | Friday Session: | Friday December 5, 2008 1:00 p.m. | Saturday Sessions: | Saturday December 6, 2008 10:00 a.m. & 6:30 p.m. |
Live Coverage Are you a big fan of the Walsh Ironman Tournament? Is your team wrestling, but you couldn't make the trip to see them wrestle live?Once again, WalshIronman.com will make the Live Boutboard available online, as well as Live Streaming Video of both gyms. And this year, we will have a camera on each mat for the Finals for complete mat by mat coverage of all three mats in the Finals. Registration is now open and costs $7.00. As we don't want anyone to be disappointed in the video, we want to be sure everyone registering understands that due to bandwidth issues, this will not be individual mat by mat close-up coverage during early rounds, but rather an expansive shot of each gym with action going on 4 mats.We will try to have 4 cameras this year for better coverage if possible. In addition there will be LIVE chat available for fans to talk about the action going on. And of course, you will be able to watch the Live updating scoreboard, Team Scores, and this year we have added the Last 10 Bout Results as well as a History search to find the results for your team or any weight class, so you can see how a match ended even after it comes off the boutboard. If you would like to register, click the "Register Here" link below, complete the information and proceed to Paypal. You must complete the Paypal payment screens to be completely registered and gain access. This can take up to 30 minutes for your payment to register with the WalshIronman.com Database.
Ironman History In their March 1, 2006 issue of Wrestling USA magazine staff writer Al Fontes called the Walsh Jesuit ASICS/Ironman “The Toughest Tournment in the Nation”. Fontes goes on to say “In fact it has been the toughest for the past few years and appears to be getting even tougher.”
The Ironman was the creation of Walsh Jesuit coach Bill Barger. The first one was held on December 17th 1994 featuring 16 teams from all over the nation. Walsh Jesuit won the first Ironman, Northampton PA was 2nd, Nazareth PA 3rd, followed by Bismarck Century N. Dakota, Easton PA, Choctaw Oklahoma and St. Edward Ohio. Several other Oklahoma teams and several California teams were entered as well.
The Ironman was the nation’s very first “SUPER tournament”, meaning it brought together many of the very best teams from all over America. Currently the Ironman is much larger with approximately 30 to 34 full teams and a dozen or more partial teams each with just a few wrestlers. So much interest was generated by the first Ironman that it just grew and grew, and has since been imitated by several other tournaments around the nation.
The Ironman not only brings top teams together, it has been an innovater in technology, using matboards projected on the walls; using a paperless scoring system; and being seeded live on line 3 days before the tournament begins. The 2006 version of the Ironman will feature the nation’s top 2 teams in the preseason rankings, St. Edward Ohio and Blair Academy New Jersey. The Ironman will be the ONLY tournament this season where these 2 goliaths meet head to head.
The Ironman is still held at Walsh Jesuit, in a high school setting which many fans prefer. It is expected that upwards of 70 college coaches will attend the Ironman, now held in 2 gyms close together to accommodate the growing number of teams and all the fans who want to attend. All quarterfinal, semifinal, place matches and finals matches are held in the main gym.
Since Walsh Jesuit’s team win in the initial Ironman, only two other teams have won the title: Blair Academy 7 times and St. Edward 4 times. There has never been a 4 time Ironman champion, but 6 wrestlers have won it 3 times including: Mark Jayne of St. Edward, Jeff Knupp of Walsh Jesuit, Harry Lester of Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy Ohio, Kurt Backes of Blair Academy, Patrick Bond of Great Bridge VA, ands Aaron Hart of St. Paris Graham Ohio.
Now in its 13th year, the Ironman continues to be the model that sets the standard for elite competition, cutting edge innovation, and the promotion of all that is positive in high school wrestling. In |