Mustang Open 2009

The 20th Annual Mustang Open Wrestling Tournament was held this past Saturday, February 28.

This was Aidan's first year to wrestle at the Open. Children from all over the area come to wrestle & it is a good day of competition.

This was the first year that the tournament was conducted in a "Round Robin" format & without going into great detail, it guaranteed that he was going to get at least four matches.

The first match Aidan beat the boy by decision 5-3. Aidan made the little boy cry (which happens a lot in this age group of wrestlers) and also gave him a nose bleed (also very common). I hate to see the little ones cry, especially when it is my son that makes them do it.

The second match was a forfeit.

The third match he pinned the boy in 14 seconds.

The fourth match was won by pinning the kid. Jerry got very emotional after this win. It made me smile in knowing how proud he was of Aidan.

The fifth match was for first place. We had been told that the little boy that Aidan was going up against was a very good wrestler. He was also undefeated up to the final match, so this was going to determine first place. For the first two periods, Aidan was down in points. In the third period, the young man's coach had them start in the neutral position and Aidan shot for his legs & had a take down which gave him two points and then almost pinned the boy which caused his opponent to cry. The ref stopped the match for an injury time out & Aidan was awarded three back points which put him leading by three points with 11 seconds to go. Aidan was on top because had control before the time out & all he had to do was hold on and that he did. Aidan won by a decision of 8-5.

This is the bracket that hung on the wall. Each time Aidan won, they went out & circled his name. As you can see, his opponent (Sola) was also undefeated up until the final match.

This is his gold medal alongside his name.

And here is the champ with his medal. When I see this picture, I can't believe this sweet little face can be so fierce on the mat.