You've just been pinned in a match. What should you do?
A. Shake your opponent's hand, then leave the mat without incident.
B. Shake your opponent's hand, then punch him in the face, then create a scene that gets you and your dad arrested.
Sadly, one New Jersey high school wrestler apparently thought that "B" was the correct answer, judging by his reported behavior at the Region 1 wrestling tournament at Wallkill Valley Regional High School this past weekend, according to multiple media reports.
Ralph Hall Jr., a senior at Lenape Valley High School, was pinned at 2:28 of his 220-pound match in the first round of wrestlebacks by Adam Schlereth of Newton. As Schlereth was being declared the winner by having his arm raised by the referee, the 18-year-old Hall punched the Newton senior in the face.
"He got up, shook my hand and hit me with a nice punch," Schlereth told NJ.com. "We played youth football together when we were younger and he's always been the type of kid to be mad and frustrated after a loss, but I never thought it would come to that."
After Hall threw the punch, he was kicked out of the building and police on duty followed him out. He was arrested for assault.
Ralph Hall Sr., seated in the stands, expressed his displeasure with what was happening to his son, and was also escorted out of the building by police. The elder Hall continued to cause a disturbance while leaving the gym and into the hallway, the New Jersey Herald reported. He was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.
Despite getting socked in the face, Schlereth returned to wrestling in the tournament.
"Everybody was talking to me about it but I was trying to focus on my match," Schlereth said. "The cops came to me and asked if I wanted to press charges but I told them to talk to me after I wrestle."
Schlereth made it to the consolation finals, where he was pinned at 5:04 of the match.
Meanwhile, Ralph Hall Jr. and his father are awaiting court appearances for their arrests.
Update March 3: Good things can come from a bad situation: Adam Schlereth will be wrestling at the 2016 New Jersey state wrestling championships after all. The wrestler who pinned him at the Region 1 consolation finals, Todd Eckert of Roxbury, was forced to pull out of the state tournament because of an injury; Schlereth will go in his place this weekend..
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