DUKE BEATTIE: IF STATE DUALS EXPAND TO FOUR, TOURNAMENT SHOULD CONDENSE INTO ONE

by Lem Satterfield

Dr. William G. “Duke” Beattie has a diverse and unique background in athletics, in particular wrestling.  Beattie is director of system-wide athletics for Montgomery County Public Schools, the largest school system in the state and the 13^th largest school system and athletic program in the country.

Beattie oversees all aspects of Montgomery County’s 25 high schools and 39 middle schools.

Beattie’s experiences in wrestling include the folowing: Wrestling in youth league, a Montgomery County runner-up and champion, respectively, at Montgomery Blair and Kennedy; being a recpient of the prestigious Richard J. Monisera Award bestowed upon the senior who scores the most points for his team at the Montgomery County tournament throughout his career; and being a scholarship wrestler at the University of Maryland.

Beattie's mentor was Hall of Famer Dr. Robert E. McNelis, and his former youth league and high school teammate was two-time NCAA champion Kelly Ward, to who Beattie was the best man in his wedding.

Beattie was a referee for 30 years, and, for several years, commissioner of the Washington Metropolitan Wrestling Officials Association.  Beattie was a high school athletic director for ten years, and has been a member of the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) wrestling rules committee for the past several years, representing region 2, which includes Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland.

Beattie is also chairman of the MPSSAA wrestling rules committee.

During his six years as state tournament committee director, Dr. Beattie has overseen many changes and improvements to the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) wrestling tournament.

Some of the improvements have been subtle, some dramatic, but all have been made with careful thought and in the best interests of Maryland public school wrestling.

During Beattie's tenure as wrestling committee chairman, the state tournament has been expanded from a follow-the-winner format at McDaniel College in Westminster to the more palatable, double-elimination event which will take place this Friday and Saturday at the more centralized, spacious and accommodating Cole Field House on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park.

Accompanying the change in venue and format, Beattie insisted that the semifinal and final rounds be separated from other rounds to allow prospective champions to take center stage (consolation and final matches used to be conducted simultaneously).  

Along with showcasing the championships, Beattie created a unique “Parade of Champions,” where the finalists are joined by their parents on the field house floor in a ceremony just prior to the start of the finals.  Moms receive a flower.  Last year, Beattie and his wife, Mary Beth, were parade participants when their son, Rhett, made the finals to end his senior year.   

Other changes involve competitive aspects.  For instance, in the past, wrestlers' participation in three invitational tournaments all counted toward the sport's point system, which is used for county and district tournament seeding as well as toward qualifying for the postseason.  Beattie, however, was a catalyst in allowing wrestlers to drop one of the tournaments, thus applying only their best two tournament performances toward seeding and qualifying.

The move allowed coaches and wrestlers more latitude in scheduling challenging competition, since wrestlers “worst” tournament placement or performance was automatically eliminated for seeding consideration. 

Similarly, in an effort to provide wrestlers an additional opportunity to qualify for regions, and to reestablish the role of the county tournament as an important event for regional qualifying, Beattie created the “25% rule”. 

Briefly, no matter how few points a wrestler may have earned in the course of a season, if the wrestler finishes in the top 25% of the county, conference, or city tournament, the wrestler automatically qualifies for regions. 

"What he's done is weathered a lot of storms where coaches have come up with proposals," said Ron Belinko, Baltimore County's coordinator of athletics who held Beattie's position for 10 years  until 1996.

"What he does is takes these proposals, does a lot of analyzing, thinking and research to see if it's necessarily going to improve wrestling in the state of Maryland," Belinko said. "If not, he'll come up with a counter-proposal that is not only an improvement, but which is he can sell to the voting members of the committee as well as the Board of Control."

The latest proposal, "introduced by a coach on the Eastern Shore," according Beattie, seeks to expand, from two to four, the present format for the state dual meet tournament.

Click here for proposal details

In accordance with the move, the present Class 2A-1A and 4A-3A duals format would become separate 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A state titles, leaving unaffected, the season-ending state Class 2A-1A, and, 4A-3A state tournament.

But Beattie adjusted the proposal after spotting what he considered to be "fatal flaws." Those flaws, he said, were likely to fail before the Board of Control, whose approval is required for any tournament changes.

Instead, Beattie proposed to adopt the portion of the plan that creates four separate dual meet tournaments, but combining the Class 4A-3A and 2A-1A state tournaments into one event for the first time since 1980, as well as a qualifying process that would begin with the county or district tournaments.

No team points would be kept for the final state meet, making it a true event for individual achievement.

"The original idea was a simple one," said Beattie, who then "assigned a committee to study it," with Smithsburg coach, Joe Dietrich, overseeing that group. "There's a lot of merit to the original proposal, but there are some fatal flaws. There are certain things that are deal busters, as it were."

"Wrestling already had four state competitions with the 2A-1A, and, 4A-3A state duals, as well as the 2A-1A and 4A-3A tournaments at Cole. If we add a 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A dual meet tournament, then Cole makes five and six," Beattie said.

“It is important for wrestling coaches to understand that any change that a wrestling committee puts forward, or any sports committee, must be passed by the MPSSAA Board of Control," Beattie said.  The Board of Control is comprised of at least two members from each of the 24 school jurisdictions, 60 voting members in total.  In addition to the Board of Control, significant changes must be approved by other MPSSAA committees, such as the Finance Committee, Classification Committee, etc., depending on the nature of the change.”

“Changes do not occur in a vacuum, and contrary to the beliefs held by some, there is a tremendous amount of oversight for any and all changes that potentially occur in a sport,” says Beattie.  “Literally every change, no matter how small, is subject to scrutiny by the entire state.  In this fashion, there are three keys to any successful change or proposal.  One, does the change result in a format that is fundamentally similar to other MPSSAA sports?  For instance, no MPSSAA sport offers more than four state championship competitions or more than 16 regional competitions.   

“Second, will the change result in more class time missed by students or teacher-coaches?  This is an extremely important consideration.  Test scores and student achievement are important factors in school board elections, not athletic championships.  Third, will the change have a significant financial impact, either locally or for the state.  Remember that if a change does have an adverse impact on the MPSSAA, then ultimately it will also have an adverse impact on local schools and school systems because the MPSSAA gives back to schools whatever excess revenue it generates.

For these reasons, Beattie is 100% certain that whatever format changes occur in Maryland public school wrestling, the Board of Control will insist that the change include retaining the county, conference, or city tournament as the first leg in the state tournament series.  “These tournaments have a rich history to them, and have been around much longer than the state tournament.  Local bragging rights are at stake, and they are a source of revenue for local school systems.  Transportation costs are low, because most of the competing schools are relatively close.”

Beattie’s proposal would award state championships in four dual meet classifications, 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A.   After the dual meet champions are crowned, and after local championships are determined in the county, conference, or city tournaments, regions and states would be exclusively focused on the individual, with no team scores.

The classes of 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A schools would be combined into one state tournament, with one champion per weight class.    

The county or conference tournaments would serve as qualifiers for each of four regions, and those regions, in turn, would be qualifiers for states.

"Let's figure out the four team champions in the fairest way possible (dual meets), and then focus on the individual tournament. It's a way of getting back to the county tournament as an absolute qualifier for the regions," said Beattie.

 Beattie added that the qualifying process "is a way of getting rid of the point system," which could still "be used for seeding purposes."

"Remember, the point system was put in because you have kids from large and small schools competing in the same county or conference tournament, but going to different regions," said Beattie.  Beattie believes that the point system "inhibits competition."

"Unfortunately, some coaches go overboard with the point system," Beattie said, "and they try to pick tournaments and competition to stockpile points."

Duke Beattie's conclusive commentary:

“Having one state tournament will reestablish the county or conference tournaments as the sole qualifier for regions.  Kids and coaches will thus change focus and select tournaments that give them the best competitive edge for the state tournament series, not the most points."

“Having one state champion will also contribute to the development of our best wrestlers.  Often, the two best kids in the state are in separate classifications (1A/2A versus 3A/4A), so even before the season begins, some wrestlers know that the wrestler who would offer the stiffest challenge will not be in the same tournament."

"This, in my opinion, inhibits challenge. Similarly, the top wrestlers in the state are not as attractive to colleges because colleges know that the wrestler, even if he wins a state tournament, was not necessarily the best public school wrestler in the state.”

“I wanted for coaches to have ample opportunity to weigh-in on the proposal, and thus the proposal was circulated in early January. It [the proposal] solves some important issues, it is within the parameters of what I believe the Board of Control will accept, and it enhances challenge." 

“In the final analysis, coaches will have the opportunity to endorse a change that results in greater challenge and provides a remedy to the point system, or they can elect to continue with the status quo. Perhaps one result is that we will find that coaches are fundamentally satisfied with the way things operate now.  I don’t know.  But an opportunity for change has been presented, and is being carefully considered by coaches throughout the state.”

Click here for proposal details

Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association Tournament(Click here for general info, tourney brackets)


What: Class 4A-3A and Class 2A-1A state tournaments.

Where: University of Maryland's Cole Field House

When:Friday, March 7 --2:30 p.m.  Prelims
                                        6:30  Quarterfinals
                                        8:30 Consolation prelims, quarterfinals
          
         Saturday, March 8 -- 9:30 Consolation first-round

                     
                                      11 a.m. Championship semifinals
                                      11 a.m. Consolation quarterfinals
                                      1:15 p.m. Consolation semifinals
                                      3 p.m. Consolatin finals for 5th-6th; 3rd-4th
                                      5:30 p.m. Championship finals

Admission: Two-day pass -- $25; One-day pass -- $15; Friday after 8 p.m. -- $8.00; Saturday after 5 p.m. -- $8.00; Children under  7-- no charge.


Individual returning state champions: (11 total). Class 2A-1A -- Scott Mantua, River Hill (112); Cam Hobin, South Carroll (119); George Scheffel, Southern Garrett (125); Lester Andrews, Mardela (130); Matt Jackson, Rising Sun (145, 2X); Tony Mack, Owings Mills (160); Jordan Walsh, Walkersville (189); Class 4A-3A -- Maurice Fleming, Northeast (140); Bubby Graham, Annapolis (160, 2X); Josh Asper, Hereford (171, 3X); Ethan Brown, Old Mill (189), Danny Miller, Stephen Decatur (189).

Former state runners-up: (17 total). Class 2A-1A -- Chad Strube, Middletown (112); Tyler Strube, Middletown (125, 2X); Brian Marcoux, Glenelg (125); Nathan White, River Hill (130); Danny Bichner, Glenelg (135, 2X); Stephen Whetstone, Mountain Ridge (140); Chris Stinnett, Glenelg (140); Brandon Johnson, Middletown (171), Tyler Mullen, South Carroll (171, 2X); Sean Sisler, Southern Garrett (285). Class 4A-3A --Daniel Justice, Huntingtown (119); Jake Shilling, LaPlata (119); Sean McCarty, Northwest (130); Tanner Shaffer, LaPlata (145); Steven Gamble, Sherwood (152, 2X); Ian Graham, South River (189); Billy Nichols, Severna Park (215); Jason Thomen, North Carroll (215).
    
Defending team champions: Class 2A-1A --Rising Sun of Cecil County; Class 4A-3A -- Old Mill of Anne Arundel County.

Milestones

Josh Asper: The University of Maryland-bound senior is attempting to join Aberdeen's Matt Slutzky and Owings Mill's Steve Kessler by becoming Maryland's third wrestler to win four state titles. Asper has won crowns at 135, 145 and 160 pounds.

Key winning streaks: Asper has won 83 consecutive bouts, and Annapolis' Bubby Graham (160), 96 straight matches.

Pinning power: Northwest's 130-pound Sean McCarty has 95 career falls.

Deepest weight class: 112 pounds.

Class 4A-3A players at 112--Adam Krop, Urbana; Kevin Lethbridge, Paint Branch; C.J. Savage, Tuscarora; Helen Maroulis, Magruder; Alex Hakspiel, Sherwood; Houston Zemanski, Broadneck; Ron Vaughters, Old Mill; Quentin Leadbetter, Northern-Calvert; Brian Hines, Seneca Valley; Mike Garrow, LaPlata. First-round matchups -- Vaughters vs. Hines; Hakspiel vs. Zemanski. Likely quarterfinal matchups -- Lethbridge vs. Savage; Vaughters-Hines winner vs. Garrow; Hakspiel -Zemanski winner vs. Leadbetter; Krop vs. Maroulis.

Class 2A-1A players at 112-- Scott Mantua, River Hill; Ben Baker, Pikesville; Lex Ozias, Southern Garrett; Chad Strube, Middletown; Dylan Gillett, Hammond; Kevin Dufour, Owings Mills; Ethan Ulrich, Rising Sun. Likely quarterfinal matchups -Ozias vs. Dufour; Gillett vs. Ulrich; Strube vs. Baker.

Michael's mission: Michael Spriggs, a 189-pounder from C.H. Flowers, placed fifth in Prince George's County's Tournament aand qualified for the Class 4A-3A states by finishing fourth in last weekend's Class 4A-3A South Regional Tournament. Spriggs is blind, having lost his eyesight just prior to his freshman year of high school.

"I really had to work hard to get here. In the first round of regionals, as the seventh seed, I had to beat the No. 2 seed in overtime," said Sprggs, who has a record of 23-15. "Then, just to get into the third and fourth place match, I had to beat a guy from Largo who I hadn't beaten in the previous two years. I was hoping before my career ended that I would get to states. Now that I'm here, I'm pretty excited."

Three smart guys:  Glenelg's state runner-up Brian Marcoux, Old Mill's state champ Ethan Brown and North Carroll's state runner-up JasonThomen were recognized for their academic achievements at Wednesday night's Greater Baltimore Chapter National Football Foundation Awards' dinner at Martin's West in Woodlawn.

The University of Maryland-bound Marcoux ranks No. 1 in his class, Thomen ranks in the top five percent of his class, and Brown, in the top 20 percent of his class.

Let's hear it for the