Verkleeren denied a wrestleoff

   Word late this afternoon out of District 7 is that Belle Vernon star Jarod Verkleeren has been denied a chance to wrestleoff for a spot in the lineup for the postseason, which begins in the WPIAL this week with the sectional tournaments.
   This has obviously been a hot topic in the WPIAL and across the state. Joe Tuscano of the Observer-Reporter has been on top of it and posted a story about the ruling here: http://www.observer-reporter.com/20160225/judge_denies_verkleeren_request_for_wrestleoff.
   Verkleeren had filed an injunction in Westmoreland County seeking the wrestleoff within the Belle Vernon practice room, but the motion was turned down by Judge Alfred Bell. With that ruling, Verkleeren sees his season end with a record of 35-5.
   The issue dates back to the PIAA Team Championships, where Verkleeren weighed in up from his normal class of 145 pounds. His older brother, Derek, was suffering from an injury, and Jarod Verkleeren weighed in up for the Leopards' Class AAA third-place match with Nazareth. He competed at 160 that day, losing to Nazareth's Travis Stefanik.
   According to what Verkleeren has said, he was told by the Belle Vernon staff that weighing up for that match would not affect his status at 145 for the postseason. The Belle Vernon coaches and administration have not commented publicly on the matter as of yet.
   Through some form of misinformation, what he was told was not correct. What Verkleeren, a state placewinner in March and Cadet World Champion last summer, weighed would not allow him to get back down to the 149.1 via his weight loss plan, which only allows wrestlers to lose a small percentage of their weight each week. He needed to be at that 149.1 to qualify for 145.
   Verkleeren was then reportedly denied the opportunity to challenge at 152 or 160 for either of those spots, as he would have been permitted to compete at one of those. His brother is at 152, and Mitch Hartman is at 160. They are both seniors, while Jarod is a junior. His family went to court seeking the wrestleoff with Hartman at 160.
   So what happens going forward?
   I think the first obvious question is whether we will see Jarod Verkleeren wrestling for Belle Vernon as a senior. While I am not very close to the situation, it's hard to imagine he would be at this point. One would have to believe there's some animosity between Verkleeren and the coaches, etc.
   Do those potential feelings smooth over? Sure, it's possible, but I'd honestly be surprised to see Verkleeren in Belle Vernon's lineup next season.
   If he's not there, where does he go? It's highly unlikely that you would see him at another public school, certainly another one inside the WPIAL, because it would be nearly impossible for Verkleeren to argue that it's not for athletic intent.
   Will we see Verkleeren at a prep school like Kiski or Wyoming Seminary? With his high wrestling credentials already, he'd surely fit in at such a place.
   Hopefully, we can be done talking about all this stuff off the mat and turn our attention to what should be a great couple of weeks of wrestling.