INDIANAPOLIS — Heartbreaking. Devastating. Disappointing.
None of those words aptly describe the range of emotions Danville wrestler Neal Molloy felt Saturday morning after losing his second match of the state finals.
The 9-6 loss to Alexandria’s Luke Blanton stuck with the 132-pound junior throughout the rest of the day’s wrestling.
It will likely stick with him the rest of his life as the one that got away.
“I wrestled scared and afraid to lose,” Molloy said. “I knew Blanton could scramble, knew he was good as I’d wrestled him over the summer. I just let it get to me.”
Molloy was up 6-2 after the first period and seemed in control of the match, but Blanton tied it at 6-6 heading into the third. Molloy cut Blanton loose, looking for a takedown to win the match, but that backfired as it was Blanton that scored the takedown and win.
After reigning in the significant emotional distress, Molloy came back with great resiliency and composure.
With no championship to wrestle for, Molloy took out his frustration on Ben Davis’ Levi Moss in the first match of the wrestleback round, pinning the No.5-ranked grappler in the second period.
Then his emotions took over again, as watching Blanton wrestle in what could have been his spot at the semifinal match was just too much.
Molloy paced the concrete, watching Blanton lose his semifinal match while fighting back the tears with a contorted face. He finally sat back down at the wall, trying to contain a range of emotions from anger, to frustration, and finally sadness.
Molloy’s victory in his final match for fifth place seemed hollow as he took a 9-2 decision before walking off the mat, tossing his head gear toward the wall and sitting down dejectedly. He finished watching Blanton lose a second straight match for fourth place, one above his, and stayed on the wall for nearly an hour.
“I wanted three state titles really bad, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen,” Molloy said.
Molloy came into the contest as a defending state champion, a wrestler who had won 43 consecutive matches this season and was a perfect 93-0 through the last two years.
After last season’s championship, he spoke of getting right back into the wrestling room to improve. Those are the same plans this season, but with more incentive.
“It motivates me so much and I am not losing again,” Molloy said. “I am not losing here again. I blew it today, but I can’t let it get to me. I just have to come back stronger.”
Many wrestlers can point to things they want to improve upon and where they can get better after losing at the state finals. Some look to improve upon technique, for others it’s mental toughness, but where can Molloy look?
His statistics suggest this loss was an anomaly and he just has to keep on doing what he is doing.
Molloy finished 45-1 with 28 falls. He scored 181 takedowns on the season and gave up four. Molloy was never on his back, giving up zero near fall points while turning his opponents 70 times. Of his 582 match points, the junior averaged 12.6 points per match. Molloy allowed 140 points to his opponents all season, 127 coming from escapes when he cut them loose trying for a takedown.
Where can he improve? What can he learn?
According to Molloy, very little.
“There is just not a whole lot I can take from this except not to lose,” he said. “It’s not fun.”
When looking at his season and what he has accomplished throughout his high school wrestling career, there is little reason to wonder why he feels that way.
But none of that will erase the pain of the one that got away.
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