Marysville High School head wrestling coach Shawn Andrews will not have to serve a suspension.
The Journal-Tribune has learned that the suspension Andrews could have received from the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) after being ejected from the final match of the Marysville Duals Tournament last Saturday will not be enforced.
Andrews received a coaches misconduct penalty and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty during the match.
That prompted an official to eject the coach from the tournament.
“I received the coaches misconduct penalty for approaching the scorer’s table to question an official’s interpretation of a stalling call,” said Andrews.
The coach said he received the unsportsmanlike conduct infraction while addressing an official from the team bench.
Both were separate incidents.
Team points were taken away from the Monarchs due to the infractions.
Andrews was ejected for the remainder of the tournament and a report to that effect was sent to the OHSAA in Columbus.
Under OHSAA guidelines, a coach or athlete must serve a two-contest suspension if they are ejected from a game or match.
However, the penalties for which Andrews was ejected reportedly were misinterpreted by the official.
The OHSAA issued the following statement on Wednesday through Tim Stried, its director of communications:
“The OHSAA has concluded that there was a misapplication of the ejection rule regarding Marysville wrestling coach Shawn Andrews on Saturday, Dec. 1. During the competition, misconduct violations and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty were incorrectly combined, resulting in the ejection, which should not have taken place. Therefore, the OHSAA has invalidated the ejection and consequences for Coach Andrews.”
The coaches misconduct infraction was directed at the entire Monarch coaching staff, while the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was called against Andrews on an individual basis.
The lone individual penalty against Andrews was reportedly not enough to warrant the coach’s ejection.
Since the suspension was invalidated, Andrews will be able to coach the Monarchs during matches this week, including on Friday and Saturday at the annual Ironman Tournament.
MHS seniors Walker Heard and Logan Painter will compete in that tournament, while the remainder of the Monarch squad will travel to Morrow County to compete in the Kilted Classic at Sparta Highland High School.
If the OHSAA had accepted the ejection, Andrews could have been suspended for up to two events, faced a $100 fine and been mandated to complete the National Federation of State High School Association’s “Teaching and Modeling Behavior” course.
The Monarch coach commented on the situation.
“While I am glad I will be able to coach my team this week, it doesn’t take away from the fact that I have to do a better job of setting my composure and remaining calm,” said Andrews. “This doesn’t change what I did.
“I have to be attentive to my interactions with officials in going forward this season.”