Mar 5, 2013 4 min read

When Tanner Sutton takes the mat for Chartiers-Houston, his father Bill, who doubles as the Bucs’ head coach, makes sure he has all the essentials in the corner.

Water bottle, towel, spit bucket, big bottle of antacids.

The latter item isn’t for Tanner, but for Bill and whoever is manning the second chair.

Nothing in this area causes a coach more consternation, churns up more stomach acid or sparks more migraines than the way Sutton wrestles.

“He’s full bore,” said Bill Sutton. “He’s 100 percent go.”

Sutton will take his dynamic style – he calls it funk, others call it dangerous – into the first round of the PIAA Class AA Wrestling Championships Thursday at the Giant Center in Hershey.

Sutton, a senior, takes a 42-6 record into a first-round bout against Zach Homan of Schuylkill Valley, a fifth-place finisher in the Southeast Region with a 36-12 record.

First-round action begins at 9 a.m. Thursday. Quarterfinals are at 9 a.m. Friday, semifinals follow at 6:30 p.m. and finals are at 2 p.m. Saturday. The top eight wrestlers in each weight class receive medals.

“I’m just going to go out and do what I can do,” said Tanner Sutton.

That normally means frustrating an opponent to the point of distraction. The funk style is meant to do just that. The funk is an unorthodox style that is high risk-high reward. It requires a wrestler to be fluid, flexible and fearless.

Many times, a funk wrestler will dive in on an ankle and roll through, taking his opponent to his back. It can be used as an offensive or defensive move.

“There is a lot of rolling,” said Sutton. “The key is you have to get height (with your body).”

If you are a little low or a little slow rolling through, well, that would be bad. Normally, a funk roll done wrong is an invitation to a five-point move or worse. Sutton exposes his back to the mat for an instant on the roll through, but if he does it right, he can score off it.

“Getting in that situation is the only way to learn,” said Sutton. “I do a lot of scrambling in practices. Normally, the coaches come up and roll around with me.”

In last week’s WPIAL Championships, Sutton got sloppy and was put on his back and was shut out by Burrell’s Phil Marra 5-0 in the finals.

In the Southwest Region Tournament, Sutton made a few adjustments and won the 145-pound title with a 3-1 decision over Tanner Cahill of Conemaugh Township. In the process, Sutton knocked off top-seeded Noah Tarr of Blairsville, 3-2, shut out Drew Gartland of Northen Bedford, 4-0, and pinned Luke Nanna of Juniata in 2:14.

“He set it upo better,” said Bill Sutton. He set it up and was more in control than I’ve seen. After (last week’s loss to Marra), he listened a little better.”

Control and position are crucial to making the funk work. Get out of control or out of position, then the consolation rounds are the next stop.

“It’s been something I’ve been doing for a while,” said Sutton. Sometimes, I get caught. If I don’t overuse it, it works for me. But it’s a risky type of wrestling.”

It could be an effective type, considering the tough competition at 145. Defending state champion Mike Racciato of Pen Argyl is back with a 40-0 record is in the other side of the bracket but Colt Cotton of Benton, a fourth-place finisher in last year’s state tournament, is not.

“Whatever happens, happens,” said Sutton. “If I had a better shot, I wouldn’t need to use it.”

Other returning state champions in Class AA are Darian Cruz of Bethlehem Catholic at 120; Ryan Diehl of Trinity in District 3 at 126; Ryan Solomon of Milton, who is looking for his third at 195; and Nazar Mironenko of Mifflinburg at heavyweight.