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The thread getting taken down had nothing to do with TSSAA. It was because there were adults inappropriately making false accusations about a minor concerning discipline records that are protected by the Federal Educational Records Privacy Act. The adults publicly accused the minor, by name, of things he was found not to be guilty of; and then, slandered the school by accusing them of inappropriate behavior. The site took down the thread because one, it is inappropriate and inhumane to do that to a child, and two, because they do not want to get sued. The moderators by law are responsible for ensuring that a public forum be used in a way that does not violate federal or state law. Here is a simple principle, don’t attack high school kids in an online forum. It’s disgusting.

Could everyone please keep RW87 in your prayers? Her beloved son passed away unexpectedly the other day, and like any mother, she is grieving right now. Pray that God will grant her His mercy and grace, as well as strength and His peace, which passes all understanding. She needs all the prayers she can get right now. Thank you, and God bless.

I would have an issue of getting my starters for the season out of the line up to accommodate any last minute wrestlers to the team. That is a bigger question to me versus the "cheated" premise going on. I would like to see the loyalty to those wrestlers.

My suggestion would be..instead of throwing 3 referees together for a tourney, send a 3 man crew from each association. All associations call a little different depending on the areas they officiate. At least you have a chance to have the 3 best from that association. In games involving teams from their association, those crews wouldn't be allowed to call those games. I think the cohesive would be better, but still not perfect. Memphis/Jackson area refs are used to more aggressive & handsy types of basketball. Some associations from other areas that I've witnessed are a lot tighter on the calls. At the end of the day, all we want as fans is consistency and within the bounds of the rules. IMO

100% Correct 100% Incorrect It Doesn't matter if the girls won or lost their individual matches at all, or if the girls showed up to Cleveland on their own accord or not.... It is clear that they did not meet the requirements to be eligible to wrestle. Following precedents set by other sports playing ineligible players, the wins should be forfeited and Cleveland girls should be ineligible for post-season competition the next 1-3 seasons. That's always been the consequence for football teams playing ineligible players, why should wrestling be any different?

Congrats to all the TN natives who are putting TN wrestling on the map at the D1 NCAA tournament this year! Trae McDaniel (Army) EIWA Champ Ashton Davis (Cornell) Ivy Champ Cody Chittum (Iowa State) Keyveon Roller (Virginia) Aiden Brenot (NDSU) Cooper Flynn (Minnesota) If I left any off, please post them. Great job men representing your home state!

Cobb found another gear at the Murphy Center and I didn’t know that was possible. I’m happy to get a rematch for all the marbles.

The remaining teams should just boycott the TSSAA tournament and play it at a different location. I’m sick and tired of these cheaters( in every sport)

Whether it be on this site or on social media, this entire state tournament when a team loses, it's fan base complain constantly or blame the refs....the games you won had the same officials/officiating, the team you played had the same refs (I would bet good money that not a single 1 of them have cared who won the game either). This is why a generation of sports kids are growing up and thinking they are better than what they are, are uncoachable, or can't take critiquing. It's always someone else's fault, the other team/person just can't be better (be at that game or just overall). Quit blame gaming, I know in a games span there are more mistakes and missed shots to more than cover human error of refs. Teach our kids better folks, stop playing the blame game when you don't get your desired outcome. Sometimes, your just not good enough.

tssaa should be ashamed of the officiating product they put on display at the state tournament. Both Boys and Girls tournaments have been horribly officiated. Its shameful. I'm not blaming the individual referees at all. The process and decision makers are at fault. Bottom line is there are people out there that have no business being out there.

Charter being revoked, half teachers not licensed and are not eligible, could go on and on. You would have to question everything from enrollment to curriculum as well. We know they would be 2A if they did exist next year (they wont) . This is outrageous stuff not normal BS. I could careless about those idiots but when it affects legit A programs like Sante Fe who may have had gold ball last year and much better chance this year if it wasnt for cheat prep, its sickening. 1 in a 40 year run negatively affected by cheat prep. Now thats the kids I care about.

Different culture includes four recent grads to military academies ( 1 West Point, 1 Navy, 2 Air Force) and one to the same school Leen attended. Service to country, honor and integrity are prerequisites for a nomination for any academy before athletic prowess even comes into play. I don’t think TN Congressmen are in the habit of nominating “ circus performers “ to military academies. May not be as different as people on the outside looking in think

We have had 2 daughters play for BC and Coach Reuter. Gold Ball, State Champs ring and a wall full of individual awards for both. They had great teammates and got a great education at BC. We are thankful. But, If asked, our family would reflect most on the fact that last summer (7 years after she played for Coach), he and his family drove 3 hours each way to attend her wedding……! Nothing to do with basketball.. Coach Reuter stayed and was one of the last to leave the reception. He attended our girls College games and stays in contact with both of them to this day (2017 and 2019 grads). As for how he treats his players, I speak from experience, not from second hand speculation. Our family is eternally grateful that he coached them hard, pushed them to be the best, did not accept anything but their best effort everyday and gave them valuable training for life.

That's my point...half the teachers there are not certified so you don't have to check their grades at all because they're not recognized by the Dept. of Education. No grades = no play. The rule stating that students must have a passing grade to be eligible is clearly violated because technically they have no grade at all. The "rule violation" has already been verified by Hamilton County BOE...all that's left for TSSAA to do is pass judgement before the tournament, rather than complicate the issue by letting them compete and then stripping the title (if they win) and awarding it to nobody. Trez vacated two titles in football, but neither Marion County nor Waverly in '16 and Trinity nor Marion in '15 can claim what rightfully belongs to one of them per season.

I am saying shooting 35% from the field and still in the game and you call a non existent foul on a D-1 commit the best player in the court yes it changed the game.

Fair statement...but it can also be true that some refs aren't good (and certainly shouldn't be reffing a state tournament)...Just saying both things can be true.

This class 1A tournament thread has turned into a Chatt Prep topic only. There’s actually a current thread just on Chatt Prep. Take y’all’s Prep comments there. Chatt Prep won the championship last year and they’re in the tournament again this year so that’s not gonna change. Someone just needs to beat them and be done with it!.. I’ve got Santa Fe with the first round upset!

Adding Maddie Gray a Miss Basketball Finalist to an already talented team a little to much for the rest of AA. They might have won it without her. York is not beating Westview. York has problems scoring themselves especially in a zone. GP and York are playing for the Silver Ball. Westview is a different animal.

Makes me sick thinking of all the teams whose season these kids ended. Completely ruined the state tournament last year and will likely ruin Santa Fe’s season AGAIN. Shoulda been shut down 2 years ago.

They could just do a video drawing with ping pong balls and no controversy. But the behind closed doors crap is what I don’t like. We are supposed to trust them…..yeah right.

Seeing as how we are in the Cleveland Section, it would certainly make things much more difficult. Im not a proponent of it, not because of being in the Cleveland Section, but because I don’t think it helps grow wrestling. I had a friend I was discussing this with and he had an interesting point; some schools can’t brag about state medalists or champions to help their programs grow, but they can about state qualifiers I’ll use Beech as an example because I’m an alum. When they were churning out medalists and champions with Roberts, I’m sure they’d have loved this idea, but right now, being able to send a wrestler to state might be the only thing they can hang their hat on, and having that one thing to puff your chest out about might generate enough interest from the students to get them to start coming back out. I think most of the good people on here are from schools/programs that are generally very much more successful than the average program, so it’s important to remember the other programs that are striving to do better but maybe just aren’t there yet. It’s my opinion that allowing 2 in a weight class from each school potentially kneecaps those programs in the long run. Food for thought - The National Collegiate Wrestling Association (college club teams) allows, or at least did allow it, I’m not sure if they still do - this in all of their Conference Championships. Actually clubs can enter up to 3 per weight but can only take the top 2 to the national tournament which is a bit silly. The thing is that a coach has to designate which of the wrestlers is the scorer. Is the hypothetical consensus to allow two scorers? Or just one?

The voucher is not about school choice. Not in rural West Tn. In my district we don’t have a single private school. In Huntingdon we have a senator and a state rep. In the district they represent some kids aren’t within a hour and a half from a private school. The overwhelming majority of people here did not want this bill to pass. They both went against the majority and instead kissed Bill Lees rings and lined their own pockets with campaign donor money. Follow the money. It’s not about the kids. It’s always about the money with these bums.

How are we really on page 17 of a guy who literally spends his time in investing in our youth. Did he recruit? Maybe. Maybe not. Did he make Smith County better?. Maybe. Maybe not. Recruiting has happened for years across this state. This wouldn’t be the first time. And most people sit on this board and talk about how great those coaches are. I can tell you that Matt invest in kids not just for the court but for the future. Will I defend him. Yes. But to sit here and bash a guy who wants what’s best for the children around him. Y’all are crazy.

If you people want to talk about my son, without having any valid information, I would invite you to talk to me, his mother so that I can enlighten you. I can meet any of you wherever you would like to meet in town. I will make myself available at a time that works for you. Thank you, Helen Walker (not afraid to use my real name)

They need to go back to when everyone was together (no public and private divisions) and you had a district tournament (must place in the top 4) a region tournament (must place in the top 4) and then you had a 2 day state tournament with a 16 man bracket. What would really work best is to have 16 districts across the state and the top 4 placers in the district tournament go to one of four regional tournament across the state where wrestlers must place in the top 8 to advance to the state tournament. The state tournament could then be a legitimate 3 day tournament with a 32 man bracket. Get the state tournament out of the cow palace and move it to UTC. Do the finals on a raised stage under the spot light at 7pm. The place would be sold out and you would have an electric atmosphere!

I would be surprised if the legislature does not move forward with HB25. This change by the TSSAA requires that the school administrator from the student's current school (the school the student is leaving) attest that the transfer is "not for athletic reasons." How many school administrators are going to agree to this? Point is, this is not really a one-time transfer rule--it is an attempt to split the baby.

I have a step daughter that plays for the Rush program and never one time has any coach ever approached us about transferring. I’ll tell you what happens in a lot of cases. The parents start hanging out with each other. The kids start hanging out with each other and they end up wanting to play together in school ball. You’re in a gymnasium every weekend and these kids are developing friendships with one another. The parents are developing friendships. I mean we went on a cruise with a bunch parents and kids from Rush that we never would’ve met otherwise. We all became friends and We did that over this past Christmas holiday. Went for 7 days to the Caribbean. (I highly recommend it fyi) So that’s where all the transferring comes from more so than not. And I’m telling you these kids talk about playing together in high school. So unless you’re involved in an AAU program, you really don’t understand the dynamics of the whole situation. I thought I would just break it down from somebody who actually knows what they’re talking about who lives this every weekend for those of you that don’t.

It's called coaches with no class about them, only a ego rush. Most cases like this I've seen karma take care of the situation with a upset somewhere down the road. Some coaches thinks it's cool and takes advantage of a situation to just see how bad they can beat a team. Let's go karma, time to bite a couple of teams in the butt.

This is a perfect example of why basketball needs to go back to 3 classifications teams like that should not be in a Regional tournament also Pickett Co. just won 115-14

Yeah ok, keep getting on here embarrassing yourself

Don’t want to see it. Will lead to wild shot. Not to mention people running it that have no idea what they are doing other team gets a lead get out there and force the action

There were 10s-100s of calls that went Beaty’s way for the first two games of the tournament. She pushes off every offensive possession. She was protected and everyone knows it. The championship crew didn’t protect her the same way and it made a difference in the game. Westview deserved the gold ball. No excuses.

Even legendary coach Johnny Morgan talked about how bad the officiating was when he announced his retirement this week. He said we don't even need a state tournament if the officials are going to be this bad. I get it Coach Morgan. I totally get it.

Who in their right mind would want to enter the gladiator ring every night in a high school gymnasium and get battered with obscenities from fans and whiney coaches. It's out of control.

You are right. The previous Cleveland coach would never sell his soul to win and has zero regrets.

I will be shocked if it gets out of hand. I think y’all are underestimating York. Of course I may need to eat a lot of crow also. I’m not saying York will win but I think it is closer than the experts think.

You all sure have alot of time on your hands to be spending it on here bashing women and kids, worried about who is moving where, and Cleveland in general. If you all would each put that amount of effort into your local wrestling programs, both high school and FEEDERS, then maybe there would be more competition throughout the state of Tennessee. Make Tennessee wrestling BETTER rather than hating on things while you sit back and do minimal or nothing. A bunch of grown men running their fingers and mouths.

I watched York play yesterday and they would have to play A LOT better to beat Coffee County.

What more proof is needed that they are a sham school and should not be allowed to take a state championship away from legitimate rule abiding public schools? They should not be allowed to play

I would second this. Not a fan of either team, but I watched it. Did a particular ref seem to have it out for the White County coach? Maybe. Was the tech an awful call? Absolutely and the ref never did talk with the coach (for the entire game is my understanding) which seems childish by the ref to not want to explain or try to have a good working relationship with a coach in a state tournament game. Was the tech at a crucial moment in the game? Yes. Now all that being said did White County have numerous chances to tie or take the lead after this? Yes! Did they have numerous chances inside throughout the second half? Yes! But they didn't convert. At the end of the day the awful call did impact the game, but White County had numerous chances to still win this game. Way too many missed chances. It felt like a game where if they played 10 times they would each win 5 times probably. Just so happened that today Dyersburg won. Also, to be clear, I had picked White County to win this game and the tournament. Now after seeing the rest of the games I kind of wonder if that was essentially the state championship game.

Tennessee own Bishop Sycamore

Thank you. Said the same thing. You can banter back and forth and be upset with outcomes without using that language.

The refs made bad calls toward both teams... probably the worst crew in the tournament so far. But for future reference, remind your buddy UCSportsFan that 20 point wins at summer camp don't mean a thing.

It’s not always about wins and losses.

I think White Co may win by much more than that Dburg will be lucky to keep it close. The Warriors are the real deal…

Meigs did indeed give GP a great game up through most of the 3rd quarter. There's a world of difference with coach Baker and the one he replaced. Central loses a lot of good players after this season and replacing Morgan won't be easy so the district should be more balanced next year.

This would not surprise me. Apologies if anyone is friends with this guy, but uh… the Central principal is a clown. Moody may good and well have left either way to move up in the business but… have heard from good sources the principal had a grudge against Matt for a chunk of his tenure and was hard to work with at all. Hope for Ostrowski’s sake the principal is either is better to him or is reassigned.

At the top, especially say top 4 or 5 place winners, absolutely. It may frequently be the toughest end-of-scholastic-season tournament in that regard. But, not so much at the bottom of the field, and that is more or less part of the design. It's a 34-36 man bracket, and I like to think of the first couple of rounds as being "for the broader prep community"; things start to get pretty serious very quickly from there. To dig in further, the National Prep field frequently sports around six nationally-ranked teams, which is only consistently matched by NJ and CA states (only one state tournament in each state). National Preps typically has more Top 10 teams than those state tournaments, however, including this year in which the field featured 4 of the top 10 teams nationally. Despite that, 14 different schools had finalists at National Preps this year. Here's an analysis I did a few years ago of a hypothetical combined National Prep + New Jersey state tournament field, which compares ranked wrestlers. While acknowledging that it was an especially strong Prep field that year, National Preps pretty much hammers NJ states when examining the top 3-4 or so placers in each weight. (NJ, though, is likely harder to place sixth through eighth in most weights most years). This year, when looking at Tennessee's top placers at Preps, the 18th ranked wrestler in Norman's weight (175) finished 5th, and a Fargo junior freestyle runner-up placed 3rd. At 106, Tran beat the 14th ranked wrestler for 3rd/4th, the 3rd ranked wrestler was majored in the finals, and the 6th ranked wrestler missed weight at the MD qualifier or the weight would have been deeper still. At 138, Roark had to beat a Top 25-ranked wrestler to take 3rd as well. Off the top of my head, Ryder Smith finished 6th behind five top-20-ranked wrestlers at 215, and I recall Ryder being in those rankings as well throughout the year. But, that competitiveness is more or less by accident and is due to private school athletics nationally continuing to become more and more elite across a number of sports. The bottom of the field at National Preps is definitely not "Top 4 state" material. Not every region is particularly tough or "deserves" as many bids as they receive; Texas, for instance, will continue to get their 3 bids per weight (the same as Tennessee), even though they struggle as a region to earn a single Top-8 finisher overall each year. But, the league likes decent representation from that region, and they like hyper-elite schools (regardless of region) like Kinkaid in Houston, where the Bush family went, to have a shot at representation in the field. The best microcosm of this dynamic at National Preps might be this 1962 168 lbs. bracket below. Two names will pop out to discerning eyes (one requires slight appreciation of TN state wrestling history): Unrelated to the above, in looking for previous bracket, I also stumbled upon this Unlimited weight class bracket from 1967 National Preps, which pits a certain NFL hall-of-famer against who is likely a very familiar foe in the finals:

TSSAA does not put any restrictions on transfers at all. Eligibility to compete in TSSAA sanctioned sports after the transfer is what is restricted. These are not the same thing.

That's yet to be determined. The state legislature will have a big part in determining exactly how the one-time transfer rule is worded. And my opinion is that there won't be restrictions, given that the entire idea of the pending legislation is to allow parents to have choice in where their kids go to school. The T$$AA putting additional restrictions on them would lead to lawsuits that the T$$AA couldn't win, and doesn't have the money to fight in court, anyway.