KingGreene

Most of these kids are 145's that we are assuming will probably go up one weight from last season. Another one that was in that 145 class last season and could go up and make some noise here is Dalton Cockman. He lost to Weist in OT in the blood round last season. Someone made a statement in a different thread about him being at Arlington now. If that is the case (and he is eligible) I think he will benefit greatly from that room and coaches and be a top contender as well.

It definitely matters for the guy who has to wrestle that state champ. Getting to wrestle in the finals at the big stage with everyone watching and finishing 2nd is much better than finishing 3rd at the end of the day where very few people are still around to watch. Brackets absolutely matter. Everyone ultimately WANTS to win, but it can't happen for everyone. So if you can't have 1st, you want the next best thing and a lot of times the bracket helps decide that. For instance, last season Chase Diehl ended up on the same side of the bracket as Sells (the eventual champ) and Gregory (who put Chase in the consolations, and then lost to Chase for 3rd). The person who came through the other side of the bracket was Adkins (who Chase had beaten twice) defeating Garrett in the semis who Chase had also beaten. So yeah, it would have been nice to be on that other side with guys we had already beaten. Not that we would have definitely been able to win those matches again. But if we were able to come through that side and get our shot against Sells and then be able to say he was a state FINALIST as a sophomore in a class full of seniors instead of a 3rd place finisher. That slight change of words makes a world of difference to guys who can't win state every single year. 1st place isn't the only place that matters. So it'll be interesting to see how this plays out and which two end up in the semis together to find out which one will not be able to make the finals and have to settle for third at best!

To go along with what Salter was saying, I think Quinn will go the other way to 170. He seemed like a big 160 last season. But that's also just a complete guess. Chase was kind of a small 160, so everyone looked big compared to him. Regardless, Quinn will be a high medalist wherever he is. That kid is good. Chase squeaked out 2 OT matches against him last year (one being the blood round at State). Also, to continue what Salter mentioned in the 170 thread: If Fowler, Rippy, and Diehl do all end up in this weight (and assuming they all win Region), an interesting question is how would that be seeded? Roberts and I were discussing this a while back and weren't 100% sure on the answer. Here are the facts: Fowler has the highest finish in 2017 (2nd at 152) and also a state medal from A-AA his 8th grade year in 2015 (5th at 132). Rippy has the highest finish and most medals of all the three including 1st place 2016 and a pair of 3rd place finishes in 2015 and 2017. Diehl only has 1 medal but finished the same place as Rippy last season (3rd) at a higher weight class which is typically a seeding tie breaker from my understanding. If they go solely by last year's performances I assume it will be: 1- Fowler 2- Diehl 3- Rippy However, it seems silly to ignore the fact that Rippy is a previous state champion and drop him all the way to 3rd. I'm not sure how TSSAA would handle that. Anyone have a better understanding of the seeding criteria in this situation?

I'll be interested to see if Hicks from Cleveland goes up to this weight as well. That name will add to this already solid list of returners.

I saw Antcliff was wrestling 182 this past weekend! Must have put on a lot of weight during the offseason.... And Dalton Cockman? Another big transfer? He will benefit a lot from being in that room.

I don't know much about the other three, but I'd say you're probably right that he is a heavy favorite among those returning from 182 and as long as Smith and Hicks are in different weight classes. If any of those 3 are in the same weight, that should be interesting. I know Salter has been putting in the work for sure. Smith was recovering from injury. I didn't see much of Hicks this offseason.

No doubt about that! Christian looked great the couple times I saw him this summer. Slick and confident!... A lot of talent returning from that 182 bracket in fact. 4 of the 6 medalist return along with Hicks.

I thought that to claim us as a clear front runner was most definitely overzealous, but I also think to say no one will come close to Cleveland is also overzealous. I agree that Cleveland is the team to beat for sure. They have earned that. But I think there will be a couple teams right on their heels and working hard to make up the small difference.

I can assure you that with the Wysong situation, there was no foul play or bad blood. He is in a military family and that family has had to make a lot of tough decisions. This will be his 3rd school in 3 years. However, if the TSSAA enforces the rules they have in place, he will be ruled ineligible this season. I cannot speak for the other two situations although I have heard from more credible sources than Fooseball95 that Lundy has already been ruled ineligible.... Regardless, that will be two studs added to Cleveland's lineup the following season.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Javier Salvador at 220 and Kramer at HWT are safe bets. Wherever Kyle Smith is (170 or 182) he should be the favorite. Beech has multiple other favorites: Palmer and Hoarst to repeat at 113 and 120. Rippy is most likely a favorite at 160 if that is where he is, but Chase Diehl will be the only returning medalist from 160 and I would imagine those two would have a heck of a battle if they meet up! Landon Fowler could also end up at 160 making 160 a very interesting weight. If Jack Hicks is at 195, he should be a favorite there. I would like to see Hicks and Smith wrestle. They could possibly both be at 182

All great programs have passionate fans! We appreciate the excitement!

Nathan Wysong- Science Hill> Cleveland Grant Lundy- East Hamilton> Cleveland Garrett Bowers- Cleveland> CBHS Those are the three I am aware of.

I believe this is a little overzealous. "Clear front runner" is definitely an overstatement. I'd like to think we are, for the first time ever, legitimately in the running for the dual title and I believe it is possible. That is most definitely what we are aiming for and what we will strive for every day. The individual race will fall how it falls. However, there are a lot of other great teams that are working for the same goal. Teams that have proven themselves more than we have. There is a lot of wrestling to be done. A lot of lineups that have to be shaken out. A lot of new kids who will make names for themselves. A lot of teams who will have kids step up and score unexpected points for their teams. It's going to be a very fun season. I hope everyone stays healthy and we can create some exciting battles with the best teams in the state this year.

And Tre McDaniels from Cleveland will be another tough one at 106. Braxton, Tre, and Isbell were all at Cleveland wrestling last weekend so I'm sure they got some live goes in. Me saying that Braxton is already getting the best of Tyler is explaining how good Braxton is. Tyler has proven himself at the high school level and Braxton has come in as a rising freshman with no high school experience and is already as good as, if not better than Tyler. And yes, of course I believe Seeley can medal at a weight up. He has been lifting hard all summer and has filled into the weight. Tyler has never had a good workout partner through his career so it's actually crazy that he was able to accomplish what he has so far. With Braxton in the room, his skills will grow at a much quicker rate. I'm very excited for Tyler that he now has a great workout partner on a daily basis.

Not a crazy statement. Kid is legit. He has spent a few years in Derek's room taking his whippings from Cooper Flynn which has made him really solid. He is already getting the best of Seeley (5th place medalist) right now. Can't wait to see how good those two make each other!... and yes, he will be able to make 108. Also, the kid who will fill Wysong's spot in the lineup is another TNAAU MS champ from a couple years ago that had to wait to get his spot in the lineup. Joseph Frye took his whippings last year as a freshman, but has been traveling all over the country preparing for this season and will be a very competitive sophomore.

Science Hill weigh in will be 3:00-4:00 EST on Friday. This should cover anyone traveling from our side. If you need an extension please contact me at (423) 329-8654. - Caleb Myers

I believe Bowers was referring to the two head coaches from the #1 and #2 teams in the state this year. But either way, I would not argue against them being ranked up there in the same spot simply as coaches either. Smith has obviously proven himself with hardware. I don't think anyone is arguing that... but Bosken did not just walk into an already developed team of kids that were coached by someone else. Those kids were taught by Josh at a young age and he primed them for high school. Then he had the luxury of being able to follow them up to the high school and continue with that group he's been working with for years. If you don't consider him one of the top coaches in the state, you haven't been paying attention to the youth level and one of the main reasons why Cleveland has stayed so good on a consistent basis over the last handful of years. Coaching skill cannot simply be measured in high school hardware. What he has done at the youth level and with the HS kids during the offseason is very impressive! He may not have the hardware yet, but no doubt he will produce plenty of hardware over his career as head coach. Two great coaches that will rank among the best ever in TN once they step down.

Team BEast (Knoxville) was the grand Champion going undefeated and winning both styles! I do not know dual scores.

Bosken has made a couple big adjustments since last lineup I saw! Man there are going to be some killer matchups between East and South! Dual will be tooth and nail also! Great job by Josh/Ben and Derek getting the best of their area to commit to this offseason event!

Not my lineup to post. Derek Harrison put the work in to create that lineup. I just sent him my kids at the weights he needed.

BEast is pretty stacked top to bottom! Going to be a hard team to beat! Chatt team will carry a couple high school AAs up there who will no doubt win every match but their entire team won't be full of all studs as we usually expect from Chatt (Apparently they've been hit by the Prom bug). Haven't seen the North or West team lineup yet, but West could also have an AA or two on their team. Depending on where those AA kids weigh in, there could be some epic matches up top!... I will not post the lineups I've seen. I'll let the coaches decide if they want to make those lineups public before Saturday. This group of coaches have really done a great job to rejuvenate this great event! I'm so glad it's back and as competitive as ever. It is such a great opportunity to see a lot of the best of TN wrestle each other in styles most are not seasoned in. A lot of times you see matches going opposite of the way you would expect them to go in a folkstyle setting, which makes the dual matches even more exciting! Thanks to Bowers, Bosken, Ben Smith, G House, Isbell, and Harrison for making this event a priority! And thanks to Pete Miller and all of the Summit crew for hosting it! It's great to see Freestyle and Greco still alive in the state of Tennessee! My kids love this event and look forward to being a part of it again this weekend.

195 from Heritage also looked very good. Him and Gibson (Bradley) had an exciting match that ended with Gibson winning in UTB.... Gibson has leaned out and is naturally a smaller now. He may end up being 195 next year instead of 220.

Not this year. Next year this tournament will be ran on Track. Another noteworthy match I watched was Lundy from East Hamilton (non-placer) beat Burns (2x medalist) pretty handily. They were in different weight classes this season. Burns 126. Lundy 132.

The inaugural King of The Hill all-star duals was a huge success! We hosted a tough field of 8 teams from 4 different states despite many teams not being able to attend because of NCAA’s. Congratulations to Wolfpack Black (TN) for taking the title after a three-way tie between them, Appy Gold (TN) and Strong and Courageous (NC)! Countless number of state medals and even a few high school All-American honors were represented in Johnson City last weekend and next year will be even more competitive! Tentatively, we are looking at the weekend of March 10th and we will have both gyms to be able to host up to 20 teams with 8 mats! Some things we plan improve/add next year: - 8 mats and 2 gyms - NHSCA certified officials - Full hospitality room for coaches - Tournament will be ran on Trackwrestling - EVERY WRESTLER and coach will receive a tournament shirt (not just finalists). All coaches say they loved the setup and outstanding competition and plan to attend next year. We plan to grow this event to the level of Dixie Duals and then surpass that! Here is a list of all 8 teams who attended this year. Appalachian Gold (TN) Appalachian Red (TN) Wolfpack Black (TN) Wolfpack Red (TN) Strong and Courageous (NC) Down South Boys (GA) Misfits (GA) Lexington (SC) We have spoken with coaches from Compound (GA), Team Palmetto (SC), Beech (TN), and multiple WV teams among others who hope to attend next season. Thank you to all the Tennessee kids and coaches who took a leap of faith and attended last weekend! I’m very glad that you all were satisfied with the competition. Look forward to seeing you guys there next year and watching this event grow! Caleb Myers Science Hill High School

Coaches, Many of you already know about the Ohio Tournament of Champions and most have already attended at some point. To me personally, this is my absolute favorite offseason/youth tournament! I feel that the atmosphere of this tournament is the epitome of youth wrestling and it is something that every kid needs to experience at least once! I have been going to this tournament since I was in middle school and I now continue to take a group of kids there every year and will continue to do so. Through my many years of attending this tournament I have become in contact with the tournament director who has asked me to be a regional director for the new regional competition format. This is an exciting new feature that allows for us to compete against other areas of the US for grants to help with wrestling in our area. I have always promoted this tournament and highly recommend it, but now I do so more than ever. The more competitive kids we have going and placing at this tournament, the better chance we have to win money to help our kids afford gear, travel to tournaments, etc. Please consider going to this tournament if you have not gone before. I promise, you will not be disappointed! If you already plan to go, please make sure you register under our region which is Tennessee/Kentucky. Here is a link to more information on the regional competition and how to sign up: https://ohiotofc.com/page/3-club-team-competition While you’re up there, make sure stop by the Science Hill setup and say hello! Or bunk up right next to us! It will be hard to miss. We will have a crazy over-the-top setup complete with spikeball, cornhole, inflatable couches, and a disco ball! TofC is like a camping trip… but with wrestling! If you have kids that are looking to go, but do not have the transportation, I know our wrestling family will make it happen! Just get on here or contact me and I will help connect you with someone who can get your kid up there. I always bring kids from multiple teams every year. Last year we had a group of 20! I hope to see many Tennessee kids there this year! I will leave you with a highlight video of our trip last year with Science Hill, Tennessee High, and Liberty Bell kids! We had a blast! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfmh9Old9VY Thank you, Caleb Myers Science Hill High School 423-329-8654