delaWarr

Through 1972 Tennessee was limited to 14 matches and two tournaments. In counting those 14 matches, a tri was 2, a quad was 3. During the summer of '71, one of the coaches learned of a plan that the Illinois coaches were asking for which used a date formula rather than a match formula. The Tennessee coaches bought into the idea at the '72 meeting and voted to recommend that the TSSAA change to 18 dates. The coaches arrived at 18 dates from the 14 matchs and the 2 (2 day) tournaments in use at the time. The Board ultimately approved, but for consistency, since basketball was limited to 20 games during the season, the Board gave wrestling 20 dates, rather than the 18 recommended. By the way, the Illinois governing body initially turned down the date recommendation by the Illinois coaches association. So Tennessee wrestling was enjoying the benefits of the "Illinois Plan" while Illinois wrestling had to wait for a while. Another example of the TSSAA's progressive attitude toward wrestling...

Although the induction ceremony is being held in Chattanooga and the inductees' might generally be considered as based on the East side of the state, they all made contributions that impacted the state of wrestling in Tennessee. Some impact reached directly across the state: Al Miller was Chairman of Tennessee Wrestling Federation from the mid-seventies through the early nineties. Through some of those seasons, he almost single-handedly kept the off-season freestyle opportunities afloat. His foreign exchange trips have offered opportunities for wrestlers all across the state. He was president of the statewide wrestling coaches association for several years. He may live and coach in Cleveland, Tennessee, but his time, energies, and interests in our sport have reached out in countless ways to benefit us all. Clint Abbot, Jr.'s involvement in the sport over many, many years has most likely put him in direct contact with every program in the state at one time or another. How many years did he officiate the State? How many invitational, district, and regional tournaments did he call? How many individual matches did he call over the years? Although distance restraints may have placed limits on his officiating activity during the season, he did officiate several invitationals in Middle Tennessee. During the years that he was a member of the Board of Control, our sport was assured of having someone who understood the nature of wrestling's individual needs as a sport. Eddie Davidson covered wrestling with knowledge, understanding of the finer points, and lingo that made wrestling folks have a special appreciation for him. He wrote for a Chattanooga paper, but he was a major reason through the years that many wrestling folks from outside of Chattanooga area expressed the sentiment that the State Tournament needed to be in Chattanooga if for no reason other than the extraordinary coverage by the press. The "lifetime service" of all of these inductees belongs to all of Tennessee. I feel fortunate that I will be among those travelling to Chattanooga to be present for their induction. I encourage everyone, current or former wrestler, coach, or fan, who can possibly make it to the Convention Center to honor these inductees in person or in memory, to do so. If you are unable to make it to the celebration, somehow let these gentlemen or their families know of your appreciation for their "lifetime service".

These inductees have made a broad range of lasting contributions to wrestling in Tennessee. We look forward to being at the Chattanooga Convention Center on Thursday November 10 to pay tribute to them.

Maplewood played Pearl in the '69 Clinic Bowl in a cold, driving rain. Neither team was able to utilize its talent to the level of pre-game expectations. Maplewood had big yardage David Campbell in the backfield; running, passing, and kicking Jeff Woodcock as quarterback; and state wrestling champ, Bobby Smiley, in the line. Pearl's talented team was able to score one touchdown. Maplewood's characteristic come-from-behind-spark kicked in late in the fourth quarter. In spite of field conditions, they were able to move the ball down the field, until an unfortunate penalty interrupted the flow and killed the drive. Pearl 6 - Maplewood 0.

usfjim" since he's the top guy, doesn't the buck stop there? " He works under the direction of the Board of Control, and under the direction of the Legislative Council. Both bodies are elected by the administrators of member schools. The members of both bodies are, themselves, administrators. So in response to the "buck stop there" question: Not by a long shot. He can make recommendations to the appropriate governing body, but he does not have a vote. He, no doubt, has a better understanding of what is on the minds of administrators across the state concerning scholastic athletics than any one individual. In many instances, he likely has some understanding of what has a chance of flying or has little or no chance of flying. The double elimination idea has been among recommendations to the Board more than once. Have coaches asked their own administrators to speak to their own Board members on behalf the recommendation? (Have coaches even spoken to their own administrators concerning whether they, the administrators, would be in favor of DE) Have coaches, themselves, spoken to the board members who represent their schools? Has any coach or administrator who favors the recommendation appeared before the Board to explain to the members the reasons this recommendation would raise the level of the educational experience for the athletes? usfjim: "i'm open to an explanantion as to why we don't have d.e., but i haven't heard one. it's asked for, it's asked for, it's asked for, etc........(chinese water torchure)." "one": time, time, time, etc...... Regardless of how we fans or coaches or athletes may feel, there are administrators and boards of education who are charged with educating a school or school district of students and may see the amount of time missed from the classroom in a different light than we do. TSSAA wrestling has moved from Friday afternoon, Friday night, and Saturday sessions during earlier years to Thursday afternoon and night, all day Friday, and all day Saturday at the present time. Some missed-classtime-conscious administrators (1) may not take well to the loss of more classtime.... and (2) at what point does the straw break the camel's back? As I understand it, one or more coaches group(s) came up with DE plans that would require a minimum of additional time. I don't know the status of the plans. Double elimination allows a more accurate measure of true quality in a tournament.

KWoodruff, Was your Dad a lineman on the Cumberland Indians team during the early '50s?

Has Duncan Prep in Nashville been mentioned or did it pre-date most everybody? It was still around in the early '50s. Can't recall when it closed or what the mascot was.

Brentwood 9 (3 field goals) Frankin 7 (long run) Tough defenses both teams.

A local paper reported today that Siegel beat Brentwood yesterday (Sept. 22) at Brentwood. When was the last time that Brentwood lost to an in-state team (excluding forfeit)? When was the last time that Brentwood lost at home to an in-state team?

Thanks Coach Delgado for guiding the board in the right directions insofar as rules and regulations in both scholastic and freestyle. Your information has been helpful and answered many questions throughout the season.

I also thank you. Just hope I can remember it from now until I see it used again.

An effective way to address this issue may be to involve knowledgeable, wrestling-friendly administrators (the guys who are the official voices of their member schools) from the affected region to address the matter with the TSSAA. An official inquiry would result in an official response. Then the official membership representatives can address the TSSAA positions on their stated merits. (Concerned coaches are key in any effort such as this.) If the TSSAA body does not hear from its membership on concerns like this, it most probably assumes that the membership is okay with it. This is why the suggestion that an administrator(s) with full understanding of the situation make inquiry(ies). m.g, The above suggestion is offered to supplement your effort. Good luck in getting relief for your region.

I have seen many OWs awarded over the decades. Back during the early years of Middle Tennessee, there seemed to be a criterion in place that made selection fairly predictable. If recall is correct, it had something to do with the combination of pins and point spreads. After the final match, officials would take bout sheets into a closed-room huddle, pick the likely candidates, discuss the merits of their tournament performances based on the scoring criterion, and for the most part, the bout sheets practically dictated the award. I believe that the officials on the State level may have used the same approach on occasion back in the early '70s. I have no recall when this approach was abandon, but I suspect it was with the attrition of some of the old guard. After that, it sometimes seemed that the selection process changed ever so often. (The highly respected retired official who occasionally posts on the board could probably give us insights into the State processes over the years.) Sometimes the OW seems obvious, a near concensus by officials, coaches, wrestlers, and fans. Other times no wrestler stands alone as an obvious choice. And, as often happens, more than one wrestler enjoy tournament performances that make them candidates for the award. Some tournaments in the past (not State) have given Most Pins rather than OW. Personally, I favor the OW award. It has become a part of our State tradition, as well as a part of other tournaments' traditions. It would be helpful to some of us if some measurable criteria were laid out that we could follow and possibly have the OW IDed even before he's announced. This discussion, by the way, has been going on for years. Danny Coleman certainly deserves the congratulations that have come his way for his selection as OW this year. He is an outstanding wrestler who has enjoyed an outstanding career.

NO!

Double elimination has been on the coaches agenda for several years. Some of you may not know that when the Nashville area and the Chattanooga area were about it, only eight wrestlers made it to the State. It was a Friday/Saturday carry event. Then, when other areas came on board, the numbers went up. There was always the real possibility that the qualifiers would be cut to three to keep the tournament manageable and to keep the time manageable. You have to keep in mind that there are administrators around the state who have genuine concerns about academics and class time missed (no matter the sport). At one point Middle Tennessee, with approximately 40% of the state's teams, was allowed to qualify six for the state (the state had four Regions). So the 16 man bracket had two pigtail matches. Then we went to eight Regions. The Regions were faced with the possibility of three qualifiers once again, with a 16 man bracket and 8 pigtails. As we are all aware, we have had three days of wrestling with four qualifiers. The TSSAA has heard the coaches on many issues and has responded in wrestling's favor. We now have grown to the point that equity demands the realienment that the governing body has set up for next year...again faced with the reduction to three qualifiers, which seems to be for real this time around. The sport has grown and the TSSAA has tried to soften the blow and to honor the coaches wishes when it feels it can keep management within certain boundaries. Few of us have any idea at all about what all goes into a tournament of this size. We can offer any number of suggestions that seem reasonable to us that would improve the quality of the tournament, but we may not know what sort of major effect just a small tweek might have on the big picture. I understand Region Five has a plan that would require minimal additional time. It is always worth a shot to advance worthwhile proposals. But just keep in mind that the guys sitting on the Board are folks who have to be convinced...and they are administrators who will be mindful of any additional class time missed.

Congratulations to Bradley once again. The continued success of the program speaks volumes on behalf the great quality of the program itself.

Congratulations to Whitt Dunning for his OW D2 State performance, for an outstanding season, and for an outstanding scholastic career. He is another outstanding chip off the old block.

Congratulations to the Blackman Wrestling program in medaling its first State Champ, Kenny Meredith. Congratulations to Kenny for winning the gold and for claiming an undefeated season. Congratulations to Aaron Martin for his impressive reversal-of-fortunes in the repeat-opponent match and for his third place medal. Congratulations to Coach Levi for moving the program to this level in such a short time. (Blackman had 2nd place and a 3rd place medalists at the 2004 State.)

Or,... fortunately, "they don't have to." ...depending on perspective.

If it has not changed in the past few years, except for the seeding of returning State placers who also won their Regions, the rest is a blind draw following a formula that places one wrestler from each region in each of the quarter brackets.

bhs78, You got it.

"The rankings are...based on what you did this year..." To be more exact, the rankings are based on ONE MAN'S interpretation of what you did this year. (Given, he's dedicated and does a good job of it, especially if he can get his hands on results.) I don't understand what "reference point, in making decisions" means and how it can be applied toward seeding in this system?

Their matches were worth the price of admission. They were two quality wrestlers. Norfleet and Garrett wrestled for the 1987 District Championship which was hosted by Springfield. There are two things about the match that I can recall at this time. Early in one of the periods, John Michael put Adrian on his back, giving him little room to counter. They remained in this position until the period ended. I can't recall how any other points were scored, but Adrian pulled out a win. Garrett and Norfleet met the next weekend in the Region finals at McGavock. Norfleet was able to pull out another win. The same two met again in the State Finals the following weekend at McClellan. Can't recall any details of the match, except that Adrian won his second State Championship.

Re: Bogitsh's opponent in the '73 semis. BKPres, Good memory! Yes. The opponent wrestled for Hixson. Now what is his name? KKW: Sorry, the poor wording of my encouragement of your guess sent your next guess in a logical but mistaken direction. Rather than father/son, think sibling.