ArtusCimber

See you all next year... TENNESSEE HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING POLL From: Jeff Price Results from 4 February 2024 THIS IS THE FINAL POLL OF THE SEASON. Now in its 31st year, The Poll is primarily a measure of dual meet strength with some consideration to individual tournament strength. Votes are cast by a state-wide panel of high school wrestling coaches and are based on a maximum Power Ranking of 132. STATE POLL: RANK SCHOOL POWER RANKING LAST WEEK 1 CLEVELAND 131 1 2 MCCALLIE 121 2 3 FATHER RYAN 96 6 4 BRENTWOOD 94 5 5 SUMMIT 84 3 6 BAYLOR 76 4 7 SODDY DAISY 67 8 8 HALLS 50 NR 9 NOLENSVILLE 44 7 10 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 43 9 11 BRADLEY CENTRAL 31 31 12 (TIE) DOBYNS-BENNETT LAKEWAY 6 NR NR ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: BLACKMAN,MBA

I'll go into the oven believing that Maclellan was the best site ever for a state tournament. I was excited that UTC still wrestled duals there, but I turned on a match and was immediately bummed out by the blue plastic bleachers and the renovation that sucked all the soul out of that old place in an attempt to modern it up. They've done the same thing to Topper Palace here, only our plastic is maroon. So anyway I started working on this poem. It's pretty long but I think you guys, especially you greybeards, can appreciate it. Indulge me. Let poetry be not lonely for a minute. Maclellan I It was the best of all the battlefields, no better locale to contest the state, six mats smothering that basketball floor, wooden bleachers rolled back to shape the space, four hundred forty eight hopeful wrestlers packed in like cord wood with antsy coaches, questing to find their place in the circle some supremely confident in their shot, some slightly cowed by the task’s magnitude, taking to day one like adventurers, some in fellowship with near intact teams, others seeking treasure in ones or twos, navigating the perilous, steep slope of the pitiless pull through tournament- knowing to lose that first or second match, would require swallowing the bitter pill of placing one’s fate in another’s hands. II Thursday night, culling began in earnest, a handful falling as those who prevailed over them in that long opening round fell themselves to the next wrestler they faced, taking their places in that grey limbo vacated by the first to come to grief one hundred twelve forlorn unfortunates a quarter lost in the initial wave, some enviously watching from the stands, others trudging to the student center to burn through their precious travel money assuaging their profound disheartenment with soft serve,burgers,fries,foosball and pool, no weigh ins anytime soon (if ever). III Their ranks would double on Friday morning, quarters losers in their defeat failing to keep the ones they’d vanquished in the fray, half of yesterday’s hopefuls no longer, taking fewer than twenty-four hours to cleave the roll of contenders in half. The good news for the half who still survived was that they were masters of their own fates, those in the semis driven by knowing that even if they lost their next contest, they’d wrestle two more matches for certain- And even if they fell in both of those, they’d still be on that final medal stand. IV And as the day ground mercilessly on, a hundred forty more were doomed to fall, twenty-eight in that most bitter of rounds- The blood round, in its fearsome infamy, winners finding the loftiest of joys, losers the most profound, biting sorrows. And as the sun set on Friday’s last match, just eighty-four of Thursday’s lot remained, three hundred sixty four warriors downed in roughly thirty hard, grueling hours. V Saturday morning found the floor reduced, much like the field of Thursday afternoon the floor level bleachers now all rolled out to encircle the two mats that remained, one for the fifth and sixth place contestants, the other to decide the bronze medal, both seats and spectators inching closer to what would eventually be one mat, full four hundred and twenty giving way to the twenty-eight stalwarts who remained, best of the best Tennessee could offer the only ones left to fight for the prize that so many others set out to claim little more than forty-eight hours past- Spectators no more consigned to on high, now a stone’s throw from the day’s principals, their energy swirling like some tempest- a fine phalanx of pristine excitement a modern day shield circle of support, enveloping the hopeful finalists a marvelously insane, eager wall assembled there with pure effusiveness awaiting the first whistle of the day, tribute worthy of this lot that remained. VI Everyone has their own stories to tell- Some of unhinged elation, some of woe, six minutes of sublime culmination Of this great quest that began ages past, not days, or months, but many years ago, only fitting in this last,old school way that this great crowd should witness only two, two alone, to me the most fitting fate, of these gallants who’d labored long and hard to reach this height, this place, this pinnacle. mine was, as Coleridge said of Xanadu, a miracle of sublime, rare delight, my second match in that chair of honor, that corner we all covet for our kids, and Justin Anderson, my gritty kid, mustering all his confidence and pluck commenced to putting a right #### whipping on a kid nobody thought he could beat- nailing him in a brutal body lock, the crowd’s clamor then so insanely loud that Coach Nelson and I did not hear it- the ref slapping the mat to end the bout, only knowing the match was indeed done when Justin rose in final victory, the thunder of those fine wooden bleachers muting any noise not intensely loud. VII A few years later this fine world moved on, and the state meet moved to another site, taking the one mat final in its train today we have four going at a time, the crowd actually moved farther out than closer to the action like before, an irony that brings me no delight. VIII The Mocs still wrestle duals in that old gym but now the bleachers are bereft of soul- blue plastic instead of the thund’ring wood that beat the rhythm to the victor’s song- lost to time like a Jedi’s lightsaber, as the age grows ever less elegant, a sign of constructive progress perhaps, a sure blow to romance and pageantry. IX Still the memories of that place abide Remembrances of combats indeed close, All eyes in that place trained on only two, As near the action as could be conceived, The rumble of the crowd so powerful To smother any sound that was too meek. A place where brawls were fought the proper way.

Thanks. And there is some of that that happens. I try to regulate it as much as I can, but you know how it is.

I remember watching that game. What an amazing thing it was. I remember Herb Brooks in the movie saying "You don't have to be the best team in the world. You just have to be the best team in the world tonight." I saw that idea play out so many times over the course of my career. One of the greatest highs as a coach is watching a kid, or even better a group of kids, wrestle out of their minds and pull off miracles. I think that's really what we're living for, That's why we line up and blow the whistle. Anything if possible.

Actually that is an error on my part. Cleveland had 131. Sorry. I'm an English teacher. What can I say?

Sure-The points descend. The coaches vote for 12 teams. Say they vote Cleveland 1st-They get 12 points. McCallie is voted second-they get 11, and so on, down to the 12th team on their list, who gets one point. If all eleven coaches voted a team first, they'd get 132 points, hence the power ranking. One week for instance everyone voted summit third, so they got 110 points. Hope that makes sense. If my math ever gets wonky it's probably because I'm an English teacher and as far from the left side of my brain as is possible. I always defer to Joe Blair when the math gets crazy.

Updated now.

TENNESSEE HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING POLL From: Jeff Price Results from 29 January 2024 THIS IS THE SEVENTH POLL OF THE SEASON. Now in its 31st year, The Poll is primarily a measure of dual meet strength with some consideration to individual tournament strength. Votes are cast by a state-wide panel of high school wrestling coaches and are based on a maximum Power Ranking of 132. STATE POLL: RANK SCHOOL POWER RANKING LAST WEEK 1 CLEVELAND 131 1 2 MCCALLIE 122 6 3 SUMMIT 106 3 4 BAYLOR 85 2 5 BRENTWOOD 79 5 6 FATHER RYAN 71 9 7 NOLENSVILLE 64 4 8 SODDY DAISY 57 10 9 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 56 7 10 BRADLEY CENTRAL 47 12 11 BLACKMAN 19 8 12 MBA 9 NR ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: BARTLETT,BOYD BUCHANAN, DOBYNS-BENNETT, HALLS, LAKEWAY

It appears you have your years muddled. Science Hill beat D-B twice in 2021, both in the conference dual and the region dual finals, explaining why they got Collierville instead of Cleveland. See, D-B was in second place. The 49-24 was in 2022. Science Hill didn't even go in 2022. There is a more complex explanation for why Bradley drew Wilson Central but I'm not sure I could explain it to you. I just mostly hope you haven't been upset over this for too long. Regardless, I think the draw they have this year atones most generously for any other perceived injustice they've been done regarding other years. Would be an interesting argument for a true second though...

TENNESSEE HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING POLL From: Jeff Price Results from 16 January 2024 THIS IS THE SIXTH POLL OF THE SEASON. Now in its 31st year, The Poll is primarily a measure of dual meet strength with some consideration to individual tournament strength. Votes are cast by a state-wide panel of high school wrestling coaches and are based on a maximum Power Ranking of 132. STATE POLL: RANK SCHOOL POWER RANKING LAST WEEK 1 CLEVELAND 129 1 2 BAYLOR 122 2 3 SUMMIT 106 3 4 NOLENSVILLE 85 4 5 BRENTWOOD 79 5 6 MCCALLIE 71 7 7 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 64 6 8 BLACKMAN 57 9 9 FATHER RYAN 56 8 10 SODDY DAISY 47 10 11 LAKEWAY 19 11 12 BRADLEY CENTRAL 9 12 ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: ARLINGTON, COLLIERVILLE, DOBYNS-BENNETT, HALLS, HOUSTON, MBA

TENNESSEE HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING POLL From: Jeff Price Results from 9 January 2024 THIS IS THE FIFTH POLL OF THE SEASON. Now in its 31st year, The Poll is primarily a measure of dual meet strength with some consideration to individual tournament strength. Votes are cast by a state-wide panel of high school wrestling coaches and are based on a maximum Power Ranking of 132. STATE POLL: RANK SCHOOL POWER RANKING LAST WEEK 1 CLEVELAND 130 2 2 BAYLOR 123 1 3 SUMMIT 110 3 4 NOLENSVILLE 87 4 5 BRENTWOOD 73 5 6 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 64 6 7 MCCALLIE 61 9 8 FATHER RYAN 58 8 9 BLACKMAN 52 7 10 SODDY DAISY 45 10 11 LAKEWAY 23 12 12 BRADLEY CENTRAL 14 11 ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: ARLINGTON, COLLIERVILLE, DOBYNS-BENNETT, HALLS, HOUSTON, MBA

TENNESSEE HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING POLL From: Jeff Price Results from 3 January 2024 THIS IS THE FOURTH POLL OF THE SEASON. Now in its 31st year, The Poll is primarily a measure of dual meet strength with some consideration to individual tournament strength. Votes are cast by a state-wide panel of high school wrestling coaches and are based on a maximum Power Ranking of 132. STATE POLL: RANK SCHOOL POWER RANKING LAST WEEK 1 CLEVELAND 130 2 2 BAYLOR 123 1 3 SUMMIT 110 4 4 NOLENSVILLE 86 7 5 BRENTWOOD 78 11 6 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 74 5 7 BLACKMAN 64 6 8 FATHER RYAN 60 3 9 MCCALLIE 44 8 10 SODDY DAISY 36 9 11 BRADLEY CENTRAL 27 10 12 LAKEWAY 11 12 ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: ARLINGTON, BARTLETT, DOBYNS-BENNETT, HALLS, HOUSTON, MBA

TENNESSEE HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING POLL From: Jeff Price Results from 18 December 2023 THIS IS THE THIRD POLL OF THE SEASON. Now in its 31st year, The Poll is primarily a measure of dual meet strength with some consideration to individual tournament strength. Votes are cast by a state-wide panel of high school wrestling coaches and are based on a maximum Power Ranking of 132. STATE POLL: RANK SCHOOL POWER RANKING LAST WEEK 1 BAYLOR 127 2 2 CLEVELAND 125 1 3 FATHER RYAN 108 3 4 SUMMIT 101 4 5 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 75 5 6 BLACKMAN 67 6 7 NOLENSVILLE 62 9 8 MCCALLIE 46 8 9 SODDY DAISY 42 12 10 BRADLEY CENTRAL 36 10 11 BRENTWOOD 34 7 12 LAKEWAY 16 11 ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: DOBYNS-BENNETT,HALLS,HOUSTON,MBA

TENNESSEE HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING POLL From: Jeff Price Results from 11 December 2023 THIS IS THE SECOND POLL OF THE SEASON. Now in its 31st year, The Poll is primarily a measure of dual meet strength with some consideration to individual tournament strength. Votes are cast by a state-wide panel of high school wrestling coaches and are based on a maximum Power Ranking of 131. STATE POLL: RANK SCHOOL POWER RANKING LAST WEEK 1 CLEVELAND 123 2 2 BAYLOR 118 1 3 FATHER RYAN 104 3 4 SUMMIT 103 4 5 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 75 5 6 BLACKMAN 71 6 7 BRENTWOOD 65 7 8 MCCALLIE 49 NR 9 NOLENSVILLE 47 8 10 BRADLEY CENTRAL 45 10 11 LAKEWAY 21 12 12 SODDY DAISY 15 NR ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: BARTLETT,DOBYNS-BENNETT,HALLS,HOUSTON,MBA,SIGNAL MOUNTAIN

TENNESSEE HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING POLL From: Jeff Price Results from 6 December 2023 THIS IS THE FIRST POLL OF THE SEASON. Now in its 31st year, The Poll is primarily a measure of dual meet strength with some consideration to individual tournament strength. Votes are cast by a state-wide panel of high school wrestling coaches and are based on a maximum Power Ranking of 120. STATE POLL: RANK SCHOOL POWER RANKING LAST WEEK 1 BAYLOR 115 NA 2 CLEVELAND 113 NA 3 FATHER RYAN 103 NA 4 SUMMIT 93 NA 5 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 65 NA 6 BLACKMAN 55 NA 7 BRENTWOOD 51 NA 8 NOLENSVILLE 36 NA 9 BRADLEY CENTRAL 34 NA 10 HALLS 30 NA 11 DOBYNS-BENNETT 28 NA 12 LAKEWAY 16 NA ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: HOUSTON,MCCALLIE,PIGEON FORGE,MBA,SIGNAL MOUNTAIN, SODDY-DAISY,STATION CAMP,WILSON CENTRAL