tnmat

I completely understand the idea of moving around. However, I think Clarksville does an excellent job of running the tournament. As far as the best place to hold it, that's tough to say. There are very few "ideal" gyms. Clarksville's is about as good as any though. If you recall some of the past State Dual events, few were perfect. Bradley Central's gym is enormous and is PERFECT for the finals, but during rounds when bottom bleachers were pulled back, fans struggled and had to lean over railings to see matches that seemed almost right underneath them. And while I liked it being at Overton, that was not the best place. It was a good atmosphere with a good view, but it's capacity is so small that fans were packed in like sardines. And while I scoffed at the idea of having it at Ryan, I'll have to admit that their gym was the best place to have it. Their bleachers go all the way to the floor, the gym is large enough to hold a massive audience with little cramming, and the bleachers could be adjusted to be placed right "on top" of the mats for finals matches. Of course here's an idea. What about moving down the road to Kenwood? Their facilities are excellent. However, (no offense to Kenwood) you have to wonder how well they would run the tournament. I can remember a few early-Sunday-morning finals matches in the past.

Please correct me if this is inaccurate because I would look forward to Heath being an A.C., but the word I've been given by wrestlers on the team is that a guy from Iowa is to be the Asst. Coach. Is this wrong? Are they able to have 2 asst's or is Heath only to be a grad asst? Anyone with first-hand information please let me know. Thanks. PS - Or Heath could tell if he sees this post.

Will was recruited by Cornell and a few state schools, but decided to stay close to home and go to TSU where, yes, he played football. He then bought a production company and is becoming a successful music and video producer as well as a professional musician. I hope he continues to do well.

I'm not trying to bring up racism on this board. Racism wasn't the issue anyway. Only a part of the grand scheme of things. This is just a reality that must be addressed to ake a point. And I didn't say he couldn't be criticized either. But why him and not others? And yes.. lol.. he was round, but "Not very athletic" is wrong. He ran a lightning fast 40 and was an all-state football player two years straight. And non-athletic players don't shoot low-leg singles, do granby rolls, or do back hand-springs. Hadden did wrestle Dee Parker. In his sophomore year Parker pinned him. That was also Hadden's first year of high school wrestling. And Lankford (not Crawford, but close) wouldn't have a chance. We used to really worry about Kyle replacing a wrestler like Will. Kunle Adewole was a first year wrestler, so that's not an issue. You may "know many Quality people from Overton". And you may "also know one or two (in the past) that are Simply Arrogant". I don't doubt that that is the case. And that may be where the thuggish stereotype comes from, but it is also naive and ignorant. That's what I am referring to. I don't think you are naive OR ignorant. Don't think that my message was specifically toward you (if you did). However, I can name arrogant unsportsmanlike wrestlers from every major program in the state. So I'm not saying Overton is perfect, but I just want to see people look at wrestlers without labeling them according to their school.

I personally would like to submit my two cents. Ralph Gabriel at Overton has had a great impact on my life (more than he'll ever know). His undying thirst to help young people shows through year after year. He may actually be at the root of my decision to be a teacher after college, and his instruction and advice has proven to help on many occasions. He's a person who chooses to let his actions speak for themselves, and that is why he'll never have to say he cares, since every Overton wrestler knows he does. Yet when he does speak, he doesn't care what people think, and I have the utmost respect for that. Other coaches, while I wasn't privileged enough to have more years under them were Coach Taylor, Fiscus, and several others who have been good to me.

You know, if granbies are a criteria for being a great heavyweight, then William Hadden would be one. I saw him hit many many granbies in big matches, as well as low-leg singles and lateral drops. The fact is, however, that people do not want him to be mentioned on here at all. He lost one match his senior year of high school, and because of that people don't think he was a great wrestler. But wrestlers are all granted a few bad matches, and yes.. he had one. Whoop-dee-doo The fact is... I never even said he was the best or even one of the best. I only said that he was better than some of the wrestlers previously mentioned. He beat several wrestlers that would have been on this list if they were from Tennessee, but they weren't. They were 2 and 3-timers from states like Ohio and Nevada, but I guess that's not good enough. Do you know how many times I have heard people refer to Overton as a "thuggish" team or a bunch of "bad sports", especially when they were in the hunt for the state title? Countless. Yet name a time when an Overton wrestler bit his opponent... or cussed out fans... or other things I have seen the "classy" teams do. And I'm not saying that they aren't classy teams, or that Overton wrestlers haven't made mistakes. It's just that... just because I see one or two things that reflect a team, it doesn't affect my judgement of every wrestler from that school forever. Yet even when Overton is not one of the premier teams in the state, people seem to be heck-bent on opposing them for whatever reason. The fact of the matter is that Overton was only hated once they had a large minority population on their team. All of a sudden they're a bunch of thugs. And all of a sudden, people argue with any praise that goes to their wrestlers. So why didn't people oppose other wrestlers mentioned? The fact is, people aren't opposing this opinion because they think Hadden isn't that good. They're doing so because he's from Overton. PS-Sorry if I stepped on some toes.

The Reno T.O.C. an Beast of the East do not decide to be All-America tournaments on there own. This is decided by the NHSCA. I don't know what the procedure is, but that is who decides. There have been wrestlers who have gone to these tournaments and did not place, but placed at national tournaments. I think this is the real reason wrestlers are granted all-american status. PS - You can't become an all-american just by placing. You must make it to the finals.

lol... luchador "Highly effective stalling tactics" is only an opinion. I could have said the same thing about the Houston heavy that year, but I will refrain. Yes, Hadden became an all-american at Reno, where certain particular teams didn't show up, but far more than half. There were 19 teams at the tournament. 25 were expected. But El Reno, Broken Arrow, Blair Academy, and Walsh Jesuit (that's five top 25 teams) and some other national powers were there as well. Hadden lost a 4-1 decision to the number 1 wrestler in the nation that year, and beat 2 ranked wrestlers to get there. Granted. There were some no-shows due to the flood, but it was still regarded the #2 tournament at the END of that year, behind the Beast of the East. And to say that Hadden was not an attacking wrestler is purely false. He's to this day the only heavy I've ever seen shoot low singles every match. Maybe he didn't win a state title the way you would've like him to, luchador, but he still beat some of the wrestlers mentioned on this board handily. Until those wrestlers are disputed, I don't think he can be disputed. PS-I didn't say he was the best. I said he deserved to be mentioned.

I'm not sure if you can say the best ever, but I am sure that William Hadden (Ov) is better than some of those wrestlers that have been mentioned. He was an all-american, which not many heavyweights can claim that.

yeah. he was definitely not a no-namer. I knew about him all through high school and he was dominant all the way through.