smwwrest

My understanding is that Jeremy will be wrestling in DE versus MD. Given the lack of flexibility in the TSSAA rules, leaving the state was his only real option to get into a better wrestling room for his senior year and prepare for wrestling at the next level. Best of luck to Jeremy and the Millers in the future!

Congrats to All American Tate Robinson on a great tournament and finishing with a strong win in the medal round! Outstanding exclamation point for the season!

Congrats to All American Kaleb Baker on a great tournament and a hard fought, comeback win in the medal round to earn 7th place.

Croy should definitely not be on the All-Midstate team... he's made it the past 2 years. Give someone else a chance. Yeah, they shouldn't have allowed him to compete at state again this year either....need to spread those state titles around too.

I agree with most of these choices, a few changes... Brunner dec over Akers Johnson dec. over Herron (I think Herron is a step behind Hooker and Hayes and thus a step behind Johnson) Johnson dec. over Cox (the smaller Johnson beat Cox at the Indy tournament last year 7-4) Wesley vs. Proctor (I don't necessarily disagree, but this one is a toss up)

Reftn, How do you explain all the stalling calls in a very action packed match? Its clear from the numbers there was a huge inconsistency between this ref and the others calling D2 finals matches. Again, it was disturbing and really detracted from what could have been the best match of the day (though Ward vs. Mosely was great too). I would quit defending a poor job, even if it was your poor job. You can keep the cheese.

I like this..add if you protest and lose, then your team loses team points. Anything to add some review of really bad calls.

I guess you think people are whining? The reality is that these kids, in a world of video games and general laziness, make a huge commitment and pour a ton of effort into achieving their goals. They deserve much better! You have seen comments from the winning side, the losing side and numerous bystanders with no personal interest in the match. How about instead of just blindly (and lazily) brushing it off as whining, have someone at the TSSAA review the match and provide some counseling or discipline to this referee. It wouldn't change the outcome of the match, but lessen the likelihood of it reoccuring. The match will likely be posted online shortly. I suggest that Mr. Bowler re-watch it and afterwards, either tell the wrestling community what he was thinking or just apologize to the many on this thread that feel terrible for two young men and their parents that were cheated out of a great match.

Great tournament and well run! Congratulations to the organizers, it was fantastic. Yes, a couple of issues (lighting, need binoculars to see the other division's matches, etc.). McKenzie Arena did create a great atmosphere in the past for the finals and the tournament. Unfortunately, UTC just did not care enough about the event. Being able to hold the finals on Saturday and not having the wrestlers searched for nutritous food every time they entered the arena far outweight the McKenzie atmosphere. My vote, remain in Nashville with the tournament until UTC decides it wants to charitably support this event.

Agreed, does anyone know the name of the referree that called the 125 lbs match in DII? I spoke with the parents of both of these wrestlers yesterday and they both felt cheated out of a true match due to a referree trying to make the tournament all about him.

First, CONGRATS TO ALL OF THIS YEAR'S CHAMPIONS (D1 and D2). All of these guys had their dreams realized yesterday evening and deserve a lot of credit and admiration for what they worked very hard to accomplish. This should be a great debate this year...obviously with this many talented wrestlers it really comes down to who performs on a given day and match. Here's how I see it...if you have other information (facts) that I am missing or should be considered, please chime in. 103 Brunner (Tull) vs. Akers (Ryan) Brunner dec Akers No head to head Maybe an a major for Brunner Brunner was a tremendous middle school wrestler that has continue to progress with Coach Bray. Akers discipline to stay at 103 this year was incredible. Few in D2 this past summer projected a Father Ryan state championship at 103. Team Score: D1 3 D2 0 112 Thomas (Bw) vs. Ward (Mc) Thomas maj. over Ward Thomas is ranked 5th is the country by Intermat wrestling. Not much more you can say. Great year, starting with the Fargo run! Ward - a great win over Mosely. Clearly the stronger wrestler in the 3rd period and overtime. Team Score: D1 7 D2 0 119 Hames (Brad) vs. Watson (Bay) Watson dec Hames Watson has one loss in high school. Hard to not make comparisons with other great Baylor alumni (i.e. Leen, Manson and others). Hanes returned to the top stand as a junior. He also won as a freshman. Team Score: D1 7 D2 3 125 Lewis (SD) vs. Manley (Bay) Manley dec. over Lewis Probably one of the tougher matches to call. If these guys have wrestled head to head or have a good common opponent, let me know. Would be a fun match. Manley won the SE Prep slam. Beat Marvin Lopez the D1 state champ at 130 in the state freestyle tournament last summer. Campbell Lewis is a great kid and wrestlers. Campbell was injured to start the year, very little data to find common opponents. Team Score: D1 7 D2 6 130 Lopez (Cleve) vs. Baucke (CBHS) Baucke maj dec. this one occurred at the Cleveland duals (10-0) Baucke Baucke is rated 12th in the country by Intermat at 130 lbs. That said, Lopez is a great wrestler. He was a terrible referees call away from being an All American at Fargo this past summer. It will likely be hard to find anyone that can beat him next year. Team Score: D1 7 D2 10 135 Herron (Brad) vs. Johnson (CBHS) Johnson dec over Herron Johnson's win over Hooker was impressive. The 135 lb D2 bracket had 3 former state champions in it. Herron has really impressed as a wrestler over the past year, including strong showings a the TN State freestyle tournament and the SE USA regional. Team Score: D1 7 D2 13 140 Chege (Rw) vs. Doster (Bay) Doster dec over Chege Doster is a more accomplished wrestler (now a three time state champion) which is why I give him the nod in this one. Chege's state championship was probably no surprise to the Ravenwood faithful, but likely was one of the bigger upset/underdog finishes in this state tournament. Some D2 fans may argue for a major dec. Team Score: D1 7 D2 16 145 Cox (Ind) vs. Johnson (CBHS), team score 7-19 Johnson dec over Cox This choice will probably raise some debate and rightfully so. Good match...the smaller Johnson twin beat Cox 7-4 last year Johnson came through a very tough D2 bracket at 145. Cox beating a past state champion in the finals of D1 was impressive. He has a common opponent this year with Johnson in Agnew of Father Ryan. Cox won 8-3 and Johnson was 1-1. The records show that Cox also had a loss in January 5-1 to Zach Bennett of Franklin. Team Score: D1 7 D2 19 152 Aguilar (Brad) vs. Duncan (Mc) Duncan dec over Aguilar Duncan continues to dominate the competition. Only losses this year were to Luster ranked in the top 10 in the country by Intermat. Also a close match to Todd, the 160 lbs state champion from D2. Aguilar had a huge senior year being undefeated and claiming the D1 title at 152. He had two close wins in the semis and finals over Newberg of Indy and Lilly of Collierville, respectively. Newberg and Lilly placed 4th and 5th at the Father Ryan tournament in a bracket the TJ Duncan won easily (all pins and an injury default). Newberg was majored by Downs, who was majored by Duncan in the D2 finals. There will likely be some upset D1 fans, but the nod here has to go to Duncan. The common opponents would say this should be a major, but given these are champs, stick with the decision. Team Score: D1 7 D2 22 160 Jones (Cleve) vs. Todd (MBA) Todd dec. Jones Todd was one of the more impressive and under heralded D2 seniors this year. A great wrestler that makes few mistakes. Todd won a close match 5-2 over Martino in the D2 finals. Martino is a common opponent for Jones. Martino pinned Jones in the 2nd period earlier in the year. Common opponent would say this could be more than a decision. Jones is a great story winning the D1 state title as a senior after not getting carried his junior year. One more argument for why the D1 state needs to go to a traditional consolation round! Team Score: D1 7 D2 25 171 Proctor (Cville) vs.Wesley (Ryan) Proctor dec. over Wesley This is the most difficult of all the matches to choose and will rightfully so get some argument from the D2 fans. Both are multiple time state champions (Proctor 2x and Wesley 3x). Both did not lose to anyone this year in the state of TN. Both pretty much pinned or tech'd anyone brave enough to step on the mat with them. Proctor won the D1 state tournament in 3OT, but arguably with tougher competition. Wesley won a 5-1 decision in the finals. Team Score: D1 10 D2 25 189 Kennedy (Black) vs. Ferguson (Bay) Kennedy dec over Ferguson Kennedy is the more accomplished wrestler winning titles outside of TN. He also had an impressive undefeated record this season. There were a couple of close wins over non-state placers during the season that were surprising. Ferguson finished a great season with a close 1-0 decision in the D2 finals. Ferguson lost a match late in the season to Tyler Toon the D1 3rd placed finisher. Team Score: D1 13 D2 25 215 Croy (Bw) vs. Helton (Bay) Croy maj dec over Helton Cameron Croy is a beast! No other way to say it. Multiple time Fargo All American, ranked 13th in the country by Intermat. OW of the D1 tournament. Helton had an impressive 8-2 win in the D2 finals and as a junior should likely be back on top the podium next year. Some D1 fans might call for another point on this one, but Croy won 3 of his 5 matches at State by points. Not as much a pinner, but Croy can beat anyone (no matter what State) with his quickness and leg attacks. Team Score: D1 17 D2 25 HWT Allen (Mt. J) vs. Mackey (Bay) Allen major dec over Mackey Allen man handled the competition this year and was very impressive through out the entire season and D1 state tournament. Mackey is also very physical, though undersized for this match. Mackey wrestled at 215 for the earlier part of the season. Again, some D1 fans might argue for more here, but Mackey similar to the Greenback wrestler in the finals should be able to keep this to a major. Team Score: D1 21 D2 25 FINAL SCORE: D2 defeats D1 25-21. If you turn around a few of the matches (Lewis, Herron and Cox) that the D1 fans could reasonably argue go the other way the score would be D1 with the win 30-16. If you turn around the Wesley match to appease the D2 fans the score would be 28-18 D2 over D1. In summary, another great year of TN wrestling with the Division champions evenly matched depending on the color of your glasses. Congrats to those that ran this year's State tournament. Overall a great experience!

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Not really funny...the moderators need to remove the last post.

ok, first please learn to use the quotes, when quoteing something that someone else wrote. Make is a lot easier to follow along I'm gonna only paritally agree with you on the regionals. Only in some does the regionals make it any tougher. And there isn't one region in particular that makes it any tougher. There are some tough weight classes in all regions, but then again, there are some that aren't even close. Where the #2 guy won't even come close to placing. So to say that having to wrestle regions makes it tougher does not hold true in all cases. In some yes, but not all that many if you look at them in a whole. Difference though. In D2, you have to wrestle well all year long as opposed to one extra weekend. In D2, because of the seeding, if you fail a couple times, you will be on the wrong side of the bracket, and it will greatly determine how and where you may finish. All wrestlers must wreslt all year long, not just a weekend. Besides you have to manage wgt with regionals and yes #2 wrestlers are good enough to place and win state. Another thing, you have to win your region and placed the previous year to even be seated/seperated in a 32 man roster. Don't forget you started this argument...I don't like bashing any division, but feel compelled to set the record straight (facts are facts). Very few of the D1 regions are great...great example, our second and third string D2 135 lbs wrestlers met in the finals of our local preseason tournament that included almost all of the D1 teams. Our local region D1 team champ lost by 50-60 points (placed 4th in the D1 state) to the top D2 school in the area. Unfortunately, there are way too many weak D1 regions to be too impressed with having to qualify for State. I love wrestling in general whether D1 or D2. Quit trying to devalue one division or the other. We two divisions (like it or not)...let's just celebrate what these wrestlers accomplish, either Division!

Not sure I would throw Hayes in that mix, but only because of his issues with staying healthy, we haven't seen a healthy Hayes in a while, but in December he was healthy and Johnson beat him, so I'm not sure I would add him to this list (not trying to belittle his accomplishments, but when you mention the other 3, you have to give them their due). Also, you have to add Baucke in this list. He beat the #1 ranked D1 kid this year 10-0. That wasn't just a fluke, it was totally in his control the entire match. Would love to see a match between Duncan and Aguilar. Would pay for that one. You guys make my point. There are very few guys in DII who are top notch. I don't see why you think Duncan and Aguilar would be a good match. While we were competing in the duals 2 weeks ago, we saw Duncan lose his match. Is there anyone on the DII side who can go with Aguilar? There are some great wrestlers in DII, but I think you undersell the number. You saw Duncan drop a close match to Daniel Todd, that is likely the best 160 lb (next weight class up) in the state. Having seen Aguilar (coached against him this summer), I would say that he is more physical than Duncan, but TJ is a much more skilled wrestler. Nothing meant to devalue either of these guys--would love to coach either, anytime! Todd or TJ against Aguilar would be a great match. TJ had a good match a few weeks ago with a nationally ranked wrestler (ranked #7) in Jason Luster at 152 lbs. Can you give me similar results with a nationally ranked guy for Aguilar? Why do you think Aguilar would beat TJ?

I never said it did not matter, just that D2 state champion has a much easier road to follow without regionals and not a full wgt. class except for two and only being 16 man bracket. State Champ is State Champ, I'd rather see A, AA, AAA so on, as compaired to D1 D2. Pummelking, you are right about DII being easier to win. I made a request to my sons coach to move into DII because it is easier to win a state than DI. I can't figure out why more schools don't do this. Pummelking/Dragonfly, What a joke!!! Are you kidding??? Why is it that 4 of the top 5 teams in this State are D2?. Its because D2 is tougher to win. Granted that you might be able to get 4th-6th place (depending on the weight class) easier in D2, but the top 3 steps are the same or more difficult to obtain. We do this analysis every year...champions against champions and it usually is D2 that wins (not always, but usually). Take it to the next level, who succeeds? D2 in a landslide. Why, because the best wrestlers (Leen, Marable, Simpson all recent either NCAA Champs, Finalists or mulitple time NCAA all americans), the top dogs, the guys that take it to the next level are almost always D2. If our state gets any publicity for its wrestling, its mostly for what the D2 guys have accomplished outside of the state and in the NCAA's. Take a great look at all those guys standing on the top step of D2 this weekend, you are much more likely to see them wearing an NCAA D1 uniform at the big show in the near future. Quit knocking it and be thankful that D2 is around to raise our image!

You must be an middle TN ref. Thanks Nope, but I guess that's better than being called a West Tn ref. This is probably a surprise, but the officiating in West TN has improved. In our several trips to Nashville this year, the refs in the middle of the state appeared much worse. This is consistent with the many frustrating and dangerous situations that posters have mentioned in recent Coacht threads dealing with middle TN officiating. On average, I would rather be called "a West TN ref" this year.

Good match between two accomplished wrestlers. Todd had solid defense which TJ did not get through in the final period. There probably was too much stalling in the match, but that seemed to be a trend for the tournament. My congrats to both of these guys for stepping up to the match. I was glad that I wandered down to that end of the arena to catch it. TJ never seems to shy away from competition which is what it takes to become a great wrestler.

Are you serious? Ryan already beat Cleveland this year and I am willing to bet, would give Bradley all they could handle like Cleveland did last night, so why should Ryan be ranked behind them, just because you are the all knowing expert on TN wrestling and your word is law? Soddy this year is just a joke when it comes to dual matches (but they do have some great individuals ie Campbell Lewis) so why should they be above Ryan, Baylor, CBHS? I think the D-I people this year are all drinking from the same kool aid. Give D-II the respect it is due. Yes I am serious. Maybe not Soddy, but they sure were coming on late this season, which is why I mentioned them. I do believe the top three in DI could prevail in a match with FR. It is by no mean the "law" and I am not sure why you went there. It is my opinion of where the teams are today. Someone please pass the kool aide, I enjoy the juice. Whatever is in that juice don't drive while you drink it! Uh, here are a few other scores from this year.... CBHS 57 Coliierville 6 CBHS 37 Science Hill 21 McCallie 45 Cleveland 26 McCallie 37 Science Hill 33 Father Ryan 36 Cleveland 28 To summarize, of the top 4 teams at the State Duals in D1 only Bradley Central did not get beat multiple times by teams in the top 4 in D2 or get beat by one of the D2 teams by more than 50 points (Collierville). Going the other direction Cleveland was the only D1 team to beat a team in the top 4 of D2, eeking out a 1 point win over CBHS. THE FACTS ARE THE FACTS. The top 4 in D1 were 1-5 against the top 4 this year in D2. FYI..the Soddy results against top D2 schools Baylor 69 Soddy Daisy 3 McCallie 47 Soddy Daisy 16 Father Ryan 61 Soddy Daisy 9

To help your memory Father Ryan won 48-25 over Franklin. Almost doubled the score and did it without 3 starters in their lineup. They also more than doubled Franklin's score at the Father Ryan invitational. Better to just say "they were better than us"...no excuses.

Yeah, in Div 1 they have to slog their way through a bunch of guys who can hardly wrestle to then get to states and wrestle more mediocre wrestlers even into the finals. The ELITE wrestle D2, just follow the college results some time or consider that 4 of the top 5 team in the state are D2. You started it! Now, now, way to early for this. We will do our annual breakdown of each class following the state tourney and do the hypothetical D-1 and D-2 champs matchups, and once again I can show you the superiority of D-1 wrestling ( just joking). Some interesting contests for the respective champs and maybe a few for all the finalists but from third on down I think it is D-1 in a laugher. The tougher regions like 3 and 4 will have better guys sitting home ( ie unable to qualify to even go to states ) than some 3rd place D2 medalists. I have conceded long ago the D2 success in college to date goes far beyond what D1 has done though Jake Young and a few others in recent years may at least give me leg to stand on if we continue the college debate. This conversation best picked up over some fermented beverages ( that is if bcb leaves some for the rest of us ) See you at duals. Fair enough...this can wait (someone jumped the gun and started the annual D1-D2 debate with their insults). I agree with your Region 3 and 4 examples. The flip side is that there are much weaker regions (much of the credit for this goes to our beloved TSSAA). As an example, our D2 school has 60+ wrestlers on the team. A number of our 2nd string wrestlers won the area preseason tournaments and/or have beaten the #1 ranked D1 guys in our region during the season. Just making varsity in a number of weight classes for the top 4 D2 schools can be more difficult than winning one of the weaker D1 regions. Ultimately these wrestlers will be much better for the competition that they face every day in the wrestling room. This is also likely one of the reasons that D2 wrestlers excel in college. The debate continues...see you at the duals. Best of luck to your team!

Yeah, in Div 1 they have to slog their way through a bunch of guys who can hardly wrestle to then get to states and wrestle more mediocre wrestlers even into the finals. The ELITE wrestle D2, just follow the college results some time or consider that 4 of the top 5 team in the state are D2. You started it!

I hope you are right, however, I was at a similar venue and it was not good. The floor was bad. The seating was bad. Maybe this place will be better, I hope so. As far as your logic with the ancient Greeks.......They also wrestled naked and it was socially acceptable for men to keep young male lovers until they were married. You can be as "Greek" as you want. Retro is singlets that snap in the crotch. And like my daddy always said......"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" I don't mind driving if it is to a better venue for the event. IF. And while we're using cliches "Be careful what you wish for" "And like my daddy always said......"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" Well in this case it was terribly broken...the Clarksville venue was awful. This is not anything regarding the operation of the tournament, but just purely the location. The tournament outgrew the CHS gym about 8 years ago when the small school duals began. Even prior to that time it was always hot, crowded and half the time was spent trying to view the duals through the metal screens where the concessions were sold because there was no room in the stands. The situation was miserable. The individual tournament situation was also continuing to deterioriate. 2 of the last 3 years the finals were held on Friday due to a women's basketball game. This made it very difficult for fans, relatives, teammates, etc. from out of town to attend. Throw in the high priced concessions and the refusal to allow the wrestlers to bring in their own food and it was clearly time for a change. I hope the situation will be better this year, but if not I don't suggest a return to CHS or UTC, but instead another location.

I would call either stalling or unsportsmanlike conduct if a wrestler is intentionally taking his own headgear or shoe off to stop the match. My understanding is that he used his other foot the second time to kick off his shoe. That would qualify as either of the items above and should result in a point for the other wrestler. It would also be a good lesson for the wrestler... After the match, the referees said they could not control or determine how tightly the young man has his shoe tied. Ok, but you can watch how it is taken off and determine if that was intentional. If there are two referees and Michael Hooker is wrestling, one should be assigned to watch his shoes...lol. Actually Michael is a great wrestler and very tough to win against. Much of that credit also goes to the guys sitting in the corner.

Having been a TSSAA high school wrestling referee for over 5 years I don't like to say much about officiating. There are good calls and bad calls and you have to teach your wrestlers to work through these. It is just a part of the sport and generally any sport. This past weekend at FR was particularly challenging as certain referees just didn't protect the wrestlers. There were also constant warnings when points should have been awarded. The head butt situation by the McCallie wrestler was unfortunate. If it was intentional it reflects poorly. In any case, there should have been a point awarded and the wrestler DQ'd. Take a strong stance and make the right call, even if you take heat from a respected coach, is still the right thing to do and sends the right message to everyone. If you can't make that call, then you don't need to be officiating. There was a similar situation in a 3rd place match with a wrestler being head scissored four times in the final round. The wrestler caught in the illegal hold still won and the match wasn't that close, but the wrestler's health was at stake and that will get parents, coaches and casual observers upset at you. I don't buy the excuse, "I didn't see it"--that's your job to see things happening on that mat. Final issue and we have debated this one in the past, is the appearance of nepotism or lack of impartiality that exists. There may not be a way to cure this given what appears to be a lack of experienced and qualified officials in middle TN, but it is still a problem. In one finals match, Dad (the coach) is appealing to his Brother-in-Law (the second referee) about a call for his son/referee's nephew. I know all of these people involved and understand that they will make the right call regardless, but if you're from another school and don't know these individuals, you don't get the same view. To make the situation even stranger the other wrestler, was also related to all of these people, obviously even his opponent...lol. There were a lot of other officials in the gym that could have called the match. Also if you're a graduate of a school, you should not officiate your school's matches. I never did, it just gives the wrong appearance. Overall, the tournament was very well run. FR did an outstanding job given the challenges of the weather, etc. to make this a great event with some tremendous competition. A huge "thank you" to the people in the background, the table workers, coaches and all those responsible for making this a great weekend!