RMC

See...just because I'm with Collins Hill now doesn't mean I didn't come from Tennessee! My brothers wrestled for Gordon Connell at Hixson....way back.

Just curious, are David and Stokes Doster father and son?

Gordon and Lee Connell?

Try here:

http://www.georgiawrestling.net/

Bradley is seeded #1 in the American division and Cox from Va. is seeded #2. At the Tiger Inv. Tourn we participated in at Chapel Hill, NC. Cox finished 6th. We, Collins Hill, finished 3rd. Bradley tore us up and I'd expect them to do the same this weekend. As I said before, I think they could easily have competed in the National side of this tournament.

Good luck Bradley.

Not really....it was on a post about the Virgina Duals on another post!

Top left...SCOTT CHANCEY

Andy Winiarczyk 119 and Anthony from Pope are both pretty stout. Anthony has been at 145, but I've heard that he has dropped to 140.

This article is from the Albany (Ga.) Herald.

Pride, tears on the mat

SCOTT CHANCEY

You know, it's sad that high school wrestlers sometimes don't get the respect and admiration they deserve. A few people even make fun of the sport.

Then again, it's human nature to ridicule what you don't understand. Once you understand all that goes into being a high school wrestler, ridiculing them would be the last thing on your mind.

All you have to do is watch a high school wrestling match to realize the blood, sweat and tears that are poured into the preparations. I was reminded of that earlier in the week. For the first time in quite a while, I covered high school wrestling during Tuesday's Albany city championship at Westover.

There are the cries of anguish when a player is caught up in a hold. There is the resounding thump of the official's hand as it slams to the mat signifying a pin. And there is the joyous shout of a wrestler as he rises up from a quick pin or dramatic overtime victory.

There are no shoulder pads in wrestling. There are no helmets. And hey, even though you're wrestling on a pad, it still hurts when your opponent slams you to the mat.

In many ways, wrestling is the perfect sport. The perfection is in the parity.

You see, the difference between wrestlers who go against each other is skill and desire. In all other aspects of the match, they're even.

You can't say you lost because your opponent was bigger. Size is such a big factor in football. Size is such a big factor in basketball. But in wrestling, having 14 separate weight classes takes care of that.

If you lost, you lost. No excuses. You either didn't have enough desire to win, or you didn't have enough discipline in practice.

The discipline. It's so important.

There's hardly a sport that requires the discipline that wrestling does. You have to do this, you have to do that. From jumping rope to running laps to lifting weights and doing sit-ups, you have to do it all. Knowing a scale is waiting for you on the morning of each tournament to see if you can compete in your weight class for the day, the discipline extends to the food table.

If a teenager can adhere to this, class work is hardly a challenge. Most wrestlers I've interviewed have at least a 3.0 GPA.

And the wrestlers know there's a difference between doing it and overdoing it while training. It's all about sensibly doing what needs to be done to stay within your weight class and stay on top of your performance. The Georgia High School Association team dual state championships are Feb. 6-7, the traditional area tournaments are Feb. 13-14, and the state meets in that category are Feb. 20-21.

I promise you, for those who don't think high school wrestling is a real sport, just watch how these athletes train and watch them compete. If you do, you will take on a greater appreciation for the challenges and successes of these athletes.

www.virginiaduals.org

I may be off one or two, but I think as of 1/8/2004 he is 20 and 6 and ranked 8th in the state. Two of his losses were at the Tiger Inv. at Chapel Hill, NC.

No, No...I was joking. My wife, you may remember Maria, says I'm addicted to wreslting. This forum is sort of like Wrestling Anonymous.

I feel like I should have said........Hi, I'm Ross and I have a wrestling problem.

Sommers....I'm Ross Copeland from Hixson and now attached to Collins Hill wrestling in Suwanee, Ga. I have another generation wrestling too; my son Kenny is wrestling here in Georgia and my daughter is a trainer for the high school team.

If you follow Baylor I have one nephew there now, Alex Copeland and Drew Woodward was there a couple of years ago. Drew is recovering from a fracture of the L-1 vertebrae he suffered wrestling against Iowa State a few weeks ago. He'll should be ready to go again in a few more weeks.

I'm guessing that Sommers is the same guy I went to school with at Hixson that was a crazed Dallas Cowboy fan and now has 5 kids. I think you also had a brother that was a state champion.

Am I close?

Having seen both Great Bridge, Va. and Bradley this year, Bradley can hang with anyone. In my opinion Bradley would beat Great Bridge and that's a match I'd love to see.

That is great news. Thanks for keeping us informed.

FYI: (article from local paper)

HBO to spotlight Maynard

From Staff Reports

Collins Hill wrestler Kyle Maynard, who won his matches Saturday at 103 pounds in the Area 8-AAAAA Duals, will be featured on an upcoming episode of the HBO television program, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

Camera crews taped wrestling footage and conducted interviews for the story on Saturday at the area duals, held at Parkview High School. Crews have followed Maynard the previous few days during his practices and his daily life.

Maynard, who wrestles despite being born without fully developed arms and legs, has been an inspiration for the Collins Hill community since he wrestled and played football in youth leagues.

The episode of Real Sports featuring Maynard will air Tuesday, January 20 at 10 p.m. For more information on the show, check the Web at www.hbo.com.

No probelm SilentJohn........I happen to find this one on Ebay and it never sold. I asked the owner what the reserve was and I figured at $2500 for a full size mat it was a steal. I don't have a stake in it, just trying to save some wreslting organization some money.

I have some info on a mat we were looking at if you want to drop me an email. It'a green and white 42 x 40 mat. If I remember correctly the asking price was $2500 and it's located in North Carolina.

Ross Copeland (RMC)

ross.copeland@globalpay.com

The teams attending are Grissom - Alabama, Mt. Tabor - North Carolina, Baylor - Tennessee, Soddy Daisy - Tennessee, Ringgold - Georgia, Lassiter - Georgia, Woodland - Georgia and McEachern - Georgia.

I wouldn't be surprised if Baylor and Soddy-Daisy make it into the final.

My guess would be that they are trying get specific matchups. I noticed Scott went from 152 to 145 and Manley to 140. There must be nationally ranked talent at those weights that the coach feels his wrestlers match up well with.

A first place finish or even a second will give his wrestlers a chance to improve their national rankings and put them on the radar screen of more schools. I've known some coaches to only take one or two kids to a tough tournament for just those reasons.

I'm not defending McCallie, but sometimes you have take your kids where the recruiters can see them. Sure they could have stayed home, but Manley and Scott will get seen by many more recruiters and coaches at Bethlehem and wrestle tougher competition.

Taken from the Georgia USA Youth Wrestling board:

The Pope High School Takedown Club invites you to compete at the 2004 Kim Andrews Classic. Bring in the New Year with one of the premier, best run and most competitive tournaments in Georgia. In past years the Kim Andrews Classic has brought together between 500-600 wrestlers from Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida. This year we are expecting the same level of participation.

Details about the tournament can be found below or you can go to the Pope Jr Greyhounds website at www.eteamz.com/popejrwrestling to get information, as well as directions to Pope High School.

Date: January 3, 2004

Location: Pope High School Main Gym (6 mats).

Standard USA Weight Classes will be utilized. Wrestlers can compete in multiple weight classes.

Medals: Medals will be awarded to the top 4 finishers in each weight class.

Trophies: Trophies will be awarded to the Elementary and Middle School team champions and runners up. Scoring based upon wrestlers reaching the championship and consolation finals in each weight class. 4 points - 1st; 3 points - 2nd; 2 points - 3rd; and 1 point - 4th. If you compete in multiple classes, team points can only be earned within your "true" weight class.

Weigh Ins: Saturday, January 3rd, standard times, 7:00am-8:00am - 10U; 11:30am-12:30pm - 11-14

**PLEASE NOTE** There will be an optional weigh in for all wrestlers on Friday, January 2nd from 5:00pm-8:00pm.

Tournament Director: Jim Haskin, Varsity Wrestling Coach - Pope High School; (770) 509-6197

Update, Trevor Ramos was released from the hospital on Friday and has started on the road to recovery.

I still find it hard to believe that someone can go from being on a ventilator on Sunday to being home on Friday. I think it's truly a miracle.

On behalf of the Collins Hill wrestling family, thank you for your thoughts and prayers.