best_of_the_west

You truly never knew who would win the match until the end. I think the underdog won most of them, and someone always had some kind of nagging injury. I doubt either will be walking too much past the age of 40.

The thing that's not true is the "GC" at the end of the message.

At least Fryman knows that he is destined to be a coach, so he can start working on that gut early. The problem will be convincing people that he was at 135 in high school. It would be my dream to get my brother back up to Memphis with Drew and watch a "they really let themselves go" version of one of the most underrated rivalries in the history of Memphis wrestling. I predict two simultaneous heat strokes about 1:30 into the first period, closely followed by a trip to the hospitality room for some nachos.

Ok, that rings a bell now. I wasn't around back in those days, but Scott has been a great figure for Memphis wrestling, especially Houston and Germantown. You must be close to the Simpson clan.

I agree with you. The problem is that there is no way to really determine how much of a difference it made unless they actually wrestle again.

Would you pick any D1 winners?

I would say that there are two options when it comes to shaking hands that would keep it from being unsportsmanlike most of the time. Coach Lewis has already explained that his team does not shake hands. The other option was somewhat described by Bayou Bear. If the kid chooses to shake the opposing coach's hand, he could be allowed to. This way, the kids that want to do it will be able to. The problems arise when kids are forced to do it. Either way, is it really a sign of respect when the losing wrestler starts to run off the mat, and his coach has to grab him and send him back to shake the other coach's hand? It's a good tradition, but let's face it, false respect is not really respect, and I doubt any coach would feel disrespected if an angry kid didn't come shake his hand. It should be the kid's choice to shake hands with the coach, but that wouldn't really be a rule, so if you had to make a rule about it, I'd say just save it for after the match. The opposing coach will appreciate it then too.

I am almost positive that post-graduates can wrestle. I seem to remember them wrestling in the past. Coach Delgado or Bray can clarify. I think Borneman is a 174/184...Williams-Borneman. How about Chris Baker (if he's still wrestling and not to heavy) vs. Johnson? I see to remember Baker going to Missouri, but I haven't heard about him in a while. But my dream match is a little different. You may have noticed Brandon Wright warming up with an old guy before the championship finals. In fact, that was an actual Nailen...Scott to be precise. I believe he won a state championship for Germantown around the end of the Cold War. This is a great tournament for the Nailen family, Germantown High School, and the Memphis wrestling community. Nailen knows all Brandon's weaknesses, and don't forget the always undervalued "old man strength." What better finale than Mr. Nailen himself wrestling his little protege, the pride on Memphis wrestling, in an old school-new school, Germantown-Houston classic? I'll pay the entrance fee.

I believe Bateman had missed most of the season when he wrestled Williams in the finals of Father Ryan. I guess you can take what you want from that. I think the score was 4-0, so people can decide on their own if two more months of wrestling would make up at least 4 points for Bateman. I personally am a facts man, so I can't make the stretch. I think Bateman scores a reversal this time, but Williams still wins by 2. If you like Bateman, you can easily argue that he is much better now than he was a Ryan, but it's hard to prove. Again, we won't have the pleasure of finding out.

The funniest thing I saw was when Lettner had Coffey on his back, and the Soddy coach (I believe it was Steve Henry, someone can verify) had his face pressed on the mat trying to see both shoulder blades. Along with most everyone in the arena, he was waiting for the pin to come any second, but it never did, and he was ready to jump out of his shoes for nearly a minute. It was pretty funny to me, and I love to see coaches show some enthusiasm for their kids.

haha, Wright wins a couple of state championships and he's already got a PR guy?

Not defending the action, just the kids. No doubt, it was less than humble and immature, but boys that age are not mature. I doubt Mr. Manley lost any sleep over it. I think he would be concerned about his son, first and foremost, not a fist pump. Just because what you are stating is a fact does not mean that it isn't casting stones. There are plenty of facts about mistakes I have made that I wouldn't want people discussing on a message board. Once again, not saying it was ok, just saying we should consider the circumstances before we start throwing around words. PS--I'm more of a pulled pork sandwich guy. You can't beat the Commissary.

I think you pretty much have to have a 3.75-4.0 GPA and a 28+ ACT score to go to an Ivy League school. He is a smart kid and a good student, but he doesn't quite meet the academic requirements. He could get into most public schools, but those schools are in another league (yes, pun intended). I think the idea is that he's going to pick the college he likes the most, and if they have a wrestling program, he will consider it. I know he's not going to just go to any school that will give him a wrestling scholarship.

Would you rather he chew out a kid that had just walked off the mat after winning a state championship? Be realistic, these are high school adolescents. They don't always make the right decision, and most high school boys think they are the king of the world already, so winning a state championship could cause reactions that may seem less than humble to the average fan. There are lessons to be learned about humility throughout life, but they can't all be learned by the time you turn 18. You can blame some of that on testosterone, but don't blame it on the coach. It is a very rare occasion that a high school boy can maintain composure in front of thousands of fans cheering for him. It's no discredit to the accomplishment or the kid (keep in mind, there was no taunting or direct boasting). Seeing two wrestlers outwardly show full respect for one another after a state championship match, win or lose, is a standard that just can't be kept by most high school boys. If you saw the end of the Crosby-Pennington finals matches a few years ago, you would realize what I mean. In the end, you can use these situations to teach kids, but let's not go casting stones without examining the context.

Cordova--relatively young school with a young program (not sure, but I'd guess about 5 years old), good young coach with energy. They will lose some good wrestlers this year, but they will be near the top of Region X for a while if they can keep their coach and their funding (Memphis City School).

He's not an Ivy Leaguer.

I don't know. I've never tried. All I usually see is people calling the other fans classless which further provokes the issue. I'm just trying to put my opinion out there in a sound, calm manner. Maybe it will do some good, but probably not. That doesn't mean it's not worth saying.

That would be my question. I don't know.

Friday night, I was up in the rafters, away from all the mayhem. I don't have a dog in the fight. I just go to watch great wrestling, but I couldn't help but notice the reactions of some of the fans after a few of the matches. It's one thing to boo a ref during the match (although I don't condone it), but booing after the match has been decided seems unnecessary. It won't change anything, and I just felt bad for the kids that won. They have just accomplished a great feat, and they jump off the mat and have their hand raised to a chorus of boos. Booing never changed a decision. I am not arguing that booing should be disallowed. Fans have the right to say whatever they want within the guidelines of the law and the tournament host. I just do not see the point. I think it does a disservice to the kids and the sport. I know someone will say, "Did you even see what happened?" or "You don't even know the story behind it!" Those people are missing my point. I have never seen booing have any positive effect on a wrestling match. Agree or disagree?

Congratulations to all the Bradley kids. It's amazing to see a school put so many great wrestlers on the mat. Then you find out that a bunch of them are going to Ivy League schools. That's just ridiculous. It's a great program that gets kids to college both on and off the mat.

Missouri is ranked #3 in the country. The Mocs' website says that they won the Las Vegas Invitational earlier in the year. The Mocs placed 8th. This is the end of the regular season, so if some of the wrestlers were sick, the coach would be crazy to risk injury right before Nationals. I am a fan of the Mocs, and I would have liked to see them wrestle a full-strength Missouri squad, but I don't think the Tigers were scared of having any kind of "kicking." It was a safe move by the school, and it is unfortunate for the UTC wrestlers and fans. It would be nice if Missouri had forfeited before the team had to go all the way up there for what amounted to a scrimmage.

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That's the stereotypical response. I was only there for the finals, but I thought the officiating was very good. I noticed a couple of times when I might have disagreed a little on a stalling call or a pin (or lack thereof), but I have to give the benefit of the doubt to the guys sitting a few feet from the action with years of experience. The simple fact is that there is a gray area in wrestling that requires an official to use opinionated judgment to make decisions, but these guys are in Chattanooga for a reason. You might see coaches complain about an official for a single match, but you will rarely see coaches that serious steps against an official through the TSSAA. Some officials will be from Chattanooga. That's only fair. It's not a surprise to me that these are always the officials being accused of biases. This usually correlates to the fact that Chattanooga has the best wrestling in the state. The easiest excuse for that is the officials. However, if enough coaches had a serious, ongoing issue with an official's ability to call a match fairly, I don't think that official would be at the state tournament. Yes, officials make mistakes and calls that we don't agree with, but the people accusing this of being bias are not seeing the same calls that go in their favor. Talk to any official, and you will find that he loves the sport. And the basic premise of this sport is the equal competition between two young men. It's not finding new refs, but finding a way to make yourself a better wrestler that is the the key to succeeding.

Do you mean Christian? Dario graduated 3 years ago, I think, after winning a state championship at 103.

How about region 4...five more medals than 2nd place.