UnionCoach

I would like to first apologize to all wrestlers, coaches, referees, and fans who were at the regional finals on saturday. The reaction to the loss by my wrestler was extremely uncalled for. It was a shock to our corner as it was to the entire gym. Upon talking to him later in the evening, he was extremely emotional, not for his loss (because we all know that state is what is important) but for his actions following his match with John. He was even more upset with himself because he respects John so much. As we see many times in sports, especially full contact such as this one, many times athletes let things get out of control. In fact in life, we make choices that we wish we could go back and change, however, in reality it is impossible. What determines one's character is how they handle this situation afterwards. I can honestly say that has never acted in a manner such as this, and these past 24 hours has been a sobering one for him. He, as well as I, and our entire program apologize once again, and will be pulling for every Region 2 wrestler to accomplish their goals that they have worked so hard for. As for the stalling call being questionable, that is not even the case. In my opinion the match was well called, and John earned that victory (which is a quote from Ben himself). Hopefully we can meet for last time in the state finals. Good Luck John, good luck Region 2. Jason Moorman UCHS Wrestling Coach

It seems at this time of year, many people are predicting who will win, and more so who will lose. I would like to take an opportunity to just say that I feel fortunate to be involved in Region 2. We have some great kids from all schools who work hard and have increased our competition level not only in our local area but at the state level as well. Most importantly I am very honored to work with these local coaches. Since I began coaching, everyone has been helpful, supportive, and encouraging. These characteristics are not easy to find. We have an amazing group of coaches who make this Region one of a kind. Good Luck to everyone at state, and watch out for Region 2. Jason Moorman Union County Wrestling Coach

I truly believe we will be hearing "Kingston" for a long time to come in the Tennessee wrestling world. They have established an extremely successful feeder program that is seeing results now. The more schools that can begin a program for younger children in the East Tennessee area similar to Seymour, Halls, Kingston, etc. the more competitive wrestling will be, not only in Region 1 and 2, but in the entire state. I commend the Kingston coaching staff for the success they have received and will continue to receive. These guys have built this program and if I am not mistaken, are non faculty coaches. That says a lot about character and dedication to the sport and to the kids. Good Luck Kingston, we will see you down the road.

I truly enjoy reading these posts, yet I try to stay limited on what I respond to or not. This I could not pass. Benny Gray started the Union County wrestling team from scratch in 1999. I joined him in helping coach these guys during the second year. What RCPATRIOT said is 100% true. When this program was started, Benny paid for a wrestling mat, singlets, uniforms, motel rooms, meals, etc. all out of his own pocket. From my experience there are not many people in this world who would do something like that. In fact, he is the only one I know. He has a huge heart, and loves these kids. I owe a whole lot to Benny Gray. He has helped me out when I was in need. I probably wouldn't be coaching wrestling if he never gave me a chance. I respect him very much. I have been with this team for four years now. We have had many ups and downs, as any team would when you start a program in an area that has zero clue what wrestling is. As for the kids and paretns from Union County goes, I would not trade a single one. Yes, they are "country". But I commend what these wrestlers go through. Everyday we fold up cafeteria tables, bring the mats from the gym, unroll them, practice, roll them back up, take them back to the gym, and unfold all of the cafeteria tables. We have never had a full team, yet the kids that are here are so dedicated and work so hard. These parents are great. They are very supportive, and they are learning as their kids do. All in all, coaching at Union County has been the best experience of my life. I am proud to be a part of this team. Jason Moorman Union County Wrestling Coach

Farragut definately should be considered top 5, considering they have two wrestlers in the top 30 in the nation.

Look, this tournament is over. Congratulations to Coach Logsden and Bradley Central for an extremely well wrestled tournament. I have not been coaching long in Tennessee, but enjoyed taking someone to the finals, it was big for our program and school. As for the match between my 215 and Bailey... give it a rest. The comments putting down Bailey are unnecessary, he just won a state championship, and he did what he had to do to win it, never take that away from someone. As for Ben Hazlett, I am extremely proud of him. We will work for this next year, and it has been a great season this year. I am also proud of the other wrestlers from our region who placed. This was a good season overall, with some great finishes yesterday. Good luck next season. Coach Moorman

These kids are in HIGH SCHOOL. and they are also preparing for the state tournament, and do not need to be reading criticisms on what the paper quoted them as saying. Dunn, Keep your head clear, train hard, and fight for it all the way this weekend. Good Luck.

Good luck to all the wrestlers from Region 2. Represent us well.

there were close to full teams from big schools such as Powell and Central that did not send anyone. There were a couple others. Congrats to all qualifiers from Greenback, it is a goal that many wrestlers set and you guys reached it.

Knox will win at 171

Darryl, Are these non-Knoxville teams able to go this year?

this will be an interesting regional duals. i love it. good luck to all teams, i hope we can represent our region strong at state.

top heavy's will be johnson of seymour, graves of gibbs, vandegriff of halls, and maryville hwt.

Farragut or Karns

Bryant wrestled tough, but I haven't seen ankle picks like the ones this guy hit on Blackmon in a while. He was in on it about six or seven times. They were nice.