THEANIMAL

I'M TALKING ABOUT THE RANKINGS NOT SOMETHING ELSE. THE ANIMAL

I CAN NOT GET IT TO COME UP! THE ANIMAL

I AM FOR GIRLS WRESTLING GIRLS AND BOYS WRESTLING BOYS. THE ANIMAL

I UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF THE GIRLS MATCHES IN THE PAST (HAVE PRACTICE FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS, HAVE THE MATCH AND WE WILL SEE YOU NEXT YEAR). AT THE RULES MEETING THEY MENTIONED THAT 4 SCHOOLS IN THE CHATT. AREA WOULD HAVE GIRLS TEAMS. HOW IS THIS GOING TO BE DIFFERANT THAN WHAT YOU HAVE DONE IN THE PAST. SOUTH-DOYLE IS PUTTING TOGETHER A GIRLS TEAM AND THEY WANT TO BE INCLUDED IN WHAT YOU ALL HAVE IN THE WORKS. PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT ALL YOU HAVE PLANNED FOR THE WRESTLING GIRLS. THANKS, THE ANIMAL

I TALKED TO HIM THE OTHER NIGHT BUT FORGOT TO GET HIS E-MAIL ADDRESS. I STILL NEED E-MAILS FROM MATT WHITTMAN @ ELIZABETHTON AND ANDREW BECK @ TN HIGH. THANKS, THE ANIMAL

I AM EXPECTING TO SEE TWO FORMER HALLS YOUTH WRESTLING ALLSTARS IN THE REGION FINALS AT 103: ALEX LARUE (HALLS) AND NICK MAXWELL (KARNS). I CAN'T WATE FOR THE SEASON TO BEGIN. THE ANIMAL

WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS?THE ANIMAL WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS?THE ANIMAL

YOU SOUND LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. ALL WE COACHES KNOW IS WHAT WE ARE TOLD BY THE TESTER AND THE STATE. IS THERE A MORE ACCURATE TEST THAT IS PRACTICAL AND NOT COST HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS. I HAVE HEARD THAT THE TEST AT MTSU WILL GIVE A FAR HIGHER READING THAT THE SCALE THAT THE STATE USES. BUT IT IS EXPENSIVE. THE ANIMAL

FORMER HALLS HIGH AND MARYVILLE COLLEGE WRESTLER WRITES BOOK ON PROBLEMS OF WEIGHT CUTTING. THE ANIMAL MC senior’s book is reference guide for wrestlers By Melanie Tucker of The Daily Times Staff Wearing a plastic bag over your body while you log miles on a treadmill to drop weight fast sounds neither glamorous or safe. Joe Gunter, a student at Maryville College and wrestler since high school, can give firsthand knowledge of the widespread practice in the sports world, specifically in his own sport. So when it came time to choose a senior thesis topic at MC, he latched on to the idea of exposing the decades-long tradition and giving wrestlers a safer alternative to what those in wrestling call cutting weight. He started wrestling while a high school student at Halls High School in Knoxville. He said cutting water weight by dressing in a sauna suit and sweating for long periods of time while exercising is common at the college level. It’s just something that has been done for years because it seems like the fastest way to get to a goal weight. “There are not too many places to go for research on how to cut weight,” Gunter said. “You basically rely on word of mouth or traditions other wrestlers have used. Some coaches let them do it because that’s what they did when they wrestled.” There have been three documented cases of wrestlers dying due to cutting weight this way. Gunter said he used the method while wrestling in college to get himself down to a lower weight classification in order to wrestle a weaker athlete. “You can lose up to 10 pounds in one day by doing that,” he said. “When I did it I felt drained and tired. I thought ‘this can’t be healthy.’” Traci Haydu, associate professor of physical education, health and recreation, was Gunter’s advisor for the thesis. She said students are given leeway in the subjects they choose in hopes they pick something that motivates them. “Joe was very passionate about this subject,” she said. He spent close to a year researching and writing. Published resource But it has now gone further than just a senior thesis. Because he spent so much time on it, Gunter said he decided to inquire about getting the work published. The result is his first book, “The Effects and Risks of Extreme Weight Loss on the Body of a Wrestler,” published by PublishAmerica. It is his entire senior thesis in print, and it’s available on Amazon.com. The Maryville College library and bookstore are also going to make it available. According to Gunter’s research, nearly 65 percent of wrestlers cut weight during a season. This author goes into the details of why wrestlers choose extreme measures to cut weight and how this affects the body. Weight loss by dehydration, Gunter wrote, leads to lower blood volumes, impairs cardiac function, reduces blood flow to the muscles and kidneys and increases the risk of heat illnesses. While the long-term effects may not be fully known, repeated attempts to cut large amounts of weight do take a toll. Gunter said his research shows it is better to drop weight by dieting over a longer period of time and to eat foods containing carbohydrates. “I have never been around people who cut weight harder than I did,” Gunter said. “But I have seen them cut just as hard. There really is no point in it as I researched it because you are hurting your performance.” This MC senior said he did cut as much as 10 pounds in one day using the sauna suit. He said he would sometimes cut 30 pounds from season to season. Gunter will graduate from MC in December and hopes to enter a physical therapy school. He said he hopes his published thesis will be a reference guide for wrestlers who want to know the smart way to be competitive. Haydu said she is proud of Gunter for his in-depth study and of his persistence at getting the work published. She said he may be the first student at MC to have his thesis end up in book form. Gunter, 22, is glad to have his thesis requirement complete and to provide a comprehensive look into a sports practice he hopes one day goes by the wayside. “I just wanted to have a reference for other wrestlers,” he said. “So they will have something to look at when they cut weight because they are going to cut weight. There needs to be a resource so they won’t put themselves in danger.”

i am embarressed. i let my male testosterone level cloud my thinking. i will try to keep better control of my feelings. THE ANIMAL

WRESTLING FANS, THE TENNESSEE CHAPTER OF THE NATIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME BANQUET IN KNOXVILLE (10-13-07) CAME OUT A LITTLE IN THE RED. THEY ARE PUTTING TOGETHER A VIDEO OF THE BANQUET. THEY ARE DOING THIS TO TRY TO RAISE A LITTLE MORE MONEY AND AS A SERVICE TO THE WRESTLING PEOPLE THAT COULD NOT ATTEND THIS GREAT EVENT. IF YOU WOULD LIKE A COPY OF THIS QUALITY DVD SEND A $25 CHECK TO: TN WRESTLING HALL OF FAME 134 VANDERVIEW DRIVE SEYMOUR, TN 37865 GOOD LUCK THIS SEASON, THE ANIMAL

WHO ARE THE COACHES. I NEED TO ADD THEM TO MY LIST. THE ANIMAL

SWEETY 1000, I HOPE SOME STUD (MALE) FROM MICHIGAN RIPS YOUR ARM OUT OF THE SOCKET, AND AND BREAKS IT OVER YOUR HEAD. HAVE A GREAT SEASON, THE ANIMAL

TOO LATE. IT HAS BEEN SOLD. THE ANIMAL

BUMP

I TYPE WITH ONE FINGER. IT IS HARD FOR ME TO HOLD DOWN THE SHIFT KEY AND PUSH THE LETTERS AT THE SAME TIME. I AM SORRY I AM NOT AS SMART AT YOU. THE ANIMAL

USUALLY THE WEEK OF THANKSGIVING. CHECK YOUR LOCAL SCHOOLS WEBSITE FOR SCHEDULES. THE ANIMAL

POWELL H.S. IN KNOXVILLE HAS A USED MAT FOR SALE. IT IS 1" X 36' X 36'. IF INTERESTED CALL COACH LARRY NEELY 865-363-2653. THE ANIMAL

sweety 1000, i have turned off my caps lock botton for you. where is lansing eastern high? i have never heard of it. it must not be in tennessee because we have better english teachers than that. i wish bubba had your english teacher. he would not be ineligible this season. THE ANIMAL

YOU NEED TO STAY AWAKE IN ENGLISH CLASS AND TRY TO LEARN SOMETHING. YOUR GRAMMER SKILLS ARE HORRIBLE. THE ANIMAL

ALL OF THE FEMALE WRESTLERS THAT I HAVE TALKED TO OVER THE YEARS WOULD RATHER WRESTLE OTHER GIRLS IF THEY HAD THE OPTION. THE GOOD GIRLS HAVE TROUBLE FINDING OTHER GOOD GIRLS TO WRESTLE. ALL OF THE GIRLS THAT I HAVE TALKED TO JUST LOVE THE SPORT. THEY ARE NOT DOING IT TO HAVE SEXUAL CONTACT WITH BOYS. BUT THAT CONTACT WILL HAPPEN UNLESS THE GENDERS ARE SEPARATED. THE SOLUTION IS TO HAVE DIFFERENT DIVISIONS AT PRESEASON AND JV TOURNAMENTS. AT THE HALLS JV TOURNAMENT ON MARTIN LUTHER KING HOLIDAY. THEY HAVE 3-DIVISIONS (FRESHMEN BOYS, JUNIOR VARSITY BOYS AND HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS). AT THIS TOURNAMENT THE BOYS DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WRESTLING THE GIRLS AND THE GIRLS DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WRESTLING THE BOYS. IF THERE IS ONLY ONE GIRL THAT COMES SHE IS DECLARED THE CHAMPION AND RECEIVES THE GOLD MEDAL (THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED YET). THERE IS USUALLY BETWEEN 4 TO 10 GIRLS EACH YEAR. SOMETIMES THE FEMALE MANAGERS WILL WRESTLE BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT THEY WILL NOT HAVE TO WRESTLE THE BOYS. I THINK THIS IS THE WAY IT SHOULD BE. THE ANIMAL

MY ONLY PROBLEM WITH GIRLS WRESTLING BOYS IS WHEN YOU MATCH AN EXPERIENCED GIRL WITH AN INEXPERIANCED BOY. THIS COMMONLY HAPPENS IN PRESEASON OR JV TOURNAMENTS. THIS IS NOT MUCH OF A PROBLEM IN VARSITY LEVEL TOURNAMENTS. ANOTHER PROBLEM IS PHYSICAL CONTACT. TO WRESTLE YOUR OPPONENT YOU MUST GET UP-CLOSE AND PERSONAL. THIS IS A PROBLEM FOR THE GIRLS AS WELL AS THE BOYS. NO ONE THINKS ABOUT THIS WHEN WRESTLERS OF THE SAME GENDER WRESTLE. I DON'T THINK I WOULD WANT MY DAUGHTER PINNED IN A FIGURE-4 ON THE HEAD BY A BOY. THE ANIMAL

ha ha ha THE ANIMAL

AT THE TSSAA WRESTLING RULES MEETING THEY MENTIONED THERE WOULD BE AROUND 4 HIGH SCHOOL GIRL TEAMS IN THE STATE. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHO IS PLANNING ON HAVING A TEAM AND HOW WILL THEY COMPETE? WILL IT BE FREESTYLE OR FOLKSTYLE? TELL US WHAT YOU KNOW, THE ANIMAL

I HEARD AT THE TSSAA RULES MEETING THAT THERE IS GOING TO BE FOUR HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS TEAMS IN THE STATE. CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN WHO THEY ARE AND HOW ARE THEY GOING TO COMPETE. THIS IS VERY INTERESTING, THE ANIMAL