jakesdad

Congratulations Jesse Jones...that's a big win for a big Freshman!

I don't know why you would rank Cameron at 215, he won our tournament at 189 two weeks ago. He looked good too! I have heard that Michael has worked very hard and improved greatly since last season (from several sources), and I look forward to watching him wrestle next week. But I doubt that he's in Cameron's league just yet. I agree with you TNKO, I expect Josh will own 215.

Best103, I don't have the JV results. From memory, the Owls did reasonably well. We had good numbers, at least, since it was at our gym. Science Hill looked strong in number and quality. Their JV and Varsity have some very good kids. Walker Valley is much improved too. I wish I could remember more...maybe others can chime in. Thanks Da Bears!

Wonder what sports this may impact? http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_140145.asp

bearmen, my thinking was diplomatic while I typed, but maybe it didn't come accross as such. I consider Heath Eslinger to be a personal friend, and I'm proud of him for what he means to their program. That may have an influence at times on my opinion. I appreciate the fact that you have recognized my past respect for the Bradley program. And that respect continues today I assure you. I did not mean to imply that the Bears were sitting still while Cleveland improves. I think just the opposite actually. I think the significant Cleveland improvements have and will continue to make Bradley even stronger because of the competition that the Raiders bring. Bradley is the king of D1, and like I said I won't bet against you until someone earns ownership of the crown.

I think it was Bayou Bear that made the prediction last year that Cleveland's time would come. They will beat Bradley. Cleveland has worked too hard at all levels (youth, middle school, and high school) for it not to happen, but I don't think it's time yet. Plus after last year I said I wouldn't doubt Bradley until they gave me a reason. They haven't.

It's the secret coaches' society...nobody knows. Maybe some of the coaches that frequent this board will open up, otherwise, we may never know. 230+ views on this thread today and one reply. I thought this poll would generate some comments. For example, looking only at D1 schools, teams ranked 1,3,and 5 are in the same district for next season and only one team will make it to the 16 team State Duals. Yeah, I'm still scratching my head over that one. So far only me and texas23 think that's an insult. Having said that, I think the Owls may be overvalued in this initial poll. We lost 7 seniors from last year and jumped up several spots since the end of last season. Notre Dame is undervalued. I watched them compete at Heritage over the weekend, and they have a very good team. No comments from middle or west tn? I realize it's too early to know much, but speculation is the fun of this forum! Football is over, let's go!

Find it in the sports' section at www.chattanoogan.com if the following link does not work: http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_139977.asp

We need to get walkenvol out of retirement. He got a number of kids in the community off to a good start in the sport.

Looks like a very solid field, matcat...thanks for the post. Based on their travel time investment, I would guess that Jesuit will be the team to beat. It will be fun to see the level of competition from the other states too. I'm familiar with the Fandetti story; could you explain the Richardson name affiliation with the tournament?

Good points cbg! This thread is about programs, but I'm going to throw my opinion in with respect to individual wrestlers. I think the top kids learned the fundamentals way before middle school. I would bet most of them started in early elementary school in a youth program. There are certainly exceptions like Dean Pavlou, but I think they are rare. Back to middle school program talk...

Very well said. That is exactly where we're heading.

I had some fun with Coach Bray??™s rankings (including wrestlers to watch). I was curious as to the number of ranked wrestlers by school, and before I knew it I had a spreadsheet built. It was then really easy to sort by the number of ranked wrestlers, and then apply a team rank. There is no need to report the flaws with this ??

Congratulations Josh and the Patton family!

The two paragraphs are not mutually exclusive. I want to see the wealth spread, and the cream will rise to the top. Let's use, as an example, last years' teams with next year's classifications specific to the new district 8. Bradley had the best team in the state and would have easily been the qualifier for the State Duals. Ooltewah finished second in the Duals last year, but would not have even received an invitation to the tournament. Same with Soddy...easily a top ten team (and possibly a State Duals' placer) with no invitation. Bradley rose to the top...Ooltewah and Soddy should have be spread out into different districts...no contradiction between paragraphs! My thought process is based on the assumption that we want the best teams to compete in the State Duals. Maybe I'm the only one that sees it that way. tnko, you said 'YOU NEED TO JUST BE CONCERNED ABOUT WINNING YOUR DISTRICT AND LET EVERYONE ELSE WORRY ABOUT THEIRS'. Would you change your mind if Ronnie added Blackman and Independence to district 8 too?

Ronnie Carter? Actually I respect your perspective. I don't intend to argue for special privileges or against appropriate geographic representation. I just don't feel like we are getting value from the TSSAA with respect to the recent reclassifications for the 2009 wrestling season. These classifications were established specifically for D1 AAA Wrestling Duals...no other sports. I think it's silly to start with a clean slate and build a qualifying system for the State Duals that will send only one of three teams of which the least successful (Ooltewah) has placed in the top six for the last three years. In my view, a reclassification process should spread the wealth rather than concentrate it. I agree with you that the cream will rise to the top. The best team in the state is going to qualify for the state tournament even if they are in a district with two other top teams in the state. But I'd like to see all three of those teams in Clarksville.

It??™s true. One team will go to the State Duals??™ Tournament from each of the 16 new districts. This tournament could wind up being a joke with only one team from Region 4, District 8: Bradley, Soddy, and Ooltewah. Even if you??™re tired of seeing Bradley and Soddy succeed at the Duals, if the best teams don??™t make it Clarksville, why even have the tournament?

The ???AAA??? duals??™ classification shows 16 districts spread over 8 regions. It would be pretty simple to pull the 16 teams for the State Duals Tournament (one each) from the 16 districts. Region 4, District 8 has Bradley, Ooltewah, and Soddy. It would be a shame to leave two of those teams out of the tournament. I hope that is not the case.

Our coaches don??™t like for us to release that type of information??¦ so here you go: we return only 7 starters. Those 7 will be better this season, and we will roll out a couple of kids (that no one has seen before) that will win most of their matches. But with a number of holes left to fill, I don??™t think we will be as competitive as last year. I think Soddy will be tough this season. In fact, I wouldn??™t mention Cleveland, Blackman, Brentwood, Independence, and Ooltewah without mentioning Soddy as a contender for second place (well behind Bradley). Regarding small school, I think you might have underestimated Notre Dame. They will be competitive against most anybody they face this season. I don??™t know how many kids are back from Hixson, but last season they were very tough. The Nation should be solid as usual.

Are you saying that only 9 D1 teams could compete with MBA and only 3 or 4 of those would be favored to beat MBA? A match with any other D1 team would be a blow out i.e. uncompetitive? Please accept this communication as a formal invitation to bring the boys to Ooltewah High School. Let me know if you need directions. You might also expect an invitation from the Nation, Hixson, Greenville, Science Hill, and others.

Charlie, I'm glad to see you're still following this board. I hope UT is going well for you. Stay in touch with us!

Lot's of local and regional wrestlers tomorrow. Eleven representing nine Tennessee High Schools: Baylor Bradley Brighton Dobyns-Bennett Franklin Houston McCallie Ooltewah Soddy (3) Five representing four Georgia High Schools: Dublin Harrison Pacelli Parkview (2) And one from Hoover, Alabama

10. Regarding videotaping...if you can get away with it, do it. Ignore rule number 1 when considering whether or not to do it.

I think this is the rest of the TN High School wrestlers now at UTC: Bond Davis - Franklin Mikey Fuller - Soddy Daisy T.J. Hannah - Bolton Ben Johnson - Baylor Demetrius Johnson - Brighton Ben O'Neill - Dobyns-Bennett Daniel Shurina - Knox Catholic Cody Sliger - Ooltewah Cody Stokes - Chattanooga Central Daniel Waddell - Baylor Ulrich Winesburg - Soddy Daisy Brandon Wright - Houston Several at Carson Newman also.

Excellent. You're on a roll today maj. Keep up the good work!