Inspiring for coaches and wrestlers...

[Sommers]

Region 7 school, Clks NE competes with KY schools...

 

http://www.kentuckynewera.com/sports/prep/christian/article_e01ee458-a37b-11e4-a5c8-ff250dc1bebf.html

 

County wrestling goes to 18-3 in duals

 

Posted: Friday, January 23, 2015 9:48 pm

 

Behind seven double winners, the No. 21-ranked Christian County High Schoolwrestling team went 2-0 against Clarksville Northeast (TN) and Fort Campbell on Thursday night to sweep the duals meet and spoil the Senior Night festivities of the host Eagles in Clarksville.

 

The final tallies gave County a 38-30 win over Northeast and 51-17 win over Fort Campbell.

[Sommers]

The Animal May Appreciate This!

 

Here's an Example of where a large and small school division can build enthusiasm for smaller schools and in this case even larger schools that follow their Alum and notifies the media...

 

http://www.knoxfocus.com/2015/01/gray-comes-home-halls-invitational/

 

Gray comes home for Halls Invitational

 

 

Photo by Dan Andrews.

Page High School wresting coach has made the school program into a power house. The former Halls wrestler and assistant coach brought his Patriots to the Halls Invitational recently.

By Ken Lay

 

Wrestling has always been a family affair for Benji Gray and ironically, it was family that sent the 2000 Halls High School graduate to Nashville.

 

Gray, who wrestled for the Red Devils and was later an assistant coach at his alma mater under legendary coach Chris Vandergriff and Shannon Sayne, went to the Midstate six years ago when his wife got a job in Music City.

 

“It was my wife who got me to move to Nashville,†said Gray, who recently returned to Halls over the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday weekend as coach of the Page High School wrestling team, which participated in the Halls Invitational.

 

Gray didn’t have to wait long to find a job in Franklin.

 

“The athletic director at Page was Jack Daniels,†Gray said. “He used to be a football coach at Halls and he heard that I was coming.â€

 

Gray inherited a wrestling program that was barely surviving.

 

“They were about to cancel the program. When I got there, they only had six wrestlers,†Gray said. “They were really on the brink.â€

 

Times have changed at Page. In his six years at the school,†Gray, who was once a mascot at the University of Tennessee, has built the Patriots into a wrestling powerhouse. The Pats are 24-3 in dual meets and a top team in Class A/AA. Page currently has 24 wrestlers and is ranked No.1 by recent wrestling polls.

 

For Gray, the Halls Invitational was more than a mere homecoming.

 

“We were at Brentwood [recently] and I was talking to the coaches at McCallie and Brentwood and we were saying that [the Halls Invitational] was the toughest tournament in the state this year,†he said. “It’s tougher than our Class A/AA State Tournament.â€

 

Gray wrestled for the Red Devils but in 1999, Gray’s father Benny founded the wrestling program at Union County High School and under Benny’s leadership and with the help of other coaches through the years, Maynardville’s Patriots became a flourishing program. Benny had help from guys like Jason Moorman (now the head coach at King University), Arnie Cohn and Rudy Furman (now an assistant football coach at Hardin Valley Academy). With their work, Union County enjoyed success in the early days.

 

The one person who didn’t go to Maynardville was Benji, although he had a chance to move over the county line.

 

“During my senior season, there was talk that I might go to Union County with my dad,†Gray said. “But I stayed here at Halls and as it worked out, he was in just about every tournament that I was in. So I always got to see him.â€

 

Benji has had many positive influences in wrestling such as Sayne and Vandergriff, who is widely known as the sport’s biggest ambassador in East Tennessee. But it was Benny who got his son on the mats.

 

“He has always supported me,†Benji said of his father. “He introduced me to the sport and he was always happy to see his son have success.

 

“He always wants to see kids happy and see those kids have success.â€

 

Benny’s involvement has pretty much ceased but during his time, he was one of the sport’s most endearing personalities and colorful characters.

 

Benji inherited some of his dad’s personality. After high school, he was a Tennessee mascot and that gig netted him a full college scholarship.

 

“I was a mascot at UT and that got my education paid for,†said Benji, who is an elementary school physical education teacher at Sunset Elementary School in Nolensville.

 

The younger Gray left Halls six years ago and he said that the decision didn’t come easily. He and his wife Allison, however, have found a home in the heart of the Volunteer State.

 

His stint as a UT mascot still continues to pay dividends. He’s a Nashville Predators fan and one of his friends is a mascot for Tennessee’s National Hockey League franchise and that gets him into many Preds’ games and he’s enjoying the team’s success.

 

“I’m a big Preds fan and my friend is a mascot for them, so I really don’t have to pay for much of anything,†he said.

 

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Good Luck, I mean SKILL, to coach Gray and his 24 wrestlers heading to state Duals!

 

Soms

Edited January 26, 2015 by Sommers

[Sommers]

Anderson County goes on down to Georgia to compete with Ringgold and Gordon Lee...

 

http://www.daltondailycitizen.com/sports/prep-sports-murray-invitational-offers-tuneup-for-traditional-time/article_b1bc06d6-a448-11e4-84ef-773f514b175b.html

[Sommers]

MTSU for the first time advances to the Semi's and finishes third over Central Florida in the NCWA National Duals (NW Georgia Convention Center. Dalton, GA) tournament with Johnathan Roberts finishing 6-0... Eric Feubrbacher 13-1 so far this season and three wins away from 100 college wins against all divisions... Noteworthy considering how few matches are even wrestled compared high school

 

Great option for our mid tier* athletes that want to stay close to home

 

http://www.blueraiderwrestling.com/2014-15-schedule/

 

*and upper tier as well, for family and taking advantage of what has become the largest University enrollment in Tennessee

Edited January 26, 2015 by Sommers

[Sommers]

Resource to compare various lineups + other wrestling sites at all levels...

 

Woops, some of the links below are broken and here they are again:

 

http://www.facebook....ersityWrestling

 

www.pantherwrestlingcamps.com

 

http://www.cookevill...thwrestling.com

 

www.nashvillecatholicwrestling.com

 

www.leaguelineup.com/arlingtonbobcats

 

www.leaguelineup.com/eagleswc

 

http://www.nashville...icwrestling.com

 

www.commandowrestling.com

http://www.MMAclarksville.com

 

www.blueraiderwrestling.com

 

https://sites.google...site/tennelite/

 

http://agoge.yolasite.com/

 

www.leaguelineup.com/arlingtonbobcats

 

 

 

www.leaguelineup.com/eagleswc

 

www.midsouthwrestling.org

Edited January 26, 2015 by Sommers

[Sommers]

I want to personally thank Alan Jones, Snodgrass Dental Group and JOHNNY FLEEMAN of SUNDOWNER MANAGEMENT Group, The Brass Lantern & Legends Restaurants, amongst others that have supported wrestling through the years around the state!

 

Anyone out there who wants to throw out some Kudos to Their loyal supporters can add it to this thread any time, which should have another 15-20,000 viewers by the beginning of spring - summer wrestling 2015.

[bear cat brown]

Resource to compare various lineups + other wrestling sites at all levels...

 

Woops, some of the links below are broken and here they are again:

 

http://www.facebook....ersityWrestling

 

www.pantherwrestlingcamps.com

 

http://www.cookevill...thwrestling.com

 

www.nashvillecatholicwrestling.com

 

www.leaguelineup.com/arlingtonbobcats

 

www.leaguelineup.com/eagleswc

 

http://www.nashville...icwrestling.com

 

www.commandowrestling.com

http://www.MMAclarksville.com

 

www.blueraiderwrestling.com

 

https://sites.google...site/tennelite/

 

http://agoge.yolasite.com/

 

www.leaguelineup.com/arlingtonbobcats

 

 

 

www.leaguelineup.com/eagleswc

 

www.midsouthwrestling.org

Are you in jail ?

Who da heck has this much time on their hands besides convicts..

 

Bcb iii

[Sommers]

Not right now BCB, probably belong there for one thing or another however,,, but hey feel fortunate to have the time anyway

 

Now, From Luther..

 

Monday, January 26, 2015

TENNESSEE HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING POLL

Luther Killian

TENNESSEE HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING POLL

 

Now in its 23rd year, The Poll is primarily a measure of dual meet strength with some consideration to individual tournament strength. Votes are cast by a state-wide panel of high school wrestling coaches and are based on a maximum Power Ranking of 100%.

 

STATE POLL: RANK SCHOOL POWER RANKING LAST WEEK

 

1 BAYLOR 100 1

 

2 FATHER RYAN 90 2

 

3 CLEVELAND 83 4

 

4 BRADLEY CENTRAL 77 3

 

5 MONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY 64 5

 

6 WILSON CENTRAL 61 6

 

7 MCCALLIE 37 7

 

8 SODDY DAISY 34 10

 

9 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 33 8

 

10 BEECH 32 9

 

11 PIGEON FORGE 24 11

 

12 SIEGEL 5 ---

 

Others receiving votes: ARLINGTON, BRENTWOOD, DOBYNS BENNETT, HALLS, SUMMIT, TULLAHOMA

Edited January 26, 2015 by Sommers

[Sommers]

How Many of youins out there remember these folks, one with UTC and Choo Choo Town HS Coaching + Bama ties...

 

http://hooversun.com/sports/wrestling-with-fate122/

 

Some Serious SE Area Wrestling History here and much more...

 

Wrestling with fate

by David Knox January 26, 2015

RSSPrint

 

Hoover High School wrestling coach Jacob Gaydosh (bottom) is the son of Hall of Fame wrestling coach Steve Gaydosh (top). Before wrestling, Jacob originally aspired to be an ESPN broadcaster. Photo by Karim Shamsi-Basha. 

Steve Gaydosh is the winningest high school wrestling coach in Alabama. In his 33 years as Vestavia Hills coach, he’s won 12 state championships and coached runner-up teams eight times.

He has mentored 84 individual champions, including son Jonathan Gaydosh and son Jacob Gaydosh — who now coaches rival Hoover High.

Yes, it’s a family thing for the Gaydoshes.

Truth be told, the area wrestling community is sort of like family.

“In wrestling, since we compete at tournaments where we’re all in the gym all weekend together all year long, it’s almost like I feel I’ve coached all these guys, since I’ve coached against them since they were kids,†Steve Gaydosh said.

Former Hoover High coach Steve Knutson was one of those Gaydosh was close to.

And that’s how Jacob Gaydosh ended up coaching wrestling at Hoover. Knutson called Steve and asked if Jacob would be interested in joining his staff as an assistant. 

“Jacob was right there when I got the call, and I asked him if he was interested and he said yes.†

After two years as an assistant, Jacob took over as head coach when Knutson left to go to graduate school.

The younger Gaydosh, now 36, had gone to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to wrestle, but his real dream was to be in sports broadcasting — specifically dreaming of ultimately landing at ESPN. But after a period of time interning for the CBS affiliate in Chattanooga and doing Friday night football highlights and working weekends, he came to the realization that having that kind of a career and a family wouldn’t jibe. 

“I had no desire to ever coach,†Jacob said. But he helped out at a Chattanooga high school his last semester at UTC. Then he helped his dad some at Vestavia. He liked it enough that he decided to give teaching and coaching a shot. 

Though he had enjoyed his internship at the station in Chattanooga, he also saw how much time the sports anchors spent away from home. 

“I said if I do that and have a family one day I’d have a really hard time seeing my kids, and seeing them in athletics or band or whatever they did.â€

And he has four children now.  

“My wife and kids come to most of our matches and stuff.â€

Hoover, which has a rich wrestling history with five state championships, is in something of a rebuilding mode. Gaydosh is working on getting the feeder programs — youth leagues and middle schools — into good shape again, since he knows that is the way to continued success. He especially wants to get the youth league numbers up. 

“I’m a Cubs fan,†he said, “so I use that as an analogy. Let’s get the farm system going and let’s go from there. For us long term, we’ve got to get the guys at the middle school program recruiting for us and teaching what we want them to teach, same techniques. We’ve got two guys at the middle schools doing a great job with that. We’re getting the youth league going again, so hopefully in the next three, four years, it’ll be like it was 10, 15 years ago. That’s why Vestavia and Thompson are so good. 

“Hopefully, we can compete for a state championship in two to three years.â€

The elder Gaydosh is justifiably proud of his son.

“He’s doing a great job. It’s a great situation. And that’s one thing I like about him being at Hoover, because my grandkids are around.â€

That has its drawbacks, too. 

“We competed a couple of years ago against each other, and it was a really close match but we won,†the Rebels coach said. “And my granddaughter came up and said, ‘Congratulations, Pop, but I wanted my daddy to win.’â€

What is it about wrestling that has its grip on the Gaydoshes?

“Who you are comes out,†Steve Gaydosh said. “Who you are as a person comes out on the mat. If you’ve got a weakness, it’s going to come out. If you’re going to be really good, you’ve got to do everything right. The best wrestlers are great students too. It’s about character, discipline, habits that you’ve developed in life, that’s what makes the difference between winning and losing a one-point match in overtime.

“Ultimately, what we’re teaching these guys are to develop habits that will make them successful the rest of their lives. Get a good job, be a good father, a good husband.â€

[Sommers]

More

Wrestling

History

Made...

 

http://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/2015/01/26/state-wrestling-duals-held-friday-saturday/22382751/

 

Greenbrier gets first taste of state wrestling

 

Sam Brown, sdbrown@tennessean.com 8:51 p.m. CST January 26, 2015

 

(Photo: File)

 

There will be a new face among Midstate teams in the TSSAA State Dual Wrestling Championships in Franklin on Friday and Saturday.

 

Greenbrier will compete in the state duals for the first time, with the fourth-seeded Bobcats in the Division I A-AA bracket along with Martin Luther King Magnet (seeded fifth), Pigeon Forge, Notre Dame, Alcoa, Hixson, Forrest and Greeneville.

 

After a bye in the first round of the Region 6 A-AA Tournament, Greenbrier defeated Cheatham County before taking down Harpeth in the final.

 

Bobcats coach Josh Reynolds, whose squad had big late-season wins over Springfield and defending region champ White House, said “it means a lot to the seniors†to show off their talents in the duals for the first time.

 

“They know where we came from and now where we’re at,†he said. “And it’s exciting for them.â€

 

Reynolds said he thinks his team stands a good chance in the duals, but can’t overlook defending state champion Pigeon Forge. The bracket has the top four teams from last year getting seeds 1-4 if they qualified. As last year’s champion, Pigeon Forge is the top seed.

 

“They’re (Pigeon Forge) really tough, I think they will be one of the toughest teams there. They have a very experienced team and they are probably favored again,†he said. “You could lose all your starters and come back be the No. 1 team but really not be the best team there. I don’t think that’s the case with Pigeon Forge.â€

 

Summit the High School will take on top-seeded Cleveland in the AAA bracket, which also has Tullahoma, Arlington, Dobyns-Bennett, Gibbs, Heritage, McGavock, Bradley Central, Tennessee, Siegel, Knoxville Halls, William Blount, Houston County and Wilson Central.

 

The Division II bracket features top-seeded Baylor vs. No. 5 seed Brentwood Academy, No. 2 seed Montgomery Bell Academy vs. No. 6 St. Benedict at Auburndale, No. 3 Christian Brothers vs. No. 7 McCallie School and No. 4 Briarcrest Christian vs. No. 8 Father Ryan.

 

Getting through Baylor is Brentwood Academy’s main focus.

 

“We’re going to have a tough match that first match against Baylor,†coach Rodney Crash (Cash) said. “But after that we should do fairly well.â€

 

His message to his seniors is clear: “You need to go out and give your all because this is the last time around. Some of them won’t wrestle again after the state tournament.â€

 

Held at Williamson County Expo Center, the state duals begin at 3:30 p.m. Friday with quarterfinal contests for A-AA and DII.

 

Class AAA round of 16 matches are scheduled for 5:30 p.m., while the AAA championship quarterfinals, A-AA championship semifinals and DII championship semifinals will begin around 7:30.

 

The tourney resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday with consolation matches in each division. The AAA championship semifinals will begin around 1 p.m. Saturday followed by championship matches at 7.

 

Reach Sam Brown at 615-258-8232 and on Twitter @SamBrownTN.1

 

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

 

Congrats Greenbrier, MLK & to Forest!

+

Some of those who usually goes to Franklin to watch and dream of being there ... Congrats to all... in all divisions - Most Notably... Arlington, Summit, Siegel, Dobyns-Bennett, Gibbs, McGavock, William Blount and all others

Edited January 27, 2015 by Sommers

[facenthecrowd]

Soms, I am embarrassed you included this article in this post.

 

For those of you that do not know, this is the first wrestling article in the Tennessean newspaper this year and it is about Greenbrier wrestling.  I do think it is great they got the coverage and are going to the State Dual; however, is this really what the first article should be about?  Also, they interview the BA coach and how once they get past Baylor, they will do fairly well.  How well will they do when they are #5 coming out of the Middle/East Region?  I do not know.  Also, the writer says Father Ryan is seeded #8.  I guess Father Ryan could be the Cinderella of the state tournament.  Is the writer serious or was he on something?  The writer looked at the bracket and saw the match number and assumed the team on the top line for each match that this is their seed.  Embarrassing.  Any article out of Chattanooga beats this on substance and facts.  I do not understand for the life of me how the city of Nashville and a newspaper the size of the Tennessean has such poor coverage.  This really is disgraceful.

Edited January 27, 2015 by facenthecrowd

[Sommers]

Face, go through the 400 or so posts.

 

 

More Notoriety for TN Wrestling...

 

http://www.wjhl.com/story/27944259/king-wrestlers-ranked-in-us-wrestling-rankings

 

King wrestlers ranked in U.S. Wrestling rankings

 

By Kenny Hawkins, Sports

 

BRISTOL, TN -  With the college season winding down, many of the King University women's wrestling will continue to compete at the international level. U.S.A. Wrestling recently posted their first rankings for the year, and numerous Tornado were ranked at their weight class, headlined by senior Sarah Hildebrandt who is ranked second at 55 kilograms.

 

 

During the collegiate season, Hildebrandt has posted a perfect 13-0 record, including a 6-0 mark on technical falls and 4-0 record on falls. Over the past year in international competitions, the Granger, Ind., native has posted runner-up finishes at the U.S. Open last April and at the World Team Trials Phase II last July. Wrestling at 55 kilograms she also helped Team U.S.A to a first place finish at the Grand Prix of Spain last summer. Megan Black was also ranked seventh at the 55 kilogram weight class.

 

At 48 kilograms, Tornado newcomer Breonnah Neal is ranked 10th. She has posted an 18-2 record during her first collegiate season donning the Scarlet and Navy. The sophomore has registered an 8-0 mark on technical falls and gong 5-0 in decisions.

 

 

The Tornado grapplers are ranked at 53 kilograms, led by Haley Augello who is ranked fourth. Augello is an impressive 17-0 on the collegiate season, going 13-0 on technical falls. Last summer, the sophomore took third at the Senior Pan American Championships and competed in five international events last year. Samantha Klingel and Hanna Grisewood were also ranked at 53 kilograms for the Tornado. Klingel was seventh, and Grisewood was eighth. Grisewood has posted a 13-4 mark this year, going 5-0 on technical falls for the Tornado during the collegiate season. Last year, the redshirt sophomore took third at University National and fourth at the U.S. Open.

 

 

Newcomers to the King program, Forrest Molinari and Jessi Kee are ranked eighth and 10th at 60 kilograms, respectively. Kee has been impressive in her freshmen season at King, posting a 16-2 record, including a 7-1 mark on technical falls while Molinari boasts a 17-1 overall record and 7-0 mark on falls.

 

The final two Tornado to be ranked are seniors Amanda Hendey and Julia Salata, who are both ranked third. At 63 kilograms, Hendey has gone 17-0 during the collegiate season, earning nine wins by fall. She had a solid international season last year, finishing first at University Nationals last spring and earned second place finishes at the NYAC Holiday International and the University World Championships. Salata wrestles at 69 kilograms and is also undefeated on the collegiate season, posting a 17-0 mark with 12 wins via technical fall. The Canton, Mich., native also turned in a first place finish at University Nationals last year, and took second at the World Team Trials in May. She also took third at the U.S. Open, University World Championships and NYAC Bill Farrell International last year.

 

 

Former Tornado wrestler Alli Ragan is ranked first at 58 kilograms. Ragan was the first King women's wrestler to make the U.S. Senior National Team, earning a spot on the squad each of the last two years.

 

King will be in action on Tuesday night in the Student Center Complex when they host Life University on Senior Night. The dual is slated to start at 7:00 p.m.

 

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Tricitiessports.com wrestling coverage...

 

http://www.tricities.com/gallery/featured/collection_6dbe4610-a5bf-11e4-8970-bb47de6e0d17.html