My final thoughts on the 2018 State Tournament

[durdon]

6 hours ago, cbg said:

It would be fun to see Beech and McCallie in a dual with both teams having good lower weights.

If we had an all combined division tournament you would have had both Palmer and Chittum in the finals at 20 and at 26 it would have been Noah and Whitworth.   6 it would be Bates and Morris but Uhorchuk is a wildcard that would most likely beat one of them to make the finals.  At 13, Emory most likely makes the finals.  

There is a ton of talent at those lower weights between those 2 teams.  Head to head matchup between both teams at the low weights would be a lot of fun. .  

When they wrestled at the Cleveland Duals, McCallie didn’t have Chittum and they put Braman at 6 so we didn’t get any of these head to head match ups.  

Edited February 20, 2018 by durdon

[Twofdr]

11 hours ago, Twofdr said:

To be fair...from the Halls cheering section.....it was the antics of the asst coach...ripping off his jacket...stomping his shoes onto the mat, as if he was about to go after the referee, slamming his butt down in his chair, then, jumping up again...like he had a new epiphany on something that he just realized would change the minds of the call on the mat.....that got the crowd riled up. 

Most were yelling at him....he flat out lost it, embarrassed himself (or at least should have felt that way).

Trust me, no one believes in fighting for your wrestler, more than me.....but....it needs to be the Head Coach OR the Asst Coach...not both....which ever coach that is able to keep his composure the best. Whichever coach that can lead his wrestlers, and young men, by example, should be the one arguing. We all lose it, once in awhile...but that wasn’t a pretty display. I guess we can give him a pass, this time..big stage, and all...but a little self-reflection may be in order.

Gabe did exactly what he was told to do, and frankly, exactly what he should have done....until it was final.  I thought Gabe handled it just fine. He was in a horrible position, for a young man.

Well done, Gabe.  If he didn’t shake his hand after all of that...and I thought for sure he did....earlier.....it was simply and oversight, not a conscious act.

Again, just my opinion.

Again, to be completely fair...I just re-watched the 113 match...Gabe most definitely refused to shake WCs hand.

I still won’t indict the young man, here....I will put the blame on asst coach’s antics and say Gabe just caught up in it moment, as well....and simply followed his lead. This may be just what I want to believe, lol

[FargoStrut]

Twofdr: yes, you are correct in that initially Gabe does pull his hand back and refused to shake Hunters hand(7:34-7:35 mark of film) after Borders tries to initiate the handshake. But, if you watch til the  end when the comotion/discussion has ended, Gabe does shake Borders hand, MAYBE EVEN TWICE). First time (I think, but difficult to be 100%) is at 9:40 mark and the 2nd time( 100%) is at the 9:48 time of the film. Just pointing out what I saw.

[Twofdr]

4 hours ago, FargoStrut said:

Twofdr: yes, you are correct in that initially Gabe does pull his hand back and refused to shake Hunters hand(7:34-7:35 mark of film) after Borders tries to initiate the handshake. But, if you watch til the  end when the comotion/discussion has ended, Gabe does shake Borders hand, MAYBE EVEN TWICE). First time (I think, but difficult to be 100%) is at 9:40 mark and the 2nd time( 100%) is at the 9:48 time of the film. Just pointing out what I saw.

I did stop at the 7:34 mark... thanks for pointing that out...either way, would never blame Gabe, the way things spiraled out of control.

Also, thanks for introducing yourself at the tourney, and thanks for your kinds words for Chase....it really meant a lot.

We banter on here, so much....but deep down....we all wants best for the sport we all love.....and you taking the time to find us, was outstanding.

You will have us in your corner, anytime.

[FargoStrut]

14 minutes ago, Twofdr said:

I did stop at the 7:34 mark... thanks for pointing that out...either way, would never blame Gabe, the way things spiraled out of control.

Also, thanks for introducing yourself at the tourney, and thanks for your kinds words for Chase....it really meant a lot.

We banter on here, so much....but deep down....we all wants best for the sport we all love.....and you taking the time to find us, was outstanding.

You will have us in your corner, anytime.

No problem, I like meeting new people, especially GOOD people. FYI- The Apple (Chase) didn't fall too far from the tree. Both of y'all are class acts and very respectable people.  Just wanted to associate a face with a name. Hopefully my boys will eventually be half as successful as Chase has been on the mat, but MUCH more importantly, be the type of Man and Person that you and Mrs. Brown have raised.

[MDLC]

19 hours ago, durdon said:

If we had an all combined division tournament you would have had both Palmer and Chittum in the finals at 20 and at 26 it would have been Noah and Whitworth.   6 it would be Bates and Morris but Uhorchuk is a wildcard that would most likely beat one of them to make the finals.  At 13, Emory most likely makes the finals.  

There is a ton of talent at those lower weights between those 2 teams.  Head to head matchup between both teams at the low weights would be a lot of fun. .  

When they wrestled at the Cleveland Duals, McCallie didn’t have Chittum and they put Braman at 6 so we didn’t get any of these head to head match ups.  

If there was combined division state tournament, not sure Whitworth or Emory would have been in finals.  Dezember from LCHS pinned Whitworth this season and Williams of LCHS beat Emory as well..  Not sure many are aware of the strength of LCHS lower weights.  They finished 4th and 3rd respectively.

[slingshot]

On 2/19/2018 at 8:28 AM, WrestlingGod said:

What a season. What a state tournament! Ups and downs. Between seniors missing the podium and freshman winning it all this years state tournament really did have it all. Here are some of my thoughts on this seasons grand cow palace finale.

 

1. Region 6 ran away with it this year with 4 right behind them and then 7. I heard someone say that this was the first year in twenty some odd years that Bradley didn't have a finalist. I haven't fact checked that so I'm not sure on the accuracy there but if so than that is crazy. Cleveland had two finalists and Soddy had only one medal. I'm not here bashing region 4 by any means. I'm saying that, while it may have taken some years, it would appear as if the rest of the state is finally starting to step up their level of competition to meet region 4. Now that's not to say that Cleveland isn't the favorite again next year, because they obviously are. I'm simply saying next year may finally be the year that another team steps in and brings home a state championship.

 

2. Wow, that's really all I can say about all the entertaining finals matches. 113, 126, 132, 138, 145, 182, 220, all of these final matches were so close and if they were rewrestled im not sure I could pick the same kid to win twice with any certainty.

 

3. With the above said, 113 was ABSOLUTELY the right call. The Peterson for the win was awesome! As for the Bartlett coaching staff I get it, its the state finals, your kid is a senior, it was a really close call, they were for sure right to question the call. However, I didn't like seeing the kid refuse to shake the Wilson Central kids hand at first, and I really hated seeing the coaching staff refuse to leave the match until they were told to leave. It just didn't have any class. You have to lose graciously too. Take a note from Chase Brown and the way he handled defeat. He hugged Cameron Henderson, walked over to the Smyrna coaches and gave them a hug, then walked over to his coaches and hugged them too and walked away. To me, that showed class. He gave up the takedown at the end and then another takedown at the beginning of overtime and had his dream crushed in a span of 20 seconds and two takedowns. But he still gave the other wrestler the respect he had earned. Bravo Chase.

 

4. I really loved all the diversity in the finals. 152 and 160 had kids in the finals that weren't even on the final rankings and 113 was won by a kid that wasn't ranked! That's awesome! To see kids show up under everybody's radar and go all the way to the end is truly amazing and inspiring.

 

That's about what I got guys. Time to get fat and come back ready for freestyle and Greco! See you in a couple months. And as always GO SPARTANS!

In fact, Bradley has had at LEAST one State CHAMPION every year since 1993. (7 years before this year's Seniors were BORN!)

[durdon]

1 hour ago, MDLC said:

If there was combined division state tournament, not sure Whitworth or Emory would have been in finals.  Dezember from LCHS pinned Whitworth this season and Williams of LCHS beat Emory as well..  Not sure many are aware of the strength of LCHS lower weights.  They finished 4th and 3rd respectively.

You are kidding me if you think that Whitworth would not make the finals of 126 p all divisions tournament.  This is not even up for debate..  

Yes, Luke caught and pinned Alex in Alex’s 2nd match of this season.  Great job by Luke and stupid freshman mistake by Whitworth who was up 4-1 at that point. But since that first day of the season, Whitworth has beaten the AAA 120 p state champ Brayden Palmer giving him his only loss of the season.  He has beaten D2 132p state Champion Garrett Bowers,  he has beaten the 3rd placer at AAA 126p Bryce Pond who beat Luke in the ¾ match of state tourney 5-1. And he has beaten AAA 120p 4th Joseph Gaines.  

Is there anyone else in the state that can beat Palmer, Pond and Bowers???? 

Plus Whitworth won the McCallie Invitational, and Prep Slam and he is currently ranked 4th in the nation by National Prep.  As an 8th grader and 9th Grader Alex has lost a combined 3 matches and has won back to back state titles. 

 

Varsity - James Whitworth (Mccallie School) over Lucas Gaines (Stewarts Creek) (Fall 4:27)

Varsity - James Whitworth (Mccallie School) over Bryce Pond (Cleveland) (SV-1 6-4)

 

12/09/2017

Varsity - James Whitworth (Mccallie School) over Brayden Palmer (Beech Senior) (Dec 5-4

 

02/02/2018

Varsity - James Whitworth (Mccallie School) over Garrett Bowers (Christian Brothers) (Dec 7-4

 

Emory on the other hand is not at Alex’s level and he started his first high school season off extremely poorly losing 3 of his first 4 matches including the 9-7 loss to Williams and the 11-9 loss to Borders. No excuse but Emory did wrestle up a weight class for the Dual team that day which is why he even wrestled Williams but it was a very poor start to his high school career. 

As for 113p Emory beat the number #3 at AAA 113p  Devaney this summer at Science Hill 11-0. He beat the #4 in AAA 113p Kenny Harless 5-1.

Plus he beat Holloway 9-1 in D2 state finals. 

12/02/2017

Varsity - Emory Taylor (Mccallie School) over Kenny Harless (Stewarts Creek) (Dec 5-1)

Bottomline is Emory lost a tight one to AAA 113p State Champ in his first match of his high school career. Has beaten the number 3 and number 4 in AAA and he has beaten everyone in D2 convincingly now.  That is why I said most likely he would make the finals at 113.     

 

Edited February 21, 2018 by durdon

[Bump11]

2 hours ago, MDLC said:

If there was combined division state tournament, not sure Whitworth or Emory would have been in finals.  Dezember from LCHS pinned Whitworth this season and Williams of LCHS beat Emory as well..  Not sure many are aware of the strength of LCHS lower weights.  They finished 4th and 3rd respectively.

Lol. I know you’re an LC homer but come on. Let’s be realistic here. I promise you there is 0 doubt that Whitworth would be in the finals opposite Palmer. If Whitworth and Dezember wrestled 10 more times Alex wins 10/10. He made a mistake and got caught, he did not get outwrestled by any means. He’s one of the best not just in Tennessee but in the country. Also when there are only 2 good kids, there’s no “strength at the lower weights”. 4th and 3rd? Try 3 state champs for Beech and 4 state champs plus a runner up for McCallie. Both Beech and McCallie would sweep them from 106-132 every time. And a lot of other teams, like Cleveland or Wilson Central or Science Hill, would win atleast 4 of those 5 if not all 5. Not trying to take away from Dom or Luke but just saying you are getting in way over your head by making those statements. 

Edited February 21, 2018 by Bump11

[Twofdr]

8 hours ago, durdon said:

You are kidding me if you think that Whitworth would not make the finals of 126 p all divisions tournament.  This is not even up for debate..  

Yes, Luke caught and pinned Alex in Alex’s 2nd match of this season.  Great job by Luke and stupid freshman mistake by Whitworth who was up 4-1 at that point. But since that first day of the season, Whitworth has beaten the AAA 120 p state champ Brayden Palmer giving him his only loss of the season.  He has beaten D2 132p state Champion Garrett Bowers,  he has beaten the 3rd placer at AAA 126p Bryce Pond who beat Luke in the ¾ match of state tourney 5-1. And he has beaten AAA 120p 4th Joseph Gaines.  

Is there anyone else in the state that can beat Palmer, Pond and Bowers???? 

Plus Whitworth won the McCallie Invitational, and Prep Slam and he is currently ranked 4th in the nation by National Prep.  As an 8th grader and 9th Grader Alex has lost a combined 3 matches and has won back to back state titles. 

 

Varsity - James Whitworth (Mccallie School) over Lucas Gaines (Stewarts Creek) (Fall 4:27)

Varsity - James Whitworth (Mccallie School) over Bryce Pond (Cleveland) (SV-1 6-4)

 

12/09/2017

Varsity - James Whitworth (Mccallie School) over Brayden Palmer (Beech Senior) (Dec 5-4

 

02/02/2018

Varsity - James Whitworth (Mccallie School) over Garrett Bowers (Christian Brothers) (Dec 7-4

 

Emory on the other hand is not at Alex’s level and he started his first high school season off extremely poorly losing 3 of his first 4 matches including the 9-7 loss to Williams and the 11-9 loss to Borders. No excuse but Emory did wrestle up a weight class for the Dual team that day which is why he even wrestled Williams but it was a very poor start to his high school career. 

As for 113p Emory beat the number #3 at AAA 113p  Devaney this summer at Science Hill 11-0. He beat the #4 in AAA 113p Kenny Harless 5-1.

Plus he beat Holloway 9-1 in D2 state finals. 

12/02/2017

Varsity - Emory Taylor (Mccallie School) over Kenny Harless (Stewarts Creek) (Dec 5-1)

Bottomline is Emory lost a tight one to AAA 113p State Champ in his first match of his high school career. Has beaten the number 3 and number 4 in AAA and he has beaten everyone in D2 convincingly now.  That is why I said most likely he would make the finals at 113.     

 

Agree completely about Alex. 

The thing I think most D2 people miss out on completely concerning the AAA State tourney is the 3 days of weigh-ins....it is just ridiculously brutal. Both physically, and mentally. To say that a kid would surely make the final is just impossible.

heck, everybody said it about Rippey, two years in row....the flu happens.

i know these conversations are for fun.....but there is just no way to know who the heck would make the finals.....

heck....before you even start talking about this.....you’d have to see what ridiculous unseeded draw that the kids would get....not to mention, what region these kids would be in....heck some might be in same region and 2nd or 3rd place finisher.

Now, if we are just talking about Grand Championships, that another matter.

Just can’t compare, the results of an 8-man bracket vs 32-man.

Should go back and check everyone’s pre-tourney picks...that will tell how crazy things can be.

Congrats on you stud, Scott.

Chase and I were super proud of him! Good luck at upcoming tourney.

 

 

[FootballFan51]

9 hours ago, slingshot said:

In fact, Bradley has had at LEAST one State CHAMPION every year since 1993. (7 years before this year's Seniors were BORN!)

That is an amazing stat!  Ben Smith is a great coach & even better person. Bradley will always work hard & compete.

Right now, Cleveland wrestling (kids club to high school) is a well-funded machine that shows no sign of slowing down.  

[StarRaider]

1 hour ago, FootballFan51 said:

That is an amazing stat!  Ben Smith is a great coach & even better person. Bradley will always work hard & compete.

Right now, Cleveland wrestling (kids club to high school) is a well-funded machine that shows no sign of slowing down.  

Agree that that streak was amazing (and about Coach Smith), actually went to the TSSAA site to see for myself.    I guess all great things come to an end.

I was told that Lake Forest dominated the middle school season, so TBSFMAW will probably start a new streak sooner rather than later.