Top 20 Programs In The State (all divisions)

[JSamson7]

I'm a Maryville guy and not sure I'd have us in the top 20. This was our peek year and I doubt your assessment of us always having good upperweights is going to continue.

[Rasslinking]

Past 10 years

Cleveland

Baylor

Bradley

Wilson Central

Pigeon Forge

Father Ryan

 

Only teams who have been consistently relevant over the last decade.

[cbg]

It appears to be a very good list:  Yes, I would change things up slightly but not much.  Here is my top 5 plus a sleeper.

1.  Baylor:  they have all of the components in place to be a Top 25 team every year provided they stay healthy.  Personally, I don't like the fact that they are basically going out and getting kids to fill in the gaps and could care less about developing the kids that are walking the halls of The Baylor School.  I am going to rank them over Cleveland due to the number of kids that they have had to sign to wrestle in colleges other than UTC.  

2.  Cleveland:  Al Miller began the championship parade back in the early 80's by embracing Greco & Freestyle while hauling kids all over the country to wrestle in national tournaments.  Let's not forget that it was much more difficult for those early 80's teams to win state titles because they had to beat not only the public schools but those big bad private schools of Baylor, McCallie and Father Ryan.  Former Cleveland wrestler Allan Jones (reported net worth of 500 million) has pumped in well over 1 million dollars over the years to the program for not only facilities but to pay salaries for coaches.  As long as Allan Jones continues to have his hand and money in the program, I don't see Cleveland going backwards.  

3.  Father Ryan:  what Pat Simpson and his coaching staff have done since he became the head coach during the 1979-80 season is nothing short of remarkable.  Considering the fact that Father Ryan is the only private school in Middle Tennessee that does not have a middle school it is imperative that the Nashville Catholic program that was started by former Father Ryan state champion Tommy Bateman continue to funnel wrestlers into the Father Ryan program.  Another major obstacle that Pat Simpson has overcome is the fact that for many years the financial aid department at Father Ryan was only willing to provide 50% of the financial aid that families qualified for.  This is one of the reasons you see Catholic Students from Middle Tennessee attending schools other than Father Ryan.  It's often times less expensive for a Catholic family to send their child to private schools other than Father Ryan. Considering the fact that Pat Simpson has publicly stated that he wants to coach well into his 70's I don't see a whole lot changing in the near future other than the names on the roster.  Now if Father Ryan ever builds a middle school (there is serious talk about this topic) all bets are off as I could see Father Ryan getting much better.

4.  Bradley Central:  it must be both frustrating and difficult to be the perennial number two team in both D1 and your own county.  If Bradley Central had the same financial resources as Cleveland it would be a true war for the number one program in D1.  While Allan Jones has provided some funds to BC it's nothing close and it never will be close to what he has provided Cleveland.  

5.  Signal Mountain:  the combination of coaching by Houston Clements and the Uhorchuk brothers has worked well together.  The real key will be when the Uhorchuk brothers all graduate will Signal Mountain have the ability to keep progressing?  The mark of great programs is that they reload and don't have down cycles.

Sleeping Giant:  The McCallie School.  If the administration at The McCallie School ever decides to get back into the business of winning state championships in wrestling, you can turn out the lights as the party will be over.  Simply put McCallie has the money and facilities to win multiple state championships and be a Top 25 program but for whatever reason the administration has not assisted the wrestling program in being successful.  I will stand by my previous statements that if McCallie would put Ethan Reeve in charge of the Blue Tornado wrestling program we would see immediate results.  The real question is if the kids and families would be prepared to become workaholics like Ethan would require of all his wrestlers.  While people may have not liked their style the coaching combination of Ethan Reeve and Gordon Connel was the best coaching staff we have ever seen in Tennessee.

Edited April 5, 2023 by cbg

[Rasslinking]

Why does it matter where they go if they never see the mat? If we are talking about “wrestling productivity “

Who does Baylor have wrestling in college?

Cleveland has had 3 kids recently go to UTC, start for them, and graduate. One more starting for West Point, and another projected to start for Cornell next year. Logan Fowler most likely to sign with a high profile school with recent success, and Bentley Ellison going to Campbell.

 

Edited April 5, 2023 by Rasslinking

[PurplePanther]

22 minutes ago, cbg said:

It appears to be a very good list:  Yes, I would change things up slightly but not much.  Here is my top 5 plus a sleeper.

1.  Baylor:  they have all of the components in place to be a Top 25 team every year provided they stay healthy.  Personally, I don't like the fact that they are basically going out and getting kids to fill in the gaps and could care less about developing the kids that are walking the halls of The Baylor School.  I am going to rank them over Cleveland due to the number of kids that they have had to sign to wrestle in colleges other than UTC.  

2.  Cleveland:  Al Miller began the championship parade back in the early 80's by embracing Greco & Freestyle while hauling kids all over the country to wrestle in national tournaments.  Let's not forget that it was much more difficult for those early 80's teams to win state titles because they had to beat not only the public schools but those big bad private schools of Baylor, McCallie and Father Ryan.  Former Cleveland wrestler Allan Jones (reported net worth of 500 million) has pumped in well over 1 million dollars over the years to the program for not only facilities but to pay salaries for coaches.  As long as Allan Jones continues to have his hand and money in the program, I don't see Cleveland going backwards.  

3.  Father Ryan:  what Pat Simpson and his coaching staff have done since he became the head coach during the 1979-80 season is nothing short of remarkable.  Considering the fact that Father Ryan is the only private school in Middle Tennessee that does not have a middle school it is imperative that the Nashville Catholic program that was started by former Father Ryan state champion Tommy Bateman continue to funnel wrestlers into the Father Ryan program.  Another major obstacle that Pat Simpson has overcome is the fact that for many years the financial aid department at Father Ryan was only willing to provide 50% of the financial aid that families qualified for.  This is one of the reasons you see Catholic Students from Middle Tennessee attending schools other than Father Ryan.  It's often times less expensive for a Catholic family to send their child to private schools other than Father Ryan. Considering the fact that Pat Simpson has publicly stated that he wants to coach well into his 70's I don't see a whole lot changing in the near future other than the names on the roster.  Now if Father Ryan ever builds a middle school (there is serious talk about this topic) all bets are off as I could see Father Ryan getting much better.

4.  Bradley Central:  it must be both frustrating and difficult to be the perennial number two team in both D1 and your own county.  If Bradley Central had the same financial resources as Cleveland it would be a true war for the number one program in D1.  While Allan Jones has provided some funds to BC it's nothing close and it never will be close to what he has provided Cleveland.  

5.  Signal Mountain:  the combination of coaching by Houston Clements and the Uhorchuk brothers has worked well together.  The real key will be when the Uhorchuk brothers all graduate will Signal Mountain have the ability to keep progressing?  The mark of great programs is that they reload and don't have down cycles.

Sleeping Giant:  The McCallie School.  If the administration at The McCallie School ever decides to get back into the business of winning state championships in wrestling, you can turn out the lights as the party will be over.  Simply put McCallie has the money and facilities to win multiple state championships and be a Top 25 program but for whatever reason the administration has not assisted the wrestling program in being successful.  I will stand by my previous statements that if McCallie would put Ethan Reeve in charge of the Blue Tornado wrestling program we would see immediate results.  The real question is if the kids and families would be prepared to become workaholics like Ethan would require of all his wrestlers.  While people may have not liked their style the coaching combination of Ethan Reeve and Gordon Connel was the best coaching staff we have ever seen in Tennessee.

Add the Fishers from MBA and Nashville Catholic had 5 state champs this year.  They are a great program for the area!

[JBoskenUSAW]

31 minutes ago, cbg said:

4.  Bradley Central:  it must be both frustrating and difficult to be the perennial number two team in both D1 and your own county.  If Bradley Central had the same financial resources as Cleveland it would be a true war for the number one program in D1.  While Allan Jones has provided some funds to BC it's nothing close and it never will be close to what he has provided Cleveland.  

 

I’ll bite.

Bradley gets the EXACT funding we get at Cleveland. 

 

https://www.chattanoogan.com/2022/11/28/460045/Logsdons-Youth-Wrestlers-Get-Jones.aspx

 

You really think money is the reason why Cleveland has had the edge over Bradley?

I mean I could understand you saying that about  ANY other program but not Bradley ha.

[cowcatcherII]

46 minutes ago, cbg said:

It appears to be a very good list:  Yes, I would change things up slightly but not much.  Here is my top 5 plus a sleeper.

1.  Baylor:  they have all of the components in place to be a Top 25 team every year provided they stay healthy.  Personally, I don't like the fact that they are basically going out and getting kids to fill in the gaps and could care less about developing the kids that are walking the halls of The Baylor School.  I am going to rank them over Cleveland due to the number of kids that they have had to sign to wrestle in colleges other than UTC.  

2.  Cleveland:  Al Miller began the championship parade back in the early 80's by embracing Greco & Freestyle while hauling kids all over the country to wrestle in national tournaments.  Let's not forget that it was much more difficult for those early 80's teams to win state titles because they had to beat not only the public schools but those big bad private schools of Baylor, McCallie and Father Ryan.  Former Cleveland wrestler Allan Jones (reported net worth of 500 million) has pumped in well over 1 million dollars over the years to the program for not only facilities but to pay salaries for coaches.  As long as Allan Jones continues to have his hand and money in the program, I don't see Cleveland going backwards.  

3.  Father Ryan:  what Pat Simpson and his coaching staff have done since he became the head coach during the 1979-80 season is nothing short of remarkable.  Considering the fact that Father Ryan is the only private school in Middle Tennessee that does not have a middle school it is imperative that the Nashville Catholic program that was started by former Father Ryan state champion Tommy Bateman continue to funnel wrestlers into the Father Ryan program.  Another major obstacle that Pat Simpson has overcome is the fact that for many years the financial aid department at Father Ryan was only willing to provide 50% of the financial aid that families qualified for.  This is one of the reasons you see Catholic Students from Middle Tennessee attending schools other than Father Ryan.  It's often times less expensive for a Catholic family to send their child to private schools other than Father Ryan. Considering the fact that Pat Simpson has publicly stated that he wants to coach well into his 70's I don't see a whole lot changing in the near future other than the names on the roster.  Now if Father Ryan ever builds a middle school (there is serious talk about this topic) all bets are off as I could see Father Ryan getting much better.

4.  Bradley Central:  it must be both frustrating and difficult to be the perennial number two team in both D1 and your own county.  If Bradley Central had the same financial resources as Cleveland it would be a true war for the number one program in D1.  While Allan Jones has provided some funds to BC it's nothing close and it never will be close to what he has provided Cleveland.  

5.  Signal Mountain:  the combination of coaching by Houston Clements and the Uhorchuk brothers has worked well together.  The real key will be when the Uhorchuk brothers all graduate will Signal Mountain have the ability to keep progressing?  The mark of great programs is that they reload and don't have down cycles.

Sleeping Giant:  The McCallie School.  If the administration at The McCallie School ever decides to get back into the business of winning state championships in wrestling, you can turn out the lights as the party will be over.  Simply put McCallie has the money and facilities to win multiple state championships and be a Top 25 program but for whatever reason the administration has not assisted the wrestling program in being successful.  I will stand by my previous statements that if McCallie would put Ethan Reeve in charge of the Blue Tornado wrestling program we would see immediate results.  The real question is if the kids and families would be prepared to become workaholics like Ethan would require of all his wrestlers.  While people may have not liked their style the coaching combination of Ethan Reeve and Gordon Connel was the best coaching staff we have ever seen in Tennessee.

Thank you for the post cbg. Very insightful as always and some great points raised!

[cbg]

2 hours ago, JBoskenUSAW said:

I’ll bite.

Bradley gets the EXACT funding we get at Cleveland. 

 

https://www.chattanoogan.com/2022/11/28/460045/Logsdons-Youth-Wrestlers-Get-Jones.aspx

 

You really think money is the reason why Cleveland has had the edge over Bradley?

I mean I could understand you saying that about  ANY other program but not Bradley ha.

Are you saying that if my CFO were to audit the wrestling programs at both Bradley Central and Cleveland since Allan Jones began to make donations they are “EXACTLY” the same?  What about Allan using his influence to obtain teaching positions for wrestling coaches, would this be the same for both schools?  Yes, Allan Jones has been very generous to both programs but I have serious doubts with regards to both programs being provided with exactly the same amount of influence and funding over the years.  If the answer is yes to both of the questions then I stand corrected.

Edited April 5, 2023 by cbg

[JBoskenUSAW]

Read the article…. he matches what is funded (limited amount).

Financial Opportunities are EXACTLY the same.

The money he matches isn’t even close to what we fundraise in total.

So yes, Bradley does have the same financial resources. 

Feel free to get with me and i’ll explain exactly what he does for us….. i’m confident you would be very surprised.

With that being said, what he does is VERY helpful and contributes to the success we have. 

[GruncleD]

3 hours ago, cbg said:

It appears to be a very good list:  Yes, I would change things up slightly but not much.  Here is my top 5 plus a sleeper.

1.  Baylor:  they have all of the components in place to be a Top 25 team every year provided they stay healthy.  Personally, I don't like the fact that they are basically going out and getting kids to fill in the gaps and could care less about developing the kids that are walking the halls of The Baylor School.  I am going to rank them over Cleveland due to the number of kids that they have had to sign to wrestle in colleges other than UTC.  

2.  Cleveland:  Al Miller began the championship parade back in the early 80's by embracing Greco & Freestyle while hauling kids all over the country to wrestle in national tournaments.  Let's not forget that it was much more difficult for those early 80's teams to win state titles because they had to beat not only the public schools but those big bad private schools of Baylor, McCallie and Father Ryan.  Former Cleveland wrestler Allan Jones (reported net worth of 500 million) has pumped in well over 1 million dollars over the years to the program for not only facilities but to pay salaries for coaches.  As long as Allan Jones continues to have his hand and money in the program, I don't see Cleveland going backwards.  

3.  Father Ryan:  what Pat Simpson and his coaching staff have done since he became the head coach during the 1979-80 season is nothing short of remarkable.  Considering the fact that Father Ryan is the only private school in Middle Tennessee that does not have a middle school it is imperative that the Nashville Catholic program that was started by former Father Ryan state champion Tommy Bateman continue to funnel wrestlers into the Father Ryan program.  Another major obstacle that Pat Simpson has overcome is the fact that for many years the financial aid department at Father Ryan was only willing to provide 50% of the financial aid that families qualified for.  This is one of the reasons you see Catholic Students from Middle Tennessee attending schools other than Father Ryan.  It's often times less expensive for a Catholic family to send their child to private schools other than Father Ryan. Considering the fact that Pat Simpson has publicly stated that he wants to coach well into his 70's I don't see a whole lot changing in the near future other than the names on the roster.  Now if Father Ryan ever builds a middle school (there is serious talk about this topic) all bets are off as I could see Father Ryan getting much better.

4.  Bradley Central:  it must be both frustrating and difficult to be the perennial number two team in both D1 and your own county.  If Bradley Central had the same financial resources as Cleveland it would be a true war for the number one program in D1.  While Allan Jones has provided some funds to BC it's nothing close and it never will be close to what he has provided Cleveland.  

5.  Signal Mountain:  the combination of coaching by Houston Clements and the Uhorchuk brothers has worked well together.  The real key will be when the Uhorchuk brothers all graduate will Signal Mountain have the ability to keep progressing?  The mark of great programs is that they reload and don't have down cycles.

Sleeping Giant:  The McCallie School.  If the administration at The McCallie School ever decides to get back into the business of winning state championships in wrestling, you can turn out the lights as the party will be over.  Simply put McCallie has the money and facilities to win multiple state championships and be a Top 25 program but for whatever reason the administration has not assisted the wrestling program in being successful.  I will stand by my previous statements that if McCallie would put Ethan Reeve in charge of the Blue Tornado wrestling program we would see immediate results.  The real question is if the kids and families would be prepared to become workaholics like Ethan would require of all his wrestlers.  While people may have not liked their style the coaching combination of Ethan Reeve and Gordon Connel was the best coaching staff we have ever seen in Tennessee.

I am curious to who's coaching salary Mr. Jones pays at Cleveland High? Please share with us the name or names of those Cleveland wrestling coaches. I bet the director and school board of Cleveland City Schools would like to know because I am sure they think they are paying those salaries. Hey, you made the statement. 

[TotallynotLEO]

Based on the realignment and what we know currently I'd like to see someone more knowledgeable than me do some sort of projections for programs on the rise,  holding steady and falling. I think it'd make for a good thread. 

[KidGloves]

Blackman has a massive club program and successful MS program feeding it. With a good hire to fill the spot, they’ll be just as successful, if not more so, pretty quickly I imagine.