PHILLIP= ALL AMERICAN

[heartbreakkid]

PHILLIP JUST BEAT OKLAHOMA ST

HE IS NOW AN ALL AMERICA

WAY TO GO FRANK AND MARGARET

[heartbreakkid]

PHILLIP JUST PINNED THE DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMP

[CoachBlair]

Congratulations, Phillip!!

He had an outstanding day yesterday and wrestled with a ton of heart and determination. How many of us can say we pinned a defending national champion with a wrist and half? Tennessee wrestling is very proud. THE BOY'S JUST FLAT GOOD!!

[takedown3]

Congratulations!

[noonesfool]

Congratulations to Phillip. We are proud of you.

[luchador]

Phillip finished third. His only loss was to the eventual champion. He beat the 2nd seed Espinosa from OK State 9-4, pinned the national champion Holker from IA State and finished today 13-7 over Cunnanan of West VA and 6-0 over Moore of Penn State. What a showing for an outstanding young man.

 

Congratulations Phillip. We are all proud of you.

 

Frank, be sure you have the tapes ready for a viewing party for us that couldn't make it. I'll pick up the ribs from Percy.

[Edited by luchador on 3-22-03 8:58P]

 

[BamaGrappler]

Nice job, Phillip! Awesome tournament!

 

http://goarmysports.ocsn.com/sports/m-wrestl/recaps/032203aaa.html

 

 

(whisper)>pssst.....luchador.....it's esposito, not espinosa

[PUMMELKING]

Hey luchador I know one hispanic name sounds just like another. Just kidding with ya.

 

Good job Phillip, you have proven to the rest of the country that we have sum top notch quality wrestlers from this state!!!!!

[CoachBlair]

Outstanding job, Phillip!! You did it with great wrestling, a lot of heart, and tons of class. Tennessee's proud!

[delaWarr]

Thanks Phillip for giving us Tennesseans a personal stake in the NCAAs and for giving us a genuine sense of pride...not only for what you have done, but also for who you are.

[Edited by delaWarr on 3-23-03 7:14P]

[tnmat]

Phillip... you ROCK!

 

I and others are truly blessed to know you. You are an incredible wrestler with much tenacity, heart, and most of all... class. Congratulations on becoming Phillip the all-american. I hope next year we can call you Phillip the NATIONAL CHAMPION!

[BuckLateral]

Someone correct me if I am wrong on this. Is Phillip the first wrestler produced by a Nashville area high school to place at the D-I NCAA Tournament? Is he our first "All-American"? I'm sure some of the old timers like Reften would know the answer. I feel certain that Phillip's third place finish is the highest ever achieved by a Nashville wrestler. I went back and checked some of the prior "best wrestlers from Tennessee/in Tennesse history" posts and as best I can tell, Bill Harlow, from St. Andrews, won an NCAA title (1st place) at 191 for Oklahoma State back in 1961, and Waylon Lowe was a Divison II champion. Pat Smartt from McCallie was an All-American at Lehigh. Charles McTory was an NCAA qualifier at Nebraska, but I don't think he ever placed at the tournament. I could not find any other references to any wrestler from Tennessee, much less Nashville, ever placing at the D-I NCAA Tournament.

 

If this is true, then even more congratulations are due Phillip.

 

Too bad the NCAA basketball tournament is going on at the same time. It is preventing Phillip from getting the local recognition his 3rd place finish deserves, though the Nashville City Paper did make mention of it in this morning's Sports and Recreation section.