Best Wrestlers in last Decade from TN?

[goiowa1]

How about a list of the top 10 wrestlers from the past decade?

[Empro]

Top 6, in order, with HS (and FS/GR) as major criteria, with college as additional consideration:

 

1. Phillip Simpson- 4x state champion, HS National Runner-Up, 2x NCAA qualifier, NCAA 3rd

2. Matt Keller- 4x state champion, Senior National All-American, currently top-20 NCAA Division I

3. Scott Wells- 2x state champion and OW, 3x Cadet National Champion, 1x Cadet National 3rd

4. Heath Eslinger- 2x state champion, NCAA qualifier, Midlands 5th

4. Markese Nelson- 2x state champion, Cadet National 3rd, Military Natl Champion, NCAA qualifier

6. Charles McTorry- 2x (?) state champion, TN's 1st HS National Champion, 2x NCAA Qualifier

 

Others, some too early to tell, in no order

Waylon Lowe

Matt McCarty

JT Hagen

Jake Yost

Rusty Blackmon

Kevin Ward

Quinn Gibson

Ryan Scott

Jordan Leen

Patrick Simpson

Nick Marable

Kyle James

Edited February 24, 2004 by Empro

[goiowa1]

glad somebody final jumped on this. just wanted to correct that heath eslinger only wond it twice and when and where did scott wells win cadet nationals 3 times.

[The Name]

Throw a Raymond Dunning in there.

[best_of_the_west]

That's a great list. Maybe Crosby would be up there. I wish I was old enough to see all of them. Kelly Felix might be up there one day, as well as Jay Adamson and Josh Baucke.

[Empro]

Thanks for the correction on Eslinger. I hadn't moved to TN yet.

 

Scott Wells won the Greco Cadets 2x and the FS Cadets once. He was also 3rd in the Cadet FS once.

 

I make this comment with the utmost respect for both Phillip Simpson and Matt Keller: Scott Wells had-- even with wrestling as a distant second sport to football on his priority list-- something none of the others did. In Pennsylvania, where he grew up before he moved to TN as a HS junior (he never placed in PA but I leblieve he did qualify for states once), he was touted at Foxcather and elsewhere as the next Olympic Heavyweight Champion. Just an FYI.

 

Regardless, everyone on that list is one tough ######.

 

By my own standard, I could have placed Wells #1, but 4x state titles and NCAA success won out.

 

Toughts on my list?

[rawn]

add billy hayduk

[CoachDelgado]

Wells wrestled up north before he moved to Nashville as a Junior. I cannot confirm nor deny if he won those titles. As far as Markese Nelson and Chalres McTorry, Nelson beat McTorry all five times they wrestled.

 

I would also add Cordell to the list of possibilities. He was a four time finalist and three time champion. You also can't leave out Nathan Jones of Cleveland.

[Empro]

Dunning was tough, but I stand by my list. He'd be in my next tier.

 

If that is Hayduk from Notre Dame, based on the dozen or so times I saw him wrestle, including a state title, he is definately not on my list. Probably 4th tier.

[Empro]

CoachDelgado, thanks for info. Notice change above.

 

James manhandled Cordell. I'd place Cordell with Dunning on Tier 2.

Edited February 24, 2004 by Empro

[fiscon]

Casey Brewster needs to be on that list. He was a three time finalist, 2X champion, 4 time state placer, NHSCA High School Open All American, US Open All American, won 199 matches in high school career.

[studdog]

C'mon guys.....Let's not forget to include some of those wrestler's that didn't stick to wrestling in college! *cough, cough* Matt Sweeton of Tullahoma from a few yrs back? He's got to be up there somewhere.