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I agree with the rule being bad. I disagreed with it and voted against the rule. However, it was my vote and two (2) other votes against it. It is said every year we need Coaches or Team Representatives to attend the Spring and Fall meetings. Even if it seems trivial to do so. Make your voice heard!!! It has been brought up about using some sort of conference call system so more people can be apart of it, but until that happens, we need people to be there.

I didn't realize that it changed from top 4 to state placers. WOW!!. What will they do next? If you wrestled one match at middle school you are disqualified from participating in youth? Once again that is why we have ages and weights. I remember when my son started wrestling youth tournaments. One year he had Derek Wiley in his bracket at youth state. Derek beat him like a drum. I remember looking over at his coach and he said now you can pin him. It felt like an emperor giving the thumbs down to the gladiator in the arena. My son was fairly new to wrestling and Derek was already wrestling middle school and was light years ahead other kids his age. The reason I tell this story is that was probably the best thing that could of happened to my son at the time. It really made him understand that you can work that much harder and compete with those elite kids. Losses are a good thing in my opinion. My son could probably tell you more about losses than wins. The reason is you learn from losses because of the pain associated with those losses. We will never agree on this topic as a state, but I would hope we would reconsider not watering down the youth state tournament anymore than it already has been. Maybe we should just give all the kids a participation medal so they don't quit wrestling if they lose. Here is a funny commercial that goes perfectly with this topic:

So your saying a young 5th or 6th grader from a region with small participation numbers, makes the top 4 in their region and just qualifies, now is disqualified from the youth tournament that he actually is more prepared for. OR A youth that puts in the extra work to become a solid wrestler, now is disqualified from competing at the youth state because the just qualified for a MS State. OR A solid elite wrestler that wants to compete Nationally and wants to wrestle in the Elementary State Tournament BUT because Tulsa Nationals is the same weekend as the manadatory Regional tournament that he has to weigh in for, but doesn’t even need to compete in to qualify for the State Tourney, cannot compete in his state tournament All because some coach Dad thinks that by eliminating good kids from the elementary State tournament is a good idea!?? Nike Man, please explain how these scenerios are great for our sport, these kids or making our competition better?

Here is the best example I can give, Have a 7th grader that just started wrestling last year. He’s a 500 wrestler meaning he is 15/15, probably going to place 4th in middle school Region. And is youth eligible according to our bylaws. Going to get killed at state once the tougher kids from the rest of the regions combine at state. And it would benefit him as far as self confidence and “mat time” to wrestle youth state. But unfortunately he won’t have that opportunity. I personally think that’s a better example then “the hammers” not being able to wrestle youth state. That’s the definition of growing our youth. Just my 2 cents

This rule has my son,who is a young 6th grader wrestling a middle weight, worried about not being able to wrestle at youth if he has a good day at regionals. By a good day I mean, He is not going to win the tournament by a long shot,but if gets a good draw and wrestles his tail off like he's been training to do, might slide into the top 4. If this happens he will likely go 0-2 maybe 1-2 in state tournament. So now what he's thinking is maybe he takes 5th and gets lucky enough to capitalize on someone else's misfortune and gets to wrestle in both state tournaments. Any rule that forces a kid into thinking like that is stupid.

Reading these rankings, predictions, and discussion everyone has had about how many weight class Championships Spencer Moore could possibly seize , made me realize that there is a reasonable chance Cole Thomas, Spencer, and Luke Chapman could all find themselves at 106 next year. That would be fun for the fans.

If you can beat everyone in the room but can't perform when the lights are on it does the team no good. Care to give us the real scoop why he's not on the mat?

It's 2018... we can't send out an email and vote online? There are tons of survey software out there we could use. Create the survey/poll and send the link out. This goes back to them eliminating districts, which is another topic that needs to be discussed... but I hear it now "you should've come to the meetings". We barely can get all the high school coaches to show up for the HS Coaches Clinic... what makes you think we're going to get all of the youth and ms coaches (who mostly volunteer or are paid very little) to show up to a meeting in the fall and/or spring?

They sent out RS Frsh Bohlken on Saturday and he only lost 3-2 to the #17 ranked Eastern Michigan Heavy. Fans react:

Article from last Friday makes it sounds like Mizzou just isn't sure who their starting HWT is right now: "In the heavyweight match, the Tigers continued on the heavyweight carousel that has been the story of the 2017-18 season. In Thursday's dual, it was Dante Jiovenetta who got the green light from Smith. Unfortunately, the redshirt freshman out of Florida couldn't get the victory, as he lost by decision in his seventh match of the season. Smith appears to be still searching for consistency n the heavyweight slot. Throughout this season, the Tigers have thrown several wrestlers onto the mat in the heavyweight spot, including Rodrigo Diaz and Austin Myers. Regardless of whose name is in the lineup for the Tigers, the meat of the order continues to carry the team to victory, and the team holds the fourth spot in the NWCA rankings."

Then you won’t have enough kids to fill line ups on High School or Middle School teams. I do have a dog in this fight and have for years. My son has been one of those kids eliminated by the rules created in the past. Worked hard enough in the off season and traveled to train and compete outside Kentucky during the summers. He, as a 4th and 5th grader, “qualified” but was never big enough to beat the older more experienced “true” middle schoolers at 70 lbs. BUT he competed and tried and failed( GOOD LESSONS TO LEARN with no CODDLE) So with this new rule, he would have been disqualified as a 4th and 5th grader from competing at youth state. I’m glad he wasn’t eliminated because he got to enjoy the fruits of his labor and competed both years and won youth state those 2 years. By these new standards, he goes 1-2 as a 4th grader and places 5th as a 5th grader. Hardly the results worth keeping him out of a youth state that only has 1000 participants total. (I know these are true numbers because I’ve help run this tournament the last 9 years) You used Yost and Courtney as examples of choosing not to go back and compete on a younger level. That’s great they had the choice. Now we’ve taken those choices away from kids that want to get better and compete on 2 levels. We’re not Ohio and PA. And won’t be, we’re Kentucky and we need to do whatever we can to grow the numbers and keep kids excited about this sport. All this rule did was eliminate kids from competing.

Maybe the fact that this becomes an issue every year is an indicator that something is wrong. Nobody is trying to punish a kid. But we shouldn’t be trying to coddle one either. So maybe we should make elementary, middle school and high school age kids definitive? Youth State Tournament eligibility grades K-5 Middle School State eligibility grades 6-8 High School State eligibility grades 9-12 If people don’t like grade requirements, maybe we should go to USA age requirements. Wrestle your age division and that’s all. Too many options for parents and coaches. Make age, grade, and weight definitive. No percents on weight. Make a weight class. But that’s a whole other ball of wax.

Coronado will move down to 138, Tilley down to 145.

Look guys, I don’t have a dog in the fight. I have simply just been involved for a long time. I have seen growth throughout the state and I am proud of that. We (KY), do a lot of bickering back and forth for the wrong reasons. We are lucky to allow youth to wrestle middle school and middle school to wrestle high school. I don’t for a second take what these kids have accomplished lightly. All I am saying is, why would you as a coach or parent want a kid that has had success on a higher level, drop down to dominate a lower level. Did H. Courtney, C. Lewis, C. Yost, etc. drop down their 8th grade year to win a middle school State Championship? Of course not. What does that prove when you have already proved that you can go on a higher lever? Does this not cross over into the youth and middle school level too? I agree that just simply qualifying for the Middle School State Tournament shouldn’t necessarily disqualify you. Placers seem reasonable. If I am “wrong”, that’s ok. It wouldn’t be the first time. Haha. I am just expressing my opinion and how we advise our kids. Just because someone has an opinion that’s different than yours doesn’t mean that they are wrong, just means they have an opinion that you disagree with. If we all thought the same way, we’d all be robots. Right?

Without knowing what kids have dropped this is where the team standings are now. Club Teams 1. Walton 2. Ryle 3. Carr Before bonus points I have Ryle leading. Walton should score more bonus points and pull ahead. I'm a Ryle Homer so everyone should know how hard it was putting Walton ahead of us. With the injuries to Duke and Belk it will be hard to cover those points. School Teams 1. McCracken 2. Woodford 3. Johnson

Wow! Quite an accomplishment, especially in an absolutely stacked 125 weight class. Highest Kentucky ranking since Ruschell, right?

This is a dead horse. Matt Lee and I tried to change this when we headed up the youth. It was voted down immediately. It is truly painful to watch people justify why an age appropriate child can't compete at every level.

Ordinarily, I would agree, but I think Martin's athleticism is hard to plan against. Brooks had his number, but I think Downey would be well served to see him prior to B10s or NCAAs, win or lose. Plus, Downey needs some matches if he wants to be seeded. Then again, you could very well be right. Either way, it'll be a fun one in Columbus.

Saw videos on Facebook today of the demolitioning efforts. Not too many words that can describe the feeling, other than a punch to the gut. Tough to watch for sure. Congrats to all of those who ever competed there. You were truly blessed with a wonderful atmosphere that may never be found again within our state.

Former Union County coach Marcus Hoehn has a club in the St. Louis area and he has camps throughout the summer. He limits the numbers so all kids get the attention they need. Coach Marcus is one of the best at making this sport fun for kids while helping us parents keep things in perspective. His always positive vibes and outlook makes a huge impact on kids. http://twamissouri.com As for early August, Sebolt Academy out of Iowa has a great camp that is a week long camp. This is a camp where the boys stay onsite for the week. Coach Sebolt is very selctive so to keep it a very competitive camp. It's called the Man of Steel camp. He has an elem/jr high camp and a jr high/high school. These camps are always loaded with hammers from across the country not just Iowa boys. From a mental toughness perspective, i believe this camp to be leaps and bounds above any other. https://seboltwrestling.jimdo.com/camps/

Lmao Austin.beats Bolken 10 ,out of 10