iotaman

He will be fine this year. He hasn't has to cut weight all year. He was struggling in previous years, but he has grown and matured into his body without having to sacrifice speed or strength. Don't bet against him.

I think John Hardin as a team are and will be good competition. They are without a doubt better than people think. However, let the people be the judge of that through your wrestling and not by mouth. They are the top dawgs in region 2 now, and will be for a while, but lets not forget how hard that title is to come buy. You still have tough Larue County and North Hardin teams to contend with, and Central Hardin will be up again real soon. As far as Aaron Newsome, he is a tough hard nose wrestler. I know of him form when he wrestled at West Lynn in Oregon. My cousin wrestled for Gresham up there. Aaron was ranked 4th in the state, but some they way he had a hard time meshing well with his team, and didn't live up, then again West Lynn who is a perennial powerhouse out there year in year out doesn't do well with outsiders. Just a bit of info. P.S. John Hardin and Aaron Newsome are the top dawgs, but Mason Reid is a wolf!

It won't happen! There is no benefit for either wrestler, except for the challenge, andbeleive me they both will have plenty of that all year. Why risk injury? I'm sure it would be a crowd pleaser, but be sensible, it's very early in the season. Also consider that Mark Jones isn't the one writing this crap. I know him very personally and I know he would not speak of himself in the third person. Derek is an awsome wrestler and young man who has his own journey to look after. Maybe in the summer or in college somewhere.

I'm sure Ryan Kelly has not beaten Mark Jones in two years, so what formula do you have that ranks him above the kid. The rankings should not reflect what we think will occur, but what has actually occured. That ranking continues to not make sence to me. If we're basing it off state finish, and head to head, then the results don't lie. I am refering to the comment about the formula and Woodford County, does this same premise not apply to other finishers? Respectfully Submitted,

I watched the match, and the match was closer than you all think. Jones scored 4 points, all of which were negated due to Kelly's injury time when he yelled out twice. The ref was right to stop the match at the time, but not to award the points, i don't agree with. I do agree that Kelly was dictating the match, but not winning based on the points when you factor in everything that happened. I will reclarify my earlier statement, so you understand my point better. On paper Kelly has never beaten Jones, and just because we think we know or can predict what would of happened, how can we deny what actually occured. If the rankings are formula driven, what formula based on the records against each other yeilds a result ranking Kelly above Jones. Look at the logic of the numbers. Iotaman

I'm sure Ryan Kelly has not beaten Mark Jones in two years, so what formula do you have that ranks him above the kid. The rankings should not reflect what we think will occur, but what has actually occured. That ranking continues to not make sence to me. If were are basing it off state finish, and head to head, then the results don't lie. I am refering to the comment about the formula and Woodford County, does this same premise not apply to other finishers? Respectfully Submitted, I have modified this message below. Sorry for the inconvience. Iotaman

I agree that the Kelly was winning the match, but my questions went back to the basics. A wrestling match is 6 minutes, not 5 1/2. Don't misconstrue my questioning of the ranking against Kelly, because like I said he's a fine wrestler, but a victory in my eyes is a victory. Jones pinned him in 06, and won by injury default in 07. He is 2-0 against Kelly, so my questions was, what merited a 2nd place ranking to Kelly. Thirty seconds is a long time left, anyone who wrestled know matches can be won and lost in that amount of time. Take Wolsifer-Wheeler, Sullivan-Evans, just to name a few. If you say kelly dominated on 07, then Jones dominated in 06, that leaves us square. Lets use more notables, if Cortney loses to Theunamen by injury default do you rank him above Cortney? Just a thought. I think Kelly has to complete the match and win convinsingly as he would have, but he didn't for whatever reason. To predict what could of happened in that final 30 seconds is impossible, but the outcome is what is recorded.

Ranger, No need sir, I am just one who examines things in a different light, and wondered about that choice. The match was indeed 8-4 , and with the final takedown and exposure that resulted in Kelly's injury, Jones would have pulled ahead by one. Kelly is a fine young man, and so is Jones, I can't wait to see them match up again. Jones wrestled the wrong match against Kelly. I know these are just preliminary rankings, so no harm no foul. Continue doing what you do, and I'll enjoy analyzing from a different perspective. Thanks for the response.

Ranger, I agree with some of your rankings, but I don't understand how you could rank Ryan Kelly above Mark Jones. Jones has beaten him two years in a row at state. Even this year before the stoppage, Jones would have been out front. I agree Kelly had a better showing during the match, but that fact(principle) remains, as you mentioned in another post regarding Courtney and Theunamen; that Jones won. If you look at the match, Jones scored a takedown on Kelly, when Kelly screamed out the first time, which would have been 2, and another takedown taking Kelly right to his back right before the dislocation, which would have been 5. Given that the wrestler screamed out, the match had to be stop, thus no points awarded. At this juncture with 30 seconds left Jones would have been up 11 to 8. Still all of that means nothing, but in the end Jones won, so what constitutes a second place ranking? I think his style of wrestling hurts him when it comes to certain polls, but in others the standards are definitive. Victory is victory. So often this is the case when one wrestlers wins because of injury during a match, he is awarded the victory and the ranking in your polls, does this principle not work in reverse? I also noticed that wrestlers that have never beaten certain opponents are ranked above others in your polls due to their finish at state. We both know, that rankings are just what they are and meant to be nothing more, and they are not indicative of what happens in the matches. I just hope there is no bias involved. :wink: Just my opinion. Thanks for listening.

How does the results of seeders/grimm affect Eck making it to the finals? please clarify.

Bailey I thought you did a heck of a job. You have progressed tremendously from the first time I saw you wrestle. I hope I helped you in some way by talking to you before the match. I told your coach that I would really like the opportunity to work with you more in the off season on your technique. You know where we are, come to our practice more often. Coach

Eck is a great kid. I know him personally, and he understands that actions speak louder than words. He wanted to be remembered for his body of work, and not just words. Througout the year he never let the rankings define him as a wrestler, nor as an individual. I also know that he has much respect for Speck, because he offered so many problems in their matches. He prepared for Ervin by studying Speck, because of similar body styles. No matter what, at the end of the day the 130 class this year was loaded with talent, and was about a 5 man race. Lets not taint the success of all the young men who put in the time and effort by he said/ she said things. Congratulations to all you guys for a great year.

Thats exactly what I'm saying, the moves was not executed with precision and it cost him the match. But in the same breath he just got beat. We don't make excuses, just adjustments and modifications to the plan. Darwin is a great kid, who deserved everything he's worked so hard for. We all have perspective,but we weren't out there on that mat.

Absolutely! With this years middle school group and the success of the middle school state tourney, it is imparative that you have a middle school feeder to be able to compete. I envision a day where a kid that comes out in high will never be able to make a varsity squad, because the competition and learning curve will be to great. Those schools you mention have had long standing middle and elementary programs, and thats why they have the success they have. The problem come in finding quality coaches with similar philosphies in less populated regions of the state.

Taking nothing from either kid, the match was very even. A twist here and a twist there and the outcome may have been different. Neither kid dominated the other, it was a war and a little sweat decided an otherwise great ending to both careers. Congrats to both kids.