Nkawtg

95-103 Intermediate has an error It should be: 1. John Reynolds 2. Caleb Bergquist 3. Eli Bergquist

Congrats!!! Looks like Kentucky wrestling is holding its own. Illinois is a great wrestling state and there were some tough kids there from the entire midwest!

If the misapplication of Title IX doesn't stop it may be the only conference left for wrestling!

Touche, and point taken. The point of my comment was simply that Ky youth wrestling parents may also benefit from seeing "the show" in Columbus--nothing more, nothing less. I could have chosen a much better way to phrase it and apologize for the slight and for the hijack.

How about youth wrestlers (4th/5th graders)? This is the exact kind of enthusiasm Kentucky and Louisville needs for the sport. I was recently shocked that a local head varsity football coach was actively discouraging his players from joining the wrestling team. Many props for starting this.

I a newbie to Ky wrestling as well--just finished our first year. They could only fit 4 mats in the civic center. The Frankfort Civic Center was damp, dirty, and had very little floor space. I think they call it "the Dungeon", for that reason. They could improve the tournament immensely by getting a better venue. Anyway, 16 wrestling surfaces is about the max, I think. Many mats were delayed because the coaches were spread out all over. That was a real problem and slowed down the flow greatly. I firmly believe that it would be bad to add more match space. However, wrestling 16 surfaces on 8 full mats as opposed to 4 full mats would be a great improvement. Many matches were held where wrestlers were not wearing head gear. I was amazed the refs allowed this, but was told that theywant to encourage participation. If this is supposed to be an event to encourage participation then do away with the faceoff. If it's so special that a faceoff means something, than it should be treated as such. If a wrestler isn't in the top 4 at his regional then maybe he shouldn't be at State?

Also consider the drive to Columbus, Ohio and check out the Ohio State Tournament on 3-6 March. Kentucky wrestling is getting better and growing despite the bad economy. The Ky finals were great and I enjoyed watching. FWIW.

What is the targeted audience? I know some youth wrestlers who are interested, but have limited experience. I dont want them way over their heads. Thanks for doing this though!

Calling a HS kid names and insulting his accomplishment is gutless. I hope those doing it are middle school kids and not adults. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of wrestling I saw in the finals. The resources for KY wrestlers to improve are available. Summer wrestling is huge in Cincy and not too far away. 125, 152, 171 champs were impressive imo.

The Frankfort Convention Center was the worst venue I've ever seen for a state finals. Louisville is centrally located. More schools are closer to the Ville than any other city in the state. Population centers are what matters, not geography.

Without a doubt the best high school wrestler in Kentucky is John Fahy. Is there even a case for anyone else? Jude was incredible and fun to watch, but he is not as good for his weight as Fahy is.

I'm no math whiz, but I think 900 kids equals 450 first round matches. 450 first round matches divided by 16 mats equals 28 matches per mat. 28 matches at 3 minutes per match equals 1 hour 30 minutes. I'd think that you should increase that by 50% to allow for dead times between matches and between periods. So my guess is 2 hours and 15 minutes for the first round roughly. Round 2 would be the same but the successive rounds would be shorter. The key is the amound of mat space, which I think is pretty good with 16 mats.

My point being that the opportunity to succeed is not dictated by geography. Some of the worst programs in Ohio are in Cleveland, Akron etc, while some of the best are in rural areas. Granted Ryle casts a large net and has great coaching and has done and will do well, but that doesn't mean rural kids cant compete.

For what it's worth, I disagree with the assertion that rural areas are disadvantaged in wrestling. St Paris Graham, Claymont, Monroeville and a host of other Ohio schools are in rural areas and have done very well. Granted St Paris Graham has virtual recruits, but the program was built with local kids and is not exactly in an urban area.

Would having the tourney in Louisville make it better since it's more centrally located? Seems like an impossible complaint to address.

Hi all, I'm new to Kentucky (I'm from NE Ohio), but wrestled from age 10 through Division I college. My boy is 8 and in his first year of wrestling. We are excited about the regionals and state tournament. Please forgive my ignorance, but I have some questions. 1. Why is there a regional when everyone wrestles at the State meet? 2. Why is there such an overlap between elementary and middle school? Our team has had 4th graders wresting at the middle school district/regionals. Seems a bit odd to have a 4th grader competing against an 8th grader. Is this common? 3. I've lived all over the US and have been very impressed with Ky wrestling. It's not on par with PA or OH, but pretty close to WV and IN wrestling imo. Seems to be up and coming also. Any thoughts? Thanks for any responses. As far as the state tourney goes, I'm a newbie and cant wait to see it.