First of all, kudos to Ranger for taking on such a thankless job. My criticism wasn't aimed it him. His rankings were much appreciated, but I think it illustrates the problem. With so many resources throughout the state, why is one person in charge of ranking the entire state?
I shouldn't have made a generalization about the "wrestling community," and for that apologize. I've met plenty of good people in the wrestling community during my time at The Courier-Journal, people who were very understanding and patient with a wrestling novice. I can't thank them enough.
I know there are good stories to tell in the wrestling community and feel like I've told a decent share of them. Could I do more? Of course. At the same time, it becomes frustrating in trying to gather basic information throughout the season and getting no response. I can't tell you the number of times I've called or emailed a coach, simply to get info about an upcoming meet, and received no help.
I received one response on Twitter that rankings are of no use to the wrestling community. I doubt that's the case, but - if so - that's fine. I can tell you they are of great use to the media in giving the public a general idea of who's good, both teamwise and in each weight class. I've gone out of my way to publish these rankings whenever possible.
Sorry to post such a long response but wanted to let everyone know that I wasn't trying to attack the wrestling community. However, in just the six years I've had this job, the amount of communication and cooperation from coaches, officials, etc., has drastically decreased.
If you have any suggestions or comments on how we can improve this, feel free to email me any time at jfrakes@courier-journal.com
Good luck to all of you during the upcoming regional and state meets. See you in Lexington!
Jason Frakes
The Courier-Journal
