KWR

Here's the thing, the KHSAA didn't call it semi-state. It was called the first round of the state tournament. The tournament concludes this weekend, so of course they wouldn't give out awards yet.

How are they doing alternates this year?

Rumor has it that Geiler (190) and Hill (285) are not wrestling for Woodford this year.

With a restriction on competition sizes and overnight stays, the KHSAA would probably have to bring back the district and semi state tournaments. They would also probably have to realign regions or move tournament sites.

Pennsylvania started the talk about reducing the number of weight classes. Their reasoning was the amount of forfeits that were occuring in dual meets as a great number of teams could not field full line ups. They proposed going from 14 to 12 weight classes and at one time stated they were going to do that regardless of NFHS approval, though I don't know if that's still the case. The addition of the 14th weight class in the mid 90s did open another spot for wrestlers, but I do understand that no one wants to see forfeits in dual meets.

Deck was #2 from his region because he forfeited the finals. If you're not seeding on region placement alone he still gets seeded.

Well seeded tournaments usually have their best matches in the later rounds. That's what you want to have exciting tournaments. Exciting tournaments bring in good teams, lots of fans, and make lots of money. That's how you build programs and grow the sport.

i've run several tournaments as well, and I have come to realize that coaches are unreliable when It comes to sending seeding information. Also I hate seeding on record alone, especially when you have kids with seven victories over the same opponent eight weeks into the season. If results had to be entered into a database then it would be available without relying on coaches....wins, losses, common opponents etc. You could preseed very quickly and would only have to make adjustments if kids were dropped or added to weight classes.

I don't care about having a single youth state championship. I don't care if 17 tournaments call themselves youth state. It doesn't matter to the over all big picture of the sport other than kids getting mat time. Ms and youth are two completely separate entities. One has nothing to do with the other besides the fact both fall under the KY USA Wrestling umbrella. If organized ms wrestling was abolished, those kids would still be qualified to wrestle the appropriate age groups in youth. MS wrestling is just a different league of club wrestling. Its really no different than being on an AAU or NUWAY team. Everything is determined by age and weight so grade really doesn't matter. And lets be honest, youth state has evolved into what it is because it piggy backs on middle school state.

What would be the point in separating it.

Alltech was a step forward in terms of growth, but a step back in terms of atmosphere. Atherton was small potatoes but man was it electric. Standing room only, packed in like sardines, super loud with the crowd banging and stomping on those wood bleachers. The civic center took that a step further...it was basically a bowl and it felt like the crowd was right on top of the mats...it was dark and loud...noise makers and glow sticks everywhere...the fan bases were super close to each other and it got rowdy in there...it was dark for the finals with a spotlight on the mat...i saw orange for a week from that old Frankfort High mat...what we've gained in size we've lost in atmosphere

KHSAA needs to make posting results mandatory like they have in football. It would make preseeding tournaments much easier.

I have started working on compiling that information as well. In addition I have been trying to collect photographs of past champions. I would love to see what you have and know what you are missing so I could better focus my research. I would also like to find pre 1964 information. There was wrestling and state tournaments in Kentucky before the KHSAA got involved.

Here are my take aways from the tournament: Im still not a fan of the Horse Park. I know we have come a long way since the Atherton High School gym, while classes were going on Friday, but the atmosphere at Alltech Arena just doesn't fit for me. For those that remember the civic center in Frankfort, that atmosphere was unbeatable. It was loud and dark and it felt like the fans were right on top of the mats. That really needs to be taken into consideration when selecting the next home for the tournament. I know we are limited by the lack of smaller sized arenas with enough floor space, but we need to get that feeling back. It was something special that I just don't feel is there anymore. On top of that the arena is cold, dirty, and the floor is uneven. I don't like the secluded nature of the arena either. Unless you already knew the event was going on or happened to glance over while driving by at 70mph on the interstate, you'd be clueless. The civic center in Frankfort was down town and everyone knew something was going on. The tournament itself seemed to go very smoothly. I did have one issue that I saw with one of the even staff. During the blood round a kid lost. He was being walked back to to the warm up area by his coach. The coach's floor pass was tucked into his shirt. That is the moment the staff member chose to go over and confront the coach about his credentials. He had been let on the floor and he had just been on the mat coaching, so it was probably a safe bet that he was supposed to be there. The coach wasn't pleased, but the staff member was a little more of a jerk than he had to be. The coach pulled out his pass and went on his way. The the staff member went over to the head table and thought it was funny that he got to mess with the coach and that the coach was angry. I understand rules and all, but that was absolutely the worst time for the staff member to flaunt his authority. I understand that a lot of the event staff don't know the sport , but if they don't know the gravity of that point in the tournament they don't need to be on the floor. Overall though, it was a well ran tournament. I have no complaints about the officiating besides the typical grumblings of a coach who feels his wrestlers should get every call lol. I would, however, like to see two officials on the mats during the blood round. There is a lot of emotion going on at that time and a second official would help to keep the peace during stoppages and between matches. My biggest issues were with the Khsaa's promotion of the sport, the presentation of the awards, the pomp and circumstance of the finals. The KHSAA does basically the bare minimum for wrestling. They can't even present complete or accurate records of past state tournaments on their web site. I would love to see some displays around the arena during the state tournament about our sport, especially the history. They could present statistics and highlight past events, champions, officials, coaches, administrators, and teams. Also the awards presentations seems kind of haphazard and thrown together. It would great to have something on the screen about the recipients, and when presenting the past championship teams it would be nice to introduce the members. It would also be great to do more for the face off and finals matches....lights, smoke, etc.

Way back when the coaches association did the rankings it happened a few times. The one i know for certain was 1995 at heavyweight. Josh Campbell of Woodford Co.was ranked 1st and his back up Josh Burton was ranked 3rd.