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Max Emerson Champions Find a Way Scholarship In loving memory of Max Emerson 1998-2023 Max Emerson began wrestling at the age of 6. Through his sixteen-year career, he excelled as a wrestler leaving an indelible mark on the sport. Max's accomplishments included winning an Individual State Championship, achieving an undefeated season (37-0), and being named the Courier Journal’s Kentuckiana Wrestler of the Year. At the University of the Cumberlands, he was a 2-time national qualifier for the NAIA and was recognized as an Academic All-American. In 2020, Max became a teacher at Oldham County High School, where he inspired countless students with his enthusiasm for education and his unwavering support for their success. Max’s dedication to wrestling continued as he served as an Assistant Wrestling Coach at his alma mater. The OCHS Wrestling room was his second home and the wrestlers his family. Max had a genuine love for his athletes, students, colleagues, and family, and he cherished the time spent with them. He will be remembered as a champion for the underdog and someone who brought joy and encouragement to all those around him. Max worked tirelessly every day to be a better wrestler, coach, Christian, and friend. He lived by the motto “champions find a way.” It is our honor to offer a scholarship in Max’s memory to a senior wrestler who embodies Max's spirit and has overcome adversity to find a way to succeed. Who is eligible? Senior wrestler (male or female) in the Commonwealth of Kentucky pursuing any type of higher education (proof of enrollment to be supplied in fall) Qualities of the Max Emerson Champions Find a Way Wrestling Scholarship Recipient: Hardworking Team centered Coachable Positive “can do” attitude Has overcome adversity of some kind Loves the sport of wrestling Never gives up Exemplifies the motto “Champions Find a Way” Amount: $1000 How to apply (must include both): Coach’s letter of recommendation https://forms.gle/TwP8URRHCBBMGfYM6 Self answered questions https://forms.gle/4vB1mjsgLtsEuf727 Deadline: January 30, 2024 at 12:00 am Winner will be presented with their award at KHSAA Wrestling State Tournament Questions? Please contact Chandra Emerson at championsfindawayfoundation1@gmail.com. Max Emerson Champions Find a Way Scholarship (2).pdf

Hello all. Does anyone know if there is a live feed for state for people who can’t go? I have some family that want to watch and don’t mind paying for it but can’t to the tournament. Thanks

Any way we could have the KY state on YouTube Live? So the fans at home could watch?

Hi, my name is Caleb Canter. For those of you that do not know me, I graduated from LaRue County High School in 2013. I have been a huge wrestling fan my entire life and always will be. However, as I attended the state tournament yesterday, I was extremely disappointed to find that the finals had been lumped together with the rest of the medal rounds, and the face off had been done away with entirely. This is absolutely disrespectful to the kids that worked so hard to make their way to the finals. Those kids deserve to be honored separate from all the other wrestlers in the state, as they have rightfully earned that position. As soon as I realized what the KHSAA had decided to do, I looked up the emails of the representatives (who we will not name) that made the decision, and sent an email asking for an explanation as to why it was done this way. I received a response almost immediately, and feel very inclined to share this information with the rest of the wrestling community. Shown below is the email I sent and the response I received. Please take the time to read through both emails as I would like for everyone to completely understand the situation before we take our next steps. My original email: Hi, my name is Caleb Canter. I have been involved with Kentucky wrestling since I was born in 1995. Wrestling has been a huge part of my life and I am concerned about the path the sport is taking in our state. I'm writing this email from my seat here in the Alltech Arena as I watch this lackluster "state finals." I am extremely disappointed in the format of this year's finals, and I am seeking a legitimate explanation as to why the biggest match of the season is less exciting than the finals of any given tournament throughout the season. Because I honestly can't think of a single reason why things are happening the way they are. I understand, or at least I hope, that you are not the only ones that have made the decision to format the tournament this way. However I am sure that you are able to fix the issue. If you are not convinced that this is an issue, you can ask any fan in attendance and they will tell you otherwise. I would even be willing to go as far as creating a petition to have signed for you to see just how many people are upset at the direction our state finals have gone. I'm sure when you read this you will likely write me off as a random upset 21 year old, and ignore my request for an explanation. But I urge you not to do so, because I know that I speak for the entire Kentucky wrestling community in what I am saying to you. In the future I hope that you will allow these high schoolers to earn the respect and honor that they have worked so hard for. Thank you for taking your time to hear my message. Caleb Canter If you would like to discuss the issue further I would be more than happy to do so! Feel free to give me a call The Response I Received: Thanks for sharing your thoughts. As someone who likely has been involved in this sport since before you were born, I know that change in anything dealing with this sport is seldom unanimous. As I sit here tonight we have received several extremely positive comments from coaches, parents and fans of the 3rd through 8th place wrestlers thankful for the change rewarding their son, daughter or wrestler's year long commitment even though they didn't finish in the top two. There have been some who would like to move the quarterfinal round and others would like to end earlier tonight. All of that is the function of our staff evaluating the conduct of the event going forward. The state association and its mission is to make decisions that are student friendly for the most students, not simply the elite level. If the elite level was the sole purpose, many team championships and individual events would involve only the elite or those from the urban areas where they are perceived more athletic or brackets would be seeded, etc. But that is not the purpose. It is about recognizing students across the board regardless of ability. In order to ensure continued participation in sports, such as wrestling, that struggle in many states maintaining optimal support. Since the time of your referenced year, participation in the sport has nearly doubled in terms of schools and much of that is properly attributed to changing both the culture of the sport and format of events to include more kids. And that will continue to be emphasized. So while those that want no change ever are likely disappointed with any change, others continue to welcome evolution. This association will continue to manage it events in the manner that the staff feels is the best for the continued evolution of the sports and activities and that may in fact mean even more change in the future. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts. Sent from my iPhone Blame all typos on Apple auto-incorrect I do realize that both of these emails are extremely lengthy, but I ask that you at least take the time to read through the response email so that you can fully understand the decision that was made. I am thankful that the KHSAA took the time to actually read and think about my comments, but I am extremely unsatisfied with the justification for the way things were done. That is why I am going to see that it is fixed. While the KHSAA is operating in a manner that they believe is what the wrestling community desires, I am sure that they are mistaken. Therefore, we as an entire wrestling community must present our opinion to the KHSAA. The first thing I will ask of you is to sign the online petition to have the finals revamped into all that they should be. You can find this petition at the link shown below. https://www.change.org/p/kentucky-wrestling-kentucky-wrestling-state-finals?recruiter=492947154&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink Please take the time to sign as well as share the link with your friends and family that may have an opinion on the matter. Secondly and most importantly I am going to ask for you dedicated members of the wrestling community to write a short personal statement or letter to the KHSAA about why you think the finalist deserve to be honored more so than the rest of the medalist. I do understand that this is asking a lot of you, but it is my opinion that your written out thoughts are worth much more than your signature on a petition. I hope to receive letters from all possible sources, including children, wrestlers, coaches, officials, parents, and fans. Once you have written your letter to the KHSAA, please email it to me at caleb.canter@uky.edu. After I receive your notes I will print them off and personally deliver them to the KHSAA office. I also ask that you please remain respectful and professional throughout your entire statement, that way we can present our opinions to the KHSAA in a positive manner. While I do not wish to discount any one of your opinions and would love to receive letters from each and every one of you. I believe that the testimonies of wrestlers who found success at the state level but never managed to reach the finals, will be found most convincing, and I ask that you please make sure those people see this message. I also would love to hear the voice of those that support the way finals were done, and would be more than happy to include your statements when I deliver our messages to the KHSAA. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this lengthy post. I hope that we can find a way to rise up together and see a change made, so that these kids that work so hard can enjoy the respect that they earned. Caleb Canter Feel free to email me with any questions or ideas. Caleb.canter@uky.edu

Wheeling Jesuit Wrestling Update In December of 2013, Wheeling Jesuit University announced that it was adding wrestling as the school’s 20th intercollegiate sport. The program has spent the past 9 months putting the pieces together to compete this fall, as a Division II program. In this time period Wheeling Jesuit recruited 29 individuals from 7 different states to be part of the inaugural class. The university committed to helping design a new wrestling room and in late August the room was finished. Head Coach Sean Doyle recently named All-American Heavyweight JD Ramsey as a Graduate Assistant. JD graduated from West Liberty University and is pursuing his Masters in Educational Leadership. Matthew Littleton of West Liberty was named Volunteer Assistant in day to day operations and BJ Hedger was named Volunteer Assistant with a focus on Strength and Conditioning. Coach Doyle is very excited about the recent additions to the staff. Currently the team is training hard in preparation for what is sure to be an exciting first chapter in the program’s history. The Cardinals will open the dual season on November 8th at home against Alma College out of Michigan. Other notable dual meets includes Pitt-Johnstown, Mercyhurst and local rival West Liberty to name a few. The team will travel to Baldwin Wallace, Washington and Jefferson, Mount Union to start the tournament season and hit the prestigious Midwest Classic at the end of the first semester. A trip to Ft. Myers for the Gulf Coast Duals will conclude the December schedule as the team makes the trip south before Christmas break. In the second semester the team heads back to Indiana for the Spartan Mat Classic and will also take part in the West Virginia Collegiate Invitational in preparation for the Regional and NCAA Tournaments. Academically, Wheeling Jesuit is a private institution and one of the best academic environments in the country. The school offers merit based aid along with athletic aid and is very competitive with other like schools. A wide range of programs and pre-professional tracks are offered and a lot of pride is taken in the success rate of students pursuing post graduate degrees. Coach Doyle and Coach Ramsey are looking to bring in a great recruiting class to compliment the very strong class currently on campus. Those interested should contact Coach Sean Doyle (sdoyle@wju.edu,304-281-7508) or Graduate Assistant Coach JD Ramsey (jramsey@wju.edu, 304-638-9969) for more info. The team website can be found at http://athletics.wju.edu/index.aspx?path=wrestling&tab=wrestling and the recruiting form can be completed at http://athletics.wju.edu/sb_output.aspx?frform=7&path=wrestling&. Please follow the team @wjuwrestling on Twitter to get daily updates on Wheeling Jesuit Wrestling’s progress.

Parents, Coaches, Please include the Grade School Coaches Classic on your schedule. It is on Sunday, December 30, 2012 at the Courts 4 Sports in Mason. Here is a link to the flyer. This is the 4th running of this tournament and as usual, it will be run well, and provide top level local competition as well as some out-of-towners. Trophies will be awarded for the top 4 placers. A huge 24X17" bracket will be given to the Champion. Follow us on Facebook here. See you there!! GSCOACHESCLASSIC4th_pdf.pdf

What do you all think was the biggest upset at state? I can't really decide. And did anyone else feel less intensity at alltech than at the dungeon? I didn't feel the intensity this year