WhiteTiger95 0 Report post Posted February 21, 2022 If you had to list your all time top 10 wrestlers and top 10 coaches ... who would be on your list ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BroOfCoach 23 Report post Posted February 21, 2022 How are we defining GOAT? Best single season? Most dominant in weight class? Best wrestler overall, regardless of weight?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tbagnky 33 Report post Posted February 21, 2022 Craig Bertelsen, Tom and Todd Cole, anyone with the last name Ervin. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrBaker 497 Report post Posted February 22, 2022 Nate Carr, Robert Ervin, Tj Ruschell, Kyle Ruschell, Harrison Courtney, Saul Ervin, Brock Ervin, Brandon Reed, Sean Fausz, Isaac Knable to name a few. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Checkmate 22 Report post Posted February 22, 2022 I would give my vote to Knable !! he is still rolling with these boys and putting out state champions year after year ! invicta wrestling academy has been the best thing that ever happened for Ky wrestling (even though it’s in Indiana) ! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ukpridewrestler11 276 Report post Posted February 22, 2022 Mark Hall, David Carr. Do they count? Bryce Sheffer. Joe Carr. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raidercoach 51 Report post Posted February 22, 2022 Best Careers: Dave Ritchey, Joe Carr Jr, Brock Irvin, Harrison Courtney, Issac Knable, Austin Myers Most Dominant Season: Dave Barnes Best Post-High School Careers: Dominic Black, Dave Barnes, Kyle Ruschell 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WVhighlander 27 Report post Posted February 22, 2022 Jacob Murton was one of the most dominant wrestlers in the state. 3x state champ. Brother Jairus Murton was a 2x state champ. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grappler-of-old 44 Report post Posted February 22, 2022 I have always hated these type of questions. It's hard to decide who the GOAT is all time. For example just a few names from the 90's Livingston Merritt 3X state champ 6 time placer. Tendi Charasika Extremely dominant during his time. Joe Carr Jr. 4X state champ 1X runner up (2nd his Freshman year) Bruce Stepp one of the most dominant big men 3X SC Willie Ennels 3X SC 1X runner up. (2nd his Soph year) Jarod Trice 2X very dominating (I believe he did not wrestle his Sr. year) Just a few from the past. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grappler-of-old 44 Report post Posted February 22, 2022 As for coaches I will list those with state championship titles that I believe would be top 10 (I know I listed 11) Brother Joseph Willhelm Chuck Anderson Wayne Badida Mike Bankemper Jim Perrin Jim Ploesser Rusty Parks Jim Kraezig Gary Canter Jim Matney Robert Ervin I would say with a very honorable mention. Kenny Ellenbrad, Phil Coomes, Steve Fiser, Dennis Walls Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chad.greenwell 21 Report post Posted February 22, 2022 Travis Sullivan could be up on that list Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wrestling Dad 99 Report post Posted February 22, 2022 3 hours ago, grappler-of-old said: As for coaches I will list those with state championship titles that I believe would be top 10 (I know I listed 11) Brother Joseph Willhelm Chuck Anderson Wayne Badida Mike Bankemper Jim Perrin Jim Ploesser Rusty Parks Jim Kraezig Gary Canter Jim Matney Robert Ervin I would say with a very honorable mention. Kenny Ellenbrad, Phil Coomes, Steve Fiser, Dennis Walls I am so glad you mentioned Rusty Parks (Woodford County) and Jim Ploesser of Hopkinsville. They both, like Robert Ervin, took teams out of state and competed against tough out of state competition. These are men who helped develop Kentucky wrestling. Thank you for mentioning them. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrBaker 497 Report post Posted February 22, 2022 Zeke Escalera- Fargo champ Spencer Moore- national team member and youngest D1 starter Ryan Moore- ranked 2nd in naia Nate Wheeler- ranked 2nd Trent Johnson- ranked 3rd Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keepyourheadup 10 Report post Posted February 23, 2022 Spencer Moore starting in D-1 when he should just be a senior in high school! Dave Barnes had a very dominant senior year then 3 time all American at D-1. Cole Thomas will possibly be a 4X state champion. To many others to name. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ranger123 43 Report post Posted February 23, 2022 GOO, I understand not liking these sort of debates when people get too emotional and heated about them. But hopefully everyone keeps this discussion more positive. I am only focusing on HS years here. This makes it really hard to compare the old school names, but I also tend to look more at national level competition to determine who I thought were the best guys. Winning state titles is awesome, but quite often it is way tougher to bring home hardware from Fargo, Super32, or NHSCA than it is to win a state championship. I have experienced it first hand with my boys trying to compete on the national level and I sort of use their careers as a frame of reference. Super32 medals are rare in Ky. Only a few Ky boys have brought one home from NC and Spencer has 2 along with the UWW Cadet National title and World Team. But he never got the chance to go to Fargo and failed to medal in his only trip to Va Beach. Ryan medaled 4 times at NHSCAs, once at Fargo, once at UWW Cadets, and twice at Flo. Couldn't get that Super32 medal though. All that said I don't know that either is top 10. I would like to think they are in the conversation, but there have been some really good kids come through the state. 2 that I think set themselves apart from the crowd were: Nathan Boston - only Steven Micic kept him from being a 4 time state champ, but the thing that stands out for Nathan is the fact that he was #1 in the country. Not the best in the state, but the best in the country. Moving to Ky likely kept him from maintaining that spot throughout his HS career as we got absolutely no credit back then. But he was in the conversation as one of the best at his weight throughout his HS career. Austin Myers - to me his 4 year run in HS was the best I have seen hands down. He mowed down the competition. I don't think Chris would disagree with me that no one in Ky has ever stacked up the awards from those big national events like ATM. I still remember sitting in the corner coaching him on the big stage in the finals at FloNationals when I thought he killed a kid almost driving him through the stage with a monstrous double leg at 215 pounds. He was an animal from day 1. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grappler-of-old 44 Report post Posted February 23, 2022 2 hours ago, Ranger123 said: GOO, I understand not liking these sort of debates when people get too emotional and heated about them. But hopefully everyone keeps this discussion more positive. I am only focusing on HS years here. This makes it really hard to compare the old school names, but I also tend to look more at national level competition to determine who I thought were the best guys. Winning state titles is awesome, but quite often it is way tougher to bring home hardware from Fargo, Super32, or NHSCA than it is to win a state championship. This is exactly why I don't like these type of questions. Many of the older guys either did not know about these national tournaments or many of them don't have the means to compete in them. Many of these older names are 1st generation wrestlers in their family, therefore it was not a top priority to compete nationally or find a way to do so. I do admire those families that sacrifice a ton for their wrestler to compete nationally. I however don't hold anything against those that didn't or don't. We all know how hard it is to keep everyone in the family happy both those that compete in wrestling and those that don't. I am sure there are even older names from the 70's and 60's that I am not familiar with that deserve some recognition. This is why I like to take these type of questions and look at decades as to who were the GOAT of their era. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BroOfCoach 23 Report post Posted February 23, 2022 90s- The Merritts, Bruce Stepp, Tendai Cherasika, Joe Carr, Ian Horn 2000s- Kyle Ruschell, Jacob Murton, Taylor Sherer, Isaac Knable, John Fahy 2010s- Austin Myers, Brock Ervin, Mark Hall, David Carr I'm sure I left some great ones off, but these guys came to mind quickly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ukpridewrestler11 276 Report post Posted February 23, 2022 Harrison Courtney Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Perfect 10 Report post Posted February 23, 2022 I think Thomas Deck won 4 straight state championships, the last on a torn ACL. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ranger123 43 Report post Posted February 23, 2022 GOO your points are 100% valid and I agree. That's why this should be purely a nice discussion of the great accomplishments and abilities of the best of the best and not some authoritative list. Way too many nuances and difficulties in comparing across time with varying levels of opportunity and different criteria that we all use to judge this type of thing. With that a few old school names that would make my list regardless of my earlier "national success" criteria: Jarrod Trice - never saw him wrestle, but if half of the folk lore type stories I heard about this guy are correct he might be the best ever at his peak. As GOO mentioned he didn't have a full career, but I heard that even after his serious injury in HS, he got back on the mat and was still the baddest dude in the gym Willie Ennels - imagine high school version of Ed Ruth who was virtually unstoppable when he decided he wanted to score Jon Wiard - I may be the only person with this guy on the list, but he is like a unicorn that is frozen in my memory from my days on the mat. Wiard was a long, skinny kid who walked on the mat in that baggy Frankfort singlet looking like he accidentally wandered into the gym from an academic team contest. But once the whistle blew he was so tough with that deadly cradle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wrestling Dad 99 Report post Posted February 23, 2022 11 hours ago, Ranger123 said: GOO, I understand not liking these sort of debates when people get too emotional and heated about them. But hopefully everyone keeps this discussion more positive. I am only focusing on HS years here. This makes it really hard to compare the old school names, but I also tend to look more at national level competition to determine who I thought were the best guys. Winning state titles is awesome, but quite often it is way tougher to bring home hardware from Fargo, Super32, or NHSCA than it is to win a state championship. I have experienced it first hand with my boys trying to compete on the national level and I sort of use their careers as a frame of reference. Super32 medals are rare in Ky. Only a few Ky boys have brought one home from NC and Spencer has 2 along with the UWW Cadet National title and World Team. But he never got the chance to go to Fargo and failed to medal in his only trip to Va Beach. Ryan medaled 4 times at NHSCAs, once at Fargo, once at UWW Cadets, and twice at Flo. Couldn't get that Super32 medal though. All that said I don't know that either is top 10. I would like to think they are in the conversation, but there have been some really good kids come through the state. 2 that I think set themselves apart from the crowd were: Nathan Boston - only Steven Micic kept him from being a 4 time state champ, but the thing that stands out for Nathan is the fact that he was #1 in the country. Not the best in the state, but the best in the country. Moving to Ky likely kept him from maintaining that spot throughout his HS career as we got absolutely no credit back then. But he was in the conversation as one of the best at his weight throughout his HS career. Austin Myers - to me his 4 year run in HS was the best I have seen hands down. He mowed down the competition. I don't think Chris would disagree with me that no one in Ky has ever stacked up the awards from those big national events like ATM. I still remember sitting in the corner coaching him on the big stage in the finals at FloNationals when I thought he killed a kid almost driving him through the stage with a monstrous double leg at 215 pounds. He was an animal from day 1. In spite of the WWE type of hype dad cast over him, I would agree…the most dominant both in state and on a national level. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MLee 68 Report post Posted February 23, 2022 Robbie Clarkston- 4x state champ + a runner-up as an 8th grader. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grappler-of-old 44 Report post Posted February 23, 2022 1 hour ago, Ranger123 said: Jarrod Trice - never saw him wrestle, but if half of the folk lore type stories I heard about this guy are correct he might be the best ever at his peak. As GOO mentioned he didn't have a full career, but I heard that even after his serious injury in HS, he got back on the mat and was still the baddest dude in the gym Jon Wiard - I may be the only person with this guy on the list, but he is like a unicorn that is frozen in my memory from my days on the mat. Wiard was a long, skinny kid who walked on the mat in that baggy Frankfort singlet looking like he accidentally wandered into the gym from an academic team contest. But once the whistle blew he was so tough with that deadly cradle All I remember about Trice is Coach Plosser yelling moves from the corner and Jarrod doing whatever he told him to do in the finals. Jon Wiard was unconventionally good. Lost in overtime his Jr. year in the finals. Looked like he came right out of the movie "Hoosiers". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ranger123 43 Report post Posted February 23, 2022 58 minutes ago, MLee said: Robbie Clarkston- 4x state champ + a runner-up as an 8th grader. I need to hear some Paul Bunyan stories about Clarkston. Given what he accomplished I have heard virtually nothing about him. Where are the old time Conner guys to tell us some stories about a little 8th grader competing in that room that had plenty of hammers? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WhiteTiger95 0 Report post Posted February 23, 2022 I would also like to add some honorable mentions: lampe brothers, JJ Jude, Bobby Bryant , Zane brown knable is one of the few who should be on both top 10 coaches/wrestlers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
