Stand Out Wrestlers

[I-pinned-em-all 0]

There are many good and even great wrestlers in Kentucky, but, few phenoms. Obviously, there will be 14 state champs at the end of the season, but who stands out as the best of all weights.

My top 5

1. Mason Reid, this kid will crush anyone he shakes hands with. Look for pins every match this year. Yes, every match of the entire year.  He is two men fused into one body. No one is even near him at his weight. The best athlete of all wrestlers in the state.

2. Wolseifer, OK, I know I say this every month, but he has mastered the sport.

3. Bryan Peace, I didn't think he would or could improve from last year, I was wrong, he will not see a close match at 140. He should retire now so we can see competition in this weight group, otherwise, it will be boring as he simply destroys everyone.

4. Courtney, nothing else to say about this future 4 time state champ.

5. Mitch Irvin, great kid who simply has the sport down pat. Clash of the Titans when Mitch and John Wolsiefer wrestle.

There are other great kids, but these are far and above everyone else. Mark Jones, I like what I have seen so far, but I need to see more matches before I place him the guys above.

[Mathound 4]

The future of Kentucky looks bright. I think Sullivan should probably be in there somewhere considering he is a 3-time state champ.

[Idatedurmom 0]

I agree Sullivan will accomplish more than anyone in Kentucky Wrestling history. We will probably never again see a 4 time undefeated state champion in Kentucky. Although he is a 2 timer at 103 lbs, I still consider 103 a weight group filled mostly with prepubescent boys. I would not characterize Sullivan as dominating the 112 weight group last year, or at least in the finals. If Sullivan were to wrestle and dominate some of the better kids at 119, my opinion would likely change. But for now, I view him as a physically superior and simply wrestling mostly younger boys at 112. Nothing personal, I just don't characterize him as having the same "wrestling" skills as Peace or Wolseifer, etc. Clearly, Sullivan's record speaks for itself, but I have my opinions.

[lilreb 0]

Sullivan has a great record, but I agree, he needs to wrestle other seniors, especially at 119. When he was a freshman and pinned everyone I was very impressed, however, I feel he needs to wrestle real competition to be considered a great wrestler. I am assuming he will want to wrestle in college where the lightest weight group is 125 lbs. I would like to see a prelude to his college days by him wrestling a top 5 kid at 119 this year. 

Peace has incredible skills and quickness.

Mitch Irvin is head's above the rest.

[pridewrestler 0]

It's Ervin.. not Irvin.. there are so many of them people should know how to spell their last name!

[CCFullerHWT 1]

Sullivan has a great record, but I agree, he needs to wrestle other seniors, especially at 119. When he was a freshman and pinned everyone I was very impressed, however, I feel he needs to wrestle real competition to be considered a great wrestler. I am assuming he will want to wrestle in college where the lightest weight group is 125 lbs. I would like to see a prelude to his college days by him wrestling a top 5 kid at 119 this year. 

Peace has incredible skills and quickness.

Mitch Irvin is head's above the rest.

I don't think Ervin is heads above the rest in my opinion the best wrestler in the state is Bryan Peace

[grappler-of-old 44]

I have always been confused on this Sullivan arguement.  

Here is what I hear.  Sullivan should wrestle above his weight class to prove his worth. Why don't they say the same about Harrison, or Peace, or Ervin?  

I know he is a light weight and many to most are underclassman.  But why should he give his opponents a weight advantage?   This kid is having his wrestling ability doubted becuase of his size.  

What if people said.  Nickle should bump to Hwt this year to prove his state title last year was not a fluke.

C'mon people give this kid his due.  As was stated he will become an undefeated 4 time state champion and will probably have the national wins record.

[Idatedurmom 0]

Grap of Old you are missing the point, again! Let's go through it.

Current Rankings (TOP 25 according to Ranger123)

103 lbs: ONE senior, only ONE, just ONE, no more than ONE senior

            TWO juniors, TWO, only TWO juniors

            FIVE 8th graders, and THREE 7th graders

112 lbs: SEVEN seniors, only SEVEN ( Frazier is 119 not 112)

Now if we look at weights 130-171, the combined weight groups have only 7 freshman. There are 7 freshman ranked in the 103 lbs weight division alone.  Therefore, the facts demonstrate 103 and 112 is comprised mostly of younger wrestlers and underclassman. Naturally, I would expect a senior 103 pounder to beat most if not all 7th graders. The 7th grader may be a better "wrestler" than the senior but simply can't compete physically.

If Sullivan is going to wrestle in college, IF, is there suddenly going to be a 20 lb growth in one year when he only gained 9 lbs in 4 years of high school? Maybe he will never grow and 112 will be his adult weight forever. If this is the case, no problem. I am not trying to take anything away from Sullivan, his accomplishments speak for themselves. I simply can't tell if he is really a "great" wrestler or simply dominating a weight group composed mostly of younger boys. Now look at 125 wt group, the top 8 wrestlers are all seniors. Naturally, I will have more respect for the 125 lbs state champion than a solitary senior at 103.

Harrison Courtney on the other hand, won a senior dominated weight as a freshman. He is a great wrestler in my book.

[ryledad 0]

I disagree with your comments.  When he (Travis Sullivan)  won the state championship as a freshman he had to have wrestled some seniors.  So now he is a senior and is smaller but he is still winning against some seniors, some juniors, some sophmores so what.  He has to go to college and be successful to be considered won of the best on a high school level?  Kyle Ruschell won two state championships one at 103 and one at 12.  He is now at University of Wisconsin wrestling 140.  Last year he was a redshirt freshman and was runner up in the Big Ten Conference; at the NCAA tournament he ended up top ten.  He was a great wrestler at a smaller weight but he did not need to prove himself at a higher weight.  A good wrestler is a good wrestler at any weight.  Any four, three or two time state champ should be considered as an excellent wrestler.  You can't get lucky year after year.  Just my thoughts.

[Ranger123 43]

I disagree with your comments.  When he (Travis Sullivan)  won the state championship as a freshman he had to have wrestled some seniors.  So now he is a senior and is smaller but he is still winning against some seniors, some juniors, some sophmores so what.  He has to go to college and be successful to be considered won of the best on a high school level?  Kyle Ruschell won two state championships one at 103 and one at 12.  He is now at University of Wisconsin wrestling 140.  Last year he was a redshirt freshman and was runner up in the Big Ten Conference; at the NCAA tournament he ended up top ten.  He was a great wrestler at a smaller weight but he did not need to prove himself at a higher weight.  A good wrestler is a good wrestler at any weight.  Any four, three or two time state champ should be considered as an excellent wrestler.  You can't get lucky year after year.  Just my thoughts.

Come on Ryle guy.  Ruschell did just that.  Weighing more like 112 he wrestled 119 all year (except at Beast of the East) and dominated everyone to prove he was the man.

I'll put my 2 cents in AGAIN on this subject.  First, I'm with you pinned-em-all, except I would love to see Wolsiefer and Reid go at it.  I still put my money on Johnny.  On Sullivan I can't include him with these other guys.  If I believed he wasn't cutting any weight then I would give him the benefit of the doubt.  But I'm confident that he is working to get back to 112.  And the only "competitive" seniors in his brackets were last year (Scheuer and Carr).  At 103 he didn't face any.

[Idatedurmom 0]

I disagree with your comments.  When he (Travis Sullivan)  won the state championship as a freshman he had to have wrestled some seniors.  So now he is a senior and is smaller but he is still winning against some seniors, some juniors, some sophmores so what.  He has to go to college and be successful to be considered won of the best on a high school level?  Kyle Ruschell won two state championships one at 103 and one at 12.  He is now at University of Wisconsin wrestling 140.  Last year he was a redshirt freshman and was runner up in the Big Ten Conference; at the NCAA tournament he ended up top ten.  He was a great wrestler at a smaller weight but he did not need to prove himself at a higher weight.  A good wrestler is a good wrestler at any weight.  Any four, three or two time state champ should be considered as an excellent wrestler.  You can't get lucky year after year.  Just my thoughts.

Now Dad, you can't start using Kyle's resume to bolster those of another wrestler. Kyle is not Travis, and vice versa.  I will repeat, Travis Sullivan will accomplish something this year that will land him in the record books. His accomplishments speak for themselves! He will be a 4 time state champ!  In my humble, and meaningless opinion, I believe he could easily go 119 and even 125 but is actively cutting to remain at 112. But I believe the temptation to be a 4 time state champ will keep him cutting weight to avoid better kids who could possibly/probably ruin his undefeated record. There will be 14 state champs this year, all of them will forever be a champion. However, I believe all state champs are not of the same caliber. This thread was not intended to bash Sullivan, it was only to point out the few kids with superior "wrestling" skills independent of their weight class.

[Idatedurmom 0]

FYI: 2005 103 lb state bracket was composed of:

4    7th graders

6    8th graders

15  9th graders

7    10 th graders

Zero Juniors

Zero Seniors

Travis Sullivan pinned all opponents and won state.

[stand-up 0]

Come on Ryle guy.  Ruschell did just that.  Weighing more like 112 he wrestled 119 all year (except at Beast of the East) and dominated everyone to prove he was the man.

I'll put my 2 cents in AGAIN on this subject.  First, I'm with you pinned-em-all, except I would love to see Wolsiefer and Reid go at it.  I still put my money on Johnny.  On Sullivan I can't include him with these other guys.  If I believed he wasn't cutting any weight then I would give him the benefit of the doubt.  But I'm confident that he is working to get back to 112.  And the only "competitive" seniors in his brackets were last year (Scheuer and Carr).  At 103 he didn't face any.

I too would love to see a Wolsiefer - Ried match, except my money is on Ried.  John is one of my favorite all time wrestlers but I didn't see much improvement last season.  I watched everyone of his matches at state last year and came away disappointed,  no domination and he even seem to struggle at times.  Ried, on the other hand, was a human wrecking ball and seemed to get stronger with every match.  I'm sure this match will never take place but it's fun to speculate.

[old140 4]

I agree with you here.  I dont know what it is but it seems that Wolfsiefer has lost the drive or something.  I watched him against Choate the other day and he did not seem like the agressor he was his sophmore year.  He still majored him to, which says a lot about how great he is.  Maybe Ervin bumping up will light that fire under him again.  Dont take this wrong Wolfsiefer fans, I think hes an awesome wrestler.  Just not as agressive and determined as he once was.

[I-pinned-em-all 0]

I agree with you here.  I dont know what it is but it seems that Wolfsiefer has lost the drive or something.  I watched him against Choate the other day and he did not seem like the agressor he was his sophmore year.  He still majored him to, which says a lot about how great he is.  Maybe Ervin bumping up will light that fire under him again.  Dont take this wrong Wolfsiefer fans, I think hes an awesome wrestler.  Just not as agressive and determined as he once was.

Unfortunately, I have seen this kind of behavior before. Troy Cole was one the top 3 all time greatest Ky wrestlers. 6 time placer. 4 time finalist, 2 time champ. During his sophomore year he annihilated his opponent in the 138 lb state finals >15 points. His junior year 145 lb state finals his opponent was too beat up to even finish the match and forfeited to Troy( losing by > 15 points at time of forfeit). He was MOW of state as a junior.  Yet his senior year he became bored, didn't stay in shape, only weighing 144 lbs, he intentionally wrestled up at 155 in the state meet to get a little competition. He laid an egg in the finals and was too out of shape to beat a great 2 time state champ named Eddie Persons. Troy just lost his mojo and became bored. He regrets it very much today. 

I hope this doesn't happen to John. John should be one of the select 3 time state champs. Regardless, I have seen John wrestle "in his prime" and he remains one of my very favorites.

[eville dad 17]

I agree with you here.  I dont know what it is but it seems that Wolfsiefer has lost the drive or something.  I watched him against Choate the other day and he did not seem like the agressor he was his sophmore year.  He still majored him to, which says a lot about how great he is.  Maybe Ervin bumping up will light that fire under him again.  Dont take this wrong Wolfsiefer fans, I think hes an awesome wrestler.  Just not as agressive and determined as he once was.

Old140,

I am kind of biased toward Wolsiefer (check your spelling, if your going to talk about him at least learn to spell his name) and taking nothing away from Choate, but I thought John looked very aggressive in his first match of the season, which was a rematch of the 160lb State Finals. He hit a throw-by in the first 30 seconds that put Choate straight to his back and was very close to getting the pin.  After that flurry of action JW went on to score 3 or 4 more takedowns and didnt give up any offensive points to a very tough Choate, who has wrestled John 3-5 times now. I think they are getting tired of each other. Both guys seemed a little gassed at times but thats not to surprising this time of year.

I think John is very determined to win regardless of who he is wrestling, he knows you have to respect every opponent every match, regardless of their name or title. I appreciate your kind words for John and I know what you mean about he may not be as determined as in years past, thats hard to say, but there are times I hear him say things that make me think hes more determined than ever! I can also tell you hes working hard preparing for the toughest schedule he's faced since being in high school. I guess time will tell, should be a fun season, good luck to all!

[bulldog-leader 56]

IDUM. 

I completely get your point.  I just don't completely understand it either, or more accurately agree with the point. 

The reason wrestling is such a great sport is because it matches kids of same weight and size.  As Sullivan himself proved his freshman and Soph. year.  It's not the age it is the wrestling ability.  This is why they overturned the rule about 7th and 8th graders wresling varsity.  (For a couple of years they were not allowed to wrestle varsity).

Any way you look at it Sullivan would be at a slight disadvntage if he goes to 119 or 125.  Yes he may be loosing wt. to make 112, but those 119 and 125lbs are also loosing wt. to make thier wt. class.  I also believe that loosing weight to make a wt. class causes you to work harder because of the sacrifice you have made.

I'm not saying that Sullivan should be considered the greatest of this years state champions.  What I am saying is that you cannot take away from his accomplishments. He is defeating all his competitors that are in his wt. class. 

As for my list of stand outs I can only go by last years accomplishments so far, for I have not seen any of these wrestle yet this year.

1.  Harrison Courtney.  (It took awhile but I am finally convinced)

2.  Brian Peace  (was a stud last year, and I hear that he dominated wed. match against shotwell)

3.  Reid (A man amoung boys)

4.  Wolsiefer (Again if it was his Soph year he would be higher)

5.  Ervin (Took the bull by the horns in the finals last year against Banks to prove his worth)

6.  Sullivan (I don't have to explain this one any more)

[pioneer_pride 1]

Troy just lost his mojo and became bored. He regrets it very much today. 

I hope this doesn't happen to John. John should be one of the select 3 time state champs. Regardless, I have seen John wrestle "in his prime" and he remains one of my very favorites.

Listen to these words young Johnny.  Don't be a troy.  Today Troy can occassinally be found swimming from shore to shore of the Ohio river, dodging barges, trying to recapture the glory days!!  LOL.  Just kidding Troy. 

But seriously, I think you guys are on to something.  My gut instinct is that Ervin is hungrier & working harder than Johnny.  And by the time Johnny realizes what he stands to lose (a shot to be a 3X), it will be too late if it isn't already.  Ervin can not be a 3X state champ, but he can be the guy who beat the unbeatable Wolsiefer in convincing fashion. 

[grappler-of-old 44]

I'm still not sure that Ervin can defeat Wolsiefer. 

    He may not have been as showy as he was his sophomore year but he still gets the job done.  He is a very smart wrestler.  He does not take many unnecessary chances.  He is very methodical, but this could be his downfall and be to cautious.

    Of cource I was wrong last year also.  I did not beleive he could defeat Banks. (And I still think Cooper would have taken him)

[totalcontrol 0]

Bulldog - I don't understand.  Why do you say age/grade doesn't matter in Sullivan's case, but you say you would have Wolsiefer higher on your list of greats if he was a sophomore?  Isn't this a little contradictory?  Please enlighten me.    :|

[bulldog-leader 56]

Bulldog - I don't understand.  Why do you say age/grade doesn't matter in Sullivan's case, but you say you would have Wolsiefer higher on your list of greats if he was a sophomore?  Isn't this a little contradictory?   Please enlighten me.    :|

As I mentioned I have not seen him wrestle yet this year. 

I believe he was a better wrestler his Sophomore year.  I thought he lost a step his Junior year.

(Has nothing to do with his age)

You have been enlightened.  :-D

[old140 4]

Old140,

I am kind of biased toward Wolsiefer (check your spelling, if your going to talk about him at least learn to spell his name) and taking nothing away from Choate, but I thought John looked very aggressive in his first match of the season, which was a rematch of the 160lb State Finals. He hit a throw-by in the first 30 seconds that put Choate straight to his back and was very close to getting the pin.  After that flurry of action JW went on to score 3 or 4 more takedowns and didnt give up any offensive points to a very tough Choate, who has wrestled John 3-5 times now. I think they are getting tired of each other. Both guys seemed a little gassed at times but thats not to surprising this time of year.

I think John is very determined to win regardless of who he is wrestling, he knows you have to respect every opponent every match, regardless of their name or title. I appreciate your kind words for John and I know what you mean about he may not be as determined as in years past, thats hard to say, but there are times I hear him say things that make me think hes more determined than ever! I can also tell you hes working hard preparing for the toughest schedule he's faced since being in high school. I guess time will tell, should be a fun season, good luck to all!

You may very well be right that they are getting tired of wrestling each other.  I am sure Choate would agree with this.. lol.  Both Wolsiefer( I get it right?), and Choate seemed not to be in the best shape.

[totalcontrol 0]

He may not have been as showy as he was his sophomore year but he still gets the job done.  He is a very smart wrestler.  He does not take many unnecessary chances.  He is very methodical, but this could be his downfall and be to cautious.

So you're just agreeing with Grappler of Old?  Sorry, I didn't see where you said you didn't see him wrestle last year.  My bad.

[Zeus 117]

Oooh do I smell some sigbets?  I mentioned these last spring.  It's a bet where the winner gets to decide the loser's signature for an allotted period of time.  They do these all the time on themat.com message boards.

[FarmBoy09 0]

lol yeah you are right...i am gettin rather tired of wrestling johnny...he is a great wrestler and i am looking forward to seeing him and ervin go at it