woodford vs larue 2007

[grappler-of-old 44]

I only have one comment on all of this talk about Jackson. STATE CHAMPS DON"T MISS WEIGHT!! I am not doubting that he is a hard worker, but it to me it makes it hard to believe this when he does not make weight, for a regional tournament.

No matter how good an individual is, not making wt. for the regional tournament tells me that there is something wrong here. Fear, lack or confidence, lack of dicipline, or lack of dedication. All of this is needed to be a state champion, let alone an undefeated state champion.

Once again I am not doubting that he is a good wrestler, I just have some doubt about his dedication.

[BlastDouble35 0]

I agree with that last comment. You have to be disciplined to be a Champ. I dont think Jackson could keep it within a major decision against Peace (if they wrestled again), Howard, and Ozzy. I think Ozzy would smash him, and im not saying that just cuz im from LaRue. I just think the way that Ozzy's wrestles is to funky for Jackson to overcome. I don't think Jackson is fundamentally sound either, but if he can sharpen up his technique then i do think he will be a pretty darn good wrestler.

[grapplinfan 0]

I don't know his weight situation, but he looked to be a big 130 pounder. Perhaps he was cutting more weight than he should have been cause he didn't want to bump the 135 pounder and it caught up with him. Just trying to think up a good reason.

If i was on the guy's team, and he missed his weight for a reason that wasn't good ESPECIALLY at regions i would be really mad at him. And these two guys obviously from Fern Creek don't seem angry with him in the least. Thus, i'm guessing maybe there's something goofy about what happened that we don't know about and shouldn't pass judgement on (though i'm curious).

So i wouldn't make my own conjecture on that. I think he wouldn't get majored by Peace, Peace is somewhat a control wrestler with a 4 point loss to him equating to losing by 8 to some guys. But i won't dispute what you're saying about Parker or Howard with respect to the major (next year who knows). They're both pretty unorthodox and at least Parker is pretty agressive.

[eville dad 17]

I don't know his weight situation' date=' but he looked to be a big 130 pounder. Perhaps he was cutting more weight than he should have been cause he didn't want to bump the 135 pounder and it caught up with him. Just trying to think up a good reason.

If i was on the guy's team, and he missed his weight for a reason that wasn't good ESPECIALLY at regions i would be really mad at him. And these two guys obviously from Fern Creek don't seem angry with him in the least. Thus, i'm guessing maybe there's something goofy about what happened that we don't know about and shouldn't pass judgement on (though i'm curious).

So i wouldn't make my own conjecture on that. I think he wouldn't get majored by Peace, Peace is somewhat a control wrestler with a 4 point loss to him equating to losing by 8 to some guys. But i won't dispute what you're saying about Parker or Howard with respect to the major (next year who knows). They're both pretty unorthodox and at least Parker is pretty agressive.[/quote']

Good points and if it was anybody but Malcolm I think folks would have been more upset, Malcolm was the most upset of anyone. But you gotta know we love Malcolm, not just because hes a great kid, but a great teammate too! Hes the guy that always is looking out for everyone else, your talking bout a kid who wrestled 119 the year before by running at 6:00 AM most mornings and then again after practice to make weight. Malcolm does everything he is asked to do and then some, hes one of the best leaders on the team, sometimes 16yr olds kids make mistakes, he will come back next year working harder than ever, and will hopefully get another shot!

I think people were disappointed instead of mad, but not because the team would miss his points but because he was going to miss his chance at state. He had positioned himself for a top 5 finish and thats being humble. I wont go thru the "who beat who" argument again, anyone who followed his weight class knew he would have to be reckoned with to get to the finals. He may not have won or he might have but he had wrestled well enough this season to have earned his ranking.

One interesting thing about Malcolm is that last year he struggled all season to keep his weight at 119 and at times looked like his conditioning suffered due to trying to maintain his weight. So during the off season he wrestled his normal weight about 135lbs and smoked everyone and looked alot better with his conditioning. This year while he moved up to a more natural weight of 130lbs, he wrestled great but probably would have been more comfortable at 135 or even 140, it will be interesting to see where he goes next year he may bump up a few wt classes.

[invincy33 0]

No offense to any one at all... But pull out your pens and Mark my words "Malcom Jackson will win state next year". This is the last thing i'll say because i dont want to drag this out.

In response to previous posts... Ozzy parker is quick, strong and has a good shot, however he doesn't set his shot up well enough, he just jumped right in. Malcom sets his shots much better. Also, i would have to think that ozzy and malcolm are quite exactly the same type of wrestlers. Not much of difference in style. Honestly though, i don't think the talk here should be ozzy parker, it should be Howard vs. Jackson. Thats the real matchup next year if they meet.

IN response to the weight issue: Malcolm was cutting 25 pounds to get to 30 and we all know he has no body fat. Problem was he was too modest to tell the coaches he was having difficulty, no excuses for the situation, But Malcolm is a wonderfull kid and the BEST reason i claim so boldly that he will win state next year is because he works EXTREMELY HARD. I don't mean to offend anyone by anymeans, but you can tell which kids will win state by thier work ethic ( derek scott- obviously a very hard working state champ) ( also I knew Murner was going to beat voth just by the way he worked his but off in every shot attemp at state). I see clearly the same work ethic in jackson.

[grapplinfan 0]

I was just thinking ... maybe this thread should have been renamed ? 8)

[FCwrestler08 0]

yea i know the way this post is writing its self out it shoud had ferncreek somewere in the title or Malcolm Jackson would have became a suitable title dont you think?

[grappler-of-old 44]

I apologise for the topic change. And I in no way wanted to offend Jacksons wrestling ability. I was just giving my opinion on what makes a state champion. (Hard work, dedication, discipline, and a no-fear attitude)

I hope next year Jackson doesn't cut that much wt. (Which I'm guessing he weighs around 160 now, and would put him at 145, 152 next year) and wrestles tough.

[penguinskillkids 0]

He'll be in the range of 140-152.

[grapplinfan 0]

Don't worry about it, i think i'm the one responsible for the topic change ... i was the first to bring up fern creek !

[fr81 0]

I think people are taking too much away from Woodford based on what they lost.

Richard Starks is a big loss. Chad Fyffe is also a tough loss, but was only here for a year. Rusty would have been one, but he didn't wrestle that much his senior year and WC still dominated. John Smith is another, but he was unable to place even in his senior year. Goodrich is also a state champ, but bumping Byrd to heavyweight (or perhaps putting Neal at heavyweight and keeping Byrd 215) should keep WC strong up top.

There is no other major loss on Woodford's team aside from that. What do they return?

Shane Parks - third place at 103; great shot at state title if he bumps up or can defeat Sullivan.

Coty Lewis - three-time state finalist will definitely be there again.

Harrison Courtney - I don't think much needs to be said here. Courtney was a big fave in '04 and took third, then came back this year and won state. It's not the last you'll hear of him.

Will Starks - I expect to see him continue to follow in Richard's footsteps: undefeated in Kentucky junior year and state champ, followed by undefeated senior season and state champ.

Matt Byrd - a car accident in the fall really hurt Byrd's chances this year; I expect to see him come back even tougher next year.

Then you look at guys like Steven Butler and Blake Sheehan, who were one match away from placing this year and should be even stronger with another year of training under the Carrs, or a guy like Justin Mays, who's got a great amount of potential. Factor in the tremendous coaching and I just don't see WC not being the favorite heading into next year.

[pioneer_pride 1]

i hate to say it, but i agree with you...barring major injuries or other issues, woodford looks like they will repeat. everyone else is just chasing them.

[Ranger123 43]

I think people are taking too much away from Woodford based on what they lost.

Richard Starks is a big loss. Chad Fyffe is also a tough loss' date=' but was only here for a year. Rusty would have been one, but he didn't wrestle that much his senior year and WC still dominated. John Smith is another, but he was unable to place even in his senior year. Goodrich is also a state champ, but bumping Byrd to heavyweight (or perhaps putting Neal at heavyweight and keeping Byrd 215) should keep WC strong up top.

There is no other major loss on Woodford's team aside from that. What do they return?

Shane Parks - third place at 103; great shot at state title if he bumps up or can defeat Sullivan.

Coty Lewis - three-time state finalist will definitely be there again.

Harrison Courtney - I don't think much needs to be said here. Courtney was a big fave in '04 and took third, then came back this year and won state. It's not the last you'll hear of him.

Will Starks - I expect to see him continue to follow in Richard's footsteps: undefeated in Kentucky junior year and state champ, followed by undefeated senior season and state champ.

Matt Byrd - a car accident in the fall really hurt Byrd's chances this year; I expect to see him come back even tougher next year.

Then you look at guys like Steven Butler and Blake Sheehan, who were one match away from placing this year and should be even stronger with another year of training under the Carrs, or a guy like Justin Mays, who's got a great amount of potential. Factor in the tremendous coaching and I just don't see WC not being the favorite heading into next year.[/quote']

I have thought about it a little more and somewhat agree. Here's how I see it right now, 11 months away: Woodford, Fern Creek, Larue

And here is my reasoning. I have 4 categories of wrestlers (having little idea how the weights/brackets might fall).

A - Great chance at the title

B - Small shot at the title, finals contender, definite placer

C - Should place

D - may contribute to the cause

Woodford - 4 A (Lewis, Courtney, Starks, Byrd), 1 B (Parks), 4 C (Butler, Scott, Sheehan, Mays), 1 D (Neal - don't know much about him)

Fern Creek - 2 A (Wood, Wolsiefer), 2 B (Jackson, Chaney - 215 will be very deep), 4 C (Burkett, Branch, Stewart, Barger), 3 D (Warren - needs to make 103, Mann, Hardin)

Larue - 1 A (Banks), 3 B (Miller, Wheeler, Embree - stretch), 5 C (Carmen, Perez, Smith, Barnhill, Shipp), 3 D (Hines, Henderson - needs to make 103, Daniels)

The big key will be which new guys step in and contribute. I still say it is very, very close. BUT, given their history, Woodford seems to find a way to step it up big when it comes state tournament time. Based on that, I give them the tie-breaker edge.