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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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!

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)

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. 

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)

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 - 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,

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.

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.

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.

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

So can we put sullivan in the middle school divison, cuz thats all he's facing. Sorry but its the truth. In 2004 when he was at 103 was when it was actually tough, you had ruschell, lewis, cory, miller, wood, etc. all in the same weight class. after that year 103 became a cake walk.  Sorry but he still doesn't impress me one bit, not till he steps up and starts wreslting some solid opponents at 119. Don't wrestle not to lose, you should be wrestling to win. Forget about all the stupid records that doesn't matter, the only way he will get better is if he pushes himself with tougher oppenents. 5 years down the road it doesn't matter what you did in high school, its what you did after.

So can we put sullivan in the middle school divison, cuz thats all he's facing. Sorry but its the truth. In 2004 when he was at 103 was when it was actually tough, you had ruschell, lewis, cory, miller, wood, etc. all in the same weight class. after that year 103 became a cake walk.  Sorry but he still doesn't impress me one bit, not till he steps up and starts wreslting some solid opponents at 119. Don't wrestle not to lose, you should be wrestling to win. Forget about all the stupid records that doesn't matter, the only way he will get better is if he pushes himself with tougher oppenents. 5 years down the road it doesn't matter what you did in high school, its what you did after.

I think that Myron Bradbury would beat most of the best in 2004 pretty handedly... its funny that things were always better in the past.(He would definately do better in the finals against ruschell than lewis did.)

From your name you must be a captain, I feel soorry for your team if you are suppose to be a leader! From your posts you only seem to be a very jealous and immature cry baby.You can look at it any way you want, but Travis will be in the State and National record books for a very long time! And yours will prorably only be in your moms scrap book ,titled; could have ,should have ,would have, and did not.  Boo Hoo :cry:

So can we put sullivan in the middle school divison, cuz thats all he's facing. Sorry but its the truth. In 2004 when he was at 103 was when it was actually tough, you had ruschell, lewis, cory, miller, wood, etc. all in the same weight class. after that year 103 became a cake walk.  Sorry but he still doesn't impress me one bit, not till he steps up and starts wreslting some solid opponents at 119. Don't wrestle not to lose, you should be wrestling to win. Forget about all the stupid records that doesn't matter, the only way he will get better is if he pushes himself with tougher oppenents. 5 years down the road it doesn't matter what you did in high school, its what you did after.

I-Pinned-em-all I agree with your statement of how good Mason Reid is and Mason is a great get. But saying he will pin through this year is a very bold statement. Maybe he will pin all the way through KY. But remember he has a true test at Beast of the East this week. If he can pin through that he is hands down the best wrestler in this state.

As far as Sullivan goes he is good you cant take anything away from a undefeated 3 time state champ. But why does he not adventure up to the beast and just prove his greatness??? I mean that in all seriousness. Im not bashing him by any means. I think as good as he is he should travel up there and put his wrestling skills to a true test. Is he going to go to Sr. Nationals this year??? I just think he should really be tested outside this state. Just my opinion.

OK Three thats cool, but i've already got mine, i've put my time in on the mat so i got nothing to regret. I've been there done that, lets see... when was the last time sullivan lost in KY? I think it was state in 04, oh & it was to lewis & wood, i think that shows that bradbury would come near or sullivan could come near 103 back then

I-Pinned-em-all I agree with your statement of how good Mason Reid is and Mason is a great get. But saying he will pin through this year is a very bold statement. Maybe he will pin all the way through KY. But remember he has a true test at Beast of the East this week. If he can pin through that he is hands down the best wrestler in this state.

As far as Sullivan goes he is good you cant take anything away from a undefeated 3 time state champ. But why does he not adventure up to the beast and just prove his greatness??? I mean that in all seriousness. Im not bashing him by any means. I think as good as he is he should travel up there and put his wrestling skills to a true test. Is he going to go to Sr. Nationals this year??? I just think he should really be tested outside this state. Just my opinion.

Let it be known, I am NOT the one bashing Sullivan! I never initiated conversation regarding Sullivan. Someone else commented and I simply stated I couldn't place him in the same category as the other 5 I mentioned. Sullivan is a stud amongst the lower weights, which is composed mostly of middle school wrestlers and underclassman. I would like to see him wrestle boys/men his age in order to classify him the same as Courtney etc. A couple of Big Macs and a little water and I see him at a plump 119! Sullivan's accomplishments speak for themselves. No one can compare their "accomplishments" to him!!!!

I will change my position on Reid. He will pin everyone in Kentucky. I base that on several pieces of information. A current coach and former NCAA division I All American told me he wrestled Reid lately and was never given such a beaten by any high school wrestler in his life. The coach is no spring chicken and has now entered the ranks, along with me,  as the "has beens", but it still tells me alot about Reid. Another coach wrestled him this summer and told me it was the first time he has ever been thrown to his back and pinned by a high schooler. Reid is for real. He is an exceptional athlete. Can anyone over 170lbs do a standing back flip "after" winning a state championship? I mean no disrespect to other 171 pounders, but Reid impressed me tremendously.

I'd have to say that Ryan Kelly would be one of the standouts.  He was dominating Jones last year in the semis, as a sophmore, before he dislocated his elbow.  We are looking at a possible 2 timer here.

I agree, Mason Reid is very good. There could possibly be a good match up Saturday at The Raider Rumble with Hitchings and Reid.

I think Ryan is a good wrestler but I just don't think we can call him an outstanding one just yet if he does repeat then yes we can. But he has not even won a state title yet. Plus in my opinion he is going to have his hands full with Jones to win it this year. I think Jones proved he is one of the top with a tough hard fought win over the returning 215 champion Nickel who could very well be a two timer.

How do you compare Travis to these 103:

02-103

1st Matt Thompson  Oldham County 5- 0

2nd Ben Denny  South Oldham 4- 1

3rd Ryan Dwyer  Seneca 5- 1

03-103

1st Dan Trejo 12 Tates Creek 5- 0

2nd Kyle Ruschell 10 Ryle 3- 1

3rd Ben Denny 12 South Oldham 5- 1

04-103

1st Kyle Ruschell 11 Ryle 5- 0

2nd Coty Lewis 8 Woodford County 4- 1

3rd Caleb Wood 9 Fern Creek 7- 1

05-119

1st Kyle Ruschell 11 Ryle 5- 0

2nd Stacy Miller 11 Larue County 4- 1

3rd Ben Warner 10 Oldham County 7- 1

If Travis wants repect he has to wrestle the big kids and not the 8th and 9th graders.

At least know what you are talking about!  112 top 10  seniors 4, juniors 3, sophmores 2, and only 1 freshman! And there are only 4 freshman even in the top 25! No middle schoolers at all.  Give it up.

well I have watched tapes with ben denny in them numerous times, and I would have to say that I

think that Travis have destroyed him at 103. And he is considered one of the best in years.

At least know what you are talking about!   112 top 10  seniors 4, juniors 3, sophmores 2, and only 1 freshman! And there are only 4 freshman even in the top 25! No middle schoolers at all.  Give it up.

Dear Three, does "three" stand for your I.Q.? If so, I will type slowly, lol. Now let's take a look at what I indicated. The "lower weights" is comprised of 2 weight groups. Notice I indicated "weights". I was not referring to 112 weight group. Plural -vs- singular. Study that concept hard before moving on please. Rather than taking a segment of the rankings and applying your flawed statistics, lets take a look at the entire group as I implied.

103 and 112 combined weight groups is composed of:

3  Seventh graders

5  Eighth graders

6  Freshman

14 Sophomores

9  Juniors

9 Seniors (actually, Frazier and Carr are listed at 112, I'll even count them at 112 even    though they are wrestling 119)

Total: 46 wrestlers (those of whom we know their grade level)

Therefore the lower "weights" are composed mostly of middleschoolers and underclassman. Let's do the math:

9 divided by 46 X 100 = 19%

Seniors make up 19% of the lower weights

Middle schoolers and underclassmen make up the remaining 81%

So, my comment was factually correct. I'll let this one slide, just be more careful in the future!

Haha! Three just got burned!!!

Fact: Travis Sullivan is an exceptional wrestle.

Fact: Travis has had an exceptional career.

Travis make everyone happy, go to the Beast of the East in a few weeks "not sure of the date" wrestle 112 and see how you measure up.

Either way it will be a great experience, great exposure, great wrestlers and you will get an idea of what senior nationals will be like.

I believe that Kyle Ruschell went his senior year and placed top 8.

Don't you have to be invited to the Beast of the East? Isn't this a regular high school tournament and not an open USA tournament?

I didn't think they normally allowed individual kids to enter thier tournament.

How would Wayne County Schools feel about Travis going to a tournament without his team?  Would they pay for it or even allow him to compete under thier name? 

All questions we (or at least stupid ole me) don't know.  :-D

Don't you have to be invited to the Beast of the East? Isn't this a regular high school tournament and not an open USA tournament?

I didn't think they normally allowed individual kids to enter thier tournament.

How would Wayne County Schools feel about Travis going to a tournament without his team?  Would they pay for it or even allow him to compete under thier name? 

All questions we (or at least stupid ole me) don't know.  :-D

From what I heard of the process, you don't necessarily have to be invited, but you have to be accepted.  You apply, and they take the most qualified candidates.  I have wondered about the team mate thing also.  I always wondered how Ryle felt when Kyle Ruschell went to the beast of the east.  I imagine they supported him 100%.  But that's a good question.  I guess it would depend on what he was missing in order to go to the beast of the east. 

www.beastwrestling.com  You do not have to be invited.  Fill out the application.  Ruschell was top 6 and received a great deal of attention as did Murton, who I believe was top  as well.  I checked their website and Ryle is listed.  Not sure if entire team or Peace and Reid.

This would be a great test for Sullivan.  There will be tons of recruiters there I am sure.  He would have to contact the administrator asap if he wanted in.  Seeding is this week.

Travis,

Here ya go; all the details.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

First Class event.

First Class wrestlers.

Heck you might even find someone willing to sponsor you, or just go with Peace and Reid.

Show the na'sayers what your capable of.

Show the nation that kentucky has more than just Ruschell and Murton good enough to attent this event.

All the opportunites in the world will become available if you place top 8.

I guess the ball is in your court.

Travis;

It would be wonderful if you could enter the event.

It would be great to show what you are capable of doing.

But if you are going to do it, do it for yourself, not for those who doubt you.  You have nothing to prove to anyone but yourself. 

Remember wrestling is about individuals and doing thigs for yourself not for others.

Travis;

It would be wonderful if you could enter the event.

It would be great to show what you are capable of doing.

But if you are going to do it, do it for yourself, not for those who doubt you.  You have nothing to prove to anyone but yourself. 

Remember wrestling is about individuals and doing thigs for yourself not for others.

is it to late to sign up for this? and i looked and i thought it was a team thing.

Dear Three, does "three" stand for your I.Q.? If so, I will type slowly, lol. Now let's take a look at what I indicated. The "lower weights" is comprised of 2 weight groups. Notice I indicated "weights". I was not referring to 112 weight group. Plural -vs- singular. Study that concept hard before moving on please. Rather than taking a segment of the rankings and applying your flawed statistics, lets take a look at the entire group as I implied.

103 and 112 combined weight groups is composed of:

3   Seventh graders

5   Eighth graders

6   Freshman

14 Sophomores

9  Juniors

9 Seniors (actually, Frazier and Carr are listed at 112, I'll even count them at 112 even    though they are wrestling 119)

Total: 46 wrestlers (those of whom we know their grade level)

Therefore the lower "weights" are composed mostly of middleschoolers and underclassman. Let's do the math:

9 divided by 46 X 100 = 19%

Seniors make up 19% of the lower weights

Middle schoolers and underclassmen make up the remaining 81%

So, my comment was factually correct. I'll let this one slide, just be more careful in the future!

Well I am glad you cleared that up, because Travis is at 112! And just so you know, I know who you are and I did date your Mom! :wink:  Travis won 103 state twice as a lower classmen, you know the nobodys. You are a wizard, keep up the good work!

Interesting topic on Stand Out wrestlers. It appears some believe the best record means the best wrestler. Sanderson and Gable have one collegiate loss between them and 7 NCAA titles. They are considered the best in college history by most sports enthusiasts. Therefore, whoever holds the high school record in the nation, should be considered the best high school wrestler of all time. Sullivan will hold that record at the end of the year. Sullivan, should be considered the best high school wrestler in the United States "of all time"? Afterall, he has the record, doesn't he? So next time anyone goes to Ohio, Iowa, Pennsylvania, remind them Kentucky has the best high school wrestler of all time.

Why does everyone run their mouthes on Sullivan?? He is and will continue to be a great wrestler.. I dont think he has to do anything to prove himself. 3years unbeaten. 3 state championships.. And last years state finals getting beat 7-1 then pinning D.C Evans with 30seconds to go. ( Evans wasnt a underclassmen) . He never gave up in my opinion. Thats a true champion.....

Its not a team thing Kyle showcased his skills there as well as Sr. nationals. Murton wrestled at the beast, Peace wrestled there last year. Him and Reid are attending this year. If you cant get into Beast try to sign up for Iron Man I think its the week following. Its a good thing for him to do it. I talked to someone close to kyle ruschell and they said it was looking like he was going to attend William Penn U. in Iowa an NAIA school until he displayed why he was one of the nations best at Beat and Sr Nationals. Sorry guys I love Ky wrestling and I would not say a bad word about it. But we all know being a 4 time state champ in KY does not amount to anything in college or mean you will do anything in the future. Check out Issac Knable a one time NCAA Qualifier did not do a thing while he was there. He also got beat by Chris Seta from Campbellsville his sr. year!

Do it and prove what you have. If you missed out thats tough luck you should have thought about these things. Its no secret its the nations biggest tournament year after year.

Iron Man has closed it's doors for the most part to teams.  However, it never hurts to call.  By the way, most of these tournaments have application deadlines in the spring. 

someone have Sullivan PM me if he really wants to go.  db

Never mind on Sullivan,  too late for the Beast. 

Never mind on Sullivan,  too late for the Beast. 

This event is something Travis had to have known about; he choose not to enter.

Travis will complete his high school career and have great accomplishments, he should get credit for it.

He has the opportunity to enter senior nationals and Fargo if he want to get recognize for college.

If not, he was just another exceptional "KENTUCKY" wrestlers and that's all anyone will every give him credit for.

I agree 100% withh that old school. If he's looking to get any good colleges to look at him then he NEEDS to get out to fargo with the best wrestlers in the nation & truely test his skills on the mat.

Wow. 

It is amazing how so many people are planning this kids future out.

There are several possibilities here.

1.  Maybe he does plan to go to a big name D1 wrestling school.

2.  Maybe he has no interest in D1 and just wants to wrestle in college.

3.  Maybe he has no interest at all in wrestling in college.

4.  Maybe ha has no interest in college at all. 

5.  Maybe his true interests are in things more important than wrestling. I know this is hard to believe, but many athletes forgo their college careers and persue academic accomplishments.  How difficult would it be for an individual to go to pre-med or some other academically challenging field and wrestle at the same time.

I feel sorry for this kid. 

Not only is he trying to defend a state championsip title. He is also trying to become a rare 4 time state champion.  On top of this he is trying to complete a 4 year undefeated high school career. 

With all this on his plate.  He has people criticizing him for being at a lower wt, for not competing at high level tournaments on his own accord without his team. 

Let him be and let him do whatever he wants to do.  None of us MYSELF INCLUDED.  Knows what is best for this kid.  He, his parents and his coach have a much better understanding of what is better for this tremendous individual.

Concur,

No matter which one of the five choices Travis makes, I wish him well  :-D.

I hope he gets his 4th title @ "whatever" weigh.

see what i dont understand is how u can take anything away from the kid (travis sullivan) he is a 3 time state chamion he by far pulled his weight at wayne county took his beating threw middle school wrestling in a higher level and decide after he got beat his 8th grade year at state he was going to be a winner, u say he dont wrestle no competion he's a 3 time freestyle junior olympic champion which i saw his matches against great competion there he beat the kid who won fargo there pretty soundly like 8-2 or something like that beat all the kids from ohio the 103 state champ who wrestle for ohio sampsons freestyle team, both the kids from mid-adlantic,and crushed the returning michigan state champion in the finals not to mention all the kids he has beatin from tennesse georgia and flordia at the dawg pound and tennesse tourneys he is flat out good he has consitantly beat D.C evans from whitley county its hard to beat a wrestler at that level every time he beat shane parks,adam carr,john voth,cornett, just to name a few he is flat out on of the best to come threw kentucky ever he finds a way to win every match he wrestles and that shows alot to me he will be a 4 timer casue he refuses to lose no matter who he is wrestling he pulls it out so in my opion why bag on the guy he makes kentucky wrestling look good

    Is this where the problem lies???  Just because he chooses to stay closer to home and competing in different tournaments such as freestyle tourneys. 

    Maybe we should get his resume and then decide how good he is compared to the rest of the nation. Ignorance may be bliss but ignorance also makes you look stupid.

Interesting topic on Stand Out wrestlers. It appears some believe the best record means the best wrestler. Sanderson and Gable have one collegiate loss between them and 7 NCAA titles. They are considered the best in college history by most sports enthusiasts. Therefore, whoever holds the high school record in the nation, should be considered the best high school wrestler of all time. Sullivan will hold that record at the end of the year. Sullivan, should be considered the best high school wrestler in the United States "of all time"? Afterall, he has the record, doesn't he? So next time anyone goes to Ohio, Iowa, Pennsylvania, remind them Kentucky has the best high school wrestler of all time.

Just to let everyone know, Gable only won two NCAA titles at Iowa State.  At that time freshman were not allowed to participate in varsity athletics.

I've read everything on here and obviously Sullivan's record speaks for itself.  No one can take away the fact that he is a three time state champion and barring disaster will win another one.  That's obviously more than every Kentucky wrestler minus three (Robbie Clarkston, Joe Carr Jr., Isaac Knable).  But when comparing who actually was the better wrestler you have to consider the road they took to get there.  Obviously Sullivan has had an easier road, than say Harrison Courtney, every time because his competition is made up of mainly underclassmen and middle schoolers.  Because of this I would consider Courtney and the other wrestlers who have been in the higher weight classes to be "better".

Wow. 

It is amazing how so many people are planning this kids future out.

There are several possibilities here.

1.  Maybe he does plan to go to a big name D1 wrestling school.

2.  Maybe he has no interest in D1 and just wants to wrestle in college.

3.  Maybe he has no interest at all in wrestling in college.

4.  Maybe ha has no interest in college at all. 

5.  Maybe his true interests are in things more important than wrestling. I know this is hard to believe, but many athletes forgo their college careers and persue academic accomplishments.  How difficult would it be for an individual to go to pre-med or some other academically challenging field and wrestle at the same time.

I feel sorry for this kid. 

Not only is he trying to defend a state championsip title. He is also trying to become a rare 4 time state champion.  On top of this he is trying to complete a 4 year undefeated high school career. 

With all this on his plate.  He has people criticizing him for being at a lower wt, for not competing at high level tournaments on his own accord without his team. 

Let him be and let him do whatever he wants to do.  None of us MYSELF INCLUDED.  Knows what is best for this kid.  He, his parents and his coach have a much better understanding of what is better for this tremendous individual.

Im not planning anyones future. Im simply saying if you want to be considered one of the best then wrestle the best. Plain and simple! Kyle did it, Murton did it, Peace is doing it and so is Reid.

I don't get it. This thread was started to discuss stand out wrestlers and the only one we discuss is Sullivan. It seems like everyone has to defend why he is so great. Why defend a 3 time state champion, he has the gold medals.  Obviously, he doesn't have the respect from all people for a variety of reasons. Some people think he the greatest of all time, some don't. I don't think he felt like a state champion after getting beat on by DC Evans for 5:30 seconds, despite the last second pin! Nevertheless, Travis is the man at 103 and 112. 4 timer to be, congrats!

Now what about the other great wrestlers?

Isaac and Luke Ervin, Wolsiefer, Peace, Elliot Martin are all great. If Courtney ever steps on the scales and wrestles this year, I will continue to believe he is great, but not until we see a weight and a match. Afterall, what is there to hide???????????? Courtney is the best wrestler in the state IMO.

 

my to five are close

1 Wolsiefer

2 Sullivan

3 Courtney

4 Elliot martin

5 Ervin/Peace/Reid thats a close one

thanks grap

This year's senior class is loaded with talented wrestlers!

After his performance this weekend I think Reid has to start moving up everyone's list.  If he performs this way in February then he is near the top.