For me...

Teams:  Meade County wrestled and competed very well for a second year team.  Keep up the good work.  Woodford County really stepped it up when it counted.

103 - Supe showed up to wrestle at state.

112 - Spencer wasn't afraid of the record.

119 - Supe showed up to wrestle at region and state.

125 - Parks was a microcosm of the Woodford team; he stepped it up in the post season.  Norbury was a huge surprise; he was as good as anyone at 125.  Repeat the general Supe comment.  Luna is getting back to form.

130 - Johnson looked good and Ervin was a very tough freshman.

135 - Davis is one of the fastest wrestlers I've ever seen.  Plus, he improved his technique dramatically.  I bet Vernon Jackson had something to do with that.

140 - Where did Bennett and Bollman come from?

145 - Not a surprise, but yes I have to repeat, Courtney is a beast.  I wish he were going for 5 next year.

152 - Choate/Isaacs didn't have the most action packed state tournament, but they won some big matches.

160 - Ray showed he can compete with the big boys.

171 - Reid didn't dominate as much as expected.

189 - Houchens was outmatched physically, but showed his talent.

215 - Chiba is very impressive.  I'm anxious to see how he performs as a senior.

285 - Bailey was one of the most impressive heavyweights I have seen (in the finals).  He came out determined to win and with that size and speed is very hard to stop.

I agree.  Houchens did push the match and bailey was unstopable.

I also thought that Andy Lenz was a surprise at 112.  He was ranked below 15th but finished 7th.

lenz was a balla at state...get em sheeves

I want to have Andy's babies. :-o

What about the Newport boys.  started out 6-0.

160 Ilg defeated Lee to get a placement.

215 Ilg defeated both the 3rd and 4th place finisher in the tourney, but placed 7th.

112 almost a placer.

lenz was a balla at state...get em sheeves

I also thought that Andy Lenz was a surprise at 112.  He was ranked below 15th but finished 7th.

I want to have Andy's babies. :-o

Thnx for the suppourt guys, not sure what to say with the baby comment but good to know someones out there does. LOL  

Thnx for the suppourt guys, not sure what to say with the baby comment but good to know someones out there does. LOL  

You don't have to say anything. Just post a winky face and i'll know that you dig it. lol [i am not gay] :-D

For me...

Teams:  Meade County wrestled and competed very well for a second year team.  Keep up the good work.  Woodford County really stepped it up when it counted.

125 - Parks was a microcosm of the Woodford team; he stepped it up in the post season.  Norbury was a huge surprise; he was as good as anyone at 125.  Repeat the general Supe comment.  Luna is getting back to form.

135 - Davis is one of the fastest wrestlers I've ever seen.  Plus, he improved his technique dramatically.  I bet Vernon Jackson had something to do with that.

285 - Bailey was one of the most impressive heavyweights I have seen (in the finals).  He came out determined to win and with that size and speed is very hard to stop.

I agree -- it's exciting to see Meade competing. I thought Iroquois' guys were scrappy competitor, too. Eastern was nothing to write home about placing 14th, but that's a heckuva lot better than 32, where they were ranked.

Luna worked hard, especially considering he didn't compete for half the season. And he behaved himself, both on the mat and among his teammates. Those who wanted to criticize him didn't seem to realize that he had to prove himself to his team, too. We didn't just accept his return with open arms.

Davis winning wasn't a surprise to those of us who know him. This kid was just not going to accept a loss. Period. He has become a fine young man and has a lot of heart. Yes, Vernon did some one-on-one coaching, but J.D. pushed himself, and his entire team was behind him.

Bailey was phenomenal this year. It's so great to see a heavyweight match that's fun to watch instead of it being a contest of who can hold down who with sheer weight!

Bailey was fun to watch you don't see many HWT's shoot a double leg!!!!!!!! I was impressed.

For me...

Teams:  Meade County wrestled and competed very well for a second year team.  Keep up the good work.  Woodford County really stepped it up when it counted.

103 - Supe showed up to wrestle at state.

112 - Spencer wasn't afraid of the record.

119 - Supe showed up to wrestle at region and state.

125 - Parks was a microcosm of the Woodford team; he stepped it up in the post season.  Norbury was a huge surprise; he was as good as anyone at 125.  Repeat the general Supe comment.  Luna is getting back to form.

130 - Johnson looked good and Ervin was a very tough freshman.

135 - Davis is one of the fastest wrestlers I've ever seen.  Plus, he improved his technique dramatically.  I bet Vernon Jackson had something to do with that.

140 - Where did Bennett and Bollman come from?

145 - Not a surprise, but yes I have to repeat, Courtney is a beast.  I wish he were going for 5 next year.

152 - Choate/Isaacs didn't have the most action packed state tournament, but they won some big matches.

160 - Ray showed he can compete with the big boys.

171 - Reid didn't dominate as much as expected.

189 - Houchens was outmatched physically, but showed his talent.

215 - Chiba is very impressive.  I'm anxious to see how he performs as a senior.

285 - Bailey was one of the most impressive heavyweights I have seen (in the finals).  He came out determined to win and with that size and speed is very hard to stop.

hey ranger thanks i am the  meade county parent of 171 and 103 and i would just like to say Thank You!!!!!  I hope to see meade go alot farther next year coach Bob is a great coach!!!!!!!!!!!

What about the Newport boys.  started out 6-0.

160 Ilg defeated Lee to get a placement.

215 Ilg defeated both the 3rd and 4th place finisher in the tourney, but placed 7th.

112 almost a placer.

Ilg 215 only beat 4th because of a DQ other wise it was like 6-1 Ilg had 1. And 3rd place guy was on the other side of the bracket. Just the way it goes sometimes I guess.

Good assesment of the tourney, Ranger.  Woodford did perform better than some expected. Shane's been wrestlin since he was 4 or 5 yrs old.  What a great way to end a career. Harrison Courtney is pure beast, he's like a fire-breathing wolverine with chainsaw hands.  I'd like to see him and Ian Horn (from 98) square off.

Good assesment of the tourney, Ranger.  Woodford did perform better than some expected. Shane's been wrestlin since he was 4 or 5 yrs old.  What a great way to end a career. Harrison Courtney is pure beast, he's like a fire-breathing wolverine with chainsaw hands.  I'd like to see him and Ian Horn (from 98) square off.

Fire-breathing wolverine with chainsaw hands!!!  Someone has to make a poster of that one.  PLEASE!

Good assesment of the tourney, Ranger.  Woodford did perform better than some expected. Shane's been wrestlin since he was 4 or 5 yrs old.  What a great way to end a career. Harrison Courtney is pure beast, he's like a fire-breathing wolverine with chainsaw hands.  I'd like to see him and Ian Horn (from 98) square off.

That sounds like a pretty cool depiction off him.

Is Courtney going 145 and is Choate going 152 or 160?

its a mystery. Maybe ranger can help us out with a little bit of preseason rankings

:-D

they will PROBABLY go were ever there is the best competetion to challenge themselves.  But who knows?

its a mystery. Maybe ranger can help us out with a little bit of preseason rankings

:-D

I'm going to give the kids a couple weeks to enjoy the success or think about their failures before I put out the first 2008-2009 pre-season rankings.  Let's say March 3.  That also gives me a little time to scope out the 8th graders that will be moving up.

I fell very sorry for Derek Nickels, he not placing and all I think that was a big surprise no one was expecting.

I fell very sorry for Derek Nickels, he not placing and all I think that was a big surprise no one was expecting.

Derek Nickel - Wow. Im shocked. I tried calling him about 20 times after i looked on khsaa.org. no answer. nobody has seen nor heard from him.

Dakoda Choate - I dont understand why everyone is so shocked (myself included) he would have been a state champion last year if not for the grizzly man beast that goes by Johnny Woo.

Which brings me to my last unstated surprise of the year (but not the tourney):

John Wolsiefer - Oh my god. Collosal.

Take it how you all want but Dakota Choate is the worst state champion I've ever seen.

Nice. I remember when you won yours with all pins. Oh, wait. :-o

Take it how you all want but Dakota Choate is the worst state champion I've ever seen.

I think that, by far, that is the worst, most uninformative, hateful, jerk, thing to say. Dusty said it best.

As to why you would say something like that is beyond me. Thats just ridiculous to say. I think you should be kicked off here for openly verbally battering a good, honest, talented, relentless kid.

When is the last time someone complained on him for being a cheater or unsportsmanlike? He hasn't gotten kicked off the team and let back on, or punched any kids or any of that and yet you target this young man?

He must have smashed your son or something because you've got problems.

I defy you to name 3 flaws with Dakota Choate.

First off just because i say something you don't like doesnt mean i get kicked off. Second of all I have my reasons. But I just stating a simple opinion GET OVER IT! If any of the past 152 pound champions wrestled him they would destroy him. What out there did Choate do that makes me think he deserved a state title? Because it sure as heck wasn't wrestling that he was doing more like a stall fest to me.. I say cut the stall and wrestle a whole match instead of attempting one move and stalling.

First off just because i say something you don't like doesnt mean i get kicked off. Second of all I have my reasons. But I just stating a simple opinion GET OVER IT! If any of the past 152 pound champions wrestled him they would destroy him. What out there did Choate do that makes me think he deserved a state title? Because it sure as heck wasn't wrestling that he was doing more like a stall fest to me.. I say cut the stall and wrestle a whole match instead of attempting one move and stalling.

A win is a win, even if it is ugly.  Especially at the State Tournament.

Congrats DC, you put me there and you got me one.

Branch over poulton

Is Courtney going 145 and is Choate going 152 or 160?

dont' get any big ideas courtney would pin him in the first

Yea courtney is the real deal.

Choate had a great tourny, no one expected him to beat Ashbrook (sp).  Ashbrook looked dead during their match. Choate may not be the best or most dominant 152 Kentucky has ever seen, but he's still a champ and he pulled some major upsets.  Give the kid some credit, I wouldn't be surprised if he repeated.

I didn't see Choate winning state, Ashbrooke was the Heavy favorite for the title (In my opinion)

I agree with the bear to a certain extent.  Choate is pretty bad but I don't know about the worst state champ I've ever seen.  I wonder if he runs from Courtney next year.

I don't think Choate will run from Courtney.  I definitely don't think he would beat him, but he won't run from him.  Choate will be 160 next year.  Dakoda isn't flashy and his matches are usually very low scoring.  He just seems to find a way to win most of the time.

I agree with the bear to a certain extent.  Choate is pretty bad but I don't know about the worst state champ I've ever seen.  I wonder if he runs from Courtney next year.

Don't even hint that he would ever run from anybody. You don't know him, don't do that. He was going 145 FOR Courtney and the competition. He was cutting and weighed around 146 147 during the summer but couldn't keep it there. He was cutting just to make 152. Just like he weighed 152 last year and stayed 160 for Johnny. Don't bad mouth him.

I don't know Dakota, But from what I've seen This kid is one of the few kids out there who just wrestles and keeps wrestling and dosn't stop,  He was a runner up last year as a sophmore, And this year stepped up And beat the best 152 in the state In Ashbrook , And He got the WIN in the state finals which is all that matters. I think this is a tough kid who could be a good college wrestler

I don't know Dakota, But from what I've seen This kid is one of the few kids out there who just wrestles and keeps wrestling and dosn't stop,  He was a runner up last year as a sophmore, And this year stepped up And beat the best 152 in the state In Ashbrook , And He got the WIN in the state finals which is all that matters. I think this is a tough kid who could be a good college wrestler

Thanks. People bad mouth him but what they don't stop to think about is that, no matter what anyone thinks, you can't just stall your way through state and the most dominant wrestler in your weight and not get called or beat. It just doesn't happen and i'm sick and tired of people using this for the reason he won. He's the champ. Get over. He'll probably do it again next season because he'll actually be doing some wrestling this off-season, unluck last year.

Wow!!!!

This sounds like the discussion about Derek Nickle last year.

Thanks. People bad mouth him but what they don't stop to think about is that, no matter what anyone thinks, you can't just stall your way through state and the most dominant wrestler in your weight and not get called or beat. It just doesn't happen and i'm sick and tired of people using this for the reason he won. He's the champ. Get over. He'll probably do it again next season because he'll actually be doing some wrestling this off-season, unluck last year.

I agree with you about him being the champ and people needing to get over it.  I wasn't, nor have I ever complained about the stalling calls (my biggest concern is they need to be consistent).  I don't think I was bad-mouthing him, just stating my opinion.  Even though he's the state champ I don't think he's a very good wrestler.  One another note, I wish people would apply your logic to Shane Parks.  I'll agree that he stalled his butt off the entire third period.  But after talking to Shane he did excatly what the referee told him to do, which was to stay in the center.  You can't blame him for that.

I agree with you about him being the champ and people needing to get over it.  I wasn't, nor have I ever complained about the stalling calls (my biggest concern is they need to be consistent).  I don't think I was bad-mouthing him, just stating my opinion.  Even though he's the state champ I don't think he's a very good wrestler.  One another note, I wish people would apply your logic to Shane Parks.  I'll agree that he stalled his butt off the entire third period.  But after talking to Shane he did excatly what the referee told him to do, which was to stay in the center.  You can't blame him for that.

I think the main reason people talk about Parks' finals match is because of left-over outrage concerning his match with Norberry. After that we all looked for more and more things to point out about him. I won't complain about his finals match but I still stand by my statement that he lost the match with Norberry by atleast seven. But he did the job and beat a very good wrestler in Voth and I aknowledge his ability. Parks is good. Choate is good. Both champs.

All of the placers are good wrestlers and no matter who the champion is they are the best in that weight class and that is all that matters.

I will agree with you on the call about the peterson, it could have gone either way, although I don't know about a full five points.  I assume the other two points are about the supposed takedown towards the end of the third period.  That was not a takedown, Parks clearly had a whizzer and demonstrated that Norberry did not have control.  The ref blew them out pretty quickly so I can see how some might not have seen this though.

You know Travis Krauziewic -112 and Robert Bracco -103 really showed alot of heart

I don't know Dakota, But from what I've seen This kid is one of the few kids out there who just wrestles and keeps wrestling and dosn't stop,  He was a runner up last year as a sophmore, And this year stepped up And beat the best 152 in the state In Ashbrook , And He got the WIN in the state finals which is all that matters. I think this is a tough kid who could be a good college wrestler

Choate a College wrestler? I'm not saying he can't...but he better start improving VERY quickly.

Choate a College wrestler? I'm not saying he can't...but he better start improving VERY quickly.

He actually has some of what it takes to become a college wrestler. Considering he's very hard to score on and can keep just about any match he's in somewhat close, it can always go either way. I think Choate is a good wrestler and will do some damage next year at whatever weight he decides to go.

He actually has some of what it takes to become a college wrestler. Considering he's very hard to score on and can keep just about any match he's in somewhat close, it can always go either way. I think Choate is a good wrestler and will do some damage next year at whatever weight he decides to go.

He's gonna be up at 171 probly next year. He won't look hardly any different than he does now. He'll be waaay too fast for the other 171's and his technique and strength will only improve by the time next season is here. He'll repeat.

171 that will put him against Hitchings.  I'm not sure he will be faster than Hitchings, and Hitchings also likes to keep his matches close, so that he can throw in the legs.

Choate is very good on bottom. I haven't seen anyone that he couldn't get out from.

He's gonna be up at 171 probly next year. He won't look hardly any different than he does now. He'll be waaay too fast for the other 171's and his technique and strength will only improve by the time next season is here. He'll repeat.

Other than team line-up I couldn't imagine why Choate would go up to 171. I really didn't think he was that big of a 152..

And if Hitchings can ride Reid for some time, and hold all of the other 171 pounders down I don't see why he wouldn't hold him down..

Other than team line-up I couldn't imagine why Choate would go up to 171. I really didn't think he was that big of a 152..

And if Hitchings can ride Reid for some time, and hold all of the other 171 pounders down I don't see why he wouldn't hold him down..

Choate was cutting quite a bit before every match and he said that he isn't cutting any weight at all next year. He'll be putting weight on for baseball and what he walks in at will be his weight class.

I see Choate wrestling 160 next year.

He does have pretty good hand control from the bottom, when you have that escapes are going to happen.

Other than team line-up I couldn't imagine why Choate would go up to 171. I really didn't think he was that big of a 152..

And if Hitchings can ride Reid for some time, and hold all of the other 171 pounders down I don't see why he wouldn't hold him down..

yea Hitching rode Reid pretty good, but he had a good teacher "Coach Brown" very good leg rider, aka state finals match vs Tuner-Campbell county.