This isn't a complete ranking update, but I hit most of the high points.  I have a feeling there are a few weight adjustments that will happen late, but this is the best guess at this point.  I have also removed a few wrestlers that don't have any results posted for at least 6-8 weeks, so my assumption is they may be out with injuries or other things for the remainder of the season.

It appears as though we are getting a wave of new fan traffic on the site, so a few notes on these rankings:

- I've been doing this for about 30 years for everyone's enjoyment and exactly zero compensation

- you wouldn't believe me if I told you how many hours are spent doing the research to make regular, accurate updates

- even with all those hours, some results will be missed either through human error or because coaches don't keep track updated 

- only 1 wrestler per team per weight, which can get messy as there are roster battles or teams shift lineups.  most coaches don't share who the starters are so I have to make an assumption

- big wins are great, but losses DO matter, so just because little Johnny beat the kid ranked 18th doesn't mean he should be ranked 18th if he is 2-18 with 18 losses to kids who are not ranked.  With that records don't mean a whole lot if you don't have some good wins. For example, you could be 40-0 but if you haven't qualified for state before and don't have a single win over a ranked wrestler you may not make the top 30 because there is no reference point to show you are better than anyone on the list

- this season there are a number of weights where kids have lots of conflicting results, i.e. they have a number of good wins are top 20 guys but also have a few losses to unranked or very low ranked guys.  With that their ranking may be adjusted and they may fall behind a kid they have beaten if they don't have those suspect losses.  And let me tell you, there are a lot of those situations this year

- in the end it doesn't really matter, so don't take it too personal.  the kids will wrestle it out at region and state and decide who is the best on the mat, but this is good information for reference, discussion, and to build up excitement when we get certain matchups

I'm sure there are a lot more notes, but it's been a long week, so that's enough for now.

Rankings_24_25_0206.pdf

No lack of appreciation from here, thank you!

A lot of rumors floating around about weights. Hunter Jenkins going to 150 to revenge a loss to Johns.  But looks like Johns was at 157 this weekend. Hearing Ren Burke is going to 150. Which means he will go from number 3 @144 (with Jenkins moving up) to number probably 3 at 150. Also hearing Roberts might be moving to 150. Could go from 144 being stack to it being empty and 150 being stacked. This time of year always gets interesting. Especially with very few tournaments next week. 

17 hours ago, PPmothman said:

A lot of rumors floating around about weights. Hunter Jenkins going to 150 to revenge a loss to Johns.  But looks like Johns was at 157 this weekend. Hearing Ren Burke is going to 150. Which means he will go from number 3 @144 (with Jenkins moving up) to number probably 3 at 150. Also hearing Roberts might be moving to 150. Could go from 144 being stack to it being empty and 150 being stacked. This time of year always gets interesting. Especially with very few tournaments next week. 

Guys would change weight classes this late in the year after being at a different one all year? Is that common? I know for duals it is bt indivual weights I have not seen that much.

No it’s not common but seems to be the case. The Raneys cause some kids to cut and go up I believe. 

1 hour ago, PPmothman said:

No it’s not common but seems to be the case. The Raneys cause some kids to cut and go up I believe. 

Oh thats for sure regarding the Raneys.

Looking at some results and it looks like 
Isaac Johns

Hunter Jenkins

Ren Birk

Keygen Roberts

Ryan Smith

Luke Knight

Xavier Gonzales 

TJ Hicks (with a win over Knight you have to mention him)

at 150. That quickly became the deepest weight class. 

23 hours ago, PPmothman said:

A lot of rumors floating around about weights. Hunter Jenkins going to 150 to revenge a loss to Johns.  But looks like Johns was at 157 this weekend. Hearing Ren Burke is going to 150. Which means he will go from number 3 @144 (with Jenkins moving up) to number probably 3 at 150. Also hearing Roberts might be moving to 150. Could go from 144 being stack to it being empty and 150 being stacked. This time of year always gets interesting. Especially with very few tournaments next week. 

Hunter Jenkins is definitely 150!!!

13 hours ago, PPmothman said:

Looking at some results and it looks like 
Isaac Johns

Hunter Jenkins

Ren Birk

Keygen Roberts

Ryan Smith

Luke Knight

Xavier Gonzales 

TJ Hicks (with a win over Knight you have to mention him)

at 150. That quickly became the deepest weight class. 

Gist of Valley is still unbeaten(kinda). Who really knows how good he is?

1 hour ago, DrBaker said:

Gist of Valley is still unbeaten(kinda). Who really knows how good he is?

Who has he wrestled? You with this unbeaten thing. Bro isn't hanging with Jenkins or Johns 

13 minutes ago, Jimbobert said:

Who has he wrestled? You with this unbeaten thing. Bro isn't hanging with Jenkins or Johns 

The unbeaten thing has always been a thing. Happens every year. I love the unbeaten thing and sometimes its hard to gauge how good someone is. Some people can make that big jump from top 10 to number 1. Its just something to add some excitement. I don't think he hangs with the top 2, but we don't really know until he gets a shot.

1 hour ago, DrBaker said:

The unbeaten thing has always been a thing. Happens every year. I love the unbeaten thing and sometimes its hard to gauge how good someone is. Some people can make that big jump from top 10 to number 1. Its just something to add some excitement. I don't think he hangs with the top 2, but we don't really know until he gets a shot.

I guess, I just can't put any legitimacy to a list without Jordyn and Jayden. 

Ranger, there are many like me who appreciate what you do.

We understand you do not have all the data, and you are constantly bombarded with individual match scores.

I encourage everyone to appreciate that we have rankings at all (regardless of the level of accuracy), and remember that what matters is what happens on the mat in the post season.

Thanks again for all you do.

Joe

On 2/10/2025 at 9:23 AM, DrBaker said:

Gist of Valley is still unbeaten(kinda). Who really knows how good he is?

He got taken down multiple times by an unknown kid from Eastern a couple weeks ago but seemed to be kind of coasting. Does not generate much offense so Johns or Jenkins could TF him IMO.

12 minutes ago, Alien01 said:

He got taken down multiple times by an unknown kid from Eastern a couple weeks ago but seemed to be kind of coasting. Does not generate much offense so Johns or Jenkins could TF him IMO.

100% agree but I think Jenkins pins 

6 hours ago, Jimbobert said:

100% agree but I think Jenkins pins 

Yes or  that but Im saying after watching him I think he's undefeated because of the lack of strength of schedule more than his wrestling level.

Interesting discussion about records.  Not speaking to this particular situation or kid, but as a general rule, I completely ignore records.  What I have learned in my 30 years of coaching is more and more schedules are NOT created equal and records don't really tell us much and in fact can be quite deceiving.  And it's not always the fault of the wrestler or team.  Their schedule is their schedule.  But it also shouldn't reflect negatively on a wrestler who takes losses on a team with a schedule full of hammers.

In this specific situation, yes Gist is undefeated (ignoring MFF).  That has virtually nothing to do with his ranking.  He began the season highly ranked based on his previous seasons and has held that position for the most part by winning the matches in front of him.  Now if the weight changes as potentially mentioned above, guys who come in with a better resume may push him down the rankings.

2 hours ago, Ranger123 said:

Interesting discussion about records.  Not speaking to this particular situation or kid, but as a general rule, I completely ignore records.  What I have learned in my 30 years of coaching is more and more schedules are NOT created equal and records don't really tell us much and in fact can be quite deceiving.  And it's not always the fault of the wrestler or team.  Their schedule is their schedule.  But it also shouldn't reflect negatively on a wrestler who takes losses on a team with a schedule full of hammers.

Well said.  At different state tournaments I have seen/heard people snicker or make remarks regarding a kid's record, then go out and get beat fairly easily by said kid.  People need to realize that it is rather normal for a kid who's team spends the majority of their schedule in Ohio, Indiana, etc. to have 5-10 losses and still place high on the podium or even win it. 

It's not the kid's fault, because like you said their schedule is their schedule, but it is easy to have a very good record when you wrestle solely in Kentucky and have 6-10 wins over the same kid. 

6 hours ago, Ranger123 said:

Interesting discussion about records.  Not speaking to this particular situation or kid, but as a general rule, I completely ignore records.  What I have learned in my 30 years of coaching is more and more schedules are NOT created equal and records don't really tell us much and in fact can be quite deceiving.  And it's not always the fault of the wrestler or team.  Their schedule is their schedule.  But it also shouldn't reflect negatively on a wrestler who takes losses on a team with a schedule full of hammers.

In this specific situation, yes Gist is undefeated (ignoring MFF).  That has virtually nothing to do with his ranking.  He began the season highly ranked based on his previous seasons and has held that position for the most part by winning the matches in front of him.  Now if the weight changes as potentially mentioned above, guys who come in with a better resume may push him down the rankings.

Very true!

On 2/6/2025 at 9:32 PM, Ranger123 said:

It appears as though we are getting a wave of new fan traffic on the site, so a few notes on these rankings:

We used to argue and cuss and spit and fight on this site back in the day and I am very much here for getting back to that.

Win % was used in regional seatings and kicked some kids with great losses to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th seeds. 

5 minutes ago, DrBaker said:

Win % was used in regional seatings and kicked some kids with great losses to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th seeds. 

Cream will always rise to the top !!

2 minutes ago, Take-em-down said:

Cream will always rise to the top !!

True from an individual standpoint, but teams sometimes need advancement points that can be earned based off of their seeds.  Try to get the kid in the best possible position to make it as far as they can, even though they may not be the actual "cream."

36 minutes ago, Regional Qualifier said:

True from an individual standpoint, but teams sometimes need advancement points that can be earned based off of their seeds.  Try to get the kid in the best possible position to make it as far as they can, even though they may not be the actual "cream."

Sounded to me like Dr. Baker was saying the better kids were getting bad seeds because they wrestled a tougher schedule. (When seeding is based of Win %)  Those are the kids that will end up where they should be when its all said and done. Thats not knocking any kid out there seeding off Win % usually helps the kids who would normally be a lower seed if seeded at all. 

41 minutes ago, Take-em-down said:

Sounded to me like Dr. Baker was saying the better kids were getting bad seeds because they wrestled a tougher schedule. (When seeding is based of Win %)  Those are the kids that will end up where they should be when its all said and done. Thats not knocking any kid out there seeding off Win % usually helps the kids who would normally be a lower seed if seeded at all. 

Someone like Clifford from Union? 

57 minutes ago, Take-em-down said:

Sounded to me like Dr. Baker was saying the better kids were getting bad seeds because they wrestled a tougher schedule. (When seeding is based of Win %)  Those are the kids that will end up where they should be when its all said and done. Thats not knocking any kid out there seeding off Win % usually helps the kids who would normally be a lower seed if seeded at all. 

some regions are seeded that way instead of common sense of H2h, commons.

Seeding should always be an attempt to predict the semi finals. Lazy and stupid to use win percentage. I can understand why coaches are liberal about inputting results on track. 

1 hour ago, yolo said:

Someone like Clifford from Union? 

Correct,  nothing against the kid who got the 1 seed but l think Clifford will be fine with the fact that he’s prob been more battle tested with Unions schedule. 

45 minutes ago, Kylemckune said:

Seeding should always be an attempt to predict the semi finals. Lazy and stupid to use win percentage. I can understand why coaches are liberal about inputting results on track. 

Agree, your going to end up with good quarter finals matches and watered down finals. I’m always good with coaches fighting for their kids, but common sense should always play a major factor. 

Seeding is done to get to the best 4 for state. If the best 2 wrestle in the semis, then the loser goes into the consis and knocks people out. A couple of deserving kids go home and weaker kids skip on through. 
 

2 hours ago, DrBaker said:

Seeding is done to get to the best 4 for state. If the best 2 wrestle in the semis, then the loser goes into the consis and knocks people out. A couple of deserving kids go home and weaker kids skip on through. 
 

100% spot on.  Seeding does matter and should not just be blown off or just take the easy way to get it done.  Because it likely doesn't affect the top guys, but it can affect those next level guys who we need in the sport and continuing to develop in the sport.

To Rangers point… and he seems to have good points frequently (except when he ranked that one kid 25th that beat a 14th raked wrestler) region seeding is huge. Imagine or remember the following scenario please. 

2024 Region 6

At 106 Wells was the 1 seed. He obviously won the region and the state title. The 2 seed snuck by the 3 in a 2-0 match to get the honor of being obliterated by Wells. 
 

Now we have the back side of the  bracket. The 4 seed tech falls the 3 seed in the third place match… in the second period. 

The 4 seed should have been the 2 or at least the 3… clearly. 

That was seeded on criteria leaving no room for common sense  

Here’s the catch… region 6 #2 seed and #4 seed meets again in the blood round at the state tournament. The 4 seed majors the 2 seed. The 3 seed went 1-2 if you were wondering. 

In order to make that match happen the lower seeded wrestler at the regional qualifier decided his best path to the podium (based on how you come out of regional placement) was to not compete in his first round match at state which gave him a better draw on the back side of the bracket. I can’t remember a first round intentional loss that resulted in a podium spot… ever… maybe GOO can look at the brackets. 
 

Arguments are going to happen at seeding meetings . The best way to seed wrestlers in my opinion is to rank the wrestlers. The region coaches giving the toughest 5 kids a ranking of 1-5. All the coaches rank the kids. #1 ranking gets 10 points #2 gets 8 and all the way down. Then seed it based on ranking points. Any and all disputes should be settled with a bet for chocolate milk shakes. If your 3 seed beats my 2 seed I owe you a shake. Make the rankings public to the regional coaches though so you know who sandbags. 
 

8 hours ago, low-single-05 said:

To Rangers point… and he seems to have good points frequently (except when he ranked that one kid 25th that beat a 14th raked wrestler) region seeding is huge. Imagine or remember the following scenario please. 

2024 Region 6

At 106 Wells was the 1 seed. He obviously won the region and the state title. The 2 seed snuck by the 3 in a 2-0 match to get the honor of being obliterated by Wells. 
 

Now we have the back side of the  bracket. The 4 seed tech falls the 3 seed in the third place match… in the second period. 

The 4 seed should have been the 2 or at least the 3… clearly. 

That was seeded on criteria leaving no room for common sense  

Here’s the catch… region 6 #2 seed and #4 seed meets again in the blood round at the state tournament. The 4 seed majors the 2 seed. The 3 seed went 1-2 if you were wondering. 

In order to make that match happen the lower seeded wrestler at the regional qualifier decided his best path to the podium (based on how you come out of regional placement) was to not compete in his first round match at state which gave him a better draw on the back side of the bracket. I can’t remember a first round intentional loss that resulted in a podium spot… ever… maybe GOO can look at the brackets. 
 

Arguments are going to happen at seeding meetings . The best way to seed wrestlers in my opinion is to rank the wrestlers. The region coaches giving the toughest 5 kids a ranking of 1-5. All the coaches rank the kids. #1 ranking gets 10 points #2 gets 8 and all the way down. Then seed it based on ranking points. Any and all disputes should be settled with a bet for chocolate milk shakes. If your 3 seed beats my 2 seed I owe you a shake. Make the rankings public to the regional coaches though so you know who sandbags. 
 

 

Enwa was actually the 5 seed which makes your point even crazier, but who did he lose to during the year from the region or was it a competitive schedule that dropped him down to the 5 seed? Also, if medical forfeiting out in the first round to get a better path to placing was the idea behind the medical forfeit, then he would've been ineligible to wrestle in the consolations. Only MFF's in the first round via "injury or illness that occurs during the tournament" would allow the kid to continue on in the tournament. Interesting. 

10 hours ago, low-single-05 said:

To Rangers point… and he seems to have good points frequently (except when he ranked that one kid 25th that beat a 14th raked wrestler) region seeding is huge. Imagine or remember the following scenario please. 

2024 Region 6

At 106 Wells was the 1 seed. He obviously won the region and the state title. The 2 seed snuck by the 3 in a 2-0 match to get the honor of being obliterated by Wells. 
 

Now we have the back side of the  bracket. The 4 seed tech falls the 3 seed in the third place match… in the second period. 

The 4 seed should have been the 2 or at least the 3… clearly. 

That was seeded on criteria leaving no room for common sense  

Here’s the catch… region 6 #2 seed and #4 seed meets again in the blood round at the state tournament. The 4 seed majors the 2 seed. The 3 seed went 1-2 if you were wondering. 

In order to make that match happen the lower seeded wrestler at the regional qualifier decided his best path to the podium (based on how you come out of regional placement) was to not compete in his first round match at state which gave him a better draw on the back side of the bracket. I can’t remember a first round intentional loss that resulted in a podium spot… ever… maybe GOO can look at the brackets. 
 

Arguments are going to happen at seeding meetings . The best way to seed wrestlers in my opinion is to rank the wrestlers. The region coaches giving the toughest 5 kids a ranking of 1-5. All the coaches rank the kids. #1 ranking gets 10 points #2 gets 8 and all the way down. Then seed it based on ranking points. Any and all disputes should be settled with a bet for chocolate milk shakes. If your 3 seed beats my 2 seed I owe you a shake. Make the rankings public to the regional coaches though so you know who sandbags. 
 

 

I can remember an intentional first round loss that led to Podium. I watched Bryant Faucett intentionally fall to his back first round and get pinned so he didn't have to wrestle George Ferree and fall into a wonky backside. I looked at the bracket before the match and also knew It was going to be the best route, but wasn't going to tell him. Clearly he figured It out on his own lol. It wasn't a forfeit intentional but It wasn't even good acting. He pretty much laid a pillow down before going to his back. 

2 hours ago, ukpridewrestler11 said:

Enwa was actually the 5 seed which makes your point even crazier, but who did he lose to during the year from the region or was it a competitive schedule that dropped him down to the 5 seed? Also, if medical forfeiting out in the first round to get a better path to placing was the idea behind the medical forfeit, then he would've been ineligible to wrestle in the consolations. Only MFF's in the first round via "injury or illness that occurs during the tournament" would allow the kid to continue on in the tournament. Interesting. 

Jason sedoris, the rules interpreter for the state confirmed that you can mff in the first round and still wrestle back. There's nothing in the rules that says you can't. 

41 minutes ago, 18904 said:

Jason sedoris, the rules interpreter for the state confirmed that you can mff in the first round and still wrestle back. There's nothing in the rules that says you can't. 

This is from the 2023-2024 rulebook. Each example of a MFF mentions injury or illness as the cause of the MFF. Low Single mentioned Enwa used the MFF to get a preferable "draw" on the backside, albeit a risky move but it did pay off. I will ask the KWOA about this. 

5-13, 10-2-4 and 10-2-5 SECTIONS 13 and 2 FORFEIT/MEDICAL FORFEIT:
It shall be considered a forfeit when the opponent, for any reason fails to appear for a match. In order to receive a forfeit the wrestler shall be dressed in a legal wrestling uniform and appear on the mat. It shall be considered a medical forfeit when the opponent fails to appear for a match due to injury or illness that occurred during the tournament. This determination will be made by the Tournament Director.
Rationale: The term medical forfeit will better describe that the forfeit was due to injury or illness that occurred during the tournament. A medical forfeit would not count against the wrestler's record.

SECTION 2 ENTRIES
ART. 4 . . . In case of injury or illness after verification of entries, the tournament director, in consultation with the designated, on-site meet, appropriate health-care professional(s) and the coach of the injured or ill contestant, shall determine the contestant's ability to continue. Extenuating circumstances concerning the injury or illness as it relates to default, or forfeit or medical forfeit for scoring purposes, shall be considered by the tournament director.
Rationale: By using a medical forfeit, it will clearly define that the wrestler was not able to report to the match due to injury or illness. Like regular forfeits the wrestler would not take a loss on their record.

ART. 5 . . . A forfeit shall eliminate a contestant from further competition in a tournament, except when the forfeit is deemed a medical forfeit because of an injury or illness which occurred during the tournament.
Rationale: There is confusion when choosing an injury default versus a forfeit in tournament situations. Rule 5-7 defines a default when one of the competitors is unable to continue wrestling for any reason. Rule 5-13 defines a forfeit when the opponent, for any reason, fails to appear for a match. Using medical forfeit versus an injury default will better define when a wrestler shows a loss on their record. A default counts as a loss a forfeit does not.

4 hours ago, itsBoston said:

I watched Bryant Faucett intentionally fall to his back first round and get pinned so he didn't have to wrestle George Ferree and fall into a wonky backside.

Thats an interesting strategy.

2 hours ago, Alien01 said:

Thats an interesting strategy.

Well, Faucett is an interesting guy lol

6 hours ago, itsBoston said:

Well, Faucett is an interesting guy lol

LOL

On 2/18/2025 at 11:49 PM, low-single-05 said:

 I can’t remember a first round intentional loss that resulted in a podium spot… ever… maybe GOO can look at the brackets. 
 

Arguments are going to happen at seeding meetings . The best way to seed wrestlers in my opinion is to rank the wrestlers. The region coaches giving the toughest 5 kids a ranking of 1-5. All the coaches rank the kids. #1 ranking gets 10 points #2 gets 8 and all the way down. Then seed it based on ranking points. Any and all disputes should be settled with a bet for chocolate milk shakes. If your 3 seed beats my 2 seed I owe you a shake. Make the rankings public to the regional coaches though so you know who sandbags. 
 

 

Able to wrestle after a medical forfeit is relatively new (No wrestling involved).  You use to have to start the match then stop the match to be able to continue in the tournament. There have been several 1st round losses that lead to placement but I have no idea if it was intentional.  

As for your ranking of kids.  I like the idea HOWEVER (You knew a However was coming) 1st you have to determine who the top 5 kids are.  Then not all coaches know about all the wrestlers and therefore their opinion on who to rank is flawed. (If I don't have a HWT or my HWT is fish bait, then I probably have no idea how good the 3, 4, 5  and 6 are in the weight class)

My experience of ??? years leads me to believe head to head then common opponent and finally winning percentage/wins are the best way to seed.  Now that we have this as a criteria up here in NKY there are no more huge arguments at seed meeting. (Those in the 80/90s led to some interesting threats and parking lot call outs.)  

I say leave the seeding how It is for state and maybe even regions. I help out at a HS in Iowa now and our 144 is very good. At districts this weekend he made the finals vs. the kid who was currently ranked number 1 who was a lock at the 1 seed for state UNLESS he lost. Instead of wrestling the match the number 1 kid in Iowa MFF the match. State is now here and the Kid that MFF is now the 1 seed while the kid he would have had in the finals is the 2 seed and faces the returning champ in the semis who is a 3 and his only loss is to the 2 seed. 

If the number 1 kid in Iowa is willing to MFF out in the finals of district to avoid a loss imagine random Kentucky kids doing the same to avoid certain losses for seeding. This doesn't just mess with regions. This would effect the entire season. 

1 hour ago, itsBoston said:

If the number 1 kid in Iowa is willing to MFF out in the finals of district to avoid a loss imagine random Kentucky kids doing the same to avoid certain losses for seeding. This doesn't just mess with regions. This would effect the entire season. 

This isn't a knock towards any kids as their schedule is their schedule, but I feel like teams like Ryle, Simon Kenton, Union County, etc. would suffer because their schedule is more difficult than some teams who are strictly wrestling tournaments in Lexington all year beating the same kids over and over.

"Body of work" or "strength of schedule" could be taken into account, but teams will argue the difficulty is subjective. 

I don't mean to be critical, BUT..... I cannot understand why all regions have different hierarchies of seeding criteria. I also cannot understand why all regions do not release brackets simultaneously. Both circumstances have the potential of drastically effecting the integrity of the competitions. Both can be correct pretty easily as well. 

11 minutes ago, Kylemckune said:

I don't mean to be critical, BUT..... I cannot understand why all regions have different hierarchies of seeding criteria. I also cannot understand why all regions do not release brackets simultaneously. Both circumstances have the potential of drastically effecting the integrity of the competitions. Both can be correct pretty easily as well. 

Region 8 will release their brackets as soon as the first whistle is blown. They are notorious for being late to the party. 

23 minutes ago, Kylemckune said:

I don't mean to be critical, BUT..... I cannot understand why all regions have different hierarchies of seeding criteria. I also cannot understand why all regions do not release brackets simultaneously. Both circumstances have the potential of drastically effecting the integrity of the competitions. Both can be correct pretty easily as well. 

The Ranger rankings have proven to be unbiased. 75% of top 8 ranked wrestlers go on to place at the state tournament. Other KHSAA sports use an RPI. I think maybe we should used the rankings to settle some of these seeding mishaps. No doubt the better wrestlers rise to the top, but it does create some strange draws. Its tough enough already for some of the stacked regions. Haven't even mentioned the random draw for the state either. (I think it should be seeded as well, the you wold get higher than 75% of top 8 on the podium. Ain't that the goal.

25 minutes ago, Kylemckune said:

The Ranger rankings have proven to be unbiased. 75% of top 8 ranked wrestlers go on to place at the state tournament. Other KHSAA sports use an RPI. I think maybe we should used the rankings to settle some of these seeding mishaps. No doubt the better wrestlers rise to the top, but it does create some strange draws. Its tough enough already for some of the stacked regions. Haven't even mentioned the random draw for the state either. (I think it should be seeded as well, the you wold get higher than 75% of top 8 on the podium. Ain't that the goal.

I agree with this on the go based on Rangers rankings part. I said It last year and probably the year before. I think the random draw is awesome. SO much chaos in early rounds vs. a bunch of quick falls and techs. I know this messes with placements but 32 man brackets with the lack of depth in Kentucky needs some excitement lol.

Example, I am a big fan of Blevins and Landon but their back side blood round match up at state was crazy exciting. Now Blevins has the chance to go from Champ, not placing, back to champ. Cinderella story type stuff

32 minutes ago, itsBoston said:

Example, I am a big fan of Blevins and Landon but their back side blood round match up at state was crazy exciting. Now Blevins has the chance to go from Champ, not placing, back to champ. Cinderella story type stuff

That was a good match. 

1 hour ago, Kylemckune said:

The Ranger rankings have proven to be unbiased. 75% of top 8 ranked wrestlers go on to place at the state tournament. Other KHSAA sports use an RPI. I think maybe we should used the rankings to settle some of these seeding mishaps. No doubt the better wrestlers rise to the top, but it does create some strange draws. Its tough enough already for some of the stacked regions. Haven't even mentioned the random draw for the state either. (I think it should be seeded as well, the you wold get higher than 75% of top 8 on the podium. Ain't that the goal.

Kid ranked 4th in state getting the 4 seed at regionals. 1st seed is ranked 14th, 2nd seed is ranked 18th, 3rd seed is ranked 20th. If I was the projected 1 seed, I would have flipped tables getting the 4th ranked kid into the opposite side of the bracket. 

5 minutes ago, ukpridewrestler11 said:

Kid ranked 4th in state getting the 4 seed at regionals. 1st seed is ranked 14th, 2nd seed is ranked 18th, 3rd seed is ranked 20th. If I was the projected 1 seed, I would have flipped tables getting the 4th ranked kid into the opposite side of the bracket. 

The Union coaches should've conceded the seed and had him drawn in just to cause a conundrum since the other coaches didn't want to use common sense lol.

Hear me out....The Iowa state tournament is 4 days long with 32 man brackets. They legit wrestle 1 MAYBE 2 matches in a day max on the front side (3 classes so the day is split up between classes until finals). What if Kentucky just dropped regionals, did every team invited, seeded the top 12 based on Rangers rankings and made the tournament 4 days long. Everyone said going from 16 man to 32 man brackets helped grow the sport, that means that 64 man plus brackets would REALLY grow the sport. Plus It would put more fans in the seats and might fill like a quarter of the horse park. 

There are what like 80 schools in Kentucky roughly, a bunch have like 50-75% of a roster. I think It would be pretty cool and no other state does It that I know of. 

2 hours ago, Regional Qualifier said:

The Union coaches should've conceded the seed and had him drawn in just to cause a conundrum since the other coaches didn't want to use common sense lol.

2 hours ago, ukpridewrestler11 said:

Kid ranked 4th in state getting the 4 seed at regionals. 1st seed is ranked 14th, 2nd seed is ranked 18th, 3rd seed is ranked 20th. If I was the projected 1 seed, I would have flipped tables getting the 4th ranked kid into the opposite side of the bracket. 

I’m sure Union doesn’t care he’s a major or better than anyone in the region at the weight.

Off topic but Im loving watching Iowa States with cheerleaders doing chants for individual wrestlers and all!