Okay, I'm caving a bit.  Now that I have seen a few more MS teams and kids, I decided I would start a list of the kids that I think will be a major factor at the end of the year.  This IS NOT a ranking of the kids.  I will list who I see as the favorite (if I see one) and others that I see challenging for a spot on the podium.  There are still a ton of kids and teams I haven't seen, so let me know who I'm missing.  Here goes nothing (and I'm sure some of you will say that is exactly what it is worth)!

70 Favorites: Corey Jacobs (Elkhorn)

Contenders: Nick Wise (East Oldham), Blake Roth (Walton), Tanner Yenter (Campbell Co), Saul Ervin (Union Co), Blake Roth (Walton), Joey Roberts (Woodford Co)

A lot of young talent here.

75 Favorites: Jake Burroughs (North Hardin)/Bryce Scheffer (Union Co)/Brady Wells (Campbell Co.)

Contender:  Michael Martin (Walton), Ian Creech (Walton), Dustin Creech (Twenhofel), Jack Fallon (Woodford Co), Zane Brown (Trinity)

The top 3 at 70 last season will battle it out at 75 this season.

82 Favorite: AJ Bindner (North Oldham) - I don't see anyone touching him right now.

Contenders: Derek Wiley (Conner), Trent Johnson (North Hardin), French Golden (Gray), Nathan Lopez (Harrison Co.), Chance Oxford (Union Co)

89 Favorite: Logan Erdman (Gray)

Contenders: Ben Barton (Trinity), Jorge Vega (Fern Creek), Mikey Meyer (Walton), Dallas Miles (River City), Tucker Hurst (Woodford Co)

96 Favorite: Hudson Heidorf (North Oldham)

Contender: Jacob Erdman (Gray), Brady Emerson (Oldham Co), Geordan Blanton (Johnson Co),

103 Favorite: Bryan Spahr (Campbell Co)

Contenders: Matthew Goshorn (Conner), Robert Smith (Union Co), Elijah Owens (Summit View)

110 Favorite: John Shirkey (East Oldham)

Contenders: Andy Wilson (Conner)

117 Favorite: John Belk (Gray)

Contenders: Michael Grandstaff (Conner), Terrell Roberts (Harrison Co.)

124 Favorite: Tyler Frankrone (River City)

Contenders: Jackson Oxford (Union Co), Logan Winkler (Twenhofel), Jordan Metts (Elkhorn), Jeremy Brandsetter (Conner)

131 Favorite: Mikey Smith (Moore)

Contender: Dominic Lampe (River City), Christian Ricketson (Union Co)

140 Favorite: Johnny Meiman (Gray)

Contenders:

150 Favorite: Eli Matthews (Campbell Co)

Contenders: John Green (Lafayette), Mason Ray (Larue Co)

165 Favorite: Steven Brown (Larue Co)

Contenders: Jacob Navey (Walton), Robert Metz (Campbell Co), Jacob Warwick (Conner)

185 Favorite: Tommy Underwood (North Hardin)

Good start Ranger,here is a kid to watch for also-Keegan Duncan from N.Oldham @ 110.He has a way to go to beat Shirkey but I can see him making a run at 2nd.

The site won't allow me to edit my post right now so I will simply reply with my newest additions.

75 Contender Jack Fallon (Woodford Co)

82 Contender Chance Oxford (Union Co)

89 Contender Mike Meyer (Walton), Tucker Hurst (Woodford Co)

96 Contender Grant Farwick (Walton)

89

Shane Wilson @ South Oldham

Dallas Miles @ River City

AJ Binder actually just lost at the OC Super Duels. Can't remember who it was that beat him though

AJ Binder actually just lost at the OC Super Duels. Can't remember who it was that beat him though

That kid was Austin Murphy from Cincinnati Elder.

they have wrestled twice with aj winning 10-1 and murphy winning 5-0.Murphy finished 4th at last years Cliff Keene kick off classic,a very tough youth tournament.

Ranger - thanks I appreciate you taking the time to do this. From everything I've seen this year - I'd say I agree with what you have above.

Christian Ricketson (union)will be a contender

At 131

Belk has been wrestling varsity for Ryle at 119 and 125.  He may drop to 117 for state.

I revised my original post with some updates.

Here is four more kids:

89- Jordan Monroe Con- Only loss to  Hurst from Woodford 9-8 first tournament of the season and hands down the most improved young man on our wrestling team so far this year.

110- Andy Wilson Con

117- Michael Grandstaff Con-  Been at 124 all year and making the cut to 117, only loss is to Woodford County's 124. Pinned Lampe over the summer in a tournament, was winning 8-0 before the pin.

165- Jacob Warwick Con Finished 4th in state last year at 140 only loss to Metz at Conference.

Also Scaggs is going 89 from what his coach has told me.

Saturday we should see the match up between Wiley and Binder

Good job so far! Keep'em coming

Would of loved to see Granstaff and Belk wrestle at Ryle last night.  Belk was called out to wrestle Branstater in a exhibition.  Belk pinned him in at the beginning of the third period, and then went to wrestle varsity at 126 and beat the Turpin kid.  I think it would of been a good one.  Can't wait till districts.

North Oldhams tournament this week is shaping up to be a good one.It is a bracket format so alot of good matches will take place.The one that sticks out the most to me is at 89,if Erdman was there it would look like the state tourn.It might just have 4 placers(behind Erdman) in it.You have Monroe(conner),Skaggs(Turkeyfoot),Barton(Trinity),Hurst(Woodford),Vega(Fern Creek),Wilson(South Oldham),Baker(Anderson)and a couple more good kids.Should be fun to watch.And just before the finals at 89,you could see a possible state championship match between Bindner and Wiley.The Hwy wt. bracket looks  good also.

These next two weeks are gonna be exciting!!!

Ranger, any list changes?  I know you have some thoughts.

Ranger, any list changes?  I know you have some thoughts.

Oh yeah, plenty.  BUT, I will reserve any updates until I get to see all of the district results.  Then I will have one more update heading into state.

Just for. hmmmm... how should i say this... spits and giggles. (this is all sarcasm for you people that take things to seriously on here!) Ranger I say we put rankings for referres, crowd noise via team cheering section, and coaches. I would love to see parents get more serious (preferably an mma type aggressiveness. possibly fights), and coaches using solid technique in the corner (great hand gestures, never counting the kids out of it, loss of voice after the first match, and great footwork.) The grading goes by - Referres = whistle noise, communication with wrestlers, and when he makes an arguable call and the opposing coach argues he puts his hand up palm first and states "talk to the hand sir" - Parents/Teams Fan Base = Foam Fingers with instead of the 1 finger it holds up 2 fingers everytime they think there is a takedown, clapping after a kid gets up from injury, and chants/stomps. Coaches = gameplanning, amount of arguing over calls, loss of voice, and audibles during and before field of play/mat of play. Audibles must look/resemble Peyton Manning. What do you think ranger??

Dalton Putty's got to be mentioned in the list for 89 in my humble opinion.  Good wrestler.

I made some updates based on the district results and seeing the weight where some kids landed.  Some districts were pretty thin.  Region will sort a lot out this weekend, but it looks like we should see some very competitive weight classes on Feb 5.

No love for J. Kline out of Trigg @ 96.???..  He beat Robert ( Smith union )@ Christian Co. over christmas break and got MOW @ District

Just a quick update (and surprising) Green of Lafayette at 150 did not participate at Districts.

Keegan Duncan from North Oldham (110) put the hurtin' on Andy Wilson/Connor at the North Oldham tournament - I know you like the kid, but I'm not seeing him placing any higher than 3rd.

No love for J. Kline out of Trigg @ 96.???..  He beat Robert ( Smith union )@ Christian Co. over christmas break and got MOW @ District

Did not know that.  Will reflect that in the next update.

Keegan Duncan from North Oldham (110) put the hurtin' on Andy Wilson/Connor at the North Oldham tournament - I know you like the kid, but I'm not seeing him placing any higher than 3rd.

Not sure what you mean by "I like the kid".  Listing him as a contender doesn't mean I think he will necessarily be 2nd.  All being on the list means is that I think they will contend for a spot on the podium. 

where can you find the middle school list.

on page 1    :-D

I thought there was an updated one.

Rather than reprint the whole list, Ranger just makes updates on the original one.  Its on page one.

Not sure what you mean by "I like the kid".  Listing him as a contender doesn't mean I think he will necessarily be 2nd.  All being on the list means is that I think they will contend for a spot on the podium.

That's cool - understanding that logic, Keegan Duncan should probably be added as a contender as well

thanks for the update.

At 117 Liam Mitchell should be the favorite at this weight class. Having seen almost the whole state this year, he is the best I have seen at 117.

At 110 Keegan Duncan definetly should be a contender, your right he did pin Wilson but puttin a hurt'n? Not so much. Wilson was also MOW of Districts as well.

At 185 its silly not to have Adams of Gray somewhere on that list. He is freakishly atheletic for a middle schooler and has turned into a quality wrestler.

At 70 Jake Peace of Walton needs to be on here as a contender. He handed Roth his only loss of the season.

I'm sure we'll have a better idea of where everyone should fall come the day after regionals.

I'd have to add that the 230 from Lafayette will be on the podium somewhere come February 5.

I Think you should add Zac Brooks (Oldham County) to contenders for 70lbs. I think he wil come out strong

At 117 Liam Mitchell should be the favorite at this weight class. Having seen almost the whole state this year, he is the best I have seen at 117.

At 110 Keegan Duncan definetly should be a contender, your right he did pin Wilson but puttin a hurt'n? Not so much. Wilson was also MOW of Districts as well.

At 185 its silly not to have Adams of Gray somewhere on that list. He is freakishly atheletic for a middle schooler and has turned into a quality wrestler.

At 70 Jake Peace of Walton needs to be on here as a contender. He handed Roth his only loss of the season.

I'm sure we'll have a better idea of where everyone should fall come the day after regionals.

Ranger who are your top contenders for School Team and Club Team State Champions?

Ranger who are your top contenders for School Team and Club Team State Champions?

I'll throw out a couple thoughts, although I have to admit that there are a few teams that confuse me on where they land.

Club is pretty straightforward.  Union is the team to beat, but in the state tournament setting I think Gray will be tough as well as River City.

School division will be North Hardin (although I thought NH or No-Ox was a club) along with Campbell.  North Oldham and Woodford could score some points as well.

i would just like to comment on the 124 wait class, i can understand the favoritism of tyler frankrone no one can really keep up with him but on the contenders cameron bryant(moore) should be up there in my opinion the only person he has wrestled up there would be jermey bradstetter and lost by one point

140lbs:

Sam Gnadinger- Oldham Co

Jacob Patterson- Oldham Co

Their only losses this season are to each other.  The both were in the finals at District and Region against each other both times.

Jacob won District and Sam won Region

140lbs:

Sam Gnadinger- Oldham Co

Jacob Patterson- Oldham Co

Their only losses this season are to each other.  The both were in the finals at District and Region against each other both times.

Jacob won District and Sam won Region

Sounds like a coaches dream,.

Ok at 103 Bobby pointer should definitely be on the favorite or contenders because h has won his districts and regions his school is moore then in 70lbs tobby siddens won his ditrics and 2nd in region to that nick wise kid tongue school is Moore Also

Ok Ranger, the rubber is meeting the road.  What are your thoughts?

At 117 Liam Mitchell should be the favorite at this weight class. Having seen almost the whole state this year, he is the best I have seen at 117.

At 110 Keegan Duncan definetly should be a contender, your right he did pin Wilson but puttin a hurt'n? Not so much. Wilson was also MOW of Districts as well.

At 185 its silly not to have Adams of Gray somewhere on that list. He is freakishly atheletic for a middle schooler and has turned into a quality wrestler.

At 70 Jake Peace of Walton needs to be on here as a contender. He handed Roth his only loss of the season.

I'm sure we'll have a better idea of where everyone should fall come the day after regionals.

What is Jake Peace's record?

Don't see Jake peace name on bracket

Peace finished 6th.

@ mtswr3! you gotta be kidding me by saying you don't understand the favoritism shown for Tyler Frankrone at 124!!! You must not have kept up with the kid very much for the last 2 years!

@ mtswr3! My deepest apologies! Thought you said "you can't understand!" Very sorry! No drama intended!

its fine i understand that he is a very talented wrestler and very strong but i just think that cameron bryant might just be able to be more technical

its fine i understand that he is a very talented wrestler and very strong but i just think that cameron bryant might just be able to be more technical

Let me comment on the "very strong" comment you made about Tyler Frankrone. Tyler doesn't when his matches off just being talented and very strong!  I Guess it was shown today who was more technical. And believe me strength does not win matches. Skill, conditioning, and technique win matches. The Fahy's are a testament to that! Their master technicians. neither one of those boys are over bound with strength, and John Fahy is one of the best in the country!

Now I don't under stand why Jordan metts is still a contender at 124 when Cameron Bryant majored him at state duals

Now I don't under stand why Jordan metts is still a contender at 124 when Cameron Bryant majored him at state duals

If you really need to hear this, here you go.

First, this list is NOT a "live" list.  It will not be updated the moment 2 kids wrestle.  In fact, given the difficulty in getting results (unless you are literally standing there watching the match) it typically takes a couple weeks to get results into the system.

Second, I believe I mentioned that the contender list is for the kids I believe will challenge for a spot on the podium.  They are not just the kid that should win it, but those who should challenge for a medal.

I have a suggestion for the middle school crowd out there.  GET OVER THE INFERIORITY COMPLEX!  Just because your kid or team isn't talked about on this site all the time doesn't mean you are being disrespected or everyone thinks you are terrible.  You get everyone's opinion on here.  Plain and simple opinions.  They don't determine any tournament seedings and definitely not any results on the mat.  Keep your cool and let the kids do the talking on the mat.  Things like this list or rankings are fun to talk about and recognize some kids who are at the top of their game.  But we don't have to tear others down to build ourselves up.

Let's enjoy the amazing strides that middle school wrestling continues to make in this state.  I've been around middle school wrestling in KY for about 10 years and I am completely blown away by the huge steps ahead we have made due to the hard work of the kids and the coaches, leaders, and parents throughout the state.  This weekend was the first time i have attended the MS state duals.  I've only seen that kind of excitement and intensity at 2 dual meets in my life:  St Paris Graham vs Blair last year and in 2006 (I believe) when Larue beat Woodford in the state duals finals.

Ranger, we appreciate your time for even compiling a list for people to look at and talk about.  The list that counts will be on kyswa.org at the end of the season when the results are posted.  Folks, lets not take all the fun out of this. 

You mean this isn't twitter.  What is wrong with you people?  Relax and enjoy the ride. 

Ranger- I still say the young lady in the red and black dress that was at MS duels is a contender at 117.  Your thoughts? Very light on her feet.

Ranger- I still say the young lady in the red and black dress that was at MS duels is a contender at 117.  Your thoughts? Very light on her feet.

I'm with you.  BUT, she didn't want to cut weight all of January and was only at 117 for the duals weekend.  She was at 124 for the rest of the season.

Let me comment on the "very strong" comment you made about Tyler Frankrone.

i also said very talented wrestler i've wrestled him twice and have lost so i know how he wrestles

i understand ranger and deepest apologies for that comment i apreciate your hard work and time you have put in to mention us middle school wrestlers and what we do

i understand ranger and deepest apologies for that comment i apreciate your hard work and time you have put in to mention us middle school wrestlers and what we do

No need to apologize, but don't let the online discussion get to you.  Or lack thereof.  Very seldon do we get it all right.  There is always a surprise kid who works his tail off and gets hot at the right time.  And there are always kids who have off weekends and fail to finish as high as expected.  This applies to all levels of wrestling.  Enjoy the discussion and add to it if you like, but the kids decide it all on the mat.

Well Ranger, if anybody doubted your ability to rank these kids they need only compare your list to the results from yesterday's state tournament.  Yeah, yeah---I know some knucklehead will reply "well Ranger missed such and such weight class" or whatever.....but overall, that's simply amazing.  Nice work and thanks for the effort you put in to compile and post your list(s).

Any lottery numbers you'd like to share with us?

Pretty good predictions,now that it is said and done. Not too far off. I guess the 110 controversy is over now, and the chips fell pretty much in the middle there. The Wilson kid took a loss in round one, for a questionable call, and things may have been different if that hadn't of happened, but we will see more from all of these boys in High School. I look forward to it. Great day of wrestling. Congrats to all of these boys who worked so hard this season, and their whole Middle School career! Thanks to everyone for a great tournament!

Right . . .

That Wilson kid has a temper. Every time the ref blew the whistle he got mad.

Wilson has a temper?? I'm guess we watched different matches then. Wilson is a competitor and wrestled his butt off as did Duncan and came up short, what competitor wouldnt be fired up?

As Wilson's coach I could not have been more impressed with his attitude and demeanor after that match. For many kids saturday, when they lost they threw headgears, they cried, some called "Bulls***" and refused to shake kids hands, Wilson who is an eight grader and has been wrestling for a long time was a class act on and off the mat. He didnt cry, he didnt refuse to shake the kids hand, he did NOT BY ANY MEANS HAVE A TEMPER! He showed tremendous heart and determination to come back after losing his first match and won 5 in a row all by domination to finish 3rd by tech falling in the finals.

So again Pinned500, what match were you watching??

Yeah, I guess it was alright for a first attempt.  Plus, I didn't get a chance to make updates after watching region and state duals (too busy preparing my boys to win a few titles  :wink:).

A very exciting day of wrestling.  I can't wait to do it again next year!

We actually were watching different matches, I didn't catch the Dunacan match but I was talking about a couple during his wrestlebacks

We actually were watching different matches, I didn't catch the Dunacan match but I was talking about a couple during his wrestlebacks

So you are saying he was mad every time the ref blew the whistle during matches that he won? I have kept tabs on him, as I have a 110 as well, and I didn't see it. Why would he have a temper while he was winning matches?

Too bad we aren't spending this much time and energy talking about the kids who actually won the weight class

patriotsrule- On that note, I thought Shirkey looked excellent!  Great job John, keep up the hard work.  Good luck in High School regions and state.

YEp- Shirkey looked tough. Lampe looked great too, dominating his guys in both the semifinal and final matches - I think he scored 25 points in those two matches alone. The Gray kids made quite a showing. It was a good day of wrestling I thought.

Lot of great matches -  I saw the Ryle coaches smiling quite a bit about what's in store for that program in the next 4 to 5 years.  Talk about a program that's going to be on the upswing.

I will say this about Ryle's future, out of 9 scorers Gray had all 9 placed.  Logan Erdman 1st(7th grader), French Golden 4th(8th grader), Jake Erdman 2nd(8th grader), David Rich 5th(7th grader), Jon Belk 1st(8th grader, was on Ryle's starting lineup), Ryan Woolf 4th(8th grader), Johnny Meiman 1st(7th grader, on Ryle's starting lineup), Jack Dorn 6th(8th grader), and Jake Adams 6th(8th grader).  We are proud of all these guys, and owe the practice partners for their succuss.  I know for Belk, both Erdmans, and Meiman are looking forward to team Kentucky and the future.  Good job, Mont. County, and all wrestlers at the tourny.