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January 31, 1998
I recently watched Wirt county easily destroy the teams at their
tournament. The style of the Wirt
County team was unbelievable. It appears as though the TIGERS are back
on track. I was amazed to see that the Drennens are in a decent
condition. Danny easily tore up three wrestlers. David defeated two of
Souths Kids (Mike Davis and Mccrady?). Mike Miller seemed like that old
Miller that has captured two state titles. Jason is still kicking butt
and taking numbers. Scott Burgy avenged an earlier loss when he
manhandled Petty from East Bank. Mark Lowe is still developing a name
for himself and doing a good job. Probably the biggest surprise
was Nathan Miller, when he defeated Woodrow Wilson's 112 lb. (the one
that Jimmy Johnson barely beat) by a whopping 8 points. Josh Cross has
overcome a bad slump and is back in top form.
January 30, 1998
From: Sarge
comments: Sorry about the misunderstanding about Ritchie at Wirt, it is Ritchie's B team at Wirt.
January 30, 1998
From: Steven "Conehead" McCarty
email: smccarty@wvu.edu
comments: This message is intended for wrestlers who get the infamous "tunnel vision."
If you work hard in practice and give the sport everything that
you have, then the winning will take care of itself. Wrestlers
shouldn't worry about what their opponents are doing, unless they
are wrestling them at the present time. A wrestler's greatest
adversary is his/herself. Sometimes a wrestler can have his/herself
defeated even before the match begins. I do not think that these
polls are a good idea, at least not for individuals. The only pro
to these polls is that it could help coaches at the seeding meetings
at regionals, and even then coaches should know who is amongst the
best in the state, let alone the region. I do enjoy looking over the
polls and see who is ranked where, but as far as the wrestlers in
the polls are concerned, they are more of a hinderance rather than
help. As far as the 145 class is concerned, I think that Lebec would
have to be the leader of the pack. Sisk and Richards are both good
wrestlers, but I think that the jump in weight classes from last year
is too much for someone who received fourth in the state, such
as the jump that Sisk made. As far as Richards is concerned, S.
Har. wrestlers are usually strong and at least decent if not better
with technique, but their I think their conditioning leaves a little to be desired.
Seville could also get thrown into this mix, but the mental game has
to be considered. He is a hard worker who lifts weights in the summer,
works hard on his conditioning, and he had good technique. My suggestion: Don't think too
far ahead in the match. One last thing:
to everybody that complains about their team not being in the polls
or not ranked high enough, the time will come to state your case in
late February. The State Tournament is put-up or shut-up time, and
the team scores never lie. Good luck wrestlers, only one month to go!!
January 30, 1998
From: Coach Jackson
comments: This weekend is the first annual WEST VIRGINIA -OHIO DUALS tournament
at Ravenswood. The tournament first ran in 1989 and was the brainchild of retired coach Dale Hinkle.
The duals have not been run in Ravenswood since 1993. The Old format only included 3 teams WV and
three teams from WV. The new format consists of 5 WV and 5 OH teams. The new format for a state dual champion
will be crowned by wrestling head to head in state flights. Then a championship round will determine 1st through 10th place.
A travelling trophy will be brought back to the tournament each year to be defended by the champion.
The teams from WV are Ravenswood, Ritchie, St. Marys, Iaeger, Magnolia. The teams from OH are South point,
Warren, Meigs, Beallsville and Williamstown was added as a Oh team after a 5th team could not be found.
Action starts at 9:00 am with the finals tenatively to start at 6:00 pm.
Also this tournament has room to expand for more teams. Contact us soon for next year.
January 30, 1998
From: congo
comments: The Ripley wrestling team is in great shape and I do not think
the track is necessary for any team to remain in the best condition.
Also the Ripley heavy weight is the best wrestler on the team. Also
they have some other pretty good wrestlers, I think their 112 pounder.
January 29, 1998
From: Chris Basford
email: UffiziCat2@aol.com
comments: Here is a question: "How was everyone's grades at the end of the first semester?" Did anyone lose wrestlers to grades? I hope everyone knows where their focus should be, and that is in the books first, and on the mats second. Last year I found out the hard way, but this year my grades are at a 3.4 semester average. As for the rest of the Bearcats, they are all still here. Thank you for your time
Editor's note: Congratulations, Chris. By the way, a 3.4 semester average qualifies you for this year's WV-Mat Academic Honor Roll.
That is a good accomplishment - to go from Academic Ineligible to Academic Honor Roll in a year's time - and I mean that as a sincere
compliment !!!
January 29, 1998
From: Scouting fan
comments: I thought that Ritchie was at the Ohio-WV Duals at Ravenswood. Would the Drennans happen to be at 152 and 160, respectively?
January 29, 1998
From: Sarge
comments: Congratulations go to Erica Dye. I wish her great success in the future. I know her well. She wants to continue her career next year at the high school level. I think that is wonderful for a female to really be involved like she is. It was too bad she couldn't compete at the Junior High State Competition, due to illness. The Drennens are back. The weight classes are known, but not available at this time.
January 29, 1998
From: Sarge
comments: The tournament of the weekend is coming up.
Where: at Wirt County High School.
When: this Saturday.
You are going to see some exciting wrestling there!
| Josh Cross vs. Jason Hayhurst |
| & |
| Mike Miller vs. Justin Wince (undefeated) |
For some good entertainment come on out!
January 29, 1998
From: Coach Blankenship
email: blondo@intrepid.net
comments: If the rumors about Anthony Regalbuto are true, it is a real shame. This kid puts his heart and soul into wrestling, and not just during the season. I have seen him wrestle many times and he is a terrific wrestler. He had an excellent chance to win the 112 lb AAA disision. It is a great loss for Anthony, his family, the Hedgesville team and Coach Whittington. The entire wrestling community should wish Anthony well. If there is a bright side - Anthony will have two years left. Good luck Anthony.
Coach Blankenship
January 29, 1998
From: Bob Wilson
email: monarch@ovnet.com
comments: Josh Chaplin is wrestling 140 and will continue to the rest of the year. Shane Riggle is wrestling 135. Also watch out for Tim Jones and Jeremy Adkins. I saw Jones beat McDonough of (FS) at the Brooke Classic and is coming on strong.
January 29, 1998
From: firestarter
comments: In reguards to hamster's request for opinions for state rankings in 130, 135, 152, 160, 275, here's my predictions
|
130 Gorby NM Frazier CM Bulford PR |
135 Wilson PR Sailor EF Moles HH |
152 Ward CM Emrick PS Steele RC |
160 Wilson JM Kirby Jef Besedich NM |
275 Kerns ELK Hennessey Morgan HH |
This is strictly opinion, so good luck to all wrestlers
January 29, 1998
From: Randy Bierce
email: Hummmbert@aol.com
comments: RE: 3-man Round Robin Scoring in 4-place tournament
This has happened several times to our team over the last several years. The most common procedure I've seen is: score the 3 places and pin points; leave out advancement and bye points because the order in which the contestants wrestle is most often randomly chosen.
The few lost advancement/bye points seem to be balanced by
1) lack of arguments on who-wrestles-who first, etc. and
2) the "automatic" place points gained by the wrestlers involved.
The rule book is silent on this scoring procedure, so it would be up to the discretion of the Tournament Director. Either way would be legal, as long as it was consistent within the same tournament.
January 29, 1998
From: Jason Seville
email: seville@intrepid.net
comments: Breathe easy AAA 112 pound wrestlers. I just had a conversation with some members of Hedgesville's wrestling team and they said that Anthony Regalbuto DID break his growth plate and IS out for the season.
January 29, 1998
From: Cougar
comments: I saw the post that David Drennen submitted which said, "The Drennen Boys are back." At which weights are they back at??
January 29, 1998
From: mat rat
comments: I recently attended the WSAZ Tournament in Huntington. I was amazed the first day with the total amount of wrestlers and thought the tournament was pretty well orgainized. I mean action on 10 mats is a lot of wrestling. I do want to congratulate the 75 lb champion Erica Dye from Wirt. She is not a big girl but she can really wrestle. She won most of her matches by more than five points each and did I believe record a pin. She has great wrestling savvy and heart. She always knows where she is on the mat and is well coached. I believe she wants to continue on the high school level but she must gain some weight and get stronger to be competitive. Congrats Erica you gave us a nice thrill and it will be interesting to see how her high school career plays out...I guess my only question to WV mat fans is just how many females will compete in the state tourney in Hunington??? Curious to know just how many might make the state or regional finals???
January 28, 1998
From: Jim LeMaster
email: lemasterjpmd@msn.com
comments: Does anyone out there know how to score a 3 man round robin in a bracketed tournament that is scoring 4 places? I know how to do the 1st, 2nd, 3rd points, fall pts, etc. but how do you score the advancement points? This will most likely happen at 75 lbs in our middle school tournament on Sat. We could seed one wrestler out of three but does he get a bye or the right to wrestle? If we don't seed, then we have to do the round robin, but I don't know how to score it! H-E-L-P to all you coaches and or tournament directors out there????
January 28, 1998
From: Jason Seville
email: seville@intrepid.net
comments: Re: 275. An answer to your question about J.D. Murphy. He left Hedgesville's team at a match here in Berkeley Springs in which he lost a close match. This was also the same day that Hedgesville lost 140 pounder Eric Oldham who lost a match on a third technical violation that came in between the third period and overtime. Overtime never really started, though, because his third fault came when he was called for incorrect starting position at the start of the overtime period -- therefore, he lost the match right there. I heard rumors that Murphy may return -- I'm not sure.
January 28, 1998
From: WVMatGuy
comments: In response to Radclerk60's predictions:
Looks pretty close. I think you need to factor Tyler Hughes into
the picture at 103. He lost a very close match to Noel in the
finals of the giant OVAC tournament this past weekend. There's
also a Glass kid from Oak Glen who looks good thus far...not sure
his weight, but look for him in the finals.
January 28, 1998
From: Radclerk60@aol.com
comments: I haven't seen Clayburn wrestle all season, but I think if you look through the scores, you might find his name. If he isn't, does anyone know what happend to him? Really I left a name out of the finals. I forgot about Skeeter from Frankfort. Steve Knotts is a tough wrestler, and he may be in the hunt. Also, I have watched Jeff Martin wrestle this season, but he has some tough competition in his region. Stanley Grimm of Grafton has added the speed that most Heavy weights lack. Watch out for Grimm.
January 28, 1998
From: The lost boy scout
comments: To all the people that believe that Cammack's team has gone down hill. Cammack has forfieted six weight classes, but still got fourth at the WSAZ tournament.
January 28, 1998
From: LKC Fan
comments: After watching many events this year that involves the LKC I feel that Ravenswood
does need to be in the top 10 in AA. The rest of the teams such as Wirt Ritchie and Calhoun
are top 5. Ravenswood does deserve mention somewhere between 6-10. I even think that
Williamstown should be ahead of some of the other teams from 6-10. Anyway, the top 10
is a lot of fun to look at. I just wish Oak Glen would wrestle more in the AA division during the year
so we could see what they really have. Go WIRT.
January 28, 1998
From: 275
comments: I am a big fan of heavy weight wrestling, and I have been looking at some of the predictions for both AAA and AA-A heavy wieght finals. In AA-A Radclerk60 is picking Luke Salmons to meet Alex McClung in the finals. I think he needs to look a little bit farther into their compitition. There is only one heavy weight wrestler that is undefeated and it is not Salmons or McClung. Jeff Martin is the wrestler and he has beat some good wrestlers including J.D. Murphy who placed sixth in AAA last year. Does anyone have any information on Murphy, because I heard that he may no longer be wrestling.
January 28, 1998
From: Macho Man
comments: In regard to comments made by 125 wrestler:
Chad Mullins is a much better wrestler than what YOU saw. You
may think that Thorpe is better, but we'll find out this weekend.
MULLINS VS THORPE AT NITRO. Mullins wins by pin.
January 28, 1998
From: bulldog@wirefire.com (david drennen)
For all who would like to know:
The Drennen Boys are back.
See you at the states.
January 28, 1998
From: A friend
comments: Congratulation to Eric Knoll - 103 lbs freshman OVAC Champion.
January 28, 1998
From: EB
comments: to Radclerk60:
In response to your post from 11/27... you're not seeded after regionals, seeding is done randomly according to regional finish. First place finishers in one region will wrestle 4th place finishers in another region. This seeding is done prior to the start of the season. I used the word random in reference to the way the SSAC determines the sequence that regions wrestle each other in the different weight classes. Each bracket is different than the preceeding or next weight class in relation to region vs. region.
January 28, 1998
From: Jenny Sullivan
email: sullivj2@oak.cats.ohiou.edu
comments: In regards to Oak Glen's AAAA status in the OVAC versus their AA status in the WVSSAC: I heard that Oak Glen is right on the border when it comes to classification and that they could be moving back up to AAA. Does anybody out there know if there's any truth to that? And as for the smaller schools being able to compete, Wirt County is one of the state's smallest schools yet they continue to be competitive year after year. Cameron is even smaller than Wirt, but it didn't keep them from winning four straight state titles. I agree that a large school has an advantage most of the time when it comes to numbers, but it's not always the case. Parkersburg High School, the largest school in the state (grades 10-12), has had trouble fielding a complete team in recent years. Go figure. I don't think the size of the school matters. It's the quality of the program and the support of the feeder systems that make a team successful.
Editor's note: A week or so ago we received the "straight poop" on the WVSSAC classifications (thanks to Ed Fields), and you can follow this link to check the numbers. (For future reference, this page has a link on the Region Maps pages and the State Tournament page). It is my understanding that this change in classification will go into effect with the 1998-99 season, and the numbers are reviewed every two years. It looks to me like Oak Glen is actually several clicks away from the AAA-AA cutoff. Grafton is the closest AA team to the AAA cutoff, missing reclassification by seven students. Grafton got a boost in enrollment in recent years with the incorportation of students from the Flemington High School attendance area when it closed. Other changes include Keyser back to AAA and Shady Spring back to AA/A. Liberty Harrison has chosen to "wrestle up" in the AAA regionals in the past few years, but I understand that this is the last year for that and they will be in the AA/A regional after this year.
You may notice Spring Valley in the AAA list - I understand that will be the new school formed from Ceredo-Kenova and Wayne? Wonder if they will wrestle? I think there are some other consolidations in the state on the horizon which will impact the mix in the next few years.
Finally, it is my understanding that the "cutoff" numbers for enrollment may change each time the classifications are reviewed. In other words, just because 631 students in the top three grades is AAA now, the cutoff number my be different the next time. There seems to be an effort to keep approximately the same number of schools in each of the three classes. As more and more schools consolidate, there will be fewer small schools and more big schools at the top of the list. Therefore, whether a school at the border in the classifications gets reclassified may not depend so much on its enrollment gains and losses, but also on how many other schools close and reshuffle. One might speculate that as more new AAA schools are formed, the cutoff between AAA and AA might shift down to keep the numbers equal (with the result that Nitro, Keyser, and Roane Co might move down to AA). But, you have to keep in mind that for every new AAA school, there is a loss of two or more AA or A schools, which might shift the cutoff in the opposite direction if the effort is to keep the numbers equal. Hmmmm, this certainly clarifies the issue, eh? (smile).
January 28, 1998
From: a wondering fan
comments: To: RadClerk60
Is Clyburn wrestling this year? Haven't seen any results of matches he may have wrestled! Hopefully Justin Underwood can make it that far - it would be a nice recovery for him. Is Parrish wrestling 160 or 171? I have noticed that he has been at both weights recently.
January 27, 1998
From: add-on
comments: Does anyone know the definite status of Hedgesville 112 lb, Anthony Regalbuto? He was injured at the Winners Choice and rumor has it that he may be out for the season
January 27, 1998
From: Half Nelson
comments: A clarification on the A-AA Coaches Poll: When making assesments of where schools will finish at the state tournament, one must factor is how well a team positions itself coming out of the regionals. With Wirt County, Ritchie County and Calhoun in Region 3, it will make it more difficult for Ravenswood to position itself in a good position. This doesn't mean they won't crack the top ten, it will just make it more difficult.
Updated January 27, 1998