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November 30, 1997
From: the fan
comments: I was just wondering if anyone had the line-ups for the much
anticpated Midland-South dual on Thurday? If so, could you
please post it? What a way to kick off the season with a
top-notch dual match!
November 29, 1997
From: Buffalo Bill Cody
comments: Yes I agree with Lemaster comments. Whoever picked Pt. Pleaseant to finish over Huntington High Or Cabell Midland.
Yes I realize everyone is entitled to their own opinion. As Jim Lemaster said he is a big Midland fan because his son wrestles for them.
The same being for me as I attended HHS and was a member of three straight regional championship teams In that time Point competed in region 4.
But seriously Point overtaking HHS or Midland is not going to happen. I hope Point in years to come is happy accepting 3 behind HHS or Midland. The only team I see that would really or maybe two teams in this order that would stand a remote chance of unseating HHS or climbing above Midland as the top two teams in the region would be Nitro
or even Capital. Well if Point does think they can over take the Highlanders, well they have a long way to go till they can stand on top of the "hill"with the big boys!!!!!!!!!!
And region 3 fans sit back and for years to come. Watch the Highlanders and Knights battle it out for the championship of region 3!!!!!!!!!
Go highlanders see you guys in a couple of days!!!!!!!!!
Well this is buffalo bill cody riding off again!!!!!!!!
And I had to have my eyes checked when I saw that about Point Pleasant ove taking HHS or Midland, thought I was seeing things, I must have been!!!!!!!!!
November 28, 1997
From: half nelson
email: EasternPanhandle
comments: I've seen all of the predictions on AAA team and individual rankings. I must say that I think the authors are pretty well informed. However, I think Hedgesville may break the top ten this year. They have some quality kids, at least four, maybe more, with legitimate shots at placing high in the state. Shetler (103), Regalbuto (112), Whitmore (119 or 125), J.D. Murphy (215 or 275). There are a couple of other kids who could crack the top six. I would say they might be the suprise team of '98. I've also noticed that JD Kirby and Ryan Zombro of Jefferson haven't gotten much ink. If they stay healthy they will be major players this year. Good luck to all, Half Nelson out.
November 28, 1997
From: Jim LeMaster
email:
comments: All of the Pre-season hype and speculation is fun and interesting to read. But seriously, folks, the person who picked Point to overtake both Midland and HHS? Did you miss last season's regionals when Midland sent 13 of 14 qualifiers to the state and 10 of those 13 return (add to that 5 freshman WSAZ champs who are moving up and at least one freshman who could start for Point)? As a Cabell Midland fan and interested observer, I can't claim that CM or HHS will win the state, but I can't see them suddenly fading from the picture at regionals either! Perhaps it's the home field advantage due to the fact that regionals will be at Point this year? (Who came up with that?) At any rate, both Reed, Hill, Russell, Rickard and company are fine wrestlers and good guys, and I'm sure they will give a great account of themselves at both regionals and states, but for overall depth, the nod must go to a Cabell Co. school.
On behalf of all the Midland fans, come and see the South vs Midland match at Midland on Thursday. What-a-way to open up the season! I'd love to see the gym so full we'd need both sets of bleachers pulled out. The atmosphere at South was electric for this opener last season and even though only two Midland wrestler pulled off wins (Nibert and LeMaster) there were a lot of close and exciting matches. So everybody come and see some good action no matter what school you are from or who you support. The match is just a few days away . . . Let's Hook 'Em Up!
November 27, 1997
From: vincent longshanks
comments: Whoever it was that said that PP and Roane were the
teams to watch in the south are wrong. HHS and CM will
rule the south for years to come! I also have to disagree
with that particular persons individual poll. At 119
Hill of PP was picked to win. What about Chirgwin of
HHS? He had two wins over Hill last year. One in the
region semifinals and one in the consolation quarterfinals
of the state. I also don't know how you wouldn't pick
Ward of CM to win. I don't care how heavy he is, he will
win states this year. In closing, I will say good luck
to PP and RC because they will need it with HHS and CM
running things.
November 27, 1997
From: Jesco Wrestler
comments: Hello all,
Just some quick suggestions: the season starts very soon, and already
several preseason indidvidual polls are showing up on here. In my
opinion these are pointless due to the fact that nobody knows exactly
which weight classes the wrestlers will be in.
One suggestion I have is for all of us, coaches, wrestlers, parents, boosters, and fans included, to submit results to be posted for all the matches and tournaments throughout the state. If a tournament or match takes place and the results aren't on here but you know them, please take 5 or 10 minutes to type them in so we all can see them. As long as accurate results get posted, I will have my 1st individual poll hopefully around Christmas. I do not believe in just "guessing" which classes wrestlers will be in, because some hit growth spurts while others do not.
Also, if any of you know the projected lineups for your respective teams, you could post them on here. This will just give us more to work with.
And one final comment for Vincent Longshanks...just curious Vinny, how can your preseason team poll not include Fairmont Senior at least in the top ten? Just wondering...
November 27, 1997
I'm really tired of hearing about Huntington and Cabell Midland being the best in the South. Both teams had better teams last year and the best either could do was a fifth from Huntington ..Midland finished 10th ..
The teams from the South to watch have to be Point Pleasant and Roane County if you can count them in the South. Both of these teams will out place the Cabell County Schools...
Although Predictions are for Prophets here goes...
|
AAA Team: 1 Wheeling Park 2 Fairmont Sr 2 Parkersburg South 4 Point Pleasant 5 Huntington 6 Parkersburg 7 Roane County 8 North Marion 9 Jefferson 10 Herbert Hoover...
|
As for Indivduals (AAA): 103 Reed Point 112 Bonasso 119 Hill Point 125 Gorby NM 130 Newberry Parkersburg 135 Hedrick FS 140 Cradock RHS 145 Johnson South 152 Besedich NM 160 Wilson JM 171 Rickard Point 189 Sharp Elkins 215 Zebuhr BU 275 Kerns Elkins..... |
November 27, 1997
From: Midland Knight Rider
comments: I love Midland.....we are so awesome and will win the state in wrestling. Jason Ward is the best in the universe and so is everyone else on the team. We rock the house down. Chirgwin and Thorpe of HHS are going down. GO MIDLAND!! GO MIDLAND!! That's all I have to say about that!!
November 27, 1997
From: vinny longshanks
comments: My sincere apologies, I left out William Steele of
Roane County in my latest poll. Whatever weight he is
at, he will be top three definately!!!
Sorry William!!
November 27, 1997
From: vincent longshanks
comments: I got a lot of positive feedback from my last poll. I
would like to thank the longshank fans for their support
and YES, I do know my wrestling! I decided to make another
poll and go more in depth.Here are MY predictions for
top 3 in the state tourney. Any feedback is welcome.
It is very hard to make a preseason poll because you
never know where people may end up. So, Here it is,
My predictions:
|
|
Daggett PS Nibert CM Valleu NHS Blair HHS Weser UHS Ashby Hedg Weser UHS Sarrett WW |
November 27, 1997
From: Captain Highlander
comments: I think some people are underestimating Huntington.
I also think some people, like Buffalo Bill, are over-
estimating us. I don't think we will win states or even
be runner-up. I do think we fit in at about third or
fourth. I personally don't care if our team wins states,
as long as we have some individual champs. I do think
we have a couple of guys who will win states or at least
make alot of noise! Thorpe, Chirgwin, and Bexfield will
not be denied this year!!!!!!!!!
November 27, 1997
From: Homer Southwood
comments: I appreciated what Jesco Wrestler did when presenting his top 20 teams by calculating the returning wrestlers scores. I did something similiar but simpler by just calculating their place points. Except I went one step further and broke it down by last year's regions. There is a margin of error in that I did not know what class some wrestler's belonged in, so I apologize if my scores do not reflect the teams true score. And I only calculated the top four finishers. A team may have more returners than I indicated, but they did not place in the regions.
1st place - 14 points, 2nd - 10, 3rd - 7, 4th - 4
AAA Region 1 - No change in movement. Look for John Marshall to challenge Wheeling Park for second but South is still head and shoulders above the rest. This could be the year that University or Morgantown breaks into the top 5 by overtaking Brooke.
| 1. Parkersburg South | 56 points | 7 returners | 2-1-3-1 |
| 2. Wheeling Park | 38 | 5 | 0-2-2-1 |
| 3. John Marshall | 34 | 5 | 1-0-1-3 |
| 4. Parkersburg | 24 | 3 | 0-2-0-1 |
| 5. Brooke | 18 | 3 | 0-0-2-1 |
| 6. University | 15 | 3 | 0-0-1-2 |
| 7. Morgantown | 14 | 2 | 0-0-2-0 |
AAA Region 2 - Fairmont Sr. should shake North Marion for regional control but don't expect North Marion to go down without a fight. Four teams will battle for 3rd place with Hedgesville being the early favorite.
| 1. Fairmont Sr | . 68 points | 7 returners | 2-2-2-1 |
| 2. North Marion | 60 | 7 | 2-1-2-2 |
| 3. Hedgesville | 48 | 6 | 0-4-0-2 |
| 4. Jefferson | 35 | 5 | 0-2-1-2 |
| 5. Preston | 24 | 2 | 1-1-0-0 |
| 6. East Fairmont | 21 | 3 | 0-1-1-1 |
| 7. Elkins | 18 | 2 | 1-0-0-1 |
| t8. Martinsburg | 14 | 2 | 0-0-2-0 |
| t8. Liberty Harrison | 14 | 2 | 0-1-0-1 |
| 10. Philip Barbour | 4 | 1 | 0-0-0-1 |
| 11. Robert C. Byrd | 0 | 0 | 0-0-0-0 |
AAA Region 3 - With ten returning state qualifiers, Cabell Midland should run away with this region. Pt. Pleasant closes the gap with 2nd place Huntington, and St. Albans jumps from 7th place to 5th.
| 1. Cabell Midland | 101 points | 10 returners | 4-3-1-2 |
| 2. Huntington | 62 | 6 | 2-2-2-0 |
| 3. Pt. Pleasant | 55 | 6 | 1-2-3-0 |
| 4. Nitro | 36 | 5 | 1-0-2-2 |
| 5. St. Albans | 26 | 4 | 0-1-0-3 |
| t6. Capital | 11 | 2 | 0-0-1-1 |
| t6. Hurricane | 11 | 2 | 0-0-1-1 |
| t8. George Wash. | 4 | 1 | 0-0-0-1 |
| t8. Dupont | 4 | 1 | 0-0-0-1 |
AAA Region 4 - Roane County will easily repeat as champion with the second most returning qualifiers from states with eight. Herbert Hoover should not be challanged for second but after that, things get interesting as 3rd place is up for grabs. Buckhannon-Upshur makes the most noise jumping from 7th place to be the early favorite for 3rd.
| 1. Roane County | 86 points | 8 returners | 3-3-2-0 |
| 2. Herbert Hoover | 52 | 6 | 1-2-2-1 |
| 3. Buckhannon-Upshur | 42 | 4 | 2-1-0-0 |
| 4. Lewis County | 36 | 5 | 1-0-2-2 |
| 5. Ripley | 34 | 3 | 1-2-0-0 |
| 6. Woodrow Wilson | 27 | 3 | 0-2-1-0 |
| 7. Nicholas County | 18 | 2 | 1-0-0-1 |
| 8. Greenbrier East | 15 | 3 | 0-0-1-2 |
| 9. Shady Spring | 14 | 1 | 1-0-0-0 |
| 10. Oak Hill | 4 | 1 | 0-0-0-1 |
For state rankings, I used the same format as regionals, giving place points for the top six placers and one point for each participant who did not place and only ranking the top twenty teams. As they did two years ago, look for Fairmont Sr. to battle Parkersburg South down to the wire with Fairmont being the early favorite. Cabell Midland improves on their tenth place finish to be a top five team. It is also interesting what quality does over quantity as Shady Spring overtakes three teams from their ninth place ranking in regionals to be a top twenty team in the state.
First the regional breakdowns. Region 2 emerges as the top region based on a good mixed of quality with quantity. Region 1 comes in second and appears to still be the toughest as over 70% of their teams appear in the top twenty. Region 4 places third but appears to be the most balance region from top to bottom. Region 3 places fourth with no returning state champions and only 33% of their teams making the top twenty.
| 1. Region 2 | 125 points | 6 top twenty teams | 37 participants | 1-1-4-2-2-5 |
| 2. Region 1 | 107 | 5 | 28 | 1-2-1-3-4-0 |
| 3. Region 4 | 93 | 6 | 36 | 1-2-0-2-1-2 |
| 4. Region 3 | 83 | 3 | 37 | 0-2-1-1-2-1 |
And now the top twenty. 16 points for a first place finish, 12-2nd, 9-3rd, 7-4th, 5-5th, 3-6th, 1 for participant.
| 1. Farimont Sr | 42 points | 7 participants | 1-0-2-0-1-0 |
| 2. Parkersburg South | 40 | 7 | 1-0-1-1-1-0 |
| 3 .Roane Conty | 34 | 8 | 1-1-0-0-0-0 |
| 4. Cabell Midland | 33 | 10 | 0-1-1-0-1-0 |
| 5. North Marion | 30 | 7 | 0-1-1-0-1-0 |
| 6. John Marshall | 26 | 5 | 0-1-0-1-1-0 |
| 7 . Point Pleasant | 23 | 6 | 0-1-0-1-0-0 |
| 8. Buckhannon-Upshur | 21 | 4 | 0-1-0-1-0-0 |
| 9. Hedgesville | 17 | 6 | 0-0-0-1-0-2 |
| t10. Wheeling Park | 15 | 5 | 0-0-0-1-1-0 |
| t10. Jefferson | 15 | 5 | 0-0-1-0-0-1 |
| 12. Parkersburg | 14 | 3 | 0-1-0-0-0-0 |
| 13. Huntington | 12 | 6 | 0-0-0-0-1-1 |
| 14. Lewis County | 11 | 5 | 0-0-0-1-0-0 |
| 15. Elkins | 10 | 2 | 0-0-0-1-0-1 |
| 16. Herbert Hoover | 8 | 6 | 0-0-0-0-0-1 |
| t17. Ripley | 7 | 3 | 0-0-0-0-1-0 |
| t17. University | 7 | 3 | 0-0-0-0-1-0 |
| 19. East Fairmont | 5 | 3 | 0-0-0-0-0-1 |
| 20. Shady Spring | 3 | 1 | 0-0-0-0-0-1 |
Sorry for the length of this, but I wanted to give a full report. I didn't double check my figures so there could be mistakes. And as Jim Lemasters stated, it would be nice to calculate JV team members and new wrestlers, but for now, this is as accurate as a preseason ranking could be. I apologize to A/AA but this is time consuming and I do have other interests. Realisticly, I can't imagine a top 5 with neither Wheeling Park or Parkersburg missing, or a top ten without Huntington. Next week, wrestling begins and the cream will rise to the top. I challenge someone from each region to give unbiased weekly regional polls.
Homer
Updated November 20, 1997