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February 27, 1997 -- from
PAM SULLIVAN
email: pam@mus.multiuser.com
I would like to congratulate Greenbrier West on their region IV team championship, and to Ryan Painter for going undefeated!
Best of luck in Huntington this week-end. My personal favorite
in the AA (140) is Marshall McClung, and of course Ryan
Painter in (189) . GO WEST!
February 26, 1997 -- from
T. Brooks
email: jtbrooks@ianet.net
The State Competition will be great this year. I think the present
seeding works ok. It does cause some early match of the two best wrestlers
in a weight class, but what is the alternative? A coaches poll ranking
the top wrestler in a weight class? That would be a mess and straight record is
not fair. Nor is giving someone a high rank because he is from the
north of the state. The one change I could see is if a wrestler has only
one loss to the state champion, that wrestler should wrestle for 2nd with
the loser of the championship match.
February 26, 1997 -- from
name: Chris Blankenship
email: horace@intrepid.com
I would like to congratulate the Berkeley Springs Indians on another Region II victory this past weekend. I would also like to congratulate the coach, Mr. Horace Blankenship (my father) on bringing Indian wrestling to the success that it has today. I can remember when I was just a little guy my dad bringing only one wrestler to the state tournament. Some 15+ years later the Indians will usually send 10+ people to the states.
Way to go dad!! I would like to wish the Indians good luck this weekend. I wish I could be there but unfortunately I won't be able to make it.
Don't count the Indians out -- I know Oak Glen is tough and will be a tough team to beat, but believe me that is when the Indians wrestle their best. Being a former state champion myself, and learning the sport from my father, my dad doesn't just coach good moves, he also teaches those guys to be a team -- even though you are the only one on the mat. And many times that might be all you need.
I would also like to say thank you to all the Berkeley Springs fans who have been with this sport since day one. One won't have to search too hard this weekend to find the Indian section. They will be one of the loudest cheering sections in the stands.
I would also like to wish the 4 horseman (Unger, Hovermale, Miller, and Waugh) good luck this weekend. I would be very pleased to see Berkeley bring back 4 state champions. I think that between the 4 of them they have a combined record of 173-6 for this year alone!!! Not too shabby.
Lastly, I would like to wish the younger guys good luck and hope that they not think too hard about where they are at. Go there to have fun and wrestle the same way you did all season long. I mean, it got you this far, right? But the bottom line is don't give it less than 100%. So what if the guy is 64-0 and hasn't been beat in 3 years? Nobody gave Buster Douglas a prayer when he fought Tyson, and look what happened! And just this past year, everyone I know of counted the Yankees out of the World Series, but being down they came back. That is what makes this sport so special and magical. Nobody is invincible, and with a little luck and a lot of heart you never know where it might take you.
Best of luck guys -- you are all champions in my book!
February 26, 1997 -- from
RANDY EDRINGTON
TO JENNY SULLIVAN: I WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE AT THE STATE TOURNAMET. MY FLIGHT IS LEAVING OUT THURSDAY MORNING I WILL BE ARRIVING WITH 6-7 COPIES OF THE 1996 STATE WRESTLING TOURNAMENT. THESE COPIES I FELL ARE VERY EXCELLENT AND I WAS ON THE ARENA FLOOR TAPING EVERY MATCH AND I DO HAVE THE AWARDS PRESANTATION. I SOLD THESE LAST YEAR FOR $25.00 I WILL BE SELLING THE COPIES OF 1996 FOR 15.00 AND THE 1997 FOR 20.00. I DO HAVE MY T-180 TAPE READY FOR THE FINALS I WILL BE TAPING THE FORMER STATE CHAMPIONS RALLY AT THE STATE FINALS. IF IT'S WRESTLING I'LL BE TAPING IT AND I WILL SAVE YOU A COPY, JENNY, OF THE 1996 STATE FINALS. TO FIND ME JUST ASK THE HUNTINGTON HIGH WRESTLERS OR YOU WILL SEE ME RUNNING AROUND AT THE CIVIC CENTER ARENA!
February 26, 1997 -- from
BUFFALO BILL CODY
I WANT TO SAY ONE THING ABOUT PATRICK MORRISON'S COMMENTS ON THE STATE RANKINGS: WHILE THEY ARE FUN I DO AGREE WITH HIM. BRYON MURRELL SHOULD BE A TOP 3 CHOICE. BESIDES BEATING CRADDOCK HE BEAT CINNALLI 9-4 IN LAST YEARS CONSALATIONS TO GO TO THE THIRD AND FOURTH PLACE MATCH! GOOD LUCK TO THE REGION 3 WRESTLERS!
February 26, 1997 -- from
BUFFALO BILL CODY
I WONDER WHO THIS TOP WRESTLING SCOUT IS? WHILE I MIGHT AGREE WITH THE TEAM PREDICTIONS, HOW CAN ANYBODY POSSIBLY GUESS THE SCORE? REMEMBER - THIS IS NOT FOOTBALL AND WE DON'T NEED A POINT SPREAD FOR THE BOOKIES! AND TO THE HUNTINGTON FAN - I AM PROBABLY THE BIGGEST HUNTINGTON FAN. YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID "CONGRATULATIONS TO THE HUNTINGTON HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLANDERS FOR WINNING THEIR FIRST REGIONAL TITLE." I HATE THAT THE NICKNAME IS THE HIGHLANDERS! AT LEAST THE BOARD OF EDUCATION GOT THE SCHOOL NAME RIGHT! H.E.H.S DID SEPERATE FROM HUNTINGTON HIGH BACK IN THE 40'S AND EVERY ONE IS ENTILTED TO THEIR OWN OPINION AND I KNOW SOME EAST ALLUMI MIGHT FEEL DIFFERENT BUT THE HERIATGE OF WRESTLING COMES FROM THE PONY EXPRESS AND THE HUNTINGTON FAN SHOULD HAVE SAID FOR THE 9TH YEAR IN A ROW A TEAM FROM HUNTINGTON DID WIN THE REGIONALS!
February 26, 1997 -- from
Jenny Sullivan
I was wondering if Randy Edrington or anyone else is planning to videotape Saturday's finals and the preceding ceremony. I know of at least one person who is interested in purchasing a copy, and I'm sure others may be as well.
February 26, 1997 -- from
mat burn
Watch out for Capital's Jason Scott (125), Mike Ankrom (160), and Brian Smith (189) to win the states this weekend. Jason Scott is a sure bet to bring home the title.
February 26, 1997 -- from
MEXICANO
AS IN RESPONSE TO THE INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS, AS I RECALL LEMASTER BEAT SATTERFIELD ONCE AND BEAT COX HANDILY. PERSONALLY I THINK THAT WHOEVER DOES THE RANKINGS NEEDS TO WAKE UP AND SMELL THE (COFFEE).
February 26, 1997 -- from
Huntington Fan
Congratulations to Huntington High for winning their
NINTH CONSECUTIVE REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!! Everyone wrote them
off for some reason, despite the fact that they won 2 of 3
duals against Cabell Midland. I also want to commend
Cabell Midland because they do have an excellent team.
I say that this region will do very well in the upcoming
state tournament,
even though we are from the southern half of the state.
February 25, 1997 -- from
a top wrestling scout
Here are my predictions on how the teams will finish:
1 Park South 168
2 Wh Park 116
3 Fair Sr 104
4 John Marsh 103
5 Cabell Mid 102
6 North Mar 98
7 Huntingtn 95
8 Parkbg 92
9 Jeffersn 70
10 Brooke 68
11 Roane 67
12 Capital 60
13 Woodrow Wil 58
14 Point Pl 54
15 Hedgesville 51
Anyone else care to guess?
February 25, 1997 -- from
Jenny Sullivan
If it seems as if the coaches tend to be biased to the north, I think it's because historically the northern teams have not only fared better as teams, but the individual champions have, as a rule, hailed from northern schools. I took about 10 minutes to do some calculations based on the past ten years' state tournaments. Out of 130 individual AAA champions, 74 were from region 1, 32 were from region 2, 19 were from region 3, and 5 were from region 4. (The regions were based on what region the school is in this year.) The AAA schools from the south are getting much more competitive, and I think we'll see plenty of evidence of that this year. I've got individual predictions of my own, but I'm just going to say that I think the number of individual champions is going to be split very evenly between regions 1, 2, and 3.
February 25, 1997 -- from
BUFFALLO BILL CODY
WELL FIRST OF ALL CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 1997 REGION 3 AAA CHAMPIONS -- THE HUNTINGTON HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLANDERS! AND TO THE FAN THAT SAID THE 9 YEAR REIGN IN HUNTINGTON WILL COME TO AN END -- WELL, I DON'T HEAR THE FAT LADY SINGING. THE FACT IS, NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE HEART OF A TRUE CHAMPION. WHILE MIDLAND ONE DAY MAY WIN THE REGION, AND THEY DO HAVE A LOT OF STARTERS BACK NEXY YEAR, COACH ARCHER HAS BEEN KNOWN TO BRING OUT THE BEST IN ANY WRESTLER. THE HIGHLANDERS ARE GOING TO PICK UP WHERE THE PONY EXPRESS LEFT OFF, WINNING COUNTLESS REGION 3 CHAMPIONSHIPS! HHS AND MIDLAND IN YEARS TO COME WILL BE SOME OF THE TEAMS TO BEAT. COACH ARCHER NOW HAS COACHED HIS TEAMS TO 20 REGIONAL TITLES IN 26 TRIES AND 9 IN THE PAST NINE YEARS! MAYBE NEXT YEAR THE REIN MIGHT END? BUT TILL THEN DEFENDING REGION 3 CHAMPS HHS!
February 25, 1997 -- from
Cemendaround
The draws of the state tournament are going to make this weekend
exciting all the way through, considering many of the best
matches will be before Saturday. We are wondering if the coaches
that participate in the individual rankings are all from the
northern part of the state. Personally, we feel as if the
rankings are merely good reading material. Many of the weight
classes are ranked on a northern bias. The rankings mean nothing
and we feel as if they will not even be close to the final state
tournament results. Here are our predictions:
103-Reed-PP
112-Stanley-B
119-Gorby-NM
125-Scott-Cap
130-Muldrew-JM
135-Murrel-HHS
140-Ward-CM
145-Walters-PS
152-Jackson-Jeff
160-Nibert-CM
171-Smith-PS
189-Smith-Cap
215-Thomas-Cap
HWT-Crabtree-HHS
**Some of these predictions may seem ridiculous, but as a whole
so are the ones that matter.
February 25, 1997 -- from
Mark Hennosy
email: hennosym@mhmail.mh.state.oh.us
This is in response to those calling for reform in the state pairing method
used by the state tournament committee. It would be very hard and time
consuming to manually pair individuals for the state tournament. The biggest
obstacle would be how would the top seeded wrestlers be decided upon. When
humans are left to make this decision many negative factors interfere. Such as
politics, favoritism, regional bias, large or "established" school bias and
so on. Whereas with automatic random pairing no person or group of people
are to blame. "Luck of the draw" decides all. If you want to see great matchups
attend the whole tournament. Each match is important and you get to see all
the classic upsets that other people miss.
February 25, 1997 -- from
Upset with the brackets
Well I hope everyone is at the Civic Center at 6 pm on Friday
night, because that is when most of the matches pitting the 2 top
wrestlers in each weight class will be decided! In AAA, Alex Reed
(PtP) and Chris Satterfield (Pkb)will meet in the semis, as will
Adam Gorby (NM) and Jesse Crouch (Hur) at 119, a much anticipated
battle between Scott (Cap) and Becker (WP) at 125, Hedrick (FS) and
Muldrew (JM) at 130, Kennedy (WP) and Craddock (Roane) at 135,
Chris Ward (JM) and Jason Ward (CM) at 140, and by far the worst
of all, Luke Smith (PS) and Chris Neptune (FS) at 171 -- these 2
are clearly the best in their class BY FAR! Something must be
done to insure that the 2 BEST WRESTLERS in each weight class
are in separate brackets! It seems that every year a few are
messed up, but this year in particular is extremely poor. (Coaches,
are you listening?)
February 25, 1997 -- from
Jenny Sullivan
email: jennifer.gilchrist@gep.ge.com
As for the Hasse-Becker matchup, it was no fluke. The match could have gone either way. It was a controversial match with the South fans getting quite upset at the ref. I personally think the two wrestlers are evenly matched and either could win on any given occasion. I've seen a lot of people underestimate Ken Becker and I think that's unwise. He's going to be tough this week. (Bear in mind, though, I haven't seen Jason Scott wrestle this year.) I'm glad the 125 bracket is balanced, with Becker and Scott in one bracket and Hasse and Frazier in the other.
February 25, 1997 -- from
Jenny
One more question. I see that the A/AA 130 bracket states that Bryan Jones has only one loss. I know for a fact that Jason Miller of Wirt beat him twice at the Wirt Invitational (during Friday's duals and in the championsip on Saturday). I'm not asking this question indignantly, I just want to know if perhaps those duals didn't count.
February 24, 1997 -- from
CHRIS SARGENT
email: User538003@aol.com
I THINK THERE WILL BE A GOOD BATTLE @ A/AA.
BETWEEN WIRT, RITCHIE, CALHOUN AND OAK GLEN.
GO WIRT COUNTY TIGERS
February 24, 1997 -- from
Luke Glass
email: lgass@Babson.edu
Go Oak Glen. We have been the little dogs in AAA for years. Now we are
the big dogs of AA. I have heard comments that we don't belong there,
but our numbers are that of a AA school. Don't blame the kids because
our school is now AA. Oak Glen is going to win the state championship
this year, and it has been a long time coming. We have a strong middle
lineup. We had five first place and five second place finishes at the
Region 1 qualifiers. Oak Glen is definitely the team to beat. Oak Glen
defeated Cameron by 70 points in a tournament earlier this season. I
look for Oak Glen to run away with the tournament. And as for the star
of the team, Logan Glass. He beat Jusin Wenmouth for the championship
in Region 1 at 125 lbs. Guess what, he is only a FRESHMEN. He has
three more years to be one of the best wrestlers in the state.
February 24, 1997 -- from
Mat Burn
It's interesting how you can say that Wilson (JM) is the best in
the 160lb weight class. With Wilfong being the defending state
champion at 160, Nibert of Cabell Midland, and Kirby of Jefferson
Co. in the same weight class with him I think that it will be
hard to tell who is going to be number one. I guess we will see
who is going to win it on Saturday night 3/01/97!!
February 24, 1997 -- from
sissy K
I would like to know how Ken Becker beat Zak Hasse. I do not understand how this happened. Was it an upset or was it for real. Someone write back and tell me how this match went.
February 23, 1997 -- from
brandon flower
email: bflower@wvu.edu
In reference to wrestling observer's comment regarding Randy Bragg
of Independence: I would like say that since WSAZ Randy has
displayed outstanding maturity and leadership. At the Coalfield
Conference tournament, Randy was stuck in the semifinals by Joey
Hasse of Big Creek. Instead of giving up, Randy gathered it
together. The tournament was a battle between Independence
and Greenbrier West. Randy showed why he is the team captain
boosting the team with a talk. He then stormed back through the
consolation to take third. Independence pulled off the upset also.
This past weekend at the region IV tournament, Randy proved why
he is ranked in the top of the 135 lb weight class by winning his
second regional champioship and soundly defeating Hasse 9-3 in
the finals. I'm not going to claim that Randy will win the states
but one should never count out a former state finalist. Randy
will do well. I would also like to congratulate West on their
region IV team championship. They have a good team that should
fare well at states. Also, I would like to commend Independence
for taking second. As a team they improved throughout the year
and have done better than many expected. Good luck to all the
teams and wrestlers at the state tournament. I'm looking forward
to seeing some exciting wrestling!
February 23, 1997 -- from
B. Ebert
email: solobaric@hotmail.com
I think Bob Wilson of JM should be picked to be #1 in the state. Wilson beat Nibert last year in states 5-1. Wilfong only beat Shawn Tutle 5-4 and 3-2 this year. Wilson has beat Tutle 11-4 and 6-3. I think Wilson should be your 160 state champ. Wilson has gotten even better than last year. Wilfong is a good wrestler but he will not win states.
February 23, 1997 -- from
SOUTH '83
email: dmst15@erols.com
I would like to thank Jenny Sullivan and anybody else for their
efforts in maintaining the wrestling results on the Internet.
I am a former South wrestler who now lives near Baltimore,
Maryland and I really appreciate being able to keep up on South
Wrestling. I am very proud of the South Wrestling program and
its contributions to wrestling in the state of West Virginia.
I think all West Virginia wrestlers have a lot to offer and
should be proud.
Just a final note about comparing some of the great teams of the
past. Please don't forget about the South team of 1983 with eight
state finalists and ten Region One champions. It may not have
been the best in the state's history, but it certainly deserves
a spot near the top. Thanks again and GO SOUTH!
February 22, 1997 -- from Wrestling Observer
I would like to respond to the comment that Randy Bragg of Independence should be ranked higher. I watched him at WSAZ.
After losing a close match to Murrell (H) he dropped out of the tournament.
Updated March 2, 1997