Classless Wrestling

[BTaylor]

While in STL for the NCAA's this past weekend, a coach from California approached us and asked where we were from.  When we responded that we are from Indiana he knew that we couldn't attend his tournament in CA over Christmas break because of our travel rules.  He said "You guys have some messed up rules in Indiana.  But the good thing is you are one class.  You know who the best is.  One class, one champion."  While some of you might think going class would be a great idea, other states who are classed don't necessarily like it.  For us to be known around the country as a single class state says a lot for us knowing that other people want to be like us.  That guy said it best "One class, one champion!"

[Y2CJ41]

And John Smith said that we are hurting the sport by not having class wrestling here. 

 

Think about this, if you were a college coach with a limited recruiting budget which state finals would you attend?

A. The state finals where you could see and scout 224 wrestlers

B. The state finals where you could see and scout 448 wrestlers

 

 

 

 

 

[MattM]

California is one class or at least used to be in the recent past.  However, I would actually say California is one state that may need to be classed.  Not because class is necessarily the best system to but mostly due to the crazy logistics involved in completing their particular state tournament.

[NickS]

And John Smith said that we are hurting the sport by not having class wrestling here. 

 

Think about this, if you were a college coach with a limited recruiting budget which state finals would you attend?

A. The state finals where you could see and scout 224 wrestlers

B. The state finals where you could see and scout 448 wrestlers

 

John Smith?

[aoberlin]

And John Smith said that we are hurting the sport by not having class wrestling here. 

 

Think about this, if you were a college coach with a limited recruiting budget which state finals would you attend?

A. The state finals where you could see and scout 224 wrestlers

B. The state finals where you could see and scout 448 wrestlers

 

Who is John Smith??

[Y2CJ41]

Who is John Smith??

 

Coaching Career

:: Oklahoma State's All-Time Winningest Coach with a 311-46-6 career record

:: Two-Time NWCA National Coach of the Year (1994, 2003)

:: Five-Time NCAA Champion Coach (1995, 2003, 04, 05, 06)

:: 12-Time Conference Team Champion Coach

(1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011)

:: Nine-Time Big 12 Coach of the Year (1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011)

:: Two-Time Big Eight Coach of the Year (1994, 1996)

:: 24 NCAA Individual Champions Coached

:: 92 NCAA All-Americans Coached

:: 70 Conference Individual Champions Coached

:: Coach, USA Olympic Wrestling Team (2000, 2012)

:: Coach, USA World Championships Team (1998, 2009, 2010, 2011)

:: Coach, USA World Cup Team (1997)

 

Wrestling Career

:: Six-Time World Champion Wrestler (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992)

:: Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist (1988, 1992)

:: Two-Time Pan American Games Gold Medalist (1987, 1991)

:: Two-Time Goodwill Games Gold Medalist (1986, 1990)

:: Two-Time NCAA Wrestling Champion (1987, 1988)

:: Recipient, Amateur Athletic Foundation World Trophy (1992)

:: First Ever American To Earn FILA's Master of Technique Award (Best technical wrestler in the world, 1990)

:: First Wrestler Ever To Win James E. Sullivan Award (Nation's top amateur athlete, 1990)

:: U.S. Olympic Committee Sportsman of the Year (1990)

:: FILA Outstanding Wrestler of the Year (1991)

:: USA Wrestling Athlete of the Year (1989)

:: Amateur Wrestling News Man of the Year (1988)

:: U.S. Olympic Committee Titan Award (2004)

:: Named one of the 100 Greatest Olympians of All-Time (1996)

:: Member, FILA Hall of Fame (Inducted in 2003)

:: Distinguished Member, National Wrestling Hall of Fame (inducted in 1997)

:: Member, Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame (inducted in 1997)

:: Member, NCAA 75th Anniversary Team (2005)

:: NWCA College Wrestler of the Year (1987)

 

Records as a Wrestler

International Record: 100-5

Domestic Freestyle Record: 77-3

Collegiate Record: 154-7-2

High School Record: 105-5

 

 

The two-time reigning Big 12 coach of the year, John Smith is a name synonymous with wrestling success.

 

The Oklahoma State head coach won six consecutive world championships as a competitor from 1987-92, including gold medals at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul and at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, and he owns five national championships as head coach of the Cowboys.

 

Smith accepted the head coaching position at Oklahoma State in 1992 and the numbers and accomplishments since that time speak for themselves. He has led his alma mater to five NCAA team titles in 1995, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, and he has coached 24 NCAA individual champions and five Olympians. Under his watch, the Cowboys have brought 12 team conference championships and 70 individual conference titles back to Stillwater. He has seen 92 of his student-athletes earn All-America recognition, an average of 4.8 All-America honorees per year.

 

He was recognized as the National Wrestling Coaches Association coach of the year in 1994 and 2003 and is a 11-time selection as his conference's coach of the year (1994 and 1996 in the Big Eight and 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2011 in the Big 12).

 

Most recently, he led the Cowboys to their 10th Big 12 team title in 15 tries when the Pokes bested the field at the 2011 conference meet despite having five freshmen and a sophomore in the starting lineup. In addition to having the youngest lineup in the Big 12 in 2011, OSU won without the services of an injured returning All-American at the 2011 conference meet.

 

Smith saw all 10 Cowboy starters earn berths into the 2011 NCAA Championships field, with Jordan Oliver leading the way by claiming the national title at 133 pounds. Teammates Clayton Foster (second at 197 pounds) and Jamal Parks (fifth at 149 pounds) joined Oliver as 2011 All-Americans.

 

A native of Del City, Okla., Smith owns a 311-46-6 career dual match record as a head coach (.865 winning pct.).

 

Smith led OSU to four consecutive NCAA team championships from 2003 through 2006.

 

The 2003 squad compiled a perfect 17-0 dual meet record, won the Big 12 team title, crowned six individual Big 12 champions and featured a pair of NCAA individual champions in Johnny Thompson and Jake Rosholt.

 

The 2004 squad sported a 17-2 dual meet record, won the Big 12 team title, crowned four individual Big 12 champions and was led by NCAA individual champion Chris Pendleton.

 

Under Smith's watch, Oklahoma State compiled a 21-0 dual meet record in 2005 and capped the season with one of the most dominant showings in the history of the NCAA Championships when an NCAA-record five separate Cowboys were crowned as NCAA champions. Zack Esposito won at 149 with Johny Hendricks taking the 165 championship, Pendleton repeating as an NCAA champion at 174, Jake Rosholt claiming the title at 197 and Steve Mocco taking the heavyweight championship. OSU wrestlers compiled a 38-9 record at the NCAA Championships that year and the Cowboys set school records for points, margin of victory and national champions. Oklahoma State scored 153 team points to top second-place Michigan by 70 points.

 

Smith and the Cowboys were 16-2 in dual meets en route to claiming their fourth consecutive NCAA team title in 2006, led by Hendricks and Rosholt, who both claimed their second consecutive NCAA individual championships.

 

The first of Smith's five NCAA team championships was won in 1994, when the Cowboys compiled a 13-1 dual meet record, won the Big 12 team championship, crowned four individual Big 12 champions and three NCAA individual champions in Alan Fried, Mark Branch and Smith's younger brother and the first-ever four-time NCAA champion, Pat Smith.

 

For all of the championships and success he continues to enjoy as a coach, it is his career as a wrestler that is the stuff of legend. Smith truly was the best wrestler in the world.

 

In brief, Smith compiled a 105-5 record as a high school wrestler at Del City HS in Del City, Okla., before moving on to Oklahoma State, where he put together a 154-7-2 collegiate record that included a pair of NCAA individual championships in 1987 and 1988. He was a three-time All-America selection at OSU in 1985, 1987 and 1988. On the international stage, Smith rolled to a 100-5 career record that included six world championships (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992), two Olympic gold medals (1988 and 1992), two Pan American Games gold medals (1987 and 1991) and two Goodwill Games gold medals (1986 and 1990).

 

To this day, Smith holds Oklahoma State school records for career victories (154), single-season victories (47 in 1988), career falls (38) and single-season falls (19 in 1988). A three-time Big Eight Conference individual champion in 1985, 1987 and 1988, Smith wrestled primarily at 134 during his collegiate career, where he strung together a 69-3 overall record. He also competed at 126, compiling a 19-2 overall mark. He won his one career match at 142.

 

After Smith's junior year at Oklahoma State, he won the first of his six world championships in Clermont-Ferrand France. Smith remains the only collegiate wrestler to win a world championship while he was still in school. Following his graduation in 1988, Smith qualified for the U.S. Olympic freestyle team and came away from the Seoul Olympics with the first of his two Olympic gold medals and the second of his six consecutive world titles.

 

Three more world championships ensued in 1989, 1990 and 1991 before Smith claimed the second of his Olympic gold medals at the 1992 Barcelona games to cement his legacy as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.

 

His list of awards and honors received certainly befits someone who earned the distinction of being the best wrestler on the planet. Smith was honored as the first wrestler ever to be voted as the James E. Sullivan Award winner as America's outstanding amateur athlete when he won the award in 1990. He was the first American ever to be chosen Master of Technique and Wrestler of the Year by the International Wrestling Federation (FILA) when he received the honor in 1990. In 1992, he was presented with the Amateur Athletic Foundation's World Trophy. A 2003 inductee into the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame, a distinguished member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and a 1997 inductee into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, Smith was recognized as one of the 100 Greatest Olympians of All Time at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

 

Smith was the 1991 selection as FILA's Outstanding Wrestler of the Year after earning Man of the Year honors from Amateur Wrestling News in 1988, Athlete of the Year recognition from USA Wrestling in 1989 and Sportsman of the Year honors from the U.S. Olympic Committee in 1990.

In 2004, Smith was presented with the Titan Award by the U.S. Olympic Committee, and the next year, he joined his brother Pat as one of 15 wrestlers named to the NCAA's 75th Anniversary Team.

 

The Smith family legacy is strong at Oklahoma State, as John's older brother Lee Roy was a three-time All-America in 1977, 1979 and 1980 and claimed the 1980 national championship. John was a three-time All-America in 1985, 1987 and 1988 with a pair of national titles in 1987 and 1988 and younger brother Pat was a four-time All-America with four national championships in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1994.

 

Smith has also successfully established a wrestling club that allows wrestlers from across the country to prepare and train for international competition. The Gator Wrestling Club sent three former Oklahoma State wrestlers to compete in the 2004 Olympic Games. Jamill Kelly won the silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, with Daniel Cormier finishing fourth and Eric Guerrero also representing the USA in Athens.

 

In 1995, Smith married the former Toni Donaldson. The couple has three sons - Joseph, Samuel and Levi and two daughters - Isabell and Cecilia.

[BTaylor]

And John Smith said that we are hurting the sport by not having class wrestling here. 

 

Think about this, if you were a college coach with a limited recruiting budget which state finals would you attend?

A. The state finals where you could see and scout 224 wrestlers

B. The state finals where you could see and scout 448 wrestlers

 

 

 

 

 

If I was at a school of OSU's caliber like John Smith, I'd go to the the first so I could see the BEST!!  How many of those bottom 224 wrestlers do you really think could wrestle at OSU?  Now, a D2, D3, or NAIA school would probably like the other one because those are the kids they'd probably get.  Bad argument using John Smith.  He's not going after State Qualifiers.  He wants the BEST OF THE BEST which one class tells you who that is!!

[lpd096]

If you are talking about the Top 25 teams, what matters most is the wrestler's resume vs. top competition both in state and across the nation. I believe this is the NUMBER 1 criteria in recruiting. You can have multiple state titles but if you can't hang with the best in the nation, it's going to hurt that particular wrestler. How has the wrestler fared at the national tournaments? etc.

 

 

[Y2CJ41]

If I was at a school of OSU's caliber like John Smith, I'd go to the the first so I could see the BEST!!  How many of those bottom 224 wrestlers do you really think could wrestle at OSU?  Now, a D2, D3, or NAIA school would probably like the other one because those are the kids they'd probably get.  Bad argument using John Smith.  He's not going after State Qualifiers.  He wants the BEST OF THE BEST which one class tells you who that is!!

You do realize that John Smith is more concerned with what is good for the sport than what is easier for him to recruit, right?  It isn't a bad argument when someone of his stature plainly states in front of 200 coaches that Indiana should have class wrestling.  He  is an ambassador to the sport and realizes what is best for the sport in general.

 

The two statements were not in relation to eachother.  I am glad you will agree that we are hurting our kid's chances at being recruited for the lower divisions.  No matter how many classes you have it will be difficult to harm a kid's D1 chances because a lot of their recruitment is based off of national accolades.

[NickS]

You do realize that John Smith is more concerned with what is good for the sport than what is easier for him to recruit, right?  It isn't a bad argument when someone of his stature plainly states in front of 200 coaches that Indiana should have class wrestling.  He  is an ambassador to the sport and realizes what is best for the sport in general.

 

The two statements were not in relation to eachother.  I am glad you will agree that we are hurting our kid's chances at being recruited for the lower divisions.  No matter how many classes you have it will be difficult to harm a kid's D1 chances because a lot of their recruitment is based off of national accolades.

 

John Smith apparently says classless wrestling is hurting Indiana. Yet, according to your Indianamat Preview magazine, this year's senior class is "arguably the best to ever come out of Indiana." I really want to side with you and your magazine, but quoting John Smith (and with his resume you've posted) has made it very hard to do so. What are your thoughts on this?

[Y2CJ41]

John Smith apparently says classless wrestling is hurting Indiana. Yet, according to your Indianamat Preview magazine, this year's senior class is "arguably the best to ever come out of Indiana." I really want to side with you and your magazine, but quoting John Smith (and with his resume you've posted) has made it very hard to do so. What are your thoughts on this?

Having single class wrestling is not the reason these kids become good.  These seniors are good because their parents and coaches started them early and continued to groom them into great wrestlers throughout their careers.  Jason Tsirtsis would be a top recruit if we had 18 classes because he went to Fargo and won that amongst a thousand other accolades.  The same with Jarred Brooks, Kyle Ayersman, Cody Phillips and so on. 

[TheNextDynasty]

 I am glad you will agree that we are hurting our kid's chances at being recruited for the lower divisions.  No matter how many classes you have it will be difficult to harm a kid's D1 chances because a lot of their recruitment is based off of national accolades.

 

I think this hits the nail on the head. There is a reason why there was only 1 kid that went to high school in IN that qualified for D3 Nationals, while states like IL had 21.

[AJ]

I think this hits the nail on the head. There is a reason why there was only 1 kid that went to high school in IN that qualified for D3 Nationals, while states like IL had 21.

 

What is that reason???  I know that some of the D3 schools in Indiana recruit the lower state placers and SSQ wrestlers because they know the bigger schools go after the top 1-4 guys. 

[TheNextDynasty]

What is that reason???  I know that some of the D3 schools in Indiana recruit the lower state placers and SSQ wrestlers because they know the bigger schools go after the top 1-4 guys. 

 

I know that D3 schools outside of Indiana want nothing to do with the Indiana state tournament, and I would assume it's because  of the reason that Y2 said earlier of having 224 rather than 448 wrestlers there and the system to get there doesn't necessarily get the best wrestlers there.

[AJ]

I know that D3 schools outside of Indiana want nothing to do with the Indiana state tournament, and I would assume it's because  of the reason that Y2 said earlier of having 224 rather than 448 wrestlers there and the system to get there doesn't necessarily get the best wrestlers there.

 

But those schools do want to know and are interested in National Competition and many of our wrestlers wrestle at Flo, Fargo, TofC, and other events.  So our wrestlers do have a chance to get recognition from D3 coaches. So if it is only our State Tournament that the coaches care about or dont care about, then what is the purpose of wrestling in all of the national events?

 

 

[rdrodd1]

Just an observation and no offense but how could any college scout of any division watch 224-448 wrestlers and get a good idea of who they need to recruit?  I am sure that when they get to the meet that they have a few kids on the radar and are hoping to find a needle in a haystack. 

 

I just happened to sit next to a very nice wrestling coach from a smaller Indiana school that was scouting at Edgewood tourney and New Castle semi state and he was looking at kids that were good at wrestling but were better in the classroom and the reason that he gave me was that they would rather have kids that wrestled well without the bad attitudes (throwing headgear when they lose type of things)  and put more effort in the classroom. 

 

Where would you rather have your child wrestle at? 

[1oldwrestler]

Where would you rather have your child wrestle at? 

 

Penn State, LOL!

[Y2CJ41]

Just an observation and no offense but how could any college scout of any division watch 224-448 wrestlers and get a good idea of who they need to recruit?  I am sure that when they get to the meet that they have a few kids on the radar and are hoping to find a needle in a haystack. 

 

I just happened to sit next to a very nice wrestling coach from a smaller Indiana school that was scouting at Edgewood tourney and New Castle semi state and he was looking at kids that were good at wrestling but were better in the classroom and the reason that he gave me was that they would rather have kids that wrestled well without the bad attitudes (throwing headgear when they lose type of things)  and put more effort in the classroom. 

 

Where would you rather have your child wrestle at? 

I hate to burst you bubble, but EVERY college coach says that.  No college coach will tell someone they want kids with bad grades and bad attitudes.

 

When a coach goes to a state tournament to scout they already have their potential targets highlighted.  They also have others that they have already been in contact with previously.  At the same time they know their needs for the coming years and will be sure to watch certain weight classes to fill their needs to find someone they have overlooked.  Going to the Indiana state finals is not something that out of state coaches waste their time with very often. 

 

If I am a college coach and am looking for a 141lber, I would look at the 138lbs weight class.  Right off the bat there are nine seniors in the weight class with one already committed to college, so realistically eight targets.  Of my potential targets probably half have very little interest in college wrestling or don't have the grades.  So now I am down to only four kids to really target.  Add to that our archaic no wrestle-back rule and we only get to see three of the eight seniors even wrestle more than one match.  This makes it extremely difficult to recruit the weight class now as if I am a coach I am wanting to bring in 2-4 kids at that weight to duke it out and really only have a couple that I can bring in.  Adding even more to that is the other schools in the state could be after the same kids too.

 

Playing the simple numbers game, I can double those numbers and it would be more enticing to attend the state finals.  Small college coaches do not have big recruiting budgets or the time to go to 12 different state finals events so they have to be very picky about which ones they attend.

 

Even if I am an in-state coach I already know who the kids I want to target are and there isn't much room to find a diamond in the rough.

 

 

[1894life]

If I was recruiting for college I would attend the inidivudal state finals.  That would be the best way to watch the best of the best of any state. 

[AJ]

I do not understand why a college coach or his staff would only go to the state tournament.  Dont most colleges have coaches thatrecruit and scout for wrestlers?  I would think that college coaches are recruting during the entire season and offseason.  I know college coaches go to the Al Smith, Spartan Classic, Traicoff, and other major events.  Indiana wrestlers get exposure and have opportunities to be seen by many scouts.  Whether they decide to wrestle in college or not, th fact we have a single class tournament does not have that great of a diminishing impact on college recruting in Indiana.

[Y2CJ41]

Limited time to get away during the season and a limited recruiting budget would be two huge reasons.  Do you realize we probably have about 10 wrestlers from Indiana on DI-NAIA rosters that are out of state?

 

If our state finals is so great and spectacular, why isn't Central Michigan, Ohio University, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Illinois, Ohio State, Cleveland State, Kent State, Michigan State, Michigan, etc there every year?  That doesn't even include the numerous DII-NAIA schools that border Indiana.

[AJ]

My brother wrestled out of state.  He filled out a recrutiment form on line, sent the university some information and they ended up recruting him. He placed 5th at state that year.  He ended up becoming an All-American his senior year in college (DII).  I say this because I wonder how many of our wrestlers are putting themselves out there?  Do we as coaches do enough to get our wrestlers names and accomplishments out there for people to know?

 

And how much does a state tournament impact recruiting.  I was told one time by a former Minnesota Gopher wrestler that Robinson could care less about state titles.  He and his staff look for success at National events first and foremost.

 

I am not saying our state tournament is wonderful or terrible.  I just dont think it can be blamed for our lack of DII and DIII and NAIA wrestlers. 

[Y2CJ41]

My brother wrestled out of state.  He filled out a recrutiment form on line, sent the university some information and they ended up recruting him. He placed 5th at state that year.  He ended up becoming an All-American his senior year in college (DII).  I say this because I wonder how many of our wrestlers are putting themselves out there?  Do we as coaches do enough to get our wrestlers names and accomplishments out there for people to know?

Great for him, ask him how many kids without solicitation fill out a Wabash recruit questionnaire. 

 

And how much does a state tournament impact recruiting.  I was told one time by a former Minnesota Gopher wrestler that Robinson could care less about state titles.  He and his staff look for success at National events first and foremost.

Go watch Flo and their coverage of the Ohio state tournament.  They always seem to have interviews with quite a few DI coaches, even coaches from out of state.

 

I am not saying our state tournament is wonderful or terrible.  I just dont think it can be blamed for our lack of DII and DIII and NAIA wrestlers. 

So the lack of initiative by our wrestlers is to be blamed huh?

[MattM]

Limited time to get away during the season and a limited recruiting budget would be two huge reasons.  Do you realize we probably have about 10 wrestlers from Indiana on DI-NAIA rosters that are out of state?

 

If our state finals is so great and spectacular, why isn't Central Michigan, Ohio University, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Illinois, Ohio State, Cleveland State, Kent State, Michigan State, Michigan, etc there every year?  That doesn't even include the numerous DII-NAIA schools that border Indiana.

 

I'm guessing since they comes from state that has traditionally preformed better at the national level and for the most part have larger wrestling populations to choose from than Indiana they can mostly stay home to find the majority of the talent needed to fill their remaining lineup spots (or in OH case also go next door to Penn which is usually considered #1 in talent).  These programs are not avoiding Indiana most years because of our class system, they simply don't need to go beyond their boarders to fill most of their additional lineup spots after they finish trying to get the top national guys.  I'm not sure to many programs go to far past their boarders to fill the majority of their additional wrestling spots, but if your state clearly is one of the top wrestling states for national level HS talent that give you less incentive to travel and it hopefully helps get a a instate fan base since you have known state talent in your line up.  If Indiana had one of the Top 5 talent pools in the nation for wrestling talent I'd bet we would see some of these colleges show up if we had a 1 class or multi-class system.  The fact is we don't and those who surround us have a proven national talent pool that is equal or better than our own making travel to fill the existing line up spots less needed.  Indiana doesn't have the number of college wrestling programs so our wrestlers won't get as many looks to fill those remaining line up spots weather we have a 1 class or a multi-class system.  Sure be nice if a few more schools even if not DI would have hung on to their programs or would considering developing them.  Most of the programs Indiana has at the DII-NAIA have done a great job to find Indiana talent but also are close enough to those boarder states to recruit those boarder cities easier than finding the time to travel to the far end of Indiana to watch kids.  If we had a few more programs or if they were spread more throughout the state we would probably see more Indiana kids at the DII-NAIA level at least.  We are just in a spot where their has been long standing established state programs and talent all around us which pull from their own talent pool.  If those other states had a 1 class state final the would still probably fill their additional line up spots from home since its quicker and they still know they are getting some solid talent from their own state.   Others states with multiple DI-NAIA college programs but lesser state talent (than the traditional top 8 states) may travel next door more to fill the rest of their line up, but unfortunately Indiana is not located next door to those states.  If are state was next to those areas we may have seen a few more of our guys though the years on neighboring DII-NAIA programs without the wrestlers/coach having to solicit the teams as much.  This is as close to a class wrestling argument as I'm stepping into, but I still see a need to develop the state wrestling organization, development, and college programs in general regardless of the number of HS classes we have.  The surrounding states seem to have place a lot more stock in this process many years prior to Indiana or at least figured out what worked and didn't much sooner than we have.  

[AJ]

Great for him

 

Yes it was.... thanks for saying as much...

 

Go watch Flo and their coverage of the Ohio state tournament.  They always seem to have interviews with quite a few DI coaches, even coaches from out of state.

 

Awesome idea... getting Flo to cover our state tournament would be great... then we could get coaches there and interview them as well....

 

So the lack of initiative by our wrestlers is to be blamed huh?

 

 

And you pulled a rabbit out of your hat on that one.  You go from state tournament to blame, I disagree with you, and then go to implying I am blaming the wrestlers.