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Red leading the #1 Seed at 141 4-0.. Can he hold the lead? Yes, he wins 8-4. Big win for Red. Hope he makes the finals now. Lee up 4-3

He had a big knee brace on this morning, but still looked good. Probably just going the Nolf route and focusing on nationals

Chad Red to the Final with a 4-1 win. Nicely done, avenging two earlier losses (Michael Carr and Kanen Storr). He'll face Nick Lee or Joey McKenna,

Huge win by Red. Way to overcome the odds and win when it counts.

I know he is good on top, but please do something while you're there! On the main board in the "new rules" thread, a few people posted the idea of resetting to neutral if there is no turn from the top man after :30. I'm beginning to think that may not be a bad idea.

Fyi...lots of results and discussion about D1 conference tourneys and D2/D3 nationals over on the college board. 1 recent grad clinched his first D1 NCAA appearance last night and 2 others are almost there headed into this morning. 3 other recent grads are in D2/D3 national semifinal matches this morning.

That's weird.... I know it is Steveson and have typed it correctly many times because I screwed it up and initially thought it was Stevenson last year. How in the hell I came up with Stephenson last night, I have no clue. I typed it on my laptop so I can't even blame auto correct. Hopefully, that will be my only dumbass moment of the weekend! ha ha

Great breakdown SWINfan. But I can't help it. Gable's last name is not pronounced Stev-en-son or Steph-en-son. I initially thought his name was Stev-en-son as well, but it is Steve-son. I only know this because of BTN & BTNplus.

DI Conference tournaments started yesterday. EIWA: 125: Jose Diaz of Franklin & Marshall loses both and is eliminated. 165: Cael McCormick of Army wins twice, including a wild 16-13 win in the quarterfinals. He's the #4 seed and needs to finish top 4 to get an automatic bid to NCAAs. He next faces the #1 seed. Sadly, due to an upset on the other side of the bracket, he'll probably face the #2 seed in the wrestlebacks if he were to lose the semi-final match. If he doesn't win one of those, he's outside the top 4 (I can't find evidence that the EIWA wrestles a true top 4 in instances of NCAA qualification, but I'm not 100% certain). Nonetheless, Cael's RPI and Coaches' Panel ranking suggest he's got a good shot at an at-large bid if he ends up 5th or 6th in the tournament. 174: Ben Harvey, the #3 seed for Army, wins his first match but gets upset by the #6 in the quarters before coming back to win a wrestleback match. He'll face an unseeded guy this morning before probably seeing the #4 seed in the consi semifinals. If he wins both of those, he's assured a top 4 spot and one of the 5 automatic bids at his weight. MAC: 125: Drew Hildebrandt of Central Michigan comes in as the #2 seed in a deep weight class and takes care of business, getting a fall and a 6-2 win to advance to the championship and guarantee himself one of the 4 NCAA slots up for grabs. Congratulations, Drew!! It's got to feel good after last season's narrow miss. If Drew were able to upset the top seed McGee of Old Dominion in the final, he'll probably be in line for a national seed at NCAAs.

Friday Night Results from DIII 133 - Owen Doster - Won his first match 3-0. He was eliminated in the blood round by unranked Jake Giordano in a tough 7-5 battle. Doster got banged up a little and was limping most of the 3rd period while trying to come from behind. 141 - Jordan Napier - Lost 15-8 and is eliminated 149 - #6 ranked Kris Rumph - Lost his Quarterfinal match 11-2. He faced #10 ranked Luke Hernandez and lost by fall in the blood round and is eliminated. 157 - Jared Timberman - MFF'd after Inj Default in the morning round. Hopefully nothing long term. 165 - #10 ranked Kyle Hatch - Won 3-2 over #8 ranked Eddie Smith. Faces #1 ranked Lucas Jeske Sat morning 174 - #1 ranked Darden Shurg - Won 9-3 over #6 ranked Jake Voss. Faces #8 ranked Daniel Kilroy Sat morning 285 - Wade Ripple - Lost by fall and is eliminated That leaves Kyle Hatch and Darden Schurg as the remaining Hoosier HS'ers and both wrestle in the Semifinals Saturday morning.

#1 - Matside Weigh Ins - This would eventually eliminate improper weight cutting and the weight management plan. And the added bonus of not having to wake up quite as early every Saturday will help keep some kids in the sport longer. #2 - Step Out (1 pt) - I would make it 2 feet out gives the opponent a point. 1 foot really shrinks the wrestling area and does the opposite of the college out of bounds rule. Also, 1 foot out is still technically in bounds. Make it both feet out. #3 - Stalling - First one is a warning. Every one after that gives opponent choice of position. If refs aren't "giving" points and they are earned/chosen instead, then they will be more likely to call it. If a wrestler is called for it on top and bottom wrestler chooses neutral or top, then 1 point is awarded for either. This also eliminates the dreaded (and lazy) "double stalling" call from refs (except for the warnings, which I'm okay with at times). This takes the match result out of the ref's hands and gets rid of the end of match stalling call (or no call) that decides the match. #4 - Five Match Limit - If a match ends in the first period, then it doesn't count towards the 5 match limit (similar to the thinking behind forfeits don't count). This would allow for bigger brackets with fewer limit problems. It will still happen, but a lot less often.

Fort Wayne shall rise again! We should have a nice bounce back year. Fielden will be ranked number 1 next year. The Railroader is from Y2's Alma Mater so I know this to be true. Lil Ruble should be a handful. Don't sleep on Heath from Leo. He keeps climbing the Ladder. Mason Winner and Lone will be pushing for state tittles. Kaden Lone will be one the best Freshman in the state. Stroud from Manchester will make noise. My Alma Mater R.Nelson Snider is on the upswing. Huntington North is as well. There may be 4 ranked heavies from the Fort Wayne Carroll Regional. Parrish is back. We still have the Levitzs. Me no worried.

Great question. A couple of things make it so hard to answer. Recency bias will always favor Mendez. We saw it with our own eyes just a few days ago. He was no fluke. Clearly the best wrestler at 126 in the state of Indiana. He did not look like a freshman physically or in his technique. The real deal. On the other hand, lets discuss quality of competition. Mendez beat a defending state champion who is not ranked nationally (at least I couldn't find a rank, correct me if I am wrong) and came in with 2 losses. And that defending state champ was only ranked third in his own state (and finished third, nice job rankers). Lee lost, there is no denying that, but it was to a senior who was ranked #1 in the nation (and still #1 five years later). It is impossible to determine the magnitude difference between the levels of competition, but it must be acknowledged that it is vast. So summing it all up....I have no freakin' idea, but I love the concept. Oh yeah, and I'll take Lee.