Aaron Turner

4-3 is what I had it as. Two of Brady's four losses have been against him.

Now what fun is that? If you don't know the platform someone is running on, how can you make a vote?

Consolidation baby! In 10 years, it won't matter anyway! ;D I don't see how schools can function now, let alone with the BIG cuts coming. Teachers and coaches have my utmost respect.

I'm just asking because I've never organzied a wrestling tournament (and can barely drum up a good game of euchre), but how would the Saturday round work at Conseco? Around here - the goal is to wrestle under the lights at Conseco. Goals vary from region to region, but it loses a little luster, at least to me, to be wrestling under one of three lights, garnering the attention of a third of the crowd ... Could a three-class finals round be done in one day? Like I say, I don't know, so I'm just asking.

The small school cycle. Sometimes athletes just aren't there. At least in basketball. I remember in the late 80s, Northfield making a run at semi-state. In the mid 90s, Manchester did the same. Either one of those two win state, I think it's still one class and the small-school dream still alive. Again, that's just my opinion. I just know as a member of the media that for me, covering a kid from an 800-enrollment school making a run at the big boys is the highlight of my year. Sure beats the heck out of covering a commissioner's meeting.

PRODIGY OF PERU Legendary basketball coach John Wooden was known as the ?Wizard of Westwood.? But here, maybe we have a ?Prodigy of Peru.? Even though Peru High School is a middle-of-the-road school as far as enrollment ? with numbers hovering near 800 ? athletics still fluctuate in cycles. It happens. Sometimes one class is just more athletic than others. But in no other sport is that argument laid to rest than with wrestling, especially in the Tiger wrestling room. Once again Peru head coach Andy Hobbs has assembled a winning team, even though the odds were relatively stacked against this inexperienced Tiger bunch. Graduation took its toll, losing many to graduation six of whom went on to wrestle at the collegiate level, but the Tigers reloaded behind two returning state qualifiers. Over the years, Peru High School has sent 27 wrestlers to the famed state finals, now held at Conseco Fieldhouse. That?s 16th best in the state behind such schools as Warren Central, who has nearly 4,000 students in its hallways, and Evansville Mater Dei ? a private school that can recruit athletes. This year?s squad was full of question marks heading into the season. The lightest weight was shored up with returning state qualifier Shannon Garretson. The middle weights are anchored by state placer Dalton Sparks, and Dustin Reich, a semi-state qualifier, secures the top end. But other than those three, nothing was guaranteed. So weekly wars followed in the wrestling rooms, and challenge match after challenge match brought this group together. And last Saturday?s sectional win ? the fourth consecutive ? proved to us that Peru wrestling doesn?t take a year off. Through hard work and dedication, blood sweat and tears, Garretson, Travis Gaylourd, Braxton Simpson, Tyler Kintner, Colin Quinn, Chris Oaks, Jay Hight, Sparks, John Morris, Ray Lutz, Brandon Grey, Kody Herbst, Jonathan Stoneking and Reich. Congratulate these young men and the Prodigy of Peru, Andy Hobbs, on another successful season. Good luck tonight in your quest for a team state final?s berth. Wrestling begins at 6 p.m. in Peru.

Personally - and remember, I played basketball in high school - classes killed the sport. Attendance is down - and hasn't recovered - in hoops, and if wrestling were to go to a class system, logistically I think it would be a nightmare. To me, the dream of beating the bigger team is the ultimate prize. The upset specials, the blindsided victories, that's what make wrestling so special. The seeding makes sense, but it still takes the will and the want to execute and win. While a class sytem would surely crown more champions, and thus gain more interest in the sport, I think it would hurt the sport as a whole. Again, that's just my opinion and isn't worth very much. I like having a true state champion. My thoughts to fix basketball: Have a class sectional, then feed them into a uniclass regional run. The folks were always griping because Huntington North was always the favorite geographically in our sectional. Ok, crown a class sectional champion, then open it up and see who is THE best in the regional. Keeps the small-school mentality alive.