Riley McClurg

Thank you for everything that you have done for the sport, Mr. Whitehead! I do not think the IHSAA State Tournament will ever be the same without you on the mic. 
 

“He’s the best! He’s the best! HE’S THE BEST!” -Kevin Whitehead after Steven Bradley capped off his senior season with his 3rd consecutive state title. 
 

And, one of my all time personal favorites:

”Alec VIDUUUUUUUUYA!”

Doubt it was the 'biggest upset ever', but on ole Dewey turned Conseco upside down on Friday Night in 2005. Freshman from Hobart, Brennan Cosgrove, took down returning State Champion and senior, Jon Lloyd, by a measly score of 22-14.

Just a day away! Come learn some great technique from a couple of Indiana's best and get a scrap in before you head to NHSCAs, Folkstyle Nationals or even the beach.

Door 14

6:00PM - 7:30PM EST

Cannot contain my excitement for this one! These two need no introduction. Come get better on Wednesday with Coach Brian Seltzer and his son, Zeke. 
 

Enter through Door 14 (Fieldhouse entry) and make your way up to the room - going from 6PM-7:30PM. Please make sure you have your USA Wrestling card on you.

2 hours ago, fishers57 said:

Would like to bring a few Kentucky boys in on April 6th if you don't mind. 

Thanks for reaching out - we would love to have you. We will have Spring Break on 3/30 and 4/6 - next RTC after 3/23 will be on 4/13. 

Back at it, again! Enter through Door 14 (Fieldhouse entry) and make your way up to the room - going from 6PM-7:30PM. Please make sure you have your USA Wrestling card on you.

Tonight's clinician is Brandon James! Brandon is a graduate of Perry Meridian High School ('15) and Marian University ('20). Come ready to scrap!

Camden Eppert v. Brandon Wright

I do not know how you beat this one... they met under the lights in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Eppert won the title at 103 in 2007 and at 119 in 2009 - Wright took the title at 112 in 2008. Three years in a row the same two guys met under the lights. The two also met in the finals of the Regional and Semi-State each of those three years, too. 

Nick Hobbs - Beech Grove '02

6th

2nd (lost to this guy named Blake Maurer 3-2)

5th

Alex Dolly - Mishawaka '03

5th

3rd

2nd (lost in ultimate tiebreaker to this guy named Blake Maurer)

Excited for our two guys to compete on Sunday! This is always a fun event. Here is the tentative Team Illinois lineups for the dual this weekend - straight from the Illinois Wrestling Coaches & Officials Association website.

Actually was just talking to Jimmy about this. I corralled his team stats while at Perry Meridian - he was 440-38. He also shared with me the following information (to the best of his knowledge):

• Connersville: 32-21
• Tri-West: 15-18
• Perry Meridian: 440-38 
• Warren Central: Around 70 wins
• Franklin: to be continued...

I know that Joe will want cold hard evidence, but without WC and Franklin the man is 487-77. He isn't too bad at this coaching thing.

I remember Sackstedder bumping Danny Coyne from 112lbs to wrestle top ranked McGinley (Tim maybe?) in the Beech Grove v. Cathedral dual in the early 2000s. Cannot remember if Danny was #1 at the time, but McGinley came out victorious. 

I know this doesn't technically count, but I believe that Anthony Williams (IHSAA State Champ from Evansville Central) and Ethan Harris (IHSAA State Champ from Beech Grove) wrestled each other in the finals of the Mooresville Holiday Classic the following year after their State Championship runs - correct me if I am wrong. Harris came out victorious in the meeting.

1 hour ago, VintageGhost said:

They always do that. The younger brother is really immature. Usually will run on the mat clapping and yelling. Hopefully he grows out of it. 

I know, right? I can’t stand that guy. 

Unpopular opinion: decrease the number of weight classes to 12. It makes the sport more competitive across the board; prepares kids for the next level (10 weight classes) and makes it easier for schools of all sizes to field a FULL team.

109

117

125

133

141

149

157

165

174

184

197

HWT

2013 Perry Meridian Wrestling Team - 102.5 points scored w/o scoring Friday Night (started scoring Friday Night the next year)

106: Brett Johnson SQ

113: Jacob Cottey 5th

126: Brandon James: 5th

132: Cody LeCount: 1st

138: Nick Bova: 7th

160: Riley McClurg: 1st

182: Jake Masengale: 2nd

HWT: Donte Winfield: 1st

Not saying it was the best team, but I'd throw this squad in the mix. 4 in the finals with 3 champs. Just think - if James doesn't lose that heart breaker to Welch on Saturday morning.. or if Cottey doesn't drop a heart breaker to Davis, who he had beaten earlier in the year, on Saturday morning.. pretty solid team. Grateful to have been apart of it.

ALSO - won the IHSWCA 3A State Duals

57-13 over Cathedral (Quarters)

40-15 over Penn (Semis)

46-11 over Franklin Community (Finals)

25 minutes ago, Indysportsfan said:

Will concessions have Diet Mt Dew this time?

Now THIS is the million dollar question. Haha!

Nothing but excitement surrounding the dual tonight. Come catch it if you don’t have any Tuesday night plans. The good ole Wood Shed will be rocking tonight with it being CYO Night & Senior Night. 

6:00PM: JV matches start

6:30PM: Senior Night followed by CYO Night recognition

7:00PM: Varsity faceoff, Prayer, National Anthem, and then the varsity wrestling will begin. 

Hope to see you there! 

John Harris - Roncalli High School HWT - Currently Ranked #7 in the state & #2 in the NC Semi-State

Signed his NLI to play defensive line for THE Ball State University Cardinals.

Congratulations, John! We are very proud of you.

Why did LeCount, Cottey, Masengale, and myself included stop attending CIA once at PMHS (granted I returned once Brady & my brother took over)? We had everything that we needed (from a training standpoint) where we were at. Our coaches provided us with the tools and everything else that we needed to be successful on a year-round basis. We did not have to seek better partners or coaches or instruction, let alone pay an asinine amount for it. 

I personally believe that is why families, parents, and kids take advantage of the open enrollment rule. No one wants to HAVE to pay over $2K+/year to attend a private academy.

As much fun as I have enjoyed the educational banter, especially with ole Eddie P, I must sign off now. 

Let the parents make the choices for their kids - it is none of our business as coaches. Our job is to control what we can control, and to put them in the best position to be even more successful after HS wrestling.

9 minutes ago, GrecoCoach said:

I'm only chiming in because you're talking about the school where I coached...

Fishers High School is difficult to compare because of it's relatively short history.  It began as a high school in 2006.  Our first 2 years were rough without seniors and only a couple of experienced wrestlers.  Building a program is also difficult without any alumni, especially ones who are parents helping with the youth program.  But we did have success before, during, and after Mitch:

• 2007 - x
• 2008 - x
• 2009 - Brad Farrell 5th, Patrick Lux SQ
• 2010 - Mitch 3rd
• 2011 - Mitch 3rd
• 2012 - Mitch 1st, Jordan Lile SQ
• 2013 - Mitch 1st, Seth Riley 4th, Jordan Lile SQ
• 2014 - Jordan Lile 8th (with torn ACL), Lance Syverson SQ
• 2015 - Alexander Strueder SQ, Mason Gaines SQ
• 2016 - x (new head coach)
• 2017 - x
• 2018 - Alexander Strueder SQ (new head coach)
• 2019 - TBD (another new head coach)

So probably the bigger factor in the lack of sustained success following Mich was the coaching turnover (4 different head coaches in the last 5 years).  I guess that's my fault.

Never once have I meant to discredit you as a coach - I hope you know how much I respect you as a coach. With that being said, the kids listed from 2010 to 2018 (minus Gaines and Syverson) supplemented their training with Ed at CIA. Personally, I believe that Mitch was the catalyst that brought them to Ed, which in return significantly helped strengthen your program for that time period. Do you agree?

My point is that not everyone in their program has a catalyst like Mitch Sliga - the dude is a rare breed as a wrestler and leader. Therefore, not every kid has the opportunity to follow a Mitch Sliga's footsteps or travel and pay to supplement their training. As for you saying it is your fault, I do not agree. Sustainability takes much more than one man's effort.

Once again, please do not throw me on my head.

45 minutes ago, Ed Pendoski said:

My old Polish brain is still confused.  

We both admit Sliga stayed in his home school (this one is measurable, his transcripts prove us right). 

We both agree that the guys in his room benefit from him not transferring to a power program (this on is not quite as measurable, but I'm assuming you don't think it hurt Riley by having Sliga say "come wrestle and you can come to an academy with me if you want). 

I'm assuming we both agree he had a successful high school career. 

We both agree that he supplemented his training while staying in his home school.  Is that correct?

But we also agree that most (if not all) of the guys on the thread about big transfers supplement their training somewhere else besides they home school, correct?

Here's my opinion about the schools you mentioned (definitely not measurable).  Because Bratcher and Duckworth and Cody Phillips did not leave and go to a power program they helped their small schools do this:

• 3rd Place Match - Ben Stewart (Cathedral) 41-2 won by decision over Luke Elliott (Eastbrook) 40-4 (Dec 7-4)

and 

• 3rd Place Match - Jack Eiteljorge (Carmel) 40-3 won by fall over Tucker Coffman (Union County) 43-8 (Fall 1:51)

I'm confused on what you're saying because I read you say that Sliga had success and he included others with his success (in his home school).  You said that he is a bad example because he supplemented his training elsewhere.  But you also said that most (if not all) of the guys on the big transfers thread already supplements their training elsewhere?  They why do they need to transfer at all when they would help the sport as a whole by increasing the popularity of wrestling in a small/weaker program and they can still be successful because they can supplement their training.

My real question that comes from the start of this thread is that does having the strongest kids from small/weak programs transferring to power programs have a long term effect on our sport as a whole.

Its like I am speaking to my nephew - I can explain my theory 30 different ways, but his first response is the same question I just finished answering. I want you to prove to me that Sliga, Bratcher, Phillips, and Duckworth created a "strong" feeder program - 1 state placer since 2009-2013 places you in the bracket of "strong feeder programs"? If you were not Sliga's shadow/sensei/coach like you were, then yes, I do believe he would have found another school to attend or supplemented his training elsewhere. I do not believe Sliga staying in his home school created a wrestling craze or strong feeder program, or else we would be seeing Fishers HS Wrestling still reaping the benefits of all mighty Mitch.

You are jumping from subject to subject to start confusion, which may be why your Polish brain cannot keep up, however, name those kids that Sliga impacted that did not come with him to your academy? Where is the lasting impact that they made on their feeder programs? We should be seeing Fisher Tiger after Fisher Tiger at BLF if we are following your logic. Also, Fishers is a 6A school, so what do you consider a smaller/weaker program?

Mitch had success because of you. Cody has success because of you. Michael had success because of you. Same with Jackson. They spent, on average, over $2000 for 6-8 months of training - not including the private hourly workouts you were doing with them. I stand as witness. Yeah, go ahead and supplement your training.. IF you have the money. We have some parents that struggle to afford minimal club dues - I am sure that we are not the only ones, either. That is my point, probably 5% of HS wrestling parents can afford to send their kids to an academy year round. So, once again, training outside of your HS program is not as readily available as you make it sound. Hence why parents/kids take advantage of/utilize open enrollment - pay a percentage of the price Uncle Eddie charged us for one month at CIA to train in an elite club environment without the private club costs year round.

To answer you final question - the sport at the high school age continues to grow year by year. Numbers do not lie. So, no. It will not effect our sport as the number continue to grow. I am guessing that you have evidence of schools dropping their program or contemplating dropping their program due to their "studs" transferring to better programs?

13 minutes ago, Clint Gard said:

"I am not calling you out, P, but we both know that Mitch Sliga spent 2x more time in CIA's room than he did Fishers. He did not need to go searching elsewhere to receive support or partners because you provided that to him through CIA, and he was in there on a year-round basis."

Yes, I know out of all of the comments, this struck me.  But I thought during season, wrestlers couldn't train with each other.  I ask because I know kids are not only training in Academies together but now it has morphed into kids training together at their schools.  Isn't this against IHSAA Policy? Asking for a friend.

Did not mean it like that - I trained alongside of the people named at CIA. Practices would run from March through September each year - then it gave kids time to get acclimated to their room and prepare for high school season. Poor choice of words on my end - Eddie did not violate any IHSAA sanctions or rules to my knowledge. 

So, you can tell your friend that was asking, Clint, that no IHSAA sanctions or rules were violated. 

57 minutes ago, Ed Pendoski said:

I'm still confused, because to me it sounds like you're using examples that top kids transfering to 'power programs' is not good for the future of Indiana wrestling as a whole.

It didn't matter that Sliga stayed at Fishers.  If he would have transferred to a power school, he would have had a similar career.  And by staying at Fishers, he brought another Fishers kid's level up.  

I think that says two things.  It says that you can still be successful without transfering to a power school.  It also says that staying within your feeder program increases the chance of another athlete's development/enjoyment of the sport that might not happen otherwise.

You also brought up 3 other guys that did the exact same thing.  They stayed in their feeder system, helped grow their home school, and still had very successful careers.  Not sure if you could say HSE was not a power program.   They were quite competitive in Austin's years.

I am saying that Sliga is apart of that outlier group that I was talking about. Transferring was never the thought process because his family could afford to spend there money at your place. His club coach (YOU) was traveling with him to national tournaments, cadet worlds, etc. Not his high school coach - YOU! Not every kid in the state can afford to supplement their training under THE Ed Pendoski, therefore, some utilize the open enrollment rule instead. 

As for helping the feeder program, what evidence do you have to prove? Lyle, Riley, Sliga, etc. were around the same age. You MAY have a point with Strueder as coming up in the “feeder program,” but he as well supplemented his training with you, Brady, & co. at CIA. When have we heard a big name out of Eastbrook since Jackson? Who has contended for a state title at Union County since Phillips and Duckworth? ALL of these guys are outliers to your theory due to the fact that they spent thousands and thousands of dollars over their years to supplement 3/4 of their training at a private academy that happened to be yours. 

So, now I am confused because all of your examples are what I stated in my first post - not everyone can afford $200-$300 a month plus the $25/hour private sessions you conducted with them as well. What do I think the elite wrestlers do that cannot afford a private academy like you ran? They utilize the open enrollment rule to go to a school with an elite room and established feeder system that has been proven successful - once again, just my theory. 

I mean no offense to these schools as I grew up taking licks from every kid that I mentioned. Great people with great families. Just trying to prove a point. 

Hopefully this clears up your confusion, P  

59 minutes ago, Riley McClurg said:

Oops! I’m sorry, Coach Herreld!

 

Harreld. I’m definitely getting thrown on my head now. 

23 minutes ago, GrecoCoach said:

It’s spelled Harreld. Don’t want you to get thrown on your head. 

Oops! I’m sorry, Coach Herreld!

42 minutes ago, Ed Pendoski said:

Maybe I'm not reading correctly.  The way I'm reading this, it sounds like you are giving examples of kids don't need to transfer from smaller/weaker programs and that there are benefits to kids staying local.  Would you agree that Sliga staying at Fishers played a part in Seth Riley's success and if Sliga didn't transfer that part of Riley's success was there because Sliga stayed in his feeder program's high school?

 

I’m saying that it did not matter in Sliga’s case. It would not have mattered if he went to Spring Valley Community High School. He supplemented the vast majority of his training under your watch at CIA. His family was able to afford that monthly fee to get elite training. You were able to provide him with wrestlers like Michael Duckworth, Jackson Bratcher, Austin Neibarger, and let’s not forgot the bazillion private workouts that you were able to provide him with as a separate entity from Fishers HS. So, what I am saying is that Sliga is a bad example. Seth Riley attended the right school at the right time, and he followed Mitch’s footsteps to your academy. Did he benefit from Sliga? Heck yeah. So would have the other kids at any other high school he attended because of the time, effort, and money he spent to be under your training. 

24 minutes ago, Y2CJ41 said:

No one pays that much to go to Indiana Tech. All private schools have a high sticker price, but give lots of grants and aid. You can go to Indiana Tech for the same amount as a state school.

On top of that very few Indiana kids going off to college are getting their school paid for due to wrestling. 

There is a lot more that goes into it - the grants and aid, that is. If you are in that middle class FAFSA tier, then you are not receiving any aid. No matter how many kids you've put through college - the breaks are not very easy to come by. I wish it was.

You are right, very few do get full scholarships due to the fact that the NCAA allots 9.9 scholarships to fully funded wrestling programs. The NAIA is different as your allotment depends on the academic performance of your team throughout the year based on how much athletic money they were granted, which generally leads to almost double the amount of scholarships allotted to NCAA institutions. That is why people like Coach Pompei are able to field 50-kid college teams - I would like to know how much of the money is academic/grant/athletic/aid. As for the NCAA, you're lucky if you have more than 25 or 30.

You are making the process seem very simple, but I believe that it is not. However, if you are good enough, then the money gets pulled out of the cracks. I feel like if it was as easy as you make it sound, then we would see a much higher amount of Indiana HS wrestlers at the next level (Coach Pompei & Bradley are leading the charge, though). As for @dstruck, you are right. He has forged bonds and relationships with college coaches across the country - and he truly cares about the kids! What if you don't have a Danny Struck as your coach? Than what? He is one of few.