combatspeed06

1300ish 1A wrestlers entered the state tournament...1 made it under the lights
1300ish 3A wrestlers entered the state tournament....24 made it under the lights...heck more made it under the lights from the 1300 3A kids than even qualified for state from 1A
 
You shouldn't have to work your brain too hard to see something is amiss here.

Individual wrestlers do not train in a vacuum.  Numbers matter, facilities matter, number of coaches matter.  

1A Coach of the Year
Tony Currie- Adams Central
In his first year at the helm of the Flying Jets Currie continued the storied tradition of the program. The list of accolades in his first season will set a high standard for the years to come. In early January the Currie lead Jets captured the 1A Team State Duals title in dramatic fashion over Prairie Heights. They kept the ball rolling winning the tournament portion of the Allen County Athletic Conference. Adams Central was also the only 1A team to take more than one wrestler to state, which included 4th place finisher Kaine Luginbill.
 
2A Coach of the Year
Trent McCormick- Yorktown
The Yorktown contingent had an outstanding year once again, led by Coach Trent McCormick. The Tigers captured their third straight 2A Team State Duals title in dominating fashion. The won in the finals 45-18 and in total outscored their opponents 229-59. Along the state path they captured a sectional, regional, and semi-state titles. They also qualified eight wrestlers for state and finished 11th in the final standings.
 
3A Coach of the Year
Brad Harper- Penn
Adults often joke about the endless energy of kids…and Brad Harper. Harper is a high energy coach that is a master motivator. The architect of the Penn resurgence is the 3A Coach of the Year. With a banged up and patched up team at the 3A Team State Duals Harper’s squad was an eyelash and a tiebreaker from the finals. Then came a state run that was redemption for team state. Penn lost two very important wrestlers in the first round of state and came into the quarter-finals with one less wrestler than Cathedral. They managed to outpace the Irish as Harper’s squad brought home two individual titles along with a runner-up finish. This is Penn’s first wrestling state title in the school’s history along with the first individual titles since 1971.
 
1A Wrestler of the Year
Sawyer Miller- South Adams
After being in the semi-finals as a freshman and sophomore, Miller was knocked out of the state tournament at semi-state as a junior. That fueled the motivation to not quit until he was under the lights in his last go-round. He had an unblemished record until the finals where he dropped an overtime bout to Brock Hudkins. Miller wraps up his career as the most decorated Starfire in history with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place medals. His legacy will be hard to top, but he does has a younger brother just itching to break all his records.
 
2A Wrestler of the Year
Brock Hudkins- Danville
Luck hasn’t been a friend of Brock Hudkins during any of his three high school seasons. As a freshman he missed the first half of the season with an injury and came into the state tournament with a limited amount of matches. He ended up 5th in a very tough weight class. As a sophomore he came into state as a semi-state champion, weighed in, then became ill and couldn’t participate. His junior year was cruising along until a midseason weight room injury almost sidelined him for the season. Even with a mangled finger Hudkins captured a state title in one of the toughest weight classes in the state. He finished his junior campaign without a loss and will look to build upon it for his final year.
 
3A Wrestler of the Year
Chad Red- New Palestine
There are many superlatives that can be used to describe Chad Red. His career to this point is nearly spotless with his only blemishes coming when he attends national events. Along with his three state titles he has championships at the Super 32 and Fargo. He also has a 4th place finish at FloNationals along with leading Team Indiana to All-American finishes at the Cadet Duals. The icing on the cake is his #1 ranking in the country which has prompted visits from top college coaches to New Palestine.
 
Mr. Gorilla
Voting Results (1st Place Votes)
Tommy Forte- 106(13)
Tommy Cash- 90(9)
Garrett Pepple- 74(1)
Dylan Lydy- 28
Brandon James- 24
 
Tommy Forte- Mishawaka
The experts often say to keep your resume to one page, but for Tommy Forte he will need a forest to print his resume off. One of only two seniors this year with four state medals(Brandon James the other), Forte has cemented a legacy of one of the greatest Cavemen ever. Two state titles to go with a runner-up and third place finish are just the tip of the iceberg. Nationally, Forte has placed at USAW Folkstyle Nationals twice and finished 4th at the Super 32. He also holds national rankings of #8 by Intermat and #15 by FloWrestling. He will be continuing his education and wrestling career at Buffalo with former coach Bryce Hasseman and the Bulls. This year he became only the second wrestler ever to capture four titles at the prestigious Al Smith Classic. He finished his career with an impressive 140 wins with only 5 losses to three different wrestlers(Jarred McKinley 2x, Cody LeCount 2x, and Anthony McHugh). With that he is the first of many Mr. Gorilla award recipients.
 
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I used to attend the open room "way back in the day" , wow now i feel old, and can say it was one of the best rooms throughout the entire summer.

As did mine, but some head coaches are starting from scratch trying to build a staff.  Not everyone is like you and I and decides they want to start coaching as soon as they step off the mat for the last time...some people find that out later...so the wife doesn't realize what she's getting into.  Thus, a little something might make the negotiations a bit easier. 

You get paid!? I was under the impression that I had to pay to coach!!!!

Mike,
 
When I finished my last season as the RankingsGuy in 2011 and gave you the reigns for the 2012 season, I knew you were the perfect guy for the job.  From there, you've taken the rankings to new heights and helped make IndianaMat one of the premiere wrestling news sites in the country.  My hats off to you, Joe, Chad, and the whole team.  Can't wait to see where IndianaMat goes from here.  Great job as always.  You're one of the best and most knowledgable wrestling fans I know.
 
-Eric McGill

I have some used large t shirts we can make it happen

I think that's true. "the boz" look would be legit

Bradley and Day could have the best coach/wrestler hair combo of the state finals

At least get him to wear the wrap around Gargoyles...
 

I tried to get him to bleach it for State, a la "The Boz", but I couldn't quite convince him...

Coaches aren't going to leave because of pay. Most realize that the pay isn't the reason they are coaching. 

I think Bradley has been channelling the spirit of region rat Terry Funk the past couple of weeks.
 

 
That 'do was making the ladies swoon from Hessville to Snake Nation and beyond.  Guys might want to leave their lady friends at home this weekend.

That mullet should get its own Mental Attitude Award. 

They still have kids in wrong weights...it was a good try though.

I went outside once Saturday and I'm pretty sure my lips about froze off! It was like Hoth out there!

I went outside once Saturday and I'm pretty sure my lips about froze off! It was like Hoth out there!

There is always a risk of getting injured...better not practice this week...just in case

Adding all the points from each level would be akin to adding all the points from each football game. That would be horrible.

Last weekend he became the first Mishawaka Athlete to make it to State in THREE (football, wrestling, track) different sports! Very impressive and we couldn't be more proud of him! Good luck at state, Tanner!

And he has a unbelievable mullet congratulations

Impressive indeed. Congratulations.

It's where all of his power comes from.

Last weekend he became the first Mishawaka Athlete to make it to State in THREE (football, wrestling, track) different sports! Very impressive and we couldn't be more proud of him! Good luck at state, Tanner!