concussed and confused

Maybe she thought that YOU were stalling in not immediately realizing that the ref was right, and everyone knows that yelling at the other competitors fans always makes your wrestler perform better! DUH.

I heard a rumor that Paul will be moving to Columbus next year and wrestling for Graham. Also, I heard that Nick and Joe are moving to Wisconsin to follow in the giant footsteps of Mark Hall! Luigs is actually NOT graduating at midterm, rather, he is pursuing a career as a professional bass fisherman while continuing his high school career abroad. Check your facts Hook. The Forty-Niners invited Wilderman to come in to fill Kaepernick's role on the team. The Egli brothers will be moving to Washington State to pursue competitive tree climbing. The Hustler is actually on the Booster Club and just trying to cover his tracks via reverse psychology. He covers the Chicago area of our recruiting base.

Part-time job in terms of I will not support my life on it. I love the sport of wrestling. I wrestled for thirteen years and continue to actively advocate for IHSAA wrestling. I am by no means dispassionate about wrestling.

The intention is for referees to be more aggressive in terms of stalling calls. This does not mean calling stalling just because, but rather enforcing action and not being afraid to address inaction early in the match.

I actually intend on pursuing refereeing as a part-time job in order to help pay some college expenses! Thanks for the productive post!

As a graduated Mater Dei wrestler and current Indiana wrestling fan, nothing frustrates me more than when a wrestler with a slight lead near the end of the match shuts down and simply tries not to get beat. I also become frustrated when referee's refuse to call stalling early in the match. Right now you are probably asking, "Concussed?! What does your ranting have to do with Indiana wrestling becoming great?" Well, I am getting there Why do wrestlers shut down and stall during a match? In my experience I have discovered that this occurs primarily due to tiredness or trying to minimize a loss. So what could prevent wrestlers from becoming tired? Better conditioning. What could encourage wrestlers to push the pace against a superior athlete and not try to win in the third? Being able to get away with stalling. So what strategy can be taken to reduce these negative effects of stalling? If Indiana referees were set the goal to be the most aggressive referees in the nation about enforcing stalling calls, athletes would be more inclined to arrive to the match with better conditioning so as to not give up points to the referee late in the match, and prepared to use pace and tempo in order to defeat athletes better than themselves. One example of an athlete that took this approach two years ago is EMD's Bennet Kempf. As a three year JV wrestler, Bennet had never been exposed to supremely skilled athletes; therefore, he was able to succeed with average technique. However, varsity level competition served as a wake up call for Bennet whose only tool was his superior conditioning. Through this conditioning, he eventually defeated Lydy in the ticket round and went on to place at state. So how is this relevant? Through the effects of aggressive refereeing, Indiana wrestlers would be more inclined to condition and be aggressive on the mat which, in turn, would increase the overall level of competition throughout the state. This increase in the level of competition would then force good wrestlers to become better wrestlers and better wrestlers to become great wrestlers. This would then allow a higher percentage of Indiana wrestlers to compete at a higher level on a national scale do to the forced increase in their abilities by the increased level of competition. That's my thesis and I am sticking to it.

I would edit this to be if they would rather have a state champion medal in a classed system or their actual placement and had the potential opportunity to wrestle under the lights. I think, at the end of the day, this decision should be made by the athletes it is going to affect as well as by those have experienced state competition. After all, the sport is about the athlete, not the school, coaches, or fans. They are simply bystanders to the abilities of the young men and women who push themselves to their physical limits in order to be successful.

I concur. Y2, would it be at all possible for you to enact this? This is not a joke by any means but rather serious response to a feasible solution to the disease of a debate that so plagues your website.

Ouch... Just trying to lighten the mood. No need to threaten me and take down all of my posts.

I did Judo- a sport that focuses on body position, hip work, and throws. My wrestling career would not have been what it was without a very effect head and arm based feet to back throw...

Never once did I say he came from a small school I said "from a po-dunk school in the middle of a corn field," which Gibson Southern very much so is. I will make you a deal Y2! I will ardently support class wrestling in every way possible if you agree to step down as a moderator! Deal?

The purpose of that argument was to emphasize that even large schools sometimes fail to produce wrestlers that can compete at a state level. That is what I personally feel makes Indiana wrestling great. Athletes such as Bailey LaHue and Logan Dilbeck that come up from po-dunk towns in the middle of corn fields and proceed to become some of the better wrestlers in the state and beat kids that come from state of the art facilities makes Indiana wrestling special. Wrestling is a sport in which the wills of two men are pitted against each other and the best, most determined athlete wins. The best stories in Indiana wrestling come from the special athletes who, against all odds, overcome a lack of facilities, funding, and practice partners and become a top three finisher at state. Granted, there are a lot of special athletes that come from larger schools, but to remove the chance of the 1A stud to even compete against the 3A Goliath at the state level feels almost amoral. the purpose of individual state is to determine who is the best individual athlete at a given weight class, not to determine who might be the three best. I think that, in the long run, this will hurt more schools than it will help. Sure, more kids will qualify for state, but does having athletes that would potentially only qualify for regionals represent Indiana at a state level really help Indiana wrestling in any way?

Indiana is one of the few states that continues to hold the state tournament series without classes, and I believe this is fantastic for the sport. As a recent graduate, I easily recall that there was no greater motivator than the dream to wrestle under the spotlight in front of thousands of people. Most people fail to see the fact that small schools are not the only victims here. For example, Evansville Harrison has several thousand students and has only qualified one wrestler for state in the past seven years. The current method for individual state has worked since the 1940's, so why change it now? I think the real problem here comes down to schools just not being "wrestling schools." The fact of the matter is that some schools invest more money into one athletic program than another and sometimes minimal money into any athletic facilities. At the end of the day, class wrestling would force two or three wrestlers in each class to wrestle against fourteen other mediocre to average wrestlers instead of sixteen of the best athletes in the state duking it out in the pursuit of the ultimate prize. This system is better for the fans, better for the sport, and better for the athletes.

On a slightly different note, I would like to nominate previous Mater Dei wrestler and current Gibson Southern coach Noah Schweitzer as the best wrestler in Indiana history to never wrestle in the post-season. For the entirety of his high school wrestling career, he found himself plagued by either an especially at his weight class, by a massive weight cut, or both. He WON the ISWA state twice while in high school defeating Preston Mantel for one championship and majoring the elder Glogouski for the second one. This really has not been said before and I felt as though it probably should.

I will take the bait Hook. Top Eleven Ways To Identify an "Evansville" Fan at State 11) They regularly exit the field house to chain smoke another pack of Marlboro Reds 10) Half of all conversations they hold are about corn 9) Cowboy boots. 8) The other half of their conversations pertain to how bad Indianapolis area schools are about recruiting 7) The outline of their can of Grizzly is permanently held by their jeans 6) They scream the word "two" at least fifty times on Friday night 5) "Da Region" is viewed as fighting words 4) The only thing bigger than their truck is their ego 3) They take offense to the words Kentucky and Kentuckian 2) Spladles and banana splits are viewed as a viable offensive pinning combination and not a move of opportunity 1) They view Hook 'n Half as a fake "Evansvillite" who is trying his best to blend in Top Five Ways To Identify Hook 'n Half at State 5) Listen for "dad" noises (grunts, groans, throat clearing, mumbling vaguely coherent phrases) 4) Man Van. 3) He will mention his book at least twice in any conversation (granted it is quite well written and worthy of such behavior) 2) The word "two" will escape from his lips followed by the phrase "Awh, come on!" 1) He will be sporting a long-sleeve Mater Dei wrestling shirt as well as New Balance shoes and a hat he bought at the GAP for half off

The word ever indicates any single instance. I pointed out a single instance. LeCount's inability to make it to state his freshman year is not pertinent to this discussion because it's a completely unrelated topic. Thank you for the further information; however, I will stand by my predictions until proved otherwise.

106- Egli, Mills, Rooks, Casebolt I expect a strong showing from the Mater Dei freshman as well as Mills and Rooks this Saturday, and look forward to watching this loaded weight class. However, when the dust settles, I believe Egli will take the crown as the champion. 113- Annakin, Stull, McKinney, Horty I expect Annakin to be fairly dominating this weekend in a weight class that will be dominated by southern wrestlers. This weight class seems to be pretty straightforward. Expect a strong showing from Baxter next weekend as well. 120- Luigs, Hunt, Mulkey, Miller Once again, I am picking the south. Luigs has dominated pretty much everyone who has had the misfortune to step on the mat with him. Expect another very exciting weight class. 126- Hudkins, Dilbeck, Combest, Happe Hudkins will dominate this weight class. The returning state champ is back with a vengeance. I am also picking Happe for the upset. The first year varsity wrestler has put up a strong showing thus far, and I expect him to continue to do so. 132- Lee, Clopton, Molloy, Elpers Once again, expect a race for second place (or first loser if you like). I am gambling on an SIAC rivalry to arise in the semis between Clopton and Elpers, but believe that Clopton will be able to pull out the win. Molloy got the bad luck draw; however, I would not count him out next weekend as a three seed. 138- McCoy, Ramsey, Jourdan, Reese A tough quarter-final match between Lee and Jourdan defines this weight-class; however, I expect the athletic senior to pull out the win. Draw of the day goes to Castle’s Ramsey who should be able to make it to the finals; however, expect him to meet his match in the finals. 145- Lee, Bethel, Crowl, Gibson Expect Lee to come to the mat with a vengeance. He is a man on a mission and anyone in his way should probably get out. I expect the athletic Bethel to put up another strong semi-state showing. 152- Aydelott, Herrin, Lehman, Smith This is a fairly wide open weight-class and was one of the more difficult to predict. I expect that these will be the four guys to come out but the order, I feel, is very subject to change. Lee, Crowl, Betheldanpe 160- Van Horn, Whitaker, Farmer, Glover This weight class, outside of Van Horn, is marked by inflated records. I expect Brownsburg’s four seed to pull out of the top corner of the bracket, and potentially an upset by Carr in the second corner. I believe Van Horn is the easy favorite; however, Castle’s Farmer has the potential for an upset. 170- Walton, Dowell, Hendrick, Owens Expect B-Burg’s stud sophomore to pull out the victory; however, do NOT expect a cake walk. Expect Castle senior Evan Dowell to put a strong fight through the tournament and potentially an upset in the finals. Expect a good fight for the coveted three seed to escape from the dreaded four seed. 182- Dalton, Dial, Mohler, McKinley Welcome to the weakest weight class of the semi-state. I expect the senior from Bloomington North to succeed in his endeavor of the crown; however, the potential for upset is very real at this weight class and these four are by no means concrete. 195- Wilderman, Robinson, Lee, Redmond I expect the Mater Dei junior to dominate this weight class. His victory against Tante earlier this year solidifies him as one of the best in the state. I expect Robinson to come out of the top side of the bracket; however, not without a fight with Redmond. I believe this close match will also cost Redmond his consolation match due to the physical and emotional toll of the match in the semis. 220- Larson, Scroggs, Dixon, Boots I expect Animal of Avon to walk away with this one. The Wildcat’s Boots dynasty continues with Michael, and I expect him to hold the tradition and continue to state following his show at regionals. However, I expect him to meet his match against Scroggs in the semis. HWT- York, Henson, Klem, Galligar Expect York to pull the gold in this one, but be prepared for a potentially exciting heavy weight tournament. Klem has not been his usual, exciting self this post-season, so I would not expect much better than a third place finish for him. I am predicting a much larger crowd for the heavy weight championship than normal due to the matchup between these heavy-weight brawlers. At the end of the day, I expect a close team race between Mater Dei and Brownsburg and no one else in contention; however I predict MD will get the win. You seem to have forgotten his ticket round match with Bethel last year.

Interesting prediction of Tonte at 195. What will change between Team State and individual that will allow to overcome the defeat handed to him by Wilderman? Also, Lee v. Red. Score prediction?

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR. The time when some of the best athletes in the state showcase their skill in front of a state wide audience in striving for the ultimate goal of a podium appearance at Banker's Life Fieldhouse. With week one of the post-season finalized and the brackets for week two officially posted, let's hear some predictions for finale. Which athletes will be "at the top of the podium" come the end of February? Which athletes hold the greatest potential of being "Dark Horses?" Will Hook 'n Half build yet another legendary "IHSAA Wrestling State Championship all-name" team? Bring on some predictions!

you seem to have missed the fact that MD sat 5 starters that round, lost one athlete to an allergic reaction, and had several team leaders injured.

I didn't realize Tante also picked-up a sponsorship from Monster.

I always thought that Brownsburg's mascot was the bulldog. I suppose I never realized they were trains. They should probably appeal to Purdue for a royalty.

Isn't that the point of this post? The statement that Red is the greatest high school wrestler in the history of Indiana is a question that intrinsically requires the person being asked to look at the history (the past). I concur that the aforementioned list is an excellent one; however, I would personally include Greg Schaefer on that list.

Alright folks, it's that time of year again! Let's hear who is going to be on the podium in February because, at the end of the day, that's all that actually matters (shout-out to Hook n' Half). Who are the dark horses and who are the infallible juggernauts? Will someone finally convince Triple B to forge a new birth certificate and steal the limelight on Saturday night? BRING IT ON! -Where am I, how did I get here, and who are you?