Blumafia

Assistant coach / MS coaching job @ Castle High School in Newburgh, IN Lots of talent coming through there in the next few years!!!!

The UWW should have counted. I believe if you represent your state on a National level...it should count. Just my opinion, but qualifiers where you are lucky to get a match isn’t bringing the numbers up. I believe it is the exposure of the sport via Flo, Track etc.

Absolutely. No worries Miller.

The weight cutting on the MS State tournament to making weight at Heartlands isn’t a “real” issue. The problem is that, it’s a bad weekend. UWW team trials, Heartland, & Kingsport is all on the same weekend plus FloNats the next weekend...transition from one style to the next. Just like Jason, my son has been to all these National duals. In my opinion Kingsport is a great tooth chipper tournament, and while it’s not a USAW event, it’s well worth going if you have never been. Heartlands is a great tournament, great chance to put “Indiana’s best” out on the mat. It’s a fun trip. I did have a big problem with the head salesman @ Miller’s Used Cars...HA I’d hate to ever owe that guy money!!! Heres the thing, we decided to take our son to the UWW team trials. It’s the same weekend as Kingsport and Heartland, but that’s what was best for our son. It wasn’t a weight cut thing as 68KG is a lower weight than the Heartland weight he was qualified for. I’m as loyal a guy as you’ll find, BUT I believe loyalty isn’t the concern...is this about entry fees, egos, control, BS???? It’s not a loyalty issue, there were 3 great tournaments on the same weekend...at the end of the day, you do what’s best for your own!!! This is truth...this is in no way, shape or form “Trophy Chasing” it’s about constantly showing your wrestler where the bar is at. At all 3 of these tournaments there are top level kids. I constantly try to put my kids in the fire, get them beat up, show them where the bar is!!! Because at the end of the day, what are we trying to do????? We are making young men that can succeed in life and this sport...that’s all!! It’s not about money, entry fees, gear fees, egos, or an organization, etc although a lot feel that it is. IT’S ABOUT THESE KIDS... THAT’S ALL!!!!!!

Well in order to compete at a National level ISWA/Indiana has to make changes...more than a few. Year after year you have kids like Goin, Purdy, Cruz, Goodwin, Jones, Schoeff, Rioux, Harden, Gilbert, Carrol. Steenbeke...I can go on for days!! These are the top tier kids in the state & country (I know I missed quite a few), they’ll wrestle on the Scorpions, Buxton, Minion, Team USA, Texas Dynamite etc Here’s the thing Indiana can be a top 5 team at these National Duals year after year if they would take the top kids from each weight class and compete. All the while keeping in mind that this isn’t all about money and $250 team fees, with 4 holes in the lineup that are sure to be Pink bracket bound. Understand it’s about wrestling and growing our sport, NOT money!! There should be a 4 Regionals for MS State and it should be seeded correctly, there should be a qualifier for ISWA State (used to be top 4 on a weekend tournament), the whole 2 weekend tournaments to be qualified for Freestyle state is fine, BUT what about the young men who go on International trips, UWW events, FloNats, all these should count towards the “2” tournaments for Freestyle State. I understand that ISWA/Indiana is not receiving the big $35 entry fee, but I also understand that if these young men/women go to the above events that they will see the top competition in the country & see where the bar is at. The end result is a better, well rounded wrestler that can compete at a National level plain and simple. Take Fargo for instance, $995 for both styles??? Is that what is best for Indiana??? By the time parents pay the “fees” and then fly out to ND, food, hotel, loss of a weeks pay...this is a $3-4K week of wrestling. Organize, Inform, go to the best Duals in the country, compete, see where the bar is at...repeat!! At the end of the day it is about putting together the best team possible, & turning out quality Nationally ranked wrestlers that represent the state of Indiana, NOT MONEY! Someone needs to grab a hold of the giant pool of talent in this state and put together a Gold bracket National team that can compete, and forget about dollar signs!!! JMO

Lane Gilbert with a 2nd place finish John Purdy with a 3rd place finish in Freestyle today.

Damn Purdy #17 on the list. We prob better get to work. All joking aside, it’s good to see a list like this.

John Purdy is a 3xTC winner. 11x State Champ.