SharkBit

Jacob LaPlace 160 & Joseph Walker 170 - Mishawaka

Enjoyed the hangout last night guys. Great insight on some of the kids we don't see all year to get pumped up for the State brackets.

1. Penn/Mishawaka/Wawasee/Culver Academy - one or two of these teams are going to wreck the day for the others. 2. Don't even refer to win/loss records at this point...many guys with better records will get beat Saturday. 3. Seven weights may have favorites to win - the other seven will be decided by heart. Great balance. 4. It's possible that Penn/Mishawaka/Wawasee/Culver could come away with 3 Champs each? Again great balance this year. 5. As cliche as it is..."who is peaking at the right time"? 6. Team Race....Who plays the spoiler....and who's day gets spoiled? 7. New Venue at the Palace...will only guarantee one thing. It is going to be a great day of wrestling that you don't want to miss!

Really confused after seeing all of the responses regarding 1 1/2% per week rule and weight management program. So are we all saying that the 1 1/2% rule is merely a suggestion? I get that everyone on here would agree that most high school wrestlers will fluctuate and gain much more than that after they weigh in and then taper back down to weight before their next weigh in. Wrestler weighs in at 144.8 to wrestle 145. Immediately after weigh in he eats and rehydrates himself, competes on Saturday and eats everything in sight on Sunday only to enter his wrestling room on Monday 6-12 lbs over, then spends the week to get back down to weight where he will weigh in once again somewhere an ounce or two below 145. No disagreement...it happens all of the time, but in every aspect of the rule is perfectly legal. But here are two examples of why the rule is in place for fairness of competition as well as health of individual wrestler? 1. On two occasions we have bumped some guys in our lineup to "wrestle up". First time was vs Lakeshore (home team Michigan weights) In many weight classes we gave up weight because we factored the legal weight following the 1 1/2% rule. For example we bumped our 106 to wrestle their 112 lber. To stay within rule for our next weigh in our 106 could weigh 107.59 to wrestle their 112. Our 132 could weigh in at 133.98 or less to wrestle their 140 lber. By calculating the max weight loss according to 1 1/2% rule we stayed within the rule as it was intended. Were we right or wrong? If we had not done that would it have been a "qualifying" weigh in according to rule? 2. Little Johnny (hypothetical) has had trouble making weight so everyone says screw it and Little Johnny wrestles 120 at a Holiday tournament weighing in at 118.5. Two weeks later Little Johhny shows up at the weight he has been struggling to hit which is 106!! I don't know if Little Johnny has a "scratch" weigh in at this weight or not, but if he has spent the first part of the season one or two weights up....would any of his weigh ins be "qualified"? Second part of the question...according to rule is he legal to wrestle 106 at sectionals with documented weigh ins 12+ lbs and 14 days apart? Intent is not to point out any specific deviations with any other individual or team but to merely understand the rule more clearly as it pertains to the proper interpretation for our team to follow as intended. Thanks for your input/comments.

Bellmont, Chesterton, Adams Central, Mishawaka, Bloomington South, Delta Six team Main Event - Looking forward to Bellmont!!

Al Smith set up and War Ready....who's ready to enjoy two days of great wrestling?

Certainly did not mean to imply that it did involve Graham. He just seemed to be a good subject for my hypothetical. Graham is one that has earned respect and reputation for taking on tough challenges!

Since Graham Calhoun is the original example, if you were wrestling Plymouth and had a pretty good kid, possibly ranked at 152, everyone would expect to see that match. If for some reason your kid did not wrestle that particular dual or was bumped up to wrestle 160 (for the good of the team) it may be perceived as a dodge? Again being impartial to both sides of the argument....if you bump your kid to 160 and win (or lose) the dual by six or less...justified coaching move.

So based on Individual rankings think it will go according to team seeds?

Back to topic...agree. If a wrestler (or his coaches) are more concerned with win/loss record and/or ranking I believe it will undermine the achievement of goals. Now to be totally objective...not everyone has the same goals. For some it may be to qualify for Semi State, punch a ticket at State, place at State. A great win/loss record or high ranking will still not help you achieve those goals. If a wrestler's goal is to wrestle under the lights, the best way to achieve that is to have first hand knowledge of the other 15 guys in the state bracket! It is rare to go undefeated, and those that have ended their season without blemish, are the least likely to have ever "dodged" a match up to get there. "Best way to make a name for yourself...is by taking someone else's name away" aka "if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best". Great example is Jacob LaPlace-Mishawaka 138# who placed 4th at State as a freshman. Jacob had 13 losses on his record going into State. The reason that Jacob placed that high as a freshman WAS the 13 losses. That is what prepared him to reach his goal. And I've never heard anyone stick an asterisk next to that accomplishment with a note that says....yeah but he had 13 losses. Is there a wrestler out there that will not admit that they have learned more from a tough loss than from an easy win? From a fans standpoint, we respect a wrestler that steps up for a challenge...win or lose.

I noticed that it was mentioned that Mater Dei had a relatively young team. Any other young up and comers? Mishawaka lineup last Saturday consisted of 6 Freshmen - 5 Sophomores - 2 Juniors - 1 Senior Hopefully the "Young Guns" are poised and ready to experience the "MEATGRINDER" that is the Traicoff of Calumet! Welcome to the big league youngsters.

113 - Mishawaka Brendon Mark over Fernando Flores of Goshen (#5 @ 106) 5-4 132 - Mishawaka Gabe Weeks over Shawn Hollis of Lowell (#12 @ 126) 10-4

Can someone remind me when Pool draws are usually available? Wednesday....Thursday?

Great event at the Penn Palace as two NAIA top ranked teams with a lot of Indiana talent faced off before a sizable crowd for Friday Night college wrestling in Mishawaka. #6 ranked University of the Cumberlands knocked off #3 Indiana Tech in a pretty dominant performance 31-13. Penn did a nice job of hosting the event and had a huge crowd on hand, Mishawaka brought a great following north of the river to support former Cavemen Jake Sinkovics and Tristan Macri. Saw John Glenn brought a bus, Jimtown had a pretty good size group, Riley was there in force and many others from the surrounding communities like Bremen and South Bend to support many of the Indiana boys. Good dual with some great match ups. 15 of the 20 participants ranked nationally in NAIA. Good example for some of the High School and younger guys to realize that NAIA offers a great option for those wrestlers that have the desire to compete at the next level. It was a good night for wrestling and in particular Indiana wrestling!