Coach McCormick

Hoosier Hustle went 3-0 this evening defeating Mason-Dixon (MD), Contender Elite Black (PA) and Team Stomp Blue (OH). Last dual came down to HWT match. HH won 30-29. Tomorrow morning (Day 2): 8:00am - wrestle Malvern WC (appears to be a PA based team) 9:30am - wrestle Team Kong United (loaded! Top 5 team) 11:00am - wrestle Team Defiant (appears to be a PA based team) Hoosier Hustle 106 - Fernando Flores (Goshen) and Zachary Todd (Yorktown) 113 - Christian Mejia (Elkhart Memorial) 120 - Josh Stephenson (Yorktown) 126 - Alex Barr (Yorktown) 132 - Marcus Mejia (Elkhart Memorial) 138 - Colt Rutter (Yorktown) 145 - Riley Rasler (Prairie Heights) 152 - Cael McCormick (Yorktown) 160 - Brad Laughlin (Yorktown) 170 - Nick Ritchie (Elkhart Memorial) 182 - Joey Blakeley (Prairie Heights) 195 - David Eli (Elkhart Memorial) 220 - Floyd Rogers (Green HS - OH) and Kelly Watson (Yorktown) 285 - Jacob Rhoades (Yorktown) Great group of guys. Have enjoyed watching them compete. Coach McCormick

We are actually ahead of the game at this point in time. I believe 29 of the 36 participating teams have signed and returned their contracts. This is outstanding! JD, myself and likely a couple of other committee members, will be meeting with FW Coliseum management sometime in the next couple of months to look at set-up options with the added space that we have purchased for next year's event. Thank you, Coach McCormick

All 36 positions have been accepted and filled for the 2016-17 IHSWCA Classed Team State Duals event. See the roster of teams at the front of this topic to see the complete list of teams. Coach McCormick

Just waiting on Chesterton's reply to their wildcard invitation. All other wildcard teams have accepted their bids.

Although not specific to wrestling, I found it interesting (after all of the years that the IHSAA has been around) that just now... under Article IV - Administration... they added numerous, numerous ways and reasons to get rid of their board members. It might appear to some as though recent comments by an outspoken IHSAA board member prompted the IHSAA administration to put things in place to squelch any "non-conforming" board members. As noted in an earlier post, most all IHSAA executive committee votes are unanimous. This new verbiage (if voted in) sends a very clear message to their board members... don't speak out against our administration or there will be stiff consequences.

VA Beach -- IN Entrants Freshmen Division 106 COTTER ANTHONY Perry Meridian High School IN NP FAIR SAMMY Perry Meridian High School IN 5 GARCIA ASA Avon High School IN 1 120 HARPER JEFFREY Penn High School IN 7 132 CONLEY NATHAN Avon High School IN NP 138 GRAVES ANTWAUN Warren Central High School IN NP 170 ACEVEDO DANNY WCHS IN NP 220 CORNWELL KYLE Elwood High School IN NP Sophomore Division 106 MILLS TY Brownsburg High School IN 2-3 113 PEETZ ISAIAH Columbus North High School IN NP-NP 126 LOWERY BLAZE Perry Meridian High School IN NP-NP SERVIES JACK Perry Meridian High School IN NP-NP VARNER RYAN Penn High School IN NP-NP 132 MELLOH ZACH Cathedral High School IN 4-NP 152 KLEINHENZ BRIGHAM Columbus North High School IN NP-NP WARREN NOAH Perry Meridian High School IN NP-7 160 CHAPMAN ANDREW Columbus North High School IN NP-NP STEWARD BEAU Perry Meridian High School IN NP-NP 220 BOWSHER TRENT Perry Meridian High School IN NP-NP BURFORD III JOSEPH Mishawaka High School IN NP-NP MCCLAINE JACOB Lebanon High school IN NP-NP 285 STONE MARCUS Elwood High School IN NP-NP Junior Division 106 CAVANAUGH KORY Penn High School IN NP-NP-4 126 CRAIG CALEB FJ Reitz High School IN NP-NP-NP 132 BAILEY BREYDEN Cathedral High School IN 3-3-3 138 RUST KAIN Perry Meridian High School IN NP-NP-NP 152 CLARK JACOB Avon High School IN NP-NP-7 LAUGHLIN BRAD Yorktown High School IN NP-5-3 160 AMOS CAMERON Perry Meridian High School IN NP-NP-NP BANE ALSTON Richmond High School IN NP-3-5 SWANK JAROD Penn High School IN NP-NP-NP WARREN CHRISTIAN Perry Meridian High School IN NP-NP-NP 182 RUHANA ANTHONY Perry Meridian High School IN NP-NP-NP 195 MILLER RILEE Perry Meridian High School IN NP-NP-NP Senior Division 152 MCCORMICK CAEL Yorktown High School IN 4-6-NP-5

I echo everything that Joe said about the event. Our wrestlers were treated like royalty leading up to the dual. Lots of great wrestling and fan fair, BUT it was clear that we were wrestling a PA team, in a PA gym, with PA officials. Jordan Vaughn had the takedown with about 1 second on the clock and they waived it off. In another match the PA coach (with his wrestler holding onto a 1 point lead and on the run right in front of the coaches) screamed as loud as he could to his wrestler (with the ref right in front of him)... "get to the edge and stay there... get to the edge and stay there!!!" They didn't even put it in code. That seemed to be the strategy in a number of the matches in the Team IN vs PA undercard dual. All-in-all a great event, but there would have likely been some different outcomes had that dual been wrestled on neutral ground. The Indiana boys wrestled hard in a hostile environment. It was a pleasure watching them in this showcase event.

Northwood accepts. Southmont declines. Lebanon next on list... and they accept their bid. Initial 30 slots are filled for the event.

Crown Point accepts (3-17-16)

Warren Central accepts in 3A. "Word on the Street": Another school is highly considering it, but they are in the process of hiring a new coach (so they will ultimately leave it up to the new coach's discretion) Still haven't heard from Southmont or Northwood in 2A

Portage accepts (3-16-16)

Penn accepts their bid.

Teams/Schools have until March 25 to accept/decline their bid and then we will act accordingly.

All 10 1A schools have accepted their bids. Still waiting to hear from 4 of the 3A schools and 2 of the 2A schools. Coach McCormick

via email to the head coach and AD for each of the schools.

Updated Thursday at 10:30am

The following teams/schools have received their invitation to participate in next season's 5th Annual IHSWCA Classed Team State Duals event: 3A (Large School Division) Crown Point (accepted) Carroll (accepted) Warren Central (accepted) Evansville Mater Dei (accepted) Portage (accepted) Avon (accepted) Brownsburg (accepted) Penn (accepted) Perry Meridian (accepted) Castle (accepted) Carmel (accepted) Chesterton (accepted) 2A (Mid-Size School Division) Culver Academies (accepted) Bellmont (accepted) North Montgomery (accepted) Edgewood (accepted) Yorktown (accepted) Jimtown (accepted) Garrett (accepted) Franklin County (accepted) Lebanon (accepted) Northwood (accepted) Delta (accepted) Evansville Memorial (accepted) 1A (Small School Division Triton (accepted) Prairie Heights (accepted) Shenandoah (accepted) North Posey (accepted) Oak Hill (accepted) Adams Central (accepted) Knightstown (accepted) Fountain Central (accepted) Monvrovia (accepted) Winchester (accepted) Elwood (accepted) Central Noble (accepted)

I guess the first thing that comes to mind as I sift through these posts is "perspective." Just who are you in relation to the issue? Are you a coach, a grandfather of a wrestler, an ex-wrestler, a current high school wrestler? If you are a coach, you will likely understand the dynamics of a small school better than most, as compared to a large school. (i.e. - lesser resources to work with, smaller coaching staff, fewer drill partners in the practice room, smaller gene pool of athletes to pull from, etc) I would also caution that the vantage point of a "teacher-coach" is much, much different than that of a "lay coach." I have been both. I was a lay coach for 18 years before becoming a teacher for the past 10 years. Even as a lay coach, I had no idea about the dynamics and inter-workings surrounding the students and their available resources during the school day and on the athletic field. If we want to grow actual wrestling in our state, class wrestling is the way to go. It offers fair and equitable opportunities to all who participate across the state. We should class Indiana wrestling for the very same reasons we now class Indiana football, Indiana baseball, etc... The days of Hickory HS and the movie Hoosiers is long gone. Community and school dynamics have changed drastically in recent decades. Class wrestling works in Iowa, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois to name just a few, and it would work tremendously in Indiana. I don't think anyone can say that the class system has hurt wrestling in any of these other states that surround us. So back to perspective... just who should have the final say on this topic, since so many people are divided on the issue? The fan in the stands who doesn't have a singlet on? The IHSAA who only seems to care about money and self-preservation? Or should the schools/teams who are the ones in the trenches have the final say-so? I think this point has been made before, but I will mention it again. If there is no use for "class anything", then let's do away with class football in Indiana. It's 11 vs 11 right? Them there small schools should be able to hang with Warren Central and Ben Davis on the gridiron. While we are at it, let's do away with DI, DII and DIII classifications at the collegiate level! Those DIII wrestlers need to quit making excuses and man up against Penn State, Oklahoma State and Iowa! That's a fair assessment isn't it? There are classifications of all kinds in our society's infrastructure in the name of "fair play." It is time Indiana class its high school wrestling season to offer more equitable opportunities to kids from varying communities and school districts across the state and to grow the sport as a whole. Mark my words... if we implement class wrestling, our numbers and overall strength of the sport will sky rocket across the state! Coach McCormick

The 5th Annual IHSWCA Classed Team State Duals will return to the Ft Wayne Coliseum in 2016-17. Date: Friday, December 23, 2016 (event set-up will take place the night before... Dec. 22) Additional space: We have secured the adjoining expo hall which will give the event an additional 35,000 sq. ft. to work with next season. This will also open up additional bleachers and restroom areas. We will be able to spread the mats out which will allow us to put the team benches between the mats; thereby improving the spectators' view to the mats. After evaluating this season's event, and listening to feedback and suggestions, we felt like the Ft Wayne Coliseum offered enough positive aspects that it is worth returning for a second year. We feel like the event's short-comings can be positively addressed and the "learning curve" smoothed out in year two at this facility. Mr. Brown, and his staff at the Coliseum, have been extremely responsive to our requests and have been wonderful to work with. The tournament planning committee will also be addressing teams' concerns about having to wrestle "the same teams from their area of the state" in the initial rounds of the event. The selection and seeding committees feel like equitable provisions can be put in place to meet the teams' needs in this area without compromising the integrity of the event. I would like to give a special thanks to JD Minch, Adrian Troyer, Dane Fuelling, Mark Durham, Pat Culp, Patt VanHorn, Nicole Moss, Tom Clark and Jim Russell for their efforts in heading up the various committees and areas for this event. Respectfully Submitted, Trent McCormick

Hook and Half -- Thank you for looking into Evansville facilities. My email is tmccormick@yorktown.k12.in.us

Mooresville Holiday Classic -- Dec. 27 and 28, 2016

As mentioned in an earlier post, the available Saturday's during next season's holiday break are not optimal for wrestling tournaments of any kind. The first Saturday is Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve) and the second Saturday will be Dec. 31 (New Year's Eve). We believe that most long-standing holiday tournaments will likely host their events during the second week (Dec. 27-30); but this has not been completely verified or confirmed. It is very, very likely that the IHSWCA will have to run the 2016-17 Classed Team State Duals event on a week day. Currently, the Ft. Wayne Coliseum is available on Friday, Dec. 23. Q#1: When will long-standing holiday tournaments (Al Smith, Mooresville HC, Connersville, North Montgomery, etc) be holding their tournaments next season? Q#2: When will most school corporations "start" their holiday breaks next season? (i.e.-Dec. 21, 22 or right up to Xmas Eve on Dec. 23) Any feedback we can get on these matters will be very helpful as we move forward.

The IHSAA gave the IHSWCA their blessing for us to run the Classed Team State Duals four years ago. Actually, anyone could run a "classed", local tournament if they wanted to, but we, the IHSWCA, felt like it was better to ask the IHSAA permission since running a championship type event could have been perceived as stepping on their toes (since the dropping of the IHSAA single class team state duals event was such a hot topic at that time). Having said all of that, the IHSWCA would not have the authority to run a "post season" classed tournament. That is the IHSAA's territory. Despite some scheduling and facility challenges, we have the best situation that we could have right now in hosting a mid-season classed team state duals event.

Well said... and nicely supported with documentation and solid rationale. I second this motion. With respect to KarlHungus's question to me... I said "doubtful" simply because the IHSAA has traditionally and steadfastly said they will not class any "individual" sports. The IHSWCA doesn't have any type of hidden agenda to "keep" the Team State Duals or "let go" of the team state duals to the IHSAA. We simply feel that it feels an important niche in Indiana's wrestling community AND it's the right thing to do. In my dealing with the IHSAA over the years they have made it very clear that their individually classified sports will not be classed. (** you never know though... strange things sometimes happen... maybe 2016 will bring signs of change.)

Doubtful