friendofrunningwriter

South Bend Tribune: http://www.southbendtribune.com/sports/hildrebrandt-makes-no-excuses/article_9d0b4add-fc06-5b69-bdaa-36e21273f838.html

South Bend Tribune, Sunday, April 10, 2016: http://www.southbendtribune.com/sports/olympics/olympics-no-miracle-in-olympic-wrestling/article_e36ae2df-a5e6-5d8e-bea3-a42de92e04da.html

Sitting here behind DingoBrigade, just interviewed Kayla Miracle for the South Bend Tribune. She's not happy at all, says she didn't feel like herself all day, felt sluggish even in her wins. You can check out the story in Sunday's South Bend Tribune. Go to: www.southbendtribune.com Gotta get in a plug to justify my expenses.

OK, I know this won't make me popular, but facts are facts. As much as people on this board say they want a dual meet tournament, the fact is that when you had one, only a few schools really supported it. And by that, I mean this: Most years, when the tournament was at Center Grove, the stands were full. The IHSAA liked that. But most years, both Evansville Mater Dei and Bellmont were there, and 2/3 of the crowd was from those two schools. Then a strange year came along. I believe it was 2010. And horror of horrors, neither Bellmont or Mater Dei qualified for the meet. And what did the IHSAA discover when they got there? The bleachers were half-empty. And it was quiet. So, the IHSAA did some investigating, and what they discovered was -- other than the big two -- most teams only brought a couple hundred fans at most to the meet. Some schools barely brought a hundred. I won't name names, but all you had to do was look around and you knew who they were. So, a light went off in the heads of the IHSAA bigwigs. All of a sudden, they realized that whether they made a profit or not depended entirely on two teams. If there's one thing the IHSAA isn't going to do, it's lose money. And having your gate reliant on the fans from Mater Dei and Bellmont made them squeamish. Second, this investigation also made them realize something that the rest of us already knew: It was the same teams qualifying year after year. ​Not entirely, of course. But face it, you knew that Mater Dei was going to be there pretty much every year. And Lawrence North. And Mishawaka or Penn. And Portage or Crown Point. Yadda yadda yadda. There were exceptions, but for the most part, it rarely changed. So what was the motivation for everybody else? Heck, whether you realize it or not, one of the reasons the team semistate was dropped was because the same teams were winning every year. In fact, it got to the point that some schools were sending their jayvee teams to the semistate, because they knew they couldn't win. So they just punted it. Ask the folks at Bellmont what happened at their semistate one year. So, the IHSAA got the sense that other than the top 8 or 10 programs, nobody really cared about team state, because they knew their schools weren't going to be there. AND, they also saw that most teams that lost in the first round at the team state finals would immediately leave. If the wrestling was so good and the tournament meant so much to everybody, why didn't the fans stick around and watch, just a little bit. Combine this with the fact that the coaches -- who had begged for the team tournament -- continued to hand out their own championship trophy at the individual state finals. That did NOT go over well at the IHSAA. So the IHSAA said to hell with it, and dropped the tourney. My source for most of this, by the way, is somebody very high up at the IHSAA. Name rhymes with Rocks. As always, just because I report these things does not mean that I agree with them. But, again, facts are facts. So, be mad at the IHSAA all you want. But while you are doing that, take a look in the mirror. It's a very simple question: In the 17 years of the team state finals, where were you?

IHSWCA CLASS AA POLL Jan. 7, 2015 (First-place votes in parentheses) 1, Bellmont (7) 70 2, Jimtown 63 3, Yorktown 56 4, North Montgomery 42 5, Delta 37 6, Evansville Memorial 34 7, Lebanon 26 8, Leo 24 9, South Dearborn 18 10, Culver Academies 5 Also receiving votes: West Lafayette 4, Edgewood 2, Franklin County 2, Columbia City 1, Mt. Vernon (Posey) 1. IHSWCA CLASS A POLL Jan. 7, 2015 (First-place votes in parentheses) 1, Prairie Heights (5) 50 2, Southmont 45 3, Monrovia 40 4, Adams Central 33 5, Oak Hill 32 6, Knightstown 25 7, Bremen 16 8, Shenandoah 9 9 (tie), Delphi 7 9 (tie), LaVille 7 Also receiving votes: Central Noble 6, Triton 3, Attica 2.

BROWNSBURG ASSUMES TOP SPOT IN IHSWCA STATE WRESTLING POLL Jan. 7, 2016 Brownsburg, fresh from a victory at last weekend’s team state dual meet tournament, has assumed the top spot in this week’s state wrestling poll, released by the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association (IHSWCA). Brownsburg received all six first-place votes in this week’s poll. Warren Central slides to the No. 2 spot. The poll: IHSWCA TOP 20 STATE WRESTLING POLL Jan. 7, 2016 (First place votes in parenthesis) 1, Brownsburg (6) 120 2, Warren Central 114 3, Perry Meridian 106 4, Evansville Mater Dei 104 5, Penn 96 6, Portage 88 7, Bellmont 81 8, Crown Point 73 9, Carmel 70 10, (tie) Avon 56 10, (tie) Prairie Heights 56 12, Lawrence North 50 13, Columbus East 38 14, Indianapolis Cathedral 35 15, Jimtown 24 16, Carroll (Fort Wayne) 23 17, (tie) Hamilton Southeastern 21 17, (tie) Yorktown 21 19, Center Grove 20 20, Castle 17 Also receiving votes: Bloomington South 15, New Palestine 9, Hobart 8, Merrillville 6, Jennings County 4, Franklin Community 3, Delta 1, Lafayette Jeff 1.

Richard's obituary in the Northwest Indiana Times: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nwitimes/obituary.aspx?n=richard-jay&pid=177046680&fhid=10792

Calling is Wednesday, Funeral is Thursday http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Richard-Jay&lc=7158&pid=177034487&mid=6730553 Timing isn't good -- it never is for something like this -- but I know a lot of people who will be making the trip from the Al Smith Invitational to Schererville on Wednesday.

It is with an incredibly heavy heart that I must report Richard Jay passed away this afternoon. Richard was the publisher of MatBurns magazine, and the organizer of the annual Pick-The-Champions contest at the IHSAA state finals. He was at home, recuperating from a stroke that he suffered earlier this year, a few days after his wife died. Richard, who taught and coached at Hammond Gavit, was a well-known figure at wrestling matches across northwest Indiana, and a longtime fixture in the crow's nest at the Merrillville semistate. There were few, if any, people more knowledgeable about wrestling or Indiana's great wrestling history. Richard was a terrific friend to everyone who knew him, a tremendous supporter of wrestling, and most of all, a Class act. He will be missed. He already is. Funeral details will be released after Christmas.

IHSWCA CLASS 2A POLL Dec. 17, 2015 (First place votes in parentheses) 1, Bellmont (6) 69 2, Yorktown (1) 63 3, Delta 53 4, South Dearborn 42 5, Leo 30 6, North Montgomery 27 7, Peru 24 8, Lebanon 22 9, Jimtown 20 10, Evansville Memorial 17 Also receiving votes: Mount Vernon 15, Franklin County 3 IHSWCA CLASS A POLL Dec. 17, 2015 (First place votes in parentheses) 1, Prairie Heights (6) 60 2, Oak Hill 49 3, Southmont 39 4, Knightstown 38 5, Adams Central 32 6, Monrovia 30 7, (tie) Delphi 20 7, (tie) Bremen 20 9, Central Noble 12 10, Eastern (Greentown) 10 Also receiving votes: Elwood 6, Centerville 3, Woodlan 3, Eastern Hancock 2, Garrett 2, Monroe Central 2, Shenandoah 2.

WARREN CENTRAL MAINTAIN LEAD IN STATE WRESTLING POLL Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015 Warren Central and Evansville Mater Dei maintain the 1-2 positions in this week’s state poll conducted by the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association (IHSWCA). Warren Central received five first place votes, while Mater Dei collected two. Teams will soon begin gearing up for the annual IHSWCA state dual meet tournament, scheduled Saturday, Jan. 2, at Fort Wayne’s Memorial Coliseum. The poll: IHSWCA TOP 20 STATE WRESTLING POLL Dec. 17, 2015 (First place votes in parenthesis) 1, Warren Central (5) 137 2, Evansville Mater Dei (2) 131 3, Brownsburg 123 4, Perry Meridian 120 5, Penn 103 6, Portage 101 7, Bellmont 93 8, (tie) Avon 80 8, (tie) Crown Point 80 10, Carmel 61 11, Yorktown 54 12, (tie) Carroll (Fort Wayne) 53 12, (tie) New Palestine 53 14, Lawrence North 52 15, Indianapolis Cathedral 51 16, Jennings County 49 17, Hamilton Southeastern 36 18, Valparaiso 19 19, Prairie Heights 18 20, (tie) Merrillville 14 20, (tie) Delta 14 Also receiving votes: Franklin Community 10, Columbus East 6, Zionsville 5, New Castle 2, Westfield 2, Lowell 1, North Montgomery 1, South Dearborn 1.

If you are a coach and you would be interested in helping with the poll, I believe you can find the contact at this site: https://sites.google.com/site/ihswcacoachespoll/

IHSWCA CLASS 2A POLL Dec. 10, 2015 (First-place votes in parentheses) 1, Bellmont (8) 98 2, Yorktown (2) 97 3, Delta 76 4, South Dearborn (1) 66 5, Lebanon 51 6, Mt. Vernon (Posey) 41 7, Leo 29 8, Peru 27 9, Evansville Memorial 23 10, North Montgomery 21 Also receiving votes: Jimtown 19, Franklin County 9, Columbia City 7, Lawrenceburg 6, West Lafayette 6, Heritage Hills 5, Rochester 5, Frankfort 4, Culver Academies 2, Vincennes Lincoln 2, Edgewood 1, Gibson Southern 1. IHSWCA CLASS 1A POLL Dec. 10, 2015 (First-place votes in parentheses) 1, Prairie Heights (8) 79 2, Oak Hill 59 3, Southmont 53 4, Knightstown 49 5, Monrovia 44 6, Adams Central 38 7, Delphi 26 8, Bremen 16 9, Centerville 14 10, (Tie) Eastern (Greentown), Central Noble, Shenandoah 10 Also receiving votes: South Adams 6, Lewis Cass 5, North White 5, Churubusco 4, Eastern Hancock 3, Milan 3, Elwood 2, Frankton 2, Woodlan 2.

WARREN CENTRAL LEADS FIRST STATE WRESTLING POLL Dec. 10, 2015 Warren Central holds down the No. 1 spot in the season’s first poll released by the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association (IHSWCA). Defending state champion Penn is ranked No. 6. Warren Central received seven first place votes, while Portage and Penn each got one. The Top 20 poll: IHSWCA TOP 20 STATE WRESTLING POLL Dec. 10, 2015 (First place votes in parenthesis) 1, Warren Central (7) 173 2, Evansville Mater Dei 162 3, Brownsburg 147 4, Perry Meridian 143 5, Portage (1) 139 6, Penn (1) 137 7, Bellmont 112 8, Avon 106 9, Indianapolis Cathedral 100 10, Jennings County 86 11, Lawrence North 75 12, New Palestine 70 13, Carmel 68 14, Crown Point 57 15, Hamilton Southeastern 52 16, Carroll (Fort Wayne) 46 17, Yorktown 37 18, Delta 36 19, Valparaiso 30 20, Merrillville 27 Also receiving votes: Prairie Heights 20, Franklin Community 14, South Dearborn 12, Columbus East 10, Zionsville 9, Center Grove 8, Plainfield 5, Bloomington South 3, Lowell 2, North Montgomery 2, Hobart 1, Leo 1.

It is with a heavy heart that we must report Mary Jay -- the wife of Richard Jay, publisher of "Mat Burns" -- passed away last Friday. Making matters worse, at the same time, Richard suffered a stroke. He is in intensive care as this is written. Richard is a longtime fixture at wrestling meets all around Northwest Indiana. He missed the Merrillville semistate this season for the first time in decades, and many fans noted his absence from the crow's nest overlooking the floor. Richard maintains the famous "quick pins" list for Indiana wrestlers each season, in addition to publishing Mat Burns magazine. He also runs the "pick-the-champions" contest that many readers of this board enjoy at the state finals each year. At the request of the family, Mary's funeral is being delayed until April 10, in the hopes that Richard might be well enough to leave the hospital for the services. http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Mary-Jay&lc=7158&pid=174465555&mid=6373231