Mattyb

Yep you gotta take it.

Great kid from an awesome family! Well deserved. Congrats!

Hey, how bout when you went to pairings and you made sure to get the bout sheet before you opponent did, and either stared him down or ran off so he would have to come find you. And / or sliding down the grass / dirt hill outside in your singlet and wrestling shoes then coming back in to wrestle your next match. Fun stuff!

To be fair, this is club location based. With Cobra, Contenders, and CIA located in the same section, a lot of these kids live in other sections. They just come here to train.

100 percent. I was actually on the board when we passed the qualifier requirements. And yes... I voted for it. Free style was dying here and we needed to do something. It was worth a shot (in my mind). The rule was passed to encourage kids to wrestle freestyle. It was NOT a money grab. If a kid trains enough freestyle that they feel that they can do UWW then that kid absolutely has put the work In and deserves to wrestle at our state tourney. Absolutely should count. The spirt of the rule was to get kids to the come back to freestyle by encouraging more freestyle participation, not to exclude kids. Especially kids that are doing national freestyle events. With that said, it is good to support local freestyle also.

Did get to see Moran at the Indy Sports awards. He, Silas, and Asa were the final three. Asa won. Honor for all 8 that got nominated. Carson Rooks South Littel Lee were the others that got invited.

Ain’t going to lie Matt. Dem boys may have been taking some Advil to get them on that dance floor! But yes they all got to the prom. Ol Ray Rioux got him a new car too. That kid had him a good weekend!!! Man..... Juniors really should be in the first session. Anybody miss state to go to prom? It was hard for our boys to make it and we are right here.

Asa, Carson , Rioux, and Nathan Conley all take titles. Some good wins. Proud of my Avon guys!

I’ll be watching my back all day now. Dang it!!! And if Allred shows up.... I’m running!

I mean Mr..... Ha! My bad!

Asa living that good life. Dude has prom tonight and most likely is going to win wrestler of the year at Indy Sports Awards tomorrow (should win IMO). Don’t blame him for not getting weight down. Just enjoying his last days as a high schooler. He’s got NHSCA duals coming up with team shutt in a couple weeks. Team is stacked. Hopefully he will help that loaded team bring home a national title. You know Asa will bring it all summer! Both kids have some good match ups at 138 and 145! Like Mr. Garcia said... maybe in Fargo? It would be awesome to see these guys battling it out for the title. I can honestly see that happing. Going through the brackets, what are some of the good match ups we should want to see? Let’s hear em! Actually after looking at the 138 bracket... Jesse is so good that he may be wrestling himself In the finals! The have him in the bracket twice right now!

Is Hyway still a thing? I know back in The day we went to Hyway state. My two guys that I took won it. They ran out of medals and gave them both a bronze with no ribbon on it. One of my guys was Quinn Harris. You can only imagine middle school Quinns reaction. It was classic. After that, we never did another Hyway deal.

If you look at the clubs and academies here in Hendricks County, we got 115 wrestlers signed up for freestyle. That number is in fact growing. With that said, Perry is still bringing it, lots of Warren kids wrestling, the Evansville guys and the Regions guys are bringing it too!

The ISWA combined all age groups into one weekend in 2011. The girls were entered separate starting in 2012. Here are the participants since that change: 2011- 882 (girls included) 2012- 791 + 26 girls 2013- 814 + 24 girls 2014- 787 + 26 girls 2015- 647 + 29 girls 2016- 616 + 11 girls 2017- 713 + 28 girls 2018- 810 + 57 girls 2019- ???? 2019 Numbers not final. I am guessing that we will have walk ups. Should be another nice bump in the numbers. Still time to sign up and walk up. As of 9:50 pm the totals have surpassed last years.

IMO.... any USAW or UWW sanctioned event should count as a qualifier. I think the rule was put into place to ensure our wrestlers were training and actually learning freestyle. Hats off to the kids that went other national regional events and to any UWW events. It would be a shame if any of these kids were left out of state. For being short on qualifiers.

Hit up @Davistein. Seems to be a legit request.

Men, I love the passion for the little guys. Here it is in nut shell. There is a long history of Indiana teams going to the AAU event in Kingsport. The event is at a high school and ran on a handful of mats. It is a pretty cool event. Coach Jim Humphrey and others were taking "unofficial" team Indiana teams to this event for years (it was a 5th grade and under event). Bout 10 years ago, Brandi Cash decided that she wanted to unite the elementary wrestling community. So Mrs. Cash had a elementary team qualifier at Ben Davis High School. She took two really great teams to Kingsport that year. Those teams had several IHSAA state champs on them. After that, a few of us took random teams down there. The following year, the ISWA approached me, and asked if I would accept the newly created board position of Folk style Developmental Director (currently held by Ryan Parrish). As the director, I tried as hard as I could to unite all academies and clubs to put together the best teams. I was NOT successful in doing so. I did the best that I could do, and created the current wrestle off format for the "official" team Indiana. It was very fair and allows kids to make the team in one of two weights. It was set up to ensure that we could field our very best teams. With that said, some people refused to wrestle with each other (Apparently this will NEVER change). Even with the riffs between clubs, that first ISWA sponsored elementary national team took 3rd there. At that time, the AAU nationals were the very best elementary duals in the USA. That was the best showing by Indiana until this year. Hats of to this years group, that broke our record. That same year USAW started the Heartland duals in Omaha Nebraska. It was held in a state of the art arena and was a USAW event. It was also 6th grade and under. For these reasons, the ISWA decided to send the ISWA team Indiana to this event (the ISWA is affiliated with USAW). I can honestly say that the competition, venue, and organization of the Heartland event was superior to that of Kingsport. With that said... the following year AAU did raise the age of the Kingsport event to 6th grade and under to try to compete with Heartland. The first year at Heartland, our team took 3rd (which remains a record for an Indiana team). Since then, the Heartland Duals have been moved to Council Bluffs, IA. The venue, quality of wrestling, and organization has gotten even better. Now to the cost... When I / We started these trips, the cost was $140 for gear and entry fee. Since then, the cost has gone up. I really would like to see some sponsorships and the cost reduced. With that said.. I always handed out sponsorship letters for each team member to use to raise funds (pre go fund me). The majority of kids that actually sent the fund raising letters to friends and family, got most expenses covered. With that said.. I agree with reducing cost. I personally think that Heartland is a better trip, and is the top elementary duals in the USA. I can also see why the other guys choose to go to Kingsport. Its a fun trip, and sounds like it was more cost effective. Bottom line is this. Everyone is going to do what they think is best for THEIR kids. Personally.. I will NEVER knock anybody for doing so. I would LOVE to see an united team Indiana, but know it will NEVER happen. And that is OK!!!! Getting on here and saying "our team or trip was awesome" and knocking the other side is not cool (for either side). Most of these kids are clueless to these issues, and can care less. As a team leader and a parent of a kid that has been through it all, I really hope that all of these kids get the same thing that my son got out of these trips. He has made life long bonds. I truly believe that these trips set the tone for most of the success that he has experienced in middle school and beyond. My hats off to all team leaders, parents, and wrestlers that made both trips. I hope that you all have made memories that wont be soon forgotten. Furthermore, I hope that these trips lead your wrestlers to achieve their future goals and much much more. Enough of the silly stuff men. It is what it is.

Really don’t think track is necessary. Weigh em in, block em up, and roll. Don’t even need a clock. I’ve been to ones with a guy with an iPhone and a score keeper with a pad of paper. Just as good wrestling there! Couple people pairing and sending them to the first available surface. A ref, clock guy, and scorer at the mat. Keep em rolling til the matches run out. Simple! You can also make a quick $1000 to $2000 for your club in a random Wednesday night. Bruce... you could host a couple a season????

Again, I know that people don't like it and do understand to the why. My point was that I have personally seen some better wrestling and numbers are up. With that said... when the whole thing was put in place, I am sure that the weeknight deal was not in anybody's mind. As the result of trying to get the qualifiers in, we are now getting great mini tournaments and freeing up some of our weekends. I see better freestyle and enjoyed my Easter a bit more. Just saying, I'm seeing good stuff.

Seems that way. Some clubs up there need to get on the weekday tourneys!!! They are awesome. Been seeing 50 to 150 kids get two or three solid matches in a couple hours. It’s awesome! I see this much like the duals at the elementary level. Both are very good products that are cost effective and convenient for families. Went to Red Cobra on Friday. Bout 80 kids. Several youth hammers and several high school state placers there. Mark Durham running track. JD Minch and Zach Errett reffing. $10 entry fee. Two full mats. Nice medals for the kids (not expected but really cool). Weighins from 5 to 5:30. Everyone got 2 to 4 matches and was done by 9. Can’t beat it. This is what the people want.

Yes!!! Congrats champ!!! Look forward to spending time with Alex and his family in Athens.

I know that the qualifying for state deal was not received with open arms. But.... this is what I’m seeing. Freestyle state numbers have risen for the first time in a long while (the last couple years). And... I’m seeing some quality freestyle at the locals! Is it just me? Anybody else seeing better freestyle matches this season? Also... great job by the ISWA for allowing other tournaments count as qualifiers. Freestyle is making a comeback here.

Congrats to you boys! To be honest my guy was getting little interest until he hit these rankings. Being In These rankings put these kids on a lot of radars that they would not be on. Indiana boys.... go find kids on these rankings. Figure out where they will be and go beat them! Due to the travel restrictions by the IHSAA, it is very hard to crack or move up in these rankings during season. Stay in shape all “off season” (which is not a real thing) and go get some big wins! Go out and get those college dollars men!

Great teams! I’m currently in a remote location in the Grand Canyon on an Indian reservation trying to find my spirit animal (true story) since @JMILL blacklisted me. Going have to climb a cliff or two to get service to stay updated. Kick butt boys!!! Bring home that elusive title!

No need to disappear. Please don’t take it that way. Just saying... if you feel a certain way about a situation, there are things that you can do. I’m no longer a board member at the ISWA. I was just pointing out the fact that they are responsive to most concerns if it is brought to them in a proper manner. That’s it. Your point is a VERY valid point. From a guy that supports your point.... I encourage you to help make it happen.