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February 23, 1999
email: AAwrestlefan@hotmail.com
comments: I would like to comment on the AA/A Region 3 tornament. I know
David Drennen filled everyone in but I think one major theme was
neglected. Yes, it was crazy at Wirt on Saturday and fans did get
very upset but there was a valid reason to be upset. If you
notice in David's comment all of the controversial calls
were in favor of Wirt Co. Does this seem strange to anyone
other than myself? Another fact to consider, Does anyone remember
the Wirt Invitational? It seems there were some calls made in favor
of Wirt that day that were pretty controversial. It was just
a really heated tournament. Another thing I would like to mention.
I really don't think people were booing Danny Drennen...I think
the fans were just booing the ref's decision. If everyone recalls
correctly the ref did hit the mat to call a pin.
Good luck to all the wrestlers who qualified for states. Remember this is what you have been working
for all season!
Editor's note: Hmmmm. Must have been some tournament...
February 23, 1999
From: jason hayhurst-ANIMAL
email: hayhurst@ruralnet.org
comments: First of all I would like to tell my side of the story on the region 3 tourn. I saw the match with Harkness and Sharp.
This is a fact; Sharp was on his back while Harkness had him in a spladle. If the ref would have awarded
back points then Harkness would have won by 1 point.
Second of all I saw Villers wrestle Underwood from Ritchie. Villers pinned Underwood and then pointed at him and said
(something). I thought the ref was going to deduct a team point. The Wirt coach talked to the ref. In the final analysis, there
was no team point deduction. I understand that even if a wrestler doesn't say the BAD WORD, he may still have had a team
point taken away for an unsportsmanlike celebration.
Third of all. here is a question for David Drennan. DID DANNY GET HURT BEFORE OR AFTER HE WAS PUT ON
HIS BACK?
These are factual sentences.
!I HOPE THIS WILL BE POSTED!
A N I M A L
Editor's note: Hmmmm. Must have been some tournament...
February 23, 1999
From: Standup
comments: Be careful what you ask for. You may get it. In a post earlier this month, I observed that the officials
"never had a chance." ...(snip)
After objection by several coaches, the ref's were changed. That singular circumstance launched a chain
of events that will forever taint honest competition in Region 3 wrestling. As was pointed out to you by David Drennen
in an earlier post, there were many controversial calls.... (snip)
...a team point that was deducted from Wirt ... the official recanted, (snip)
... an official presiding over the 160# match,
slapped the mat and signaled a pin! After "speaking" to the Wirt coach, he too then "changed his mind" and awarded
a 3NF to the wrestler from Calhoun Co. I must point out that if the ref thought Wirt's wrestler was injured,
he could have easily blown his whistle to stop the match. He slapped the mat.... (snip)
This probably won't get posted, but at least I got some of the taste of bile out of my mouth. (snip)
And oh yes. There was a lot of booing. But it was directed toward the official who made the call, not AT any wrestler.
(All right, Tim. Get your "scalpel" and start cutting!).... (done)
Editor's note: Hmmmm. Must have been some tournament...
February 23, 1999
From: Nick Busick
email: bu118@ovnet.com
comments: As we prepare for Huntington, special thanks to this web site for
its accuracy and format. Not only has this site given great information,
it has promoted WV wrestling's growth. The WVMAT site has allowed many
of us the chance to meet and expand with coaches, the kids, officials
and parents.
On a personal note, good luck to WEIR's wrestlers, Oak Glen (one of the finest programs I have ever seen) and their coaching staff. I want to publically thank Luke Underwood, Mike Underwood, Nick Frankovitch and Ray Pernell for the time, passion and effort they devoted in helping my oldest son.
Good Luck to all the kids this weekend and be proud of your accomplishments.
I look forward to meeting new folks at Huntington as well as my old friends
I have met throughout the years. Please feel free to say Hi to the father
with the HANDLE BAR mustache who I am sure will be ready for a nervous
breakdown by Saturday. LOL But what the heck, thats what makes it fun!!!
C YA in Huntington...
http://www.pwrlftr.com
February 23, 1999
From: Regional Re-Alignment
comments: To the person who said that the many region 2 wrestlers I listed
are not going because they "aren't good enough" - some of them have
beaten many of the wrestlers in their braket at states! Some who
are even Region champions from other Regions! 4 of them were good
enough to be ranked in the top 8 in the coaches poll...but they
aren't good enough to be included in the top 16?
Some of south's kids would NOT have made it out of Region 2!
They would have qualified maybe 9 or 10 kids, not 13.
No one is saying region 1 is not the best, its not the 1st and 2nd
place kids who are a problem, it is the 4th placers and a few of
the 3rd places who dont deserve it, and its not just region 1,
region 3 and 4 have several wrestlers who should not be going,
while region 2 only has a couple.
Region 1 is NOT AS STRONG as it used to be! They lost Oak Glen
and Weir to AA and replaced them with University and Morgantown.
Oak Glen is one of the top teams in the state, Weir has several
good wrestlers, and University has a few decent wrestlers while
Morgantown has 1.
Region 3 is also significantly weaker. Huntington East is
merged with Huntington while Milton and Barboursville formed
Cabell Midland. There are only 3 full teams in this region,
these 2 and Point Pleasant. Region 1 has 6 full teams. Region 2
has about 10 or 11 full teams. That is why several good kids get
left out, some weight classes in Region 2 have like 6 or 7 good
kids fighting for 4 slots, while in Region 1 you may have say 3
good kids basically guaranteed the top 3 slots while 2 or 3
average kids or 1st year wrestlers fight for the last spot. If
the regions were better aligned we wouldnt have this problem,
and the state tournament would be more competetive.
February 23, 1999
From: talon
comments: Christopher:
Regionals and states are two different tournaments. I don't think its fair for you to claim a frankfort bias on me.
In a few places I underestimated our wrestlers simply because I didn't want to come off biased. If anything,
I probably have a Region II bias, but I try to keep that in check. Then some people seem to think I have a Wirt bias.
So basically I guess the only people I'm not being charged with being biased to are OG.
(If you havn't looked at my page yet - check it out at
http://www.iit.edu/~lantmir/talon.html) I'd just like to note that I'm
very impressed that very little of the "disgruntled"
mail I've been getting is from OG people, in fact, I'm not sure if any of it has been from them. Its all from other people
who just seem to think OG will win. I'd like to thank them for this - then again - maybe its just that no OG wrestlers/fans
have read my page.
Anyway, I'd just like to also congratulate the Braxton team for their Region II victory this weekend. They are a
very nice group of people. In fact I'd like to thank all the teams and coaches for their nice attitudes this past weekend.
Other than a slight problem I had on the first day with some fans from a certain school that I had not had any past
dealings with, everyone was very sportsmanlike, well-mannered, friendly, and helpful throughout the tournament.
February 23, 1999
comments: Good luck to Tim Birthisel at states. This is a wrestler
who has always acted honorably while wrestling (even when
provoked) and deserves to finish high.
February 23, 1999
From: mac attack
comments: hey guys only sarcasm meant about a weak region one.
I think the champion will be from region one again.
February 23, 1999
From: HHS PARENT 4LIFE
comments: For your comments about the same 2 that got tossed last year it was really 4 (2 fans from HHS and 1 principal,
maybe 2 from CMHS). I told P.Pleasant officals after the first altercation which i believe was CMHS people, maybe a
wrestler and a father, and i believe someone from PPHS, that if they didnt take control and keep people off the mats
and away from them that there was going to be more problems and they didnt seem to much care. Just like last year!
Alot of things happen in the heat of the moment, last year they had police security, maybe this year they just couldnt afford it.
If you want to see a well run tournament come to the WSAZ or the State. Whenever you pack small gyms with a
bunch of fans and a sport that is very intense and no one in charge, it would be like any other sport in over crowded gyms,
all hell can break loose.
February 23, 1999
From: Coach Geary's family
comments: Would like to wish Coach Geary & All the wrestlers from East Fairmont GOODLUCK this weekend.Go Bees.....
February 23, 1999
From: the courtney fans
comments: Would like to wish Jeff Courtney from FS Good Luck this weekend. Give it your all like always.. Love Ya...
February 23, 1999
From: concerned wrestling fan
comments: Would like to comment on the tournament in Marion County this weekend.Was very excited for all the wrestlers
this weekend, but one thing really bothered our group this past weekend was the poor sportsmanship of one local team.
It has to do with the respect for the other teams coaches. One of our local teams does not shake hands with the others
teams coaches whether they win or lose. I would sure hope this local team would show better sportsmanship in the states
this weekend as they represent Marion County this weekend. Good Luck to all wrestlers this weekend.
February 23, 1999
From: red rider fan
comments: 130 lb. mathew valles is questionable
February 22, 1999
From: THE ROCK
comments: Predictions for the State Finals
AAA AA/A
103 Stevens PRK Gandee RAV
White NM Snider TY
112 Samples PRK Wenmoth WILL
Johnson Nitro Kupfer CAM
119 George PRK Noel Weir
Stanley CM Westbrook WILL
125 Floyd NM Hayhurst RIT
Regalbuto HED Blankenship GW
130 Bosley PS Lowe Wirt
Walters CM Wince RIT
135 Arbes CM Weblie OG
Moats HED Wenmoth WILL
140 Trusty PRK Miller Wirt
Callahan WW Hughes CAM
145 Hedrick FS Lamb OG
Ramsey NM McCartney CAL
152 Williams PRK Johnson WILL
Emerick PS Waugh BS
160 Dearth PS Jones OG
Miller EF Purpura BD
171 Nichols BRK Dingess PET
Daggett PS Kinley LR
189 Wehrle HH Kupfer CAM
Cox HUNT Lewis LR
215 Coffey CM Busick Weir
King RIP Lahman PET
275 Gaines NM McClung OG
Heath GE Salmons RAV
February 22, 1999
From: MAT MAN
comments: DOES ANYBODY KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO SHADY SPRING SENIOR MIKE THOMPSON? DID HE NOT MAKE THE TOP 4 AT 189 IN REGION 4?
February 22, 1999
comments: It seems that people form Region 2 cry foul cause they have kids that didn't qualifie for state.
There is reason that these kids didn't go cause they were not good enough. It not right to take kids you make
it out of there area and say that they don't deserve to go cause they don't have a good record. To tell you the
truth I have seen the region 2 school and besides North Marion, West Fairmnot and Hedgesville there realy isn't
much there. Heck if you realy want to complain about regions how about region 4 in AAA. Its all this region 1
only has seven teams well lets see how many state title have been won out of there. I saw were someone
was complaining because South had a couple of kids go with losing records who made it to state .
If any of those Region 2 teams wrestled South schedual they have most of there team with losing records. Heck
I am not so sure that South is the team from Parkersburg who's going to win it. Believe me when I say
that the title is coming back to Region one.
February 22, 1999
From: innocent tableworker
comments: Recently Parkersburg Big Reds 103 lb. Stevens moved up to challenge Nitro's 112 Chris Johnson
to a dual match since Samples was out, but when the bout started Johnson stayed in his chair. The coach said he
wasn't hurt, he just isn't wrestling this match. huh!
February 22, 1999
JUST A BIT OF INFORMATION. JONATHAN HOLT FROM WF WAS SUFFERING
WITH THE FLU AND STREP THOART THREE DAYS BEFORE REGIONALS.
THIS IS THE REASON HE DID'NT WRESTLE FOR 5 AND 6TH PLACE.
February 22, 1999
comments: Congrats to all of the South wrestlers who made it to states! A special congrats goes to
Clint Radcliff. Keep up the good work!
February 22, 1999
From: Wrestling Coach
comments: Congratulations to the Braxton County Wrestling Team on winning
the AA-A Region II Tournament. Not only do they have some fine
wrestlers but their coaches are class acts. They should do
well in Huntington.
February 22, 1999
From: ANIMAL
comments: Hey all you excited wrestlers and fans. I know you all are really excited to go to the state tourn.
this weekend. I have updated my predictions on my aa-a picks plus i typed a little about how i thought about each
wrestler in every wieght class. I have also added some comments on the the region 3 tourn. from last saturday.
see them at http://www.angelfire.com/wv/matman
February 22, 1999
From: Lucas
email: mlucas61@aol.com
comments: First and foremost, I would like to apologize to anyone who thought I was refering to AA/A region 3 in my
previous forum entry. I should have mentioned AAA explicitly but I didn't think to.
Now on to more important subjects. Ward has been wrestling like a well
oiled machine over the past few months, compiling a very impressive win/loss record. He hasn't allowed
another wrestler to score against him much less make it to the second round of a match. He is going to be tough
to beat this weekend and more than likely he will walk away Saturday night with his 3rd State title.
Which is a pretty impressive accomplishment.
Another great match I am looking forward to seeing at the upcoming tourney is going to be a prospective rematch
between Wellman from Midland and Morgan of HHS. These two excellent wrestlers have had quite a few head
to head match ups this year with Wellman winning more times than not. This past Saturday was a fluke.
Wellman will re-establish his dominance over Morgan if these two Wrestle again.
Good luck to all the participants, especially Midland's 11 fine athletes, this weekend in Huntington.
It is sure to be a tourney to remember.
February 22, 1999
From: David Drennen
email: drennen3@marshall.edu
comments: Well, it has been a while since I said anything here. I would like to comment on the hot topic of the Region
3 in Wirt County. I would just like to say first that I'm going to try and be as unbiased as possible. The major controversy
was the controversial calls at the tournament. The first big decision came in a match between Joey Sharp and Harkness of
Ritchie. In the final seconds of the match, Sharp got a reversal and the ref counted off two back points which won
the match for Sharp. I saw the ref get off a 2 count, but whether the back points were there is debatable.
The next controversy was over Derrick Shearer and Nick Prather, again in the last 2 seconds the ref gave Derrick Shearer
a reversal which won the match for him, but the big debate was if time ran out and if he had control. I have watched
the tape over and over and am still split on the match. I would like to applaud Nick Prather, he handled the loss
very well and did not lose his composure. The next controversy was over Kris Villers
and ??? form Ritchie County. I agree with the Ritchie County people here, that kid should have had three back points,
but in the end it would not have mattered because Villers pinned him about 40 seconds later. The last controversy
was in the 160 pound finals. WOW what a mess this match was, the ref probably isn't going to forget this one for awhile.
Danny had put the kid from Calhoun to his back, then the boy from Calhoun reversed it and put Danny on his back,
here is where the fun starts. The ref called a pin, but Danny was hurt (or passed out, I could not tell from where I was),
the ref was right in not allowing the pin -- if the wrestler was hurt then the match should have been stopped.
However, there was a rumor going around that Danny was passed out, if he was then the boy from Calhoun should have
won, but if he was just hurt then the only other problem was that the boy from Calhoun should have had
4 back points. From that point on Danny clearly manhandled the boy from Calhoun ending with a score of 23-7
(I think). I will be the first to admit that the there were controversial calls, a couple of matches outcomes might have been
differrent with different refs, but I would also like to say that the fans were horrible. Does anyone realize that it is not
the wrestlers fault if a bad call happens? I was not happy with the way that my brother was treated by the crowd.
The crowd went totally overboard and even booed him when he was getting his trophy. No
one had any right to yell at him, except for me, of course. I believe that sportsmanship was thrown out of the door
during the whole tournament, and every person in the crowd, even me, should be ashamed of their actions.
February 22, 1999
From: still bitter
comments: Are the current regions fair? I wrestled for the best team that
certain school has ever had my sophomore year in 95-96 and I
qualified for the state tournament. That year there were
many wrestlers who in my opinion didn't deserve to be there.
Region IV's tournament had many brackets with only four people giving
many wrestlers a free ride to the state tournament. I remember
thinking that it wasn't fair to me to have worked so hard for this
and have others who could have just began wrestling a week before
their regional tourney and make it. Also that year the team I was
on Qualified 7 wrestlers in region II and I believe we were at
least in the top ten. We had beaten Fairmont Senior that year,
who finished second in the state and almost was able to edge out
Parkersburg South, and decisively defeated many of the teams who came out
ahead of us like Herbert Hoover and Nitro, but because
of weak regions all of these teams qualified more wrestlers than
us and finished ahead of us in points, well I shouldn't say
that the only reason they beat us at the state tournament was
because they qualified more wrestlers than us, these teams did
state finalists and we didn't so that did give them more points,
but never the less we did beat Hoover and Nitro pretty badly
that year, I do believe. The regions were unfair three years ago
and they may still be unfair today, but I think that they will
never be fair unless you can physically move certain schools to
another part of the state. The only way it would be completely
fair would be to make the state tournament a duals tournament
where everybody wrestles each other.
February 22, 1999
From: South matmaid
comments: I would like to congratulate all of the South wrestlers for a
great job Saturday and wish them all the luck next weekend at the
State tourney. I know you will all do great! Go PSHS!!
February 22, 1999
CONGRATULATIONS TO NICHOLAS HEDRICK. THIS WEEKEND HE RAN HIS CAREER WIN
RECORD TO 161 WINS..ALSO HE RECORDED HIS 523rd CAREER TAKEDOWN...GOOD LUCK
NEXT WEEK AT STATES -POLAR BEAR WRESTLERS.....
February 22, 1999
comments: Does someone know if valles is out or is he going to wrestle in the state tournament.
February 22, 1999
From: Regional Re-Alignment Petition
comments: Adding on to Region II Looker's comments:
I see only 1 wrestler from Region 1 who was deserving to go to
states but must now watch from the stands: Wheeling Park's 112
Derek Kennedy. 1 wrestler. However, there are probably several
wrestlers from Region 1 who qualified but are undeserving. Let's
take a look at the various regions, shall we?
(keep in mind, records can be misleading)...
take for instance 119 pounds:
FS's Brad Michalski qualified with a 17-28 record. One might think he is undeserving,
except that he has wrestled very tough competition all year...he decisioned F4 J.K. Tyree,
Woodrow Wilson, jr., 38-10 rather easily (7-2) at the Winner's Choice.
|
103 Going F4 Kevin Hildebrand, 9, OH 10-11 |
103 Not Going from Region 2 Matt Bulford, 9, Pre, 16-21 5th Place (don't let his record fool you, he's a decent wrestler) Adam Weaver, 9, PB, 22-10 6th Place Jonathan Miller, 9, Mus, 19-13 Did not place |
|
112 Going F4 Johnny Collins, 10, N Cty, 8-9 |
112 Not Going from Region 2 Brad Faulk, 11, Key, 21-14, 5th Place (Qualifier last year AA) Jon Taylor, 10, Elk, 20-12, 6th Place |
|
119 Going F3 Bill Griggs, 9, Nitro, 19-25 |
119 Not Going from Region 2 Imani Beckwith, 9, EF, 20-20, 5th place |
|
125 Going F2 Shawn Sigley, 11, Pre, 10-29 F4 Timmy Moore, 12,N Cty, 22-14 |
125 (1 weight class Region 2 was weak - wrestlers trying to dodge Regalbuto and Floyd) |
|
130 Going F4 Mike Staley, 10, Herb Hoov, 9-9 |
130 Not going from Region 2 Wes Kees, 9, Mus, 21-10, 5th Place |
|
135 Going F1 Steve Gonchoff, JM, 12-14 F3 Chris Higinbotham, 12, Nit,14-9 F4 John Sharpless, 11, WW, 30-16 T1 Josh Cross, PS, 9-14 T4 Kevin Whited, 12, Roane, 23-20 R1 Chet Coen, Brooke, 18-15 |
135 Not Going from Region 2 Jonathan Holt, 10, FS, 27-14, 6th Place (by default, did not wrestle 5th place bout) Returning state placewinner (6th 125) ranked 5th in latest AAA coach's poll Adam Wolfe, 11, PB, 25-10, 5th Place David Henry, 12, Mart, 19-13, Did not place, was ranked in top 8 AAA Coach's Poll Beechard Howell, 12, Elk, 21-9, Did not place |
|
145 Going F1 Josh Van Meter, PS, 7-18 F4 Chris Porta, 10, HH, 3-8 |
145 Not going from Region 2 Jacob Morton, 11, Jef, 22-20, 5th Place Aaron Futton, 9, EF, 13-11, 6th Place Josh Phillips, 10, Elk, 12-4, Did not place |
|
152 Going F1 Brad Credo, Brooke, 12-16 F3 Josh Saunders, 11,Cap, 10-5 T4 Gary Nicholson, 9, Roane, 22-17 T3 C.J. Stewart, 11, Nit, 29-18 T1 Donnie Hill, Univ, 28-16 |
152 Not Going Region 2 Rick Hickman, 10, NM, 24-17, 5th Place Shane Eakle, 11, EF, 17-9, 6th Place, returning state qualifier, ranked in top 8 AAA coaches poll John Maybury, 11, Key, 20-14, Did not place, returning state placer AA (5th at 145) |
|
160 Going F3 Vaughn Suppa, 11, GW, 14-24 F1 Oliver Frum, University, 5-16 |
160 not going from Region 2 Brock Tetrick, 11, NM, 19-25, 5th Place Matt Ravenscroft, 12, Key, 19-18, 6th Place Jeff Wratchford, 11, Jef, 18-14 |
|
171 Going F1 Josh Boyd, WP, 7-20 F4 Arthur Conn, 10, HH, 6-6 F3 Robert Riner, 9, Hunt, 14-14 T4 Brett Huffman, 12, BU, 21-19 |
171 Not going region 2 Jeff Noechel, 10, EF, 25-11, 5th Place Brad Phillips, 12, Elk, 16-11, 6th Place Chris Altobello, 12, Key, 27-10, Did not place, ranked in AAA coach's poll |
|
189 Going F3 Jeremy Fletcher, 11, GW, 25-16 F1 Chris Flynn, Univ, 19-22 T3 Glen Bowen, 11, CM 6-25 |
189 not going region 2 Josh Burner, 11, PB, 18-17, 5th Place Mike Triviso, 10, NM, 15-13, 6th place |
|
275 Going F1 Josh Suprenant, JM, 11-12 F4 Rob Nichols, 10, Roane, 11-10 F3 Dan Williamson, 11, Logan, 17-6 T3 Jody Pauley, 10, GW, 21-18 T1 Ryan Boyd, Univ, 21-16 |
275 Not going Region 2 Dave Hearst, 11, FS, 22-12, 5th Place David Cutlip, 12, Hed, 24-23, 6th Place Mike Smith, 11, Key, 15-13, did not place |
Its a shame that many deserving wrestlers who have beaten many of the qualifiers must either stay home or watch from the stands. When are the region 2 coaches going to wake up and demand re-alignment??? Region 2 got even tougher this year than it was last year: Last year there were 11 teams, this year there are 12 They lost Liberty (Harrison) to AA (a team that barely filled 7 weight classes) They added Musselman and Keyser (2 teams with FULL lineups, 0 forfeits) So they lost about 7 wrestlers from last year, and added 28 more into the mix! HELLO??? THIS DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE!
Huntington got all 14 guys in. Parkersburg South gets 13. University got 11!!!! What if University was still in region 2? How many would still be going? Regional re-alignment must be addressed soon because the entire system is now a farce. Good wrestlers are getting shut out of the entire essence of wrestling: participating in the state tournament. Come on, coaches...the problem will only get worse as the eastern panhandle continues to get better. This area of the state is the fastest-growing population-wise, they have had tremendous improvement. Someone posted below about the EP sending a record amount of wrestlers to states. Coupled with the already competetive teams like North Marion and Fairmont Senior, it is very difficult for a team to get 10 wrestlers to states. Only 1 team from region 2 had 10 wrestlers qualify (Martinsburg)
Something has to be done now! Coaches, come up with a solution before more wrestlers have to watch from the stands as wrestlers whom they pinned or tech falled go out and get pinned in 20 seconds in their place. What if this happened to your son? What if it was his senior year? If it's not fair, FIX IT!