Just a question. Why is it that a Kansas club does their best to hold a quality tourney and half the wrestlers take off to Oklahoma. All it does in my opinion, it hurts not only the kids who can't go but it also takes away from the club holding the tourney. Yes I know J.O.C. is a great tourney but I also feel Kansas has just as much to offer especially for those looking toward state qualifying. Not looking for an argument just trying to open some eyes.....

Not wanting to argue either, my reason is simple. The competition at this tournament is superior to any competition that any one Kansas Club can offer. The best from Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Missouri, and many other states show up. It is Oklahoma's version of the Wichita Classic.

Spex makes a valid point in that if we don't support our own there is a possiblity that our own will cease to exist. The numbers of kids attending these out-of-state tournaments is far too high percentage wise, for the numbers wrestling. I think often times new parents hear that if you want to get good you have to travel farther away and it simply isn't true. It not only happens with out-of-state tournaments but we also see clubs not supporting other club's tournaments, within their own districts. I say, if at all possible, keep your dollars in state and support our fellow Kansas clubs. If you have a wrestler who is needing more challenges then bump them up a weight class or age group. If you have one that is still winning after doing that, then take them as far and wide as your pocketbook will allow.

I agree with Beeson, it has nothing to do with how far one can travel. We have one in OK, 8 going to a tourney in Parkville and 32 going to Bonner this weekend. I don't think the one in OK or the 8 going to Parkville are taking anythig away from KS. They are looking at getting better all the way around. The majority of the tournaments that we attend are in KS. We do get great competition in KS, but I don't think there is anything wrong with going outside the box on occasion.

I will say that Ark City took 8 to JOC, and sent around 30 to Valley Center. So we are supporting local.

Why go to a tourny and have the other kids in the family sit and watch for the 8 to 10hrs to see your kid wrestle 3 matches if hes lucky abought 1 or2 minutes all day! You have to go wrestle the best!

USA Wrestling doesn't endorse moving up an age group so that idea really shouldn't fly. You cannot get better by wrestling the same kids every weekend so staying within the district for all of your competitions isn't a very solid suggestion either. USJOC is a better tournament than any kids tournament held in Kansas. Tulsa Nationals is even better than USJOC so if we want to compete we have to offer some that will compete. The Wichita Classic had a run but their crummy facility, uncooperative staff, and horrible officiating has driven away most of the out state competitors and even some Kansans. There numbers have declined steadily these past few years.

Wrestling is a great sport because you can make individual choices and the free market system is alive and well. You cannot start imposing rules or dictating what where our members should or should not compete. We need to create more opportunities to get more kids to wrestle not discourage those who are already competing.

Beeson suggests balance and I agree with that. Some kids need to go out of state but most kids should compete in state. I believe that is probably happening.

Congratulations to all those who placed at JOC. Valley ran a great tournament here in Kansas. But still say that Kansas wrestlers need to wrestle Kansas wrestlers. When it comes down to subs, do you not realize your record in OK doesn't hold up in Kansas? Or those wrestling up a weight, your stats are invalid at a lower weight?

OMG!! So everyone should be wrestling to see what kind of KS record they can assemble for the sub district seeding meeting! That is totally absurd! The number one criteria for seeding should be COMMON SENSE. Spex, do you really think if a kid doesn't wrestle anyone from KS they should be unseeded? Who does that really hurt? Not the kid you didn't seed, I promise. If kids are traveling all over out of state to wrestle the best competition they are going to finish at the top in Kansas regardless of whether you seed them or not.

I admire your Kansas patriotism but how much would wrestling improve if we just wrestled Kansas kids all year, every year?

Right or wrong, I look at it another way. I find it to be a needed break for some of our kids that only wrestle three or four months out of the year to have the top tallent exodus the state for a weekend or two. It is nice to go to a tournament and not have to face kids that are nearly impossible to beat. Not that you can't beat them, everyone has their day, but some of these kids are just that good and have a spectacular resume to back it up. I say let the best go wrestle the best wherever that may be, and I will enjoy seeing good to above average wrestlers go head to head with both parties having a good chance of having some success.

One more thing, I do like to see how our state's top wrestlers are doing in some of these highly competitive venues. Can someone please tell me where I can find the results of the JOC tournament? Thank you in advance.

SPEX,

Your congratulation means nothing to my son who did place at JOC! He does not go to out of state tournaments to better his record, he goes to become a better wrestler. He loves the competition he gets in KS, but he also loves the competition he gets else where. He goes because he loves this sport! He has no idea what his record is because he doesn't care, he doesn't care if he gets seeded at subs, all he wants to do is get better. To do that you have to have mat time, he wrestled six matches compared to two or three he would have had he gone to a tournament in KS. How dare you to try to take placing at a national level like this away from him or any of the other wrestlers who went down to OK. Those kids worked their tails off and had a terrific time. People like you are the reason my son doesn't get on usawks.com. He doesn't need the negativity.

You can get the results at usjoc.com when they post them, I just checked and they haven't been posted yet.

I love the passion shown by the wrestling parent! Generally, I agree that you need to travel occasionally and at times, that means a short jaunt to a neighboring state.

Just a word of caution to all ... be carefully in your postings, especially the postings that are aimed at individuals!

Here are some of the results I know from USJOC..I also agree that it is a great opportunity for Kansas Wrestlers to wrestle out of state. We've lived all over the country and have wrestled in many tourneys in multiple states and do not feel we have taken anything away from the state we were living in at the time. We also wrestle a lot of in-state tourneys, but usually see the same wrestlers at each one. We also travel to to other districts to check out the competition. What a great opportunity for these young wrestlers to represent their state!

I know Kansas was represented well in the younger divisions in the championship round...sorry I am unable to remember all of their names..I'm sure some are misspelled. My son is older and I'm not familiar with the younger wrestlers names !

Boo Dryden 1
McCracken 1 or 2
Brett Moon 3 or 4
Zach Gentzler 1
Chase Locke 4
Kyle Armstrong 5th (?)
Riley Soward 6th
Matt Reed 5th
Alex Bontz 3
Tyler Allen (?) - 1 or 2
Dakota Leach 1 or 2
Jarod Langley 1 - 2
Landon Wood 1 or 2
Dalton Rodd 5 or 6
Pierson Greater Gold 1 or 2
Murphy Maize 1 or 2
Schroeder from Haysville 1 0r 2

Whoe else? Go Kansas!!!

Kael McCracken 2nd
Michael Spangler 2nd
Jacob Beeson 3rd
Logan Terrill 3rd
Wyatt Villers 4th
Brycen Schroeder 1st

Side note: Jacob went 7-2 at the tournament, very few places we can get 9 quality matches in a weekend.

Spex,
We love you man, but I can't agree with you on this one. We are very fortunate to have those type of tournaments in our back yard. Competition like USJOC & The World of Wrestling tourneys allow kids to experience different styles/different kids and just in general - "see and wrestle against kids that are the best in the country". They give my boy something to look forward to and to work toward. I hope your wrestler has the opportunity to experience these type of tournnaments. You can think you are going fast, but unless you get in a dragster and ride, you never really know. Those tourneys are the dragsters of tourneys for the youth.

Hold on before this gets way blown out of proportion. I never said there was anything wrong with going to a national tourney. I think that is a good thing for the highly advanced wrestlers. And I know a lot of them who went and my congrats are sincere. I personally like seeing bigger brackets at events with the best from our state going head to head it makes for an exciting day.. I appologize if I ruffled anyones feathers on this subject it was not my intent..

Just curious...were there any other Kansas Wrestlers who placed in the 15 & U division besides the following? It was a tough weekend of competition!!!

Matt Reed 140 5th
Riley Soward 110 6th
Alex Bontz 3rd

me eric mason hwt 3rd