If it comes down to who hails from Kansas that went on to compete & perform at the HIGHEST LEVEL in the HEAVYWEIGHT division then we have to recognize the accomplishments of the young man & friend of mine that took me out as the winningest wrestler at HIAWATHA High School. I am talking about JEREMY LAY. Jeremy placed 4th in HS at heavyweight his Sophomore year wrestling up from about 187 lbs... as our 185 lb senior Kris Mengarelli placed 2nd in State. Jeremy could have actually chosen to compete at that weight but,.. as a team player he chose to move up. The following 2 years he placed 1ST & 2ND in STATE at 189 lbs. As is the case with many wrestlers it was when he went to College at MIZZOU that he grew into a man. I was a couple years older & could go toe to toe with him in High School & remember thinking how bad we was when our bench was a little over 300 but when I gave him a try a couple years later he was a MAN and an ANIMAL that liked to rip my head off & was benching closer to 500. Jeremy also happens to be Kansas highest placing Heavyweight HIGH SCHOOL ALL-AMERICAN placing 2ND in 1990. Jeremy also had the privilege of wrestling recent Olympic hero RULON GARDNER while Rulon competed for the Huskers of Nebraska. Jeremy went on to accomplish great heights because of his desire & work ethic,.. eventually becoming the Big 8 Heavyweight Champion. Lets not forget that includes..Oklahoma, OSU, Nebraska & Iowa State! He concluded his career as an NCAA DIVISION *1* ALL-AMERICAN placing 5TH and was chosen as a co-recipient of the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Associations --- COLLEGE WRESTLER OF THE YEAR from Kansas. If you can't take my word then ask Rulon Gardner or one of.. if not the best ever Kansas wrestler ERIC AKIN what they think of my ol' buddy Jeremy Lay. ....### Just to think... I used to call him JV Lay cause he only wrestled a portion of the year at Varsity his Freshman year going 14-1 and beating many State Qualifiers & ..get this...make him drop & give me push-ups in the hallway at school back in the day to make him tough, lol ! ###
I can say this....if there is one better out there to speak of then he is going to have to prove it at the next level ..as JEREMY LAY has done!!! :p
