billy,
All of us here in Manhattan are extremely disappointed in our showing at Newton. I think the coach is the easiest person to blame (especially since he is new to Manhattan) but he has been successful in the past. Our assistant coaches come from good programs and they know what it takes to be a winner. Travis Baker, our head assistant comes from a wrestling family. His dad is one of the most successful coaches in the history of Kansas wrestling. I believe if we give them a fair chance, our coaching staff will get us back to the top.
Second, it is almost as easy to blame the wrestlers. We did have some varsity kids missing at Newton and in some weights we are young but that should not be an excuse for the way we wrestled. I think our kids will step up and we will see a different team by the state tournament. As you mentioned, it's not the first time we had a poor tournament.
Third, I think our fans need to step up. We, the fans, should have been paying attention to the Norton fans and we should learn from them. On Sat., Norton fans were the first ones in the gym and they didn't have anyone wrestling until the second round. They all sit together, watch every match and are very supportive of their team. If you remember, our state championship year, all of our fans supported every wrestler on our team.
Chris, we are all upset with the results of the Newton tournament. I think with all of us pulling in the same direction, we will get this turned around before the state tournament.