What bs is that about Shaun choking at state. Shawn Silvis was a state champion as a freshmen. He was a great highschool wrestler and is continuing to suceed in college from what i hear. Shaun knows what it takes to succeed. Just look at what he did at state. I didn't get the impression that Shaun said anything bad about anybody. He is just encouraging his SFT boys to succeed and letting everyone know that he has confidence in them.
If you asked me who i thought would win, i would say Stirling at 145lbs and Donnie Abell at 189lbs cuz they are quality wrestlers who are unbeatable when they want to be. Two past state champions and I practice with the spring hill boys, upper weights, and they are tough. Keil Jahr and Travis Conley are also great kids who are going to take home medals this year. Keil has beaten Marmon from Eudora who placed at state last year and Conley wrestled both Flory and Demearest hard. He had Lattimer beat at regionals until a ref took away 5 points from him and gave Lattimer two instead. Butch Tanney and Keil Jahr would both win twice as many matches if Keil wasn't wrestling guys that weigh 30lbs heavier and if Butch wasn't wrestling men weighing 100 pounds more.
My Predictions---just guessing
103- jake kriegbaum from abilene.
112- Bahe
119- trevor charbonneau
125- jones has the upper body of a 152 pounder and i dont think that Lira is going to have long enough legs to get past Jones' iron grip. I think that Betsworth and Lira would be one hell of a match. Betsworth looks good. He put on a show against Geske at regionals.
130- McReynolds
135- Allison (the only 5a state placer to ever do better in 4a)
140- eric johnson-cant be beat
145- Losing at regionals may have been what Stirling needed. He is hungry to win and will. Taplin and Wiscombe are both great but i bet they will make some stupid freshman errors. Dukes luck may run out against Stirling. Barringer is quality too. This bracket may be one of the hardest at state. There aren't enough rankings to cover all the qualifiers.
152- brandon buck and Eden. Its a toss up
160- troy medill from lansing. I haven't seen Hausserman this year. If Pratt can upset him in the second round, i expect him to be in the finals for round 3 against Medill.
171- pat vogelsberg from marysville. He is the only proven wrestler. a two time placer that knows how to win at state. This bracket is a toss up. There are probably 8 guys who could place at 5a or 6a. Any of these guys could come out on top. Conley, Lattimer, DeMearest, Weishaar,Howell and a few others.
189- Abell gets his head out of his ass and take the title that was his last year.
215- tad greer from el dorado.
275- Witt Hinton. He doesn't weigh 275, but i have never seen i highschool kid as tall and muscular as this guy.
Words of advice.
Dont talk trash. (you will get stuck).
Wrestle one guy at a time.
Dont think ahead, (you will lose).
Dont be overconfident. (You will lose)
Dont be intimidated by anyone or the atmosphere the colliseum presents. You will be sidetracked and lose.
Wrestle smart, State is not the time to try moves you dont normally do. If the score is tied, dont try to force a throw in the waning seconds. Just be patient and get er done in overtime. Dont ever quit. I have seen people losing by 4 pts and win in the last 3 seconds. Dont look at records and expect anything because of it. Some kids have a pancake schedule, and some kids get beat by one guy 6 times in a season. Every year, an undefeated kid loses his first 2 matches in 4a wrestling.
Good luck all wrestlers. Best of luck to the Spring Hill boys. Bring home some medals.
Jason Ross
