I actually thought about starting another thread on this topic. Let me first of all state, Nathan, my son, will be making a comment later on these board. This morning we want to celebrate at church, and then celebrate the day doing whatever our son wants. That said, I believe it important to say the following.

This conversation goes beyond just a wildcard, but also to a system that I believe needs to be changed. I have to be cautious as to the way this comes out. I was reminded by a man I greatly respect last night that sometimes people take the written word the wrong way. I know I have done that and have had others do that with my words. Please before you misunderstand me, email me for clarification on my points or ask the question here and I’ll try to answer.

I hope I have made it perfectly clear of my respect for all of the 6A 103 wrestlers, or for that matter all 103 wrestlers in this state. I haven’t met a single parent or wrestler at that age group that I wouldn’t do anything I could to help. Nathan McCormick for example brought his A game to the tournament last night and wrestled one heck of a match against my son. He put Nathan, my son on his back for the first time this year, twice! I can’t tell you how much I like McCormick, his dad, who I had a pleasant conversation with and so forth. I want to make that clear.

Now that being said, I believe that we as a state have to look seriously at seeding at the very least 4 wrestlers, regional winners, for the State tournament. I know people say; “yea, but you have to wrestle the best any way some place.” Or, “Yea but we really are only wrestling for 1st, we just care about making sure we have a champion.” I have to be honest here, we use that and other arguments, but I wonder if we really think that through. I can think of no greater example than Dante Rogers. I will personally be writing a letter, making a phone call, making this post and requesting that the state consider and give Dante a wildcard to represent Kansas at Senior Nationals. The fact is, it is possible, and even likely, that the lack of seeding based on record, and head-to-head competition, prevented him from earning, a spot on the Kansas Senior Team. I will go so far as to say, that because of his weight, Dante has an excellent opportunity to place and All American at the Senior Nationals as a 103 wrestler. I just happen to believe, that after giving to his team, the sport, the fans, and the state for the years he has, that a close decision like this should not be made on the possibility that he was on the wrong side of the bracket during his last state meet.

I have tried to word my words carefully here and realize that some may still take them wrong. Here is all I know, a fine young man, who should represent Kansas, may not, in part, because, we make a mistake of not seeding our wrestlers. For the athlete who gives and gives of their time, blood, sweat, and more, I think we as a state owe to them a debt of gratitude of doing the best we can to provide the best opportunity possible. For those that saw the numbers around the mat Friday night when Dante and Nathan wrestled, you know that there was a great deal of interest in seeing this match. I don’t recall much more interest in a match the whole tournament. I appreciate that, but for the young man who is almost like a son to me, whom I love and care about. I would hope that our state would do what is right, and grant him the wildcard he deserves so he can wrestle again for our state.