OVERALL CHAMPION

For the record I am Coach Jamie Lewis of Hanahan
I am the coach and club president of The Pit Bull Wrestling Club
Board member of SCUSA Wrestling for the past seven years.

Lets be blunt

Who wants an overall State Championship and who dont?
Why or why not?

If so, I think the division of classes is the best idea yet.
I dont think dividing the state into quadrents is needed cause it is already divided into 4 classes. Yes, it would water down the 1a and 2a championships but that is a means to an end.

If anybody has better ideas I would love to hear them. Try to be contructive .

I think having one single state champion makes sense in this state. I always scratched my head at all the multiple champs for such a small state.

I don't think it'd be fair because football and all the other big sports don't have to combine their championships

Good point smallguy, football does not combine 1a and 2a for its state championship either, and it cant be broken down to the individual like wrestling can.

Compare the number of 1A schools that have football with the number of 1A teams that can field a full 14 man line up in wrestling and you'll know why there's no 1A/2A football championship.......a 1A indy tournament would be a joke.....keep it the way it is and still have an overall champion. I'm not against the overall champion format, I think it would be great. But until 1A grows I don't think it is feasable.

How many teams do you think 1a would need before they would feel the time is right for seperation?
It seems they have enough to have its own dual championship, or is the SCHL picking and choosing when it wants to follow the rules?
Coach your idea is good too but we ALL need to get together on the same page to impruve things.
I can remember back when I was competing and my Dad was on the school board, the HSL didnt give a damn about wrestling. If we dont work to make things better, SC will always be a joke on a national level.

Thats why the head coaches goes to the rules clinic over the summer.

For what I have heard there was a vote at the 2nd meeting this (combining) year that only a few coaches attended and it was not publicized or comminicated and there was a vote on this and missed by passing by 5 votes...is this true....and by having one state champ how would that improve wrestling for SC south carolina? Would it make a wrestler better? Would it make them actually compete nationally? I doubt it...If it aint broken dont fix it....It is fine the way it is...these are kids that want to win at the level of school they are at...If they are they (dads) hell bent on being a 4a state champ then move to that school zone. But if this is something Tommy Bell wants it will probably come to pass. In just a few weeks ask yourselves who made the decision to have the State Finals at the Anderson Convention Center, if the number of fans that were at rockhill last yr. show up, it will be like being at flea market on labor day....

Lex you scratch your head wondering why u are such a dumb @@@......I am sure you have been diagnosed with having R-Type Blood....Retarded....

Wrestling is just like other sports you get out of what you put in it. If you want to be the best wrestle the best if you just want wrestle for the fun of it there is nothing wrong with that either.I think that most coaches try to make wrestling the best it can be in the state and at the national level. Tommy Bell has done more for wrestling in the last 10 years than anybody.

YOU ARE TRUELY MISLED
No reason to start name calling. Lex is one of the best coaces I ever known and Ive been around this sport over 30 years. If you dont agree with his opinion, thats OK. You and ally both bring up good points and thats what I wanted to get was feedback on the subject. I always thought it would be great to get all the best wrestlers in one building There are alot of great matchups out ther that just never happen because they never see each other. like Landis Hiars (sorry if its spelled wrong) and Jorden Wigger. Has that ever happend? I think Jorden would struggle with him. I am sure yall can think of even better matchups.
Tommy has done alot for the sport. The entire Bell family has.
yes, Ido think it would make wrestlers better. Harder compatition breeds impruvement. Ido realizethere are kids wrestling to just be on the team but thats cool too. They may grow up to be a big supporter of the sport or have kids that might do great things, but there are kids that want to be the best no matter what school they are at. For example, Derick Guigus and JJ Johnson. I have had the pleasure of working with both of them for many years and those two have more drive than anybody I have ever seen in my life. Those are the type of kids we need to see face the best compatition out there. Again Yall know kids just like that I am sure.

Wow. Misled really told me...
I guess I am not a true Focker like many of you. It probably is better to celebrate mediocrity in your own little world than to help kids strive to be the best if they want it.

So in your esteemed opinion, is a Juco, Or Div II or II national title as prestigious as a NCAA Div I National Title?

I'm good with whatever guys I just want to put the sport in the best possible situation to grow and improve. Maybe I'm just missing the point of how splitting 1A and 2A would do that?

It would help make south carolina wrestling look so much better because if you divided all of them up and had a champion for 1A 2A 3A and 4A then put all of those champions into a 16 man bracket to come up with a true state champion. If they did that, it would make South Carolina wrestling look much better and help kids move on past the high school level.

Bottom line is Champion should equal champion.
What we have now is three separate 1/3 state champions. If you count SCISA, we have four 1/4 state champions. Make what we have now a divisional champion and then move them on to the real state championships to find the true champ.

I agree with Lex

To add to Lex suggestion, allow the larger divisions to have more qualifiers since they have more teams with full ine ups or just more teams in general. Allow A four qualifiers, AA six qualifiers, AAA and AAA eight qualifiers. This would have 26 qualifiers. All division champions would receive byes and the other two byes could be a random draw for the division runner ups. The goal would be to eventually have a 32 man state championship like other states and adjust the amount of qualifiers as the amount of teams per division change.

lewis, are you smoking something. the match up you are talking of....do you really believe that?
As far as one state champ, be for real. There is no need for one state champ. and if memory serves correctly it was lex who said that Geiges went to college on a scholarship not because he was a state champ but because he wrestled usa freestyle and greco.Did he not also say that if the kids want to go to college we need to get them more involved in this format? now all I hear is one state champ? Please....make up your mind.

Lewis you make some great points...I got your back in a bar fight.

winning state titles can get you some place in college. Do college coaches award scholarships based on how well you do at freestyle and greco? In my opinion...maybe? Do they say "wow he has a great gut wrench so I bet he is great at folkstyle...doubtful?" I bet they are looking more at the "individual" than the "wrestler." To excel at the national level such as Fargo you have to be dedicated to the sport YEAR-ROUND....and that is what college coaches are looking for. If you can bust your tail during high school season then turn around and committ yourself for the spring/summer in USAW it shows you have the desire and discipline to excel at the next level. Any athlete with some experience can excel in high school...especially here, however; to continue that success requires rigid, year-long training that few possess. USAW offers a chance for any hardworking kid to be expose his talents and work-ethic nationally.

At the South Carolina Wrestling Coaches association board meetings this past summer, having 1 champ was brought up. We decided to bring the vote to the coaches at the meeting.

The vote was to keep the system that we have now (I think it was close, but cant remember)

This meeting was made public, anyone who went to the July coach's clinic could have gone.

The fact is, we need more coaches in the SCWCA to have your voice heard. Middle school, JV, Varsity coaches all need to be a part to bring great ideas to the table.


in my opinion, we need 1 state champ for all classes. We need to send more kids to fargo. Wrestling in our state isnt broken, but it isnt fixed either. Join SCWCA to help fix it.

This can easily be done to appease all parties involved by

Having all four classifications crown individual state champions. There are around 20 A programs that have wrestling; I believe that this could fill a 16 man bracket in each weight. There would not have to be a lower or upper state qualifier. Just a seeding meeting to seed all the wrestlers, if there is more than 16 in a bracket the coaches could develop criteria that the best 16 in the weight class would compete or move that bracket to 32 man brackets. This would not water down SC wrestling!!! It would allow for many of the small school to build the "hype" of winning a state championship to their kids, thus increase interest and numbers, (GROWING THE SPORT)

The only way this would fly, is then demand/require an additional tournament of champions where all the classifications state champions wrestler to determine an overall state champ in each weight class. This would increase revenue advance the sport, etc.

It makes me sick to hear so many people speak of watering down the sport, ruining a kids chance to get a scholarship on this board. Example No player will earn a scholarship from Little A football teams, it’s too watered down or not enough competition!

Listen scholarships are given for many reasons, if you are truly about the sport and the kids, this is a brainer.... The factors that go into a scholarship are so more than one simply formula as in any sport.
SORRY 99.9% of the guys wrestling will not wrestle in college or earn a scholarship, why would we gear are thinking around that! My suggestion does include that thought to appease the "real sport loving followers" since this suggestion makes me not a real lover of the sport!

I have read and listen to so many “in the know” speak about getting to college for wrestling over the last six years, When they write or discuss, there might be a sentence or spoke word about our state’s break down or system, but there is much more discussion of going to camps, competing on the national level, wrestling year round, etc……. Once again our system is different than many states, but here is an outsider looking in opinion!

The sport is small and doesn’t have the numbers to weed down to elite wrestlers, well the answer to that is grow the sport, when numbers are big you have a greater % or chance the elite wrestlers will develop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! More numbers transition to better competition in practice, more parents to support the program, more clubs will be developed, and more guys wanting to make wrestling their 1st sport, not just something do when football season is over!

Several will tear this apart, first I want to say I am not a wrestler, nor wrestled in high school, nor earned a wrestling scholarship. I do love the sport and would love to see it become a elite sport in SC, I love coaching and seeing my guys taste success, but some of you just simply have your head stuck so far up your rear-end all you can smell is your own breath!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sincerely yours,
Paul Herman
Cross High School

so you're saying crown 56 state champions in the 1A - 4A state tournaments, and then 14 more overall champions? I think that's like having your cake and eating it too right? If you're going to split it up it would be to determine the true champion as I interpret it and the 1A - 4A wouldn't actually be state champions just the new version of a state qualifier. I'm not bashing your opinion or your post in anyway, the problem is it has to be one way or the other, you're not going to appease everyone with that scenario. I say we just stop talking about it right now and settle it in the summer when what we think or what we have to say can truly make a difference.

Cjs53 has it right. You can't have a crap load of "State Champions" to make all the Fockers out there happy and then have a real state tournament. That is a mockery of the term state Champion. State Champion mean the best in the state at that weight. IF we went to using the individual state championships as qualifiers, they are just that, qualifiers.

The schools or people who are likely against this appear to be the ones that do not want true competition. Sure, everyone wants to be state champion. Like it or not, that title should go to the athletes that have worked to achieve that. If someone's reasoning for having multiple champs is they want their chance to be called that, then work for. Athletes need to do what it takes to get there. Coaches need to quit trying to take the path of least resistance and do a better job of prepping their kids.

Anybody consider using the SCYWA championship March 12 to settle this? I think in the past that they have let state SCHSL placers wrestle for free and in the past I have seen some good HS matches there. I know a lot of HS kids move on to other stuff and get out of maintaining their weight, but it seems like a good way to try to have the top kids face each other - especially for those kids who wrestle year round. It might also give those kids that were injured or ineligble during the SCHSL schedule the chance to test themselves.

Lex it is lovely having you on here....It makes one understand why cross breeding doesnt work...You are one of the most ignorant individuals, I am glad I do not know you personally. With SC trying to grow the sport with its limited population having one state champion would do wonders for the sport dont you think? Yes, lets agree that most 4A State Champions probably would be the overall champions, some years it may be higher or lower, followed by 3A and then throw in a 1A or 2A kid every once in a while. Now this should boost SC wrestling nationally, dont you think? You try and load up the overall champions in your vehicle and see how many actually want to compete nationally...very few do now...so why would they be inspired to do so now? Cause LEX says you will help the state? What in turn this would lead to is a alot of 1A and 2A wrestlers calling it quits after the team competition is over, so that would really help. And most 4A kids dont have to, arent needed or just dont want to compete in other sports other than wrestling. You see Lex at smaller schools the student body is smaller and have less athletes to choose from for each and every sport they do get pressure to compete in other sports and most do cause they enjoy it. No, they may not get a scholarship, but if they stay in the state and grow to have children of their own they are more likely to get there children involved in the sport because they feel their child still has a chance to win something no matter how watered down you may think it is. And if the student/athlete feels he can be better/wants to be better/ have the financial means to help him/her get better then they can travel to national events and even go to more camps and instructional setting events if they choose. And in closing Lex your name is not fitting for you intelligence, please change i XLAX...Thankyou and have a good Paul Harvey Day....

And for Brewer....you would be for it cause you are tired of getting beat down by 1A and 2A schools...Hows that teaching the "Bisquit and Gravy Roll" working?

Misled,
The name fits. So, because Lex thinks a true individual champion (along with apparently a lot of other posters) would add some credibility to the sport he is an aweful person? Ok......

What you are saying basically is that if more and more people can't be called "state champions" than they will likely start crying and quit wrestling. So to appease these babies and coaches who for whatever reason can't compete with quality teams on their own, SC needs to just make it easier for kids to be called state champions. Coaches/teams then have a better chance at success and greater numbers???

You are a prime example of the backwards, limp-wristed, socialist thinking that has made SC wrestling as weak as it is nationally. You or kids you are involved with (God help them they are doomed) may not want to grow beyond the walls of SC. That's fine. Don't. Be average. That doesn't mean you or these "just ok" kids should be state champions too so they won't quit.

You've proved you're a complete dumbass. Please have nothing to do with High school kids.