No matter what happens this weekend I feel Jake, Nathan, and Skyler have all had terrific seasons. If you discount their losses to each other, these boys have lost less than 5 matches combined all year. They have all traveled to the big tournaments and faced the best competition in the state. Skyler was the champion at Liberty Nationals and ended his regular season with only two losses (once to Nathan and once to Jake). Nathan placed first at Salina, Topeka and the Classic. Jake was runner up behind Nathan at Salina, Topeka and numerous other tournaments this year. Although I have not seen 4 or 5 of the wrestlers in this bracket compete, I feel that these three boys have to be odds on favorites to be in the top four.
That said; we all know that this time of year…at this event… anything is possible. All of the qualifiers earned their spots through their own sweat and hard work. Now they have the opportunity to shine in the biggest spotlight of the year. Nathan knows this first hand. After a very successful regular season last year, Nathan was eliminated from the tournament early on Sunday and did not place. Hopefully this year I have prepared him better, both mentally and physically, to overcome the moment and cap the season off with a good showing at State. Good luck to all.
See you mat side,
Mark Stanley
