This isn't necessarily a category of "best wrestlers" - but wrestlers you really enjoy or enjoyed watching. Matt Gilliland of Hoxie and Levi Younkin of Oakley were great high school wrestlers (as an example), but were not my favorites to watch. I have a few current and a few "classic" wrestlers which were very entertaining in High School...
* Matt Schippers - Hoxie. Scored points in bunches. Saw him tech Sutton-Kearn of Concordia two years ago. Was unbelievably aggressive
* Tait Weatherbee - TMP. Quick and strong witha great motor. Unless a wrestler can go 3 hard periods, there's almost no chance
* Danny Grater - Clay Center. Ok, he was flat out great. But a kid that attacked all the time made him exciting
* James Annnon - Norton. Gumby like. Great H.S. wrestler because he was so good on his feet, but could really contort his body
* Ross Taplin - Abilene. Always cool to see a great wrestler with a few exciting freestyle moves.
* (Classic) EK Franks - Wellington. Late 80's 152 pounder that was too strong, too fast, too athletic and too good for anyone to handle
Again, Bo Maynes was among the best wrestlers I've ever seen, but i wouldn't necessarily put him in the "exciting" category. He went out and took care of business in workmanlike fashion. What wrestlers do you consider "exciting"?
Brian Miller wrestled at Oberlin and Colby Juco. He was always fun to watch. Very smooth, sometimes very technical, sometimes unorthodox, out of control but in control.
Wasn't it Miller vs. Baker in the finals a few years back (3-4) those we some great scrambles.
Does anybody in the 4A ranks recall a semi-final match between Matt Murray of Colby and Brian Harris of Eudora? Probably five years ago or so.
As far as exciting Danny Grater was impressive, as was Taplin, I always love a good throw. Beau Tillman from Pratt, Brit Madison from Ulysses(sp)in the 90's, Chris Tillman was exciting and so was Jeff Showalter from Nickerson. I can think of more but those are the ones I have seen wrestle.
I also alwayed enjoyed watching guys like Chris Ngo, Steve Mesa, and Kenny Taylor work people over.
Just my two cents.
Coach Brown
Hey that Detmer Deshazer match was exciting to watch. I look forward to seeing it again hopefully.
i was pretty excited, and had a lot of fun when i went to the 321a state championships and watched a ginormous jeff boyle at heavyweight pin his opponent in 19 seconds.......that was fun to watch
Jessie Hardy from LFS has some impressive throws through the years. Anyone who saw his championship match at Sunflower League knows what I am talking about
That one year in the state finals when Roberson was called for stalling. Apparently the really made him mad. He proceeded to take down and let up his opponent about 4 times in 30 seconds. It was very impressive. And, i bet the poor kid who was getting taken down was thinking 'thanks a lot for the stall call ref - NOT!' ;-)
Eddie Boyer (early 80's) Ark City was fun to watch, he destroyed people.
Garcia (Hutch) was always entertaining and Knox(WW) was always a treat, you never knew what was going to happen when he was on the mat.
Two matches I really enjoyed watching in the state finals was Bunch (LV) vs. May (Derby) and Knox vs. Garcia. Two great 103lbs final in recent history.
Gus is right. That was amazing, and I was pulling for the other kid. We should get that rematch this weekend.
The most exciting match I can remember was when Shawn Bunch and Michael Bradley wrestled in the semifinals at kids state in 1998 (I think that's the correct year). Lots of speed and talent on the mat!!!!
BigPin,
As soon as I read the topic, the Bunch v. Bradly match immediately came to mind. It was one of the best matches I have seen. It was amazing how all eyes in the stadium seemed to be drawn to that mat. There are a few others that always caught my attention:
Speer
the Older Lattimer
Jeff Boyle
Thomas Rhodes (Both the good and the bad)
Tait Weatherbee (this is a homer pic, as I've known the kid forever)
Sprigg: very active for a big guy
Taplin: So aggressive and physical
I didn't include kids that I coached directly, because there have been some very exciting matches and kids over the years and I didn't want to slight any of my kids. All their matches were exciting to me.
hah.
that hardy-metzger match was unbelievable.
i was pullin for jake, but jesse made almost everyone in the gym get up after that throw.
can't wait to see those two go at it again.
Mike- If you get the chance, go watch Phil Hart wrestle for Fort Hays. He still is fun to watch.
I think that people need to keep an eye on Taylor Sibala (Junior from Blue Valley Northwest). Although he didn't place last year, his wrestling is vastly improved, his movements and technique have become explosive and controlled at the same time. He remains so calm out there on the mat and is so smooth but really exciting at the same time because you never no when he is going to hit something really sweet!
Deshazier vs. Baldridge - Greco this summer. TD got a big lead early because of his quickness. Baldridge battled back but came up short. The whole gym was focused on this match.
I think another great match would be Tait Weatherbee and Wes Barrett. There both strong and explosive. I say Weatherbee wins but any other predictions on this one, it could be a state finals match up. How you think the match would go.
i have never seen anyone get into some of the postions james annon of norton got into let alone get out of them...also include earl jones vs. great bend wrestler 5-6 years ago
I don't think Taylor Sibala should be even mentioned in this post. Not to bash on him, he has probably improved since I wrestled him, but he's not one of the most exciting my any means.
One of the most exciting wrestlers I liked to watch was Madison King last year. Him and Wes barret had a very explosive match, and I enjoyed all his matches at state last year.
I was there for the Hardy-Metzger match and truly suprised with the outcome. I thought it would have come down to points in the 3rd period. Both are great competitors. Can't wait to see their next match! Another great match from last weekend was Mahan and Carr @145lbs. Double OT. Both fought hard!
Originally posted by dwelsh:
That one year in the state finals when Roberson was called for stalling. Apparently the really made him mad. He proceeded to take down and let up his opponent about 4 times in 30 seconds. It was very impressive. And, i bet the poor kid who was getting taken down was thinking 'thanks a lot for the stall call ref - NOT!' ;-)
Big Head, where are you on this one! hahah! That was Brian Scott from Wichita South. I will never forget that match as I was preparing to win my state championship and watched that take place. I remember a lump in my throat and I becare very very nervous.
Big Head.... I am waiting for your comment here since you were that victim that day. However, you did follow that year up with a 36-0 record and a State Championship..... Not too mention you only lost 4 times in high school and three times as a freshman!
Jeremy Long was one of my favorites to watch.
I also think mention of Annon because of his elasticity should get some mention.
Earl Jones also deserves mention...he's amazing to watch and always perplexes me just how good he is.
i remember watching elliot and beard go at many a times in kids. and am hoping to see it again a few times now that they are in high school. just for some future upcoming exciting wrestling to watch
Originally posted by Aaron Sweazy:
Earl Jones also deserves mention...he's amazing to watch and always perplexes me just how good he is.
per·plex vt
1. puzzle somebody: to puzzle or confuse somebody, especially causing doubt
2. complicate something: to make something overly complicated or intricate
Microsoft® Encarta® Reference Library 2006. © 1993-2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
When I have had the privilege of watching Earl wrestle I have never been "perplexed" but rather filled with a deep sense of admiration for the young mans determination and drive to be successful.
Richie: thanks for helping us out with word associations. I bet you're one helluva scrabble player.
As for wrestling, I think the creativity of Earl Jones is as perplexing as a Picasso painting. I think the same thing about Ben Askren. I watch Ben drill and he doesn't drill any common moves. He says, "I already know a single, double, hc, etc...why would I waste time doing those moves?" He works on moves that have no names. He puts his drilling partners into situations that he gets into in matches and he works his particular style from there. Some people unable to grasp how fundamentally sound Ben is call it "funk". But that actually cheapens his accomplishments. But I do understand why at first glance people find real innovation perplexing. I think the feeling of admiration about which you write comes later.
Originally posted by mamasawn:
Mike- If you get the chance, go watch Phil Hart wrestle for Fort Hays. He still is fun to watch.
Mike is the announcer at the FHSU home dual meets. He gets every opportunity to watch Phil Hart wrestle.
I think it's very fair to put Taylor Sibala in this group. He is am amazing athlete who gets into/outof some amazing situations. Again this post is for exciting to watch. Everyone will have the drawn down 2-1 match, he has those as well, but he is fun to watch and pretty high action most of the time.
24/7
Originally posted by gutwrench1:
As for wrestling, I think the creativity of Earl Jones is as perplexing as a Picasso painting.
I must question if you have ever witnessed Earl Jones wrestle, as he is hardly creative. Earl is fundamentally sound, mentally as tough as they come, and due to physical limitations can not dominate on his feet. Earl is dominate as a mat wrestler.
Ah yeah, I've seen him wrestle and that's why I think he's creative. Finding a way to win the way he does with the limitations he has requires all kinds of creativity an compensation for balance. Think of how long it took Rulon to learn how to overcome the loss of a toe.
Have you ever wrestled?
Richard, you are not hating on gutwrench1, are you? After viewing the bio that you have produced for him, which is quite impressive I must admit, I can only say, the nerve of you. Once again, you are just calling a spade a spade, I guess, right.
Richie, would you please let WSEWC know that the term "calling a spade a spade" is a racist term. I'm sure WSEWC does not know that and is not a racist but simply ignorant.
"calling a spade a spade" harkens back to Civil War America, when a person's freedom turned on whether or not the establishment considered one Black or not.
Calling a spade a spade is not a racist term, that is ignorant. Where you from boy, Missouri.
It means calling it like it is, calling it like you see it, "pulling no punches". It always has been. Surely with all of your knowledge, you knew that, but you just wanted to perplex us. Being gay may be homosexual to you, but to me, it is still just happy. I guess that I can't play cards anymore or dig in my flower garden because I would not want to call a spade a spade, even if it was one.
Thanks, BinPin22. I didn't know the historical reference. The term is often misused.
Hey oldfan are you talking about Garcia of Newton (Dad) or I guess it must be Cody since you said Hutch. Or Knox as in Chas (dad) from WW. How old are you oldfan cause I seen their daddys go at it (not against each other) they were a treat to watch also.
Coach Peterman
From :
http://www.word-detective.com it's called Google, people. Why don't you use it before you spout off looking for racism where it doesn't exist...you go, WSEWC!
The mistaken notion that the phrase had its origins in confusion over what to call a digging implement. I don't think the phrase is quite that innocent. My understanding is that in fact "calling a spade a spade" harkens back to Civil War America, when a person's freedom turned on whether or not the establishment considered one Black or not. Inter-racial liaisons were not uncommon, and so mulatto children were reasonably common. The White establishment was loathe to allow itself to be "diluted" with "impure blood," and so they took to "calling a 'spade' [pejorative for a Black person] a 'spade'". Is there any truth in this? -- Michael Raynor.
In a word, no. Although the English language, and particularly American English, contains many examples of the influence of racism on popular speech, in this particular case there is ample evidence to prove the defendant phrase not guilty. "To call a spade a spade" not only predates slavery in North America by quite a bit but harks all the way back to the Ancient Greeks, occurring in the work of, among others, the playwright Aristophanes, and is still commonly heard in modern Greek. The original phrase seems to have been "to call a fig a fig; to call a kneading trough a kneading trough," applied to someone who spoke exceedingly frankly. Evidently, when the phrase was first translated from Greek in the Renaissance, the Greek word for "trough" was confused with the Greek for "spade," and thus the modern version was born. The "spade" referred to in the phrase, incidentally, was the digging implement, and not the black character on playing cards that underlies the racial epithet.
I had no idea the topic of the most exciting wrestler to watch could possibly lead to such an intellectually stimulating conversation!
Most exciting wrestler ------> racism discussion =====> very interesting
Maybe this would be a good time to discuss the question of if people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from Holland called Holes?
Coach Peterman:
I was referring to the younger Garcia and the younger Knox. I wrestled (badly) in the early 80's but I still go watch when I can and also have a son in JR. Wrestling.
Here is another wrestler from the past that was fun to watch from Newton, Kilby Harrison. His motor never stoped. And Doug Morrow from Derby, best half nelson I have ever seen.
Cody Garcia was fun to watch. Non-stop action. He pounded people and then didn't even look the least bit tired in the end.
How is his college career coming along?
I dont know if anybody rembers really watching this kid wrestle and im not sure that i am rembering his name right but im pretty sure his last name was Cooper and he was West-Elk. He was a 215 pounder and his high school didnt even send cheerleaders with him. But he would get more take downs than any 215 pounder than i ever remember seeing, very active and excting on his feet. I know he won state once and i think maybe twice. Just wondering if anyone else rembers this kid.
I dont know if anybody rembers really watching this kid wrestle and im not sure that i am rembering his name right but im pretty sure his last name was Cooper and he was from West-Elk. He was a 215 pounder and his high school didnt even send cheerleaders with him and he was the only kid on his team. But he would get more take downs than any 215 pounder than i ever remember seeing, very active and excting on his feet. I know he won state once and i think maybe twice. Just wondering if anyone else rembers this kid.
Chad Koop (sp?)
Wrestled 171 I think, won a couple state titles.
Yep, Koop, was a pretty slick kid on his feet,i saw him wrestle after high school at a couple of college opens as well, anyone know what know what came of him?
Chad Koop was a one-time State Champ in the mid-90's for West Elk. Took 3rd as a Junior, losing to Tommy Schmeidler of Lincoln in the semis. Won State as a Senior. Excellent on his feet. Was going to mention him as an exciting wrestler, but wasn't sure anyone remembered him.
Well mike i remembered him, even if i got his name and weight wrong, haha. But ya, he was one of my favorite wreslters to watch at the state tournament, our cheerleaders always use to cheer for him cause he didnt have any so our town cheered from him to. He was very slick on his feet for a bigger guy.
Wes Harding and the rest of those S.E. Saline boys from the late 80's. They just went out and kicked your ass.
Thanks for verifying my innocence Bananabreath. I am quite releaved now. That is a huge load off of me. I was starting to worry, because I would not want to be a teacher in a school that is half "black", be the head coach of a wrestling team that is half "black" and be a racist at the same time. That could get sticky.
I agree with 24/7. When thinking about who will be an exciting wrestler to watch - especially in this years state tournament - he (Sibala)is at the top of my list...I am sure there are others out there that deserve just as much mention and I will look forward to seeing those guys perform as well. For the record, one of the reasons I put Sibala in this category is because of how much he has improved his style which is exciting...not judging him on years past.
Why is a hemorrhoid called a hemorrhoid and an asteroid called an asteroid? Shouldn't it be the other way around? I guess then we would have to call a proctologist an astronaut!
Sutton-Kearn was fun to watch today, 2 matches for a combined :35 seconds or so.
Chapman 189 pound finals Strawn and Sutton-Kearn both undefeated. Speed, Power and loads of talent a espn instant classic.I will go out on a FAT limb and say state finals rematch.It was a great match to watch.Thanks to both young men for the show.
How about Elija Maddison. Used to be from Salina Central and now at Oak Park, MO? He was awsome to watch for a young heavy weight. So strong and quick as a cat. I don't remember the kid he pinned in the finals of the Junction City tournament last year but he won state at 6A last year. Any way the two met in the finals and the 6A kid came out and just pushed him all over the mat and out of bounds. They came back to the middle and he started to do it again and Elija did an under-hook cow catcher, pivoted threw him down and stuck him. It was one of the most amazing thing I have ever seen. The 6A kid was huge but Elija just used all of that momentum aginst the kid and got the pin.
I agree with the guys who say that sibala is a exciting wrestler i wrestled him at the topeka high invintational and state last year and we went all three periods. This year you can tell he's changed his style just a little to make his moves sharper and its paid off.
Two years ago I wrestled him at Derby. I took him down straight to his back in the first period....
How about SHAWN BUNCH? He is always fun to watch wrestle.
Lots of good mentions on this thread, here's a few I've enjoyed watching that have yet to be mentioned:
*Lyle Geyer [Leoti] - DOMINATING!! Top, bottom, neutral... no matter, JUST DOMINATING!!
*Bill Gable [Sainty] - A master of controlling his opponent's balance (or lack thereof) when he was on his feet.
*Corey Johnston [Stockton] - One word... ACROBATIC!! Everything was high-flying. Lateral drops, standing granbys, suicide cradles, etc.
By the way, someone mentioned Wes Harding and perhaps I should start a new thread for this, but was his finals match against Lance Shepard from Hoxie back in '88 not the most exciting match in the history of Kansas state championship matches?
I can't think of one to touch it when it comes to excitement.
Im to young to remember that match but to me the most exciting match i have ever seen was 2001 Haddley vs. Pilkington. Haddley was undefeated and had hardly been scored on all year, he was winning 2-1 or 1-0, cant quite remember but he was trying to hold on for the last couple seconds and Pilkington caught him in a cow catcher with 1 second left and the refs had to confer weither it was a take down or not. The whole stadium was yelling either for 2, or for no points, to me that was the most exciting match i had ever seen in the finals.
Im going to have to correct the Chad Koop thread, he was a 2X state champ and placed 3rd as a freshman and soph, OUTSTANDING on his feet, had almost 300 takedowns in his career he is a rancher and a wrestling coach in Florida. a great great kid and had a lot of influence on a small southeastern HS still today... alot of kids started wrestling becasue of him, namely in the past few years, Rodger Kraft, Jerrid Baumgartel, Kenny Tyler and Marc Madison
Originally posted by TEAM USA JUDOKA:
How about SHAWN BUNCH? He is always fun to watch wrestle.
Good call! I don't see how someone that had 37 tech falls in a career couldn't be exciting to watch.
Sprigg vs. Honas was one hell of a match Sprigg's junior year
Holy mistakes Batman! Chad Koop WAS a 2-timer. Lost to Schmeidler in the semis his So. year. Wow, I'm slipping
Kenny Taylor Jr's back flips were always exciting to watch!
I probably should not say anything and just let it go, but when you are accused of racism, it does not set well. Who saw Jerome Bettus on ESPN the other night explaining why he would be a good sports commentator? I did, and his response was quite interesting. Bettus stated that he would "call a spade a spade". Imagine that. I guess that it is ok for him to say that since he is black, huh. Or perhaps, he too is educated and knows the true origin of this statement like myself and bananabreath.
I had to add this in!! Chad Koop placed 3rd as a freshman and sophmore, and placed 1st as a junior and senior at the state tournaments. Also won the Bruite High School National Championship in 1996. He wrestled 152, 160, and 171lbs. He hurt his knees in high school and college. He has done some coaching in AL and FL.
I believe he was the most exciting wrestler!! But I am his wife!!
Thanks
I think one of the most exciting matches I remember watching was when Shawn Bunch and Micheal Bradley went at it. They had some great matchups.
Brine vs. Gable, All-star Classic classic
That Pilkington Hadley deal was great. How about the 1997 finals. Scott Jenkins Sainty against a wrestler from Osborne, can't remember his name. Went into overtime and Jenkins won on a late takedown.
I know some of you all are too young to remember the Harding/Shepard match I was talking about, and many of the matches you've posted I also saw and all were great, BUT...
You must realize that Harding was going for his 4th state championship. This was before "sudden victory" overtime. Harding was dinged twice for stalling in the third period, the second of which tied the match. At the end of the third period of overtime it was STILL tied. The referee's decision went to about the third or fourth level of criteria (and lasted like forever it seemed in front of a dead silent stadium) before Shepard was awarded the match thwarting Harding's quest for 4.
Maybe you had to be there.
From years past I would have to add Billy Gable-St. Francis-4X champ, Chris Lampe(I think) also St. Francis-3X runner-up, Champ; Bryan Miller, Pete Koster and Adam Koster both Hoxie. These are just a few that came to mind.
Knoll from Osborne, I think

HeHeHe
back when you guys were talking about exciting finals matches, the only great one that i can remember is chad flores(SL) and brandon reddings(CV) 1996 finals match. down by 4 with 1 minute to go in the third period flores is loosing he is on top, cradles brandon now he is down by 1 he gets a stalling call with 8 seconds left and they stop the match Now it is tied flores is on top and he gets 3 more back points by another cradle to win the match. by far the best match that iv ever seen. 7 points in 40 seconds is pretty good in the state finals.
Was that 1996 Flores-Redding match in the same weight class where Pete Koster of Hoxie took 4th?
yes, we met Pete in the semi's
Wow...that weight class was LOADED!