“Wichita Classic” was AWESOME!!!

“Wichita Classic” was AWESOME!!! I would like to thank everybody involved in organizing the “Wichita Classic”. I have been a fan of this tournament for years and this was another great year.

I just wanted to show my appreciation for another great Saturday at the “Wichita Classic”. I do always go home exhausted after watching so many great matches and all the excitement of this great tournament.

Does anyone know who Shilo Shaake lost to that knocked him out of the top 4 @ 10 Under 76?

i agree this tournament was ran better this year the finals parade was alot better than last year but this tourney did have one problem and thats stopping in the middle of the finals matches this could and may have cost a kid from winning

We had a great time at the Classic yesterday, some really exciting matches, I can't think of a better way to get the kids prepared for State and give them a good idea of what is out there, and who they may see. Thank you to all of the Classic coordinators for another great year of wrestling.

very good tourney, but you CAN'T stop the finals in the middle of a match!!!!!

I thought it was great!
There is alot of negative talk about the classic. I really can not understand it. We know that when we get there we are going to have some great matches and see some real talent.
Keep it up Wichita! Don't let all the negative talk stop you from doing it again.

this is not negative talk it is simply facts

I agree with most of everything posted here with a few exceptions.
1. Something needs to be done about how the kids are seeded, too many matches that should have been finals matches were wrestled early in the bracket. (for example: 10 & under 70 pounds we had 2 great wrestlers wrestling in the semifinals, Trevor Smith and Dakota Rodd who should not have met until the finals and Trevor ended up wrestling in the finals against an although good wrestler not nearly the competition he saw with Dakota, and Dakota did not have the chance to take 2nd which I believe he deserved). There were others that turned out the same way.
2. The restroom and concession lines were ridiculous. (not to mention the prices were ridiculous, why do you think everyone was going to Mcdonalds and pirating food in)

Over all a great tournament with great competition. See you next year.

What about the officatiang at the Classic?

I would like to know why wrestlers that didn't make weight were allowed to move to the next weight bracket at weigh ins. I thought no changes were allowed after the deadline. So much for working to keep your weight down. My son came in 7 lbs under I bet they wouldn't have let him drop a weight..

i thought some of the officials were horrible. does anyone know why a ref got kicked out. i'm not sure what happened there, but was told by a sheriff patrol that this happened.

Soda $3.50, hotdog $3.00, Pizza $5.00, Dippen Dots $6.00, Gate Fee $7.00, Seeding the brackets, long lines to one bathroom, stop the finals matches, ringworm, Parking by water tower, Hotel cost, $20.00 entry fee, and the always great smell of the HORSES. If parents are spending that kind of money for this event It's time to move to the BIG HOUSE next to the BARN. Chairs with backs, No Horse SMELL, No Ringworm. It's bad because as wrestler you can find out were you're at for state. My sons bracket his first match he wrestled a young man he had wrestled SIX TIMES this season and is less then 5 minutes from were we live. When you drive three hours and the young man you wrestle you have beat six times it not fair to you or the other wrestler. The top side of the bracket had all wichita kids and only one placed not one out the back. Why do we send in info for seeding if you can't pay .25 cents for track wrestling to make your barckets and seed your event. My sons have been to this event for the last 12 years we go because we want wrestle the best but I'm sorry to say we won't comeback. I wish it could be ran like Tulsa Nationals or Cliff King. I don't mind the cost if it's worth it.

We have been to this tournament for the last 6 years and my son has NEVER gotton ringworm from this tournament! This is one of the best ran tournaments we ever go to! Yes the price for food is crazy, but we always go to spangles and save money, or we bring stuff for sandwiches and snacks! We never buy anything from the concessions stands! It's not the wrestling clubs fault for high prices for concessions also they're not the ones who charge a $6.00 gate fee! This part is the colesium doing it's their prices not the clubs! We will continue to go to this tournament due to the very tough competition they have! This gets him more than ready for districts!

If you saw evidence of ringworm, you should have gotten with the head official. Via Christi did the skin checks, so call them with questions.

I HATED the classic. I saw a lot of bad officating that favored Wichita teams, but I guess that is what you get when you go to a tournament like that. Home team advantage!

I am a mother of a wrestler and don't attend many of the tournaments. When I went this weekend to see my son wrestle at one of the bigger tournaments held here in Kansas I was a bit shocked at the venue you had chosen to host this event. As I said I don't attend all of the tournaments but the ones I have gone to were enjoyble to watch.
According to my husband the preparation and scheduling of the matches seemed fairly well done and the competition was of good caliber, but I must say the venue was lacking!
We sat down on the floor to eat lunch as there was not enough tables to eat at and I could smell horse urine on my hands when I got up. As a family that has managed large animal operations, I know that it could have been more throughly sanitized and had a cleaner smell. Several disenfectants could have been used that would have eliminated the odor and any other harmful pathogens.
The restroom facilities were not adequate for the amount of people!
When I come to see wrestling matches it is very annoying not to be able to see, as people always tend to stand around the mats and block the view of the wrestling but at this venue there were many around me also aggravated that they couldn't see. During finals I did notice that all matches were stopped just to TRY to get people to at least sit near or in the bleachers.(although there was not enough seating and the facilty itself doesn't allow for seating to watch wrestling)
If you compare the venue to the T.O.C. in Salina, or any of the Roller events,the Brute events, USJOC, the Wichita Classic is lacking, and that is mainly because of the venue chosen to hold it in.
And then knowing that right next to the wrestling tournament, a gun show was being held in the Wichita collisium, (I have no problem with gun shows) but yet the kids had to wrestle on a horse barn floor while guns were being layed on tables in a nicer venue. As this is one of the bigger tournaments held in the state of Kansas I would think that it could be made possible to have it held in a venue that not only represents the sport of wrestling but also the State of Kansas in a better light. Until you change the venue, people will not recongnize the Wichita Classic as a higher caliber event but rather consider it just a wrestling tourny that is held in a horse barn.
It makes me think of the new Kansas motto/phrase .........~As BIG as you can think~ I think we CAN think bigger, it wouldn't take much.
Rebecca Schmidt/Chuck's mom

No, that was my point everyone is complaining about ringworm and I was stating that in all years my son has wrestled there he has never gotten ringworm from that tournament! Sorry for the confusion!


Did anyone see what happened on mat 8 when they had to call for security? Just curious!

we have wrestled in the classic ever since it used to be held downtown in the century II civic center. even though it is now held in a horse barn we have never gotten ringworm or any stomach sickness from wrestling there, have noticed the smell but not any worse than the smell of those knee pads, and have always had great competition there. will always wrestle in it even with traveling 6 hours to get there, way over priced food ant the gate admissions are fairly priced compared to other tournaments that you mention.

I was getting the munchies, so I walked into the concession stand and asked how much the M & Ms were, she said $3.00, and I walked out and said I can't swallow paying that for them, thanks anyway.

Noone is forced to buy anything at the concession stand. Lots of stuff within 5 minutes to run and get something to eat. I had my wife smuggle in a Subway for me.

I thought the competition was great for my son..Thats why we went to the classic this year for the first time..He did get IMPETIGO sometime during the day on mat #17..We didn't noticed it till saturday night after he showered..We'll deal with it as these things happen..But in the 81 total matches (8hours & we where #81) on his mat, no one ever cleaned the mat..Otherwise it was a great day of wrestling..

that mat was cleaned 2 times(before tourney started then before finals) my son was also on that mat!

depending on the strain of the bacteria Staph the incubation period period for impetigo is 2-5 days or 4-10 days

it would be nice if they had some of those mats with disinfectant to wipe your feet on before stepping on the mat to help cut down on the dirt on the mat but we instruct our kids like my parents instructed us that there are ways to help against the infection of bacteria like impetigo. ours is in the color or blue since we use dial.

all mats were mopped before the tournament started and before the parade of champions started. could things be better. maybe. nothing is perfect. those that didnt like it hey next year there will be plenty of mops and brooms for you to help out. i helped and watched people sitting in the chairs by the tables as we started taking them down and the people just watched and looked at me like what are you doing. would be nice if you would have gotten off your butt and maybe helped out a little bit. can never have enough help. I do thank those that did help out. I know there were some of the coaches and parents help and they were not on the list to help. thats what it takes to help with this kind of a tournament.

Just to clarify: The mats were mopped at about 7:00 am. Then again after the kids warmed up, at around 8:45 am, right before wrestling. They were then mopped again before the finals that night. A comment was made "But in the 81 total matches (8hours & we where #81) on his mat, no one ever cleaned the mat..". I'm sorry, but I've never been to a tourney that stopped in the middle of the action, and mopped mats. As a matter of fact, very few tourneys, if any, mop them twice the morning of the wrestling, and again before finals. That is 3 times in one day.

My son wrestled on mat #17...no skin problems so far! We used skin foam prior to the start of wrestling and he showered after and also went for a swim.

How do you think that makes Smith's opponent feel? The Cole brothers bring on plenty of competition!

That's why I made the comment that you can't get angry if your kid looses when you move them up a weight class- Rodd wreslted 67 all year long- he is a great wrestler but a different weight class brings on different competition- But some how my comment got deleated!

I agree with you totally. I thought it was odd that your post was deleted-I saw it once and never again.

Thank you!!! I knew it was there! That is what makes the Classic such a great tournament for the powerful matches but also for a learning tool as well- with the state tournament so close you are able to see what you need to work on or what you need to master- the Classic is a preview of what state may look like in your weight groups! My son made it to the match right before 3&4-and got beat but we now know what to work on. We are very proud of him for getting as far as he did.

By the way- didn't the classic wrestle out to 5&6 places in the past?

Oh, but the classic isn't what state will look like. My son went to state last year, no crappy reffing, no home team advantage!! I saw a lot of that at the classic. Like my son said, "he got warned once for stalling and stalled the whole 3rd period without a penalty point awarded." But then again, the kid was from Wichita!!! That isn't like state. Plus, on a completely different soap box, I know a dad who's son goes to various National tournaments and he says Park City was way more expensive in priceing. That's terrible for a tourney that is held in a barn!!

In the past 5 or 6 years they have not wrestled 5th & 6th places. Can't comment on before that because we weren't there.

I wasn't talking about the refs or the conditions of the building, I was refering to the level of competition!!!!! State is a different experience than the Classic due to the caliber of the tournament--Hopefully-- the "home town advantage" was not the factor because the Classic is in Park City--- but you can't tell me that does not happen in every tournament you go to!!!!

It does not matter what tournament you go to there is always going to be great refs and the you have the not so goods refs that have bad "judgment"!

The Classic was a great tournament!!

I am relatively new to the Classic. Only been a couple of times. Some things come to mind. Do the kids really care about the Parade of Champions? It seems like a long wait for a culminating match. Why not keep the matches going. It also seems like an awfully large tournament to not wrestle out to 6 places. One turnstile to enter and the restroom situation are huge problems. One of my sons wrestled on mat 17. No signs of a skin problem, yet. Sanitation was far above average. Overall, I still think it is a great opportunity to see some outstanding wrestling. The kids make it the tournament that it is. Great for Kansas Wrestling!!!

I do know that the parade matters to alot of the kids, and it is done at all the national tournament

i guess for those that want to bash this tournament then go somewhere else and stop complaining about the horse barn. its not like some of the highschool gyms are a whole lot better. it should be about the competition and not the parent complaining cause of the facilities. you have the choice to go or not. guess we wont be seeing any of you bashers in the future. thats fine by me. your the same people that would be down at matside yelling at the refs anyways or yelling at other coaches or other kids. not like we will miss those kind of parents anyways.