758 25.1%
Newton
660 21.9%
Basehor
499 16.5%
Beloit
349 11.6%
Derby
164 5.4%
Other
125 4.1%
Eudora
120 4%
Valley Center
100 3.3%
Colby
90 3%
Gardner
75 2.5%
Rose Hill
59 2%
Liberal
20 0.7%
Now that all of the top five tournaments have been wrestled and the votes are in the poll says Garden City and I say Garden City so there is really no point in belaboring it any further!
Next year it might be different but this year it, to me, was indisputable.
Now, I want to know what I have to gain by saying this is the toughest tournament? I went to three of the top five and I reviewed the data for all three (nationally ranked wrestlers, state ranked wrestlers, state ranked teams, and then compared the results) and now this is said:
Cokeley is only promoting his son & causses. His son is very good and doesn't need his dad's help. Each week and match is different. All wrestlers don't go to several camps and wrestle year round at a lot of out of state tournaments. Some have other interest and part time jobs and their parents can't afford for their kids to do this. As Cokeley once said to me, there are the have's and have not's when it comes to money and how they spend it. The money he has spent to help his son get a scholarship may have been invested to do the same thing, just in case the scholarship didn't come through.
How am I helping Ryne by promoting the GC Tournament? I am just promoting wrestling! I help ALL wrestlers not just my boys. Heck, Vernon, I would help yours too! I also like to support my statement that Kansas HS wrestling, in general, is lagging behind other states. None of this has anything to do with scholarships??? I am not sure when I have ever talked to Vernon because I don't even know who he is?? I have said over and over, I would be stupid to be doing what I do for my son and others if it were for scholarships. I could just save the money I spend and pay for him and the rest of my boys to go to college! It is about building character, work ethic, dedication, commitment, and friendships.
At the end of the day I can say I spent nearly every weekend with my sons when they were growing up. It is quality family time! My boys can set goals and I will help them in any way I can to reach them. Sometimes reaching the goal isn't near as valuable as the road traveled on the way to achieving them. To me that is what it is about.
