FS/GR State Petitions

To date I have received notification from:

Cody Phippen - Pan Am Games - Petition Received
Gavin Grater - Prom
Andrew Tujague - Knee Surgery/Injury - Petition Received

Cody Phippen - Pan Am Games - Petition Received
Gavin Grater - Prom
Andrew Tujague - Knee Surgery/Injury - Petition Received
Josiah Seaton - Medical - Petition Received

Class and weight they are petitioning for by chance?

Cody Phippen - Pan Am Games - Petition Received - 94
Gavin Grater - Prom - Petition Received 170
Andrew Tujague - Knee Surgery/Injury - Petition Received 138
Josiah Seaton - Medical - Petition Received 120
Bryan Burnett - Prom - Petition Received 145
Tyler Dickman - Prom

Cody Phippen - Pan Am Games - Petition Received - 94
Gavin Grater - Prom - Petition Received 170
Andrew Tujague - Knee Surgery/Injury - Petition Received 138
Josiah Seaton - Medical - Petition Received 113
Bryan Burnett - Prom - Petition Received 145
Tyler Dickman - Prom -
Drake Taysom - Injury - Petition Received 88
Zach Eck - Injury - Petition Received 120

Cody Phippen - Pan Am Games - Petition Received Cadet 94
Gavin Grater - Prom - Petition Received Junior 170
Andrew Tujague - Knee Surgery/Injury - Petition Received Junior 138
Josiah Seaton - Medical - Petition Received Junior 113
Bryan Burnett - Prom - Petition Received Junior 145
Drake Taysom - Injury - Petition Received Cadet 88
Zach Eck - Injury - Petition Received Junior 120
Zak Hensley - Injury - Petition Received Junior 132
Taylor Watkins - Injury - Petition Received Junior 160
Ray Gallegos - School Event - Petition Received Junior 285
Keaton Barnes - Injury - Petition Received Cadet 152

Cody Phippen - Pan Am Games - Petition Received Cadet 94
Gavin Grater - Prom - Petition Received Junior 170
Andrew Tujague - Knee Surgery/Injury - Petition Received Junior 138
Josiah Seaton - Medical - Petition Received Junior 113
Bryan Burnett - Prom - Petition Received Junior 145
Drake Taysom - Injury - Petition Received Cadet 88
Zach Eck - Injury - Petition Received Junior 120
Zak Hensley - Injury - Petition Received Junior 132
Taylor Watkins - Injury - Petition Received Junior 160
Ray Gallegos - School Event - Petition Received Junior 285
Keaton Barnes - Injury - Petition Received Cadet 152
Seth Pesek - Prom - Petition Received Junior 220

Cody Phippen - Pan Am Games - Petition Received Cadet 94
Gavin Grater - Prom - Petition Received Junior 170
Andrew Tujague - Knee Surgery/Injury - Petition Received Junior 138
Josiah Seaton - Medical - Petition Received Junior 113
Bryan Burnett - Prom - Petition Received Junior 145
Drake Taysom - Injury - Petition Received Cadet 88
Zach Eck - Injury - Petition Received Junior 120
Zak Hensley - Injury - Petition Received Junior 132
Taylor Watkins - Injury - Petition Received Junior 160
Ray Gallegos - School Event - Petition Received Junior 285
Keaton Barnes - Injury - Petition Received Cadet 152
Seth Pesek - Prom - Petition Received Junior 220
Sam Elliott - School Event - Petition Received Cadet 126
Doug Newcomb - Injury - Petition Received Junior 126

CADETS:
Drake Taysom - Injury - Petition Received Cadet 88
Cody Phippen - Pan Am Games - Petition Received Cadet 94
Sam Elliott - School Event - Petition Received Cadet 126
Keaton Barnes - Injury - Petition Received Cadet 152

JUNIORS:
Josiah Seaton - Medical - Petition Received Junior 113
Zach Eck - Injury - Petition Received Junior 120
Doug Newcomb - Injury - Petition Received Junior 126
Sean DeShazer - Changing weights - Petition Received Junior 126
Zak Hensley - Injury - Petition Received Junior 132
Andrew Tujague - Knee Surgery/Injury - Petition Received Junior 138
Bryan Burnett - Prom - Petition Received Junior 145
Isaac Dulgarian - Changing weights - Petition Received Junior 152
Taylor Watkins - Injury - Petition Received Junior 160
Gavin Grater - Prom - Petition Received Junior 170
Emilio Fowler - Placed at state - Petition Received Junior 195
Seth Pesek - Prom - Petition Received Junior 220
Ray Gallegos - School Event - Petition Received Junior 285

CADETS:
Drake Taysom - Injury - Petition Received - Cadet 88
Cody Phippen - Pan Am Games - Petition Received - Cadet 94
Dylan Gowin - State Placer - Petition Received - Cadet 100
Conner Ward - State Placer - Petition Received - Cadet 100
Corbin Nirschl - State Placer - Petition Received - Cadet 113
Jon Trowbridge - State Placer - Petition Received - Cadet 120
Zach Eck - Injury - Petition Received - Cadet 120
Collin Wallar - State Placer - Petition Received - Cadet 126
Sam Elliott - School Event - Petition Received - Cadet 126
Stuart Schafer - State Placer - Petition Received - Cadet 138 GR
Sammy Cokeley - Placed at state - Petition Received - Cadet 145
Keaton Barnes - Injury - Petition Received - Cadet 152
Nathan Fowler - State Placer - Petition Received - Cadet 285

JUNIORS:
Tanner Hitchcock - Cadet Champion - Petition Received - Junior 106
Josiah Seaton - Medical - Petition Received - Junior 113
Logan Treaster - State placer - Petition Received - Junior 113
Sean DeShazer - Changing weights - Petition Received - Junior 126
DJ Ballard - State Placer - Petition Received - Junior 126 FS
Zak Hensley - Injury - Petition Received - Junior 132
Andrew Tujague - Knee Surgery/Injury - Petition Received - Junior 138
Bryan Burnett - Prom - Petition Received - Junior 145
Isaac Dulgarian - Changing weights - Petition Received - Junior 152
Matt Pratt - Changing weights - Petition Received - Junior 160
Taylor Watkins - Injury - Petition Received - Junior 160
Gavin Grater - Prom - Petition Received - Junior 170
Emilio Fowler - Placed at state - Petition Received - Junior 195
Seth Pesek - Prom - Petition Received - Junior 220
Ray Gallegos - School Event - Petition Received - Junior 285

I think this is wrong the boys that worked hard and made there weight classes and worked there way in too the top three was for nothing just because someone couldn't it make there .In this sport there are No excuses My son wrestled at State folk style high School with a broken finger and bone infection but he was still there and did his best .

jim21,

I understand your perspective. There is a lot of merit to your point. To be honest, the group that discussed the petition idea wrestled with the challenge of kids changing weights for the duals. Basically here is the dilemma we face....

1. One of the goals is to try and get more participation in the state freestyle/greco tournament. In a perfect world we wouldn't need a petition system and you could just pick the winners of the state tournament in each style to be the primary team members.

2. We don't live in a perfect world. Given the timing of the tournament a lot of the kids have a bunch of school activities during the spring....graduations, proms, etc. We debated and discussed what should be legitimate reasons for allowing one to petition. Some folks thought that prom should not be a legitimate reason to miss the state tournament. This is a very valid perspective in that live is about making hard choices. The problem is that a lot of us felt that we shouldn't put the kids in a position where they have to make that choice. Therefore prom is a legitimate reason to petition.

3. We also debated the changing weight classes. For me personally, this is a tough one. I tend to think that the kids should not be allowed to change weights. The problem with that line of thinking is that we would probably lose a lot of kids because they are just now getting healed up from a long high school season. They have also been cutting weight for the high school season and it is pretty quick to ask them to turn around and get back down for the state tournament.

Can all of these be done....yes. Are there some hardcore folks out there that will say well if they want it bad enough they should have to do it...yes. The problem is that a lot of the kids will make the decision not to compete. The goal of this policy is to try and get the best kids for the dual teams, to grow the participation in freestyle and greco state, and to have some objective criteria for choosing the teams. It isn't perfect but we can always modify it if better ideas are developed.

Shawn Budke

Thank you Mr Budke