The final results and all the place winners will be forthcoming but I felt it was necessary to write a bit about the trip. It started at the Southern Plains camp held at Ft. Hays State University. Current, past, and future Ft. Hays wrestlers coached this four-day camp.

I feel it is warranted to mention these fine young men by name and in so doing hope I don’t leave anyone out. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, Joe Renfro and Scott Rieck were the leaders at camp and Ryan Phillips, Chas Thompson, Aaron Meister, Jordan Nichols, Tyler Gonzales, Andrew Ubben, and Danny Grater assisted them. Also at camp was a guest clinician, Mr. Eddie Woody, an accomplished freestyle and Greco competitor who represented both Ft. Hays and the US Army in his career.

Camp broke and about 55 wrestlers and 5 coaches left for Carlsbad, New Mexico. We left at 11 pm and drove throughout the night arriving around 10:30 the next morning. After a quick stop at the motel to unload gear it was off to the venue for a practice session. Afterwards it was back on the bus, back to the motel to check in, a meal for some, and a brief rest. Brief, should be underlined and highlighted, because at 2:30 in the afternoon we were back at the venue, Carlsbad High School, preparing to undergo the administration and weight check.

After weighing in, was one of the highlights of the trip for me. A wrestling team from New Zealand was touring the States and was in Carlsbad for the weekend. They had sent an inquiry looking for teams interested in a dual competition and Bob Phillips jumped at the opportunity. We matched up our Cadets and a few Schoolboys with their team, which were all FILA Cadets and Juniors. We wrestled 19 matches and won 17. I’ll say that again our Team Kansas wrestlers matched up against a select group from New Zealand and competing against older combatants, represented the United States and Kansas extremely well. One member of their team had won their National Championship for the past four years and he was pitted against Romero Cotton. The whistle sounded to end this bout and the score was Romero 4 and New Zealand 0. It was an outstanding performance and a good tuneup for the next two days.

Friday was Greco day! Being a bit of a Greco-head myself I was really looking forward to this. As I’ve said, actual results will be posted later but Team Kansas did extremely well. I should add, that about 15 Kansans who, while not a part of the camp, joined us for the tourney now joined Team Kansas. We had several champs and a ton of placers on this day of Greco.

We ended out competition day about 3:30 pm and headed a local river park for a little picnic and the opening ceremonies for the event. A highlight of this trip for the boys at least was a visit by the “snakeman!” A local gent was riding through the park and around his neck was a snake. Yes … a snake … a 6 ½ foot, 25 pound, Rainbow tailed Boa!

Also at the ceremonies Ryan Phillips presented a competitor from each state, the Bob Cairnes award. Ryan had received this award himself about ten years ago. The winner from Kansas was Mark Kolmer, a truly deserving young man. The balance of the evening the got some much needs time-off.

Saturday morning it was back to business and I should say that business was good, very good. As a State we again harvested a ton of precious metal and a lot of it was gold. We crowned a few double winners and dominated a few brackets. Team Kansas had the largest number of entries but I would suggest that a higher percentage of placers than any other represented the Sunflower State.

At the time of this writing we are on the bus, about to enter Texas, and about to catch up to some thunderheads. I understand that in Kansas most of you have been having a few storms over the past three days. Maybe you’ll find some solace in knowing while it might be rainy in Kansas, in New Mexico the harvest was exceptional!

p.s. We arrived back in Hays at 6:30 in the morning. We finally caught the storm we were chasing in Amarillo and had to seek a little reprieve from the hailstones for about 10 minutes. Also, I have to commend all those that made this trip!

A Great Big Thank you goes out to Randy for the fantastic update. And Thank you to the adult Coaches/Volunteers/Chaperones for being there to guide the youth and just being there for them and serving as great role models and all the sacrifices you all make and to the youth for all their sacrifices & hard work and successes and positive behavior. Sounds like a very rewarding experience for all involved. You can't put a price-tag on these kinds of what are many times life altering events in forms of eye openers or motivational factors, comraderie, drive to succeed etc. for the youth. Way to REPRESENT!! Team Kansas ....... Kevin Calhoon, Doniphan County Grizzlies Club

Check out the results if you haven't done so. Kansas has many to be proud of, and to those that didn't place, realize that your very participation, being a practice partner and so forth helps our state. All of our wrestlers help our state to shine. Congrats and thanks to all of the wrestlers, even those that didn't place.

This was our last year at Southern Plains and it was a pain to have to leave camp early with my son and for him to not be able to attend. We all have to learn to live with disappointment, but realize that through tough times comes tough warriors, just don't quit. While many may not win a championship, no champion exists without those who are willing to bust their butts just as hard, without the hardware to go along with the award. I have never lost site of that and would hope that wrestlers don't either. For every championship medal, there is likely someone in the practice room, and at the tournament, that without their efforts those championships would not be possible.