I noticed a lot of people stopped writing about Dukes after he was pinned in the Metro Classic. Did people finally get the clue that Dukes is not as dominating as people made him out to be? Just wondering where all the true 4-A fans went. If anyone else has something to say concerning other overrated 4-A wrestlers, this would be the post to add to.

Matt was barely behind when he went for something risky and ended up on his back. He could have been conservative and lost close to a two time Mo state champ, but he was there for one reason: to win. When two quality wrestlers meet one has to lose and they know that going in. A lesser wrestler may have shied away from this match.

What was the score to his match before he got pinned?

13-5 It was not close at all.

he was down 8-5 and was placed on his back , 8 to 5 is pretty close

4A is probably the toughest class to wrestle in. I know many people who agree with me. There are many great 4a wrestlers out there!!!!!!

the only class as tough as 4a is 123a.

If 4-A is the toughest class, then explain why Clay Center, the 4-A state champions got rocked at Newton.

well i am not suprised that he got caught on his back. his finals match was an out of control match, and he somehow ended up on top. it could have went either way, he is all about throws. from what i saw at state, if he doesn't get a good throw in, he'll have a tough time beating good kids!

ok i thought we were talking about overrated wrestlers not team duals. 4a is tough at each individual weight. in 5a and 6a there were a ton of people with losing records going in to the state tournament. 4a is by far the toughest class around.

Who's talking about duals? Newton was a tournament where the 4a team champion didn't even place in the top five. Sounds like a tough class.

This is an old yet entertaining arguement. I have coached in every classification in the state of Kansas in my time. It is cyclical and changes every year, heck sometimes every month. There just isnt a whole heck of a lot to choose from when you compare the classifications. There are a lot of good kids in all those weights and now days where kids wrestle a more statewide schedule they can accumulate some losses and still be pretty darn good. I vote for the idea that there just isnt much difference in it. I will say one thing it is harder to get to state in the lower classifications because they have to go thru bigger tourneys to get there but that is a matter of staying focused and taking more chances to get there rather than a basic difference in talent level or skill level. Why would there be an inherent difference in any classification, they are all high school kids, they weigh the same and they all have to put it out there on the mat. Your heart might tell you there is but my experience tells me there isn't.

I would have to say that 4 a would be the toughest all the way through the brackets as far as 1-16. Five a is tough but there is usually a couple of studs in each weight and thats it but I would say that 5 and 4 a are by far the toughest. With 6a third and 321a is is easy really.

4a is the toughest hands down, from regionals to placing at state. Winning state is just as tough to do if not a little bit tougher depending on the weight at 6a. I don't know too much about 321a except that it is the only class besides 4a that has 16 man brackets at regionals. It is easiest to qualify for 5a state without a doubt, but a state champion is exactly that and I wouldn't want to take that away from anybody.

One more reason for Grand State

Pretty hard to make those arguments on a one year basis. It is so fluid, and changes every single year. A couple of years ago 6A had four teams that had thourghly trounced every team in the state with Garden City, Manhatten, Wichita West, Wyandotte, and Emporia. The next year it was Ark City, Goddard, Salina South, Schlagle (hard to believe but true in 92), and Bishop Carrol. Then 4A got rolling for a year or so with Abilene, Goodland, Columbus, Concordia and others. Don't be so sure that 3A is ever easy, those northwest Kansas boys have been joined by Ellsworth and some others. It is strictly year by year. Until Manhatten suffered some injuries this year they were far and away the best in the state, ask Platte County Missouri who was nationally ranked how they liked them, it was their only tourney loss and that included a win over Lewis Central, Iowa who was nationally ranked. If you are going to say some class is tough you have to have some facts to back them up. Wrestling is best viewed in a long lense glass. One year is a blink of an eye to a sport that has been around for 2000 years.

4A is down in several weights this year. I think you will again see 3A will win a majority of their matches at the east west classic, even though several of the champs are underclassmen and 3A is represented by some 3rd place people.

The 4 a fan club is still here and standing strong, there isn't much to talk about right now just wait for the east west classic and nationals........Oh and to who ever posted that Dukes match was luck and that they just tossed each other around and said it could go anyway is crazy I was there and Dukes controlled the match the whole time and new exactley what to do to win.Its also stupid to say if he can't get a throw in he can't win, yeah he throws alot if you could do it like he does you would stick to that move to. It didn't do him wrong his whole senior wrestling season.............But like I said the 4a fans are still here

How did Dukes know exactly what to do to win and control the whole match if he was down when he got stuck? Not sure how you can figure that. I have found it very hard to say anyone who is losing is controlling a match, make some sense next time.

Calm down I was talking about his State Championship match. sorry about the misunderstanding