The rankings are what they are, one mans opinion who happens to do a lot of research, and spend a lot of time. Does that make them right? Nope, but I will say, they are still fun. The personal attacks though, they are uncalled for. If you don't like the rankings, do your own thing, do your own rankings. I agree with Chief, maybe giving some justification would be a good thing. I will be the first to tell you, I personally believe you can take any of the top 10, and come up with an argument on any given day. I also believe that you can take a kid from a weight class up and down and come up with an argument in a different weight class, but those are all besides the point. I for one am glad Eric takes the time to do these, even if I disagreed with some of the rankings, and I do, I wouldn't blast the guy unless I was willing to say something here with some substance.

These are just his opinions. Chief gives no credit to my son and I used to take offense. Since then my son and his dad have got to talk with the 103lb kids and parents and to me those are the opinions that count. The ones that are on the mat together. So lets hear from the wrestlers: RANK YOUR WEIGHT CLASS. I'm sure there will be some shake ups in chiefs rankings. I'm sure Chief never expected my son on the stands this weekend but his opponents did.

Michelle Kmiec

Yeah, don't be hating on the Chief. He is a good dude. If you don't like his ranking - spend the time and energy to create YOUR own. And, don't forget your criteria.

As Teddy Roosevelt said, 'its not the critic who counts, but the one who is in the ring getting bloodied.' Something like that. I got the full quote on my upstairs computer. I'll add it later if I remember.

Thanks Chief for you labor of love. I have enjoyed it.

Dean

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." Teddy Roosevelt, 1899

To help some of you read between the lines... Chief is the one that dares 'mighty things' with his rankings. The one's that whine about his rankings yet have none of their own - fall under the second part of the passage ('poor spirits . . . ').

I'm not hating on anyone I just know I had a hard time with his rankings and decided that it is just his opinion and have decided that the opinions of the wrestlers themselves have more validation to me since they are the ones on the mat.

Sounds good. Opinions are just opinions. Kind of like noses. Everybody has one.

And, on just about any day - just about any of the top 3 can beat each other as was evident by kids that got their first lost to a particular kid that they have never lost to before (happens every year at state).

So, even the kid's opinions don't amount to much.

For example, I don't think Feldkamp (sp?) had EVER beat Nelson (with Nelson probably beating Feldkamp at least 4 times) prior to the finals on Saturday night. . .

Take care.

BTW, hate was too strong of word. My apologizes. My students use it in a joking manner and I was picking up on their lingo. They say things like, "don't hate the player -- hate the game." Then they laugh . . .

Let the rankings rest. We decided who was the best last weekend. If you are in the top 6 in your class, then that puts you in the top 24 overall, maybe. If you have 10 or 15 losses then you probably will not get ranked in the the overall top 10, because the guys there do not have that bad of a record. These are subjective, do not count and so what is the big deal? Eric spends all his time for free to make this fun and 9 out of 10 criticize him. Usually the criticism is from people who have a poor record or a poor schedule.

Tom Williams

No need to apologizes I know what you ment. I'm just a mom getting frustrated cuz she thinks her son is a top contender. (Don't we all).

The" wrestlers themselves" opinions may have more validation than chief,but their opinions I think would be less unified than that of the fans.I think most of the placers believe that they are the best,thats the kind of attitude it takes for most to reach the medal stand,even in defeat they think they should of won and will beat the winner next time.

Agreed. Well said esj.

2x second place winner > 2x 6th place winner


Logan Singular > Cody Beasly


not to hard there

I'm not bent, just like you said it's like the bcs a joke....

It is amazing that there are still posters that make sweeping general comments without any specifics.

Congratulations to your son's achievement at State! The All-Class rankings are TEN wrestlers deep at each weight. It is certainly not intended to offend anyone. With 4 State tournaments, we have 24 wrestlers that place. Fourteen of them will not make the top ten. Aspen had a fine season and I have heard many complimentary things about him. In the end, he finished 4th in 5A. He pinned Dakin, beat Dean by 5 and Williams by 2. I had several conversations with those that saw his win earlier in the season over Seybold and when Aaron beat him 14-2 at State, that confirmed my thoughts. Along with the other seven losses, I could not justify a top ten All-Class ranking. To say that I didn't expect him to place in 5A is reaching.

Chief,
I’ve really enjoyed reading your rankings this season but what gives…how can you move Maple into a tie with Napier in the final rankings at 135? What did you see this weekend that would make you think they are now even?

Napier pinned #4 (Hood, 34-2) in the semi finals and gave #3 (Anderson 38-0) a takedown lesson in the finals of 4A that wasn't even close?

Maple beat Wagner who had 11 loses in the finals of 6A, but other than Maple no other kid in the bracket is even listed in the All Class Rankings.

…and I believe Napier beat Maple last summer in both freestyle and greco?

A critical point that many posters are missing....

Disagreements are fine and I have never taken them personally. I have solicited help from every willing source to improve the accuracy of the rankings. I can search results for many hours each week and still miss common opponents or even head-to-heads. What doesn't contribute to the rankings are vague comments or generalities. I have stated clearly many times that I appreciate any material criteria. Hundreds of times I have taken that criteria and changed the rankings. What I can't do is try to guess what someone means when they say that "I'm just biased". That adds nothing to the conversation.

With 4 classes across the state, there are many times when there are no commons or head-to-heads. Quality wins or State tournament placing's have to be considered. At the end of the day, I have just tried to have fun with the rankings and enjoy trying to promote Kansas wrestlers. I can assure you that I spend a lot of time every day attempting to make them accurate. For anyone to really think that I have something personal against your wrestler ask yourself, why would I? I have helped assemble many of our National dual teams and I sponsor a Kansas team for the Park Hill duals every year. Like everybody that loves this sport, I just want the best wrestlers that Kansas has to offer to represent our state.

Again, disagreements actually help the rankings as long as they are accompanied by criteria. Emotional comments without rationale are just noise.

Good points regarding FS and Greco. And, someone told me that CJ would be too smart and too fast and too good on his takedowns to let it be decided down on the mat. Meaning, he would take Maple down, then let him up and try to repeat the process. Much like he did in his final this year. They are both VERY IMPRESSIVE athletes and I hope I get to see them wrestle each other one time in folkstyle before they move on to the next level.

Good luck and congrads to both.

In Chief I trust!

It is not Maple's fault he has no competition. Therefore, it is/was hard to tell how good he really is. Who did Maple beat that was the caliber of say a Ryne Cokeley this year?

When one handles an undefeated wrestler in the finals, and one beats Ryne Cokeley during the regular - I'm IMPRESSED.

Good post. I know C.J. Napier very well. He is an elite wrestler. I have had him ranked #1 all season and he did nothing to disappoint. In Freestyle, I would rank him above Maple every time. What has changed over the last year is the improvement of Kendric Maple. Four of the five Big 12 schools are not interested in him for nothing. He has been dominant and I know personally that many of the states top wrestlers have scattered from his weight class. We will hopefully see these two warriors battle in the Big/Small dual.