I started to see who has beat who and what not for seeding...then I decided I had enough time in this. I tried to get the most up to date records and likely starters but I'm sure I missed a few. It is roughly where I think the dust will settle though. 157, 184, and 141 are the top weights to watch in my opinion.


1st Annual Kansas Cup Preview

Participating Teams :

Baker University (BU) 4-0 Unranked in NAIA
Colby Community College (CCC) 2-3 and Ranked #9 in NJCAA
Fort Hays State University (FHSU) 5-3 and Ranked #17 in NCAA Division II
Labette Community College (LCC) 12-1 and Ranked #5 in NJCAA
Neosho County Community College (NCCC) 4-5 and Unranked in NJCAA
Newman University (NU) 1-4 and Unranked in NCAA Division II
Pratt Community College (PCC) 3-4-1 and Ranked #14 in NJCAA


125

Tommy Edgemon (5-2; Sr; Ranked #1 DII; 2009 DII Runner-Up) FHSU
Derek Steeley (20-3; Fr; Ranked #5 NJCAA) NCCC
Colin Hase (13-14; So; 2009 National Qualifier) LCC
Alan Callahan (19-13; Fr) BU
Jesse Barber (11-12; RSFr) PCC
Blake Ward (2-4; Fr) NU
Cody Wark (3-16; So) CCC

133

Donnie Curtis (22-10; So; 2009 NJCAA AA; Ranked #7 NJCAA) LCC
Travis Kuhn (10-9; RSSo) FHSU
Trae Treleaven (6-4; Fr) NU
Brent Luedke (11-10; So) CCC
Robb Waters (13-12; So) BU
Montana Carson (8-12; So) NCCC
Todd Fitzgerald (0-5; RSSo) PCC

141

Andre Harrison (15-4; RSJr; Ranked #2 DII; 2008 NJCAA AA) FHSU
Ramon Willis (14-2; Fr; Ranked #4 NJCAA) PCC
Cameron Jesseph (16-14; Fr) LCC
Blake Fischer (5-5; RSJr; Ranked #8 DII) NU
Luis Camacho (11-10; Fr) CCC
Joshua Wolfe (9-12; Fr) NCCC
Brett Delich (12-15; RSFr) BU

149

Raufeon Stots (22-6; RSSo; 2009 NJCAA AA; Ranked #7 NJCAA) LCC
Levi Younkin (9-9; Sr; NJCAA AA) FHSU
Urban Everett (4-5; Fr) CCC
Justin Ringgold (5-18; So) NCCC
Chris Wright (13-14; So; 2009 NJCAA Qualifier) PCC
Brent Fischer (11-11; RSFr) NU
Chris Atlakson (2-13; Fr) BU


157

Chase Nelson (31-2, Ranked #2 NJCAA) LCC
Sanjaa Ganbayar (17-1, Ranked #3 NJCAA; So; ’09 NJCAA Champ) CCC
Danny Grater (11-5, Ranked #6 DII; Returning AA) FHSU
Nathan Sommer (16-12; Fr) BU
Shawn Thomas (6-3; FrNCCC
Mitch Arnold (10-12; So) NU
Scott Wise (2-10; So) PCC


165

Blake Malloy (18-5; Sr; Ranked #8 DII;) FHSU
Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (18-1; So; Ranked #1 NJCAA; 2009 NJCAA AA) CCC
Allen Rutherford (21-10; RSSo; 2009 NJCAA AA; Ranked #7 NJCAA) LCC
Michael Vieira (14-13; Fr; Ranked #9 NJCAA) NCCC
Austin Workman (12-11; RSSo) NU
Travis Budke (12-13; So; Ranked #11 NJCAA; 2009 NJCAA AA) PCC
Jakob Price (8-12; Fr) BU


174

Chad Wright (29-3; RSFr; Ranked #1 NJCAA) LCC
Shawn Kuhlman (11-6; Sr) FHSU
Alex Feldkamp (12-9; Fr) PCC
Clarence Jordan (16-13; Jr) BU
Jonathan Hill (7-8; Fr) CCC
David Butler (8-12; So) NCCC
Blake Fullbright (2-12; Fr) NU


184

Chance Rencountre (10-6; Jr; 2008 NJCAA AA) FHSU
Derek Thompson (18-12; So; 2009 NJCAA AA; Ranked #7 NJCAA) LCC
Jacob Nowak (15-9; Fr) BU
Rapahael Manous (13-11; Fr; Ranked #11 NJCAA) NCCC
Ralph Major (11-14; So; 2009 NJCAA Qualifier) PCC
Tyler Hasenbank (8-11; Fr) NU
Eli Jackson (2-2; Fr) CCC


197

Walker Clarke (7-4; RSSo; Ranked #6 NJCAA) LCC
Nick Kriss (6-4; So) CCC
Tyler Downs (15-4; So; Ranked #11 NJCAA; 2009 NJCAA Qualifier) PCC
Brandon Gebhardt (17-9; Fr) BU
Brandan Ewertt (7-5; So) NU
Steven Kyler (12-12; Fr) FHSU
Jon Arnold (2-16; Fr) NCCC


HWT

Levi Calhoun (5-2; Sr) BU
Pat Fletcher (13-10;Fr; Ranked #11 NJCAA) CCC
Justin Glenn (8-8; RSSo) FHSU
Jeff O-Daniel (10-19; Fr) LCC
Jake Kober (2-2; RSFr) NCCC
Austin Hamm (10-15; Fr) PCC
Ryan Cox (0-1; Jr) NU

Any predictions out there?

That 157 bracket is going to have some entertaining matches. Sanjaa has only lost to Nelson in SV and neither have wrestled Grater. Nelson and Grater have a mutual opponent that they both beat by four points. Nelson is hot, Sanjaa is hot, and Grater is wrestling very well right now. If this bracket doesn't get you excited...your not a wrestling fan.

I hope they wrestle for a true 1st in that bracket at least.

I think it will be interesting in the team race with Fort Hays and Labette being very close. Everyone else will be looking up from third and below.

It will definitely be a tight team race for first.

157...Yeah, it will all boil down to seeding. One guy will have two tough matches and two guys will have one tough match. We have already seen the Nelson vs. Sanjaa (and will again at least once)...how about a round robbin between those three...that's worth the price of admission.

The word on the street is that Sanjaa will be down a weight in the near future. Maybe the last chance for Chase to meet him this weekend.

Does anyone have the physical address where the tournament is being held?

Date- Sunday, January 31, 2010

Where- Newman University, Fugate Gymnasium

Time- 9:00 AM (Finals will be on one mat at 3:00 PM)

Questions- Ryan Smith, Head Wrestling Coach
smithry@newmanu.edu
Office- (316) 942-4291 Ext. 2447
Cell- (316) 617-9025

JD Johnson, Assistant Wrestling Coach
johnsonjef@newmanu.edu
Cell- (316) 737-4286

Abdurahkmanov wrestled up to 174 against Pratt. Any indication he may switch weights too?

Abdurahkmanov will not be moving up a weight. He was just filling a hole at that weight as Colby's 174 pounder is MIA. I'm pretty certain Abdurahkmanov will be at 165 for the rest of the season. Sanjaa will wrestle 157 at the Kansas Cup but go 149 for regionals and nationals. Sanjaa weighed in 3 pounds under weight for the Pratt dual. Abdurahkmanov and Sanjaa have not cut weight all season and both will more than likely wrestle a weight below at the next level.

It's ON at 157 then!

Word on the street is that Colby is trying to cancel out of the Kansas Cup. Flu bug is rampant out there I guess. Would be interesting to see if that story matches the story give to other teams that may be competing. What a shame. Colby had a couple of impact players, but if they cant make it, they cant make it.

Ridiculous!

Really…18 guys and you couldn’t field a team because they are sick....Really! Bring what you got then. This is suppose to be an event to build the Kansas wrestling community.

By the way folks…here’s a quote for you from Steve Lampe himself about the Kansas Cup: “If rotation never comes West I will never participate.” Yes, that’s a quote.

Let's hear it Colby CC...is the whole team really sick or is this a cop out?

nothing for colby to lose. especially considering the program is in danger of going under. but i also dont see why the event isn't being hosted by the juco schools. kind of a slap in the face. got a feeling the ks jucos will do quite well in this event. sunday cant come soon enough!

Well let see here - Labette, Neosho, Pratt have traded traveling duals with each other this year. Some Teams traveled to Ft Hays, Baker, Labette for their tournaments. Even some teams have dualed Newman.

Now lets look at who Colby has traveled this year - Hmmm Baker Tournament and a dual with Pratt - thats it!!! We all travel out to Colby in a few weeks for Regionals. What CRY BABIES!!!! If we can't play out here at Colby, we arn't going to play!!! waaawaaa!!

To bad, they have some excellent wrestlers that desired to be here at this tournament.

Tell those wrestlers that "desired" to be there to call one of the jucos in SEK and talk to their coach about coming. I hear he has offered travel money, lodging, entry money and meal money to any CCC wrestler wanting to attend. Still time to get to wichita. Weigh ins are not til 7 AM.

can't we all just get along?

I think that was the whole idea behind the Kansas Cup but one guy doesn't want to play cause his international Golden Boy might get beat. It's pathetic but I'm over it.

Wish I could be there. It sounds like a webcast is a no go. If there is anybody that would like to pull that off talk to Coach Smith and see if you can get access to the wireless signal on campus (assuming there is one). That ustream.tv site that Labette used for a couple duals sounds and looks very straight forward. I know they just used a wireless connection, a video camera and a laptop (make sure the sleep mode is turned off). Somebody? Anybody?

There is wireless access and if someone wants to manage it--I am all for it. I just didn't give my SID enough notice and I don't have time to do it. Sorry.

Anybody have any results?

semis

125
edgmon fh vs barber pcc
hase lab vs steeley neo

133
fisher new vs kuhn fh
curtis lab vs carson neo

141
harrison fh vs fisher new
jesseph lab vs delich bak

149
stots lab vs hurla bak
wright pcc vs younkin fh

157
grater fh vs kopfman
sommer bak vs nelson lab

165
malloy fh vs budke pcc
eaton neo vs rutherford lab

174
wright lab vs pace bak
feldkamp pcc vs kuhlman fh

184
rencountre fh vs major pcc
hassenbank new vs novak bak

197
clarke lab vs kyler fh
gebhardt bak vs downs pcc

285
calhoon bak vs kober neo
weske lab vs glenn fh

thompson labette 184 in def; weske in the lineup @ hwt for labette!

125
edgmonj fh wbd 3-2 barber pcc
steeley neo wbd 13-8 hase lab

133
kuhn fh wbd 3-1 ot fisher new
curtis lab wbf carson neo

Thanks Tim! Did Thompson look hurt bad? I knew there was a possibility that Weske would get in there and bang this weekend. O'Daniel has struggled and this is the last chance to make adjustments. If Weske does good this weekend I think he gets the spot. Glenn will be a good challenge for him. Clarke vs. Kyler should be a good one this round too.

141
jesseph lab wbd 3-2 delich bak
harrison fh wbd 6-3 fisher new

thompson has a rib injury. something he'll have to push through down the stretch. has 2 weeks to get healthy.

Good semi's matches so far!

Rib injuries are no good.

149
stots lab wbd 10-8 hurla bak
younkin wbmd 17-4 wright pcc

157
nelson lab wbf sommer bak nelson is 2-0 on the day wrestled for 30 seconds!
grater fh wbtf 20-3 kopfman pcc

Hays vs. Labette finals other than Steeley so far. I think Steeley could clip Edgemon too.

hays is flexing their muscles so far. look to be wrestling with a chip on their shoulder. labette clear # 2 as of 157
165
rutherford lab wbf eaton neo
malloy fh wbd 3-2 budke pcc

We'll FHSU is the favorite to win in my mind but Labette will be right there ready to clip them. Labette is a better pinning team though and that makes up for being down at a couple weights. Thompsons being out hurts pretty bad though. Nelson and Grater are going to get it on! Both of those guys are wrestling hot!

174
feldkamp pcc wbf kuhlman fh
wright lab wbd 3-2 pace bak
hays and labette with 6 finalists so far

184
nowak bak wbf hassenbank new
rencountre fh wbd 9-6 major pcc

197
clarke lab wbd 9-5 kyler fh
downs wbd 3-1 gebhardt bak

Seven finalists a piece now...HWT is key.

Clarke lookin good?

285

Calhoun bkr wbf OT over Kober neo
Glenn fh wbd 7-2 over Weske lab

Team Scores
115.5 FHSU
96 Lab
35 Bak
18 Neo
15 Pratt
10 NU

Finals:

125 Edgemon (FHSU) vs. Steeley (NCCC)
133 Curtis (LCC) vs. Kuhn (FHSU)
141 Harrison (FHSU) vs. Jesseph (LCC)
149 Stots (LCC) vs. Younkin (FHSU)
157 Nelson (LCC) vs. Grater (FHSU)
165 Malloy (FHSU) vs. Rutherford (LCC)
174 Wright (LCC) vs. Feldkamp (PCC)
184 Rencountre (FHSU) vs. Nowak (BU)
197 Clarke (LCC) vs. Downs (PCC)
HWT Glenn (FHSU) vs. Calhoun (BU)

Man...there are some nice match ups there. I think 125, 133, 149, and 157 will all be some tight ones that can go either way. My predictions....25's will be tight and look for Steeley to ride Edgemon but Edgemon will win a 3-2 match. 133 really interesting match up that plays into Curtis's hands slightly. 141s I think Harrison will be too much for Jesseph but look for an entertaining match. 149s will be a fun one too. I think Stots will get him but Younkin can get it on when he wants to. 157's I'm predicting a tight match with a 3rd period Pin by Nelson. I think they will exchange some TDs though. 165 Malloy and Rutherford will be low scoring and probably decided by one takedown with Malloy winning. 174 Wright will beat Feldkamp as he has already has. 184s I think Rencountre will beat Nowak but I don't know much about Nowak. 197 Clarke will beat Downs as he has already done. HWT...I don't know anything about Calhoun but Glenn is wrestling well.

3rd place match results

125
hase lab wbd 4-2 ot barber pcc

133
fischer new wbf carson neo

141
fischer new wbd 8-3 delich bak

149
arnold new wbd 4-2 6ot ringgold neo

157
spencer new wbd 11-8 sommer bak

165
workman new wbd 3-1 ot price bak

174
kuhlman fh wbd 8-2 pace bak

184
hassenbank new wbd 11-7 major pcc

197
gebhardt bak wbf kyler fh

285
kober wbd 3-1 weske lab

team scores

fhsu 120.5
labette 117
baker 89
pratt 77
newman 72.5
neosho 67

newman had a great back side run. nice work coach smith and the jets.
finals next!

They sure did! Nice work Jets! Things are tight heading into the finals.

I got a verbal update...

Edgemon won over Steeley
Kuhn won over Curtis
Harrison over Jesseph
Stots over Younkin in a wild match
Grater and Nelson are gettin' in on!

125
edgmon fh wbd 3-1 steeley neo

133
kuhn fh wbd 6-3 curtis lab

141
harrison fh wbd 7-4 jesseph lab

149
stots lab wbd 7-6 with riding time younkin fh

157 match of the tourney!

nelson lab wbd 13-8 grater fh
1st period;grater t2, nelson e1, nelson t2 nf3 headlock, grater r2, nelson e1
2nd period; nelson e1
3rd period; grater e1,nelson t2 nf3, grater e1, grater t2, nelson e1
great scrambles. great match

165
malloy wbd 4-3 rutherford lab

174
wright lab wbd 5-2 feldkamp pcc

184
rencountre fh wbd 4-1 nowak bak

197
clarke lab wbmd 14-3 downs pcc

Thanks for all the updates! This Baker fan in California appreciates it.

285
glenn fh wbf calhoun bak


fhsu team champs 134.5
labette 125
baker 89

chase nelson ow

Yes, Big thanks Tim. Also, Kudos to Coach Smith for spearheading this awesome event. Congrats to the Tigers....winner's of the first Kansas Cup!

6 champs for FHSU and 4 for Labette. Baker with a respectable showing and two finalists!

well, this event sure lived up to all my expectations. fhsu had a good energetic crowd. the turnout was a little lower than i expected with the tough wrestling programs in the wichita area. the finals packed the place and brought a little energy though. i was really impressed with coach thompson fhsu team. i thought there were 2 ways they could come into this tourney. one, being the favorite with what some would say "more to lose" and wrestle tight and "not to lose". or they could come out and set the tone early that they were the best team there. as a team they were relentless. they pushed the action, spent no time on bottom, and flat came out to win. nice work tigers.
the cards had a fine day. will get healthy and make a serious run @ the national title. nelson vs grater was as good as advertised. tcob labette!
newman and baker are headed in the right direction. hope they pick up more of our kansas juco guys. 6 3rd place finishes for coach smith and host newman tells me they can finish strong. 7 top 4 finishes for baker. good looking team for jimmy may.
pratt had a rough semi round lost 5 of 7. should rebound for the qualifier. i like a lot of their athletes. a healthy pratt team can be fun to watch.
neosho obviously wasnt @ full strenght. its tough because this event drew a lot of attention and bottom line it doesnt look good for the panthers. they are a better team and will show it @ regionals. not a fan of the timeouts called by kober in every match.

as for colby; "you stay classy" nothing against their athletes. good luck

I thought the gate was larger than I expected but you're right, as usual there was no support from area clubs and schools.
I have one suggestion to the coaches of the colleges involved, PROGRAMS! Please let us help you in any way and this would be an easy one to let the people on these boards help you get programs made to be distributed.
Thanks to those responsible for putting this event together and those that showed up.

Why didn't Colby CC attend?

Sickness, Injury, & a lineup with a few holes

A couple with the flu, at least one with impentigo, and several open weights... better to get rested/healed for regionals/nationals than to take a patchwork team to a tournament that essentially means nothing (not that it doesn't in KS but in the regional/nations scheme it doesn't).

match-ups with the juco teams could have affected some of their regional seeds. neosho was also not at full strength, but brought what they had and at least mixed it up. side note: i think the club teams should participate next year to help fill some brackets. 141 had 4 guys. most guys wrestled only twice.

This would be a great tournament have at the beginning of the year or just after the first of the year not 2 weeks before regionals

They should make it duals and mix a few of the top high schools in to have their own dual tournament. It would be great exposure for high school kids to college wrestling and a great opportunity for the college coaches to scout some high school kids.

Yeah, but not everyone is down to weight at the beginning of the year. If this tournament had been earlier Edgmon would not be in the lineup for FHSU, which would have made it a little tighter tournament in terms of the team race. It is also a little more representative of what the lineups should look like heading into the qualifiers and Nationals.

Also many of the regularly scheduled tournaments are in late November and December. Such as the Kaufman-Brand in Omaha, the Oklahoma Open, Mizzou Open, FHSU Open, and UNK Open. I think it is really the best time that you could ask for. If moved back a week or so that conflicts with many of the teams coming off a tough stretch of dual tournaments like the National Duals.

As for the club teams being involved it would be nice to see them in attendance because many of them have all Kansas native lineups. I think that a few years ago when Younkin was at Wichita State he would have definitely challenged for a medal. Marcus Bowman is another person who would have been a contender back when he was on Pitt States club team. This year I have not seen many results for the club programs in Kansas. The only person I can remember seeing in results was Aaron Hynick for WSU who gave Malloy a pretty tough match at the FHSU Open.

However, the quality of most of the club teams wrestlers typically cannot compete with the varsity level guys who are at Kansas' scholarship wrestling programs. Most of this has to do with a conditioning and practice factor. The clubs are on break for 3 to 5 weeks because of finals and winter break. They also do not typically have a large amount of bodies in the wrestling room and do not practice near the amount of time per session.

What I would like to see is an invitation extended to every varsity wrestler who graduated from a Kansas high school that is on the various DI, DII, DIII, and NAIA programs across the country. This would bring back the quality crop of freshmen wrestlers like CJ Naiper, Tyler Caldwell, and Kendric Maple who are all starting. You'd see national champion candidates Cody Garcia and Jacob Marrs in action. Along with several of the NAIA studs like Joe Cornejo, Aaron Ely, and Paulie Hansen. Not to mention the prospective DI All-American's in Jesse Strawn, Tristen DeShazer, and Neil Erisman. The list could go on for the various DII and NAIA. Shoot I bet Curtis Chenoweth would have joined in on the fun all the way from Newberry.

Just imagine how tough that 157 bracket would have been with Erisman and Cornejo in it, to go with Nelson and Grater. Shoot Grater and Cornejo could've ruined their rivalry from high school, except it would've likely been in the semifinals. 133 would have matched up Maple, Naiper, Ely, DeShazer, and Garcia.

Heck fellas, why not make it an international open? Oh, I guess they tried that and they didn't show up.

All jokes aside...you gotta keep this thing at a reasonable size. Big giant opens are fun for only the hard core fans. Have you ever been to the UNO Open...you don't see half of the matches you want to see and your trying to find a seat cause they keep telling you to sit down but there is no where to sit down. Your trying not to pizz yourself so you don't have to go into a restroom that makes feedlots smell appetizing. Big tournaments suck for fans. I think keeping the fan interested will go a long way for this event and for Kansas wrestling.

I think the time of year is perfect for some of the reasons stated above. Excuses are excuses...it's wrestling and all teams and wrestlers battle illness and injuries and occastionally those grungy fungies. It's a weekend they all agreed to leave open to do this...the date is fine. Juco's have two weeks to recover...how much more do you need?

I'm still up in the air whether a dual tourney or an open is better. I think inviting club teams and pigtailing them into an 8 man bracket would be good.

I will let you guys debate on how this thing needs to be ran in the future and I assure you all the comments will be taken into consideration.

On a side note--I have two boxes full of Kansas Cup T-Shirts that I will make somebody a good deal on. Let me know. If you are interested I will go as far as mailing them to you (children sizes up to XXL).

Coach Smith

I heard plenty of fans say this event needs to stay in Wichita. It is a nice venue for this event for the size of it. Not too big like Ft Hays and not too small like LCC or NCCC.

Also, if the event is in Hays or Colby fans from the SEK where LCC and NCCC are located have a lot longer drive and probably will not attend. In the middle of everyboyd is where this event needs to be and Newman should be able to keep it at their place from here on out.

I am sure that LCC,and pretty sure that NCC, will attend regardless of where it is in the state.

A central location is nice, but I'm not sure that is best for exposure around the state. Venue size should be a consideration though.

Also, As I understand it the venue rotation is set for the next six years. There are plenty of fans in all corners of the state, I think it's just a matter of reaching out to the clubs and HS teams. Also, there will be three programs in Western Kansas as of next year. I don't know that they will all attend but there are technically three programs.

i think he was talking about the fans, coming from all areas, but realistically the fan base should be about the same everywhere. it needs to rotate.

i think with bringing in ALL KS grads it would be great. i'm sure there are a few that brother richard robert forgot who would contend for medals also.

Yeah, I misread that. I think it would probably reduce some fans from those schools just as this year would reduce some from out west. The "local" fans will increase at each venue though.

I would be suprised to see many coaches from out of state programs allow their wrestlers to compete individually at this tourney. If it was over Christmas break, maybe. If they aren't a starter, maybe. That is interesting, but I think it should stick to KS colleges not former Kansas HS wrestlers. Once you open that up, why not former Kansas JC wrestlers, or guys that wrestled 1 year at a KS HS. Current Kansas College wrestlers is easily definable and the most logical.

The FHSU open in December is a good opportunity for those who want to see lots of Kansas wrestlers who are in out-of-state colleges. Many of the Nebraska & Iowa schools traveled to the FHSU tournament this season. It will only get bigger.

I agree that the Kansas Cup should be the reward for those who stay in state and wrestle for a Kansas school.

impossible to have ks high school grads attend. hypothetically would be fun to see. realistically....not a chance. lets deal in reality. i've changed my view on the dual format. labette, pratt, neosho all dual twice as is. and each see colby at least once. ike is right on the money when he talks about fan friendly. just 2 mats, you can see all action! 3 venues on the rotation spread the wealth. maybe not fair to the jucos but economically and regionally smart. biggest problem this time around was small brackets. fill them with club teams and this event only grows in fan support.

Yeah, They do see each other plenty of times in a dual scenario. I'm now convinced that it should remain the same individual bracket format with team scores.

I agree with what both Tim Horgan and Ike Wennihan posted on the last two posts.

Like sportsfan02 I was a little disappointed that I did not notice more youth club members and high school team wrestlers in attendance. I am assuming that was one of the primary reasons to have it on Sunday instead of Saturday. If the event does not ultimately attract youth and high school wrestlers, I would suggest consider changing the day to Saturday since that is better both for the student athletes and their fans to have a day at home before the school and work week begin.

Maybe all the youth teams and hs teams had the flu and all that could have come was JV guys and they are not "good" enough to get to attend in some folks opinions.

I think you have to get a flier in their coaches hand to hand out. Posting it just on the internet or this talk forum is not as effective advertising. Or do both. Send and electronic file to the coach with a personal note and ask him to make copies to hand out to his kids - something to the effect - come watch the best college wrestlers in Kansas. Maybe next year make some sort of poster in advance and get it to the coaches so they can hang it in the room all season with last years champs and team scores.

I know Coach Thompson is already talking about getting his Sports Information Director involved early on to generate programs, etc. I think you'll see a big effort to get the word out for next year. Not to take anything away from Coach Smith's effort this year. He spearheaded this entire thing and managed to get coaches to come together and do this thing. Like most things, I would expect this will get better with time.

Looking at the sparse brackets I'll once again put in my two cents... that all the collegiate wrestlers, not just varsity, might be given the opportunity to represent their state. I think this should be done for next year's event. The wrestlers will be happy to represent the state, their parents and siblings will attend and make the ticket takers happier, and you'll have more people promoting the event. We didn't go because our JV wrestler wasn't able to participate, so you missed 2 parents, siblings, and some grandparents - maybe a cousin or two, and at least one uncle. Do the math....

Oh yeah - and his high school coach, assistant coach, and some classmates.....

It makes team scoring wierd though. Maybe they wouldn't count towards the team score?

I certainly don't know the solution to the scoring situation - but if it's as simple as not counting toward team points I'd say that was easy....

Maybe they should do it like NAIA and allow the 10 varsity plus 2 non-scoring wrestles per team. This would roughly add a full team of wrestlers to help fill brackets.

No team score! Just give partipation ribbons? Kidding...but I hate the idea of not keeping score. Score is suppose to be kept in competition or else it is just practice.

Don't forget that there will be another team in the mix next year. Really two if Lampe brings his...which is doubtful. Add in the club teams and you have full 8 man brackets. I like the idea of bringing your best team and get it on...no adapted rules that complicate things and need to be explained. Our sport has enough confusing rules for the lay fan. With one more team and club teams pigtailed in....shazam, you've got full brackets.

Would still rather see the college team wrestlers get in before the club teams.

Looking at the brackets some schools had some opens, other schools like Baker carry 30+ kids. Let 'em wrestle!

Its going to be 8 teams next year... Top 10 for each team. Not top ten and jimmy, johnny, and Timmy.... There are Open tournaments from from the 1st week in November through early February. If you want to see that format then you have around 7-8 opportunities to do so.. This is an Invite to see who has the top 10.

Yes there were some open spots in brackets. But in theory by next year it should be a full 8 man bracket and with wrestling out to 6th place that is plenty of matches for how late it is in the season. Many of the teams have Regionals just around the corner.. The size of these brackets are similar to those of a qualifer for Nationals.... Don't need to get any bigger..

I'll bet money it's only 7 teams! Out to 6th place in an eight man bracket (with seven wrestlers)! Heck, that's almost participation ribbons there too. Give one to number 7 or you might risk hurting his feelings. I like what your saying with the rest of it.