Well I guess it's time to voice my opinion on this. I have bit my tongue all year. Before I start I want to say Ryne Cokely is an outstanding wrestler and it is obvious his coaches seek the toughest competition for him. Quagmire, I don't know who you are, but I agree with you. We are definitely in the minority though.
In my opinion (and I am biased) Joey is the #1 wrestler in the State at 145. This year he is undefeated in Kansas and has beaten Victor Dotson (Texas Canyon-Randall). Joey and Victor were wrestling at 152 lbs. at the time. Victor is a two-time state champ and I believe he won the Oklahoma Open pinning all of his opponents. Victor was ranked in the top 30 nationally. Ryne took second at the Oklahoma Open at a higher weight. Joey's only loss was to Jake Snider (Colorado Ponderosa) 4-3. Jake is ranked #7 nationally.
The Chief does a good job with the rankings, but the problem that I have with the criteria is that Freestlye/ Greco and National Tournaments seem to carry more weight than wins or score comparisons in State. I don't think the Chief gives enough weight to kids who don't wrestle in the summmer, but have wins against quality opponents in the last year.
Ryne has wrestled tough competition and has lost some of the matches, to include the one against Cade Blair. Joey's quality wins against nationally ranked wrestlers last year and this year.
Parker Madl (ranked nationally, Univ. of Oklahoma) Joey in OT Cade Blair (honorable mention nationallly) Joey in OT *Cade and Joey split last year. Cade in OT Victor Dotson (ranked nationally)Joey 12-9
I believe the only common opponent is Cade. Unless, Ryne has wrestled Parker in the past.
Joey and I have talked about the potential match with Ryne at Garden City. I believe it is fair to say Joey was looking forward to this potential match more than any other. As I mentioned earlier, Ryne is an outstanding wrestler. He has received more recognition than anyone in previous years. What high school wrestler wouldn't want to see how he/ she stacks up against him.
