Stratford

[MarkK]

Your program won't come up when i click on it? But I don't understand why people turn things into what they want them to say. You are correct you won't find Athens in the champions list. THEY TOOK SECOND! Walsh Jesuit won it. It was around 1992 somewhere in there. Not sure what it was called but it was a very big national tournament. I am sure one of the Athens team alum has way more info then I do and will chime in sooner or later. It was in every paper including the cross face and it was a very big deal back then because Athens only had around 200 kids in their entire school and the next closest school had over 1000. As for Rapids beating Athens in a dual I am pretty sure Jerry Wagner never lost a dual meet to Lewis Benitz.
Here is my top  teams ever.
4) 2012 Rapids team
3) 2005 LC Team
2) Early 80's Mineral Point team
1) Athens 90's team

I just opened it again.  It is a PDF.   There is more than a list of champions.   Each year has an entry.  All the individual champions are listed as well.  hard to imagine taking second with no champions.   I think Oldfan is right.  They attended another tournament, but not the Walsh Jesuit Ironman.  Anyone else who can open it can plainly see the Ironman began in 1994.   I am not making it say what I want it to say.  I have no doubt they took second out there in another really big tournament.  They were and still are a tiny school.  They were one of the best teams ever.  No doubt.  I've heard it said for years they took second at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman.  I think for the purposes of being taken seriously, we can modify that to say they took 2nd at a large  tournament.  I just know it wasn't the Walsh Jesuit Ironman.  But it may have been just as good.  I don't know.

[MarkK]

1994 - Ironman I

Nothing evokes the long memories of wrestling fans like Ironman I. To many it was an experience that
holds special memories not only because of the quality of that tournament, but also the eventual successes
achieved by its competitors and the tone the tournament scripted for subsequent wrestling classics. Host
Walsh Jesuit was ranked number one nationally and had claimed national championships in 1993 and
1994.
A flurry of early pins allowed the Warriors to score 103.5 points the first day to lead Northampton, PA by
31 points. Walsh advanced six wrestlers to the championship round and led Northampton by 18 points,
but after the Warriors lost their first three matches, Northampton won its first three title bouts and sliced
Walsh's lead from 18 to 9 points. However, Scott Overholt stopped the Walsh skid with a 3-1 win in a
slam-bang 160 pound bout in which Overholt trailed until the third period. Now it became a head to head
confrontation with Northampton and Walsh facing each other in the 189 and 215 title matches. Those
late bouts pitted Walsh's Joey O'Neill and Northampton's Craig Fenstermaker at 189 and sophomore
Warrior Jeff Knupp against Northampton's Rick Umstead. Northampton again cut into Walsh's lead when
Fenstermaker scored a 5-3 decision over O'Neill in overtime, but Knupp saved the tourney for Walsh with
a convincing 8-2 win over Umstead which gave the Warriors its first and only Ironman team title. Many
wrestling historians will argue that Ironman I was the most competitive tournament ever. Eight wrestlers
from the fifteen schools went on to become collegiate NCAA All-Americans. Eric Guererro became a threetime
NCAA champion and four-time All-American at Oklahoma State, and a USA Olympian in 2004. Joe
Heskett (Walsh Jesuit and Iowa State) won one NCAA championship and became a four-time All-American;
Rob Rohn (Northampton and Lehigh) became an NCAA champion; Bryan Snyder (Easton and Nebr

[MarkK]

1995 - Ironman II

Walsh Jesuit put its number one national ranking and Ironman I championship on the line in this second
annual event. They knew they would have to weather an assault by a number of teams if they wished to
maintain their number one status. Most notably, the Warriors had to get by Blair Academy of New Jersey,
ranked number two and making their first appearance in the Ironman.

(plus there is more)

[MarkK]

1996 - Ironman III

Teams who entered the 1996 Ironman, a tournament that was loaded with national powers, quickly
discovered there was no doubt who would end up winning the third annual event in dominating fashion.
Lakewood St. Edward earned that honor with relative ease with 212.5 points followed by Blair Academy
(185.5), Easton, PA (179), Walsh Jesuit (150.5). Calvary Chapel, CA. finished in fifth place with (145.5).

[MarkK]

1997 - Ironman IV

Another star was discovered in the wrestling universe when CVCA freshman Harry Lester wrestled his
first high school match in this rugged Ironman Invitational. Lester, who was 14 years old and 5-foot-3
belied his stature when he beat three quality opponents to make the 103-pound semifinals in his first day
of varsity competition that included a major upset when he pinned top-seeded Josh Cox of Whitfield, GA in
5:45. Lester then edged a worthy opponent in Cory Cooperman of Blair Academy 54 in the semifinals and
proceeded to defeat Eastlake North senior Ray Sabin 8-5 in the finals. "You don't have to watch him long
to see he is something special," CVCA coach Dave Bergen said. "He has such great instincts...he feels
moves." While Lester's star shined brightly, Lakewood St. Edward's team looked like a blazing meteor as
the Eagles talented squad dominated the field to win its second consecutive Ironman title with a then record
239 points and six individual champs in Mark Jayne (112), Mike Kulczycki (130), Gray Maynard (152), Skip
Fair (160), Ryan Kinley (second consecutive title @ 171) and Andy Hrovat (189). Bald Eagle Area, PA was
second with 183 points, and Blair Academy was third with 180.

[MarkK]

Again,  A great team and take nothing from them, just pointing out the history that even I have repeated wrongly should be corrected.

[oldfan]

Don't get me wrong I really liked that run they had in the early 1990's , has any every seen a team hit some that many granby's .

Now if you were to question which team excelled based on thier pool to draw from, it is Athens hands down , 200 kids and half
were girls, teams excel with juniors and seniors, so that leaves a pool of 50 kids. Yikes .

Speaking of Stratford , I know that they want to defend Bi-State but I recommended them to Steve Elwood who is the head recruiter
for the Clash , as a team that could be competitive in that tournament . Scott K also would love to have them in Cheesehead . Either
way they are a good team.  Something is brewing in Stoughton and I think they will also be good for a good many years .

[head57]

It wasn't the Ironman. It was the Midwest Classic in Columbus. Schools from across the nation participated (Montana, Virginia, Hawaii, California...) 11 state championship teams from 15 different states participated. Walsh Jesuit topped Athens by 15-20 points one year (they went 3 years).

Or so my source says...

[bigG]

Great points. Clash and Cheese will definitely test them; but could also boost them.

Almost impossible to believe what Athens pulled off back in the day.

[head57]

Hopefully Stratford gets into 1 or both. A school that size doesn't get to the level they are at very often, and it'd be great to see them go against the best across the nation when they get the opportunity.

[wrastle63]

Hopefully Stratford gets into 1 or both. A school that size doesn't get to the level they are at very often, and it'd be great to see them go against the best across the nation when they get the opportunity.

Hard part was this was their best chance. Next year they will still be very good, but not quite at this level in my opinion.

[padre]

Hopefully Stratford gets into 1 or both. A school that size doesn't get to the level they are at very often, and it'd be great to see them go against the best across the nation when they get the opportunity.

Hard part was this was their best chance. Next year they will still be very good, but not quite at this level in my opinion.

Lose a lot in the upper weights. They have quality kids that can fill most everywhere else.  However, if not next year then it won't happen as they lose a ton more.  It would have been great to see them go to THE CLASH but at that time they were missing three state champs from their line-up and some other ones banged up.  So it would have been more what ifs for posters.

[head57]

Athens back in the day was the "Chuck Norris" of wrestling, no one would have touched them, not Stratford, Not WR, Not Vesper, not Big House, not Ellsworth or LC!!!

Some Rapids faithful will need to back this up but I recall them boasting that the year Athens took 2nd at the Ironman, Rapids beat them in a dual meet.

Sledgehammer, you lurking out there? BigAir? Beanertimm?

Athens actually took it to Rapids in a dual that year (93-94) at the Sorenson Duals in Point...for 3rd place. Lux/Casco did beat Athens in a dual. I've heard 1,000 things that went wrong on that day!!!

[thequad]

I believe that Atens was the best team ever in Wisconsin! I'm not sure between LC and Rapids for second, but this year LC lost to Stratford on a questionable take down call. I know Stratford will say they were missing 2 starters, but you have to wrestle with what you have. The LC team this year can't come even close to their team from 2005. It is my opinion that the River Valley Tournament was a  tougher tournament than the Bi-State, JMO. If you want to compare big tournament wins!

[MarkK]

The one variable that is tough to judge best teams ever is team size.  To have the best team today you have maybe 2-4 more wrestlers than the other teams.  To have a team with no holes with 14 wrestlers is tough.