Stratford

[thequad]

+1

[DarkKnight]

Thanks guys. I feel this got taken out of context. I understand we can have differences in opinions, and I'm fine with that.

Just don't call Fennimore a bunch of middle schoolers after their match with Stratford.

[bigG]

In my mind they are best team in Wisconsin, they would have beaten Stoughton with a healthy full team. They had no 113lber bc he broke his hand, no 2-time state champ Schoenherr and their state champ HWT got hurt.

Please don't start that discussion again.....Stoughton beat Stratford.   It's not a what if type thing, you have to wrestle what you bring without any excuses.   Those types of things happen all the time and we will never know if anything would actually change, but the record shows Stoughton beat Stratford in a great dual.  Let's leave it at that.  

As a team, Stratford has long moved on, looking very forward to this weekend and going back down to Madison next Saturday to take care of unfinished business.

Clearly it would have been different though. 2 state champs out of lineup would have changed the dual big time!

The Rapids teams we speak of didn't get to where they were by wouldas and couldas. Stratford has a great team; but they lost. I'm told their fans don't whine or snivel. I believe that. Seem like a classy team the whole way around. I doubt they woulda/coulda themselves to greatness. Great team. Can't wait to watch them Ind./Team.

I don't recall Coleman/IG/Wrights/Mineral Point having fans post on here cutting down opposition they beat, then woulda/coulda wins agaist teams that beat them. Wish you could have it both ways. Not on this earth.

I guess I shoulda responded to Wrestlologist (indicating some grasp of science). He seems to forget that wouldas and couldas don't work really well in science.

Middle schoolers. Weak thing to say about young men who bust tail to get good at our favorite sport.

Woulda shoulda entered the Cheesehead if they want to be team of the century. Hope they win state. D3 team of the year. Is that not good enough?

[NJS]

Not to take anything away from the 106lb wrestler from Stratford, but didn't he lose to a "middle schooler" from Stillwater in the finals at Bi-State?  Point being, it isn't really a derogatory term even though it was meant as one.  Coleman has a long standing tradition of talented wrestlers and teams which have won many championships.  Stratford is in position to add to their individual champion total and possibly win their first team title.

In my humble opinion, it's impossible to compare this talented team to teams from previous era's but we as fans will always try.  I'll give my vote to that murderer's row Athens team that won 3 straight D3 team titles from 93-95.  Those kids would tear off a limb and beat you with it while they were pinning you...bonus points wins duals.

Can't wait for wrestling to start tomorrow!!!!

[bigG]

Good point. MN does make a good case for JHI/MSI. I've enjoyed watching Stratford rise. They don't need a Wrestlologist to talk them up by cutting others down. I doubt if Fennimore loses a dual they'll woulda coulda shoulda had Alston Nutter a win from it. You put the best lineup you have out there and let 'er rip! Hope everyone is at full strength for both states.

[Quack]

Mark Hall was a pretty impressive middle schooler.....just saying

[bigG]

There have been some incredible MS wrestlers. Still a nasty cut to call a whole WI team "like middle schoolers." Let alone one of the best teams, then and now, in our state.

[Jimmy]

Was Mark hall a middle schooler his 7 th grade yr, or his7th grade yr. or his 8th grade yr?

[Barou]

Good point. MN does make a good case for JHI/MSI. I've enjoyed watching Stratford rise. They don't need a Wrestlologist to talk them up by cutting others down. I doubt if Fennimore loses a dual they'll woulda coulda shoulda had Alston Nutter a win from it. You put the best lineup you have out there and let 'er rip! Hope everyone is at full strength for both states.

G, are you officially on the jhi bandwagon? Trying to get as many people as we can so the Wisconsin coaches will finally get their heads out of the sand and jump on board as well.

[TomM]

Was Mark hall a middle schooler his 7 th grade yr, or his7th grade yr. or his 8th grade yr?

All three of his 7th grade years.

[Wrestlologist]

To Coleman wrestlers and fans: In my original post, I did not say Coleman was a middle school team. In my effort to simply congratulate Stratford, I tried to convey my opinion that Stratford was a Level above even the second best D3 team in the state this year.  Sorry if I inadvertently disrespected Coleman. I took out the reference to Coleman from the original post.
LEVELS. I have been an observer of Wisconsin wrestling since we had a 95# weight class. I watched every four time champ take the top step. That shows my age.  It's always interesting to me to see the different levels of wrestling.  When a coach picks a young boy out of phy ed class because he shows potential for toughness, that is the first Level.  When the boy gets his first win, that is the next Level.  When the young man makes his high school team, another Level is achieved. When the wrestler wins his first junior varsity match, he jumps up a Level.  When the wrestler makes varsity on his team, he achieves another Level. When the varsity wrestler wins his first match against a varsity wrestler from another team, another Level. When the wrestler places high enough at Regionals to make it to Sectionals, he is achieving a higher Level.  When the wrestler earns a paid trip to State and the school has a pep rally for him, he really has risen to a new high Level.  When the wrestler wins a state championship, he has reached a Level that feels good the rest of his life.  When the wrestler wins multiple championships, he has reached a level achieved by few other people.  Then he gets to college and an average wrestler beats him.  After a lot more work, he finally wins more matches than he loses and he has achieved another Level. After winning a national title, another Level is earned.  Then a run at the Olympics looks promising.  Another Level.  It never seems to end. Even the top Level three time gold medal holder Russian Aleksandr Karelin was defeated by a Wyoming farm boy named Rulon Gardner in his last match.  On that day Gardner was at the top Level.
My point is that Coleman is at a high Level this year. They are ranked number 2 in Division III and won a 60 team tournament in Oshkosh plus other awards. However, Stratford appears to be at a higher Level right now.  I do not have disrespect for Coleman, only respect for Stratford. Congratulations.
Looking at the comments on this post, no wonder the number of posts and posters keeps going down each year.  This used to be an exciting time to be reading this forum.  Not anymore.

[bigG]

Good point. MN does make a good case for JHI/MSI. I've enjoyed watching Stratford rise. They don't need a Wrestlologist to talk them up by cutting others down. I doubt if Fennimore loses a dual they'll woulda coulda shoulda had Alston Nutter a win from it. You put the best lineup you have out there and let 'er rip! Hope everyone is at full strength for both states.

G, are you officially on the jhi bandwagon? Trying to get as many people as we can so the Wisconsin coaches will finally get their heads out of the sand and jump on board as well.

I never downed JHI. I'm for matside weigh-ins, also.

[bigG]

To Coleman wrestlers and fans: In my original post, I did not say Coleman was a middle school team. In my effort to simply congratulate Stratford, I tried to convey my opinion that Stratford was a Level above even the second best D3 team in the state this year.  Sorry if I inadvertently disrespected Coleman. I took out the reference to Coleman from the original post.
LEVELS. I have been an observer of Wisconsin wrestling since we had a 95# weight class. I watched every four time champ take the top step. That shows my age.  It's always interesting to me to see the different levels of wrestling.  When a coach picks a young boy out of phy ed class because he shows potential for toughness, that is the first Level.  When the boy gets his first win, that is the next Level.  When the young man makes his high school team, another Level is achieved. When the wrestler wins his first junior varsity match, he jumps up a Level.  When the wrestler makes varsity on his team, he achieves another Level. When the varsity wrestler wins his first match against a varsity wrestler from another team, another Level. When the wrestler places high enough at Regionals to make it to Sectionals, he is achieving a higher Level.  When the wrestler earns a paid trip to State and the school has a pep rally for him, he really has risen to a new high Level.  When the wrestler wins a state championship, he has reached a Level that feels good the rest of his life.  When the wrestler wins multiple championships, he has reached a level achieved by few other people.  Then he gets to college and an average wrestler beats him.  After a lot more work, he finally wins more matches than he loses and he has achieved another Level. After winning a national title, another Level is earned.  Then a run at the Olympics looks promising.  Another Level.  It never seems to end. Even the top Level three time gold medal holder Russian Aleksandr Karelin was defeated by a Wyoming farm boy named Rulon Gardner in his last match.  On that day Gardner was at the top Level.
My point is that Coleman is at a high Level this year. They are ranked number 2 in Division III and won a 60 team tournament in Oshkosh plus other awards. However, Stratford appears to be at a higher Level right now.  I do not have disrespect for Coleman, only respect for Stratford. Congratulations.
Looking at the comments on this post, no wonder the number of posts and posters keeps going down each year.  This used to be an exciting time to be reading this forum.  Not anymore.

So, because you can't see how that was a cut to Coleman, you're turned off.  Come on, man. You've had great posts on this forum; but the one that started this thread was otta whack. Saying they beat Coleman handily is fine; but you have to know that comparing a great team to middle schoolers is gonna catch you some heat. I'm sure you can remember when Stratford was beaten quite handily; since you've been into wrestling for so long. Put the shoe on the other foot.

Take a look at how many titles Rapids has accumulated, and Coleman. To prematurely call Strat the team of the century is a bit stretchy, no? They haven't won one, yet. Someone with your knowledge of the sport can't be so blind to see that Stratford is a great up-and-coming team. Hope they stay that way. Better competition means more involvement, IMHO.

The only issue I had was the blatant disrespect (and arrogance to say what you did) to Coleman, then flipping and saying Strat woulda coulda beat Stoughton. You can't call a team of the century on variables that can't be tested.

Can we just agree that Stratford is excellent and peaking without the hyperbole/cutdowns?

I'm sure you're a nice guy and great fan. I also hope you enjoy the tourneys to come. You just took a very good team and tried to make a case of their being the best in WI history, essentially, without winning a single championship, yet. No matter how dominant they are; they did lose. Live with it.

Best of luck to Strat. Sorry your feelings are hurt, Wrestlologist. Sorry, also, if I came down too hard on you. But I think your enthusiasm may have carried you a bit far in that post. Hey, believe or not I've made posts for which I later wished I hadn't hit "post."

You're good. Stay positive.

[Wrestlologist]

So, because you can't see how that was a cut to Coleman, you're turned off.  Come on, man. You've had great posts on this forum; but the one that started this thread was otta whack. Saying they beat Coleman handily is fine; but you have to know that comparing a great team to middle schoolers is gonna catch you some heat. I'm sure you can remember when Stratford was beaten quite handily; since you've been into wrestling for so long. Put the shoe on the other foot.

Take a look at how many titles Rapids has accumulated, and Coleman. To prematurely call Strat the team of the century is a bit stretchy, no? They haven't won one, yet. Someone with your knowledge of the sport can't be so blind to see that Stratford is a great up-and-coming team. Hope they stay that way. Better competition means more involvement, IMHO.

The only issue I had was the blatant disrespect (and arrogance to say what you did) to Coleman, then flipping and saying Strat woulda coulda beat Stoughton. You can't call a team of the century on variables that can't be tested.

Can we just agree that Stratford is excellent and peaking without the hyperbole/cutdowns?

I'm sure you're a nice guy and great fan. I also hope you enjoy the tourneys to come. You just took a very good team and tried to make a case of their being the best in WI history, essentially, without winning a single championship, yet. No matter how dominant they are; they did lose. Live with it.

Best of luck to Strat. Sorry your feelings are hurt, Wrestlologist. Sorry, also, if I came down too hard on you. But I think your enthusiasm may have carried you a bit far in that post. Hey, believe or not I've made posts for which I later wished I hadn't hit "post."

You're good. Stay positive.

BigG, I don't need or want your permission or suggestions of how to post on this forum.  I've read many of your 24 thousand posts over the years and many of them aren't worth the power to light the pixels on my computer screen.
BigG: Facts are hard for some people. Reread the original post.  Fact is I never said Stratford was the team of the century. Never mentioned team of the century at all.  I never said Stratford coulda, woulda beat Stoughton. Never mentioned Stoughton at all.  I never said Stratford is the best in WI history. Never said any team was the best in WI history. 
BigG, I give you credit -- you hide your intelligence well.

While the little finger on my right hand often hovers above the Enter key until I feel that my post will add something interesting or different to the conversation, I don't regret my original post or any post I have ever made. I only regret the posts I deleted before hitting Enter.

This year at Team Sectionals Stratford DID make Coleman LOOK LIKE a middle school team. They also made the other team in the finals LOOK LIKE a grade school team.  Next year Coleman may make Stratford LOOK LIKE a preschool team. That's why I watch wrestling every year. Every year and every wrestler is different. Enjoy the action at Madison!

[ramjet]

Was Mark hall a middle schooler his 7 th grade yr, or his7th grade yr. or his 8th grade yr?

All three of his 7th grade years.

Oh my this was funny as all get out made me laugh out loud this morning.