Pulaski invite 2019

[bigoil]

I will also pick Coleman.

[NWIS]

Call me goofy but I'm inclined to pick the team that has already beaten Coleman; LC.

[OddDuck]

NOPIN states Kaukauna will win.

[NoFooForU]

NOPIN states Coleman will win.

Help me out, where did this occur?

[OddDuck]

I made an error. Kaukauna is favored by NOPIN.

[bigoil]

Call me goofy but I'm inclined to pick the team that has already beaten Coleman; LC.

I'll still take Coleman, Kaukauna, LC, Freedom (if McHugh is back at 126), Denmark, Pulaski

[OddDuck]

Colby McHugh has been out??

Freedom beat Wrightstown who beat Lux Casco... but Freedom does wrestle LC tomorrow night. It depends on matchups with these teams. I think Freedom will win if Colby McHugh is wrestling.

[ramjet]

LC won because Coleman was missing key wrestlers so yes they beat them but the moons lined up that night. Coleman have the good wrestlers to score plenty of team points. That can be accomplished in both sides of the bracket. If you look at the numbers of wrestlers form some teams being potentially eliminated prior to placement Coleman is not one of those teams. That's why I am picking them. I can be wrong and maybe am this time but I am sticking to my pick.

[bigoil]

Colby McHugh has been out??

Freedom beat Wrightstown who beat Lux Casco... but Freedom does wrestle LC tomorrow night. It depends on matchups with these teams. I think Freedom will win if Colby McHugh is wrestling.

He was injured at the Cheesehead, didn't wrestle at the Irish Invite. No idea what the injury was.

[OddDuck]

Colby McHugh has been out??

Freedom beat Wrightstown who beat Lux Casco... but Freedom does wrestle LC tomorrow night. It depends on matchups with these teams. I think Freedom will win if Colby McHugh is wrestling.

He was injured at the Cheesehead, didn't wrestle at the Irish Invite. No idea what the injury was.

. I hope he's back.

[pauladamski]

The Granddaddy of 'em all. The Showdown in Polka Town. Mini-State. The Toughest ... oh how the Pulaski Wrestling Invitational has been described over the years. But if I may be so bold to steal from the great Herman Melville, if the tournament that turns 50 Saturday could talk he'd likely say "Call me The Invite."

And just as Melville penned Ishmael into lore, THE INVITE has legitimized the legacies of countless teams and wrestlers in Northeast Wisconsin since its birth in 1969, the brain child of the great Jim Richie.

Aw, THE INVITE.

The tournament that brings many of the state's wrestling powers from all three divisions together for a one-day quest that propels them into the WIAA State Wrestling Series just two weeks later. A tournament peppered with stories of individuals who have placed lower at Pulaski than at the state tournament.

A handful of times the tournament ends up owning WIAA State Finalists from a certain weight class in all three divisions – such was the case in 1995, when Bay Port's Jay Van Lannen, L-C's Brad Shefchik and Coleman's Jason Maye finished 1st, 1st and 2nd in Madison four short weeks after wrestling together at Pulaski.

I believe the record for state champions from this tournament in a year is nine, but don't quote me on that. One of the tournament fields in the early 2000s produced over 80 state qualifiers – with just 13 teams. Furthermore, winning MVP honors at Pulaski usually means a state title is in your future – a streak that at one point went 26 straight years, before dropping one for a year only to pick right back up and start another streak.

I'm obviously bias to this tournament – having grown up in Pulaski - but having the unique perspective of viewing this tournament as a wrestling fan, participant or member of the media for about 30 of its 50 years I'd put this tournament up against any in the state. The level of competition is mythical to a degree, a who's who of Northeastern Wisconsin and many times Wisconsin wrestling history. And the action starts early. State caliber wrestlers annual clash in the quarterfinals and I've seen them pinned against each other as early as the opening round.

Lowney, Dieringer, Maye, Budi, Van Lannen, Barbiaux, Pell, Cibula, Morrissey ... just off the top of my head and the list is likely 10x as long with some thought.

By the way, Hortonville's Eric Barnett should rightly go to the top of that list after this week, when he will likely win his fourth title.

For those who have not attended an Invite, you should – and bring a youth wrestler or ten. They will learn be hooked on the sport for sure. The atmosphere outpaces the wrestling at times, something I vividly remember when I first attended The Invite as a fourth grader in 1991.

Logistically speaking, the tournament is an easy 30-minute ride for many of the participating teams – so the fan bases travel well. And when you jam that passion from Pulaski, Bay Port, Coleman, L-C, Seymour, Kaukauna, Oconto Falls and Freedom - to name a few – all together on a Saturday, the energy is only topped four weeks later in Madison.

The crowd gets rowdy to say the least, but when respect is needed, it doesn't disappoint. Etched into my memory is 1997, when after 28 years, L-C's Jeff Blohowiak become The Invite's first four-time champion. The standing ovation – rivals and all – was deafening.

The tradition continues Saturday as the next generation of wrestlers chase their white whale at THE INVITE.

[thequad]

Do you have any idea which team has the most individual champions?

[pauladamski]

Quad, I used to have that number but it's probably 12-15 years old at this point.

L-C, Coleman and Pulaski were the Top 3 at that point. An educated guess would say L-C is the leader, but I'm not sure.

[Whizzersoldman]

Pauiladamski you forgot to mention the polish sausage and kraut they sell. I will assume, you being a homer,

The Granddaddy of 'em all. The Showdown in Polka Town. Mini-State. The Toughest ... oh how the Pulaski Wrestling Invitational has been described over the years. But if I may be so bold to steal from the great Herman Melville, if the tournament that turns 50 Saturday could talk he'd likely say "Call me The Invite."

And just as Melville penned Ishmael into lore, THE INVITE has legitimized the legacies of countless teams and wrestlers in Northeast Wisconsin since its birth in 1969, the brain child of the great Jim Richie.

Aw, THE INVITE.

The tournament that brings many of the state's wrestling powers from all three divisions together for a one-day quest that propels them into the WIAA State Wrestling Series just two weeks later. A tournament peppered with stories of individuals who have placed lower at Pulaski than at the state tournament.

A handful of times the tournament ends up owning WIAA State Finalists from a certain weight class in all three divisions – such was the case in 1995, when Bay Port's Jay Van Lannen, L-C's Brad Shefchik and Coleman's Jason Maye finished 1st, 1st and 2nd in Madison four short weeks after wrestling together at Pulaski.

I believe the record for state champions from this tournament in a year is nine, but don't quote me on that. One of the tournament fields in the early 2000s produced over 80 state qualifiers – with just 13 teams. Furthermore, winning MVP honors at Pulaski usually means a state title is in your future – a streak that at one point went 26 straight years, before dropping one for a year only to pick right back up and start another streak.

I'm obviously bias to this tournament – having grown up in Pulaski - but having the unique perspective of viewing this tournament as a wrestling fan, participant or member of the media for about 30 of its 50 years I'd put this tournament up against any in the state. The level of competition is mythical to a degree, a who's who of Northeastern Wisconsin and many times Wisconsin wrestling history. And the action starts early. State caliber wrestlers annual clash in the quarterfinals and I've seen them pinned against each other as early as the opening round.

Lowney, Dieringer, Maye, Budi, Van Lannen, Barbiaux, Pell, Cibula, Morrissey ... just off the top of my head and the list is likely 10x as long with some thought.

By the way, Hortonville's Eric Barnett should rightly go to the top of that list after this week, when he will likely win his fourth title.

For those who have not attended an Invite, you should – and bring a youth wrestler or ten. They will learn be hooked on the sport for sure. The atmosphere outpaces the wrestling at times, something I vividly remember when I first attended The Invite as a fourth grader in 1991.

Logistically speaking, the tournament is an easy 30-minute ride for many of the participating teams – so the fan bases travel well. And when you jam that passion from Pulaski, Bay Port, Coleman, L-C, Seymour, Kaukauna, Oconto Falls and Freedom - to name a few – all together on a Saturday, the energy is only topped four weeks later in Madison.

The crowd gets rowdy to say the least, but when respect is needed, it doesn't disappoint. Etched into my memory is 1997, when after 28 years, L-C's Jeff Blohowiak become The Invite's first four-time champion. The standing ovation – rivals and all – was deafening.

The tradition continues Saturday as the next generation of wrestlers chase their white whale at THE INVITE.

your going to pick Pulaski as the wining team.

[pauladamski]

No, I'd pick Coleman.