Team Competition

In this, the last installment of our aaaaa midseason report, we look at the results of our mock state tourney in order to crown an unofficial (don't forget, it doesn't count until feb.) team state champion.  Remember, though, as we tell you every year, we do not actually try to set the brackets and play out the state tourney.  Rather, we look at a team's placement potential, award points to prospective placers and others, and see what shakes out.  Also, please keep our normal precautionary note in mind:  what is set out below is our assessment of what would happen if the state tourney were to be held today.  But, it isn't held today, it's held next month, and in the meantime, much can happen - - wrestlers can get hurt (too many examples this year to even mention), wrestlers can suffer academic or disciplinary setbacks, wrestlers can improve or get worse,  wrestlers can cut weight or give up cutting and go up a bracket, wrestlers can give up wrestling to focus on their first love, river dancing, wrestlers can lose in the region tournament and never make it to state. 

This last point really can't be underestimated, as it can have a significant impact on how the state team title is decided.  I can list at least 10 weight classes where there are more than 4 wrestlers with the potential to score bigtime points at state, but only 4 will qualify and have the chance to do so.  Want a couple of examples, just from my own neighborhood?  ok:  as we told you in the midseason report, region 5aaaaa appears to be stocked to the gills at 145 lbs, with cobb county champ moot of wheeler, cobb county runner up klein of sprayberry, gwinnett county runner up knauer of walton, thomson of mceachern, 2x state qualifier gonzalez of marietta and northwest metro champ bishop of kennesaw mountain.  All can place at state; at least two will not get the chance to even try.  How about region 6aaaaa at that same weight class?  talk about depth - - thompson memorial champ konigsburg of centennial, returning region champ boyd of lassiter, perry/fayette xmas placer tatham of pope, fulton county champ edwards of roswell, chattahoochee runner up winzeler of chattahoochee, returning aaaa placer strother of cherokee. That's 6 wrestlers in region 6aaaaa alone with huge point-scoring potential at state; two of them get in to the macon metroplex only if they buy a ticket.  Or, lastly, a quick look at the 189's in region 6aaaaa ought to show you how getting to the big dance is sometimes tougher than winning once you get there - - when you face a talent pool that includes returning placers gearing of cherokee and runnels of lassiter, fulton county champ ory of chattahoochee, ringgold champ ortisi of northwest whitfield, plus super sophs bradley of milton and white of woodstock.  If only four are left standing on the podium, at least two are on the outside, looking in, at state.  Brutal stuff.

In any event,  have fun with this, but don't take it too seriously.  And, as I've said before, please do not put this on your team bulletin board under the caption "bob berg thinks we stink; let's show him!!!"  we wish the best for all teams and all wrestlers, and the last thing we need is more enemies.  So, stay healthy, wrestle to your absolute potential and make me look bad as a predictor; you'll feel great about yourself and, trust me, I won't mind one bit.

The top 10: 

1.  McEachern, 218 points (8 placers) - - as we've said all year, the blue and gold are loaded for bear this year, with the capability of scoring in every weight class and with at least four possible state champs.  You know the big-time heavy hitters, like prater and newsome and berryman and johnson, and they'll certainly get their points at macon.  To measure how the tourney is going for the indians, though, follow the other names - - if you see guys like purvine and kimmerling and thomson and mcrath getting their hands raised repeatedly, you're likely to see another state championship banner on the mceachern gym wall.

2.  Collins Hill, 209 points (7 placers) - - frankly, it's looking like this year's tourney may be a two team race, and collins hill has the firepower to go toe-to-toe with mceachern, in what may be wrestling's version of ali v. frazier.  Expect at least three hillers to reach the top step of the podium, but the real key is the level of improvement by the collins hill lightweights.  If the lower part of the collins hill lineup shows the same level of improvement we saw last year (and, with 112 lb hiller black's wins over highly regarded savage and klug at chattahoochee serving as stark evidence that the improvement is there), it could be a dual to the finish and, quite possibly, back-to-back team titles for the gwinnett county champs.