PROVE ME WRONG/RIGHT (pick one)
First round of actual rankings in the books ladies and gentlemen!!!! First of all, I want to shout out all the new schools just out there getting after it, I love it. I love watching you kids out there competing your butts off and there has been a TON of great stuff coming from all over the state. This ranking cycle has been a struggle for me. So many hard choices and kids moving around in weights, but here we are!!! Tons of great stuff all over, lots of hard choices, but as I said in the preseason rankings these are just my opinion, these rankings are so fluid they can change three times a week, but because you are ranked now or not ranked now the grind doesn’t stop. If you don’t think you're ranked correctly, PROVE ME WRONG! If you think you are where you should be, PROVE ME RIGHT!!!! I want to be proved wrong, I want you to prove me right. I love the competition that is already showing up. There have been multiple upsets already, but the biggest I've seen so far is Anthony Suddeth from St Martins pinning the two state finalists from last year!
106
1. Jaiden Gipson, Oxford
2. *Quinton Carroll, Vancleave
3. Heisman Murphy, Ocean Springs
4. Jake Stewart, Tupelo
113
1. colton parnell, lewisburg
2. Zadd Alowdi, oxford
3. Porter Vaughn, Tupelo
4. Bryce Rainey, Ocean Springs
120
1. *Gabe Shanks, Ocean Springs
2. Will Parnell, Lewisburg
3. Chase Alspaugh, Vancleave
4. Hunter Woodson, Picayune
126
1. Logan Bradley, Lewisburg
2. Garon Murley, Center Hill
3. Jayden Polkey, Picayune
4. Luke Hale, North Pontotoc
132
1.*Garner Taylor, Ocean Springs
2. Mark Borgers, Lewisburg
3. Xander Dock, Center Hill
4. Tripp Nowlin, Saltillo
138
1. *Lucas Hall, Ocean Springs
2. Cole Daugherty, Vancleave
3. Cooper Warren, North Pontotoc
4. Joey Fisher, Lewisburg
145
1. Anthony Suddeth, St. Martins
2. *Blayne Patrick, Vancleave
3. Tyler Robinson, Lewisburg
4. Jared Barr, Ocean Springs
152
1. *Gabe Beemon, Ocean Springs
2. Landon Ward, North Pontotoc
3. Liam Coffey, St. Andrews
4. Jonathan Hopes, Center Hill
160
1. Mike Wilbanks, North Pontotoc
2. Grayson Baxter, Center hill
3. Ethan Driver, Ocean Springs
4. Austin Morgan, St. Andrews
170
1. *Elijah Carwyle, North Pontotoc
2. Barrett Dempsey, Center Hill
3. Garvan Leo, St. Andrews
4. Maison Kleist, Vancleave
182
1. Elijah Thompson, Ocean Springs
2. Blayne Brawner, Center Hill
3. Blake McGloflin, North Pontotoc
4. Brandon Myhand, Saltillo
195
1. *Trent Schlosberg, Ocean Springs
2. Nate Taylor, Center Hill
3. Frank stark, North Pontotoc
4. Case Kinkade, Saltillo
220
1. Anthony King, Center Hill
2. Connor Scroggins, Saltillo
3. Angel Maciel, Ocean Springs
4. Turner Smith, St Andrews
285
1. Caleb Davis, North Pontotoc
2. Xavier Smith, Ocean Springs
3. Trenton McNeer, Vancleave
4. Marcos Chrestman, South Pontotoc
(*) denote returning state champion.
***this is the part where I start giving spoilers so look at the rankings and come back!***
I wanna explain myself and highlight a couple weights.
138 - Benefit of the doubt goes to the champion. Two absolute studs, two absolutely different types of wrestlers. Lucas has a motor that just doesn’t stop, I mean seriously the kid is like the energizer bunny. He fast, strong, and just gets after it. Cole is patient when he wrestles. He's not overly aggressive but if you slip, Daugherty is gonna catch it and capitalize. These two will be going head to head very soon and there isn’t a regular season match I’m looking forward to more! These two are head to head, neck and neck, so keep an eye on these them.
152 - Holy cow, what a jump for Gabe Beemon! A state champ at 132 last year, Beemon packsed on 20 pounds and is still just a unit. His only loss on the season is to a state placer from Louisiana. Landon Ward has been a ton of fun to watch this year, as he has matured a ton this off season. I don't know who he has been working with but it shows. A little bird told me he ran cross country this fall and it has really helped out his gas tank. Outside looking in, that was the downfall of his last season, but he doesn’t seem to have any issues going the distance now. Beemon better not slip, because Wards right on his tail.
195 - Has to be the toughest weight class in the state right now. My crystal ball is showing me a rematch of last year’s state finals here. Nate Taylor has come out the gate absolutely swinging and it looks like he is on a revenge tour eying that state title to end his high school career. Trent is getting the champions benefit this go around but just like Gabe Beemon, Trent better not slip, because Nate Taylor is right there.