Dart Shark

Steve,
I too was surprised that they let an underclassmen in the event. It's always been an issue finding a 103-pound senior, but there was almost a month between the event and Seniors.

I remember when we hosted the event in Virginia in 1999, everyone that bailed from the Dream Team was replaced by the HS National Champion, stacking the deck even more.

We got crushed (49-3), but had two matches go into overtime and some close ones along the way.

However, we had no answer for Damion Hahn, Justin Potter, Tommy Rowlands and Clark Forward.

Ironically enough, the wrestler that Forward teched in the DTC ended up being a college All-American.

__________________
"Definitely the Rashard Goffs of beer cans." -- homerdindon

LkwdSteve

"Steve,
I too was surprised that they let an underclassmen in the event. It's always been an issue finding a 103-pound senior, but there was almost a month between the event and Seniors."

Here is a post I put on themat regarding that:
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Interesting problem. I guess it was get a body or tell Farnsworth to stay home. Ohiowrestlingsite.com has a year-end ranking of Ohio wrestlers by weight class and division through 25 places. Blessedly they also put in grade level and school of attendance. That's a total of 75 wrestlers ranked per weight class.

Of those 75 ranked at 103 pounds, 6 are identified as seniors. Their rankings are:

Div 1--- 6, 15, 22, 23
Div 2--- 25
Div 3--- 19

Of the 48 state qualifiers for 103 pounds, only two were seniors, #6 Kent Li and #15 Martin Cruz. Both division 1 and they had a combined 1-4 record in Columbus. Still, I would expect that Li was approached and maybe Cruz also.

I don't know if this year was an aberration in Ohio, but I do know that we don't produce senior 103s like some other states, in particular California.
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I know Coach Barger (Walsh Jesuit) did the selections for the Dapper Dan, but I don't know who was in charge of the Dream Team picks. Maybe Coach Powell (Youngstown Boardman). It could be they couldn't find a senior, or at least one with a winning record.

I think the use of the junior Tony Jameson was to increase attendance. Those who came to see the mecurial hometown (Austintown Fitch) boy were rewarded with seeing him go twice.

I guess this was much more of an "exhibition" than the Dapper Dan was.