Who do you consider to be the best wrestler to never win a state title and for what reason do you think they came up short?

hav to go with trampe from ord 4 2nds kind of hard to not go with him

Justin Williams (Auburn) was one of the best to never get it done. Lots of close calls in tough matches...

Clifford Faust from Elgin Pope John is also one of the best wrestlers never to win a state title. He finished 6th as a freshman and then 2nd the next three years. Lost close matches in the finals as a junior and senior.

Thanks for the thought. That last one still haunts my dreams. I can't get that picture from the Omaha World Herald out of my thoughts. Oh well, it's over now and on to better things.

Chris Trampe

I'd hafta say Dan Bazata from Howells.(Vering's first cousin).He was a manimal to the nth degree.He wrestled about 185 I think,and wrestled the entire season till the quarter finals of state without anyone scoring a point against him.Not even a penalty point!In the quarters he gave up an escape but won the match like 4-1.In the finals he lost to a kid from either Tekamah or Oakland Craig I think 2-1.Taz, if you see this,correct me on the scores if I'm wrong but I believe this is correct.I believe it was about 1980 or so,Class C at that time?

Jeff Wortman, 142 wins ( I believe it is still a class C record ) 2nd was highest finish

There have been a number of 4x finalists who have eventually won one, but to go 0-4 in the biggest match of the year? Don't know if that's the ultimate in rotten luck or what.

I try very hard to be unbiased when it comes to covering the tournament, but it broke my heart to see him lose in the finals last year. I was really pulling for him to win that one, just so he and his brother Craig could both go out as champions.

One thing about it, though...it takes a special individual just to MAKE IT to the Walk of Champions once. To do it four times is a unique achievement that Chris should always remember. He may not have been a champion in the sense that he won it all, but getting the opportunity to win a championship is someting few wrestlers ever get to experience.

Chris Trampe is my first guess.....4XState Runner-Up. I was hoping he would win it his senior year. Where is Chris going to school now and hows he doing?

"It's in the bag coach, it's in the bag."

Josh Akerson of Wahoo. Probably one the best throwers I have seen come out of this state. Year after year he would tear up the competition and then come state he couldn't take that next step. Probably because he was too one dimensional (loved to pin) and competitors ran from him while in the neutral position. Oddly his brother Zach has had a troubled highschool career also but largely due to injuries.

Now that I think about it the previous post about Bazata may have been his junior year with him winning it all the next.Taz,help me out.

Russ Schmidt of Fairbury was a three time runner up in the 80's. Twice losing to the guy he beat in districts the week before.

Frank Kuchera transfered to Kearney his senior or Junior year and went undefeated until the semis at state where he lost to a kid who he had beat many times early in the year. Frank is now a division 2 all american which is a great accomplishment so i think he is one of the greatest never to win state.

Definitely Chris Trampe. Hey Augie, I heard you were never in a consolation match, is that true?

This depends whether you are talking about high school ability or career ability.

Career ability there is only one to even mention. RJ Nebe was a 5 time All American at UNO, National Champ and #1 on their all time win list.
It seems most posts are talking high school careers, so I will add Ralston's Randy Schlensig to the mix. Only us oldtimes will appreciate his 3 time runner up status.

Yeah, I never wrestled in a consolation match in high school. I placed in all 40 of our tournaments and all of them were 1st or 2nd place. I won 31 of the tournaments. I finished 117-12. I'm at Augustana College right now in Sioux Falls, SD. I'm 9-9.

Chris Trampe

just going back through state, I remember Tillema last year, I didn't realize MeNeely your first 2 years, wow, you have my vote! How is Craig doing?

I think that Kyle Cullin from Bellevue West would be atop the list. He placed in every tournament in high school including 4th at state as a freshman and 5th as a junior. He wrestled his sophomore year in California where he was 20-1 before he quit with a shoulder injury and his senior year he went undefeated dominating everyone by tech falls or pins including eventual state champion Ray Kizzee of omaha central. Unfortunately, he didn't make weight for districts putting him out of state contention. Had a high school record of like
106-14 with 9 of his losses coming from his freshman year.

i would say gary stoeger from valentine...since he is the only person to never lose a match at state and still not get 1st...he got to the finals before his court decision

I am 8-10 right now, I haven't placed in any tournaments yet. I got 5 pins so far and have lost most of my matches by 3 or less points. So far chris is having a better season than me, but I hope to wrestle him this weekend.
Craig