You asked for it, wrestling campers. And now, you've got it, your chance to sound off about who you feel deserves recognition as the best 13 Pacific high school wrestlers of the last quarter-century.
Go back to the 1983 Far East tournament, the first one Ornauer covered at (soon-to-be-the-late-lamented) Old Thew Gym at Yokosuka Naval Base, until the one last February at the Camp Foster Field House.
Be true to your school, of course, but don't be shy about nominating somebody you feel is deserving from another school.
This isn't limited to DODDS schools; international schools were welcome at Far East until 2004, and still compete in events such as Rumble on the Rock and Beast of the Far East.
Remember, one wrestler per weight class. There are 13 of them: 101 pounds, 108, 115, 122, 129, 135, 141, 148, 158, 168, 180, 215 and heavyweight.
Examples of nominations might look like the following:
-- 148 pounds: Justin L. Miller, 1999, Kubasaki. First and only four-time Far East weight-class gold medalist; interestingly, never won a Far East tournament Outstanding Wrestler award.
-- 122 pounds: David Fish, 1988, American School In Japan. Arguably dominated one of the toughest weight classes in any Far East tournament like nobody prior.
-- 158 pounds: Carlos Albaladejo, 2007, Osan American. First Class A school athlete to earn Far East Outstanding Wrestler honors.
-- 180 pounds: Jens Larsson, 1991, St. Mary's International. Losing simply could not be found in the man's vocabulary.
And so on.
So shout it out! Let me know who you think deserves to be the big dawgs in the pound.
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13 Best Pacific Wrestlers of last 25 years:
101- Scott Wood (Kubasaki 2006)
108-----------
115-----------
122- David Fish (ASIJ 1988)
129-----------
135- Zolboo Enkhbayer (Brent International 2002)
141- Steve Courtney (Kubasaki 2006)
148- Justin Miller (Kubasaki 1999)
158- Carlos Albaladejo (Osan 2007)
168-----------
180- Jens Larsson (St. Mary 1991)
215-----------
HW- David Burnett (Zama 2005)
Top 3 Pound for Pound
1. Zolboo Enkhbayer (*** Time Far East Gold, International Schools, werent allowed his Senior Year.)
2. Justin Miller (Only **** Time Far East Gold)
3. Scott Wood (*** Time Far East Gold, Senior in 2009)
Re: CSpotRun's best 13
It would have been great to see if Zolboo could have completed that run and made it not only four straight Far East gold medals, but become the only three-time Outstanding Wrestler. I think he would have been pushed that year by Ryland Geiger at 168 pounds; he tossed the likes of Devon Copeland of Kadena and Joey Wood of Kinnick around the ring like they were caught in a Niagara Falls maelstrom.
Just Considering the 2 years I was at Kinnick
101- (Kubasaki 2005)
108- Mark Streigl (St. Mary's 2004)
115- Jordan Foxwell ? (CAJ 2004
122- ???
129- Shu Yabui (St. Mary's 2004)
135- Zolboo Enkhbayer (Brent International 2003)
141- Zolboo Enkhbayer (Brent International 2004)
148- Steve Coutney (2005) & Perry (Brent 2004)
158- Joey Wood (Kinnick 2004)[Beat defending Champ]
168- Devon Copeland (Kadena 2004, 2005) [Beat defending Champ]
180- Scott Tunis (Seoul 2004)
215- David Burnett (Zama 2005)[Beat defending Champ]
HW- David Burnett (Zama 2004)
135 lb class
No one scored a point on Zolboo in three years!
13 best ever...
First off, I’m pretty sure Steve Courtney never wrestled 141, only 148 and 158 (correct me if I’m wrong) and I think he would of man handled Carlos Albaladejo at 158.. Also I think even though Justin Miller was a 4 timer, and a favorite for people at 148, I think the likes of Jake Bloom, 3 time Far East Champ, could have slightly topped him off.
Here’s my top 13. I have some “?’s” in there and some weight classes I’m not sure about… 101 and 215. Some are just from what I’ve read.
101: Dylan Pablo, 2007, Guam... most dominate 101 I can think of.
108: Mark Striegl, 2006, St. Mary’s, 2 time champ… could have been 3 timer if international schools were invited to 2006 far east.
115: Scott Wood, 2009, Kubasaki…3 time champion… great wrestler
122: Go Yamada, 2003, Kinnick… 2 time champ I believe (???)…awesome wrestler
129: Shu Yabui, 2004, St. Mary’s… 3 time champ, dominated
135: Zolboo Enkhbayer, 2005, Brent International….3 time champ… could have been four timer if international schools were invited to Far East. Most dominate wrestler possibly.
141: Kenji Doughty, 2006, Kinnick… awesome wrestler. 2 time champ.
148: Jake Bloom, 2008 , Kadena...3 time champ, one of the most dominate wrestlers I’ve seen.
158: Steve Courtney, 2007, Kubasaki.. 2 time champ and 1 time MVP...transferred senior year could have easily been 3 time.
168: Devon Copeland, 2005, Kadena… 2 time champ… great wrestler
180: Zach Dopslaf, 2006, Yokota… dominated …2 time champ.
215: Cole Maxey, 2005, Kadena, .. 1 time champ.. not sure who else (???)
hvw: Paul Haecherl, 2005, Kubasaki... great wrestler
PS Dave Ornauer , i would love to know what you think the top 13 were! and i was wondering if Steve Courtney and Zolboo Enkhbayer ever wrestled? i was lookin though the website and i saw that they were in the same weight class at a kinnck invitational? and if any other of these guys wrestled each other?
awesome blog:P thanks a lot Ornauer
You're the Best
Maxey
Stripesblog:
Cole became the first (and at this point only) wrestler to win a gold in freestyle in the Far East and a gold in folkstyle in Europe.
That doesn't surprise me. Cole was one of the most fierce competitors I have ever come across in all my years out here. :)
My best 13 is coming. Patience. For I must sift through all the nominations that I know are coming. :)
Yep your Right
Yeah sorry about that Steve Courtney never did 141
But for 101, when Scott Wood was a freshman he beat Dylan Pablo, but still I wrestle for Guam High and im a good 25 pounds heavier than Dylan and he still beat very quick me just goes to show you how good Guam High's only Gold Medal Far East Wrestler was.
Courtney lost in the semi
Courtney lost in the semi Finals to JM Kwak (St. Mary's) and did not wrestle Zolboo at the 2005 Kinnick Invitational.
K.Radford
"The Twin" and many call him, went last year undeafeated Far East Champ from Edgren High School Eagles, up in snow land where many forget.
Thanks
I feel honored to be considered as a top 13 of the last 25 years. Thank you Mr. Edmonds and any others who may feel this way. I am currently ranked 9th in the state of North Carolina and hoping to go to states and hopefully win it.
The best
Orny, this is excellent. Just dropped in and pulled these names. Completely reserve the right to add or delete later. Enjoy. jp
Now folks, it's certainly no fault of anyone involved (in this discussion) but the folks you're choosing who are wrestling in the current (mini) arena you call Far East, should all be marked with an asterice.
Certainly Zoolboo was the dominant wrestler of the last 25 years and barring the loss of an arm or a leg would have been the other four time Champion. His remarkable record as a three time OW can be attributed to the fact that he was that good and also because he wasn't from Kinnick, Kubasaki or the Int. Schools. I promise, if he had been from one of those schools, folks would have come up with a reason to vote for someone else. 'nuff said on that. Also remember that in the military communities it was just rare for a kid to stay for four years. Anthony Brooker won as a freshman from Kub HS at 108 in 93 and then transferred stateside. He eventually wrestled for the Citadel and is today the 5th ranked Greco wrestler in the USA as an AF helicopter pilot.
101 TJ Aguila two time champ. beat a very good kid in from kinnick in the finals in both 2000 and 2001. Best technician I ever had at that wt class. Tommy Chavez Kubasaki '92. (and that's Dr. Chavez to you guys) Should not have been the OU in that tournament because he was a man among children (18 at the time and he allowed only one point to be scored on him in the tournament). Also the valedictorian of his class. How about Ariel Moreno in '83?
108 Steven Sigafus, Kubasaki 91. Pinned through the tournament and won a state title in Hawaii as a senior. or how about the beast of a kid from Faith Academy in 99? my goodness, he was just a specimen, and if he was from Faith, he was also a great kid.
115-122 Bobby Duncan, two time champion. Also an excellent technician. Beat the kid from Brent Academy who beat Go Yamada in 2001.
122 Lt. Col Brian Hughes, USMC. Pinned Lashley and dec. Fish in 87.
135 James Simon. They just don't come any tougher. Two time champion, won 36 matches as a senior in 93. One of the brothers from Kinnick, Scott Moore I think was also a three time champ when the tourney was the entire Pacific.
141 Finest athlete I ever competed against was the 141 pounder from Kadena, Andre, in 99 and 2000. Amazing skills, amazing athlete.
148-58 I question anyone who would put their wrestler up against Justin Miller when they really didn't have that opportunity on the mat. Justin was 34-4 his senior season. He was 140-20 in four years. He owned numerous victories against prominent All-Marine competitors and the only losses he sustained from High School wrestlers was 1, as a freshman, and two, to the Phillipine Jr. National Champ, 16-14 as a senior in Manilla in his sixth match of the day when he was pretty sick. Justin wasn't the most skilled wrestler I ever coached but he was rare as a physical specimen and in a competitive spirit that made it difficult to score on him. He didn't even like to give up points when he was helping me demonstrate techniques!
168 Got to mention Elbert Bailey from 88, 89 and Doug Hosten from 91. Bailey was the athlete of the year in 89 and Doug had four, five point throws in a December tournament against all-star teams from the states and the jr national team from Japan that year.
Hwt. Before the 215 pd wt class, Jamel Smith 93 was the best small hwt.
hmm on miller
I’m telling you, I think Jake Bloom could of slightly topped Justin Miller. Jake was undefeated throughout his high school career, except for freshman year with 1 loss in the finals of the Far East Tournament to Matt Maza, who he had beaten all year around. He hadn’t lost a single period sophomore, junior, or senior year. So in his whole highschool career i KNOW he couldnt have lost more than a couple matches. In the summer of 2006 jacob wrestled under Jake Clark with Team Okinawa in Fargo ND for the USA nationals. Jacob won 5 freestye matches, which put him 1 winning match away from placing top 10. I believe he just got a scholarship to wrestle at a division 1 collage? Somewhere in Oregon? Well I’m not at all saying Jake would completely BEAT Justin, but I do in fact believe he could of topped him off for the win. Then again just my opinion. =]
Faith chimes in
JP:
Faith's longtime coach Dave Schutt chimes in with the following:
108 -- Jon Barr, two-time Far East champion, 1997 and 1999.
180 -- Amos Collins, two-time Far East champion, 1998 and 1999.
158 -- Andy Hall, champion and most pins in least amount of time, 1990, the last of 15 consecutive years Far East was run at Thew Gym with Loretta Lane as tournament director.
141 -- Gary Stauffer, 2002 champion.
Old Zama coach weighs in
Jack Minor coached Zama American from 1986 to 1990 and offers 1990 Outstanding Wrestler Mike Greeson at 141 pounds. Jack follows us online from his retirement home in Oklahoma. I'm sure he and Ian Harlow would have some interesting notes to compare from their days. :)
Simon vs. Iijima
JP:
James Simon's 9-6 decision over Daniel Iijima of St. Mary's at 135 pounds in the 1992 Far East still resonates as the best wrestling bout I have ever seen. Simon's toughness against a master tactician in Iijima. Everything in the gym just stopped dead; no action on the other mat, all eyes riveted on the two combatants in a contest for the ages.
Great, Tough Blog
This is a lot of fun, but also tough to decide on. Nobody but Dave has seen everyone wrestle, so it's all relative to your time frame. Even as the Panthers wrestling coach, it's fun to think of who would have beat who in wrestle offs over the years in our own room.
*Enkhbayer was definitely one of the best.
*Rae Canlas 2003, 2x champ from Yokota as a 108. His senior year he couldn't wrestle all season because of a dislocated elbow, but came back to only wrestle Kanto Finals and Far East (he won both).
*2003 Heavyweight Blake Reinhold has to be considered as well. These days he would be a 215. Hardest working kid I ever had in the room, and only came close to losing one match his senior year (vs Din Rodillon from Sasebo) when he wrestled with the Flu and a bad fever. Interestingly, Blake got but kicked by several wrestlers his JR year and didn't even place at Far East. Weight trained all off season and had tunnel vision to winning gold his senior year.
*Zach Dopslaf from Yokota was undefeated 2 years in a row (except for an exhibition match vs Joey Wood from Kinnick). Quick, strong wrestler but hands down the most difficult kid I ever coached.
*Tony Presnell from Yokota vs Albaladejo would be a good match to watch. Presnell is a very smart and talented wrestler.
*I always think Jason Rodriguez could have been a 4x champion, but he moved after his Soph. year. Wrestled in Texas and went to State his final year, now wrestling on a scholarship. He was a freshman beating seniors at 115. Probably the best wrestler I ever had the pleasure to coach.
Gotta give thought to Scott Wood, Jake Bloom, Cameron Butts the Striegel Brothers. Joey Wood of Kinnick deserves a lot of credit. He would have easily been a 2x champ but his senior year he was basically the head coach of the team and focused more on them than himself...being a great team mate cost him a repeat. Great kid though.
Best team of all time? Yokota's Charlie Capps' team from the late 70's had 6 gold medals (out of 12 weight classes) but also St. Mary's John Rhodes teams from the 2004-2005. Those 2 years he was unstoppable, and tournamnet finals normally looked like St. Mary's vs the rest of the Pacific. I believe they were undefeated in duals for 3 years (until 2006 when Yokota dethroned them).
Again it's all relative to when you were around, but fun to think about. Thanks for bringing back great memories Dave.
Re: Great, Tough Blog
Yokota Coach:
What makes it so tough is you can't go wrong with so many of these guys. As good as Steve Sigafus and Jon Barr were for Kubasaki and Faith at 108, so, too, were Rae Canlas and Mark Striegl of Yokota and St. Mary's.
When we do put the final selections to bed (in February, before Far East), I'm sure there'll be a few howls from folks who might think Wrestler A is more deserving than Wrestler B. But gawd, that's what makes it so much fun. And challenging. *grin*
Those St. Mary's teams were
Those St. Mary's teams were tough. Kinnick beat them in a duel and there was a 3 way tie for the Kanto Dual Title in 2004.
Joey Wood was a huge help to me and his teammates in 2005. I was the only coach there. I hope that he coaches one day. The wrestling world would greatly benefit.
Rodriguez is a beast.
Top wrestlers in the Pacific
I coached the St. Mary's wrestling team from the fall of 1992 through the winter of 2006. There are a number of outstanding St. Mary's wrestlers that need to be mentioned. Jens Larsson was a three time Far-East Champion. In his senior year he completely dominated the defending 180 pound Far-East Champion and the returning heavyweight Far-East Champion during the regular season. Jens was the previous year's 168 pound Far-East Champion.
Mark Striegl lost one match in his entire wrestling career. He walked through the Far-East Championships in 9th and 10th grade. (The International schools were excluded from any further Far-East Tournaments after his 10th grade year, or he would have been a heavy favorite to win four Far-East titles). Mark also won four straight Kanto League Tournament Championships. (He avenged his only loss by shutting out Kenji Doughty in the 2006 finals). He also won two "Outstanding Wrestling" awards in the Kanto Tournament (No one, to the best of my knowledge, ever won that award twice!).
Shu Yabui won three Far-East Championships. Not only did he win, he completely dominated the field all three years. The finals of his senior year saw him completely outclass his opponent to the tune of
13-0!!
Kento Omori completed his junior and senior years by pinning every opponent he wrestled. That includes two straight Far-East Championships as well as being named the MVP in the Far-East his senior year. I frequently moved him up in weight class during the year, just to give him tougher competition. It didn't matter. He still pinned all comers.
St. Mary's produced many other Far-East Champions and a number of other MVP's, but I will stop with these four, as I know the final list is somewhat limited.
Jon Rhodes
St. Mary's International School
Shu vs Canlas
Yabui was a great wrestler, but his senior year he lost the Kanto Finals to Rae Canlas (after being sidelined all year with injuries) and went up a weight class if I remember correctly. Canlas then beat Sakomoto at Far East. Just goes to strengthen the argument for Canlas.
Here is my list. 101-TJ
Here is my list.
101-TJ Aguila (Kubasaki)
108-Mark Striegel (St. Marys)
115-Jason Bailey (Kinnick)
122-Calvin Anderson (Misawa)
129-Shawn Moore (Kinnick)
135-Zolboo Enkbayer (Brent International)
141-Randall Hull (Seoul American) OR Mundre Fleming (Kadena)
148-Connor Smith (Kinnick)
158-Steve Courtney (Kubasaki)
168-Ryland Geiger (Brent International)
180-Zach Dopslaf (Yokota)
215-Blake Reinhold (Yokota)
HWT-Spencer Frink (Yokota)
Yokota Panther Coach's 2 cents worth
Ok here goes.. great post Dave! From 98-05 give or take...a year...
First of all good to see the legend Coach Pellaton and Coach Rhodes posting here hope all is well with you both.
101- Aguila (Kub)
108- Tough one... Jon Bar of Faith was a beast at the 99 tournament, hard to argue against Striegl or Canlas or even Shu... Would have loved to see this group round robin at their peak. Who was better Coach Rhodes.. Shu or Striegl?
115- Jason Rodriguez (Yok) and Jason Bailey (Kinn)
122- Bobby Duncan (Kub),
129- Shawn Moore (Kinn)
135- Zolboo E. (Brent)
141- Hull (Seoul)
148- Connor Smith (Kinn), Mundre Flemming (Kad) (Mundre wrestled up to dominate Chamberlain in 2002)
158- Justin Miller (Kub)
168- Someone has to help me... Seoul team captain and Champion 2001, extraordinary athlete and leader...
180- Zach Dopslaff as Senior.. Yokota
215- Blake Rhienhold, (Yok) never coached a kid who worked harder, his win at the Beast in 2003 was all heart.. had the flu and was suffering from lower back spasm's.
HWT- Spencer Frink(Yok)senior year, gotta love that black mask.
I know I'm leaving out some fine young men and outstanding wrestlers I know there were some tough Faith Academy wrestlers I've left off... looking forward to reading this blog as it grows... Thanks again for the memories.
Mark Hanssen
Re: Yokota Panther Coach's 2 cents worth
Mark:
Great to hear from you. The guy you're thinking of is Ray Lamb. He stepped in to not only win gold at 168, not only take Outstanding Wrestler honors, but also to coach, when Julian had to go on emergency leave. Good call! Happy New Year!
how could I forget
Ray Lamb... thanks Dave, and sorry Ray. What character that young man had. I can go to sleep now. Happy New Year to you!
Mark
hmm and also.... dream matchups..
180 Larson, St Mary's vs. Dopslaf, Yok...
122 Bobby Duncan, Kub and Calvin Anderson, of Edgren
148 Connor Smith, Kinn and Mundre Flemming, Kadena
108 Jon Bar, Faith vs Canlas, Yok or Striegl St Mary's
158 Justin Miller, Kub vs Bloom, Kad or Andy Hall of Faith
215 Blake Rhienhold, Yok vs Maxey, Kad Rhienhold would win.. but it would be fun.
HWT Spencer Frink vs.. anyone I just would like to see him pacing the corner of the mat with that mask on....
Dominating teams... well hard to argue against Capps team, but so long ago.... different era. St Mary's 2006 or 07 squad very dangerous. 98 Kubasaki had a monster squad if my memorie serves.
Dynasties has to go to Kubasaki under Pellaton,
Cheers,
Mark Hanssen
Re: hmm and also.... dream matchups..
You know ... that may be the ticket. Instead of just picking 13 best arbitrarily, we can pair up the two who get the most nominations per weight class, then go back out to SportsBlog Nation to determine the winners.
What say, Nation?
Match ups sound fun
I'd still like to hear from some folks from CAJ or ASIJ, or the Korea schools.
Cheers,
Mark
oh yeah
i think thats a great idea. go for it!
Hey
I've been trying to get ahold of you Raige.
My "Revised List"
After Some Research...
101- TJ Aguila; Kinnick
108- Mark Streigl; St. Mary's
115- Scott Wood; Kubasaki
122- David Fish; ASIJ
129- Shu Yabui; St. Mary’s
135- Zolboo Enkhbayer; Brent International
141- Kenji Doughty; Kinnick
148- Jake Bloom; Kadena
158- Steve Courtney; Kubasaki
168- Kevin Radford; Edgren
180- Jens Larsson; St. Mary's
215- Blake Reinhold; Yokota
HW- David Burnett; Zama
Dream Matchups
A great idea. Just heard from Art Holden (formerly Faith Academy). He and Susan are at Black Forest Academy in Southern Germany and are planning to put a wrestling program together. Watch out for BFA when he does. On matchups:
158-Justin Miller/Steve Courtney (who I saw wrestle at the Nationals in Fargo/and Doug Hoston. I still like Miller
168 Jens Larrsen, Elbert Bailey, and Ray Lamb. Hard to forget Elbert beating the AF champion Beck in his sixth match of the day at Camp Courtney 11-6. Jens was a beast as well and Ray had the heart of a lion.
180 Amos (Faith) and Jens Larsen (I'd pay to see that one)
215 Love to be in the crowd for Cole Maxey, Jamel Smith, and the Rheinhart kid that everyone is so high on.
my full match up list
Art Holden in Europe... I wonder how long it will take Art to start making some noise.
101- TJ Aguila Kub vs Jerry Moore Yok
108- Jon Bar Faith vs Rae Canlas Yok or Mark Striegl St Mary's
115- Jason Bailey Kub vs Jordan Foxwell CAJ
122- Bobby Duncan Kub vs Calvin Anderson Edg
129- Shawn Moore Kinn vs Shu Yabui St Mary's
141- Randal Hull Seoul vs Andre Kad
148- Connor Smith Kinn vs Mundre Flemming Kad
158- Justin Miller Kub vs Jacob Bloom Kad (put that controversy to rest)
168- Jens Larson St Mary's vs Ray Lamb Seoul
180- Zack Dopslaf Yok vs Jens Larson St Mary's
215- Cole Maxey Kad vs Blake Rhienhold Yok
HWT- David Burnett Zama vs Spencer Frink Yok
Cheers
Mark Hanssen
Re: Dream matchups
JP:
Have Art weigh in! His perspective would be most welcome, as would that of Steve St. Clair, Faith early 1980s (if I could find him).
top wrestlers in the Pacific
Dave:
John Hohenthaner developed many outstanding teams while he coached at St. Mary's and later at ASIJ. It would be impossible not to have kids he coached listed among the best. But, as of right now, I've only seen the Fish boy mentioned. I recognize that putting together a "top wrestlers" list is well short of the scientific method, but to not have John Hohenthaner coached kids listed would be unacceptable, even on a list as subjective as this one.
Jon Rhodes
Didn't Coach Hohenthaner
Didn't Coach Hohenthaner also coach at a DODDS school? I don't know why i'm thinking Edgren,.... I would definetly love to see some input from him, Coach Collier or Rudd, or Coach Harden for that matter....
Mark Hanssen, Yokota Coach 1998-2005
We've found Coach Hohenthaner
Coach Hohenthaner has been located and will be joining the discussion soon. :)
I mailed coaches Collier, Rudd and Harden; haven't heard from any of them.
How about Bill May?
Bill is in Prague. I will email him today and ask him to join the fray. Don't look for too much info from Hohenthaner, he's all tied up as the social coordinator at an assisted living facility in Speerfish, SD. On the bright side, he can really run a shuffle-board tourney. let the games begin. Mark Hannsen, need a family report on my school email. jp
Re: How about Bill May?
JP:
I spoke with Coach Hohenthaner by phone this morning. He expressed interest in doing justice to this ever-broadening, exciting project. :)
Ryland Geiger
"Ryland Geiger,
He won Oregon's 189-pound state wrestling title last year and was a National High School Coaches Association junior national champion and a junior national Greco-Roman champion. He was a double champion (freestyle and Greco-Roman) at the 2006 Cadet Nationals. He has signed a letter-of-inent to wrestle at Minnesota "
Is this the same guy that wrestled at Brent International?
or does someone have the same name?
Re: Ryland Geiger
The one and the same! Every chance that we'll see him representing Team USA in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in jolly ol' England.
thats crazy! hahaha! hope to
thats crazy!
hahaha!
hope to see him there!
It is pretty hard to put any
It is pretty hard to put any input into who the best 13 were...
Only such a handfull amount of people such as coaches, and maybe some of the teachers have been around that long to actually see through the 25 years of wrestling that has been going on. I can only think of names of people that were at my far east tournaments and how they did and international competition for 2years. So this is a pretty hard job! I can tell you that i believe competition has gone up! So i guess we will just have to wait and see!
Matchups I'd pay to see
101- TJ Aguila (Kub) vs Ariel Moreno (Kub)
108- Jon Bar (Faith) vs Rae Canlas (Yok) or Mark Striegl (St Mary's)
115- Scott Wood (Kub) vs Jason Bailey (Kinn) or Jordan Foxwell (CAJ)
122- Bobby Duncan (Kub) vs David Fish (ASIJ) or Calvin Anderson (Edg)
129- Shawn Moore (Kinn) vs Shu Yabui (St Mary's)
135- Zolboo Enkbayer (Brent) vs James Simon (Kub)
141- Randal Hull (Seoul) vs Kenji Doughty (Kinn)
148- Steve Courtney (Kub) vs Mundre Flemming (Kad)
158- Justin Miller (Kub) vs Jacob Bloom (Kad)
168- Elbert Bailey (Kub) vs Ray Lamb (Seoul) or Ryland Geiger (Brent)
180- Jens Larson (St Mary’s) vs Amos Collins (Faith) or Zack Dopslaf (Yok)
215- Cole Maxey (Kad) vs Blake Rhienhold (Yok)
HWT- David Burnett (Zama) vs Spencer Frink (Yok)
On top of having alot of great wrestlers through out the years, there are some that stay behind after they graduate and help coach their teams. You have Go Yamada, who pretty much single handedly keeps the Kinnick program strong. Bobby Duncan, who has been assisting Terry Chumley ever since Jeff Pellaton moved to Germany. Dustin Haney, who has been helping Yokota build strong wrestlers. Of course there are many more young men who works with their team in the practice rooms preparing for Far East.
Beasts
101lbs-
TJ Aguila from Kubasaki was probably one of very few kids who wrestled at 101 as a senior. He was very technical and had amazing speed. From what I remember, he was a two time FE champion beating Justin Olanowski from Kinnick his senior year.
108lbs-
Mark Striegel from St. Mary's was the dominating in the 108lbs weight class. He had 1 loss his entire high school career and that was to Kenji Doughty at the 141lbs weight class. If Dodds had not taken away the international schools from FE, Striegel potentially could have been a 4 time champion.
115lbs-
Jason Bailey from Kinnick and Jason Rodriguez from Yokota would be the two that dominated in this weight class. Both wrestlers had tremendous amount of technique. Bailey was in the finals with Calvin Anderson from Misawa his sophomore year and J-Rod probably would have been another 4 time FE champion if he had stayed in Yokota. J-Rod is wrestling at Dana College, an NAIA school in the mid-west. Shigetsu Sakamoto from St. Mary's and Rae Canalas from Yokota would also be interesting in this mix.
122lbs-
Not a lot of people beat Calvin Anderson from Misawa at this weight class. A great match up would be Anderson against Duncan from Kubasaki. It would be a great match up between Anderson, Guzman from Yokota and Wood from Kubasaki.
129lbs-
Shawn Moore from Kinnick was one of the best wrestlers in that weight class. He dominated his weight class his senior year. His FE finals match lasted 37 seconds against a Kubasaki kid who was no walk over. That was the year when Kinnick had 7 in the finals and Kubasaki had 6.
135lbs-
This is the weight class where we see a lot of great wrestlers. Cameron Butts from Kinnick, Zolboo Enkbauyer from Brent International, Will Appling from Kubasaki
141lbs-
A dynasty began at this weight class for the Doughty brothers from Kinnick. Billy, Johnny and Kenji all wrestled at 141lbs their senior year. Both Johnny and Kenji won FE titles. Randall Hull from Seoul was another contender at the 2000 FE tournament.
148lbs-
Harry Bloom from Kadena and Mundre Fleming from 2000 Kadena would be a great match up. If I’m not mistaken, Ray Lamb from Seoul was also at this weight class. Lamb was a wrestler/coach his senior year due to the coach having to leave for emergencies. Connor Smith from Kinnick was also a FE champion at this weight class in 1999.
158lbs-
Steve Courtney from Kubasaki was probably one of the toughest in this weight class. Copeland from Kadena was also tough in this weight class.
168lbs-
Ryland Gieger wrestled for Brent International and after graduating he won nationals at a school in Oregon State.
180lbs-
Zach Dopslaf from Yokota was untouchable his senior year. He wasn't a technician, but a very strong wrestler.
215lbs-
Blake Reinhold from Yokota and Rob Loker from Kinnick would probably be the two dominate in this weight class. In the 2003 FE tournament, the two met in the finals and went neck and neck until Loker got pinned in the 2nd period.
HWT-
Spencer Frink from Yokota was a monster in the heavy weight division. Frink and Burnett from Zama would be a good match up to see.
215 pounds: David J. Miller,
215 pounds: David J. Miller, 2006, Kubasaki. Despite a footfall season ending knee injury that required surgery and months of rehab earlier in the school year, came back and took 2nd in the Far East. Argued that had new rules not been implemented that year (best 2 of 3 rounds vice total points) he would have taken the title.
My Vote
I would put Tom Chavez against any 101 in the past 25 years.
I was stationed at OKI and followed wrestling very closely. Go to the wall at Kubasaki and see the champs. Tom Chavez won at 101 with only one point being scored the entire year; not at the tournament (sorry Peleton). There were big guns coming from Guam and Japan; Tom easily beat them. I remember talking to Dave Ornauer at the tournament.
Booker went up weight and did a great job that year. I saw Booker at All Sevice Academy meet; very tough. Credit to his family.
Sage Chavez went on from Kubasaki and wrestled on the North Carolina State Championship Team his Junior and Senior Years for Dixon High School. Coast Guard Academy Wrestler.
My top Picks
Hi my name is Reggie Laranang (1998 129lbs Far East Champ) Some the name you guys don't know. Just to bring back the past.
1. Mark Hopkins 1997 141 or 148 Far East Champ
Junior Year Undefeated and Unscored Upon
Beat everyone except one by pin or tech. only match beat the guy 9-0
Justin Miller vs Mark Hopkins Ultimate Dream Match
2. Justin Miller both of them. Kubasaki had two Justin Miller's
4 time champion Justin Miller beat mike gamboa for the individual
championship but he did lost to mike in the team champion ship.
Almost but not quite Jedi Status.
3. Tim Becker from Guam (Simon Sanchez)unstoppable. I really want to see a name
that can really beat this guy when he was in high school. I was a junior and he was a senior even though i took third at 122lb he was toying with me and injured me during our match.
4. 1997/1998 Alvin Diosa Kinnick Junior year undefeated all year long and beat prior year far east champion S. Ito all year long and in the 1998 finals. Should of been 1998 Outstanding Wrestler not Casey Vulcan.
5. Shawn Moore Kinnick what can I say wrestled with him since he was middle school took 2nd as a Freshman and Champ ever since. Wouldn't mind giving him a run for his money.