Dutton Award

[Bearhugger]

Who do you pick?

[Heath]

Quicho or Boyers? Boyers pulled the Kyle Dake winning four different weight classes. Has that ever been done?

Is there anywhere to see the records of each wrestler? I assumed that would be on the brackets but it wasn’t.

A lot of guys I’d like to see walk on to Wvu

[oroyos]

Quiocho or Short.

[Lloyd Christmas]

Gage Wright

[aaacoach38]

Quicho or Boyers? Boyers pulled the Kyle Dake winning four different weight classes. Has that ever been done?

Is there anywhere to see the records of each wrestler? I assumed that would be on the brackets but it wasn’t.

A lot of guys I’d like to see walk on to Wvu

Umm Gavin Quiocho won 132, 138, 145, and 160. So, I am not sure what your point was with that. I would say very few wrestlers in high school stay in the same class more than one season, especially those that have won multiple state championships.

[WVU]

Is there anywhere to see the records of each wrestler?

Blake Boyers
9th 36-4 1st-106
10th 40-6 1st-113
11th 41-8 1st-126
12th 16-0 1st-138
133-18 Overall

Gavin Quiocho
9th 35-14 1st-132
10th 40-7 1st-138
11th 46-8 1st-145
12th 22-1 1st-160
143-30 Overall

[crochog93]

"The Robert Dutton Award is sponsored by The Parkersburg News and Sentinel and given annually to the Mountain State's best wrestler by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association"

Per the description of the award, The Dutton award is to be given to the "BEST" wrestler in the state each year. It does not have to be given to a senior.... It does not have to be given to a 4x state champion either.... Those precedents have already been set by Braxton Amos. He won the award as a junior, as he was cut and dry the best wrestler in the state, and then won it as a senior, again same case as before, over a 4x state champion and also fellow nationally ranked wrestler in Peyton Hall.

While Quiocho and Boyers are great wrestlers, i do not feel they are the "best" in the state. 2 wrestlers i know of who are currently active wrestlers in the state own victories over these two. Thats not taking anything awat from those guys but there are multiple other wrestlers around the state who i feel are better. In no particualr order see below:

Justin Bartee, junior from point pleasant, has a head to head victory over Quiocho this year, is a 3x state champion, and his only in state loss is to Joey Miller, who he beat back weeks later after the fact. His other 2 high school losses are to an ohio state champion and a Georgia Staet champion. Also a NHSCA Runner Up.

Gage Wright - Freshman State Champion, Has 2 head to head victories over Raike, nationally ranked wrestler in his class i believe. has been absolutely dominant in the state of west virginia.

Isaac Short, senior from point pleasant, is a 3x state champion. (Didnt compete after wsaz his freshman year) his 1 career in state loss was a 4-3 decision to 113 # State champion Blake Whorton his freshman year at wsaz.

Derek Raike, junior at Point Pleasant, 3 time state champion, head to head tech pinned boyers in 18-19 season. NHSCA All American. 2 career instate losses are to Freshman Gage Wright of parkersburg South.

I also think 3x state champion Micahel Dolan should be considered in the conversation as well, although i cant attest to his in state losses without doing some research. Dont get to see much panhandle wrestling.

[oroyos]

I nominate Jeremy Callen for the Dutton. He’s been responsible for a few ranked kids being beat this year too.

[crochog93]

Quicho or Boyers? Boyers pulled the Kyle Dake winning four different weight classes. Has that ever been done?

Is there anywhere to see the records of each wrestler? I assumed that would be on the brackets but it wasn’t.

A lot of guys I’d like to see walk on to Wvu

Umm Gavin Quiocho won 132, 138, 145, and 160. So, I am not sure what your point was with that. I would say very few wrestlers in high school stay in the same class more than one season, especially those that have won multiple state championships.

12 of the 4x time state champions prior to this year have won in 4 different classes if my math is correct.. skimmed the list real quick.. so heath that is a fairly common feat amongst the accomplishments of the 4 timers.. but as i stated earlier the award should go to the best wrestlers in the state as its description reads.. which in my opinion isnt either of the 4x state champions this year.

[mscoach106]

"The Robert Dutton Award is sponsored by The Parkersburg News and Sentinel and given annually to the Mountain State's best wrestler by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association"

Per the description of the award, The Dutton award is to be given to the "BEST" wrestler in the state each year. It does not have to be given to a senior.... It does not have to be given to a 4x state champion either.... Those precedents have already been set by Braxton Amos. He won the award as a junior, as he was cut and dry the best wrestler in the state, and then won it as a senior, again same case as before, over a 4x state champion and also fellow nationally ranked wrestler in Peyton Hall.

While Quiocho and Boyers are great wrestlers, i do not feel they are the "best" in the state. 2 wrestlers i know of who are currently active wrestlers in the state own victories over these two. Thats not taking anything awat from those guys but there are multiple other wrestlers around the state who i feel are better. In no particualr order see below:

Justin Bartee, junior from point pleasant, has a head to head victory over Quiocho this year, is a 3x state champion, and his only in state loss is to Joey Miller, who he beat back weeks later after the fact. His other 2 high school losses are to an ohio state champion and a Georgia Staet champion. Also a NHSCA Runner Up.

Gage Wright - Freshman State Champion, Has 2 head to head victories over Raike, nationally ranked wrestler in his class i believe. has been absolutely dominant in the state of west virginia.

Isaac Short, senior from point pleasant, is a 3x state champion. (Didnt compete after wsaz his freshman year) his 1 career in state loss was a 4-3 decision to 113 # State champion Blake Whorton his freshman year at wsaz.

Derek Raike, junior at Point Pleasant, 3 time state champion, head to head tech pinned boyers in 18-19 season. NHSCA All American. 2 career instate losses are to Freshman Gage Wright of parkersburg South.

I also think 3x state champion Micahel Dolan should be considered in the conversation as well, although i cant attest to his in state losses without doing some research. Dont get to see much panhandle wrestling.

Just one guy's opinion.
Based on THIS year's performance i would add Bush from Cameron to the list. He dominated his weight class week after week like no other that i can find, winning every match by fall (except when he went up in weight to get more competition against someone would would eventually be the runner up at the next weight up.)

[Shuffman]

You don’t want to get it something like this wrong...maybe have a little wrestle off to make sure we get it Wright!

[Treerat]

Hardy had a pretty good run also. Not alot of matches this year but beat some quality opponents at states

[Bearhugger]

Is there anywhere to see the records of each wrestler?

Blake Boyers
9th 36-4 1st-106
10th 40-6 1st-113
11th 41-8 1st-126
12th 16-0 1st-138
133-18 Overall

Gavin Quiocho
9th 35-14 1st-132
10th 40-7 1st-138
11th 46-8 1st-145
12th 22-1 1st-160
143-30 Overall

I am sure and hope somebody corrects me if I am wrong. Quiocho wrestled at Ironman and Powerade his 9th, 10th and 11th grade years. Furthermore, South typically loads up a few tough quads against tough out of state teams. I do not think East Fairmont ventured out of state the past three seasons.
If we are going to compare records, we must look at strength of schedule.

[Doyablameme?]

I nominate Jeremy Callen for the Dutton. He’s been responsible for a few ranked kids being beat this year too.

Unprecedented vitriol

[ringworm14]

Really enjoyed the input on this! Guess I’ll stir pot some!

Got to eliminate Wright. If Amos don’t get it as a sophomore with a far better resume, then Wright can’t get it as a freshman. Is he deserving of conversation? Absolutely!!! But, precedent has been set.

That being said, we do tend to see Seniors win this. That takes us to Quiocho and Short, IMO. I am not 100% sure Boyers was best 138 out there. Unfortunately, Price was out but I believe he wins that class.

Both have tremendous resumes, both have great in state success. Both will be wrestling at next level. Take your pick. Hard to be wrong with those two!

“Beware the Ringworm!”
- Spencer Lee

[mscoach200]

Mitchell Freeman would also qualify.

[Gutwrench22]

I personally believe that athletes who have chose to be held back for a better “ranking” should not be considered for any awards at the state tournament.

[Heath]

Quicho or Boyers? Boyers pulled the Kyle Dake winning four different weight classes. Has that ever been done?

Is there anywhere to see the records of each wrestler? I assumed that would be on the brackets but it wasn’t.

A lot of guys I’d like to see walk on to Wvu

Umm Gavin Quiocho won 132, 138, 145, and 160. So, I am not sure what your point was with that. I would say very few wrestlers in high school stay in the same class more than one season, especially those that have won multiple state championships.

Haha yeah I read that in the paper. Both incredibly deserving. Congrats to Gavin.

[Heath]

"The Robert Dutton Award is sponsored by The Parkersburg News and Sentinel and given annually to the Mountain State's best wrestler by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association"

Per the description of the award, The Dutton award is to be given to the "BEST" wrestler in the state each year. It does not have to be given to a senior.... It does not have to be given to a 4x state champion either.... Those precedents have already been set by Braxton Amos. He won the award as a junior, as he was cut and dry the best wrestler in the state, and then won it as a senior, again same case as before, over a 4x state champion and also fellow nationally ranked wrestler in Peyton Hall.

While Quiocho and Boyers are great wrestlers, i do not feel they are the "best" in the state. 2 wrestlers i know of who are currently active wrestlers in the state own victories over these two. Thats not taking anything awat from those guys but there are multiple other wrestlers around the state who i feel are better. In no particualr order see below:

Justin Bartee, junior from point pleasant, has a head to head victory over Quiocho this year, is a 3x state champion, and his only in state loss is to Joey Miller, who he beat back weeks later after the fact. His other 2 high school losses are to an ohio state champion and a Georgia Staet champion. Also a NHSCA Runner Up.

Gage Wright - Freshman State Champion, Has 2 head to head victories over Raike, nationally ranked wrestler in his class i believe. has been absolutely dominant in the state of west virginia.

Isaac Short, senior from point pleasant, is a 3x state champion. (Didnt compete after wsaz his freshman year) his 1 career in state loss was a 4-3 decision to 113 # State champion Blake Whorton his freshman year at wsaz.

Derek Raike, junior at Point Pleasant, 3 time state champion, head to head tech pinned boyers in 18-19 season. NHSCA All American. 2 career instate losses are to Freshman Gage Wright of parkersburg South.

I also think 3x state champion Micahel Dolan should be considered in the conversation as well, although i cant attest to his in state losses without doing some research. Dont get to see much panhandle wrestling.

Great post. All look deserving. Tough call. Hope some of these boys end up at wvu.

[mscoach4]

In the definition it says "the best wrestler in the state each year" so why would the 3 previous years be considered? With that said though I would be shocked if GQ doesn't win the award. If it were based on just this year though I would think a case could be made for the Spring Mills kid Dolan at 126

[aacoach141]

Not to disrespect or water down Mr.Quiocho's achievements, he's a fantastic wrestler and I'm sure he'll be successful at the next level (assuming he wants to pursue that path). But the fact he won it over Bartee, who won the head-to-head this year just shows the award more of a popularity contest than identifying the best wrestler in the state. Which is fine btw, but let's not pretend it's the WV high school wrestling version of the Heisman award.

Instead it should be considered in the same category as fan voting for an all-star game. The most deserving don't always make it to the all star game bc a few fan favorites always sneak in, regardless of their play.

But if it is just a senior award, that's ok too. Then let's have another award for the actual best wrestler in the state, we can call it the Bearhugger. I personally don't know who he is but he is by far the most entertaining one on this forum and the guy really loves WV wrestling so I think it's deserving.

Bearhugger since the award should be named after you, who gets your vote for the best high school wrestler during the 2021 pandemic riddled wrestling season?

And one guy mentioned Bush and wow that kid really dominated this year. He's def. getting an invitation to the award ceremony.

[aaacoach38]

Not to disrespect or water down Mr.Quiocho's achievements, he's a fantastic wrestler and I'm sure he'll be successful at the next level (assuming he wants to pursue that path). But the fact he won it over Bartee, who won the head-to-head this year just shows the award more of a popularity contest than identifying the best wrestler in the state. Which is fine btw, but let's not pretend it's the WV high school wrestling version of the Heisman award.

Instead it should be considered in the same category as fan voting for an all-star game. The most deserving don't always make it to the all star game bc a few fan favorites always sneak in, regardless of their play.

But if it is just a senior award, that's ok too. Then let's have another award for the actual best wrestler in the state, we can call it the Bearhugger. I personally don't know who he is but he is by far the most entertaining one on this forum and the guy really loves WV wrestling so I think it's deserving.

Bearhugger since the award should be named after you, who gets your vote for the best high school wrestler during the 2021 pandemic riddled wrestling season?

And one guy mentioned Bush and wow that kid really dominated this year. He's def. getting an invitation to the award ceremony.

No disrespect but ...This was a very odd season and I am not sure that one wrestler stood out more than the other. There were no out of state contests that were exceptionally notable to combat some of this. But are we also forgetting that they had the opportunity to wrestle again but Bartee went out for 170 in their dual instead? Why is it so difficult to accept that the fact that it is more than just a one season award? That may not be what it was originally started as but past winners prove otherwise, except for Braxton Amos. He was especially without a doubt the best wrestler the past two seasons regardless of that.
Gavin more than earned this award. He was a 4 time state champion (in 4 different weight classes ), Multiple time All-American in national tournaments in extremely deep weight classes, Ironman place winner, Powerade place winner twice, and various other accolades. Instead of down grading individuals, maybe try and be glad that we have individuals like Gavin representing our state that does not always get the notoriety that it deserves. There were several individuals this season including Boyers who was a 4x state champion himself, that were deserving of the reward in this unusual season and he finished runner-up in the voting. Maybe Bartee wins the award next season. If he does, he would have earned it. But for now, it would be more beneficial to appreciate the fact that a honorable young man and wrestler won this season and that our state had several other excellent wrestlers in the running. It makes our state and the award more viable.

[misskimlpn]

Someone is a little bitter. What you don’t realize is how bad you make the team in your area look because of your opinion. SMH

[aacoach141]

Not to disrespect or water down Mr.Quiocho's achievements, he's a fantastic wrestler and I'm sure he'll be successful at the next level (assuming he wants to pursue that path). But the fact he won it over Bartee, who won the head-to-head this year just shows the award more of a popularity contest than identifying the best wrestler in the state. Which is fine btw, but let's not pretend it's the WV high school wrestling version of the Heisman award.

Instead it should be considered in the same category as fan voting for an all-star game. The most deserving don't always make it to the all star game bc a few fan favorites always sneak in, regardless of their play.

But if it is just a senior award, that's ok too. Then let's have another award for the actual best wrestler in the state, we can call it the Bearhugger. I personally don't know who he is but he is by far the most entertaining one on this forum and the guy really loves WV wrestling so I think it's deserving.

Bearhugger since the award should be named after you, who gets your vote for the best high school wrestler during the 2021 pandemic riddled wrestling season?

And one guy mentioned Bush and wow that kid really dominated this year. He's def. getting an invitation to the award ceremony.

No disrespect but ...This was a very odd season and I am not sure that one wrestler stood out more than the other. There were no out of state contests that were exceptionally notable to combat some of this. But are we also forgetting that they had the opportunity to wrestle again but Bartee went out for 170 in their dual instead? Why is it so difficult to accept that the fact that it is more than just a one season award? That may not be what it was originally started as but past winners prove otherwise, except for Braxton Amos. He was especially without a doubt the best wrestler the past two seasons regardless of that.
Gavin more than earned this award. He was a 4 time state champion (in 4 different weight classes ), Multiple time All-American in national tournaments in extremely deep weight classes, Ironman place winner, Powerade place winner twice, and various other accolades. Instead of down grading individuals, maybe try and be glad that we have individuals like Gavin representing our state that does not always get the notoriety that it deserves. There were several individuals this season including Boyers who was a 4x state champion himself, that were deserving of the reward in this unusual season and he finished runner-up in the voting. Maybe Bartee wins the award next season. If he does, he would have earned it. But for now, it would be more beneficial to appreciate the fact that a honorable young man and wrestler won this season and that our state had several other excellent wrestlers in the running. It makes our state and the award more viable.

But that’s the thing, according to their own description it isn’t a multi-season award, according to them it is to identify the best wrestler in the state during that year. So using some logic, how can wrestler A get the award for best wrestler in the state over wrestler B, when wrestler B won the only head-to-head match during the year? Logically, he can’t. It’s cool though, I’m sure no one in Point actually cares too much that it keep them up at night.

It’s a minor thing honestly. But the description for the award doesn’t match the chosen winner.

Oh and for the Karen that’s shaking her head, I’ll provide the beatbox sounds for you I hope you don’t hurt your neck.

[Doyablameme?]

Sigh..... can’t we all just get along?

[aaacoach38]

Not to disrespect or water down Mr.Quiocho's achievements, he's a fantastic wrestler and I'm sure he'll be successful at the next level (assuming he wants to pursue that path). But the fact he won it over Bartee, who won the head-to-head this year just shows the award more of a popularity contest than identifying the best wrestler in the state. Which is fine btw, but let's not pretend it's the WV high school wrestling version of the Heisman award.

Instead it should be considered in the same category as fan voting for an all-star game. The most deserving don't always make it to the all star game bc a few fan favorites always sneak in, regardless of their play.

But if it is just a senior award, that's ok too. Then let's have another award for the actual best wrestler in the state, we can call it the Bearhugger. I personally don't know who he is but he is by far the most entertaining one on this forum and the guy really loves WV wrestling so I think it's deserving.

Bearhugger since the award should be named after you, who gets your vote for the best high school wrestler during the 2021 pandemic riddled wrestling season?

And one guy mentioned Bush and wow that kid really dominated this year. He's def. getting an invitation to the award ceremony.

No disrespect but ...This was a very odd season and I am not sure that one wrestler stood out more than the other. There were no out of state contests that were exceptionally notable to combat some of this. But are we also forgetting that they had the opportunity to wrestle again but Bartee went out for 170 in their dual instead? Why is it so difficult to accept that the fact that it is more than just a one season award? That may not be what it was originally started as but past winners prove otherwise, except for Braxton Amos. He was especially without a doubt the best wrestler the past two seasons regardless of that.
Gavin more than earned this award. He was a 4 time state champion (in 4 different weight classes ), Multiple time All-American in national tournaments in extremely deep weight classes, Ironman place winner, Powerade place winner twice, and various other accolades. Instead of down grading individuals, maybe try and be glad that we have individuals like Gavin representing our state that does not always get the notoriety that it deserves. There were several individuals this season including Boyers who was a 4x state champion himself, that were deserving of the reward in this unusual season and he finished runner-up in the voting. Maybe Bartee wins the award next season. If he does, he would have earned it. But for now, it would be more beneficial to appreciate the fact that a honorable young man and wrestler won this season and that our state had several other excellent wrestlers in the running. It makes our state and the award more viable.

But that’s the thing, according to their own description it isn’t a multi-season award, according to them it is to identify the best wrestler in the state during that year. So using some logic, how can wrestler A get the award for best wrestler in the state over wrestler B, when wrestler B won the only head-to-head match during the year? Logically, he can’t. It’s cool though, I’m sure no one in Point actually cares too much that it keep them up at night.

It’s a minor thing honestly. But the description for the award doesn’t match the chosen winner.

Oh and for the Karen that’s shaking her head, I’ll provide the beatbox sounds for you I hope you don’t hurt your neck.

It is a minor thing but you keep bringing it up. I hope you are not losing sleep at night over it, but that does not seem to be the case. The chosen winner won and deserved to win. Let it go.

[KDunbar]

Although Mr. Bartee (the elder) and Mr. Tench took exception to me lamenting the decision to bump Bartee (the younger) in the PS/Point dual (a coach's decision and not a wrestler's decision as I said before), I believe a victory by Bartee could have cemented his position in the running for the Dutton Award. It would have most likely been another great match and is why I was so disappointed that it did not occur. This controversy was another reason and it would have been good to have avoided it. I can't help but think that if the South's coaches would have had the opportunity to move Wright up from 145 to meet Freeman at 152, Shockey up to 160 meet Bartee's replacement, and Quiocho up to rematch with Bartee, that the people from Point would have been disappointed to not have seen a rematch between Wright and Raike. Again, for clarity again, I'm not saying anything was done wrong with bumping Bartee up. It just was not in his best interest to do so. He ended up taking one for the team and I'm sure he was proud to do so.

[Bearhugger]

Not to disrespect or water down Mr.Quiocho's achievements, he's a fantastic wrestler and I'm sure he'll be successful at the next level (assuming he wants to pursue that path). But the fact he won it over Bartee, who won the head-to-head this year just shows the award more of a popularity contest than identifying the best wrestler in the state. Which is fine btw, but let's not pretend it's the WV high school wrestling version of the Heisman award.

Instead it should be considered in the same category as fan voting for an all-star game. The most deserving don't always make it to the all star game bc a few fan favorites always sneak in, regardless of their play.

But if it is just a senior award, that's ok too. Then let's have another award for the actual best wrestler in the state, we can call it the Bearhugger. I personally don't know who he is but he is by far the most entertaining one on this forum and the guy really loves WV wrestling so I think it's deserving.

Bearhugger since the award should be named after you, who gets your vote for the best high school wrestler during the 2021 pandemic riddled wrestling season?

And one guy mentioned Bush and wow that kid really dominated this year. He's def. getting an invitation to the award ceremony.

LOL! SierraMarie Miller of East Hardy. 2021 Girls' State Champion. 2021 STQ1 in the regular state tournament. I give her the nod over Zoey Salmons because she is a senior. None of these other wrestlers mentioned wrestled in two different state tournaments.

[Bearhugger]

In the definition it says "the best wrestler in the state each year" so why would the 3 previous years be considered? With that said though I would be shocked if GQ doesn't win the award. If it were based on just this year though I would think a case could be made for the Spring Mills kid Dolan at 126

Dolan at 126 is very good. Dolan at 106 is even better. Little Dolan is the one to watch. I hope he is a solid 126 or bigger as a senior. Colleges need to watch him.

[Bearhugger]

To stray from the topic somewhat, the most outstanding wrestlers at the state tournament had me scratching my head.

In AAA, it was given to Hardy of Washington. I had no problem with that. He pulled off some tough wins in a very tough weight class.

In AA, it was given to Boyers of East Fairmont. Obviously Boyers got the award because of four state titles. His semifinal and finals wins were very close.

My point is, there was a 4x state champion crowned in both AAA and AA. Of the two, Quiocho was more dominant in his path to the title. Simply look at the scores in the brackets. He was not given the MOW.