7 Quotes by Duane Blackburn

We have a good nucleus of kids coming back and another solid group coming up behind them. We'll be a challenge, no doubt. Kids like Wolf and (sophomore) Guy Price and some of the others, they will augment Chandler at the lighter weights. My assistant, Bo Ramsey, has done a wonderful job bringing all of them along.

You can't miss it with all the pictures we have hanging on the walls (at school) of our (34) state finalists.

It's a tremendous venue. I was telling Chandler there's nothing I can say or do that can prepare you for coming out of the bullpen there that first time, looking up and seeing 10,000 fans.

It's getting harder and harder to get teams to commit to a two-day tournament. Their kids -- especially the weaker ones -- can get more matches in at the one-day, 10-team pool tournaments.

That's definitely something we hope works in our favor. But it's going to be a tough weekend. Five of the top eight seeds (including No. 1 West Jefferson and No. 3 Grandview) are coming here. I guess the good thing is that if a kid can make it through here he's got a pretty good shot at going all the way to the state tournament.

He's wrestled in those situations so many times in tournaments, and that's something not a lot of parents or coaches understood when they watched him. He's experienced those big-type atmospheres.

And as for St. Edward's B team, a lot of Division I teams around here used to see them four or five times in a season. They'd complain, so we stopped inviting (St. Edward). Then the Division I teams didn't come back.