Sat, Jul 04 2009
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Published March 13, 2008 03:35 am - A Karl Pearson column... It’s still rather difficult for Kyle Gilchrist to feel really good about all that he has accomplished during his four varsity wrestling seasons at Jefferson High School. Star Beacon All-Ashtabula County Mat: Gilchrist made history Jefferson great the first county wrestler to place three times at the state meet and piled up 174 victories KARL PEARSON Star Beacon A Karl Pearson column...
It’s still rather difficult for Kyle Gilchrist to feel really good about all that he has accomplished during his four varsity wrestling seasons at Jefferson High School. It probably will take at least several years for him to truly appreciate what he has achieved. Despite compiling a record no other Ashtabula County wrestler can match by placing three straight years at the state tournament, there is still the knowledge that he didn’t achieve his ultimate goal, that of being a state champion. It seems there will always be that lingering sense of disappointment. To be sure, the son of Debbi and Iain Gilchrist is proud of what he has done. But he can’t get past that feeling that he fell just a bit short of his own high standards. Try as one might to get him to find solace in all that he has accomplished, they can’t get him past that sense that he still didn’t reach the goal he has focused on for the past three seasons, in particular. Informed that he is the first wrestler to be chosen Star Beacon Ashtabula County Wrestler of the Year, Gilchrist is pleased to learn of his place in history. But there’s still that underlying sense of disappointment. “I’m proud of that accomplishment,” he said. “I know there have been a lot of great wrestlers come through this county over the years. But I’m still disappointed I didn’t achieve my goal. “I think it is something special to place three years at state. Overall, I guess my career has been pretty good, but things just didn’t work out in trying to reach my goal.” He must be content to realize he did his utmost to become only Ashtabula County’s fifth state champion and its first since Grand Valley’s Bobby Jones did so in 1984 at 132 pounds in Class AA, even though it didn’t work out. “Even though I worked my hardest and gave it my best effort, it just wasn’t in the works for me,” Gilchrist (48-3 this year) said. Almost forgotten in it all is the realization Gilchrist’s records stack up very well against the very best wrestlers that Ohio, arguably the best high school wrestling state in the country, has produced. With the conclusion of the 2007-08 season, Gilchrist racked up 174 victories in his career, which ranks him in a tie for 15th all-time in the state through results compiled by the Ohio High School Athletic Association through Jan. 3, 2008. There’s also the notion Gilchrist has held his own better than any other wrestler in Ohio against the boy many people consider the best wrestler in the state at this time, St. Paris Graham junior David Taylor. There are many people who feel Taylor may one day be considered the greatest wrestler Ohio has ever produced. That assertion comes from the fact Gilchrist is the only wrestler in Taylor’s march to three straight state championships who has wrestled a full six-minute match against the Graham standout. That happened in 2006, when Gilchrist, then a sophomore, tangled with Taylor, then a freshman, for the Division II title at 103 pounds. Even though Gilchrist lost that match, no other wrestler before or since has pushed Taylor to a full match at state. “My dad said that I’d been the only one to wrestle him for six minutes,” Gilchrist said. “I guess that’s something I can take pride in. Years from now, I might be able to say I did a good job against a guy who was a world champion or an Olympic gold medalist. 
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