Ron Ledbetter Quotations

We have nine kids who have a solid shot of qualifying. Our other four entries have an outside shot of qualifying.

He truly believed from Day 1 that he could win the state championship. I knew the potential was there.

Having a state champion is what every coach dreams of. I was never fortunate enough as a wrestler to make it to the state tournament. So being able to coach a state champion is a huge thrill for me.

He's been wrestling all of his life, and his goal was to get to the state championship in Hershey. He achieved his goal.

James had the misfortune of facing the eventual runner-up in the first round. But I'm proud of what he accomplished this season.

To beat a kid of that quality in the first round was big. That win showed John that he was capable of beating anybody.

We had a 60-point lead going into the finals, so it didn't matter that West Allegheny won two of the three head-to-head matches we had with them.

I've never had a kid who will match John's work ethic. He would wrestle live every day if I let him. He truly loves to wrestle.

It was close. If he holds that position for any amount of time, he gets two points. But the official didn't think he had it long enough.

It's going to be interesting to see how he reacts to his first loss. His goal was to be an undefeated state champion. The undefeated part is gone, but he can still be a state champion. I guarantee nobody's going to work harder in the next two weeks.

It's very rare to see a kid go undefeated during the regular season, especially a freshman. I've never had a kid with a better work ethic.

Every weight class has two or three solid wrestlers. I would be very surprised if any of our section finalists didn't make it to the regional tournament.

I'm happy. It's something for us to build on.

I just got done placing the gold medal around John's neck. How exciting that was. I can't say enough about the way this kid wrestled here in Hershey. But that's the way he's wrestled all year.

I don't want to say that John coasted after he went up 4-0 in the first period. But the (Kelly) kid never got close to John after that.

I don't like to cry about the officiating, but I'm going to cry a little bit this time. In the pasts three years, that position has consistently earned two points.