Washington Wrestling Message Board

Washington Wrestling Message Board
[ Washington Wrestling Message Board ]

Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?

Posted by Jason on 1/2/2023, 8:24 am

When my son was in HS he was the only thing anyone talked about on this website. He was the glory boy of the state and was gonna be WA state's answer for college wrestling. Last I checked he never made the starting line-up at UNC? Anyone know what happened?

Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?

Posted by Well on 1/2/2023, 10:42 am, in reply to "Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?"

College is a whole different ball game. People can be really good in high school and go to college and they are wrestling people that are 4 years older and better. Many of those really good kids don’t know how to lose. They get red shirted and lose interest. They only want to wrestle if they are the best. I don’t know this person you are talking about but I see it frequently in all sports.

Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?

Posted by 2a fan on 1/2/2023, 12:20 pm, in reply to "Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?"

Gabe smith from Pullman is currently on the starting line up at Cornell Iowa a d3 school and ranked 23 as a true freshman.

Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?

Posted by Apples and oranges on 1/2/2023, 12:31 pm, in reply to "Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?"

That's quite a step down from NCAA Division 1. Not a fair comparison.

Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?

Posted by College Wrestler on 1/7/2023, 7:05 pm, in reply to "Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?"

Sounds like something someone who never wrestled in college would say.

Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?

Posted by Uuummmmm on 1/3/2023, 9:59 pm, in reply to "Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?"

What? lmao From way down town!!!

Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?

Posted by Dave G on 1/2/2023, 11:50 am, in reply to "Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?"

He is still at UNC. Went 9-3 last year.

https://goheels.com/sports/wrestling/roster/mason-phillips/23711

Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?

Posted by Answer on 1/2/2023, 7:14 pm, in reply to "Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?"

Injuries, surgeries. I believe he has one year of eligibility left next year. And I’ve heard he should be the starter then unless some young hot shot unseats him. On the plus side, he should have his MBA.

Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?

Posted by Dave G on 1/2/2023, 9:57 pm, in reply to "Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?"

That's impressive, the MBA part. Wrestling eventually ends for all of us, even the very talented ones like Mason. Glad to hear school has gone well so he can transition into the next phase of his life after wrestling ends.

Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?

Posted by Top Dawg on 1/2/2023, 7:15 pm, in reply to "Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?"

Dave,

Do you know where Ryan Wheeler is now? He was another stud in hs

Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?

Posted by Watcher on 1/2/2023, 8:55 pm, in reply to "Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?"

Wheeler is at Colorado Mesa a D2 school. He placed 3rd last year and won an Award at the National Championships for finishing the tournament with the most falls in the least amount of time

Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?

Posted by The Pinner on 1/2/2023, 8:56 pm, in reply to "Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?"

https://cmumavericks.com/sports/wrestling/roster/ryan-wheeler/19532

Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?

Posted by Jason on 1/3/2023, 7:34 am, in reply to "Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?"

Great news for Gabe Smith and Ryan Wheeler, but like someone else previously mentioned, those programs are a long, long ways from a top notch D1 school. I also looked up UNC's website, and see that Mason still is not a starter at UNC. Great that he's getting his MBA and doing well in school, but this is not an educational website, it's a wrestling website.

Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?

Posted by non- starter on 1/3/2023, 4:35 pm, in reply to "Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?"

C'mon man give the guy a break! Whether or not he's in the starting lineup or not give him some props for sticking it out.D-1 rooms are intense,cutthroat and not always a lot of fun. -

Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?

Posted by Brass Balls on 1/5/2023, 9:15 am, in reply to "Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?"

Agree with “non-starter”. It is really a different animal in D 1. I have buddies who have gone D 1 and each one has regretted it for one reason or another. I personally think that wrestlers in Washington do not get better after their sophomore-Junior year. They just don’t have the competition and there is such a gap between competition levels. We are horrendous on top and bottom.

If you want your kid to be a d1 wrestler. Win state his freshman / sophomore year and move to New Jersey or Pennsylvania for his Junior and senior years.

Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?

Posted by Dave G on 1/5/2023, 10:09 am, in reply to "Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?"

That is funny but true (move to NJ or Penn). You lived through the game and saw several friends go D1. I didn't know their inner experience but you have expressed that here. College wrestling is really tough and even being on the roster, especially D1, is good and having a winning record is tough. I commend any of our Washington graduates that made it through 4-5 years at any major college for wrestling. Even more important is that I hope they got a degree out of it they can use for future careers.

To Dave

Posted by Brass Balls on 1/16/2023, 10:01 pm, in reply to "Re: Whatever happened to Mason Phillips?"

Yeah the hammers I know who have come out of Washington and then not really excelled at the D1 level. It really gives a perspective of the levels that exist within this sport. These guys were really dominant are lucky to have winning records in College.

I was in a group text with some wrestling friends and asked “I wonder what it would be like to step out on the mat with Jordan Burroughs?” My buddy responded “if you want to get your ass kicked just wrestle me.”

Re: To Dave

Posted by Dave G on 1/17/2023, 1:10 pm, in reply to "To Dave"

You are right that an "average" D1 wrestler would kick you but just as fast as Jordan Burroughs would. You probably couldn't tell the difference between the two until the D1 guy wrestled Burroughs and then you could see it. Every sport has different levels that are not always that noticeable to the untrained eye. That 1-2% difference at the top can still lead to winning almost every time, as we have seen in Burroughs career.

« Back to index

[ Washington Wrestling Message Board ]