SJA Thunder

12/1 - Trailblazer Invitational - Gardner HS (Toughest 1 day tournament in KS!)

12/7-12/8 - Mid America Nationals - Tulsa Union HS

12/14-12/15 - KC Classic Hale Arena - KC, MO (Toughest individual tournament in the U.S., within the KSHSAA travel restrictions )

1/5 - Lepic Duals - Iowa City West HS

1/12 - Bobcat Classic - Basehor Linwood HS

1/18 - 1/19 - Platte County Pirate Invitational - Platte County HS

1/25 - 1/26 - Rocky Welton Invitational - Garden City's new palace on the plains!

2/2 - Silver Lake Invitational - Silver Lake HS

2/15 - 2/16 KSHSAA 4A or 5A Regional

2/22 - 2/23 KSHSAA 4A or 5A State

See you dropped the JoCo Classic.

That is one tough schedule!!

Yes indeed, that is one bona fide big time schedule.
Best wishes to SJA wrestlers and coaches this 2012-2013 season.
Enjoy fans and family.

SJA has a tough super tough schedule!! If you want to push your kids to the next level you have to wrestle the best kids in the state/nation to see where you stand! Kuddos to SJA

I'll throw in the Lansing schedule as maybe the all-in-state toughest schedule. Everyone of those tournaments are tough.

Does SJA not wrestle duals? are they in a league?

Off the top of my head for Andale:
Pratt
Clay Center
Tulsa Union
Bobcat
Garden City
Rose Hill
Bishop Carroll
4A Regional (which X man will point out isn't as tough as 5a or 6a)
4A State (which X man will point out isn't as tough as 5a or 6a)

Oh, wait, if Goddard is 4a this year, 4a will be the toughest........

Doug
ps been a while since I posted, figured I might try to get Coach X's blood pressure up.........

I think they have a dual with Mill Valley right before the lepic duals the old man forgot about. They aren't in a league.

The "old man" didn't forget... The 3 AD's they use over at USD 232 couldn't keep things straight so they are not returning to SJA this year for a dual. SJA is looking for a team to dual.

How many other teams in the state of kansas aren't in a league?

For 3A this is not bad...
Pratt
Hesston
Derby
Clearwater
Garden City
Circle

Norton Schedule:

Hoxie Invitational
MCL Dual Tour
Goodland Dual Tour
Clay Center Invitational
Norton J.R. Durham Invitational
Newton Tournament of Champions
MCL-NWKL: NW KS Tournament of Champions
Phillipsburg Panther Classic

The KSHSAA lists the following member schools as being Independent in 2011-12 (the new school directory is not yet available):

Hamilton,
Junction City-Saint Xavier,
Lawrence-Bishop Seabury Academy,
Lenexa-St. James Academy,
Olathe-Kansas School for the Deaf,
Powhattan-Kickapoo Nation,
Salina-St. John's Military Academy,
Shawnee-Marantha Academy,
Wichita-North East Magnet

If I have any input SJA will never belong to a league for wrestling. With the post season series in place what do we really need a league in any sport for? You can win regional, sub state, state? Who cares if you are "League Champion"? It is an antiquated and obsolete concept. A league does make the AD's job much easier, however...

Back in the day, given the competitive restrictions that were in place, leagues for wrestling made sense; whether or not it "made the AD's job easier" is strictly based on one's definition of "easier." I do agree that in today's LESS restrictive scheduling environment, league wrestling is certainly not necessary from the stand point of developing a competitive schedule; however, IMO being a league champion is still a worthy accomplishment.

When I was in school we did not wrestle in a league, mostly because there were only a handful of schools with wrestling in our league at that time. But I do know that when we would wrestle the schools that were in our league from Football, basketball, etc.... it got the competitive juices running a bit. I agree that leagues for wrestling are somewhat useless, but on the other hand I also think it keeps that rivalry juices in the schools going, and even sometimes gets more fans to come out and watch a duel if it is against a league foe.

I agree being in a league and doing well in your league is a good thing for high school athletes. Something to be proud of. I am certainly proud of my runner-up finishes from back in the day.

Of those independent schools how many have a wrestling program?

Lazyman. . ."of the independent schools how many have a wrestling program?"

In 2011-12

St. James Academy
St. Johns Military

Olathe North has added the Mid America Nationals tournament to their schedule which already includes Gardner and Bobcat.