One of the issues is that many of the smaller schools appear to limit their competition to other smaller schools, on a regional basis. If they do not wrestle in KC or Wichita area, then alot of people do not get to see them. How do you compare or rank someone that you have not seen on the mat and has no head-to-head matches or even common opponents? We at Aquinas go to Hays because it is a fun trip, a well run tournament and we also get to see teams we would not otherwise see. Phillipsburg, Hoisington, Goodland, Ulysses, Hugoton, Riley County, Russell, Oakley, and the other 1-3A and 4A schools are teams we otherwise would never see. They have tough kids who bring it on the mat, and that is fun for us. Example: Last year (2012) Oakley had an absolute stud at 160 that we did not know, and he dominated. I forgot the young man's name, but would not have seen him otherwise.
Tom Williams
You're talking about Eric Albers, a stud indeed. And, on that note, one of the most polite young men I had the pleasure of watching wrestle this past March at Rocky Mountain Nationals.
