Records definitely are overrated. Strength of schedule is a huge variable if you are going compare kids.

In my opinion if 4A somehow only had 32 schools competing like 5A and 6A, you would see a similar amount of losing records.

My perception of the Kansas scene (and common in other states) is that rural communities generate a strong interest in wrestling in most cases. The small town newspapers and radio stations and other media give decent coverage of wrestling. Blue collar and farm kids really do well in this sport.


Conversely, I see in the bigger cities where you have the bigger schools, wrestling is not as popular and basketball gets a huge amount of the attention. Yes, you have a bigger pool to draw from but you probably see participation levels in wrestling similar to the smaller schools. And to be honest, sometimes you see less participation. The bigger schools do put out that blue chip college recruite type wrestler more often which is a function of the bigger numbers. But the overall depth in the big schools is really not there. Large Media coverage of wrestling in Kansas takes a huge backseat to basketball. I'll say it, the KC Star is horrible on wrestling coverage.


Note it's good thing and a great learning experience for the kids that get to state. But if almost everybody get's there, than it just becomes another tournament and loses some of its luster. I'm going to use as an example states like IL, IN, OH, NY and PA. Qualifying for state in these states is more difficult than placing in KS. I base this judgement partly on the number of matches kids have to win to get to state. You have to win 6 sometimes 7 matches. If you're a state qualifier, you know you did something.