Will,

I am enjoying this conversation with you. It is just a big difference in opinion that I am okay with. I know you just want to see the quality of wrestling improve in Kansas and the only point you have made so far that I believe could justify your position of joining 5A and 6A is that Wisconsin had 7 of the last 20 in the Olympics. I don't know if having fewer state championships per pupil necessarily caused that to happen but who knows. I look at it though from the perspectitive that we need to make wrestling and wrestling general interest grow and that it is important especially in these high school years to be growing a fan base in the wrestlers themselves, their families and friends. Growth in interest in the long run is the only way that college wrestling programs are going to grow. You mentioned Title IX in a previous post but I think many AD's actually secretly like Title IX because they can use it as an excuse to limit men's non-revenue sports. I don't think you would see a sudden flood of new wrestling programs and scholarships if Title IX were suddenly repealed. The AD's want to focus on their bread and butter sports today.

I know that most teams could not field two full teams with 14 wrestlers. I don't think that Aquinas even could due to the lower weights especially 103 and 112. But take those two weights out of it and I believe Aquinas could put a very credible wrestler in very other weight. I bet most of the top teams in 5A and 6A could do the same. It was very disappointing to see the lack of opportunity in high school wrestling this year for so many quality wrestlers on the Aquinas team. It was very frustrating to see the disappointment and frustration that so many of the senior wrestlers and their parents had this year because they had to wrestle JV when they knew that they could have been wrestling varsity at probably 90% of the schools in Johnson County.

I know Aquinas is probably an extreme example of this but I bet there are several other teams in 5A and 6A that have some very good wrestlers on their JVs or worse yet just did not bother to come out for the team this year. There have to be wrestlers like that at other schools to like Carroll, Hutchinson, Goddard, Manhattan, etc. I see the problem more that there are also quality athletes at these bigger schools that are not coming out for wrestling. I know we have some great athletes at Aquinas who would no doubt be incredible wrestlers if we did a better job of getting them to give wrestling a try. I see that more of a problem at these bigger schools that I know have the athletes. Why are we not getting them out? Sure it is a tough sport but it is also the greatest sport in the world. We need to sell this sport better to them and offer them more opportunities not less.

I am definitely not in favor of even further limiting the wrestling opportunities for high school kids at larger schools to qualify for state by joining the two larger classes. They already have an unfair limitation at most weights to smaller schools by only allowing them one per school per weight. Per pupil that is a limitation for the larger school wrestler. Create more opportunities for quality high school athletes to wrestle. Do not further limit them.

We can do this and still achieve what you really want too. All you have to do is have this Grand State at the end of the year. You could also further add to the fun and school spirit by having a Dual State sometime during the year. Imagine the excitement if Aquinas, Goddard, Carroll, Manhattan, Hutchinson, and other schools were battling it out in a Dual State tournament. I tell you what I bet you would put more of the student body in the seats for that kind of a tournament too!