Will,

I don't completely disagree with you on this one. However, the bigger the school the greater the possibility that you run into the situation that you actually have two of the top wrestlers in the state in the same weight class especially in the heavier weight classes where the weight differentials are so much larger than the lighter weight classes. I know it is an exceptional case but it happened this year in the Wichita Northwest situation where you had two previous year state champions, Caylor 215 and Heithaus 285 returning and no place for Trey Page who is one of the top heavier wrestlers all class in the state and would certainly have been a favorite to place high at either 215 or 285. All three of these wrestlers in my opinion should have had the opportunity to compete for the state championship this year even if they are from the same school. To accomplish this Kansas should consider the Montana sytem that Shawn Budke posted about last year.

quote=shawnbudke].....Here's an idea of how they do it in Montana for the big schools....

Each high school can enter up to 2 full teams into the state qualifying tournaments. There are 2 divisional qualifying tournaments. The top 8 from each weight class qualifies for state the following week. At the state tournament the team points count just the same for every wrestler that qualifies.

At first, I didn't like this but having coached in that system for a few years I realized there were a lot of advantages to it. Here are the advantages from my perspective...

1. The true team champion is determined by who has the best overall program. The best programs end up qualifying 20-25 kids and thus usually score a lot more points at the state tournament.
As a coach, it requires you to build depth in your wrestling room.

2. It is a great advantage for the kids. If you have 2 studs at a weight you don't have to force one to wrestle up or down a weight. There has been times when one school has had 2 wrestlers in the championship. This is a good thing for the kids because the get to become state placers without having to cut weight just to try and fit into the line up or not get a chance because they can't make the weight.

3. This proces also promotes the total team concept among the wrestlers. Kids get more interested in helping their "back ups" vice just trying to make varsity.

4. It actually increases participation and the number of kids in the wrestling room. For example, if you have a group of state qualifiers or really good wrestlers, kids that aren't that good still come out for wrestling because they know they still have a chance.

I think these are very positive for a sport that has trouble increasing its number of participants in high school and college.

BLUF: We need to look at ways to increase the participation in the sport of wrestling, not limit opportunities.

Shawn Budke

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