The Montana system as described by Shawn Budke is the best to help avoid the situation that developed at Wichita Northwest this year in 215 and 285 with them having 3 of the top all class heavier 215 & 285 wrestlers in the state in Caylor, Heithaus and Page.

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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