No problem, Tom. I understand the generalization you were making. My main sport was football and it was common not to play varsity until your junior year so that is what I am more accustomed to.

I have found high school wrestling to be different in that it is more common for freshmen and sophomores to wrestle varsity and I think for the most part freshmen and junior varsity high school wrestling has more beginning wrestlers in comparison to freshmen and junior varsity football. Many of our freshmen and sophomores have been wrestling since they were very young, 5 to 7 years old. They have developed their skills to the level that they are state placing quality wrestlers as freshmen and sophomores. It is very difficult for this quality of wrestler to have to wrestle JV even as a freshman. It is just not the level these quality of wrestlers should be competing at. So even in the example you give of the 119 sophomore surrounded by the good competition, I would like to see him able to wrestle varsity in a system that allows a team two competitors per weight like the Montana system or the NAIA system.

It was very disappointing for me in 2007 to see three or four of the Aquinas seniors who would have been state qualifiers on other teams unable to compete varsity for most of their senior year or at state since they were second team on our State championship team. Two of these seniors had qualified for state in previous years. I just would like to see the system allow for more opportunities for wrestlers who are in this situation. I think the Montana system or the NAIA system could help give these quality wrestlers the opportunity for varsity competition that I think they deserve.