We are talking numbers and participation here. And in all reality, by keeping the number of participants of young high school wrestlers buying a club card and participating in the Kids State series it is going to be much better for the interest of our sport in the long run. They are also much more likely to maybe do some Freestyle wrestling in the off season/ summer camps etc ..as they have paid the extra amount for their card. It isn't about making it tough for these kids (at the risk of pussification as some would argue) ...but rather it is about sustaining their interest and possibly rewarding their and parents efforts for keeping them in this great sport. The fact is not every one can be elite and make the podium and many will say "hey, why pay 50 plus bucks to wrestle one tournament?"
I can recall back in my youth in 86-87 when I finished my Kids Federation career by winning Kids State each of my last two years at 16 & U 125 and 16 & U 145-the guys i wrestled in these brackets such as Darren Holbein-Hays,Darrel Andrew-Perry, Jon Ray-Clay Center, Todd Mosher-Topeka Seaman, Brian Hontz-KC Harmon etc were all eventually HS State Champs or Finalist but did we all medal at HS State as a freshman,.. NO--Did we all deserve some reward for our work on the mat that year- YES )--
~ this was when the 16 & U classes where divided by 5 lbs such as 16 & U 120,125,130, 135 etc... we did have FULL brackets to fight through in qualifiers and it (Kids State) served as a stepping stone for underclassmen to garner some hardware, especially ones who may have been say 135 lbs or higher that may not even be Varsity yet or have the elite success on Varsity due to being an underclassmen competing against Juniors and Seniors.
WHY is it such a bad thing to keep the participation numbers up and reward kids ? I guess my main argument against others who feel the need to stiffen things up in KS Wrestling such as one class to determine one true Champion is simply..WHY ?
Yes, it may be easier and more beneficial for the very elite to be recognized by colleges but KSHSAA rewards not just a few but many youth by giving out State medals in the various classes in ALL other sports, so WHY should the demanding sport of Wrestling only reward few because of someones ego that "I am the very best in KS". Our best wrestlers can offset themselves through places like Fargo etc. ~
When i first learned of going from 12 to 14 weight classes and giving medals to 6 placers rather than just 4--i was like "Whoa, this isn't right,.. as there were only 48 placers per class and now they are giving medals to 84" which i felt watered down the significance. But as I thought about it more I realized this was selfish thinking and knew how hard I worked, how much i sacrificed and how good it felt to be a medalist. Bottom line,its about our kids and making them feel good about their efforts. ..even at the risk of pussification. Sorry Will.

If these other sports can recognize many, why should wrestlers who most work HARDER, not also be recognized for their efforts ? So, i guess what I am trying to say is we NEED to recognize these above average freshman and sophomores who may not be on the level of Fargo yet..BUT are still doing well and putting in alot of work.~ They deserve it !
just my thoughts, Kevin Calhoon