Will,

I absolutely agree with you on the comment you made (pasted below)....

Honestly, the methodology we use to call a team the best is super flawed. We should not keep team scores at our state tournaments (Wisconsin and others do not) and best team should be determined by a dual event. Take the regional champs and runner ups and have a dual tournament to see who the best team is. You have a full line up at regionals but at individual state you do not. Coaching strategy and the entire line up come into play then. Individual State is about INDIVIDUAL champions. If you don't crown one then you have failed create a champion and it is laughable that you call yourself the best team.

Now to answer your question from an earlier post....

Yes, I would trade my individual state championship for a team state championship and I am not lying. Maybe it is because I am getting old and sentimental but the friendships our team created still last to this day. It is the one thing that we all regret from our high school days. I would personally have enjoyed sharing a state championship and all that goes with it with my buddies than the individual one.

The other point is that I did choke in the championship twice. Finished second my junior and senior years. I regret that but not near as much as not winning the state championship as a team.

As a side note for those that think this wrestling sport is an individual sport.....I challenge anyone to provide an example of a champion from any tournament (kids novice, open, high school, etc) that won it all by themselves. You can't do it. In order to win an individual state championship you have to have a good team and good practice partners. Without that you can't win a championship. Heck, how many kids do we see club hop so they can get better partners, not to mention change high schools?

Therefore, I have a hard time supporting the idea that wrestling is a pure individual sport. I do agree it would be great to have a dual team state championship. By the way, this individual sport idea is what is killing wrestling. It is much easier to generate excitement for the sport if we do more duals. However, this is for another topic.

Shawn Budke