Introductions of the wrestlers for 5th, 3rd and 1st were made before the final round at Hays.

Personally, I liked the three mat finals; and not because of any time savings; there was no appreciable time savings by doing this,in Hays anyway. The SSB was sung at 3:45 p.m. and the finalists were brought in (to "The Eye of the Tiger")and wrestling was completed at about 7:00 p.m. No matter how you format them, the final rounds with introductions, medal presentations, blood time, etc. take at least 3 hours. I liked the three mats because (#1) I believe it kept more on the crowd in the arena; too often people leave when their school has no rooting interest in the finals. (#2) All medalists were ready for the presentation. (#3) people without any rooting interest did not have to wait through finals to see their wrestler get a 3 - 6 medal.

I don't think the state schedule has been adjusted much at all since we went from three mats to four. . . so I will go further, IMO, the schedule for State Schedule should be permanently altered:

Friday wrestling: start no earlier than noon.
Saturday: begin no earlier than 10:00 a.m.

We started at 4 on Friday and wrestled until 11:00 p.m. which is way too late. Starting at noon would allow for the semi-finals to be wrestled on Friday night and still be done at a decent time for the competitors, 8:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

It was demonstrated that starting at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday still allows the tournament to be completed at a very reasonable time. . . and eliminating the semi-final round from Saturday would allow for a longer break before the finals round. It was hard to leave the arena with wrestlers and cheerleaders for a "real meal" given the compressed schedule of Saturday.

And finally, GET A DEDICATED TEAM SCOREBOARD FOR HAYS. Once in a great while the advertising on the big screens was suspended to show the top ten team scores, but you had to be lucky to see it when it happened.

I was bummed to hear about the schedule change. Bummed for the finalists. That was one of my favorite parts of the State tournament. Team rolls into Hays on Thursday, practice in the Colosseum. Next day, wrestle your butt off through the semi-finals on Friday night. Yes, night. This is the State Championships. These are the best wrestlers in the state. By the time they get to this tournament, many wrestlers will have 20-30 wins. Many of those matches were won on the road and at all hours of the morning, afternoon, day or night. Ever wrestled in the finals at the Garden City Invitational?

So after wrestling through the semi-finals on Friday night, the finalists have all day Saturday to prepare for the ***EXCLUSIVE*** championship match. I realize the changes this year were most likely an anomaly, but the State Championship Finals match should be the ***ONLY MAT*** on the floor for the finals. The wrestlers who earn a spot in the finals deserve no less. And with recent developments in the Olympics community, we should all be more careful about debasing or devaluing the achievement of wrestling in the State Finals.

Another option suggested for the finals that is, IMO, worthy of consideration: use three mats and wrestle 5th and 3rd on the side mats. . .followed by the first place match by itself on the center mat.

State Championship matches should be the only matches being wrestled. It should be show cased, not thrown in with the 3rd and 5th place matches. I understand with weather it had to be done this year but this schedule should be the exception not the rule.

I agree. If we are going to keep the championship semi-finals on Friday night (I still prefer having them first thing on Saturday), to start them on at 4:30pm or whatever is crazy. That kills any incentive for locals to come out and catch some of the better matches after work. The championship semi-finals should start no earlier than 6:00pm on Friday.

I pray it's an anomaly.  I fear something much different.  I am not against change, but I wont walk calmly blindfolded to the gallows either.

The summer of 1992 I watched John Smith win Olympic gold in Barcelona live on regular television in primetime.  I even saw Kenny Monday, Kevin Jackson, and Bruce Baumgartner's matches in their entirety.  There was a new event in those games.  The USA put a team together known as the "Dream Team" to participate.

That winter I found myself in the Kansas 321a state wrestling championship match.  The 
parade of champions I'd long dreamed of being in started at 6:15.  As a 145 pounder, I'd be hitting the mat around 8:00 to a packed, raucous crowd.

I wanted a wooden, Kansas-shaped, State bracket, and to see my Stockton wrestler friends receive the team trophy, mid-mat, while "We Are The Champions" played over the PA system.

Fast-forward twenty years...

I got to watch a re-run of Jordan Burroughs on some odd satellite channel after work, because it aired live mid-morning.  It was the only full match I saw.  Sure saw plenty of the new "Dream Team" though.  Now wrestling is on the Olympic chopping block.

Even without the weather situation, a lot has been slowly taken away from our sport's state spectacle.  The wooden brackets are gone.  The originally scheduled finals start time was 4:30, and the mats are headed to storage (stereo unplugged) before the 285 pound champion gets done hugging his coach.

Twenty years ago was also the first year we started placing six at state.  While I'm still undecided on whether or not that was a good decision, I accept it, while observing it's taken away from the ferocity of the consolation semis.  That used to be my favorite round to watch.  This past Olympics we handed out two Bronze medals in many cases.  Would wrestling for it had taken up too much time?  Did we need to get the venue cleared for another sport to have the spotlight?

In regards to the three-mat finals, admittedly under the duress of the situation it wasn't a complete disaster.  I do feel honoring a wrestler who goes 2-3 in the tournament the same as one who goes 3-1 is a farce, and essentially that's what this format does.  A sixth place finisher gets the same pomp & circumstance as a state champion, minus the paper bracket.

I am not a participation ribbon guy. I believe it sends the wrong message & ultimately depletes wrestling.  However, with declining numbers and the changes I've seen over recent years, a sad yet foreseeable vision flashes in my head.  One of western Kansas state wrestling being a USAWKS sanctioned, eight man bracketed, one day event, in a high school gym.  Ribbons for all.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist, nor a "shock" jock.  I'm a wrestling fan with my own observations/opinions who is concerned about our sport, as I'm sure all of you are as well.  As wrestling coaches often say... "Head on a swivel."

If it can happen at the IOC level, it can certainly happen at the KSHSAA level.  Let's suck up the bleacher butt, and start showcasing our sport as an event desirable.  One of primetime relevance.  Now, before it's too late.  If we don't see it that way, why would anyone else?