L. Geyer, you saw the issues in Hays that I saw. Whoever was on the clock Friday night on table 3 needed to be relieved, at least after the 4th or 5th screw up!

3-2-1A in Hays was a ROCKING packed place in the 80's and 90's when the old-school powers were the main players: esp. those years that Sainty, Oberlin, Hoxie, Sainty, Atwood,Noton (Leoti slipped in there too!) etc. were cranking out qualifiers and strong teams. Those towns showed up!

Remember the pre-final cheer when all of the cheerleaders fro the old NWKL schools ringed the floor and led the chant: "Up, Up, On Your Feet, North West Kansas Can't Be Beat!" At that time IT WAS NW Kansas vs. the State. Now, 3-2-1A is the rest of the State chasing Norton.

It is first and foremost a population thing. Most of the traditional NW Kansas powers are now small 2A or 1A schools. They simply do not have the numbers needed to field full or close to full teams. This reduces their number of qualifiers and therefore the number of fans attending. This also leads to those schools losing the grip on their wrestling tradition; it is no longer a living tradition but is becoming dusty, museum quality history.

My best reason for leaving the 3-2-1A in Hays was the amazing wrestling experience it gave the participants. Unfortunately that is no longer the case there. I think it is time for a change; if nothing else to send 3-2-1A to Dodge City and maybe a host that really wants to host it.