I would like to see:

6A - 32 teams & 5A - 32 teams go to TOPEKA EXPOCENTRE

4A - 61 teams go to SALINA BICENTENIAL CENTER

3A,2A,1A - 72 teams stay at FORT HAYS STATE

I definitely think breaking the States up is a great idea. It may not be as great for recruiters/spectators, but it would be much better for the Wrestlers. I grew up going to Hays and the atmosphere is unbelievable. I have coached at Wichita and it is very anticlimatic. The kids deserve to be in the spotlight, and with 3 tournaments going on at the same time that is impossible. Anyone who wants to see how it should be done should take a trip out to Hays. Talk about inspiring kids to wrestle, that is the best way I know of.

Nickel's worth:

3-1A: Fort Hays
4A:Manhattan (KSU)
5: Salina
6A:Topeka

Alternative: Combine 5-6A at Topeka

(Nothing against Salina, don't know hotel situation.)

No way. Keep 4A/5A/6A together. It's great to see your competition from all around the state, not just one class. If it wasn't all at the same site, no one in 5A or 6A would know how good Earl Jones was, and no one in 4A would have ever seen Dyer, or Carrol get upset by Hemmerling. I agree that Wichita probably isn't the greatest place, but if that's the only way to keep all three together, by all means do it. Topeka and Manhattan are also great places to hold it, there's plenty of hotel accomodations and tasty restaurants for all to eat. Just don't split us up, and ESPECIALLY don't send us to a high school. State would lose a lot of its luster if it was at just another high school.

Plus, if state was in Manhattan, then everyone could experience our town's funny jokes!

The sad thing is that usually at 456A you don't get to see people from other classes cuz you're always watching your teammates or just people from your class wrestle. I was there last year and I didn't see any matches from other classes at all. Everyone watched Hoover at least once, I think, but that's about it.

It's suprising reading this forum how few people are fans of Kansas wrestling as a whole. If you only sit and watch one class in Wichita, you don't know what you're missing. Why in the world would you trade the excitement of 3 state tournaments in one arena for a high school gym? Talk about anticlimactic. Prant's point is well-taken. We have outstanding athletes from all different classes in the state and no one will see many of the great matches if state is split up. Keep 4/5/6A together and start working on the real issue--a dual state tournament.

Well said, Carolina. Kansas is the land of seperation when it comes to State tournaments, and as a non-native, I have always found that strange. Most other states have their tournaments in one large location and while it can tend to be kind of crazy at times, it is exciting and part of thrill of the sport.
But — for better or worse — it is part of the tradition here in Kansas and it always will be. Change does not come easy.

I think that we should keep them all togethor. Really I think that the only place that could handle this would be Topeka. I don not know how well they treat the kids state tourney but I personally have not heard of any complaints. Correct me if I am wrong but I believe they have also hosted the Kids Folkstyle Nationals there as well. Also back in the day...they hosted the the final Olympic Freestyle Qualifier Tournament. I think this shows a fairly strong commitment to Kansas Wrestling and even some national wrestling. I my small humble opinion I also think that running a state tournament in a gym is a joke. I believe that it would take away for the accomplishments of all the wrestlers involved. I also do not believe that moving the tournament to Manhattan is the solution either. You would still have to split the tournament up and again would take away the magnatude away from the tournament. Plus, And I am not trying to step on anybodies toes here, what has Kansas State done for Kansas Wrestling? Support the people that support you. JUST THOUGHTS! Peace.

Having the three state tournaments at one site is not a "big event" or a glorifying experience, it is a a big clustered joke. I do not think this is badmouthing wrestling in other classes, but as a coach, I don't even get a chance to see any of the 5A and 6A tourneys. Our coaching staff is focused on our kids and the 4A tourney and trying to win a state trophy.
Bottom line is--the 4A tourney by itself is better for 4A teams and wrestlers and that is what I care about. What we get to "experience" with the three classes together is not wrestling heaven, it is a whole lot more like hell. The problem is it is just too much at one place for the people running the tourney to treat everyone like they deserve to be treated at STATE.

RJW I respect your opinion, and I agree with some of your comments, but I could not disagree with splitting up classes more. It is hard to get around and watch many other matches, yes, but there is time to see some, especially if they are exciting match ups. In a small high school gym you would have no chance to see any matches from other classes, neither would any wrestlers or fans. You also have to keep the big picture in mind as coaches aren't the only ones there. The fans, parents, and wrestlers are all part of the experience as well. There will always be difficulties with such large events, but with some thought and preparation and input from coaches, they can be overcome. I would rather put up with some headaches to keep the event large, prestigious, and exciting than be in one small gym where it would seem just like another tournament. Talk to some coaches from other states who have done it both ways. Everyone I have ever talked to, who now have their state tourney in one venue all have said it is the best thing they have done.

RJW:

As a native of one of those places that has a one-site State tournament, I have to disagree that one like that can't be run well. Iowa's tournament is spread over three days on eight mats, each class wrestles seperately (1A's, followed by 2As, followed by 3As every round), everyone has the opportunity to see everyone else wrestle and it's recognized as the best-run, and most media and fan friendly of all of the state tournaments in Iowa, including basketball.
The problems in Wichita are not from the format; they are from poor facilities cooperation more than anything else. Find a better facility with better management and this problem may not be as extensive.

Splitting the tourneys up doesn't mean they will be held in a small gym. 321A is on its own and held in an arena and is a very prestigious event. As someone who wrestled and coached at a 2A school for awhile, I would say the event for 321A seems more prestigious than the event for 456A because everyone in the entire arena is focused on one thing. Fans can easily keep a bracket and the team scores are always posted and everyone is there for ONE thing and focused on that one thing. The workers can accodimate coaches, wrestlers, and fans appropriately, because it is not a big cluster. I bet you couldn't force a 321A fan, parent, coach, or wrestler to put up with the mess we 4A fans, coaches, parents, and wreslters put up with at Wichita.
You just can't imagine how awesome the finals are when everyone in the entire arena is watching the same match. It is electric! And people even watch the awards presentations and know the team scores that are constatnly updated. It is not just another tourney and you can tell.

I agree with you about Hays— it is a great format.

All I was saying was that I don't think you can necessarily dismiss multi-class tournaments just because of what has happened at Wichita. They can work and work well, provided the right people run them in the right place.

tkdwn42:
I can't speak for Iowa, but I know that thus far Kansas has been unable to pull it off and our efforts have been poor. I don't think ours has ever been fan, media, or wrestler friendly. I'm sure a big part of it is the site, but I now our coaching staff and a lot of the coaching staffs we talk are just tired of the mess.

Now is a good time to cut back on the classifications. A state the size of ours needs only two classes for wrestling.

At least that way, a state title would be meaningful! Cal. has only one state champion and they have over 20 mil. poeple!! PA has only two I think and they have 14 mil.

Have one state championship event with the two classes - hold it in Topeka - it'd be a brawl!

Hey for all of you that think it is so good to split it up, we did that for about thirty years in this state. We been wrestling here for a long time you know. I cannot imagine why a person wouldnt want to see three state championships for the price of one. I think it is the greatest thing that has happened to wrestling here. A crowd of seven or eight thousand for the finals? Try getting that crowd at Oakley or Colby or Junction City, Topeka, or any other place we used to go to wrestle the state tourney. Its a blast to go together the kids absolutely love it. Never saw a wrestler that wanted it split up.

Why talk to coaches in other states about holding a single state tournament in a single venue, when we can talk to our own coaches and wrestlers that attend the 321A tournament in Hays? That is a single tournament in a single venue. Odd that no one wants to change that? Seems to me they like what they have. I have wrestled in Hays and coached in Wichita. The Hays experience is so much better for wrestlers, coaches, and fans. Bottom line is the tournament in Wichita is not ran properly. My biggest pet peeves are the ice-cold mats, no posting of the team scores, coaches paying for the "hospitality room", the caotic weigh-ins, and the un-friendly mob squad. Therefore, Wichita is out. And since no other facility in the state can house 4A-5A-6A together, we must split up. My vote will be for 4A in Salina all by ourselves.

Westfahl,
I was a wrestler and I want it split up.

Coach Wink and Coach JT are right on.

I agree the 4 5 6A site don't get me wrong. I was pissed last year when we were not allowed to bring food in for our wrestlers who had just waited an hour to weigh in and had no where to go to eat. Never mind the fact that there are only about 3 restauraunts within 15 miles and there was no food being sold at that time anyway. Remember that 3-2-1A is 3 classes combined into 1. It is a great run tourney because it is at a great site in a great town run by the Fort Hays wrestling team. I think that tournament would be hard to duplicate for one of the other classes. I could be wrong. If the other classes split up I think it will be a mistake. I hope they search for a different venue first before splitting. It also seems that it is the 4a coaches who seem to want to be split up most. I think they seem to have there own fraternity, so to speak. I see them splitting off. I just hope they don't regret it later.