No problem, Tom. I understand the generalization you were making. My main sport was football and it was common not to play varsity until your junior year so that is what I am more accustomed to.

I have found high school wrestling to be different in that it is more common for freshmen and sophomores to wrestle varsity and I think for the most part freshmen and junior varsity high school wrestling has more beginning wrestlers in comparison to freshmen and junior varsity football. Many of our freshmen and sophomores have been wrestling since they were very young, 5 to 7 years old. They have developed their skills to the level that they are state placing quality wrestlers as freshmen and sophomores. It is very difficult for this quality of wrestler to have to wrestle JV even as a freshman. It is just not the level these quality of wrestlers should be competing at. So even in the example you give of the 119 sophomore surrounded by the good competition, I would like to see him able to wrestle varsity in a system that allows a team two competitors per weight like the Montana system or the NAIA system.

It was very disappointing for me in 2007 to see three or four of the Aquinas seniors who would have been state qualifiers on other teams unable to compete varsity for most of their senior year or at state since they were second team on our State championship team. Two of these seniors had qualified for state in previous years. I just would like to see the system allow for more opportunities for wrestlers who are in this situation. I think the Montana system or the NAIA system could help give these quality wrestlers the opportunity for varsity competition that I think they deserve.

Vince,

Did you know Ben Roethlisberger was a backup in High School?
Of course his coaches son was the starting quarterback. At least the 4 Aquinas wrestler got to challenge for the varsity spot I hope.

I've often wished that Hwt. was unlimited with one provision. All contestants would have to be under a maximum body fat percentage. Too many so called experts worry about our high school wrestlers having too low a body fat percentage, when if fact the least healthy are the overweight football players/wrestlers. Say 20 percent maximum body fat a wrestler is allowed.

I'd like to see a weight class smaller than 103, since we still see kids who are less than 100 pounds having to compete at 103 because the team doesn't have anyone else to fill the slot. 98 pounds would be about right.

I can think of one recent example where a two-time high school state champion could not make varsity his freshman year because he was behind a returning state finalist at 125 and a returning state qualifier at 130. The wrestler was Cade Blair of Valley Center and he had already had a very respectable kids wrestling career placing at state numerous times and winning it at least once. If there had been a Montana or NAIA system in place for this year he most likely would have qualified and who's to say he wouldn't have pulled something off and been at the top of the podium giving him a shot at the elusive 4 Timer nickname.

I really wish there could be a weight class lowere than 103. I coach for a kids club and have had the pleasure of coaching two outstanding kids that have each placed at state numerous times and have placed very well at national tournaments. The two kids are both very small, wrestled 72 last year and 78 this year. This year being their 7th grade year, and from their recent growth patterns it is going to be a miracle if they even weigh enough their freshman year to wrestle. Just really disappoints me that two great kids might have to sit out because they are not big enough and just simply cant gain the weight. Why make heavyweight higher when it is just simply easier for big kids to lose weight than it is for very skinny kids to gain weight.
I'm not real smart but it seems as though raising heavyweight just says to many obese kids, its ok just keep getting fatter you'll still get to participate

I don't think many kids could fill out a class lower than 103. As it is coaches have a hard enough time finding someone small enough to get to 103 let alone weigh less than that. While it sucks for those few who weigh well under 103 to be giving up so much weight they should eventually grow into the weight class and become a dominate force in the light weight divisions. I can think of a few recent 103 pound wrestlers who did not get close to that weight there freshmen years but turned out to have good careers (Kenny Ornelas, Nathan McCormick, Nash Burtin, Donny Altman and the list could go on but I don’t have all night). Austin Hood is one wrestler I can think of this year who could have benefited with a lighter weight class but he was still competitive at 103 while weighing less than 90 pounds he placed 4th in 4A.

I really see no need at all for any change in the weight classes. When a kid finds himself in between 2 weight classes, he cuts weight and gets down to the lower weight 90% of the time. As far as the lighter weights go, there are bigger gaps between them as there are fewer bodies to fill the weights. How many jv 103 pounders are there that could go up to say 108 on teams around the state? Or if some of the 103lb studs go up then 103 becomes a weaker weight. As for the upper weights, the guys can handle the weight change. If a 230 pound kid can't cut down to 215 then I'm guessing he's already a muscle bound kid who shouldn't have much of a problem wrestling the heavier 285 pounders.
If you look at most teams and how they're put together, you will see many more middle weight kids than higher or lower weight. This is why there are more weights around the middle with lower weight changes in between them.

In my opinion as a coach at a 321a school that is seeing numbers decreasing all over the place adding six weight classes is ridiculous. This will only make it harder for those in the small schools to compete as a team. But adding those weights might sound good to someone at a 4,5,6A school but those of us in 321a would really have a hard time finding 20 guys to fill a roster to compete in a dual match or try to have a strong team finish in tournaments.

Coach are the declining numbers strictly a result of declining enrollments or just a lack of participation?

Didn't Kansas try a different weight class system in 1995 where there were something like 16 weight classes or something, they added more lower weights and more upper weights. That lasted for a year...I persoanlly beleive that one of the greatest things about wrestling is the fact that you are the one that either gets his hand raised or doesn't. It is the ultimate sport; however it is also very much a team sport. Any person how has been on a good team competing for a state trophy knows the importance of a team in wrestilng.

Missouri runs a four class system with class 4 having 47 schools, class 3 45, class 2 46 and class 1 45. There has been discussion about going back to three classes and going to 12 weight classes becuase some feel the current system is too watered down. The Missouri state tournament is a very fun intense three days already being able to watch all three classes and fairly competive wrestling. Having grown up in Kansas I was disappointed when I heard that the state tournament split up.

What is the better approach...have fewer state medalist but those medalist being absolute studds, or have more medalist that maybe aren't as good some of the others?

i think there should be a 95 weight class for the small guys that have to eat to make 103

a little of both

I've been on both sides of this argument, I wrestled JV for manhattan for three years behind my twin brother and Damon Parker, and Cordelll Black From Manhattan 95-98 My senior year the only spot I could find was 189 which was 50 lbs under where I was in football, Would it have been nice to wrestle in a 240 lbs class well yeah but the confidence and life experiance of working to a goal and making it was something that will stay with me forever.
Now I am a coach at a small school and we have few jv spots and if you have 4 or 5 quality wrestlers you can compete in most tournaments(5 or better) If there was 20 classes I don't know if you could. I think the current arangement of classes works for both small and big schools. Is there a better system maybe, but lets make sure we don't trade the system for somthing that is not as good as the one we have.

No. In the 1994-1995 season, they attempted to add the 215# class without increasing the number of weights (tried to keep it at 13). That forced them to change most of the weights to accommodate this. That system lasted one year and they decided to go back to the original 13 weights and add 215 to get to the current 14 weight system. At least that is how I remember it going down.

There was a year in there where they changed the weights around. They started with 100, then 107, 112 and up. Not sure of the year, but it only lasted one year before going back to where we were. I am not sure how it went all the way up, but it was adjusted in most weights. We had a very good 100 lber. and a decent 107 and 112 - thats how I remember this and it worked well for us that year. Mike Zeyen