With the IHSWCA Team State Duals coming up there are lots of questions arising, such as what time are weigh-ins and what time are the finals? BUT, there is another question that has a few people including myself asking and that is about a team in little ole Richland. In doing the classifications for results purposes it came to my attention that this team was in fact a 1A team when the IHSWCA lists them as a 2A team. This is very crucial because if Oak Hill were to be listed as a 1A team they would have been on the short list to be invited to Team State next week. Instead they were not invited as there is a much deeper field in 2A.
Classification Information
First a little background on the classifications. There are 311 schools(according to the IHSWCA) with wrestling in the state. Per the IHSAA classification breakdowns they would be classed the following way: 3A with 103 teams, 2A with 104 teams and 1A with 104 teams. Also if a team were to bump up(Mater Dei did for this event) then that would count towards that class’s team count and bump team(s) down a class. For instance if you are the 103rd biggest school and Mater Dei bumps up, then you would become the 104th biggest school and go to 2A.
Second, where did I get my data you may ask. Here are the links for your perusal.
IHSWCA Classifications and Final Team State Numbers
http://indianamat.com/messageboard/index.php/topic,25569.0.html
That topic has the teams and their respective classifications updated, for instance New Haven is 2A, when they were 3A in the 2013 season.
IHSAA Enrollment Numbers
This link was used due to it having all of the schools with wrestling listed.
See the table at the bottom of the article for the teams and class comparisons for the IHSWCA and IndianaMat.
Questions to Ask
How did this happen?
The IHSAA sent a press release with the new enrollments on February 26, 2013. The attached document however is different than what is posted on the IHSAA website, thus it was modified after the press release was sent out.
Did the IHSWCA Fumble the ball on this?
Throughout the checks and balances of the process they all went off the same document and thus did not use the IHSAA’s website for the information as I did. This could be a mistake, but at the same time no one checked the IHSAA site for the information.
What can the IHSWCA do?
Being this late in the game, who knows what they can and will do. It seems Oak Hill has a very talented team this year and could make a good run at a 1A title, but instead will be sitting at home. Will they get an invite next year….or will they still be listed as a 2A school? Those are two questions that will remain to be asked.
Final Thoughts
This is a situation that the IHSWCA needs to address immediately as we have a team that should have been considered for an invite, but was not even in the running due to a clerical error. This team, their coaches and fans were not given the opportunity to wrestle in this event. The IHSWCA used the data provided to them, however at the same time they did not go through a thorough check of the data compiled. There are also some teams in 3A and 2A that are not in their proper class. This situation is bad for all involved especially in that it affected a team that could have made an impact at these duals.
IndianaMat vs IHSWCA Classification Table
[table id=47 /]
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