Gophers Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 (edited) Congratulations to all of the young wrestlers who competed at this year's state finals. With the help of their coaches, officials, fans, tournament workers, venue workers, singers (they were awesome), color-guard, parents, family and friends it was another outstanding event to witness (sorry to anyone that I forgot to list as it is truly a team effort). That being said, which semi-state was the toughest to qualify from? There are many ways to interpret "toughest" and I realize that others may disagree with this approach, but that disagreement is about Indiana wrestling and if we are discussing Indiana wrestling then it is a good discussion. Points in my opinion are the best way to compare. It takes into account place-finishers (+16 1st, +12 2nd, etc...), it takes into account dominance (+2 fall, +1.5 tech fall, +1 major decision) and it takes into account (to a lessor degree) the tougher competition by advancing through the championship bracket (+2 advancement) versus advancing through the consolation bracket (+1 advancement). All of this being said, looking at the past two years, it appears to me that the New Castle Semi-State is strengthening its claim to being the toughest semi-state to advance to the State Finals through. PDF attachments have team by team points scored in the State Finals. 2017-2018.pdf 2016-2017.pdf Edited February 18, 2018 by Mavericks picture Juggernaut, base and Indysportsfan 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluechipper Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 (edited) In my opinion, New Castle has always been the toughest semi-state tournament site. It has always stood out that MV/ECC had been the top-heavy semi-state, meaning they always seem to have the most #1 and #2 guys, and the EV semi-state in recent years has really come up over the years with programs like Brownsburg, Avon, and Columbus East coming to prominence. New Castle, though, always seems to have that heavy middle portion of wrestlers that make it the toughest. For example, a crazy weight I remember was 182 in 2015. It was LOADED with I believe eight or nine ranked kids and some under the radar kids. I remember it was led by Conner James, and also included Jonathan Morales, Ben Stewart, and eventual champion, Mason Parris. Stewart, who was as good as any champ in his weight all four years got put out in the ticket by Parris. That was what many of us had to look forward to at New Castle, and if you advanced, you earned it. Edited February 18, 2018 by bluechipper Juggernaut 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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