National Preps

[blueandgold]

Cathedral High School's team is shaping up to possibly be their best ever. They are ranked 42nd in the country with sophomore Zeke Seltzer ranked 15th per InterMat and dominated the IHSWCA State Duals in the 3A class and ran away with Al Smith, and I was wondering since they are a private school, would we ever see a time when Indiana allows private or independent schools to be in their own league? It would be much like how Texas has TAPPS, Pennsylvania has the PAIS, Virginia has VISAA, and Maryland has the MISAA, and so forth. If we had our own governing body for private and independent schools in Indiana free of travel restrictions, would it be interesting to see how a team like Cathedral fares at the National Preps tournament in Pennsylvania among others? Would it be a good way to create more depth or improve our talent pool in Indiana?

[IndianaWrestlingGuy1]

2 hours ago, blueandgold said:

Cathedral High School's team is shaping up to possibly be their best ever. They are ranked 42nd in the country with sophomore Zeke Seltzer ranked 15th per InterMat and dominated the IHSWCA State Duals in the 3A class and ran away with Al Smith, and I was wondering since they are a private school, would we ever see a time when Indiana allows private or independent schools to be in their own league? It would be much like how Texas has TAPPS, Pennsylvania has the PAIS, Virginia has VISAA, and Maryland has the MISAA, and so forth. If we had our own governing body for private and independent schools in Indiana free of travel restrictions, would it be interesting to see how a team like Cathedral fares at the National Preps tournament in Pennsylvania among others? Would it be a good way to create more depth or improve our talent pool in Indiana?

New commish. Never know. IHSAA added the success factor to nullify P/Ps, but I don’t think it has been significant. Let’s not forget Evansville Mater Dei is #1 in the Power Poll having another great year and just beat Cathedral heads-up. And, Roncalli is Top 10. 
 

The IHSAA governs all sports equally, not just wrestling. Historically, we haven’t had enough proximity between P/P schools in the state to have a conference. Cathedral is basically a default member of the Greater Catholic League (GCL) of Cincinnati for football playing Moeller, Elder, and St. X last year, while also playing Louisville Trinity. Cathedral has hit Cincy and Detroit the last 3 years for rasslin’. Our biggest challenge is scheduling. We hit all of the good Indiana tourneys (Traicoff, Al Smith) and host an aggressive opening 6-Way. So, not sure we have better options until IHSAA relaxes their travel restrictions.  
 

Ps. If anyone wants to see some good Catholic revelry, stop by Cathedral vs Roncalli on Wednesday night, 1/22. It is Archbishop Charles Thompson Night. There will be a short tribute to His Holiness’s misguided social crusade. Kidding aside, these boys have been wrestling each other for 12 years now and there is no love lost. J/V at 6p. Varsity at 7p under the lights at Cathedral’s Welch Activity Center. See you there. 

Edited January 20, 2020 by IndianaWrestlingGuy1

[Silence Dogood]

4 hours ago, blueandgold said:

Cathedral High School's team is shaping up to possibly be their best ever. They are ranked 42nd in the country with sophomore Zeke Seltzer ranked 15th per InterMat and dominated the IHSWCA State Duals in the 3A class and ran away with Al Smith, and I was wondering since they are a private school, would we ever see a time when Indiana allows private or independent schools to be in their own league? It would be much like how Texas has TAPPS, Pennsylvania has the PAIS, Virginia has VISAA, and Maryland has the MISAA, and so forth. If we had our own governing body for private and independent schools in Indiana free of travel restrictions, would it be interesting to see how a team like Cathedral fares at the National Preps tournament in Pennsylvania among others? Would it be a good way to create more depth or improve our talent pool in Indiana?

 

I was thinking of something along these lines, but broader.

 

If a successful team state tournament can be organized without the IHSAA, and a succesful girls state tournament can be organized without the IHSAA, and there are frustrations with what the IHSAA won't allow (wrestlebacks, out-of-state-travel), etc. - why does wrestling need the IHSAA? 

 

I am sure there are reasons it might not work, but thought it was worth at least posing the question. Could wrestling operate as a non-IHSAA sport? 

[ontherise219]

5 hours ago, blueandgold said:

Cathedral High School's team is shaping up to possibly be their best ever. They are ranked 42nd in the country with sophomore Zeke Seltzer ranked 15th per InterMat and dominated the IHSWCA State Duals in the 3A class and ran away with Al Smith, and I was wondering since they are a private school, would we ever see a time when Indiana allows private or independent schools to be in their own league? It would be much like how Texas has TAPPS, Pennsylvania has the PAIS, Virginia has VISAA, and Maryland has the MISAA, and so forth. If we had our own governing body for private and independent schools in Indiana free of travel restrictions, would it be interesting to see how a team like Cathedral fares at the National Preps tournament in Pennsylvania among others? Would it be a good way to create more depth or improve our talent pool in Indiana?

I like blue and Gold starting. Some real discussions. Dude has brought some great topics to the message board! 
 

I believe if that is the case the Irish haters will seriously grow if they are able to wrestle and compete at the national preps level. Their roster strength will increase with many wrestlers who will look for the opportunity to wrestle that level of schedule. 

[littlevito]

2 hours ago, Silence Dogood said:

 

I was thinking of something along these lines, but broader.

 

If a successful team state tournament can be organized without the IHSAA, and a succesful girls state tournament can be organized without the IHSAA, and there are frustrations with what the IHSAA won't allow (wrestlebacks, out-of-state-travel), etc. - why does wrestling need the IHSAA? 

 

I am sure there are reasons it might not work, but thought it was worth at least posing the question. Could wrestling operate as a non-IHSAA sport? 

 

We were having this same discussion today.

[mdspiderman81]

Greatest ever. How did they finish last weekend?

 

[SWINfan]

1 hour ago, mdspiderman81 said:

Greatest ever. How did they finish last weekend?

 

 

Easy now..... he said their best ever not the best ever

[WrestleMan]

Yeah Spider Man, you need a Snickers. You’re not you when you’re hungry

[blueandgold]

I wanted to start a hypothetical scenario where this actually happens, and I want you all to be careful to read each word because as we seen earlier on this thread, reading is essential and people get upset when they don't do it.

 

Per the National Prep Board, the eligibility for teams and individuals are as follows:

 

National Prep Wrestling Tournament Eligibility Criteria

Criteria For School Eligibility

• Participating schools must be accredited by an established regional, independent school accreditation organization that is recognized by the appropriate state department of education and the National Association of Independent Schools.
• Wrestling must be a recognized varsity sport at participating schools and an interscholastic competition schedule must be published by the school for public viewing not later than December 1st.
• Participating schools may not take part in their state's public school state wrestling championships.  
• Participating Schools must join the NWCA prior to their first competition and follow the NWCA / Trackwrestling / National Prep OPC weight management guidelines. 
• Participating schools are required to operate in accordance with the National Federation Rulebook
• Schools that are virtual or on-line schools must be accredited and affiliated with a participating National Prep Tournament network school. 
• Schools that rely on public funding to sponsor operations do not qualify.
• Schools must participate in their qualifying zone tournaments in order to be eligible to participate in the National Prep Tournament.
• Eligible schools that are not located in a qualifying zone will be assigned to a qualifying zone by the National Prep Board.
• Schools must be approved by the National Prep Board, for National Prep Tournament eligibility  not later than November 1st of the season in question.  

Eligibility for Individual Wrestlers

• Must be enrolled as a full-time student at a school approved by the National Prep Board for participation not later than the end of the second week in January.
• May not have reached one's 19th birthday prior to August 1st of the school year in question. 
• Eighth grade student athletes who are enrolled full-time, as an eighth grader, at an approved National Prep network school are eligible. 
• Student-athletes, grades eight - post graduate, who are enrolled as full time students at schools that meet the national prep eligibility criteria are eligible to participate in the National Prep Tournament.

In this scenario, lets say for the 2020-21 season, the independent and private secondary schools within Indiana (47 total) have decided to move forward with their own association free of travel restrictions and lets say they all can properly field a full wrestling team. We'll have them compete in the Indiana Association of Independent and Private Schools (IAIPS).

 

Indiana Association of Independent and Private Schools (IAIPS)

 

IAIPS Boys’ Wrestling

• The IAIPS Boys’ Wrestling Championships are held annually at the Mackey Arena at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. The tournament is a two-part series beginning with the Section Championships and concluding with the State Championships.

Sections

• Central Indiana Section
• Northern Indiana Section
• Southern Indiana Section
• Western Indiana Section

Sections (cont'd)

• Teams can choose to compete in whatever section they desire, but each section must comprise of twelve teams with one having an uneven eleven due to 47 member schools.

State Championships

• Top four finishers from each section qualify for state championships. Wrestlers will be entered into a seeded (1-12) 16-man bracket, placing 6 with full wrestlebacks to third place. Team champion will be decided by individual scoring. The champion or next highest placing individual per weight will qualify for the National Prep Wrestling Championships (per the qualifier allocations) in Bethlehem, PA.

Rankings

• Rankings are done 1-12 individually by IndianaMat with a power poll determining the top wrestlers P4P along with teams ranked 1-8.

Champions of Indiana Dual

• At the conclusion of every season, the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches’ Association (IHSWCA) organizes an all-star dual meet between that year’s IHSAA champions and IAIPS champions to determine that year’s individual Coaches’ Association champion. The Coaches’ Association awards a team championship to the IHSAA and IAIPS team champions.

Note

• If the Coaches' Association allows, IAIPS varsity teams can compete alongside their public school counterparts within whatever particular class at the IHSWCA State Dual Championships.

 

Within this scenario, we could see schools like Evansville Mater Dei or Indianapolis Cathedral not only compete across the country in tournaments, but we could see them allow eighth graders to compete for their respective teams, helping increase depth and grow talent pool within Indiana.

Edited January 21, 2020 by blueandgold

[ENoblewrestling]

14 hours ago, Silence Dogood said:

 

I was thinking of something along these lines, but broader.

 

If a successful team state tournament can be organized without the IHSAA, and a succesful girls state tournament can be organized without the IHSAA, and there are frustrations with what the IHSAA won't allow (wrestlebacks, out-of-state-travel), etc. - why does wrestling need the IHSAA? 

 

I am sure there are reasons it might not work, but thought it was worth at least posing the question. Could wrestling operate as a non-IHSAA sport? 

I would admit that there are some things that are difficult with having the IHSAA as our sports sanctioning body, but I think it would be a horrible detriment to the sport if we did not have them.

Without the IHSAA the sport at the high school level would resemble the sport at the youth level. So teams would become all-star travel teams with-in a few years.  Not to mention that schools would not put the same funding and care into their programs... Why would a school keep and maintain a wrestling room for a club team that isn't IHSAA sanctioned?

I also think that overall numbers would take a huge hit.  Think of how many kids come out for wrestling to just be a part of the team you would lose all of those kids.  Busing, uniforms,  gym schedules all would play a role as well.

Finally no IHSAA no state tourney like we have now.  There would be no semi-states in great facilities, no state finals at Banker's Life.  

This isn't to say that the say that wrestling would die if we went this route, it would just look much different and be much worse imo.