gsmith58

Working on it this week, hoping by Sunday evening to have it complete. Rankings are being wrapped up so it's time to start the writing.

Alright, gentleman, its in the books. Get to work. I want my magazine.

Does anyone know who specifically was on the State Tournament realignment committee?  I'm sure Mr. Faulkens but not sure who else.  Given Franklin Community was moved out of Mooresville, maybe Jim Tonte was on the committee too?  Not sure if coaches are on the committee.  If anyone knows specifically, thanks for responding.
 
Many of the changes don't make sense to me.  But this post is going to focus on one. 
 
Here's facts regarding changes to Southport and Arsenal Tech sectionals:
 
The latest sectional alignment swapped 4 teams from the former Arsenal Tech sectional with 4 teams from the former Southport sectional. 
 
Here's what participation rates look like pre and post:
I looked at participation (defined as total wrestlers competing at sectional) from last season and noticed that the four schools moved from Southport to Arsenal Tech all have a low participation rate and the schools moved from Arsenal Tech to Southport all have high participation rate.  There was previously a divide in participation rates between the two sectionals.  However, the changes to the sectionals create a much more significant divide than what existed before.      
 
Sectional Participants 2023
Teams in Old Southport Sectional
83
Teams in Old Arsenal Tech Sectional
110
Participant Divide
27
 
 
Teams in New Southport Sectional
120
Teams in New Arsenal Tech Sectional
73
Participant Divide
47
 
Low participation results in forfeited matches and wrestlers advancing due to forfeits and not competition.  If last year’s wrestlers competed in the new Arsenal Tech sectional, there would have been only 17 total matches to determine advancement to regionals.  With only 73 total participants in this new sectional and 56 advancing, that means that as many as 39 wrestlers (70% of advancing participants) will qualify for regionals without wrestling a single match. 
 
Also, in the new format, some weight classes would advance forfeits to regionals from Arsenal Tech.  For example, last year’s wrestlers now in the Arsenal Tech sectional would advance forfeits in both the 106 and 285 weight classes.  Forfeits advance to regionals instead of wrestlers!  This means two wrestlers qualify for  semi state without having to wrestle a match at regionals!  
 
Will better wrestlers advance?
I looked at the regional qualifiers from each of these sectionals last year and put them in the new sectionals.  The change in sectionals would mean that 80 of the 112 total qualifiers (71%) would now be grouped together in the same sectional. 
 
Regional Qualifiers 2023
Teams in New Southport Sectional
80
Teams in New Arsenal Tech Sectional
32
Qualifier Divide
48
 
With 56 wrestlers advancing from each sectional, this means that the new format would eliminate 24 of 80 of last year’s regional qualifiers at the sectional level because they are now all in the same sectional at Southport.  These 24 more skilled wrestlers would be eliminated early, thereby losing a week of their season and the experience/accomplishment of advancing to and competing at regionals. 
 
What is the impact to drive time?
The change in these sectionals creates longer drive time for schools overall, and significant greater mileage for schools moved to the new Southport sectional. According to GPS, the new proposal requires Lawrence North, Lawrence Central, North Central and Mount Vernon to collectively drive an additional 42 miles to attend sectionals.  The schools moved into Arsenal Tech sectional save only 23 miles in drive time. 
 
Are there Regional and Semi State Implications?
There are additional impacts at the regional level and Semi State level.  For example, if we look at last year’s 220 weight class at the New Castle Semi State, 6 out of 8 “blood round” wrestlers from last year would now be in the same regional.  This means that 2 wrestlers who completed in the “blood round” (one round away from making it to state) would have been eliminated at the regional level.  We are dangerously close to eliminating state caliber wrestlers at the regional level with this sectional realignment.  106 is another weight class where you will see a similar dynamic.
 
I think the current committee is making mistakes and not using data that's available.  I also think they're not listening to feedback from coaches who have good ideas.  No system is ever perfect, but there are parts of this realignment that don't make sense...at least not that I can see.  Would love to hear from the committee why they would change Southport and Arsenal Tech the way they did.
 
Coach Hughes
317-753-7786
 

The Southport sectional and Perry regional both get a lot stronger/deeper while the Arsenal Tech sectional and Pendleton regional get a lot weaker.  Don’t understand those swaps at all. 

This is brilliant. 
 
The Tech Sectional has Cathedral and...
 
Southport Sectional has Beech Grove, Lawrence Central, Lawrence North, Mt. Vernon (Fortville), North Central(Indianapolis), Perry Meridian, Roncalli, and Southport.
 
Cathedral will pretty much always have 14 sectional champs.

The Indy school shake up will create a very deep regional at Perry
Perry
Warren
Greenfield Central
New Pal (gonna be really good really soon)
Mount Vernon
Lawrence North
North Central
Roncalli
Beech Grove
LC
Franklin Central plus other schools that have decent size too
 
How would you like to be tiny Lutheran or Triton Central, or Purdue Polytechnic? 
 
even if Perry and Warren never return to the programs they were in 2003-2019, the sheer depth is going to make that a tough road for those teams just to make Semi-state 
 
Maybe (emphasis on the maybe) even deeper than Mooresville overall who has
 
Brownsburg
Center Grove
Avon
Ben Davis
Plainfield
Decatur Central
Pike
Mooresville
Martinsville
Greenwood
Whiteland
 
The edge at the top would certainly go to Mooresville but I’d put the 2nd-5th placers at this regional up against any in the state.
 
 
 
 

If we are going with old school Bloomington HS the pillars are Estell Ritter 4X and Charles McDaniels 3X
 
After the split, the a Bloomington South 3X was Randy May and for Bloomington North 3X Pat Cassidy. 

Freestyle or not, that's a list of eye-opening results. And there are several you didn't highlight (Wood over Leavell, Henderson over Bollinger, etc.)

Freestyle or not, that's a list of eye-opening results. And there are several you didn't highlight (Wood over Leavell, Henderson over Bollinger, etc.)

Not a lot of talk about this event, which is interesting because there are a ton of results here that I think are super interesting. Obviously, this is freestyle, so some of these results won't exactly translate to folkstyle results, but it's still interesting to see what potential matchups could happen next year, and what wrestlers seem to be on the rise this off season:
 
113: Ty Henderson over Ayden Bollinger Fall 5:19
126: Braylon Reynolds over Carter Fielden TF 15-4
126: Terry Easley over Carter Fielden Dec 20-17
138: Tony Wood over Kyrel Leavell Dec 7-6
138: Kyrel Leavell over Jake Hockaday Fall 4:30
145: Alex Smith over Silas Foster TF 10-0
152: Silas Foster over Jeffrey Huyvaert TF 14-4
152: Christian Arberry over Jeffrey Huyvaert Dec 5-5
152: Alex Smith over Jeffrey Huyvaert Fall 2:27
152: Christian Arberry over Silas Foster Dec 5-3
152: Christian Arberry over Alex Smith Fall 1:39
160: Gavin Davis over Jeb Prechtel Dec 13-8
160: Chase Leech over Luke Kemper TF 12-2
195: Luke Penola over Reid Schroeder Fall 4:44
285: Hosia Smith over Dom Burgett Dec 7-5
 
Biggest surprises were probably Hockaday losing to Leavell (and Leavell won quite dominantly) and Arberry popping off with a win over Huyvaert, Foster, and Smith (which I've never heard of Alex Smith before, but he had himself a nice day, beating both Foster 10-0 and Huyvaert by fall, is he an out of state guy that got picked up or is he going to make waves next year?) Also, Penola will probably win a title next year.

That's true, but falling short to one of, if not the, greatest Heavyweight(s) in USA history might deserve a little consideration.

That's true, but falling short to one of, if not the, greatest Heavyweight(s) in USA history might deserve a little consideration.

Interesting feature on 4 time Indiana State Champ and former Nebraska wrestler Chad Red’s first year coaching at IU by former State placer and IU sports media’s Riley Woodall.

I may be biased, as I’m part of the Gorilla Crew and have only frequented college wrestling boards otherwise, but there’s a reason this website has an award-winning reputation. Joe has made this forum better and better over time, and it’s still easily standing the test of time against the social media era, which as Joe said above, hasn’t been great for message boards. But yet I, and many others, are still daily-or-near users even in the off-season.
 
Simply put, we are absolutely blessed with this board. Joe and the other OGs have built something that just keeps getting better. All of our rankers work their asses off to try and give an accurate product. And all the regular users just coming on to hype up their kid or school, or even just discuss wrestling because they love the sport, make for a great experience. 
 
In my time on the IM staff(roughly 7 years), my ranking position has progressively transformed from “this is a cool side-job, hope I do well” to “this is something I take a lot of pride in, and I want to do a good job for myself, the website, and the kids who look forward to them.” I’ve been recognized out at a bar before because I was wearing Indianamat gear. Indianamat has surpassed a normal forum at this point, we’re a full community.

I don't know why I do this to myself every year...
 
I know not the answer to this question, and will not go to the basketball board to look, but are more kids playing basketball now that IN is classed? Or are more kids just getting a trophy? I grew up a big hoops guy, but I haven't been able to name more than one team in the classed finals since they started it and have not felt a need to attend it since. Is attendance for the hoop finals up or down since inception? I'd guess down. 
 
I can only formulate an opinion based on similarities, and if you believe that hoops is better in the state since classification, then I guess you can convince me wrestling could have the same result, but I don't feel that way and have yet to be convinced. 
 
Now get off my lawn, @Galagore...I blame you for sucking me back into this yearly freakin' thread. Quit taggin' me..I had this thread on IGNORE!

Unrelated.
 
Also, who needs wrestlebacks? Just work harder, go to a club, etc. then you will be the bad draw.

It's kind of funny how people come up with schemes and ideas to get Brownsburg out of the Evansville semi-state. I don't think it's Brownsburg people though.

2011 112 lbs.
 
1. Mason Todd of Pendleton Heights (157-9) - (Q, 5th, 1st, 3rd) - Gave Cody Phillips his first loss in 3 years of high school wrestling at semi-state a week prior, defeated Brenden Campbell twice the following season, and was a 2009 Fargo AA. Also defeat d future (160 lb.) champion Brian Harvey twice as a sophomore.
 
2. Jarred Brooks of Warsaw (139-6) - (DNQ, 5th, 2nd, 1st) - Responsible for another of Phillips’ only three career losses in the semi-finals, was a Fargo runner-up that summer and won Super 32 as a senior over future NCAA champion NaTo. Spent most of, if not his whole senior season as the #1 113 in the nation. And it’s maybe marginal to mention, but Jarred’s 5th place as a sophomore was likely a case of “he would have been 3rd if he didn’t have the runner-up at semi-state and then drew into the champion’s quarter-bracket.” 
 
3. Cody Phillips of Union County (169-4) - (1st, 1st, 3rd, SQ) - Took 124 IHSAA sanctioned matches for him to finally lose. Had positive career records vs. Brooks and Petrov who finished their senior seasons as champions, while unfortunately Phillips injury defaulted out of the tournament after a semi-finals loss to future 2x champion Cody LeCount at semi-state. Technically only lost 3 matches that he actually started his whole career. Was definitely ranked #1 in the nation at 103 lbs. (maybe even 113) for some time.
 
4. Paul Petrov of Hanover Central (180-13) - (DNQ, 2nd, 4th, 1st) - Went 142-4 following his freshman season, losing only to the guys ahead of him on this list. Finished his senior year strong with a fall over returning champion Mason Todd in the semi-finals and an all-time-classic with my personal “best to never win it” Brenden Campbell.
 
Since the four were in the same graduating class, they met up multiple times over the years. From their sophomore years on up, they had a combined: 481-15 record, with 10 of the losses coming amongst each other, and the other 5 coming from champion Brian Harvey, runner-up Paul Beck, “best to not win” Brenden Campbell, and 2x champion Cody LeCount.

I would agree with that statement. 
 
I have no idea ?? But are you saying that the "Region Wrestling Academy" has no influence in these results?? 
 
Look - this isn't an "attack" on CP and/or BB at all. What they have accomplished and built is incredible! 
 
But I believe the person that started this thread asked "what are these programs doing differently" that sets them apart?? What is the "secret sauce" so-to-speak.
 
And- to me - just looking at it from afar the answer seems pretty simple - they are getting the best kids from the best academies to gather under one roof/one team. 
 
I know there are many more factors...but that seems to be a pretty big one. 
 
And it may come across as such - but it is not even really meant to be a critisim and/or a slight. 
 
"If you build it = they will come" 

Jake's a strong case for certain, but the freshman Thrine taking out a national-ranked senior has to be right there. Prior to Saturday night,  would anyone have been surprised if either Jake or Ashton won another title? I would bet the most ardent Thrine supporters thought it would be a big lift to beat Frazier. That is not to say no one thought it was possible, only it was less likely.
 
If what Thrine did isn't the definition of "Outstanding," I don't know what is. That's not to take away from either Jake or Joey they were great. 
 
While I'm at it, has any of the other freshman phenoms taken out a national-ranked wrestler in the finals?

Jake's a strong case for certain, but the freshman Thrine taking out a national-ranked senior has to be right there. Prior to Saturday night,  would anyone have been surprised if either Jake or Ashton won another title? I would bet the most ardent Thrine supporters thought it would be a big lift to beat Frazier. That is not to say no one thought it was possible, only it was less likely.
 
If what Thrine did isn't the definition of "Outstanding," I don't know what is. That's not to take away from either Jake or Joey they were great. 
 
While I'm at it, has any of the other freshman phenoms taken out a national-ranked wrestler in the finals?

We could make it simpler and create more action if...
 
When a wrestler gets on top (takedown, reversal, or start of 2nd/3rd period), the clock starts - always starts from zero.  After 1 minute, if not in a pinning situation/hold, stop the match and start them in neutral with no escape point.  This basically gives the "point" advantage to the one who rides for a minute straight.  And it allows both wrestlers the same chance for it in 2nd/3rd period.  More neutral helps create more action, but still rewards those who can ride and punishes those who can't get out on bottom.

Jake's a strong case for certain, but the freshman Thrine taking out a national-ranked senior has to be right there. Prior to Saturday night,  would anyone have been surprised if either Jake or Ashton won another title? I would bet the most ardent Thrine supporters thought it would be a big lift to beat Frazier. That is not to say no one thought it was possible, only it was less likely.
 
If what Thrine did isn't the definition of "Outstanding," I don't know what is. That's not to take away from either Jake or Joey they were great. 
 
While I'm at it, has any of the other freshman phenoms taken out a national-ranked wrestler in the finals?

I just wanted to take a minute and commend these young wrestlers, their coaching staffs, and their families for the sportsmanship displayed by the vast majority of these young wrestlers this weekend.  These young people have poured countless hours of blood, sweat, and tears into this sport and whether they got the result they wanted or not, they carried themselves with pride and dignity.  In a world of trash talking, showboating, and showing up your opponent, it's refreshing to see some humility, humbleness, and mutual respect.  
 
Side Note:  The GPA's of the wrestlers in the finals were impressive.  They are not just disciplined on the mat, but also carrying that discipline into the classroom.  Keep up the good work!  

A lot of impressive performances I don’t know if I could pick just 1, but I thought Charlie LaRocca looked phenomenal with a fall and 2 tech falls on his way to the finals, and winning 3-1 to capture a state title!