Zach Richards

I had a thought, which led me to crunch some more numbers (sorry guys). Maybe the numbers I was crunching earlier were biased ... Maybe the majority of kids attends larger schools so we should expect them to win more. So here's what I did ... And again, this is just data, so take it for what it's worth ... 1. I grabbed the school population data based on the current 6 class system used for football. I totaled up all the students in the state to determine how many students attend each class. For example, over 30% of the student population in Indiana attends a 6A school whereas only 6% attend a 1A school. 2. Then, I looked at the top 4 placers over the last 3 years, using the same classes as football. 3. In theory, you would expect the percentages to be about the same. In other words, if 30% of students attend 6A schools, then you would expect 30% of the top 4 placers to come from 6A schools. 4. The data suggets (for whatever reason) that a wrestler is more likely to place in the top 4 if he is at a 6A or 5A school. Surpisingly, 4A kids are actually worse off than 1A kids (just based on the data). Maybe kids at smaller schools aren't as focused on 1 sport like kids at the bigger schools. Maybe kids at smaller schools just haven't been exposed to see how hard you have to work to place in the top 4. Maybe kids at smaller schools don't get access to the same resources as kids at bigger schools. But for whatever reason, it does appear to be disproportionate. That doesn't necessarily mean that classes/divisions are the right answer ... A lot can be said about the beauty of just having 1 class and seeing the champs wrestle under the lights. But just something to consider.

I don't want my thoughts to come across as such that I want every kid to get a participation trophy. I hate participation trophies. I guess my main point that I was trying to make was that wrestling at a small school looks MUCH different than wrestling at a big school ... for a lot of different reasons. Not that one is right and one is wrong ... just different. And in my opinion, treating them as equals seems odd to me.

Yes, I was just comparing to the basketball classes to try to compare to another sport. As for the 3 main schools, I believe they have 20 of the 42 individual championships over the last 3 years. Certainly don't want to take any of that accomplishment away from them. They are doing an amazing job with their programs.

This is a very valid point. Let's look at Busco as an example. Small school that has never had a state champ. Never even close. Rarely even sends 1 wrestler to state. No wrestling club. No offseason program. At sectionals this year, they forfeited 4 weight classes. Only filled 10 weight classes. Even if you can fill the roster, you're just filling spaces ... Not getting more competitive. Take someone like Chase Leech ... Send him over to Busco. You think he's getting pushed every day in practice? You think he's getting prepared for what it takes to win at state? I went to Busco, so I feel like I can speak to it. Busco's wrestling room is probably smaller than Brownsburg's janitorial closet. Maybe the answer isn't that we need divisions (although I would like to see it) ... But maybe the answer is that you have to be training at these RTCs instead of focusing on your high school team.

I never realized my first post on Indianamat would cause such a stir!

I’m new to this website, so sorry for jumping on your dead horse But just hear me out for a minute. If you look at Indianamat’s Pound For Pound Rankings, the top 15 wrestlers in the state attend schools that are 4A or higher in football. I believe there are 4 main factors to consider: Coaching staff - A larger school is going to have more coaches. It will most likely have higher quality coaches. There’s a reason why the best football coaches are in the SEC and not coaching at Indiana State (no offense). Enrollment - It’s simply a numbers game. A larger school is going to have more student athletes. And that leads to a more competitive wrestling room. A 1A or 2A school might struggle just to fill its lineup while a 5A or 6A school has a wrestling room full of accomplished wrestlers. Location - Let’s face it. Smaller schools tend to be in more rural areas. Take a look at a large school in the Indianapolis area. How many highly competitive tournaments can a wrestler go to during the offseason within a 50 mile radius? And then compare that to a small school in the middle of nowhere? It’s just harder to get to the better tournaments, which make you a better wrestler. Offseason Resources - Wrestling (much like many other sports today) has become a year-round commitment. Larger schools have the resources to have a robust offseason program. Wrestling club. Youth program. Tournament. Etc. But all of those things require volunteers. The smaller schools struggle to be able to achieve these same results. While I like the idea of wrestling being a sport where it’s just you against your opponent, then the size of your school doesn’t matter. But at the end of the day, it really does matter. A 1A school will never be able to compete against a 6A school. And just as a hypothetical, what is the worst that would happen if Indiana created 3 divisions? There would be more state champs? Smaller schools would have more to get excited about wrestling? And what would be the downside? That it would make a state championship less meaningful? I don’t really think that is the case, because the most competitive programs and wrestlers are going to come from the biggest schools anyways. I think it would make the sport more relevant throughout the state. Ok, I’m done now. Where do you guys want me to put this dead horse?

With the 1A/2A State Championship this weekend, it got me thinking … Is it time for Indiana to have different divisions for wrestling, similar to football or basketball? I’ll save my opinion for later, but I’m curious as to what others think.