I would like to hear more about how class wrestling would help the small schools fill their teams. Is there any data that suggests that numbers increased significantly AFTER a class system was implemented - I don't think you can justify it by saying states with class wrestling have more participants unless those numbers grew AFTER the system was changed. I am not saying it isn't possible, but I would personally be suprised if that is what would get a kid at a small school to come out for wrestling. Again, just my personal opinion, but you don't have to promise a kid a state championship to get them to come out for wrestling - a letter, a conference championship, a sectional championship would seem to be more than enough to get a kid to participate. If coaches are relying on class wrestling to automatically increase the number of kids who participate to increase, I think that is being a little naive.
What is a bigger problem for small school coaches, competing with basketball in state that has built its reputation on that sport or kids thinking they are at a disadvantage when it comes to winning a state championship. If you want to increase your numbers, I think you should start figuring out how to get your best athletes to wrestle instead of playing basketball and I don't think that involves classes. I would suggest growing some relationships with kids at a young age so they might want to be a part of your team when they get older instead of playing basketball.
How do small sections of the state become better than the rest of the state? Do they have more large schools, or do they have coaches who are working together to increase the talent and skill of the kids in that area. Ft. Wayne is the second largest city in the state and it has been performing worse than the southern portion of the state where the schools are generally smaller.
You can call me a caveman because I don't believe the IHSAA will implement the class system in a way that will benefit very many kids. I think the current tournament is great for the kids and the fans - remember the kids who are eliminated in the earlier rounds count as fans at the state tournament also. They see what kids from small schools can do when given the opportunity. I don't like the idea of changing to a class system because the tournament is currently outstanding and trusting a bureaucracy with little accountability like the IHSAA to do something right is a pretty big leap of faith. I see a lot of complaints from coaches and the coaches association with wrestle-backs currently, what makes you believe they will set up the classed tournament and listen to the coaches in the future?