Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy lost the toss
I think a watered down weight like 118 would be bad for the sport. I know wrestling wants to be the sport that includes everybody, but i don't share that line of thinking. I can't imagine how hard it would be to recruit a 118 pounder that wasn't killing himself to make weight. I know there are a few good 113 pound seniors this year, but some of them actually do fill out eventually. Matt Kyler and Jordan Conaway come to mind. I felt the same way when people complained about moving 103 to 106. God forbid your 95 pound freshman wrestler has to wrestle JV for a year. If it means less forfeits, it's good for the sport. Another example is having an 88 pound weight class for 14/15 year olds at the Cadet level. When there are as many 106 pounders as there are 88 94/100 combined, why do we still have 88?
|
The high school weight classes at the lower weights has always baffled me. Back in the day, 98 lbs was the lightest weight in Iowa. And I meet former 98 lbers all the time. I don't hear very many stories of teams having difficulty filling that slot back in the 70's/80's. However, the minimum weight increased to 103 and now to 106...and many schools have a hell of a time occupying the 106 lb weight class... Have people gotten smaller or were the scales different back then? Not likely, but I can't help, but wonder if the coaches were a bit sketchier back then when it came to weigh ins. When I was a Freshman and Sophomore in high school, we weighed in, first thing in the morning. The only thing necessary that had to be present for a successful weigh in was a certified coach had to be present and witness the kids weighing in. Our own coach weighed us in...and he was honest about it. I've always wondered how many coaches around the state cheated a bit on it...and I wonder if you saw more 98 lbers back in the day because of it. We didn't move to the "weigh in an hour prior to competition in front of both team's coaches" system until I was a Junior...crazy to think about.