High School State Tournaments

[What comes around goes around]

I'm just curious how each state does theirs. How many kids qualify per weight class?

[homerdindon]

I'll let sgallan comment on Arizona's, it makes my stomach queasy just thinking about how horrible it is.

[ISU2008]

Iowa has 3 classes. in 1a (smallest) and 2a there are 16 sectionals with 8-9 teams (1a) or 6 teams (2a). the top 2 at each weight in each sectional go to one of 8 districts, top 2 at districts go to state. in 3a (biggest) there are 8 districts with 8 teams each, top 2 go to state. 16 per weight per class.

[scribe]

No lies know better on Indiana. But I prefer it personally, with a single system there are no doubts as to who is the best in the state.

[DartSharkimus Prime]

Virginia AAA: 16 Districts, 4 Regions. Top four from district go to regionals, top four from regions, go to states.
Virginia AA: 13 Districts (some combined), 4 Regions. Same process as above.
Virginia A: 4 Regions, only 40 schools, top four from region go to states.
Private: Open, but I think there's a small way to qualify from your league. I've seen some guys not wrestle in their prep league and then win prep state.

[ground3pound]

PA has 2 divisions - AA & AAA

Each state bracket has 16 wrestlers from 5 different regions.

states.pawrsl.com/cgi-bin/2006piaa.cgi?weightclass=103_Lbs&division=2006_AAA&bracket=champ

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One interesting note, the "seeding" is pre-drawn before the qualifiers are determined.

Click on the link and look for SE1, NE1, SC1, SW1, NW1, etc.. These are the regions and the place.

The brackets are made ahead of time using only these regions places. The names are filled in after regionals.

There have been times when wrestlers have been known to "throw" a match or inj. def. at regionals to be placed at the opposite side of the bracket of another wrestler.

[sgallan]

Thanks Homer.... thanks a lot...

Arizona has 2A, 3A, 4AII, 4AI, 5AII, and 5AI. Yeah, that would be six.

It gets even better...... the two 5A's already wrestled to the semi's in the championship round on Saturday. Then..... and I am serious here..... they will complete those tournaments this Friday and Saturday.

Finally, on Saturday night they will wrestle all six "State Championship" (using the term loosely) matches at the same time. Giving out the awards like they usually do (103 after 112 and so on). The awards will last - there are six of them remember - longer, a lot longer, than the actual wrestling.

As much of a wrestling junkie that I am, if the team I am asscoiated with didn't have a heavy in the finals last year, I would have left after 171. And a lot of people did leave..... way before then. If they do it that way again I suspect I will be out of there after 160 this year.

[sgallan]

Oh.... one more thing about Arizona.... in the smaller school divisions, they seperate the regional champions, but just randomly drawn in (with no way of knowing how it is going to go - to "throw" a match) which regions meet in the semi's. Given there is not a lot of depth in those divisions (or in a lot of the state for that matter), and some regions are MUCH better than other regions, there is about a 50% chance that two kids, who should have met in the finals, wrestle in the Semi's. And given there is not a lot of depth, often those two kids who meet in the Semi's are WAY better than the rest of the weight.

[odh]

New Hampshiure has a large school and a small school champioship and then an they hold a meet of champions. Everyone qualifies for the states.

Vermont has one state champioships and has few enough teams that everyone qualifies for state.

Massachusetts now has three divisional State Championships and then an All-State Championship. You ned to place top four in a sectional tournament to go to states.

One unique thing about New England is that all their is a New England Championship which, I think, is only regional mulit-state tournament in the country.

[Spider]

Connecticut has four divisions based upon student enrollment numbers: LL (the largest), L, M, and S (the smallest). There are about 22 schools in each division. Everyone on the team qualifies for their divisional tournament, and the top four from each division go to the State Tournament. If one of the top four doesn't go to the State Tournament for any reason, or doesn't make weight, the fifth place winner from his division takes the fourth place seed, and everyone moves up one. If the fifth place winner from the division of the guy who doesn't go also doesn't go, then one of the other three fifth place winners is chosen by random draw.

[NoMoreLies]

scribe,
While I like the atmosphere created by a single class state tournament, I would swap it for a two or three class system without question. The kids from small schools are hurt because they have to compete against kids from bigger schools with more advantages. Of course I don't want to be like Arizona and have 6 classes either.

Could you guys tell me how many schools (approximately) are in each of your classes?

[ground3pound]

There are about 250+ AAA schools in PA.

[sgallan]

3A has 28. 2A has about 40 plus, but very few of those field anything remotely a full team. The two 4A's and the smaller 5A are about 30... but again, a lot don't field full teams. The bigger 5A probably about 40.

In many states I disagree with the smaller/bigger school thing. In Arizona the best team almost every year is Sunnyside, which varies from a very small big school, to a big medium school. Tournament wise the number one 3A team (enrollment under a 1000) is probably the second best team in the state. The best 2A team is arguably in the top five. And the top small 4a (I know - it gets confusing) team is probably the third best team. In Utah Wastach is a not a "big school" and yet they, and that state tournament is the toughest in Utah.

I could compromise with a two state tournament set up. Illinois, and Pennsylvania's seem to work very well. But anything more than that is just ridiculous. And in California, which is a single state champion, with many hundreds of HS's.... you don't hear anybody complaining about it being "unfair". They seem to understand the concept of being the "State Champion". And within the wrestling community there that is something which carries weight ones entire life.... because everybody knows how tough a thing that is to do.

[NoMoreLies]

Indiana has 311 schools with wrestling.

Splitting a state with 200 schools with wrestling into six classes is ridiculous!!!

I also am willing to bet that small school coaches in California wouldn't mind having class wrestling.

[ground3pound]

I took this last year during the AAA finals.

The finals are also televised statewide.