MR TWISTER
10-11-2005, 02:48 PM
I like the ONE class system. Now I may be prejudice because I am looking at this thru my son, the athlete's eyes. He would and I think most athletes want to test themselves against ALL of the contestants. I remember interviewing Mike Benefiel after the state tournament last year and he said to me, "I would love to test myself against the AA wrestlers." That small desire/doubt still existed in his head moments after winning the class A championship. There was a hollow ring to it. Yes he has a championship but I think every time he looks at it he will wonder. And that is coming from a kid whose team wrestles the top AA teams. What about Tyler Clark, who may just be the best wrestler in the state but we will never know because he is not in the best division, class AA.
The real problem is Illinois has a population balance issue. Most of the heavy concentration in population, jobs, opportunities and wrestling is north of I 80 close to the Chicagoland area. As a result of this the IHSA is constantly trying to find a balance to keep central and downstate happy. Hence the multipliers and multiple classes.
I understand Jaguar's point about opportunities for all and I remember another poster last week saying something about wrestling on this board is often discussed a lot with the "elite" wrestler in mind. All good points but then we must remember that there is a championship involved and the elite wrestlers deserve attention just as much as the non elite. I guess it really is a Catch-22 situation.
The real problem is Illinois has a population balance issue. Most of the heavy concentration in population, jobs, opportunities and wrestling is north of I 80 close to the Chicagoland area. As a result of this the IHSA is constantly trying to find a balance to keep central and downstate happy. Hence the multipliers and multiple classes.
I understand Jaguar's point about opportunities for all and I remember another poster last week saying something about wrestling on this board is often discussed a lot with the "elite" wrestler in mind. All good points but then we must remember that there is a championship involved and the elite wrestlers deserve attention just as much as the non elite. I guess it really is a Catch-22 situation.