Not disagreeing with anything posted - just playing the 'what if' game.

Background: I grew up with 98 pounders and true unlimited weight classes (with 12 weight classes vice 14). I had the pleasure as a 126/32 pounder to wrestle with Coach Hemmerling (that built some character). I've seen the 190 pounders wrestle the 325 pounders ... and quickness is a factor - right up to the point where the blob falls (picture 1950's eerie music and a black and white movie theater) and the little guy is basically squished. With the super small and the super large you're dealing with that very small sigma of the population. Should they be included - yes. Should an additional class be added - yes. Do you face the possibility of a team line up similar to kids' wrestling - yes (if you continue down the logic trail).

If the problem is the fact that medium sized big guys who play football don't want to cut to 215 and don't want to wrestle kids who weigh 275, why not just adjust the 215 weight to 225 or 230, move the 189 up to 195 (or whatever floats your boat). Then the 240 pound football players can wrestle and so could the 290 pounders. I don't see the need to add anything, why not just adjust the weights a little to make the heavier weights a bit more accomodating.

I dont think we need another weight class. As a coach I would rather have a 230 pound athlete that is musclular and in good shape than a fat 270 pounder. I could teach them to beat the big guys anytime. I dont see that many really big kids in wrestling anyway at our regional (goodland) arguably the toughest in the state their were only 7 215 pounders. Once your around wrestling a while you notice the majority of the kids fall right in the middle of the weight classes. 145 is almost alway the fullest weight class. It is hard enough for many school to fill a 14 man roster with quality athletes no other sport includes this many athletes of varying sizes as wresting does which is good but we dont need more upper weights.

I really don't understand why we have the 275 class. I wrestled in the unlimited class and I don't believe that weight in and of itself is an advantage. I believe that if we check the list of state placers and state champions for the unlimited class that history shows those wrestlers in the 230-250 range dominate the list. Now, have we had state champions that were 300+ in the past? Sure, I watched a number of them and almost all of them were GOOD wrestlers. Using the unlimited class keeps wrestling open to anyone who wants to participate in the sport (and that's what we want isn't). I think that having a low 200 range class with the unlimited class would be perfectly fine and would keep options open to those athletes that participate in football and wrestling.


Jon Beal

Eagles Coach:

I believe that is correct about a 230 muscular in shape wrestler is preferable to a fat out of shape 270 pound wrestler, but would you not be able to say the same thing about lighter weights. A muscular in shape 160 pound wrestler would be preferable to a fat out of shape 200 pound wrestler. I think a muscular in shape 270 pound wrestler would have an advantage over a muscular in shape 230 pound wrestler.

I just think that are a number of in shape muscular 225-250 pound football players out there who might be not wrestling due to this large weight spread between 215 and 275. I believe it would serve their football career better to be wrestling than focusing on weightlifting at this time of year. They could be doing in-season lighter weightlifting programs and then concentrate on their heavier weightlifting programs from March thru August.

I think we need to get these guys out to increase the popularity of our sport and this starts at the youth level. I mean do you really think it is right that college goes from 197 to 285. Does that really reflect what is going on with size in our society today?