Jenny Sacks Mole wrote:coach_stump wrote:Ok, it has been determined that Region 1 is by far the hardest region to qualify in the last couple years. Enough said. This has not always been this way. First, they screwed up the regions on the last realignment. Roane going to Region 2, Berkeley Springs going to Region 1, etc. etc., Don't even want to discuss Region 4 AAA.
Next, as far as domination besides Independence that has remained a power in AA-A, only Oak Glen and Point Pleasant that both dropped from AAA to AA has dominated the field. Calhoun had a nice run in Single A before the split of awarding the Class A title, now Greenbrier West excels.
This topic is just a repeat of years past, only different teams, different regions. And it will continue to change as time moves on.
It's been easy for a school like Indy or Point (mainly Point) to dominate at states because they send their full line up every year compared to whomever is the best school in region 1. Region 4 is Point and that's it, literally no one else at all.
Ouch. I guess i will chime in. But before anyone says something like "you arent from region 1 you wont understand" I am. I am a coach (volunteer Assistant so take me with a grain of salt) at a Region 1 school. Additionally, back when my son was in school he was drastically impacted by the depth in the region. It was covid year so even with a shortened schedule he happened to compete against and pin the 2nd place representative from each of the other 3 regions that season. At regionals he took 1 ill advised shot against the wrong kid and fell to the consi bracket too early in a very deep field losing to the eventual 4th in the state by 1 and didn't make the trip to Huntington as a senior. Would he have placed? I like to think so but we didnt get to find out. So believe me when I say I get it. Side note to the side note, it hurt him for a while but is doing quite well now. It is tough to see at the time and hurts deeply in the moment but it will be ok.
Back to the topicYes there is some disparity in depth in regions agree 100%. Also agree there needs to be some changes. I've heard that there is going to be an update next year. I don't know what that update will be as i am just going off what the scuttlebutt was amongst coaches.
What i did have whispered to me. As we know next year Wrestling will not be going to the AAAA-A system. But there
could/should/likely will be changes to who is AAA, AA and A. The committee that is making the proposal(s) is well aware of the current differences between depth in the regions so hopefully they can make some meaningful changes.
Next year, if the proposal is solid and is accepted it can make a difference and provide some parity in depth across all regions. One reagon may still be deeper, but hopefully they at least have regions that are actually regional, geographically.
BUT... To say Point dominates because of this is a stretch. Nerdy Math Time: The most points a wrestler can score in a tournament, if they pinned every opponent is 30
(2+2)+(2+2+3)+(2+2+9)+(4+2). The biggest point scorer Point had was at 144 with 29.5 (so impressive btw)
Point won the title by 41 points. That means you can take away their biggest point scorer out and they still win. Taking that a step further. If you took away their largest point scorer, took away their wrestlers who didn't place AND any wrestler who placed lower than all 4 Region 1 wrestlers. They still won by 5.5 points. yes there is an argument that in that scenario the 2nd place team could score more points but again we are already taking out a champ who pinned 3 wrestlers and teched another so it is more than accounted for.
What that coaching staff and athletes are doing down there is great and they deserve praise and congratulations. They aren't good because they are in a "weak" region. One could argue it is in spite of, if the region is "weak" this means they have to travel out of the region to get competition. Part of the reason we see so much depth in Region 1 is the kids there are getting competition surrounding states Like PA and Ohio. The good get better by going after tougher competition and chasing losses in the season.
Additionally the State Runner-up from A is from the same region as Point so I dont think saying "no one" else is in that region is fair either.
Hopefully the proposal goes the way it is being discussed and we can get to a point where there aren't 4 of the 5 most recently commented threads are basically the same topic. Then we can go back to talking about some other wrestling topics.