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We got four AAA regions with seven schools each (8 schools in region 3)

Seven schools equal seven wrestlers doing battle for four state tournament qualification spots. Seven men enter, 3 stay home. 57% go to Huntington.

In AA/A, we have four regions with SEVENTEEN schools (16 in region 4). Seventeen wrestlers scratching and clawing for four qualification spots. Seventeen men enter, 13 stay home. 24% go to Huntington.

The bigger schools have it easier.

This alone tells me that AA/A is tougher than AAA........................unless you are in AAA region 4.

1. Quantity doesnt always equal quality. AAA schools have a larger number of students to pull from to form a team, and typically have more wrestlers competing for each weight class. This has the potential to produce higher quality wrestlers per weight class.

2. Lets wait and see how many AA wrestlers there actually are in each weight class at the Regional tournaments before we start saying there will be 17 wrestlers competing at regionals. Many AA teams have numerous gaps in their line ups. Some teams have only a handful of wrestlers of their team.

That isnt saying AAA is tougher than AA. Its merely saying your rationale for concluding AA is tougher...has some significant flaws.

guard0544 wrote:1. Quantity doesnt always equal quality. AAA schools have a larger number of students to pull from to form a team, and typically have more wrestlers competing for each weight class. This has the potential to produce higher quality wrestlers per weight class.

2. Lets wait and see how many AA wrestlers there actually are in each weight class at the Regional tournaments before we start saying there will be 17 wrestlers competing at regionals. Many AA teams have numerous gaps in their line ups. Some teams have only a handful of wrestlers of their team.

That isnt saying AAA is tougher than AA. Its merely saying your rationale for concluding AA is tougher...has some significant flaws.

On paper, AAA only has 7 possible wrestlers per weight class. AA/A has 17. In reality, AAA will not have 7 wrestlers in each weight class despite having such a larger student body to pull from. Once the scores and results start getting posted, we will see the reality for all teams.

My rationale is less than perfect. It is also the only thing I am seeing. I would enjoy seeing more analysis from anybody.

If South was in the WSAZ, we would get a good snapshot of AAA vs AA/A. Without South, we will still get a good indication.

I went back and looked at last season's regional tournaments. Prior to checking, I decided I was using 106 as my sample. I think 106 is the tougher weight class to fill.

Here is how many 106 pounders each region had:

Region 1: AAA = 5, AA/A = 7

Region 2: AAA = 5, AA/A = 10

Region 3: AAA = 6, AA/A = 5

Region 4: AAA = 5, AA/A = 8

In total, AAA had 21 wrestlers competing for 16 spots.

AA/A had 30 wrestlers competing for 16 spots.

I guess to state things more clearly, it is tougher to get into the state tournament if you are in AA/A.

Upon reviewing the 2016 NHSCA Nationals, here is what the facts reveal:

FRESHMEN

WV had 18 wrestlers. 3 from AA/A and 15 from AAA.

AA/A and AAA each had one All-American.

Interesting enough, these two All-Americans met in the finals with the AA/A wrestler winning the championship.

The 15 AAA wrestlers combined for a record of 23 wins and 29 losses. The 3 AA/A wrestlers combined for a record of 6 wins and 4 losses.

SOPHOMORES

WV had 29 wrestlers. 16 were from AA/A and 13 were from AAA.

AA/A had 2 All-Americans and AAA had 1.

The 13 AAA wrestlers combined for a record of 28 wins and 26 losses. The 16 AA/A wrestlers combined for a record of 37 wins and 34 losses.

JUNIORS

WV had 18 wrestlers. 4 were from AA/A and 14 were from AAA.

AA/A had 2 All Americans (one of which was a champion) and AAA had 1.

The 14 AAA wrestlers combined for a record of 33 wins and 29 losses. The 4 AA/A wrestlers combined for a record of 19 wins and 6 losses.

SENIORS

WV had 5 wrestlers. 3 were from AA/A and 2 were from AAA.

AA/A had one All American and AAA had zero.

The 2 AAA wrestlers combined for a record of 3 wins and 4 losses. The 3 AA/A wrestlers combined for a record of 11 wins and 5 losses.

SUMMARY

The AAA wrestlers combined for a record of 87 wins and 88 losses or .497
AAA had zero champions, 1 runner up, zero 3rd, zero 4th, one 5th and 1 6th. Three All Americans.
The AA/A wrestlers combined for a record of 73 wins and 49 losses or .598
AA/A had two champions, zero runner ups, one 3rd, one 4th, zero 5th and two 6th. Six All Americans.

The data clearly shows that the AA/A wrestlers performed better in all grades.

Here is a breakdown based on the 2016 NHSCA All Americans (school, school's population, # of All Americans)

Cabell Midland/1,965 students/1 AA

Parkersburg South/1,576 students/2 AA

East Fairmont/746 students/1 AA

Independence/628 students/3 AA

Petersburg/486 students/ 1 AA

Greenbrier West/392 students/ 1 AA

I do not feel those last breakdowns really provide us much in regards to comparing AAA to AA as a whole. So, I thought I would contribute my own breakdown that may not tell us much.

The teams moving from AAA to AA this year, placed the following in last year's AAA state tournament:
8
12
15
25
And all the others moving to AA scored 7 or fewer points at the state tournament.

Of all the teams moving to AA, I only spotted 5 returning wrestlers who placed in last year's AAA state tournament. It will be interesting to see how those teams do this year in AA.

When I talk about the strength of AA/A, I am thinking about East Fairmont, Fairmont Senior, North Marion, Oak Glen, Independence, Roane, Hoover, Calhoun, Madonna, Greenbrier West, etc, etc.

The 9 schools that dropped down are only a supplement.

Regarding these 9 schools, there are only a combined 17 wrestlers due back that wrestled in last season's state tournament. Just a little over the 14 needed for a full team.

However, within these 17 wrestlers, there are two state champions, one 4th placer and two 5th placers. There 5 wrestlers made AA/A 5 "notches" tougher and made AAA 5 "notches" weaker.

The bottom line is the reclassification gave many wrestlers a gift and also gave some wrestlers a much tougher road.

As the season progresses, there will be much more evidence on this topic.