Should College Weight Classes be Reviewed?

[Badger Fan 28]

It seems like 125 has become increasingly difficult to fill because many wrestlers that start at 125 outgrow the weight.

And there seems to be quite a few 197 lbers that cut quite a bit of weight so they do not have to wrestle heavyweight.  

A weight class around 210 - 220 could be an interesting one in college.

Maybe all of the weight classes should be bumped up a few pounds.

[pjm46 83]

No

 

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

[Zebra 546]

No but they should go to mat-side weigh ins. Quit playing around with the weight management question and just be done with it. Kids and teams will adapt.  

[Pinnum 840]

Should be reviewed.  Without knowing the results of a review, we can't know if cahnges are warranted.

 

However, I do suspect that some changes would be good for the sport.  A few weights have significantly higher numbers than some others.  Of course, this goes back to the debate if each weight range should be divided in an attempt to encapsulate and equal number of athletes, or if weight classes should be evenly divided so that the splits in weights are all the same.

[cornercoach 448]

.. start at 133 and add a 220 would be neat....

[Badger Fan 28]

How about 131, 139, 147, 155, 163, 172, 181, 193, 209, 285 - add some weight to each existing weight class other than 285

I understand the thought behind mat side weigh-ins - a main problem is it would effectively lower all of the weight classes by a few pounds

[Yellow_Medal 212]

.. start at 133 and add a 220 would be neat....

 

It seems like 125 has become increasingly difficult to fill because many wrestlers that start at 125 outgrow the weight.

 

 

I implore you, please, let's not advocate for a higher and higher starting weight.  There were several wrestlers on my college team alone who could have made 118 safely and thrived.  Too bad it wasn’t around still.  There are a lot of T.J. Hill’s around for whom 125 already puts them at a disadvantage, you just don’t see them much because they are mostly wrestling non-D1 and not starting.  Wrestling is supposed to be as inclusive as possible and raising the lowest weight again only means making even more wrestlers “invisible”.  I say add back in 118 lbs and echo Zebra’s call for going to mat-side weigh-ins.

Edited April 1, 2017 by Yellow_Medal

[ConnorsDad 596]

I, and my son, are bigger guys but I think you need to start the lower class lower. We are losing out on a lot of kids. However, for rhere not to be a weight between 197 and 285 is crazy. Is there a reason which I am overlooking? Why mot a 220-225 like hs?

[Yellow_Medal 212]

I, and my son, are bigger guys but I think you need to start the lower class lower. We are losing out on a lot of kids. However, for rhere not to be a weight between 197 and 285 is crazy. Is there a reason which I am overlooking? Why mot a 220-225 like hs?

Yes, I wholeheartedly agree, a weight needs to be inserted there as well.  The current class gaps/increases, proportional to body weight works out like below.  If you added the 235 lbs class like the NCWA, their would be a 19.3% increase from 197 lbs.  That's not too bad, considering the proportion of the male population up there.  As is, there is a 44.7% increase from 197 to 285.  That is roughly 6x higher than the second-highest jump (7.1% for 184 to 197).  Of course, to make the analysis more meaningful, you would have to weight these numbers against the % of the college-aged males in these classes, but I think that we should favor fairness to different body weights over evening out the number of competitors in each class.  

 

125

133 = 6.4% increase

141 = 6.0%

149 = 5.7%

157 = 5.4%

165 = 5.1%

174 = 5.5%

184 = 5.7%

197 = 7.1%

235 = 19.3% 285 = 44.7%

 

285 = 21.3%

[cornercoach 448]

I implore you, please, let's not advocate for a higher and higher starting weight.  There were several wrestlers on my college team alone who could have made 118 safely and thrived.  Too bad it wasn’t around still.  There are a lot of T.J. Hill’s around for whom 125 already puts them at a disadvantage, you just don’t see them much because they are mostly wrestling non-D1 and not starting.  Wrestling is supposed to be as inclusive as possible and raising the lowest weight again only means making even more wrestlers “invisible”.  I say add back in 118 lbs and echo Zebra’s call for going to mat-side weigh-ins.

 

.... 60 years old and i've never been implored- is that good or bad?...

[PA Power 36]

There should not be a weight class added between heavyweight and 197. Simply put, there aren't enough quality competitors in that weight range to make it viable. Look at how thin high school upper weights are. Why would you want to create another weight class and have it be the weakest one in wrestling every year?

Edited April 1, 2017 by PA Power

[BigTenFanboy 1,790]

How many heavyweights actually weigh 285 though? I'm willing to bet all the other weights the guys come in at the top of their weight class...

 

The reason I'm generally against adding a weight class between 197 and 285 is because I've always viewed 285 as a weight RANGE where as the other weight classes as a weight limit.

Edited April 1, 2017 by BigTenFanboy

[IronChef 1,097]

Bump 197 up a bit if necessary, but don't add one in between 197 and 285. 197 is already one of the smallest weights in many tournaments.

[scribe 1,835]

[Yellow_Medal 212]

.... 60 years old and i've never been implored- is that good or bad?...

Quite happy to be the first Coach! 

[BigTenFanboy 1,790]

If the weights were adjusted to lessen the gap between 197 and 285 I would be for seeing them like this.

 

125

134

143

152

161

170

180

191

205

285

 

Take the current weight classes and add 1lbs to the differential that current exists between each weight class. IE currently there is an 8lbs differential between the first 6 weights. Increase the differential to 9lbs.. and so forth.

 

Bringing 197 up to 205 would help fill out the 2nd highest weight class out a bit and lessen the gap between the top two weights. It would also keep the general formation of rosters intact without blowing up the whole system.

Edited April 3, 2017 by BigTenFanboy

[IronChef 1,097]

The NCAA/NWCA has the certification numbers for every college wrestler as well as the number of athletes in each weight at every open and invitational tournament. It seems like there should be a way to reset the weights so that there is opportunity for athletes on the ends while also ensuring a roughly equal number of athletes at each weight.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[BigTenFanboy 1,790]

The NCAA/NWCA has the certification numbers for every college wrestler as well as the number of athletes in each weight at every open and invitational tournament. It seems like there should be a way to reset the weights so that there is opportunity for athletes on the ends while also ensuring a roughly equal number of athletes at each weight.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

And they screwed up the high school weights with that system. I still don't understand the logic behind removing a weight class where the largest and most concentrated area of talent and put it in an area that was pretty weak...

[vsnej 199]

heard from a D1 wrestler FWIW

 

...a grown man weighing 125 pounds is crazy

[TBar1977 4,532]

1 hour weigh in before stepping on the mat for every round of every competition.

[BigTenFanboy 1,790]

1 hour weigh in before stepping on the mat for every round of every competition.

Which would be a logistical nightmare. It would require additional staff to run these round by round weigh ins.

It would also just decrease the number or participants substantially due to wrestlers getting scratched from brackets constantly mid competition.

IMO something like this could very well KILL the sport.

[PSUMike 445]

I really wish something would be added between 197 and HWT but I get the inherent issue with doing so. There should be an odd number of weights to begin with so this would be a logical place to start. 

[wnywrestling 71]

What teams don't have 125-pounders?  I just went through about 20 rosters, and they all listed between 2 and 6 guys at 125.

Edited April 3, 2017 by wnywrestling

[Gantry 1,872]

Turn the 197 class into 205 and don't change anything else.  Simple, won't involve wholesale changes and gets the weight a little closer to the international/HS weights. 

[Zebra 546]

Which would be a logistical nightmare. It would require additional staff to run these round by round weigh ins.

It would also just decrease the number or participants substantially due to wrestlers getting scratched from brackets constantly mid competition.

IMO something like this could very well KILL the sport.

No it won't. This can be done at the head table quite easily and once the kids learn they have to move up a weight (or maybe two) it will become a moot point.