Sweeping Changes Coming to High School Wrestling

On the day after Thanksgiving when the Howell wrestling team officially returns to the mats, the wrestlers competing for spots on the varsity roster and the coaches will have some big decisions to make. 

For the first time in more than two decades all but four of the weight classes will be completely different from where they were this year. At the National Federation of State High School Associations' meeting earlier this month a change was authorized to raise the weights of the remaining classes for the upcoming season. 

Those wrestlers who competed at 103 this year will now see their weight class bumped up to 106. For most classes the change will be a similar three pound bump. At 103 however, freshmen who might weigh no more than 90 pounds could now theoretically be competing against opponents as much as 16 pounds heavier than them. 

The only weight classes to remain the same were 145, 152, 160 and heavyweight with its maximum weight of 285 pounds. Wrestlers will now be competing at 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 170, 182, 195 and 220. 

Dale Pleimann, the chairman of the NFHS Wrestling Rules Committee, and a former executive director of the Missouri State High School Activities Association, said the changes were made after studying data from the past few years. "The change in weight classes resulted from a three-to-four year process utilizing data from the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Optimal Performance Calculator," he said. 

Pleimann said the data collected showed the weights of more than 200 thousand wrestlers from around the country, dividing them evenly with seven percent of the wrestlers in each weight class. The NWCA  Optimal Performance Calculator was instituted several years ago as a way to ensure that wrestlers were competing in their proper weight class without cutting a dangerous amount of weight. Factors like height, weight and body mass index all go into calculating where a competitor should be and how far down they can safely go at a controlled rate. 

According to the NFHS, this is the biggest change in weight classes since 1988, when the 103 weight class supplanted 98 pounds as the lowest contested weight. The only other change was back in 2002 when the 215 weight class was put as a midway point between 189 and heavyweight. Prior to that change the discrepancy between competitors at the heavyweight class could have been close to 100 pounds making for a dangerous situation for the lighter of the two. 215 at least brought the heaviest wrestlers closer together.

Howell wrestling Coach John Gagliano said he was surprised to see how much the weights had changed and said it will have a definite impact on the way his team competes. The coach said the biggest change for him will come in the middle weights were things were shaken up the most. "We still have the numbers, but the majority of your kids are the middle weights," he said. "We just have to get used to the change."

Calling the move, "drastic," Gagliano said when it comes to the lower weights, especially the new 106 class, this could change the eligibility of some of the freshmen who might not be up to that weight. "I have no problem with the 103's going up," he said. "It's making it where you're going to have more upper class men coming down. It's going to be that whole middle. That's going to be a big change, not just for Howell but for Everyone."

Where as the 103 and 112 weight classes are usually freshmen and sophomores breaking into the high school ranks at the lowest weights, Gagliano said even this shift could make it so that they will have to work their way up to a competitive weight before being ready for the varsity level. 

The change at the high school level could make for an interesting time come next winter, but at least one college coach said he is excited to see the change. Former Jackson Memorial and current Rutgers University Coach Scott Goodale who was in town on Wednesday for an event at Newbury School said it will make his recruiting at least a little easier in some aspects.

"For me, recruiting-wise I can recruit a 184 pounder," he said. Unlike in high school where the weights previously went from 171 to 189, college weight classes go from 174 to 184 to 197. In prior years Goodale said he and his staff would have to evaluate whether it was better to drop someone who had wrestled one 189 down, or to bulk up a 171 wrestler. Now the 170 wrestler can be looked at for 174, the 182 wrestler for 184 and the 195 pounder for 197. 

The former Jaguar coach said that for teams like Howell and Jackson who have large programs with lots of wrestlers the changes may not be quite as difficult to overcome. But for some of the smaller schools it could have a definite impact in how they approach their season. 

With the changes, freshman Jimmy Slendorn could be back at 103 for the Rebels this year havigng compiled a 23-13 record in his first year. Sophomore Ben Esposito was the 112 pounder in most matches for the Rebels this year, and did a solid job for them there with a total record of 27-13. 

With only a one pound difference in weights from last year to this year, Esposito could return to that weight or may look to bump up to the new 120 weight class. This could cause a log jam as Coach Gagliano saw many of his best wrestlers in the lower and middle weight classes. Matt Lindemann had twice the number of wins as losses with a record of 24-12 in his first year on the varsity level, mostly at 119. 

The Rebels were already looking at a large number of wrestlers coming back next year as only Mike Shaughnessey, Frank Lino, John Hlava and Brian Sherlotti saw a lot of time on the mats their senior year.