What would the NFL season be without the Super Bowl? The NHL season without the Stanley Cup final? The college basketball season without the NCAA Tournament?
They all would be, well, incomplete.
The New Jersey high school wrestling season without the state individual championships is not a season at all. As Brick Memorial head coach Mike Kiley aptly put it last month the state championships is the carrot wrestlers chase all season long.
The state championships are what make three-plus months of pain, sacrifice, bloody noses, split lips and weight loss worth it. Atlantic City is the wrestling Mecca that draws wrestling pilgrims no matter how arduous the journey to get there.
For many, including the three NJ.com wrestling writers, The States is the premier high school sporting event in New Jersey.
But the coronavirus has affected all high school sports, so far, leaving nothing unscathed. The NJSIAA has already postponed some sports, condensed seasons and even eliminated the state football tournament. The winter season is currently scheduled to begin practices on Dec. 3, still with many questions left unanswered.
Especially one key question from the wrestling community: will we crown individual state champions?
So when two Oct. 28 wrestling coaches meetings ended without locked-in dates for the state individual championships, many assumed it wouldnt happen at all. The uncertainty triggered a firestorm that spread like a California wildfire and unsurprisingly triggered those feelings of disappointment, frustration and hurt we wrote about last month. The NJSIAA took heat on social media for days.
Can New Jersey safely -- thats a word that cannot be understated -- have individual wrestling championships in the midst of a coronavirus resurgence that has in-state schools returning to virtual learning, hospitals filling up again and our governor considering new -- and some old -- protocols to try and combat its spread?
NJ Advance Media believes it can be done -- not simply, not without change and probably not without opposition from some faction of the wrestling community. We know wrestlings die-hard fans dont like change, but if the goal is to crown the best wrestler in New Jersey in every weight class -- and we believe that point can not be argued -- we have to give in order to get what we want.
Change would be inevitable, but putting an emphasis on crowning a state champion - and working within the NJSIAAs plan for a two-week postseason - weve created a proposal that:
Heres our pitch.
With the exploding pandemic numbers across the state, the potential of super-spreader events like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years and the travel that goes with it, it seems highly unlikely winter practices will start Dec. 3 as planned. The same goes for the opening day of the winter season on Dec. 21.
If wrestling cant start on time, why start it at all? Or, why start something that cant be finished? If we are enduring only the start of a second wave, why risk having to shut sports down in January or February?
And as things stand, its unclear if large multi-team events, like the individual wrestling tournaments would even be allowed by Feb. 5.
Our suggestion: Move wrestling to Season 3. Youd get the benefit of time - and improved weather (well get to that in a moment). Right now Season 3 is home to only two sports -- gymnastics and girls volleyball.
The clock is ticking, Delbarton head coach Byran Stoll said. As the clock ticks down to our Dec. 3 start date, cases are soaring. Under the current plan, I think it would be 1-very difficult to even get the wrestling season started and 2-get through the whole thing. So right now, I think its the prudent choice to be able to push it back and give us more time. You read about the vaccines and potential treatments, so obviously the more time we have, the better.
To think that we could be starting in three weeks with everything going on around us is, well, dumb, said Ocean Township head coach Cip Apicelli. We start on Dec. 3 and by Dec. 15, 50 percent of the schools will have gone virtual? What sense does that make?
The Season 3 parameters are currently as follows:
Practice begins: Feb. 16, 2021
Regular-season competition: From March 3 to April 14
Postseason: April 15-24.
Heres why Season 3 makes sense:
It buys time for a vaccine to be developed and distributed. Pfizer Inc. said that its COVID-19 vaccine may be a remarkable 90% effective, based on early and incomplete test results.
Wrestling, boys basketball and girls basketball would not be sharing gymnasiums and locker rooms. It promotes safety -- fewer individuals sharing confined, indoor spaces. Overseeing agencies like those type of things.
With people staying at home for the holidays and going out less after Christmas and schools going on winter breaks, perhaps the rate of infection will be slowed. We urge the NJSIAA to take the chance and believe COVID-19 numbers will be trending down in mid-February, as opposed to going up in early December.
I am absolutely in for that, said Gateway head coach Jim Rutter. I have not had a Christmas holiday since 1975. Lets just keep conditioning. Ive been hearing schools might shut down from Thanksgiving to MLK Day. Im all about health. Lets get through the holidays. Why start it up just to get shut down? Mid-January to late-April is perfect.
In our opinion, the safest way to allow fans to attend the state wrestling championships is to hold it outdoors, say at Rutgers Stadium on the turf or at Princeton or at MetLife Stadium.
We know Rutgers has successfully hosted outdoor wrestling before. We know Rutgers was expected to be a bigger player in N.J. high school wrestling this winter, allegedly hosting the Group Wrestling Championships. We know the stadium is big enough to allow for social distancing. So if guidelines for outside activities will be in late-April what they are now, thats 500 fans. Wrestlers and coaches could safely and easily be seated on the other side of the stadium.
Sure, we know it could be raining, snowing, blustery or all of the above. We know it is a prime time for noreasters. We also know it could be 60 degrees for a stretch -- and under our proposal we would need the wrestling gods provide three good days of weather.
If Rutgers isnt interested in hosting something like that, Ill make them interested, said Rutgers University head coach Scott Goodale. "We could put the mats at the bowl end of the stadium. We could spread people out.
We can put 106 on a mat in one corner of the end zone near Section 101 and 152 across the way near sections 122 and 123, Goodale gushed. "We could run a weight class on the same mats every round so people could pick their seats and not have to move.
"The two best dual meets we ever hosted were in the football stadium. There were 16,000 people at those two matches ... 16,000 people. The fans would love it!
Let me know what we have to do to make it happen.
We propose the state tournament be held on April 22-24. We also suggest breaking-up the 14 weight classes over the three days -- 5-5-4, or 5-4-5. The weight classes could go in order, low-to-high, or be intermingled. Spreading the weight classes over three days would mean each weight class only competes for one day, helping to limit the number of wrestlers and fans in the stadium, should there still be capacity limits.
I dont care if its at Rutgers Stadium or a cow field up in Sussex County, Stoll said. "I just want these kids to get an opportunity to compete. I think most guys feel that way. Ultimately, decisions will have to be made about who gets in and who doesnt, but thats so far away from now.
I think its very feasible (at an outdoor venue) and my ultimate goal would be to get as many kids in to have an opportunity as possible.
Under our proposal, 16 wrestlers per weight class would advance from the Regionals. With daylight savings time in play, there could be full wrestlebacks, with medals awarded to the top eight just like there were last March. Because of the time limitations (9 a.m. to maybe 7 p.m.) there would be no long breaks and no clearing the stadium. Who would complain about that?
Could the tournament be done indoors over three days in a 5-5-4 format? Probably. However, if arenas arent hosting concerts and professional sports games, could they host a high school tournament?
Could we host it indoors?, Goodale said. It would all depend on what is going on with the virus. Outdoors? I think we could do that.
And dont think for a second that the NJSIAA will push the season forward a week into May. The one season the NJSIAA will not mess with is the spring, where its athletes were robbed of the entire 2020 season.
People have to understand these are different times, Apicelli said. All you have to do is look at what is going on around us. This is at least an attempt to do the right thing. The proposals Ive seen were for a state championship only. This at least has the districts and regionals.
Heres how we will get to the state championships.
Before you lose your marbles, remember the primary goal is to crown the best wrestlers at each weight class.
Also remember, we said there was going to need to be some giving to get things back in return. This is part of the giving.
The Season 3 postseason is from April 15-24. Thats not enough time to cram in a team tournament if you want individual championships -- even if you did it in a week.
My team would be in a position to win a sectional team title and contend for a group championship and I would still take an individual tournament over a team tournament, Apicelli said. A kid wrestles his entire life to get a shot at that individual title. A team title is great, but those last three weeks are what make the entire season.
The team stuff is awesome, Stoll said. We (Delbarton) got to achieve some great things and unprecedented things last year (finished ranked No. 1 in the state by NJ.com), but at the end of the day, the kids when theyre sweating in August or traveling out to Fargo, the goal is ultimately to be a New Jersey state champion. If you have to make a choice, I think its pretty simple.
Do you really want to crown a team champion only to have the individual championships squashed because of COVID-19 cases after the team tournament?
Why risk it?
Man, honestly, how can you not do the individual thing? said Collingswood head coach Dechlin Moody. "If I told kids no districts, half wouldnt wrestle. What would we have done with Andy (Clark) last year (without states)? I hate to say it, you would almost have to send him to another state. The team stuff is awesome, dont get me wrong, but at the same time districts and beyond is the end-all. Everybody wants to be there, everybody wants to be in Atlantic City.
Look at Vinny Santaniello. Those brothers wrestled in the state final and its their last shot to do it together. That team (Brick Memorial) could have four state finalists. How can you possibly tell them they cant wrestle in the state tournament? I get it, its just sports and its safety first but no state tournament would be a hard pill to swallow.
In an attempt to limit the spread of the virus among the wrestlers, fans and coaches, we suggest three modifications at the district level.
One, cut the number of participants. Nine or 10 teams bringing every wrestler they have for a one-day, indoor event isnt smart, safe or attractive to any prospective hosts.
Our suggestion is to turn the districts into a two-day event April 15-16, wrestling seven weight classes one day and seven the next. That means half as many wrestlers and fans in the building both days.
I was just saying this to somebody, Rutter said. Bring a couple weight classes in at 9 oclock, get them out, bring another group in at 3. (Wrestlers) wont get two hours off between rounds, but thats OK. Thats what they did at Super 32. Im into that. Adapt and improvise.
Two, cut the number of district tournaments in half, from 32 to 16. Why? It will be easier to find 16 hosts as opposed to 32. Districts are relatively close in proximity so there shouldnt be any outlandish traveling. For one year, we can live with disparity between districts.
Next, allow 12 wrestlers per weight class qualify for the districts. Yes, qualify. A wrestler earns his way into the districts. The OPC number, used to seed the districts now, will place the wrestlers, with head-to-head and common opponents used if necessary.
Fans should love the idea of qualifying for the districts. With only 12 wrestlers qualifying, coaches would almost be obliged to send good wrestlers out against other good wrestlers to gain more ranking points. What fan likes seeing top wrestlers getting forfeits in nearly every regular-season dual meet?
If you wrestle the way youre supposed to wrestle, the points work, Apicelli said. "The points allow you to see through the records. If a kid who is 14-1 doesnt have any quality wins, he may seeded behind a wrestler who is 10-5 and has wrestled three or four quality opponents.
If a wrestler wants to get to a certain place in the district seeding the coach is going to have to allow him to wrestle better kids. For a freshman, he starts the season with a ranking of zero. He needs every good match he can get. As a coach, you have 15 matches to get your kid into the districts.
The plan to limit entries drew a mixed response.
Thats something I hope doesnt happen, Rutter said. I didnt make the varsity lineup as a freshman and I remember going to districts thinking thats going to be me next year. I definitely want to preserve that individual stuff.
Under the NJ.com plan, the top four finishers in the 16 districts would advance to the regionals.
Again, concerned about finding school districts interested in hosting regional events, we would reduce the number of regional tournaments from eight to four and make the tournaments two-day events -- on April 18-19. Seven weight classes one day. Seven weight classes the second day.
The regional tournaments can be seeded as they are now, using established criteria. There could be wrestlebacks after the quarterfinals to ensure the best four wrestlers move on to the state tournament.
We wish there were a way to make that third-fourth-place bout have stay-or-go implications, but we couldnt figure out how. It doesnt seem right that regional finals and third-place bouts really count for nothing other than the color of the medal. Perhaps, there is some astute wrestling mind out there who can figure that out.
There was discussion at the end of last season about the girls having state championship away from the boys tournament. That is an absolute must this season.
The issue for girls wrestling is how wrestlers accumulate points and wins to be seeded without dual meets. There were weekend tournaments for girls last season, but how will those events be possible if indoor event attendance is reduced?
Unfortunately, we dont have those answers.
The girls need and deserve a tournament of their own without playing second fiddle to the boys.
If there is a will, there is a way. The wrestling community, working together, compromising, needs to find that way.
Perspective is important. New Jersey wrestling, as a whole, needs to stay focused on the goal -- crown the 14 best kids.
Anything they put together Im up for, Moody said. If you have to do weight classes on different days, limit the entries, Im up for anything if we can get to an individual state champion.
The NJ.com plan reduces margin for error. There are those who believe the ability to lose five and six times between the districts and state finals provides too much margin for error. There are others who believe there should be wrestlebacks at the district level. Under the NJ.com plan, a bad loss at the wrong time would end your season. Ultimately, there will be a wrestler who seemingly gets the short end of the stick, but that has always happened and will happen no matter what system is used.
There will be 25 percent of the wrestling community unhappy about losing the team tournament, another percentage unhappy about only 16 kids going to the states instead of 32, Apicelli said. But if we go into a season trying to get everything, chances are, we will get nothing.
All you can tell them (your team) is that the NJSIAA has a plan, and it could change, but we have to keep working towards that Dec. 3 start date, Stoll said. "Ultimately wrestling is a different sport than football. When you talk to football coaches, its all about planning and game plans. Wrestlers are used to get thrown on their back in the first period and figuring it out. These kids are equipped mentally for this type of uncertainty. Its the nature of our sport.
Mentally, I think these kids are equipped to handle it. Im really happy with how the kids have handled things. Theyre going to roll with the punches.
Can the grown-ups involved in the decision-making do the same thing? Lets hope so, the fate of the 2020-2021 wrestling season depends on it.
Pat Lanni covers wrestling in the northern part of the state. He may be reached at planni@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatLanniHS. Like NJ.com High School Sports on Facebook.
Joe Zedalis covers Shore Conference wrestling for NJ.com. He may be reached at jzedalis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @josephzedalis. Like NJ.com HS sports on Facebook.
Bill Evans coves South Jersey wrestling for NJ.com. He can be reached at bevans@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BEvansSports. Like our NJ.com High School Wrestling Facebook Page.
Excerpt from:
Here's our plan the only way to save N.J.'s HS wrestling season - NJ.com
