Linn-Mar, Prairie satifies IHSAA inquiry, State duals not changing

CEDAR RAPIDS - It proved to be a formality.The Iowa High School Athletic Association contacted Cedar Rapids Prairie and Linn-Mar, asking for a rationale to their lineups for the State Duals tournament in February. Both programs responded and awaited word from the state.IHSAA Assistant Executive Director Alan Beste said Tuesday it was determined that both programs acted within the competition guidelines set prior to the tournament and sanctions were not warranted.Beste said the results of the letters were compared to the matches at state duals. It was a lengthy process, but the programs' explanations were consistent, holding kids out for allowable reasons including injury, matchups between ranked wrestlers and traditional state opponents or the meet was already determined.It was a lengthy process, lasting more than a month since the first correspondence. It was spurred by informal comments at the state duals that the two programs deliberately refused to field its best lineup in the winner's bracket competition. Prairie and Linn-Mar were the only two teams questioned."We wanted to make sure we did them justice, by looking at the information they had sent us," Beste said. "When we got all of the information compiled, we found that they indeed followed the policies we had set forth."So, once we had that determined, we sent them a letter ... simply saying thank you for providing the information. Our findings are you followed our policies and guidelines, and thank you for your professionalism in how you handled this."Beste admits a loophole exists for coaches, considering most wrestlers can claim an injury after three months of a season. The IHSAA didn't demand specifics. Trust is placed in coaches giving accurate accounts of a wrestler's status."We just trust the integrity of the people running the program," said Beste, who added, "It's up to the integrity of the coach, especially in the larger schools where they have athletic trainers giving them advice as to what is the best interest of this kid's health, trying to project how many times we think a kid can wrestle competitively over  three or four-day period and minimize the risk of injury. If they feel holding him out on Wednesday is in his best interest, we're going to go with that. We aren't going to question it."The state tournament schedule has been met with resistance from some after it was moved from Cedar Rapids the week following the traditional state tournament to the day at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. This procedure won't eliminate it, and Beste expects similar situations in the future."I think it's a possibility that we can have the same scenario," Beste said. "Last year, Southeast Polk chose not to wrestle  their varsity wrestlers at state duals. This year they did, and had good success in both the duals and the individual tournament. It comes down to a coach's individual decision how they want to handle that within the guidelines we set forth."Beste said he has received fewer complaints from coaches about how the state duals format this year. A year ago, most suggestions dealt with logistics."One of two things is happening," Beste said. "Either they are becoming more comfortable in year two than year one or they feel their voice doesn't matter. My hope would be it's not the latter. It does matter and it matters through the advisory committee."The IHSAA met with the Wrestling Coaches Advisory Committee last week. Beste said the committee discussed the postseason schedule, including regional duals, state duals, the individual state tournament. He also noted the idea of ending sectionals for Class 1A and 2A have been discussed previously, but the biggest problem is finding sites large enough to host.Beste said there is a possibility that the state semifinals could be part of a live webcast and the state duals could be televised in the future."At this point, they have no specific recommendation other than we investigate other possibilities for postseason wrestling," Beste said. "That's just not the duals and the individual tournament, but postseason as a whole."The IHSAA has a contract to rent Wells Fargo Arena from Wednesday through Saturday through 2017. Beste said the move was an attempt to make a long-term commitment at the Des Moines arena and to the sport.Beste said they have considered a stand-alone event, including one in January. The IHSAA still is not interested in switching the duals to after a traditional tournament.He said he can't predict whether the dual tournament has to be married to the traditional tournament to thrive. He said attendance is not the only indicator for success. The reactions of coaches, wrestlers and administrators are influential, according to Beste."We're trying to do, from the top down, is put dual team wrestling in a position where we think it becomes part of the marquee event," Beste said. "You have state duals then you have state individual. It's all at the same facility. It's all part of the same event. We're hoping that increases the interest in dual-team wrestling. Whether that shows itself to be true over the course of the years has yet to be seen."Is there a plan to move it? At this point, no, but we are continually taking a look at where it is."Beste said Mary Lee Malmberg, Director of Sports Tourism for the Cedar Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, lobbies for the duals to return to Cedar Rapids in her yearly trip to Boone to pitch hosting IHSAA events.Beste denied the current format is a matter of convenience or money grab. He said he hasn't looked at the figures, but said he thought the change was only mildly more lucrative."We are an entity that has bills we have to pay," Beste said. "Do we have to look at the bottom line? Sure, we do have to look at the bottom line."Changes would affect schedules to other school programs, and would take advanced planning to accommodate wrestling. Don't expect any major changes soon."One of the things our Advisory Committee, as part of our 'investigate the postseason,' has asked us to do is take a look at some different dates,"  Beste said. "If we made a change, we would have to look out two to three years so schools have a chance to adjust their schedules."