State Duals changes have not been fully embraced

The Iowa High School Athletic Association State Duals tournament has a new home, a new format, new date and we will see what approach coaches and wrestlers have to the team competition that will be held the day before the traditional state tournament in Des Moines.

In April, the IHSAA voted on changing the date and site of the State Duals tournament. The team championship had been held a week after the traditional state tournament finals at the U.S. Cellular Center, which is under renovation, in Cedar Rapids since 1994. State Duals for all classes are Wednesday, Feb. 15 at Wells Fargo Arena.

"Some like it and some don't. That's the honest truth," IHSAA Assistant Executive Director Alan Beste said Friday. "(The coaches) have an advisory committee, who they select, and we discussed with their advisory committee last spring and the advisory committee supported the change.

"They weren't unanimous but they supported making the change."

The traditional state tournament will always be the crown jewel of the prep wrestling season. It always generates the most drama, excitement and buzz. The State Duals competition has always been secondary in nature. Coaches, and wrestlers, will face a challenging dilemma Wednesday, trying to weigh the importance of the team event and how the competition Wednesday may affect the wrestler for the individual tournament.

"That's on the forefront of every coach's mind," Waverly-Shell Rock Coach Eric Whitcome said. "How are you going to approach the State Duals. Specifically, how are they going to approach possible individual tournament match-ups."

Whitcome will be thrown into the fire, along with Southeast Polk Coach Jason Christensen. The two teams square off in the Class 3A quarterfinals, and both field nationally-ranked NCAA Division I signees at 126 pounds. The Rams' top-ranked Cory Clark, a University of Iowa signee, is attempting to become a four-time state and the Go-Hawks' Eric DeVos is a two-time state finalist in Iowa, winning a state title in 2010. Will they wrestle or will fans have to settle for seeing just one - or even a junior varsity contest?

Whitcome didn't address that specific pairing, but did say the coaching staff has discussed the situation and they have an idea of what they will do. The priority remains the individual tournament.

"A lot of it will come down to exactly what happens that Wednesday," Whitcome said. "We'd be more than willing to wrestle some of our guys, but at the same time our ultimate goal is to have state placewinners, state champions, and give our guys the best opportunity to achieve that."

Linn-Mar Coach Doug Streicher was more outspoken when he talked with The Gazette immediately after his Lions earned their second straight State Duals berth with a home win over Pleasant Valley on Wednesday. He doesn't like the possible uneven playing field created by having some wrestlers compete four straight days while others aren't exposed to the rigors of the State Duals before the first day of the traditional tournament.

"I don't like it one bit," Streicher said. "Whether you're talking about making weight, wrestling three matches, staying in the arena all day, holding your weight down, the grind of wrestling three tough matches, that's not a fair start for an individual.

"This kid is at a disadvantage because his team qualified for the State Duals tournament. That's my beef with it."

The sentiment has swelled over the last few weeks, as rumors of teams trying to lose regional duals and planning to sit starters circulate.

Some of the disadvantages that are surfacing deal with weight allowances, scouting and wear and tear on the wrestlers competing Wednesday compared to those only in the traditional tournament.

“I can't say there are a lot of people, in general, that are excited about the State Duals being on Wednesday,” Whitcome said. “That includes the kids. Just know what's at stake the next three days of that week.”

Whitcome said he is going to give his wrestlers the best chance to succeed Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

“They know we're going to look out for their best interest,” Whitcome said. “It's something they don't need to consume their time thinking about.”

The days when we witnessed Waverly-Shell Rock's Mark Ballweg avenge a state tournament loss to eventual four-time state champion Nick Moore of Iowa City West in the State Duals is gone. We won't likely see that play out in a format, changed by the IHSAA during the offseason as an attempt to showcase the two state tournaments together.

“We're bringing a lot of kids so we have options available,” Cedar Rapids Prairie coach Blake Williams said. “We'll do what we think is best. You have to look at what's best for the team and the individual and find a good mix.”

Due to qualifiers wrestling in the State Duals prior to the first round of the traditional tournament, all wrestlers receive a one-pound allowance Thursday. Even the wrestlers who sit and watch Wednesday benefit from an extra pound.

"I tried to downplay that with our kids," Cedar Rapids Prairie Coach Blake Williams told The Gazette in a phone interview. "For the most part, they get a free extra pound. That in itself is an advantage to those kids (not in State Duals)."

It hasn't been rare for a wrestler to overcome a tough contender in the finals of sectionals, districts and state. Sometimes the outcomes are the same, like it was for former Alburnett three-time state champion Chris Halblom, who beat the same foe three times in two weeks his final two seasons. I recall MFL MarMac's Kyle Pedretti and J.J. Krustsinger of Waterloo Columbus battling in the same manner with Pedretti winning in the state finals for a 2-1 postseason edge in the same situation. Wrestlers could benefit from wrestling a match that doesn't hold the same personal significance on Wednesday and use it to their advantage in the traditional tournament meeting.

Wrestlers in the stands during the State Duals tournament have the opportunity to scout potential state tournament opponents.

"No doubt about it. I would," Streicher said about scouting from the stands. "Make them do their homework. They want to come scout me then come to Marion and scout me. Don't throw me out in the middle of the dual meet tournament and say here I am and here is what my go-to moves are ..."

West Delaware Coach Jeff Voss hasn't condemned the new format, yet. His Hawks are the No. 2 seed in the Class 2A State Dual tournament. He said team depth would be important and the approach will depend on the focus of each team.

"My opinion is if your goal is to win a state championship as a team then you do what you have to do to get your team to win a state title," Voss said. "If a dual meet is decided  and you have state qualifier that the outcome of their match isn't going to the outcome of the dual, I might put a JV kid in to fill that spot."

Voss attempted to present a "glass half-full" attitude. He said the Duals are better than the week following because motivation was hard that long after the individual season was complete. That was something Beste noted as being a big concern to coaches in the spring.

"The kids beat out at sectionals don't have as much time off for State Duals," Voss said. "It was difficult to motivate a kid that wrestled in the state tournament, trying to get them up the following week to wrestle in the State Duals."

According to Whitcome and Williams, in a teleconference with the IHSAA Thursday morning, coaches involved in the State Duals tournament were told there would be no restrictions on the number of competitors. Teams will be allowed to weigh in as many wrestlers as they think will compete.

Whitcome said they plan to bring multiple wrestlers at most weights, especially the ones where they may have a state qualifier. Williams said he is uncertain how they will handle their lineup, including the duals in the later rounds, but said he thinks many teams will have the same approach.

"We'll probably take two guys at weights we have qualifiers," Williams said. "I would imagine most teams would bring something similar to that."

The problem with bringing extra wrestlers is the IHSAA is providing 24 passes to each team. With 14 weights, that alone could lead to 28 wrestlers and that doesn't include coaches and others associated with the team, which will have to purchase extra passes.

"We had to figure out a total number of personnel," Williams said. "We figured with coaches, a couple stat (keepers), that's pushing 40 people so we had to order 16 additional wristbands."

The IHSAA Board of Control approved moving the date and site of the State Dual Team Wrestling Tournament and switched the traditional state tournament back to a three-day event from the four-day format that had been in place since 2003. The goal is to join the events to create four days of state wrestling, featuring the best individuals and teams during the same time frame in the same venue.

“I think bringing the two tournaments together is going to give more wrestlers recognition because it's going to give those wrestlers, who are competing in the dual team on Wednesday, even though the number of spectators may not be the same, we hope its going to give them the same type of recognition and it is going to be as important to them in the dual team tournament as it is for the wrestlers who qualified for the individual tournament,” Beste said in April. “I just think it's going to be good for the kids.”

The idea of having the duals at the end of the four-day stretch was considered.

"The reason we put it on Wednesday rather than on Saturday was because we were also conscious of school administrators and the Department of Education trying to keep kids in school as much as possible," Beste said. "With the duals on Wednesday, it affects 24 teams. If we start the individual tournament on Wednesday that affects 240 or 250 teams."

The change will give some wrestlers the chance to compete in a state championship event.

"We'll take a number of JV wrestlers and probably every one of them will at least get a match," Whitcome said. "It's going to be a good opportunity for those guys. At the same time, it's unfortunate not every team will be willing to put out their best lineup every dual."

Beste said it is a legitimate concern that teams may not wrestle starters throughout the day, but didn't see the harm in more wrestlers experiencing a state tournament compeition. He said he can't say he wouldn't be disappointed if a team decided to field a junior varsity lineup.

"I think what is going to happen is coaches are going to make some choices about who they're going to wrestle and the reality is it's going to take more than 10 or 14 kids to win a state dual-team championship," Beste said. "They're going to use more wrestlers.

"I don't think it's a bad thing that more students get the opportunity to wrestle in that state dual-team tournament."

Voss and Williams will wait to judge until after Wednesday. Williams said it should be interesting and that he hopes coaches suggestions are considered for any further changes.

"We'll see how it goes,' Williams said. "I hope they would evaluate after this year and make sure nothing is set in stone."