Who decides what weight class starts a dual meet at the collegiate level? Does the visiting coach decide? Does TV decide? If both coaches agree, does the meet begin at the traditional light weight?
Starting weight class for dual meets
- Thread starter Pentacrest
- Start date
If both coaches agree, it starts at 125. Otherwise they toss a coin and the winning coach chooses.
Not sure why you would want to go traditional against Iowa. You know you're starting down 5-0 at the best, and then you have to end against our 2nd/3rd best wrestler in Big Cass. I know you're going to have to wrestle all the weights no matter what, but why start in the hole, give Iowa momentum, and then need an upset if it comes down to that last match.
I'm taking my chances with a draw.
Maybe Nebby didn't choose that and just lost the coin toss. Do we know that?
Where in hell and when did it become a coin toss??? Use to have 10 tongue compressors with the weights written on one end and put in a cup. Away team would draw if coaches didn't agree. Then it is a 1 in 10 chance which seems much more fair then flipping a coin!
Manning complained too much saying the tongue compressors weren't fair.
A big reason is because starting at 125 mimics the tournaments which allows wrestlers to have similar wait times from weigh in to match time. This is why I believe Iowa always chooses 125.
Last night Nebraska chose to draw. Last week Northwestern chose to draw and chose 133. It was extra sweet when Cass and Lee sent them on their road trip to Nebraska with such a bitter taste in their mouths
To quote myself from a recent thread, I prefer random starts. Helps reduce unhealthy weight cuts in the middle and upper weights and it gives someone other than the HWT the oportunity to experience the pressure wrestling with the entire meet on their shoulders.
I guess you can make various arguments for and against. The thing is, traditionally and in most cases, tournaments start at the lower weights and work up. The wrestlers know this and can prepare accordingly.
If you have a coin flip, with 1 hour weigh ins, then in theory I guess your argument about weight cuts could be valid. My experience tells me it would not help in reality though.
Also why just draw a starting weight class then? Why not draw for all classes, start at 165, then 197, 133, heavy, 125 etc..... Again, in my opinion, you take away from tradition and what the wrestlers themselves already know and understand.
By just drawing the starting weight, you still allow for the chance of a last minute, strategic lineup change, which admittedly almost never happens in college.
My preference comes from having been a HWT. It was always the two extremes. 1) the entire outcome of the dual is on your shoulders or 2) the dual is already clinched and people are headed for the parking lot before you take the mat. I think it would be good for wrestlers at other weights to experience that kind of pressure from time to time.
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