FARGO - A change is on the way next year for high school wrestling weight classes across the nation. However, the new look likely won't be enough to fix many of the problems in North Dakota Class B.
The National Federation of State High School Associations on Tuesday announced that 10 of the current 14 weight classes will shift upward in 2011-12 to maximize participation in the United States.
"It cuts down on seeing some of the faster athletes," Fargo North coach Nick Magee said of the changes. "You see a lot more action with those lighter weight guys. Cutting one more out, I could see affecting some of the Class B schools."
The newly approved weight classes are: 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 182, 195, 220 and 285.
The 145, 152, 160 and 285 classes remain unchanged from the previous format. The rest of the weight classes have moved upward.
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"The (NFHS) rules committee was able to analyze data from almost 200,000 wrestlers across the country, with the goal to create weight classes that have approximately seven percent of the wrestlers in each weight class," said Dale Pleimann, chair of the NFHS Wrestling Rules Committee.
Lisbon coach Joe Kern said the new weight classes will likely put a greater strain on many of the state's Class B teams.
"I think it makes it even more difficult for a Class B school our size," Kern said. "We've had a hard time filling those upper weight classes as it is. I don't agree with them keeping 14 weight classes."
Coaches and administrators last year asked the NDHSAA to drop to 12 weight classes in Class B to improve competition at dual meets. Many Class B schools have several open weights, and are forced to regularly forfeit matches during duals.
A Class B advisory committee recommended that the activities association change from the nationally recognized weight classes to a new group of 12 for the state's smallest class.
The committee's request was denied by the NDHSAA Board in June, but a motion to continue to pursuit of 12 weight classes for Class B was passed.
The advisory committee last August asked the Board to delay any decision by at least a year to allow the National Federation of State High School Associations to reveal any possible changes.
NDHSAA Executive Secretary Sherm Sylling said a vote on 12 classes in Class B could come at the association's meeting on June 20-21 in Valley City. The Athletic Review Advisory Committee could discuss a recommendation for 12 weight classes during its meeting on June 15 in Valley City, Sylling said.
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Sylling said Class A coaches and administrators have not asked for a deviation from the national guidelines.
Newly hired Fargo Davies coach Keenan Spiess said the changes will hit states with smaller populations hardest.
"What I think they did was take the natural weights of 9-12 graders nationwide," said Spiess, who coached four years at Fargo North and 10 years at Minnesota State University Moorhead. "But North Dakota is different than Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania, there aren't as many 7th and 8th graders wrestling.
"In Class B, you have to fill with what you have."
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