MONROE - Finding a high school athlete to wrestle at 103 pounds may be a lost cause for some schools, and coaches support a national proposal to increase the state's smallest weight class.

For seven area wrestling programs, the shortage at the smallest weight class is driving teams to give up forfeits.

To help address the situation, The National Federation of State High School Associations reviewed three proposals in April 2010 that would shuffle the lineup in high school wrestling. The NFHS' wrestling rules committee didn't vote to change the weight class system last spring, but they pledged to review the 103-pound debate and a weight class overhaul. In the proposal being considered, the smallest weight class would be bumped up to 106 pounds and 10 of the 14-weight classes would be altered.

Monroe coach Jeriamy Jackson is a proponent of bumping up the smallest weight class.

"There are a lot of kids there (at 103) by default and not because they earned it," Jackson said. "I wouldn't want to make it too high and take opportunities away from kids."

The last time the weight-class system was overhauled was before the 1988-89 season. The last change in a weight class came in the 2006-07 season when the heavyweight limit was changed from 275 to 285.

Before that, the 215-pound class was added in 2002-03.

Andrew Melton, Spooner wrestling coach and President of the Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association, said at the coach's clinic earlier this year that 51 percent of coaches wanted to keep the current weight class system and 49 percent favored the NFHS proposal.

Pecatonica-Argyle coach Ike Campbell supports increasing the smallest weight class to 106. Campbell has served as a wrestling head coach and assistant for seven years and he can't remember ever being able to fill the 103 weight class.

"It's hard to find someone that small," Campbell said. "I don't even know if we had one in the whole school."



Weight class reduction

Dave Black, of River Falls, the chairman of the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation, supports a change, but he wants Wisconsin to take it a step further.

"It was a fact finding mission," Black said. "It's not a rule changing procedure yet. The mindset amongst a lot of the coaches is to have a weight class reduction and not a weight class modification."

Black said while some may argue that a weight reduction would eliminate opportunities for some wrestlers. He has a different take.

"That would allow smaller schools to fill the entire lineup," he said.

Brodhead-Juda coach Tim Colden, who is one of more than 500 current and former coaches part of the Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association, said he would like to see a weight class reduction from 14 to 12.

"It seems hard to fill all the weights," Colden said. "A lot of teams are putting kids in to fill the weight classes who probably aren't ready for varsity competition."

Melton said if the NFHS adopts the proposal for a new weight class system, the WIAA could move to adopt an adaptation to the NFHS' plan to allow 11 weight classes.

"We are still seeing if we can cut it down to 11 weight classes," Melton said. "We don't follow all the NFHS rules. There are adaptations."

While some schools are searching for a wrestler at 103, Black Hawk has competition with two wrestlers at that weight class. Black Hawk explored a wrestling co-op before the emergence of several freshman wrestlers this season. Black Hawk coach Jim Seffrood said it's a luxury a lot of schools don't have.

"I think it's tough to get the 103 pounder," Seffrood said. "It's nice to have a little guy. It's six points for us."

Turning to the middle school

The one sport where a 103-pound athlete can make an immediate impact is in wrestling. That has led some to call for a waiver to allow middle school students to wrestle at the varsity level in high school. Minnesota has a model that allows middle school students to wrestle on the varsity high school level.

Darlington coach Tom Mathias isn't convinced that allowing middle school wrestlers to wrestle on the varsity is the answer.

"I don't like the idea of just filling the weight classes," Mathias said of bringing up middle school wrestlers. "If you have a legitimate junior high wrestler who is solid and has matured, then I'm for it."

Mathias is convinced that the scarcity of wrestlers at 103 is not as hopeless as some make it seem.

"In my opinion, there are kids out there at that weight," he said. "As much as anything, we need to find a way to get those kids to come out."

Black doesn't consider using middle school wrestlers on varsity as a viable option.

"That will never happen," he said. "We are trying to protect high school and middle school wrestling. If we are depleting middle school programs we won't have any more."

Seffrood said giving schools the ability to bring up middle school athletes to wrestle on the varsity would give them experience.

"I like the idea if they are at that level," Seffrood said. "The concern is they would be inexperienced. I think it should be an option for a coach and there should be some criteria."

Keep the status quo

Gavin Wels, a Monroe alum, is an exception to the 103-pound shortage. Wels wrestled at 103 three of his four years in high school. Now as a volunteer assistant coach for Monroe, he doesn't want to see the smallest wrestlers on the mat squeezed out of the sport. Wels said he is not in favor of bumping up the state's smallest weight class.

"I could see why some schools struggle filling that weight," Wels said. "There are not many kids when they get older who are 103. A lot of kids coming in are not as small as they used to be."

Wels said he didn't struggle making weight at 103. It wasn't until he wrestled at 112 that making weight became a challenge.

"I feel if you make it too high, it won't be worth it," Wels said. "There will always be kids at that weight."