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STATE WRESTLING

dupuyer griz

Well-known member
DONOR
We as a state don’t do a great job about talking about the sport of wrestling. I know most people like basketball, I’ve also noticed I don’t like most people, so there’s that. Our new qb Graves will be competing in the B/C classification and the matches will be available to watch online.

https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/tournament/montana-winter-championships

For those of you coming drive safe. This is an excellent opportunity to view the highest level of competition without having to watch a free throw competition.


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Love wrestling and states is something everyone should experience atleast once. Unfortunately it seems to be a dying sport which boggles my mind. NCAA division 1 wrestling teams have been on the chopping block down to 76 teams now. From ‘72 to ‘14 almost 180 teams were cut from their respective schools. Of course most blame Title IX which is easy to do but I think it’s gotta be more then that, what I just don’t know though. Wrestling has to be one of the cheapest sports to fund so I just don’t get the decline.
 
alabamagrizzly said:
Love wrestling and states is something everyone should experience atleast once. Unfortunately it seems to be a dying sport which boggles my mind. NCAA division 1 wrestling teams have been on the chopping block down to 76 teams now. From ‘72 to ‘14 almost 180 teams were cut from their respective schools. Of course most blame Title IX which is easy to do but I think it’s gotta be more then that, what I just don’t know though. Wrestling has to be one of the cheapest sports to fund so I just don’t get the decline.
(1) Training time and effort about as tough as it gets. (2) Chance of injury -- sometimes severe -- second only to football. (3) Not many fans really understand, or appreciate what "real" wrestling is all about, so you play in front of nothing crowds. [Basically, you get to strut your stuff with good crowds every 4 years, at the Olympics.] (5) There's no professional (straight) wrestling league where you might make a living down the road. (6) Even pro "rastlers" (exhibitions) don't make that much money, with a few exceptions if they're "colorful" enough to develop a following.

Wrestling is a tremendous training ground for football players, since it teaches so much about using leverage and body angles ... and promotes extreme fitness. But the chance of injury is always there. Still, maybe wrestling would do better if it were promoted as a winter/spring sport with a season after football.
 
alabamagrizzly said:
Love wrestling and states is something everyone should experience atleast once. Unfortunately it seems to be a dying sport which boggles my mind. NCAA division 1 wrestling teams have been on the chopping block down to 76 teams now. From ‘72 to ‘14 almost 180 teams were cut from their respective schools. Of course most blame Title IX which is easy to do but I think it’s gotta be more then that, what I just don’t know though. Wrestling has to be one of the cheapest sports to fund so I just don’t get the decline.

Wrestling is actually growing as a whole. While not being funded in colleges, it's still popular.
 
IdaGriz01 said:
alabamagrizzly said:
Love wrestling and states is something everyone should experience atleast once. Unfortunately it seems to be a dying sport which boggles my mind. NCAA division 1 wrestling teams have been on the chopping block down to 76 teams now. From ‘72 to ‘14 almost 180 teams were cut from their respective schools. Of course most blame Title IX which is easy to do but I think it’s gotta be more then that, what I just don’t know though. Wrestling has to be one of the cheapest sports to fund so I just don’t get the decline.
(1) Training time and effort about as tough as it gets. (2) Chance of injury -- sometimes severe -- second only to football. (3) Not many fans really understand, or appreciate what "real" wrestling is all about, so you play in front of nothing crowds. [Basically, you get to strut your stuff with good crowds every 4 years, at the Olympics.] (5) There's no professional (straight) wrestling league where you might make a living down the road. (6) Even pro "rastlers" (exhibitions) don't make that much money, with a few exceptions if they're "colorful" enough to develop a following.

Wrestling is a tremendous training ground for football players, since it teaches so much about using leverage and body angles ... and promotes extreme fitness. But the chance of injury is always there. Still, maybe wrestling would do better if it were promoted as a winter/spring sport with a season after football.

You forgot #7, the pussification of our youth to take the competitiveness out of them. Wrestling is the ultimate competition sport. It’s you and him. No one to blame but yourself.

As for the crowd, you’ll see some decent crowds at some good meets across the state. I remember the Mining City Duals was pretty good and the State meet can’t be topped as far as I’m concerned. The NCAA National meet is pretty awesome too but I’ve never been there first hand, just watched it on tv.
 
I will be there on Saturday. Best sporting event in Montana outside of Cat-Griz. Excited to watch Garret Graves, is he undefeated this year? How many falls?

I've been told by a few wrestling coaches in Billings that Gabe Sulser would have been a multiple time state champion if he didn't give it up due to risk of injury for college football. Kid is an absolute animal.
 
tourist said:
What HELL does this with the forum topic???
Few less beers and a few more words it’s not like our future quarterback is wrestling or anything...


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dupuyer griz said:
We as a state don’t do a great job about talking about the sport of wrestling. I know most people like basketball, I’ve also noticed I don’t like most people, so there’s that. Our new qb Graves will be competing in the B/C classification and the matches will be available to watch online.

https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/tournament/montana-winter-championships

For those of you coming drive safe. This is an excellent opportunity to view the highest level of competition without having to watch a free throw competition.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I disagree to an extent. High school wrestling in Montana is very popular, and a big deal to a lot of people. I have covered it extensively for more than 15 years now. Love it. Love the sport, and think Montana is a great state for high school wrestling. On the Hi-Line, it's king, period. In my almost 20 years in the business now, two wrestling events are in my Top 5 things I've ever covered. 1. When Northern wrestled Iowa in the Armory Gymnasium a couple years ago, and yes, the Lights wrestled the REAL Iowa, not a JV team or anything like that. One of the coolest things I've ever been a part of. And ALL of the state tournaments I've covered are in my Top 5 as well. State is as good as it gets. I've passed it on to my sports writer now, haven't gone in five years, and I miss it every year, and always wish I was there. It's the second-most important sporting event in Montana next to the annual Cat-Griz football game, and it's honestly a close second at that.
 
Come to Iowa and tell me wrestling is dying. We sell out Carver Hawkeye arena for good duals. Couple years ago it was Iowa vs Okie State in Kinnick Stadium-pure awesome.

Just need some tougher recruits in the heavier part of our lineup and we'll start beating those bastard at Penn State again
 
Hawkeyebowhunter said:
Come to Iowa and tell me wrestling is dying. We sell out Carver Hawkeye arena for good duals. Couple years ago it was Iowa vs Okie State in Kinnick Stadium-pure awesome.

Just need some tougher recruits in the heavier part of our lineup and we'll start beating those bastard at Penn State again

30 years ago every SEC school had a wrestling team. Today Missouri, a B12 transfer, is the only one left. Iowa is probably the Mecha of college wrestling and will be the last strong hold.
 
growing up in iowa a long time a go, if you played football, you wrestled for these reasons....team sport that requires individual accountability, practice take down and you will be a better tackler, sacrifice regarding work and effort....one week of wrestling practice equals a bout a season of football practice....it just makes you a tougher athlete period.....
 
Hawkeyebowhunter said:
Come to Iowa and tell me wrestling is dying. We sell out Carver Hawkeye arena for good duals. Couple years ago it was Iowa vs Okie State in Kinnick Stadium-pure awesome.

Just need some tougher recruits in the heavier part of our lineup and we'll start beating those bastard at Penn State again
I’ve been, it’s a little different than here. Went for the Olympic trials a few years back.


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krammer said:
growing up in iowa a long time a go, if you played football, you wrestled for these reasons....team sport that requires individual accountability, practice take down and you will be a better tackler, sacrifice regarding work and effort....one week of wrestling practice equals about a season of football practice....it just makes you a tougher athlete period.....
Your exact time comparison might be somewhat of a stretch (or ... maybe not), but the basic principle is sound. (Which is why this thread fits on a football forum.)

As to popularity and participation ... yes, there are "hotbeds" where the sport has always thrived. But, overall, there's no doubt that wrestling is down, sometimes way down, in most areas of the country. Google "wrestling participation" and you get plenty of numbers for High School wrestling to prove it. And it's already been noted about how many college wrestling programs are long gone.

But there is a glimmer of hope (and justification for those who claim some progress). In some areas, club wrestling has seen some substantial growth. I wasn't able to find any hard numbers for the whole country, but some regions talk about doubling their numbers over the past few years.
 
IdaGriz01 said:
krammer said:
growing up in iowa a long time a go, if you played football, you wrestled for these reasons....team sport that requires individual accountability, practice take down and you will be a better tackler, sacrifice regarding work and effort....one week of wrestling practice equals about a season of football practice....it just makes you a tougher athlete period.....
Your exact time comparison might be somewhat of a stretch (or ... maybe not), but the basic principle is sound. (Which is why this thread fits on a football forum.)

As to popularity and participation ... yes, there are "hotbeds" where the sport has always thrived. But, overall, there's no doubt that wrestling is down, sometimes way down, in most areas of the country. Google "wrestling participation" and you get plenty of numbers for High School wrestling to prove it. And it's already been noted about how many college wrestling programs are long gone.

But there is a glimmer of hope (and justification for those who claim some progress). In some areas, club wrestling has seen some substantial growth. I wasn't able to find any hard numbers for the whole country, but some regions talk about doubling their numbers over the past few years.

This is something else that surprises me that at the U with about 15-20 club sports, wrestling is not one of them. We also had an NCAA team until the early 80’s and with the success that Montana high school wrestling has, I’m shocked there is no club sport.
 
Normally the wrestlers are the toughest kids in the room. No substitutions, no time outs, one on one, man to man.The best conditioned, If you don't believe me Just get on the Mat with one. And they make great football players, because they understand leverage,quickness,never quit, and have a hard nose, but sometimes the ears have a little cauliflower
 
D1 wrestler after doing a Bobby winter conditioning session...."So now what do we do after that warm up?"
 
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