Leading off today: The committee studying alternatives to the current format for the state wrestling tournament has taken the next step by developing a draft of what a new layer of qualifying events would look like.
The plan calls for each section of the NYSPHSAA plus the CHSAA and PSAL to send representatives to one of five regional competitions in Division I; with no CHSAA teams in Division II, the small-school format has a slightly different alignment and consists of four regionals.
The regional meets, which would be held a week ahead of the NYSPHSAA meet, would funnel 16 wrestlers per weight class into the championship weekend. The draft document, D-1 and D-2 allocation data are available in PDF format on the ArmDrag.com site.
The draft, once revisions are finalized, will have to go through several layers of approval before being implemented. And while the proposal does smooth out some of the remaining inequities in berths per section since the state meet began including wild-card qualifiers, there are still several stumbling blocks:
(1) Nailing down suitable locations for the nine regional meets each year since one of the stated goals is to avoid the expense of overnight stays.
(2) How will officials be selected? The Long Island Region (Sections 8. 11) in Division I and the Western Region (Sections 5 and 6) in both classes are two-section meets. Neutral refs won't be possible in matches unless officials from outside sections are brought in.
(3) How will first-round byes be awarded? Regional fields will consist of between six and 12 wrestlers per class. Only three of the nine meets would have bracket-friendly eight-man fields.
(4) What are the implications for other individual-driven
