When an amateur wrestling event takes place in a non-traditional space, it makes news. Take a look at a couple news stories from the past week.
Florida prep team takes it outside
Lake Highland Prep -- Florida state champs in three of the past four seasons -- liked the idea of November's Iowa-Oklahoma State outdoor dual meet so much, they're putting on their own "Grapple on the Gridiron" event next week at their football stadium vs. rival Clay High of Green Cove Springs.
Both programs are at the top of the rankings in Florida; Lake Highland is No. 1 with Clay at No. 2 in the Scout.com 1A state team rankings.
It's the only home event of the season for Lake Highland, so they wanted to make the most of it by scheduling it outdoors next Thursday afternoon, for maximum visibility… and, hopefully, more fans in the stands and greater press coverage.
"I want to people to see competitive matches and get a better depiction of what wrestling looks like," Lake Highland coach Mike Palazzo told the Orlando Sentinel . "And it's a chance for kids at our school to see their classmates compete."
Wisconsin high school puts wrestling on stage
Just last weekend, University of Missouri held its dual vs. Cornell University on stage at Jesse Auditorium in Columbia, Mo. (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)Stoughton High School in south-central Wisconsin took on the role of hosting the annual Badger Conference Challenge for Charity boys' basketball tournament in their field house when another school was unable to do so. That meant that Stoughton was confronted with the challenge of where to host a previously-scheduled home dual meet.
The answer: hold the Jan. 22 wrestling event on stage at the Stoughton High Performing Arts Center.
The stage is just wide enough for the school's 42-foot wrestling mat. There will be a five-foot safety zone, and spotters to make sure the action doesn't spill over into the audience of the 700-seat hall.
WIWrestling.com said the setting perhaps will be "reminiscent of gladiators in an ancient Roman arena." Stoughton's athletic director told the Wisconsin State Journal that he got the inspiration for staging the dual meet at his school's theater from Virginia Tech, which successfully hosted dual meets on the stage of the school's Moss Arts Center concert hall. Just last weekend, University of Missouri held its dual vs. Cornell University on stage at Jesse Auditorium in Columbia, Mo.
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