Which State is the Best?

[scourge165]

On 3/21/2026 at 8:29 PM, red viking said:

Best state per capita is the true measure. I think IA and OK are near the top. Im not too impressed when a,state has a lot of great wrestlers, if it's only because they have a bigger population. 

Really? So if Wyoming has 30 points, they're the best Wrestling State?

I don't think it needs to be qualified. I don't think Minnesota is a better State for Football than Texas because the participation is so much greater(I don't even know what the numbers are, it wouldn't matter). 


It's an interesting app. To me it's... just proof of what we knew. PA, Ohio, Cali...etc... we know which are the top states. 

[DazeofGrace]

This is sure to ruffle some feathers but let’s take a different angle at this. We keep circling back to HS numbers and saying California and other populous states have so many more wrestlers. I’d think it’s worth noting that while that increases the possibility of high level wrestlers it also increases the number of lower level wrestlers. Here are the numbers at NCAAs this year based on who was there. Just something else to consider.
 

 

[Dogbone]

19 hours ago, cowcards said:

I mentioned Lilledahl as an issue with using HS as the determining factor. It opens up more arguments for which to use. He started in MO but spent more years in PA. 

I wouldn't have a problem if people classified Tinker as Cali either, but how do I know that he moved and isn't just out there for school and coming back every summer or break? Or that something happened and he is living with a relative for a little bit? It opens up too many scenarios to do cleanly. 

Hometown is clean and easy and what the wrestler says their state is. 

If we are taking about which State is the best, should we even include the teams that don't compete in the PIAA or NJSIAA?   As you noted, LL was a Missouri kid recruited to compete in a school that just happens to be in PA. 

I don't ask the question to put more work on it just the philosophical question since I think when we debate which state is better, we typically mean which state championships are harder to place at or win.  At least that's how I have always thought of the question, but I could be the minority.