Tom formerly Tofurky

https://www.ncaa.com/video/wrestling/2025-03-15/dii-wrestling-championship-2025-full-replay-44960

https://www.ncaa.com/video/wrestling/2025-03-15/diii-wrestling-championship-2025-full-replay-44978

Yes, this discussion comes up every single championship season, but it is worthwhile.

The same can be said for any sport with a "professional" option, so I, for one, am not persuaded by that argument. Here is a graph from the NCAA, circa 2016. The odds haven't increased. No one complains about rule sets for kids and youth sports progressing with age, while the opportunities for being among that tiny fraction who make a living by competing in a sport are shockingly small. I also don't understand the argument of preparing people for careers in MMA. That's not the responsibility of the sport; wrestling doesn't bill itself as the minor leagues of mixed martial arts, so I am not certain why fans feel the need to do so. Building a foundation for opportunities that exists beyond college makes financial sense. The pro leagues are happening elsewhere, and they absolutely can happen here, but not with American folk.

Thank you for your opinion(s). This passage helps me understand much more about this discussion.

It is not.

According to the UWW Database, 2011 was the first year since 1994 that Cadets were contested at the World level. The United States sent 10 guys for 10 weights. Juniors in 2010, the U.S.A. sent eight guys for eight weight classes. Juniors in 2011, the U.S.A. sent eight guys for eight weight classes. https://uww.org/historical-results I admit that I am confused with your quoted statement. I've been around for a little bit, and your comment doesn't really line up with the history of wrestling at Cadet and Junior wrestling in the United States.

So... the college guys who aren't currently wrestling Freestyle full-time can be the best in the world right now, but they are not because they can't beat the guys who stopped wrestling American folk years ago, and wrestle Freestyle full-time? Am I understanding what you're saying?

I'd like to hear more about your idea regarding American folk and American culture.

Awesome to see the kid be so humble and make this video about his teammates. He showed no ego, zero pity for himself, and an amazing, positive attitude. The sport needs more of this, and I wish him great luck in whatever is to come in his life.

The discussion at the NWCA tournament has been had to move the season to a January start with a culmination of the season in April.

https://www.luchafit.com/articles/new-york-just-changed-girls-wrestling-forever-6mzdk?fbclid=PAY2xjawJG9BhleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABpt2dz5EXwg2-HUcqX1pWbzo9GC0vFXYQ078IcUp8puSR8h2rwbSfQ6D0vw_aem_zOehJqqa8SDD3BUczaur7A

His coach is a friend of mine and the coach told me that Henschel is "100% bought in and a great representative for the program." My only guess is that a lot of guys probably want to knock Henschel off his pedestal, so to speak, because they might feel like he doesn't belong. The kid seems to just wrestle hard and win a lot, so the spotlight on the sport, at that level, is a net positive from what I can tell.

These days, you usually see D1 back-ups/shirts wrestling non-D1 guys. There are enough options for higher end D1 starters/second stringers that they don't need to hit the Roger Denker Open or go to the "Shorty" Hitchcock to get mat time. Midlands is strictly D1 anymore. That's a shame, because having a mix of invite only guys to mix it up made things interesting.

There are just too many variables to accurately predict what would happen, but each guy presents his own abilities, good or bad. I do agree that D1 coaches don't miss many of the top guys anymore, so the distance between D1 and everyone else is slowly increasing.