Kansas Wrestling Forums General Discussion High School Noteable wins against ranked or common opponents

Last year is gone and who is wrestling well now and continues to improve.

Noteable wins against head to head, ranked and/or common opponents THIS YEAR year will sort out the rankings a little more by mid to late January and wrestlers staying in the same weight class.

Examples of the actual criteria use in Idaho

Seeding Criteria
5A: 1st through 6th seeds:
1. Head to head
2. Returning state champion
3. Previous years state placers 2nd - 6th (2nd being better than 3rd, etc.)
4. Record against common opponent
5. Overall varsity record (minimum of 15 matches)
6. District champion
4A: 1st through 6th seeds:
1. At-large selection is done at the district level and by the seeding committee in each classification for the state tournament.
2. When schools have two wrestlers in the same weight class, they will be placed in opposite half brackets.
3. If possible, the district champ shall be separated from his district runner-up by being drawn into the opposite half bracket, if it
does not change the seeding criteria.
4. Head-to-head competition
5. Record against common opponent in that weight class.
6. Record against common opponent in different weight class.
7. Returning state placer (1-3) in the same weight class the previous year will have a higher seed than one moving up or down
from another weight class. Example: A state champion at 112 lbs. and a 2nd place wrestler at 125 lbs. when seeding for the
125 lb. class. The 2nd place wrestler will have criteria over the state champion at 112 lbs. moving up in weight class.
8. Returning state placer 4-6 in the same weight class the previous year and will follow the same progression as in the previous
criteria.
9. Best varsity record (minimum of 15) at that weight class.
10. Best varsity record at that weight.
A champion or runner-up at a weight class will have a higher seeding than one moving up or down from another weight
class. Example: A state champion at 112 lbs. and a 2nd place wrestler at 125 lbs. when seeding for the 125 lb. class.
11. District champion
12. After seeded wrestlers and at-large are determined, all remaining wrestlers will be drawn in.



FYI Seeding Criteria Information Each tournament director sets the criteria.


A Guide to Wrestling Tournament Seeding


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Seeding, or the process of properly placing competitors in a tournament bracket, is an extremely important part of competitive wrestling. Without seeding, tournaments would be unfair and the final place winners would not always reflect the true abilities of its contestants. This guide will teach you how tournament seeding works, as well as the process and procedures that go along with it.

The Basic Idea

The general idea behind tournament seeding is simple. Essentially, the best wrestlers are separated from one another until the later rounds of a tournament — the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. This allows for the best possible match-ups to happen at the right time (not at the beginning of the tournament). For example, if competitors were placed in a tournament at random, there is a chance that the two best wrestlers at a particular weight could meet in the first round, rather than in the finals.

Although there isn’t necessarily anything wrong with “random draws” for some events, in the more competitive tournaments, it is fairer to the competitors if the best wrestlers are ranked or seeded.



Hot Tip: Seed Positions




Generally speaking, wrestlers are seeded from one to eight. The “first seed,” or “top seed,” is considered to be the best wrestler. Smaller tournaments often choose to seed less than eight wrestlers, and larger tournaments may seed more. These seeds are typically separated from one another in the preliminary rounds, and all other wrestlers (unseeded) are usually drawn into the bracket randomly.



Below you will find an example of how the top eight wrestlers would be seeded in a 16-man bracket. The position of each seed and how they are separated is almost identical to how they would be in most brackets, regardless of size.

How It’s Done

Before every tournament, there is typically a seeding meeting that coaches attend to discuss and debate the seed of each wrestler. This is usually done immediately prior to the tournament, but is sometimes held several days before the tournament actually begins.

Sometimes a tournament director may elect to decide the seeds himself, or with the help of a “committee,” a group of other coaches or staff members. In this case, coaches will send in information to the committee prior to the tournament that details how they think their wrestlers should be seeded. This information typically includes:

Tournament places for the current season
Records for the current season
Notable match-ups against wrestlers entered at the tournament
Tournament places from the previous season, such as regional, state, and national accomplishments

Seeding Criteria

When seeding a tournament, there is often a predetermined criterion that is used to logically and fairly rank each wrestler within a weight class. Depending on the tournament, the items included in this criterion may vary. However, below you will find the criterion that is commonly used at tournaments in order of their importance:

Returning champion: A wrestler who won a specific tournament in a previous season is typically thought to deserve the first or top seed the following season. This is especially true of regional, state, and national tournaments. For example, a state champion in 2010 would likely be seeded first at most, if not all, tournaments he enters in 2011. That is, of course, unless another wrestler has a head-to-head win over him (see below).
Head-to-head win: Head-to-head wins provide tangible proof of why a certain wrestler should be seeded above another wrestler. This piece of criteria usually holds a considerable amount of weight when seeding wrestlers.
Common opponent: Similar to head-to-head matches, the common opponent criterion is used when two or more wrestlers have a common opponent between them. The outcome of these matches suggests that one wrestler is “better” and should be seeded higher than the others. For example, if “Craig” beats “Jonathan,” and “Jonathan” beats “Julian,” then “Craig” should be considered as a higher rank or seed than both “Jonathan” and “Julian.”
Tournament placings & overall record: One piece of criteria that commonly holds weight when seeding competitors is tournament places and overall season records. A wrestler who consistently places at tournaments, and also holds a winning record, is often considered for a seed. These are very important, especially when considering wrestlers with regional, state, and national accomplishments for a seed.

Seeding Formulas

Another option for tournament seeding is to use some type of seeding formula. This is most commonly used for tournaments that a wrestler must qualify for, such as regional, state, and national tournaments. When using a seeding formula, there is no debating or decisions that need to be made in order to rank wrestlers. Instead, a pre-determined “layout” is used to place wrestlers into a bracket based on their previous place at the qualifying tournament. Essentially, wrestlers who placed at the qualifier have a pre-determined place in the tournament.

For example, most state tournaments require that wrestlers qualify during sectional or regional tournaments. So, wrestlers at every weight who win the “Eastern” regional tournament will be designated a specific spot within a bracket at the state tournament, regardless of regular-season tournament placements, record, etc. The winners of the “Western” division are also given a certain position within the bracket at the state tournament. This pattern is continued, and each wrestler who qualifies for the tournament receives a predetermined spot in the tournament bracket based on his final placing during the qualifier.

There are countless formulas that can be used and all for different purposes. Choosing a formula can be very complicated, and is usually determined by a committee or governing body.

Use Your Knowledge

You should now have a better understanding of how seeding works at tournaments. With this knowledge, you will be able to help at seeding meetings or at the very least, explain this process to others. On a final note, it is important to know that seeding is essentially a guideline, and a wrestler’s seed does not always reflect his level of ability. At the end of the day, wrestlers have to prove that they are the best on the mat!



Just FYI – on Seeding Criteria from Idaho
Seeding Information
Every coach must complete a sheet on each wrestler who is entered in the district tournament and file the seeding information with the
IHSAA office. Items to include:
1. Complete all information on the seeding forms.
2. Mail or fax forms to the IHSAA office as early as possible - they must be in the IHSAA office by the Saturday before the \
seeding meeting.
3. Include the opponent’s name
4. Score of a decision.
5
Seeding Criteria
5A: 1st through 6th seeds:
1. Head to head
2. Returning state champion
3. Previous years state placers 2nd - 6th (2nd being better than 3rd, etc.)
4. Record against common opponent
5. Overall varsity record (minimum of 15 matches)
6. District champion
4A: 1st through 6th seeds:
1. At-large selection is done at the district level and by the seeding committee in each classification for the state tournament.
2. When schools have two wrestlers in the same weight class, they will be placed in opposite half brackets.
3. If possible, the district champ shall be separated from his district runner-up by being drawn into the opposite half bracket, if it
does not change the seeding criteria.
4. Head-to-head competition
5. Record against common opponent in that weight class.
6. Record against common opponent in different weight class.
7. Returning state placer (1-3) in the same weight class the previous year will have a higher seed than one moving up or down
from another weight class. Example: A state champion at 112 lbs. and a 2nd place wrestler at 125 lbs. when seeding for the
125 lb. class. The 2nd place wrestler will have criteria over the state champion at 112 lbs. moving up in weight class.
8. Returning state placer 4-6 in the same weight class the previous year and will follow the same progression as in the previous
criteria.
9. Best varsity record (minimum of 15) at that weight class.
10. Best varsity record at that weight.
A champion or runner-up at a weight class will have a higher seeding than one moving up or down from another weight
class. Example: A state champion at 112 lbs. and a 2nd place wrestler at 125 lbs. when seeding for the 125 lb. class.
11. District champion
12. After seeded wrestlers and at-large are determined, all remaining wrestlers will be drawn in.
3A/2A: 1st through 8th seeds:
1. Head-to-head competition
2. Record against common opponents
3. Returning state champions
A champion or runner-up at a weight class will have a higher seeding than one moving up or down from another weight class.
Example: A state champion at 112 lbs. and a 2nd place wrestler at 125 lbs. when seeding for the 125 lb. class.
4. Returning state runner-up at the same weight class
5. Returning state placer (3 through 6)
6. Exceptional or best overall record
7. When a school has two wrestlers in the same weight class, if possible, they should be placed in opposite half brackets.
8. District Champion
9. When possible, the district champion and runner-up will be put in opposite half brackets.

The reason for seeding a tournament is obvious to anyone who has seen a March Madness bracket. It spreads out the top wrestlers so they don’t have to wrestle one another until later in the tournament — which is good for fans, coaches, and tournament directors — and keeps the suspense building throughout the fortnight. It also rewards past hard work and success as reflected by the wrestler's ranking.

If the purpose of seeding is to divide the talent fairly and equally, worthless criteria will impede the integrity of the seeding.

The top seed is always placed at the top of the draw and the second seed at the bottom.

In the event a seed withdraws or doesn't make weight the bracket should be reshuffled. The purpose of reshuffling is to “re-establish balance in the draw while minimizing the amount of change.” In other words if 2 dropped out then 3 would move to 2, four to 3, etc. The seeds should be grouped 1-4, 2-7, 3-8,... eventually 2 meeting 1 in the finals if they wrestle to their seed.