Well, I don't know how to solve the issue, but here are some thoughts. Head to head should take priority of everything, including returning state champ. People look at records first in the seeding meeting. Why? You penalize people who wrestle tougher competition and want to get better, and reward those who try and find duals and tournaments that they know they can win a mojority of the time. I would agree that a returning state placer is a good criteria, but not a state qualifier. A lot of good wrestlers were left at home in 4a Goodland last weekend that would have qualified. Conversely, some people qualified that would not have if they wrestled at a regional like Goodland. No easy solution, just wanted to put my thoughts out there.
