This is one of those posts I know I have to be careful about because I have a lot of friends in Oklahoma. There were several asking me about the difference between Oklahoma State Championships Verses Kansas State Championships. I hope the following comments help both states make for a better event for their wrestlers.
Oklahoma has the advantage in a couple of areas:
• The addition of a 6 and under or D1 division is needed at Kansas State. These kids wrestle all year and it would be great to give them the privilege of wrestling in the big show.
• I also like the option to challenge for 2nd. This allows one more match and the chance to see who legitimately deserves 2nd place. There needs to be head to head on a tournament of this level to determine legitimacy of 2nd place.
• I also like Oklahoma's format of 6 wrestlers from each district/region making it to the tournament, thus allowing a 24 man bracket.
• The hospitality room in Oklahoma is much better.
• Awards; in Oklahoma you receive a medal, trophy and the winner receives a sweat shirt with state champion on the back. I will say this though, the awards in Kansas were very nice and if it were all about trophies I would go out and buy my son one. The true award is knowing that you are a champion and have wrestled well.
Now some things that are about even:
• Officiating: The truth is that some officials are going to make mistakes and some are going to be great. All you can hope for is consistency and hope that they are enforcing a fair playing field.
• The quality of wrestlers: Again I love Oklahoma and lived there for 8 years, my son loves it and it is where he learned the sport. But the truth is that the quality of wrestling is just as good here as there, especially on the state level. I want to give kudos to the number of quality wrestlers in our bracket. Nathan had two very tough matches against Colt Rogers from Smith County and Darrin Stroot from the Brawlers. For all practical purposes, the match with Darrin literally changed with 17 seconds to go in the third period. I don't know young Rogers well, it is the first time wrestling him this year but he was a tough young man. I do know Darin and he, his father and Terry Cox are fine people and I know that Darin is as fine a wrestler as there is in this state.
Now to things better in Kansas:
• Organization and running of the tournament: I know many are complaining about this, but in Oklahoma, it was not unusual to arrive at 7:30 AM and not leave until 10:00 PM or even later, one year at 11:30 PM.
• The facility: Even though Oklahoma goes from OKC to Tulsa neither of those facilities are nearly as nice as the Topeka Expo Center. You can actually sit in the stands or stand around the barriers and watch a mat.
• Less trouble mat side: This is another one to not take lightly. I don't know what it is but there seemed to be far less confrontation and I personally did not observe the unsportsmanlike conduct on the whole that I have observed by a very few, not the overwhelming majority, in Oklahoma.
• The flow of the tournament, kids were generally ready to go once they were due up, there was very few calls made for wrestlers or coaches to show up at a mat.
• The table workers: They were well trained and seemed to be a few but not very many problems.
• Security: Real and professional, not friends wearing a vest.
• The time to wait for awards: We have literally never gotten away from Oklahoma before 11:00 PM awaiting the awards.
Overall, I was honestly surprised at the quality of this tournament. My son has won 2 Oklahoma State Championships and wrestled in numerous state tournaments there. He won his first Kansas State this weekend. I would have to say to the organizers of the Kansas State, I give you the strong advantage of the comparison. While there is room for improvement I believe that this was a fine tournament and one that the wrestling community of Kansas can to be proud of.
