Boss - Thanks for the information, it is appreciated.
Mr. Salyer - Likewise.
not today - If my tally is correct that makes 31 team titles and 268 individual state champions. Certainly impressive numbers for the Ark Valley League. Were there other schools that exited that league throughout the course of time that would have added to the tally?
Nigel - I too felt the intent of the initial topic dealt with the near term. But discussion seemed to turn toward a historical perspective when people began talking about 4 titles in the last 5 years, etc. And "not today" took it to the long term with his/her assertion that the Ark Valley had higher totals.
Out of curiosity, is it coincidence your time perspective seems to match that of Abilene's and the NCKL's impressive rise to power in wrestling at the state level?
I will dispute your comment that "No one really cares what was happening 10-15-20 years ago....".
It is my opinion prior success is needed to keep the next generation interested in the sport. Ten years from now folks will be sitting in the local Abilene tavern talking about how great that team was back in 2003 when Abilene won their 3rd team title. And, hopefully there will be kids just entering high school aspiring to equal Jake Kriegbaum's or Ross Taplin's success - because those were the state champions on the team when they first became interested in the sport.
I feel this sense of pride to be especially true in the smaller communities of the NWKL. These schools take great pride in having three generations of state medal winners in a family, and rightfully so - what an outstanding achievement this is. And if I am reading tuffenuff2's comments correctly, you can tell the current St. Francis team - which is loaded with terrific , young talent - is already hoping to add another chapter to their storied school history.
Just one person's perspective, but I'd say there are people who care about what was happening 10-15-20 years ago and I'd contend it does have a bearing on what is currently happening in the sport.
If you want current statistics, I can certainly provide them in early March. But I will provide the 2003 state tournament results for the NWKL.
Hoxie - 1st 321A
Oakley - 4th 321A
Oberlin - 5th 321A
Atwood - 6th 321A
St. Francis - 9th 321A
Quinter - no qualifers -
Goodland - tie 2nd 4A
Colby - 7th 4A
So 7 of 8 schools placed in the top ten of their classfication in 2003. The 2003 version of the NWKL produced 8 state champs, 7 state runnerups, 5 3rds, 4 4ths, 5 5ths, 4 6ths and 27 additional state qualifiers.
