Out of the 77 schools that participated in the tournament, medals were awarded to wrestlers from only 15 schools that were ranked 4A and below.  Those schools accounted for only 19% of the medals.  If you did not attend a 6A or 5A school, there was an 81% chance that you would not medal at all.    

This sport will never grow in the state if you don't have more opportunities for kids to be successful.  Small schools simply don't have the resources to compete like big schools.  Does Bourbon County have the athletes to compete with Campbell County, or the financial resources?  I can assure you that we don't.  We also don't have endless teaching positions to hire coaches.  

Make an argument for Bath County or Paris or Powell County to start a program.  My argument goes something like this, "you should really start a program so you can go to the state and watch Campbell County and St. X collect medals.  Woodford County, Larue and Union will get a few also."  That is not compelling.  

You can sign all the petitions to save wrestling all you want, but in the end, the ability to save the sport rests with simple decisions like this.  If you want people to care about wrestling, why don't you give them something they can achieve.  

FOOTBALL CLASSES OF THE TOP-20 FINISHING TEAMS AT STATE IN 2013
1. St. Xavier (6-A)
2. Campbell County (6-A)
3. Union County (2-A)
4. Woodford County (5-A)
5. Simon Kenton (6-A)
6. Trinity (6-A)
7. Ryle (6-A)
8. Oldham County (6-A)
9. LaRue County (3-A)
10. Henry Clay (6-A)
11. Moore (4-A)
12. Southern (6-A)
13. Wayne County (3-A)
14. Christian County (5-A)
14. Johnson Central (4-A)
16. John Hardin (5-A)
16. Walton-Verona (2-A)
18. Meade County (6-A)
19. Franklin County (5-A)
20. Fern Creek (6-A)
 
More than 1/3 (33.3 PERCENT) of the top 17 teams points-wise were 4-A or below (2-A Union, 3-A LaRue, 4-A Moore, 3-A Wayne, 4-A Johnson Central and 2-A Walton-Verona).

You also have to take into account that many 5-A and 6-A football programs have had teams for years. There are a ton of 1-A, 2-A, 3-A football programs that don't have wrestling.

You also have to take into account where wrestling is booming. For example, in two of your biggest cities/counties in the state (Owensboro-Daviess and Bowling Green-Warren), wrestling is almost non-existent.

You also have to take into account that JUST because you are a big school does NOT mean you will have success, either. Of the 81 (not 77) schools which were listed on the state scoreboard, check out these schools which finished 62nd or worse: 62. Iroquois (5-A), 62. Tates Creek (6-A), 64. Bryan Station (6-A), 64. Cooper (5-A), 69. Male (6-A), 72. Seneca (6-A), 76. DuPont Manual (6-A), 77. Daviess County (6-A), 77. Graves (5-A).

Of the BOTTOM 20 teams at State, 9 -- or 45 percent -- of them were 5-A or 6-A. That's NOT a good percentage when trying to convince big schools (which should have the enrollment to support it) to pick up wrestling. "Hey, if you pick up wrestling, there's a 45 percent chance that you'll finish in the bottom 20 teams or 62nd place or worse at State! How's that for success!"

I've been following high school sports since May of 2000. I've been around long enough to see the KHSAA get rid of districts (which made it EASIER to compete in the region tourney) and go to a 32-man bracket (made it EASIER to qualify for State).

In many regions, it took only 2 or 3 wins to qualify for state wrestling. Three total postseason wins (before state) won't get you to State in basketball, baseball-softball, volleyball or soccer.

It's easier to qualify for State in wrestling than it it is to get to state in most team sports (because each region only gets one State berth). Bowling gets two, but there are only eight regions. Plus, you're one-and-done in bowling.

If you REALLY want to dive into the numbers, total up the number of the small schools (4-A and below) who were among the 81 teams at State. And then figure out how many of the small schools earned a medal. I bet it's higher than you think considering:
1) There were plenty of big schools which didn't earn a medal
2) There are more big schools than small schools at State

MEDAL WINNERS PER SCHOOL

9: St. Xavier
8: Campbell County
7: Union County
6: Ryle, Woodford County
5: LaRue County, Simon Kenton, Trinity
4: Henry Clay, Moore, Oldham County
3: Christian County, John Hardin, Meade County, Southern, Wayne County
2: Central Hardin, Dixie Heights, Franklin County, Johnson Central, Lafayette, Madison Central, North Hardin, Walton-Verona
1: Ashland Blazer, Boone County, Boyle County, Bullitt Central, Caldwell County, Conner, Fairdale, Fern Creek, Fort Campbell, Grant County, Holy Cross-Louisville, Hopkinsville, McCreary Central, Montgomery County, Pleasure Ridge Park, Scott, Trigg County, University Heights
0: Anderson County, Atherton, Apollo, Barren County, Belfry, Bourbon County, Bryan Station, Calloway County, Central, Cooper, Danville, Daviess County, DeSales, Doss, DuPont Manual, Eastern, East Ridge, Fort Knox, Graves County, Harrison County, Iroquois, Jeffersontown, Male, Nelson County, Newport, North Bullitt, North Oldham, Ohio County, Paducah Tilghman, Perry County Central, Pike County Central, Seneca, Sheldon Clark, South Oldham, Spencer County, Tates Creek, Taylor County, Western Hills, Whitley County

09x01=09
08x01=08
07x01=07
06x02=12
05x03=15
03x05=15
04x03=12
02x08=16
01x18=18
39x00=00

14 weight classes x 8 medals = 112 medals

9+8+7+12+15+15+12+16+18+0=112 medals

By my count, 42-of-81 teams (51.85 percent) at State earned a medal -- regardless of school size.
By my count, 24-of-81 (29.6 percent) at State earned multiple medals -- regardless of school size.
By my count, 39-of-81 (48.15 percent) at State did NOT earn a medal -- regardless of school size.

Ohio County (30th place, 28.5 points) was the highest finishing team without a single medalist.

LIST OF ALL 112 MEDAL WINNERS, IN A-B-C ORDER BY SCHOOL
Tanner Adams    Ashland Blazer
Sam Steele    Boone County
Lucas Mccain    Boyle County
Michael Saunders    Bullitt Central
Chris Gilkey    Caldwell County
Austin Myers    Campbell County
Corbin Woods    Campbell County
Dustin Turner    Campbell County
Eli Matthews    Campbell County
Paul Hamilton    Campbell County
Sean Fausz    Campbell County
Stephen Maggard    Campbell County
Stephen Myers    Campbell County
Andrew Lee    Central Hardin
Wyatt Overman    Central Hardin
Caleb Austin    Christian County
Dakorian Polley    Christian County
Kenneth Sells    Christian County
Trevor Thompson    Conner
Austin Jackson    Dixie Heights
Joey Scaggs    Dixie Heights
Anthony Jennings    Fairdale
Jorge Vega    Fern Creek
David Sahms    Fort Campbell
Roderick Agyeman    Franklin County
Tevon Clay    Franklin County
Cody Miskell    Grant County
David Hernandez    Henry Clay
John Hernandez    Henry Clay
Michael Whalen    Henry Clay
Zack Cooper    Henry Clay
Jordan Willenborg    Holy Cross (Louisville)
Travon Thacker    Hopkinsville
Cameron Mattingly    John Hardin
Kristofer Humphrey    John Hardin
Wade Holtsclaw    John Hardin
Jimmy Preston    Johnson Central
Sam Preston    Johnson Central
Angel Vasquez    Lafayette
Landon Young    Lafayette
Bj Carman    LaRue County
Caleb Canter    LaRue County
Dylan West    LaRue County
Jared Whitlock    LaRue County
Raymundo Perez    LaRue County
Paul Couch    Madison Central
Tucker Fair    Madison Central
Dj Parriman    McCreary Central
Alec Mielke    Meade County
Chris Beeler    Meade County
Evan Kenealy    Meade County
Gabe Mcilrath    Montgomery County
Bobby Poynter    Moore
Justin Mcdaniel    Moore
Mikey Smith    Moore
Sam Willbanks    Moore
Jake Burroughs    North Hardin
Trea Wills    North Hardin
Brady Emerson    Oldham County
Connor Wilkerson    Oldham County
John Shirkey    Oldham County
Nick Mcintosh    Oldham County
Alvaro Aguilar    Pleasure Ridge Park
Brad Weber    Ryle
Gus Adams    Ryle
Jake Sander    Ryle
Jason Maine    Ryle
Johnny Meiman    Ryle
Jon Belk    Ryle
Elijah Miller    Scott
Elijah Owens    Simon Kenton
Hiero Chamblee    Simon Kenton
Joey Parrott    Simon Kenton
Kevin Cooper    Simon Kenton
Tucker Mueller    Simon Kenton
Brian Crawley    Southern
Sean Barrett    Southern
Thomas Noe    Southern
A.j. Bindner    St. Xavier
Brandon Pledger    St. Xavier
Dominic Lampe    St. Xavier
Gabriel French    St. Xavier
Justin Lampe    St. Xavier
Konner Thompson    St. Xavier
Max Korfhage    St. Xavier
Nathan Haddad    St. Xavier
Noah Bauer    St. Xavier
Jerimiah Kline    Trigg County
Bobby Bryant    Trinity (Louisville)
Clayton Smith    Trinity (Louisville)
Hudson Heidorf    Trinity (Louisville)
Ian Kahl    Trinity (Louisville)
Keegan Duncan    Trinity (Louisville)
Brock Ervin    Union County
Bryce Sheffer    Union County
Chad Gahafer    Union County
Gabe Ervin    Union County
Jayce Carr    Union County
Robbie Dezember    Union County
Trae Blackwell    Union County
Cameron Montgomery    University Heights
Lane Jones    Walton-Verona
Logan Jones    Walton-Verona
Devin Morrow    Wayne County
Pedro Ruiz    Wayne County
Zach Troxell    Wayne County
Jordan Doyle    Woodford County
Kyle Lawson    Woodford County
Max Andreoni    Woodford County
Nathan Boston    Woodford County
Trevor Lawson    Woodford County
Wyatt Courtney    Woodford County