You might know Yonger’s exact weight, but he’s definitely under 250. Probably 240-245.
the top guys are all around there. Yonger, Feldman, AJ, Kueter - all around 240.
Yonger handled Wyatt Hendrickson the year after bumping up from 97.
The argument against a new weight class between 197 and HWT
- Thread starter EvilMonkeyInTheCloset
- Start date
the top guys are all around there. Yonger, Feldman, AJ, Kueter - all around 240.
Yonger handled Wyatt Hendrickson the year after bumping up from 97.
And the whole world competes those weights aren't made for Americans. Football in America takes so many athletes that size which doesn't happen in other countries. I don't care what happens my opinion is we don't need another weight class.
235-240 depending on the week. He was 238.1 for Cyhawk and Kueter 239.7
You can find a way to put a warm body in just about any seat, but it doesn't mean they would perform at near the level the other weight classes do. In fact, I would argue it would actually hurt the quality of 197 and 285 in the process. So, the 2 weights that are already at the lower end of quality performance get worse while you add a weight that most like will be at that end of the spectrum, if not lower...which is why it keeps coming back to need vs. want.
I get why those arguing for it want it. There just simply isn't a single argument I have seen so far that remotely shows why it is NEEDED across college wrestling...
I don’t know that the upper weights being the lowest end of the quality spectrum holds as true today as it once did. Heavyweight and 197 both were relatively deep last year.
Kids are coming out of high school bigger than ever. They continue to get taller and a lot of places have strength programs starting as early as middle school that didn’t exist a generation ago. The kids graduating now don’t look the same as even the best athletes of my time and I graduated in 2000.
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I would agree that the top end talent at the weights are better, but my argument has always been about depth. Remember, a big thing that is being ignored is a change at the college level isn't just DI, its NAIA, DII and DIII. Adding the weight class only helps the top 10 or so DI programs further distance themselves from the rest of college wrestling...just google high school participation numbers and look around the weight classes, then spend just a little time on trackwrestling or floarena and look at the results at the weights in those ranges. Adding a weight class in that range isn't going to make that participation increase, let alone significantly, nor is it going to make wrestling in those ranges any better...
Okay then lets try this approach since you mention depth.
imo depth at 125 has never really been great. Even worse last few years. So why not just eliminate that weight. Make 133 say 130 and give that weight to the upper weights.
Why is a kid who weighs 120 pounds on full feed not expected to give up a 10 pound advantage but a kid who weighs 215 is expected to give up 20 to 60 pounds? Why don't smaller guys ever have to be told sorry about your luck facing a bigger guy?
Are you kidding me? Do you even watch 125 wrestle? The past few seasons 125 has had the most parity I have ever seen. It is the only weight class I can remember in quite some time where 12-15 guys have a legit chance to win a title.
On top of all that 125 is there for the really talented wrestlers that haven’t fully developed physically in the 18-20 age range to still wrestle in college without getting manhandled by 5th year seniors with hair on their backs. A lot of great wrestlers start at 125 and end up at 133 or even 141 before their careers are over…
Over the last 20 years, the average height of 18-year-old boys in the United States has remained relatively stable, while their average weight has increased.
Average Height
The average height for an 18-year-old boy in the U.S. generally falls in the range of 65 to 74 inches (5'5" to 6'2"), with the mean being around 69.2 inches (about 5'9").
There has been little to no statistically significant increase in the average height of young men in the U.S. in recent decades. For example:
Average Weight
In contrast to height, the average weight has seen a notable increase over the last 20 years, reflecting a general trend toward higher body mass index (BMI) among adolescents and young adults.
Average Height
The average height for an 18-year-old boy in the U.S. generally falls in the range of 65 to 74 inches (5'5" to 6'2"), with the mean being around 69.2 inches (about 5'9").
There has been little to no statistically significant increase in the average height of young men in the U.S. in recent decades. For example:
- In the 1999-2000 period, the average height for men was 69.1 inches (175.4 cm).
- By 2010, the average height was 69.3 inches.
- Data from around 2017-2023 continues to show the average height for 18-year-old boys around 69.2 inches (175.7 cm).
Average Weight
In contrast to height, the average weight has seen a notable increase over the last 20 years, reflecting a general trend toward higher body mass index (BMI) among adolescents and young adults.
- Around 1999-2002, the mean weight of men 20 years and over was approximately 190 pounds.
- In recent years, the average weight for an 18-year-old boy is approximately 148 pounds (67 kg), according to CDC data and other sources, with the typical range being 114 to 214 lbs.
- The average weight for the broader age group of men 20 years and over has increased to almost 196 pounds in recent data, compared to about 181 pounds two decades prior.
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MSU- Here some evidence you are asking for. Per your take you want to provide more weight classes in favor of the 18 year old without accounting for growing into your Jr year. Plus lets be real- a lot of these kids are 19 year old freshman.
Given weightlifting, supplements etc...The times, they are a changing.
Given weightlifting, supplements etc...The times, they are a changing.
Because the little guy is SOL to play Football, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, etc.
Why would anyone want to take opportunities away from them, when the bigger guys have several avenues already?
There once was a 118 lb weight class. Iowa rocked at that weight class, so we should be advocating to add the 118 lb back before anything else.
Now we are getting to the heart of the resistance. Little guys bias against larger guys!
Don't you know there aren't many good athletes that weigh 225 or so and 250 or so?Nah, I stop in from time to time from November to February to make sure we're not going the way of Iowa baseball in the 2000s, before Heller got there..................
Unfortunately, it's starting to look that way if we're getting embarrassed by Iowa State and Ohio State.
Oh wait, you didn't want me to troll. I'm sorry. Force of habit.
This actually isn't a troll thread. It was just veiled that way to trigger the people who don't think something between 197 and 285 needs to exist.
And it's worked.