Absolutely right, SPOONER. By way of comparison, I give you the 2007 MVC Conference Meet. 189 and 215 had one ranked wrestler at each weight class. EVERY OTHER weight class had two and three ranked kids, and in the case of 140, there were FOUR ranked kids to contend with. If my math is right, that makes 34 kids at 14 weights. (The 2012 meet also had 34 ranked kids, BTW.) Those are the only two conference meets I looked at. I didn't check the CIML or MAC results, sorry. And yes, I realize that the MVC does have more schools, so there will be more wrestlers to draw from. Someone smarter than me can figure out the "per capita" percentage, or whatever, if you like.)
Either way, my guess is by now, you might be rethinking the claim that ranked kids at "8 of 14 weights" makes the NEIC a tough conference. Oooops.
(Just looking up those numbers, and seeing all those ranked kids, reminded me of the traditional squabble about this time of year, where some folks whine about "how easy it is for 3A kids to get to state, with only a district meet." Well, that and attending a 2A sectional on Saturday where, in some brackets, some kids had ONE tough match to get to their district--and in some cases, will face another ONE tough match to get to DM. That's not everyone, of course. But there ARE some, and that you can't get around. By the same token, some 3A kids will come to districts and face two or three ranked kids in their bracket, depending on the weight class.
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