Well folks, it’s been two years and we know what that means. The FHSAA have some schools moving into new classifications based on the school’s student population. The big talk is about how 2A just got even tougher. All I see on the TFWR Facebook page are coaches and parents dropping comments about the schools moving into 2A. The last four state titles in 1A have been won by two schools who are now going to compete in 2A. Jensen Beach and Somerset have combined to win the last four state titles and are now going to be in 2A. That does add some more firepower and depth at certain weights into the 2A classification for sure.
While Somerset and Jensen Beach are moving up from 1A to 2A, Riverdale and Palmetto Ridge will be coming down from 3A to 2A. So, that’s four solid wrestling programs who will now add to the difficulty of wrestlers qualifying for the IBT 2A state tournament. Some coaches feel it will make it harder for some kids in certain weight classes to qualify, while others don’t see it as much of a difference. Sure, it will make some weight classes a little deeper in talent and the kids in those weight classes will need to understand who’s going to be there and get better. One thing that won’t change is the fact that you must place in the top 4 in your respective region to qualify for the “Big Show”.
I find it absolutely amazing that Florida now has 333 schools offering wrestling as a sanctioned sport for the girls. The girls side of wrestling in the state of Florida continues to grow exponentially. At the rate of growth we are seeing, I believe in the near future they’ll be forced to separate the girls into different classifications as well. Pretty soon we will see a girls 1A and 2A!! I can’t wait for that to happen, because that means we are continuing to grow and that’s just good for the sport as a whole.
As a wrestling fan, I really don’t care which classification a school is in. I love watching good wrestling and Florida provides it no matter which class you’re watching. 1A, 2A and 3A along with the girls class all have very good teams and very good wrestlers. It will be interesting now with Mater Lakes staying down in 1A and their rival Somerset bumping up to 2A. Many think Mater Lakes is a lock for the district title now that Somerset is no longer there. What they fail to realize is Mater Lakes was moved into a different district and will now battle with another 1A powerhouse in Cardinal Gibbons. Mater Lakes is very well coached and has some very tough kids, so I am very confident they’ll be up for the challenge.