High school wrestling is one of the most under appreciated sports we cover.
It’s the subject for tonight’s “On the Mark”. There’s proof that teams from Northeast Kansas rule the sport in this state.
Manhattan, Clay Center, and Beloit will head to this weekend’s state championships as defending champions.
But while that makes our area the Kings of Grappling, it’s still considered --- for lack of a better term --- a “nitch” sport for fans. That’s not to say that wrestling fans lack passion, rather, most of us lack the knowledge to appreciate what they do.
Understanding the difference between a sprawl and a shoot is to most of us what hyper terminal is to people who don’t like the internet. Only most wrestling people would prefer that their sport of choice wasn’t considered a difficult to understand language.
Across the country, wrestling is the sixth most popular choice for high school boys.
In Kansas, the state championship meets will be spread out among four different sites across the state.
Every year at the Expocentre, thousands of kids take part in the U-S-A wrestling event.
But, the sports’ popularity levels have yet to translate into more college programs and scholarship opportunities. Whether that changes or not, wrestling people always come across as a welcoming crowd who would enjoy the chance to share, if not explain their sport, if only you’re willing to give it a look. That’s “on the Mark”.