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Fewer may be better in state wrestling meets

By Hector Longo - Staff Writer | Feb 20, 2020

It hurts to write these words.

You spend enough time around wrestling rooms or mats at the local high schools and your heart grows with each wrestler, good or talent-less.

They all pay serious dues, even in this era with coaches correctly shackled when it comes to weight requirements.

I was only half-joking two weeks ago when I asked an area matman the last time he had a decent meal.

So when I say that the NHIAA can no longer dawdle, it has to contract, I know it will hurt somebody.

Saturday, there will be upwards of 10 area athletes who will be “state placers” and probably don’t deserve it.

Fields are down at the state meets. Numbers are brutal.

Today, in Division II, there will be an average of 7.1 \wrestlers per weight class. That number is 8.6 in Division III.

Think about that for a minute.

There are multiple weight classes that an athlete will go winless and place, actually moving on to the Meet of Champions.

Yes, these kids are dedicated and are deserving.

But isn’t it time to go back again, like it was when there was a Class L meet and a Class IMS meet.

I look at the recent state indoor track meet, in which only two divisions are contested.

In the 12 individual events contested, 12.1 boys competed on the average.

Now, track is different. Athletes can double up, but that’s not factoring in the massive numbers of relay athletes either.

QUOTE THE RAVEN

It’s so early. Teams are indoors, haven’t really sniffed live pitching and honestly haven’t even thought about packing for their Southern swings to kick off the college spring season.

Still, word is trickling out of Beverly, Mass., that the Endicott Gulls have been thoroughly impressed with their prized freshman, Raven Comtois, of Milford.

The reigning Telegraph Softball Player of the Year is turning heads with her power stroke.

A lefty catcher, she’s competing for time, and might be biding her own time as a senior plays behind the plate.

Comtois’ bat has to be in a prominent spot in the lineup, according to sources close to the program.

ODDS AND ENDS

Seriously, wasn’t it refreshing to see “Big Papi” David Ortiz defend the cheating Astros and buzzer king Jose Altuve in his annual stop at Fort Myers.

All is well, according to the Dominican ambassador for Boston Baseball, boys will be boys.

Of course, Papi, Boston fans like to forget, was a key figure mentioned in the Mitchell Report on steroid abuse, but somehow tap-danced free. Time to re-pay the favor, I guess. …

Shocking to see that Kyrie Irving has shut it down for the year. Expect him to join his buddy/teammate Kevin Durant in The Hamptons this spring as the Brooklyn Nets drop out of the playoffs and sink into the lottery.

By the way, don’t expect to see a ton of Steph Curry down the stretch in Golden State, either. This is NBA 2020. …

Finally, I think I said it before when the Bruins couldn’t win in overtime or the shootout. It bears repeating now that Boston just doesn’t lose anymore, anytime, anywhere.

The one point for losing in OT or the shootout is the stupidest thing in sports. Play, as Drago said in Rocky IV, “To the end.”

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