Wrestling duals tournament may be on the way out

By Dana Hess

For the S.D. NewsMedia Association

PIERRE — Scheduling difficulties, as well as other factors, may lead to the demise of the state wrestling duals tournament. At its meeting on Wednesday, March 4, members of the South Dakota High School Activities Association board of directors learned about possibility of discontinuing the tournament.

SDHSAA Assistant Executive Director Randy Soma told the board that the wresting advisory panel voted 6-0 in favor of discontinuing the tournament. The advisory panel is made up on coaches, administrators and an official. The advisory panel’s decision will now be considered at the annual meeting of athletic directors. Decisions made at the athletic directors’ meeting must be finalized by the SDHSAA board of directors.

Reasons offered for discontinuing the tournament included the difficulty in tracking out-of-state records, financial concerns and scheduling challenges.

 A dual consists of two wrestling squads competing against each other as opposed to a tournament format with multiple teams.

SDHSAA Executive Director Dan Swartos said it can be difficult to match teams in the tournament as some schools may wrestle 30 duals while other schools may wrestle only 10 duals.

Prior to the duals tournament, Swartos said he had one wrestling coach tell him, “I hope I’m not in it. I want my kids to have that weekend off.”

The Wrestling Coaches Association may be interested in offering a duals tournament, according to Swartos. That event would be similar to a basketball classic.