Proposed Overhaul to State Wrestling Qualification Structure

STEVENS POINT, WI- A significant restructuring of Wisconsin high school wrestling is being proposed to streamline the path to the state tournament for both individual and team qualifiers. The plan focuses on creating uniformity across divisions, simplifying brackets, and expanding participation, all while reducing travel and scheduling complications.

Individual State Qualification Changes

Under the proposed system, the traditional regional weekend would be eliminated, with sectionals becoming the sole qualifying event for the individual state tournament. This new format would result in one qualifying weekend statewide, with 21 sectional sites total—seven per division.

Each of these sites would qualify two athletes per weight class, bringing the total number of state qualifiers to 588, up from the current 560.

Breakdown by Division:

This is a shift from the current format, which had different totals per division:

• D1: 224 qualifiers from 8 sites

• D2 & D3: 168 qualifiers from 4 sites each

The new system would make state brackets 14 wrestlers deep per division, ensuring more consistency across divisions.

Bracket and Match Adjustments

The proposed state bracket format would implement a 16-man pigtail system, with the top two seeds receiving byes and everyone guaranteed at least two matches. Wrestlers must reach the quarterfinals to be eligible for placement, with seeding based on full top-to-bottom rankings. Wrestlers without the minimum 10 matches will be given special seeding consideration.

Match Comparison (Per Division):

This new format creates a more equitable match load across divisions and increases the total matches wrestled from 910 to 966 statewide.

Team State Qualification Changes

The proposal also introduces a new structure for the Team State Tournament, mirroring the individual changes with a single weekend qualifying format and regional parity.

Key Team Changes:

• 21 Team Sectional Sites (7 per division)

• 6 Teams per Sectional

• Top 6 team scores from individual sectionals advance to team sectional

• Team qualifiers determined over one weekend

From these sectionals, 7 champions per division would automatically qualify for Team State, with one wildcard per division added based on overall seeding.

Seeding and Wildcard Selection

The wildcard system introduces an element of fairness by selecting the highest-seeded runner-up across all sectionals to round out the 8-team field. The seeding for team sectionals and wildcard selection would use a 1-42 ranking across all teams, ensuring accurate placement.

Why the Change?

This proposal aims to:

• Eliminate redundancy between regional and sectional rounds

• Create balanced state brackets across all three divisions

• Expand participation while maintaining competitive integrity

• Standardize the path to state, especially for team qualification

• Make scheduling and travel logistics easier by consolidating into one qualifying weekend

Divisional Participation

While the structure remains consistent across all divisions (D1 being the largest schools, D3 the smallest), participation remains strong:

The restructured format is designed to be scalable and efficient while offering all schools—large or small—a clear, fair pathway to both individual and team success at the state level.