Oh my! Seven quick reactions to the wrestling reclassification for 24-26

BY BRANT PARSONS — The FHSAA winter sports classifications for the next two seasons may have dropped quietly on the organization’s website on Monday, but a huge ripple came from the announcement that shook up the wrestling landscape for the next two seasons.

After having some time to look at every district and tracking all the movement, here are some of my thoughts on the new looks.

Wow - Class 2A just got even harder

This is the headline that everybody saw on Monday. Class 2A, already arguably the most consistently competitive classification, added two teams that have combined to win the last four Class 1A state IBT and dual titles.

Heading into the offseason, analyzing the numbers gave a hint that 2021-2022 state IBT champion Jensen Beach would be moving up, but a shock (to me) was seeing 2023-2024 state IBT champion Somerset Academy joining them in Class 2A (more on this in a second).

Along with those heavyweights, traditional powers Riverdale and Palmetto Ridge also moved down from Class 3A to make every weight class seemingly deeper.

While the moves made coaches comment on how much tougher it would be to even get on the podium, another coach put it bluntly to me: “We just have to be better, that’s all.”

So is Somerset even supposed to be here today? Or someone else?

UPDATE: I have been told the Somerset numbers aren’t the official ones that are being used for this and while these are tentative classifications, it does seem that one team should be moving down to 1A. More at the bottom of this section.

I had more than a couple folks reach out to me to talk numbers.

Now I don’t know a lot about the process in classifying, but it also seems pretty simple to me. The FHSAA uses population numbers for each school and then announced the cutoff for each classification in their release on Monday.

Seems cut and dried, right?

But according to those who have reached out to me, the Class 2A bottom number is 1,492 students and Somerset’s number from the population report is 1,486, meaning Somerset would still be Class 1A based off of straight numbers.

Just something to watch.

Based on the FHSAA bylaw 12.6.2.1, the schools should be distributed evenly among the classifications with the extra schools starting at the bottom. With 410 teams, each classification would have 136 teams - and then starting at 1A, you’d distribute the remaining two teams.

So 3A would have 136, 2A would have 137 and 1A would also.

In this first release of classifications, Class 3A had 134 teams, Class 2A had 140, and Class 1A had 136.

It is my understanding that two teams in Class 2A would be in Class 3A, but are there for geographic purposes, so that explains the 134 in Class 3A, but doesn’t explain why Class 1A has 136.

So based on 12.6.2.1, the lowest student population in the current Class 2A release, should go down to Class 1A.

But who is that? And will they follow the bylaw.

3A-6 gets fixed, but a few large districts remain

The last reclassification placed an outrageous 13 teams in 3A-6. Competing in that district was widely deemed unfair and the FHSAA got it right this time by breaking it up for the next two seasons.

Looking across the landscape at each boys classification:

In Class 3A, only two district have 10 teams right now with 3A-1 and 3A-7 having the most. 12 of the 16 district in Class 3A have 8 or 9 teams with the two smallest having just 7 (3A-11 and 3A-13).

The largest district in Class 2A has 11 teams and consists entirely of Collier and Lee teams. 2A-12 has 11 teams in this release while three districts in this classification have seven teams (2A-8, 2A-10, 2A-13).

Last year’s season saw just four teams compete in 1A-14, the smallest number in the state. This year there are nine teams listed in the district, including Cardinal Gibbons and Mater Lakes. There are nine teams listed here now and if they all compete this year, the district tournament should look a lot fuller.

The other 11-team district in the state is in Class 1A with 1A-12 boasting the biggest number, including new team St. John Neuman, who will be coached by long-time Palmetto Ridge coach Blaine Ison. The smallest Class 1A district is also seven teams, with 1A-10 sporting the fewest competitors.

333 teams is a lot

While the movement in the girls classification didn’t break-up or create new rivalries on paper, the biggest number that stood out to me was the 333 teams that are now officially offering the sport.

The growth of the girls sport continues to impress and as the teams grow in total - and in depth - could we see more classifications for girls in the future?

In total there were 34 girls teams that moved districts and as many as 28 teams competing this coming season that didn’t in 2023-24.

Mater Lakes keeps a tough district foe

Some of the most exciting district battles the past few seasons have come between Mater Lakes and Somerset.

But with Somerset moving up, the Bears won’t get an easier path as they’ve been moved to 1A-14 to share top duties with Cardinal Gibbons.

Three region moves to shake up the postseason

As long as our records reflect (back to 2011), traditional powerhouse Kissimmee Osceola has been in 3A-5 and in turn, region 3A-2. This reclassification sends the Kowboys packing and into district 3A-9 and will see them add some firepower to region 3A-3.

The 2021 reclassification saw two-time IBT state champion Tampa Jesuit move to region 2A-3.

That move lasted three years and the defending state champion Tigers return to region 2A-2 this year after moving to 2A-7. That means a tougher region tournament for all in the region, but also means if Lake Gibson and Jesuit are the top two duals teams again this year, they’ll be meeting in the region final on Friday night and not in the state final like this past season.

One power that was removed from 2A-2 was Winter Springs heading to 2A-1. The Bears have won 2A-8 the past three seasons and head to compete in district 2A-4 this year, making a tougher growing region even deeper.

The inevitable reaction

As one coach told me, “nobody is going to be happy except for a couple teams.”

Change always comes with a little consternation, but this reclassification has indeed made wrestling tougher for some folks and even if they keep it on the downlow, some programs aren’t going to be happy that their path has become harder.

And while that is true, Florida wrestling has been made tougher each year over the past decade as teams get better and the talent pool grows deeper. Back when I started covering the sport in 2004, there were actually matches in the state tournament that you could consider too easy for some. That’s no longer the case as state placer worthy wrestlers routinely can have trouble getting out of their region.

It’s harder for everyone because the sport is as strong as it’s been since I’ve been in Florida.

Having said that, I can’t wait to watch Class 2A battle it out this year.

Brant Parsons is the founder and executive editor of Kabra Wrestling. He has been covering high school wrestling in Florida since 2004. He can be reached at brant@kabrawrestling.com.