So, essentially we have three choices: 1) make all 33 allocations to the conferences, which forces everyone to wrestle to make Nationals, or 2) continue with the status quo. or 3) some hybrid. In the first scenario, I think Carter wrestles at B1Gs and qualifies, but Nolf probably would not have been able to go at B1Gs and therefore would not have qualified, or won, that year. So I guess it's a question of will there be some kind of allowance for guys far superior to the field but injured to still qualify for Nationals. In my humble opinion, there should at least be some allowance for this scenario.
I’ve always had the opinion that the “wild card” / “at-large” concept exists specifically for the purpose of ensuring that anomalies do not unfairly punish deserving wrestlers, whether the anomaly be a last-minute injury or some fluky loss in a qualification tournament.
Of course, there must be limits on such a concept to ensure fairness, which I believe the Coaches Rank-RPI-Win% model does quite reasonably. Under that model, it is fair for Starocci to make NCAAs without truly wrestling in the qualification tournament. Willie’s philosophical view on that last point is very narrow.
Everyone wants the very best wrestlers participating at Nationals at their best condition possible. With that goal in mind, I have no problem with an injured wrestler forfeiting a “qualification” tournament and being selected to participate at Nationals on the basis of his regular season achievements.
And with that last point in mind, I’ll say one more thing: anyone who bellyaches about duals not mattering cannot then turn around and imply that a wrestler who earned it during the dual-meet season should be barred from Nationals if he doesn’t wrestle at the conference championship. That would be rather hypocritical, placing disproportionate importance on the conference tourney and further diminishing the importance of duals.
