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West Valley City • In the opening scene of the movie "Waterboy," coach Red Beaulieu proclaims, in reference to winning multiple championships, that the only thing better than a crawfish dinner is five crawfish dinners.
That sentiment is true for wrestling programs in the state's two largest classifications this season, as two team championships are ready to be served. The traditional bracketed state tournament is scheduled for Feb. 10-11 at Utah Valley University. The new state dual-meet championships for the 5A and 4A classifications is Thursday at the Maverik Center.
Semifinals begin at 5 p.m., with finals following at 7:30 p.m. for both classes. Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for students and seniors.
"There will be a state dual-meet champion this week, as well as the normal team state championship for the individual tournament, just like normal," said Viewmont coach Brandon Ripplinger, whose team was one of four host sites for the first round and quarterfinals in Class 5A on Wednesday.
The majority of the prep coaches, athletic directors and principals voted in favor of the addition of the state dual-meet championship, Ripplinger said. The structure brackets teams instead of individuals, and pits four programs at the host site of each of the eight region champions from the 5A and 4A classifications, with advancement to the neutral location for the semifinals and finals. The geographic proximity allowed larger classifications to introduce the popular format, but restricted the lower classifications because of travel.
"There are a lot of questions to be answered at the end of this year," Ripplinger said. "Are we ready to extend it to the small schools, as well? Are they ready to jump in? They never had an official vote, so they'd have to go through that same process 4A and 5A schools went through."
The state dual format, Ripplinger said, is more "spectator-friendly," with easier scoring. Programs square off in head-to-head battles. Wins are awarded three points and pins earn three additional bonus points, for a total of six.
"You can watch your team go head-to-head against another team," Ripplinger explained. "Whereas, you go to a normal tournament, like the state tournament, where the individual wrestlers are bracketed — nobody really understands the scoring except for a handful of coaches."
It also includes grapplers who might not otherwise qualify for the state tournament, which allows them to contribute in the postseason. Because of the bonus points, less-talented wrestlers avoiding pins against an opponent's premier wrestler are huge point-shifters.
"As a coach, you kind of expect your horses to go out and score the big points," Ripplinger said. "But your guys that maybe aren't as highly ranked — you hope they go out there and get a win, but you certainly hope if they wrestle somebody good, they prevent the other team's stud from getting bonus points."
The biggest concern is whether the addition of the state dual championship dilutes the accomplishment of winning the traditional state tournament, especially if two programs split the tournaments, which is a possibility in Class 4A (Pleasant Grove is a strong candidate to win both 5A tournaments).
"Is one more prestigious than the other? I don't know. We haven't been there. We're going to find out," Ripplinger said. "I think in the back of everyone's minds, the individual tournament has been the tradition for decades, but almost all of us agree that dual meets are extremely fun, and the whole team concept — my team vs. your team — gets lost when you go to an individual tournament."
Ripplinger likened the state dual format to other sports where the top four placers in each region advance to the state tournament regardless of overall record, which allows more programs to represent their schools and experience the postseason. The format also allows teams without as much depth to compete with several strong wrestlers, which creates the distinction that some programs are equipped for one tournament over the other.
Twitter: @trevorphibbs —
Class 5A and 4A state dual-meet championships
P At the Maverik Center, West Valley City
Thursday: Semifinals, 5 p.m.; finals 7:30 p.m.
Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for students and seniors.