High School Wrestlers Max Out Longstanding Weight Classes

It looks like some high school wrestlers aren't fitting into their weight classes -- or those skinny singlets -- like they used to.

On Tuesday, the National Federation of State High School Associations announced an upward shift in the weight classes student wrestlers will need to meet. Dale Pleimann, chair of the Wrestling Rules Committee, cited in a press release on NFHS the fact that the new classes better represent the current weight distribution:

"The rules committee was able to analyze data from almost 200,000 wrestlers across the country, with the goal to create weight classes that have approximately 7 percent of the wrestlers in each weight class."

10 of the 14 weight classes are being changed. The smallest weight bumped from 103 to 106, and 140 as replaced with 182. The heavyweight standard of 285 pounds was untouched, as were common middle weights 145, 152 and 160.

Wisconsin's Oconto Falls High School wrestling coach Marc Kinziger tells the Green Bay Press Gazette that he thinks it makes sense:

"I think overall it is good for several reasons," Kinziger said. "As Americans, we're a little bit bigger, so it makes sense to divide the weight classes where there are more kids."

But New Jersey's Brick Memorial High School coach Dan O'Cone tells NJ.com that he's not happy with the change.

"The better wrestlers are in that 125-160 range and we're losing a weight there. Where we are picking up a weight class, you better be best friends with the football coach."

The last time a major weight class change was made was 1988. Most recently, the heavyweight class was bumped from 275-285 pounds in 2006.