Before we get to the mailbag, a quick reminder that the 2022 Iowa girls state wrestling championships is Friday and Saturday at Xtream Arena in Coralville, and it deserves your attention — now more than ever.
The sport has grown tremendously over the last few years, from 67 girls during the 2015-16 season (per the National Federation of State High School Associations) to 1,022 this season, according to Trackwrestling.
For context: 1,022 would've been the fourth-highest single-state participation number during the '18-19 season (the last year the NFHS kept full participation stats), behind only California (6,014), Texas (4,421) and Washington (1,864).