A proposal put in front of the PIAA — which was passed on first reading, but faces an uphill battle to be approved — would bring about a big change to the way wrestlers move from regionals to the state tournament.

If passed, this measure could benefit rural regions in Class 3A — like the Northwest, where Mifflin County competes — but may make it harder for schools in other regions.

It’s based on the proportional allocation formulas that have always driven district and regional advancement, but includes a new twist: Fewer wrestlers in some regions are guaranteed to advance, as several state berths would be awarded based on the region’s past performance.

For example, in the two-year cycle that ends with this school year, the Northwest had three automatic qualifiers. That won’t change.

But, if wrestlers from the Northwest have a strong showing in the next state tournament, as many as five could move on the following year.

Under the proposal, each of the five Class 3A regions would have three automatic qualifiers, with the remaining five (the state has a 20-man bracket) allocated based on previous year’s performance. No more than two of these qualifiers could go to any region.

The performance rating is based on the number of underclassmen (grades 9-11) who earn a state medal.

The Northwest had nine in 2022, so its allocation would still be three next year. But if, say, a dozen underclassmen medal in 2023, it’s likely the region would get at least one additional qualifier in 2024.

A similar plan for Class 2A guarantees four qualifiers out of each of its four regions, with the final four being allocated using the past success formula.

The WPIAL (District 7) — which hoped to see a seventh qualifier added to the Class 2A Southwest due to classification shifts — is opposed, even though its larger schools would benefit in 2023. And that district often steers the bus in Mechanicsburg.

If the proposal is adopted, District 7/Class 3A Southwest gets five state berths next year (it had four this cycle). But the Class 2A Southwest region, where the WPIAL is combined with Districts 5 and 6, drops from six to five qualifiers. That would impact local schools Mount Union and Juniata (which returns to Class 2A next year).

The regionals themselves are supposed to ensure that the best wrestlers make it to Hershey, while maintaining minimum participation by each of the PIAA’s 12 districts. Rewarding those who produce more quality wrestlers doesn’t seem like a bad idea.

In March, the WPIAL saw 14 underclassmen on the Class 3A podium, nearly 36% of the total (seniors are not factored in because they do not return). The Northeast — which includes the perennially strong Lehigh Valley — accounted for more than 30% of the total, which means those regions would get four of the five allocated spots in 2023, two each (District 3, also its own region, gets the fifth).

The Class 2A Southwest also produced 14 underclass medalists, but it was third behind the Northeast — which includes District 4, one of the state’s dominant small-school districts — and the Southeast, which includes Districts 1 and 3. The former gets two extras under the plan, while the Southwest loses one.

Strength-based qualification is nothing new to the world’s oldest sport — it’s among the factors used by the NCAA in selecting non-guaranteed entrants. On its face, this seems like a reasonable solution, especially since it is an annual change (as opposed to the PIAA’s biennial reclassification).

Other proposals have included realigning the regions (which probably would be better, but more of the districts would fight it) or expanding the state bracket again, to 24 qualifiers, but use single elimination in the opening round.

If you ask me, regional realignment makes more sense — the WPIAL was its own region with 45 schools in the current cycle, as were District 3 (58 schools) and District 1 (61 schools). If Districts 8, 9 and 10 were mixed into the Southwest, it would have had 63 schools. And moving Districts 4 and 9 — which already compete as a subregion at the district level — into the Northeast would have totaled 64 schools.

If proportionality is the goal, you can’t get closer without cutting districts apart or moving more than one to a geographically odd spot.

Common sense? Don’t expect that — as usual, politics plays a bigger role than proportion in youth sports.

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Jeff Fishbein was sports editor of The Sentinel for 15 years before moving to the lifestyles desk, and has covered high school and college wrestling, and PIAA issues, for more than 30 years.