We, the undersigned, respectfully request that OSAA grant an equitable remedy for Ashland High School girls wrestlers who were unable to participate in the Girls District 4 Wrestling Tournament on February 13–14, 2026 due to a significant weigh-in time change (from the expected 4:30 PM weigh-in to 12:00 PM) that was implemented without proper communication and without the voting/approval process outlined in conference procedures (Section 4A). 

This petition is submitted in support of the OSAA’s stated mission to provide equitable participation opportunities and to ensure that no program is disadvantaged by avoidable administrative failures. This was not a minor inconvenience, nor was it due to negligence by anyone at AHS. Missing weigh-ins due to an uncommunicated schedule change is functionally the same as being excluded from the tournament. 

Loss of a qualifying pathway due to administrative error rather than athletic performance, an inequitable outcome compared to teams who received correct timing information, has caused significant harm to athletes’ season-long work, training, and earned standing. This has a disproportionate impact on seniors, including lost final-year postseason opportunity. 

Two Ashland wrestlers directly impacted include: 
Sage Thatcher (Senior) — ranked #1 in the state (5A/6A girls) 
Lilly Dominguez (Junior) — ranked #3 in the state (5A/6A girls) 

Their ranking is not the basis of this request, but it demonstrates that the missed opportunity was consequential and measurable, and that equity requires a remedy when athletes are denied the chance to compete due to procedural breakdown. The OSAA’s mission is to provide equitable participation opportunities and fair access to postseason pathways. The OSAA’s commitment that no school or student should be treated as more or less than another, including being disadvantaged by inconsistent administration MWL procedural expectations that significant operational changes (including event time adjustments that impact eligibility/participation) require appropriate coordination, approval, and communication to member schools. When a time change eliminates an entire team’s ability to weigh in and compete, the outcome is no longer about competition; it becomes an administrative barrier. That is exactly the type of inequity OSAA policies are intended to prevent. 

We are asking to allow direct entry to OSAA State Tournament for the affected Ashland girls wrestlers to enter the OSAA State Wrestling Tournament as additional qualifiers due to verified administrative failure that prevented district participation. 

In the same spirit of equity, we have a proposed method of entering these two wrestlers that does not take anything away from any of the others. In other situations, there would likely be a “pigtail” match that would put our girl randomly against another in the tournament, and the loser of that match would immediately be out with no chance to continue wrestling for a medal. Rather than that, we are asking that at the state tournament, the usual 16 person brackets be bumped up to 32 person brackets for the two weight classes involved. This would mean the vast majority of the wrestlers would have a bye in the first round, but there would be one match in the opening round of 32 wherein the loser of that match still has the opportunity to wrestle-back for a medal.  

This solution keeps the integrity of the tournament without adversely affecting any other wrestlers’ opportunity and is an acceptable accommodation for the Ashland girls.