I don't wanna speak bad on wilson because the town of wilson treated NCUSA amazing. They provided catered food for the coaches and officials social after the tar heel and the venue was pretty good outside of limited restrooms. I will agree that it being that far east may have limited some people attending. But there were still many strong and courageous kids who are from western NC. Big problem with pushing it to the state tournament as being the only qualifer is that it limits the kids fundraising time and limits the teams time to fill spots. If they do not fill a spot at the Tar Heel then they do use the state tournament as the next step to qualify. Having to choose between Fargo and the duals is a big factor. Many want the glamour of Fargo but affording both trips is extremely difficult. They offer discounts and scholarships to help bring the costs down but its still costly especially to both.
I don't know what a solution would be. Some of our best wrestlers don't even wrestle the international styles so we'll never put out our absolute best team like Illinois or Minnesota. Those guys bring their absolute best to the Duals and thats why those two teams are in the finals every single year, Usually in both styles. It depends on what pool we get put into one. Two years ago the Junior team randomly drew minnesota first round in both styles. Took a thumping.