Not to be debbie downer, but my guess is those numbers were taken from team hydration rosters. Only conceivable method I can think of to obtain this sort of data and well probably the easiest way.
How many of those kids who we hydrate in November don't make it past Thanksgiving?
I know we like to blame LAX for a variety of reasons and I'm all for it haha but I wonder how much impact the introduction of that sport has really had on wrestling.
In addition. Those of us who coach in this state know and have seen plenty of kids from the northeast and midwest who move down here. So are these numbers simply a reflection of overall population trends (Ohio, PA, Iowa family move to GSP or Charleston to work at BMW, Michelin, Volvo, Boeing, etc...) and the fact that more and more people are relocating to the south or is the sport really "dying" up there and growing down here?
My guess is the former. Just look at the number of kids over the last decade who have won state titles in SC who came from somewhere else (OH, TX, NJ, NY, etc....)