Unknown Kids

Who do you guys think are some of the kids who dont get talked about to much who could do some damgage this season and pull some unexpected upsets?!

YEP!!!!

Zach Litvak-GE seemed to wrestle up last year, beat Greenlee at kids state then beat some good kids at fall brawl. Not sure what weight he is going to wrestle for HS but looks tough.

I am going to have to look through brackets to make my educated guesses, but I will go a step further and give a lightweight (103-140)and upperweight (145-285) from each classification my pick (so 8 total) and I will try not to duplicate a weight. I may give an honrable mention to 6 guys (any weights) and come up with my 15 Unknowns.

May do a top 5 or something on Unknowns for teams too. Stay tuned...I will enlighten you!

You might take a look at Andrew Denning for Lawrence High. Even though he missed quite a bit of time early in the season due to a FB injury, he made it to State as a Freshman and went 2-2.

Alright here goes....Best Unknown Kids Lower (103-140) and Upper(145- 285) based on me reading some brackets and making assumptions. Also none of my picks are on the Chief's Rankings.

3a

LOWER-Riley Hunsicker(Ellis) was at 125 last year and although he pinned a 3a Regional Champ during the season, couldn't get out of the Wild Wild West. Was the Champion at Osborne, Russell, and Minneapolis tournaments at 119 (Cole Werner who barely missed out on becoming a state champion by losing in Overtime out in Hays took 4th in this bracket at Minny!)Took 2nd at Ellsworth and Hays tournaments finishing ahead of some state qualifiers from other divisions, and was 3rd at Pburg, but the biggest of them all...(unless it was a misprint) would be the 3-2 victory at 125 in the Mid Continent League Tournament finals against State Runner Up Troy Bainter of Norton!

UPPER-Thomas Durham (Fredonia) at 189. He lost by 1pt to the 3rd placer in 3a and 3pts to the 4th placer in 3a at the State Tournament. The last 2 seasons he has entered state with a matching 29-7 record...but left soph year with 29-9 record and jr with 31-9 record. I suspect some graduation from other wrestlers at this weight will have Durham making big noise in 2011.

4a

LOWER- Patrick Weaver (Hugoton) was at 135, Weaver was Champion at Pratt and Ulysses at 140. 2nd at Liberal, 1st at Baca Colorado, and 3rd at Hugoton (although he beat 2nd place kid...weird format)

UPPER- My pick 160lbs Iola's Marcus Sullivan. Not a lot of workout partners, but had some great wins on the year and went into regionals with a solid 29 wins. I was stuck in the Southeast for 4a Upper as I also think Chris Lynn will surprise some people at HWT for IOLA...likewise keep an eye on Delon Knight who was 16-0 entering the Clearwater tournament before going 1-2 and not even placing that week, being in a weaker geographical area may allow for him to sneak into state which he did as a sophomore before failing to make it back this last season.

I'll second that! A coach's kid who has excellent technique but has battled injuries. Has earned himself a reputation amongst many coaches and fans as a straight up "gutsy" wrestler. Great kid too! I hope to see good things happen to him at around 145 lbs.

I'd keep an eye on Garret Girard too! Another Lawrence High wrestler who made some leaps and bounds and was coming into his own as a tough wrestler last year. He can get after it when he wants to! Hopefully we'll see him at 103 for LHS!

Both of these guys should have a great year for Lawrence.

140 Andrew Denning
145 Levi Florhschutz

Yeah can't forget Levi! Sorry.

From talk though I heard it might look more like:

135 Levi Florhschutz
145 Andrew Denning

Could be. The head coach had anticipated 140 and 145 but there are always changes. I am ranking them in 6A at 40/45 to start.

Parker Howell at Kapaun could have a good year. He wrestled his butt off for Team Kansas this summer. Good luck Parker.
Chris Bowen

Do not count out Spencer Wilson at Lawrence Freestate, at 171, regardless of others comments he is a true stud and getting better all the time, just look up this summer's credintials. He did transfer from Lawrence High as a result of wrestling behind Conklin, but dont be surprised to see him in the top 2 in any tournament Freestate enters.

I met and watched Parker at Middle School Duals in April. I like this kid and was very impressed. He put a few clinics on in his matches against some good kids. Plus the kid has some heart, wrestling Junior divison as an 8th grader going into 9th. One word: Tough! Good luck Parker.