Toughest Brackets

Which brackets look to be the most difficult to achieve a state championship.

5A 130 is pretty wide open, so is 5A 119

4A 125 has quite a bit of depth to it and NO clear cut favorite.

5a 103 is going to have some great match ups.

112 in 6A (The top 6 are pretty even, that DeShazer upset over Ruiz really throws a wrench into this weight)

112 in 4A (One kid has a chance at being a 3x champ, another could be a 2x, while 4 others look like they could be at the top of the heap)

125 in 4A (Pretty wide open posibillty of seeing the only freshmen in this weight meet in the semis for their chance at a title)

112 in 321A (A lot of these wrestlers have spilt matches this year)

119 in 321A (While Weigel looks like the guy to beat he has 6 guys who look poised to take his championship)

171 in 321A (only one wrestler with less than a .700 record and only one barely above .900, very even weight class)

285 in 321A (Anyone of the top 8 wrestlers in this weight could be at the top of the podium)

It’s really hard to say that any 5A or 6A weight is that difficult to win state in when there are so many wrestlers with losing records in the brackets. But I do have to say just looking at all of the brackets 112 has to be one of the most competitive weights this year with many up and coming wrestlers who will definitely make some noise in the years to come.

First off...I think if you put a dual together of the State champions for 321A and the State Champs of the 5a and 6a...321A would maybe win two or three matches in that dual. And Yes 5a and 6a do have some weak regionals but 5a, 6a have some of the best individual wrestlers in the state year in year out.

I'm not saying the wrestlers are better, what I'm saying is that the weight class will be more competitive (exciting to watch). Most of the weights I've listed have no clear cut favorite and nearly half the bracket has a chance to be on top of the medal stand. Who wants to really watch Boaz Beard or Tyler Caldwell walk through a weight class with a bunch of guys with losing records? I don't. I'd much rather watch 16 guys who have above-average records duke it out versus 1 outstanding wrestler who nobody can touch.

You have the opportunity to attend the 4A Tournament in Salina or the 3-2-1A Tournament in Hays.

6a- 119 and 160 are really tough

4A 160 isn't too bad. A good mix of youngsters and veterans.

i think 103 would be the toughest, first you have to get to 103lbs, and i haven't seen 103 since the 3rd grade. then again 285 would be tough too cause i might run in to guys like brock heithaus, or lucas vincent. lol

4A 119, check out the state bracket. four studs in the semis.

5a and 6a cannot compare to 4a and 321a. It's not even a discussion!! This includes past, present, or the near future.

5a 119, is tough. blaise come on, past, present, and future? either way you look at it that argument is weak past, present, and future.

No, not really..

123A and 4A dual of state champions vs. 5A and 6A state champions, who do you honestly think would win? I'd bet 5A and 6A

one thing can be said for sure. senior classic will settle it. small schools have a couple for sure wins along with a couple swing matches that will need to be won in order to keep up with the bigger schools power house weights, starting at 40 and ending with 189. WILL NOT miss this dual for anything.

oh excuse me stevie08, i didnt see the dual of state champions* that dual would definitely be a barn burner.

Sorry Blaise but if you really want to watch some stud wrestlers that would WALK i mean walk through 321A you really need to go watch Kyle Detmer, Tanner Kriss, Tyler Caldwell, Boaz Beard, Mitchell Means, CJ Napier, Ryne Cokely etc. and I know I'm even missing some more. If I had to put together a grand state champion from what class he would be from, I don't have a 321A Grand State Champion this year at all. I have been to 321A state and no doubt it does have a better atmosphere than 5a & 6a State by a long shot but the better wrestlers are held in 4a & 5a & 6a this year, that probably wasn't the case a few years ago when Norton, Hoxie, Oakley were loaded but this year its the case.

103-5a
112-4a
119-6a
125-5a or 6a
130-4a
135-4a
140-4a or 5a
145-6a
152-5a
160-5a or 6a...Be one hell of a match.
171-4a or 6a...Be another great match
189-6a
215-4a
285-6a

Here is the deal. Combine a team of 5a and 6a together. Then do the same for 4a and 321a. Do this in the past, present, and near future. 4a and 321a will win everytime. There is no discussion. It's just a way of life..

Anyone that would make that comment is an idiot. It's not even a discussion!!

Chad Beeson

I went to a 5A regional, I understand the comment. The top end may be better in the bigger schools, but a true grand state w/ all the placers would show the depth of 4A and 321A. Did you see those records in 321A?? Virtually, no losing records. Or, should they be considered inferior because they are small shools. At least in 4 and 321 - no one goes to state just because they made weight. Going to State should be a big deal by itself.

What makes me suspecious of the 321A ibndividual records, less so for 4A, is the ability of the smaller schools to provide a full 14 wrestler varsity team roster. Walk overs should not be included in the wrestlers win record. Saw several tournaments this year with all classes. 321A tems seldom had more than 6 wrestlers. Most 5A and 6A come with more wrestlers. Exception is some of the KCK HSs, and that is a locally recognized problem they are trying to overcome.r

I think 5a and 6a schools usually have more kids in them.

So your saying 4 and 321A records are so good because they receive the majority of their wins from byes? I find that somewhat hard to believe. Even so, how many of the 5 and 6A wins came from respectable oponents? Im not putting down anyone here, but you cant make an argument against smaller schools for having fewer kids....just my two cents

In my opinion 4a/321a is tougher depth wise in regional and state competition. when i look over state brackets i rarely(sometimes do) see sub .500 records. when i look at 5a/6a i see great top talent wrestlers but little depth what so ever. i noticed records below the .25 mark. i am not attempting to single out or put any wrestler down because wreslters are the most respectable athletes but i saw records in the top 2 classes with only 3 or 4 wins, those could all come at a regional tournament, yet i saw over 3/4 of every small class bracket wrestlers with at least 20 wins.

Seems like 5A and 6A have put out more DI athletes in recent history...


Tyler McCormick (AA)
Tanner Gardner (AA)
Shawn Bunch (AA) and US Freestyle Champ
Joe Johnston (AA)
Zach Roberson (NC)
Stew Bogart
Josh Carrol
Romero Cotton
list goes on...

Hey don’t just get the idea that DI wrestlers only come from big schools in big cities. Here is a list of small town wrestlers who were not too shabby at the highest level:

Matt Murray-Colby (Nebraska, NCAA Runner-up)
Eric Ludke-Colby (Iowa, NCAA All-American)
Billy Gabel-Saint Francis (Oklahoma State)
Kelly Gabel-Saint Francis (Oklahoma State)
Travis Baker-Hoxie (Nebraska)
Austin DeVoe-Columbus (Missouri, NCAA Qualifier)
Clint Freeman-Ellsworth (Missouri)
Michael Sprigg-Norton (Army)
Jesse Strawn-Holton (Old Dominion)
Neil Eirisman-De Soto (Oklahoma State)
Chris Pursel-Effingham (Iowa State)
Josh Lawrenz-Herington (Northern Iowa)
Alex Thomas-Norton (Nebraska)

blaise you do the work, and i will stand by my statement, shawn bunch, beau maynes, zach roberson, come on you know year in and year out the top is the top. it doesn't matter what class. there have been studs in other classes too (matt murray), but year in year out there is no clear cut favorite between the classes. do your homework.

ricky, knows his biz. name those big class studs too!! here's an idea, it's all kansas.

This 43rd annual thread is getting old, how about just having one class,one state tourney, one state champ in each weight class. Just do away with 123456a. Big bracket, come on lets settle it. Then lets have an old timers tourney right after, after that i'd like to see some of the refs wrestle and let the kids ref their matches....:-)

HA! Amen to all the above. However, the KSHSA never thinks 'outside the box' and most likely will never break up its good ole boy network. I imagine having the tourneys scattered across the state brings them in more money . . .

Cokeley mentioned these ideas (well, not the refs wrestling each other but I imagine Don King would be ALL FOR THAT!)just yesterday to the powers that be. They had a million excuses why it 'couldn't be done'. Will had excellent arguments against all their lame excuses . . .

i cant imagine having 4a state by itself would be cheaper than having it with 5a and 6a. dont they have to rent that building for the weekend also. to me it makes more sense in these hard times if we are trying to save by putting 4a back into the 5a and 6a mix all in one building. besides it makes it a better state tournament. the coliseum looked dull with that one end where 4a used to be so empty.