Anyone have any ideas on how this bracket might turn out at state? It seems many of the qualifiers are relatively unknown.

Look for Brandy Lowe of Rossville, Chase Ehlers of Chapman, Joe McConnell of Newton, and R. Diederich of Oberlin..

If I'm not mistaken, Brandy won girls nationals last year. I saw her wrestle last year. She's pretty good.

derrick jones from northwest and caleb franklin from north are good

Darick Jones and Caleb Franklin are always top 2. The other 4 listed I have only heard of Brandy Lowe from a couple years ago. I'm wondering if the others are from middle school?

Wow. After looking at the bracket, and if the names above are truly who to watch for, it looks like the top of the bracket will be a much harder road. That being said, does anyone have any predictions on how it will go?

So what do we know about the 3 others, Ehlers, McConnell, and Diedrich?

Don't know much. I looked at the brackets when they were first posted, and if I recall correctly, Ehlers was undefeated and McConnell and Diederich both had a couple of losses. Now, the brackets list their seeding and it looks like Ehlers and Diederich both won their districts and McConnel was second in Ehlers's district. I saw where Franklin and Jones went 1/2 at Salina but am not sure what the competition was like there. Therefore, I'm going to go with my gut and go with Lowe and Ehlers in the final. No disrespect to any of the other kids....just a guess that is based on very little knowledge of the entire bracket.

no disrespect taken, everybody has an opinion. But looking at last years state brackets in both 10 & 12&u I didn't see any of the 3?? So I still would like more info on the 3. Looking at their over all win/loss records, they neither have a lot of matches to really go by. I will stand by Jones/Franklin in the finals...fyi Salina was okk tourney neither have had any competition other than each other. Darick has beaten Caleb twice this year and the rest goes to Caleb. Anyway, as I said unless I can get some other results or different win/loss records thats my opinion and I'm sticking to it!! :-)

I know what you mean. Win/loss records are hard to go by. I based my guess mostly off of the seeding, and since Lowe and Jones both won their district, I just went with Lowe because I have seen her wrestle. She's pretty good/strong but I don't know if she is strong enough to handle boys this age that are quality wrestlers. Apparently Ehlers has beat McConnell because they were both in the same district. Should be interesting. I'd like to hear from others with thoughts on this weight bracket. In addition, did you see the 16 & Under 135 bracket? That should be some fun wrestling to watch from start to finish. It is definitely going to be tough for whoever wins it.

Ok folks I'm gonna clear the air a little on this bracket. First of all there have been a few names that have been left off this list. While Franklin and Jones have to be the favorites in this bracket there is a wealth of talent. Lowe is a definite contender as well as Tyson Toelkes, Kyle Huck and Brendon Blackburn. All of these wrestlers have had some epic matches with each other in the last few years. Ehlers is good too but had a really easy district. He will not beat Franklin. It also depends on the the way the bracket goes. Some of these guys are really good match ups with some but not so much with others. My son is in this bracket and has come very close to beating some of the top wrestlers. And has beaten some of them in pryor years. Keep an eye on this bracket if you want to see some wars!

It sounds like you have some knowledge, and have seen, quite a few of the wrestlers in this bracket, especially Franklin, Jones, Toelkes, Huck and Blackburn. I think you hit the nail on the head when it comes to how they wrestle each other. Just because a wrestler can beat a certain wrestler does not mean that they can beat someone that that wrestler beat. Each match-up is different. Have you had the opportunity to see Lowe, Ehlers or any of the other wrestlers in this bracket? I agree, it should be a fun bracket to watch.

Yes my son has wrestled everyone in this bracket including Lowe on several occasions. She is simply awsome. She has a few moves that are almost unstopable. I saw Ehlers wrestle in Manhattan but he hasn't wrestled around here again until subs. I know that he is very strong though. He and Toelkes will be a great match to watch the second round. Franklin is a manchild and will probably win it all. Although earlier in the year Jones beat him a couple of times. Jones is a beast as well. He will wrestle Lowe in second round unless something crazy happens. I give the edge to Jones. Once again if you get the chance keep an eye on this bracket. These kids are the real deal!

ttsdad, you said Franklin was a manchild. I just looked at the Salina TOC award pictures. He is a big kid. He looks like he's over six feet tall.

Boshilo I can tell you Franklin is right at 6 feet and very muscular! He is taller than his coaches!! We do call him the manchild! Jones is pretty big, but Franklin dwarfs him when they stand next to each other! LOL

I haven't seen the McConnell kid wrestle but I've seen him at a tournament. He's a big kid too....probably about 6' as well and fairly muscular.

where are these kids getting it?? Must be in the water! lol

Actually, I think it's all the crap we're putting in the food nowadays. It seems more kids are getting bigger these days, some big and strong and others are just getting big. That's why it is a "crapshoot" as to what type of kids are in these heavier weight classes at this age. Some are the above mentioned "manchild" type and others are more a donut type...with everything between.

By the way, I knew you were just kidding about the water. LOL

I've been thinking back to the beginning of the year and I think I've seen the Ehlers kid too...in Manhattan I think. If it's who I'm thinking of, he's kind of a manchild too. I'm looking forward to watching all these kids, especially the little ones. They are so fun to watch. Some of the stuff those little guys/gals can do is absolutely amazing.

Caleb the "man-child" often grabs a piece of fruit for a snack, and donuts tend to make him feel sick. He's always eaten his vegetables, and even chooses them on a buffet.
Looking forward to this weekend!
-His mother