Kansas Wrestling Forums General Discussion High School Tough Brackets of the Past

Two years ago there was a bracket that yielded three state champions and two college wrestlers the following year.

I'm sure there are others like it and maybe even better?

I would like to see some incredible brackets of the past.

2002 - 4A 130
1. McReynolds - 2003 College Wrestler
2. Luedke - 2003 State Champion
3. Bahe - 2003 College Wrestler
4. Terrell - 2003 State Champion
5. Shepard - ??
6. Grater - 2003 State Champion

p.s. - Has there ever been more than three State Champs come out of one bracket?

1988 3-2-1A 185 was pretty tough. Sounds a bit self-serving here, as I competed in the weight class so I am probably a bit biased. But it was pretty competitive and I felt it to be worth mentioning.

Champ - Paul Gastley, Beloit (senior) - 3-2-1A Champ as a senior - 4A 185 runner-up as a junior - NJCAA All-American at Colby CC - went on to wrestle at UN-Kearney

2nd - Dan Wessel, Plainville (senior) - 4x qualifier (155,167,167&185) - runner-up as a senior - played NJCAA (?Dodge City?) football until he injured both knees

3rd - Les Brown, Hoxie (senior)- lost to Wessel in the semis - 24-1 as a senior - undefeated 167 pound champ as a junior - 4th @ 167 as a sophomore - wrestled at Colby CC until he injured his knees

4th - Ryan "Boomer" Bornholdt, Lyons (junior) - lost twice to Brown - 3x medalist (1st,4th,3rd)- state champ as a senior - earned numerous accolades in juco football at Garden City -started in the backfield at FHSU

Did Not Place - Jeff Vrbas, Atwood (sophomore) - lost to Ditto and Brown - placed 2nd as a junior (lost to Bornholdt) - champion as a senior - placed 6th in the NHSCA Senior Nationals in 1990 - played NCAA DI/DII football (Western Kentucky and a school in Idaho)

Did Not Place - Chad Ditto, Herington (senior) - 3X qualifer - lost to Gastley and Bornholdt

Did Not Place - Todd Staerkel, Royal Valley (senior) - entered the state tournament undefeated - lost to Wessel and Bornholdt.

Did Not Qualify - Brett Bedore, Stockton (senior) - defending 185 pound state champ was beaten out at Regionals (Gastley, Wessel, Bornholdt, Ditto), tremendous football player and great wrestler - wrestled at Colby CC and qualified for NJCAA nationals in an exceptionally tough weight class

Four champs in the bracket and a defending champ who did not qualify for the tournament as a senior.

Man that's incredible, I'm sure there are more brackets like that out there, but it would be tough to beat that bracket?

wasn't 145 from last year's 3-2-1 A Tournament loaded with former Champs?

Of course having two returning state champs in the same bracket is fairly common. My question is has there ever been a state bracket with three or more returning state champs in it? I feel certain there has been three but memory, or lack there of, doesn't allow me to point to it.

3A - 145 last year had three former multiple Champions:
Johnson, Drennan & Pyle

Les...185 was tough in '88. But so was 119. That weight class was won by Kevin Kadel of Beloit. 2nd place went to Joe Marquez of Leoti, who won 2 state titles. And 4th place was Tracy St. Clair of Smith Center, a 119 lb. State Champ the year before. 3 state champs in that weight class.

I had a fairly tough bracket my junior year in the 160 lb 4A state tourney.


Shawn Moore State champion 99 160/ 02 runner up 171

Brandon ClouseRunner up in 99 160/ 3rd in 00 171/ State Champion 01 189

Joe Corcoran 3rd in 99 at 160/ 00 state champion

Shawn Silvis state champion 97 130/ 5th in 98 152/ 4th in 00 160/ state champion 00 at 171/ 3x National qualifier, and 2x D-2 National champ

Aaron Meister 5th place 2x at 160 in 99, 00
2x National qualifier and the NJCAA National Champ

Correct me if I'm wrong Meister, but wasn't Clouse, Corcoran, and Moore at the same regional with you as well?

Aaron,
The year Moore was runner-up should be 00 when Silvis beat him in the finals, both their senior years.

Thanx for the corrections from Swayze and sports fan they were both correct on those questions

Where was regional that year? was it in SFT or Burlington? I know 1999 was Abilene, 1998 was Concordia (because I was a senior at Chapman, Meister was a freshman at Holton, and frequent poster Nigel Isom of Abilene was a junior I believe) used to be some nasty regionals with some scrap fests...which year was your junior year Meister? I remembe4r the 4 regionals I competed in were Russel, Wamego, Marysville, and Concordia.

In my 4 years of high school regionals were held in Marysville 97, Concordia 98, Abilline 99, and Holton 2000.

Let's remeber this topic in about 4 years. I will be willing to put money that the 4A 152 bracket this past season will definitely be one to remeber. Following close behind would have to be 3-2-1A 145 bracket.