In 2011 at kids state my son was an 8th grader in14U. He placed 2nd in a bracket full of highschoolers including one HS state placer that i know of. It was a great experiance for him and gave him a little taste of what was coming the next year. I dont really believe these 8th graders need to be protected from kids only one year older than themselves. If anything i would think they would look up to the challenge of wrestling and maybe even being able to say they beat a highschooler.