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    2009 Cadet National Duals Preview

    With the recent trend of many graduated seniors choosing not to compete at the Junior Nationals -- held during late July in Fargo, North Dakota -- the Cadet National Championships have taken on greater prominence at Fargo. In fact, some have argued that the Cadet Nationals have a greater representation of the nation's top wrestlers than the Junior National Championships.

    Since the cadet level features wrestlers that are less seasoned in their high school career, many of the key cadet figures are not known to a national audience. The Cadet National Duals -- which will be held this week in Rochester, Minnesota -- can serve either as a breakthrough moment for the young star wrestler, or a tournament to cement their name on the radar of fans across the country.

    Greco-Roman competition will be held on Thursday and Friday (June 18 and 19) with freestyle competition being conducted Saturday and Sunday (June 20 and 21). Pre-registration indicates that 25 teams from 22 states will be in the Greco-Roman competition, with 29 teams from 25 states slated for the Freestyle event.

    Each competition will start with a round-robin in which teams will be split into four pools. The top two teams from each pool will advance to the championship competition, which will commence with two four-team groups that compete in another round-robin. The top team in each championship pool will compete for first place, the second team in each competes for third place, and such for the top eight places. Teams finishing third through sixth in the preliminary pools will advance to a single elimination consolation bracket, from which the two finalists will finish ninth and tenth.

    Looking ahead to 2009

    For yet another year, fans everywhere will be able to follow the competition using TrackWrestling.com. The computer program will have up to date pools, results, and the schedule of matches. In addition, InterMat will be covering the championship rounds on Friday (Greco-Roman) and Sunday (freestyle).

    Blair Academy's Mark Grey, a 2008 Cadet Nationals double champion, will be competing in both styles for New Jersey
    While all of the lineups are not yet available to the public through TrackWrestling.com, past history as well as performance during the past school year can provide some idea of what to expect in the two competitions.

    Defending champion Wisconsin will travel a very formidable squad across its western border in its quest to repeat as Cadet National Greco-Roman dual meet champions. Anchoring the Badger State effort will be Alex Dieringer and Devin Peterson. Coming off of two straight runner-up finishes in this event, the host team from Minnesota would love to take that one last step and emerge as champions. In addition, teams from Illinois, Iowa, and Pennsylvania should be formidable champions.

    Unlike the defending Greco champions, much of Oklahoma's Cadet Dual winning freestyle team was made up of second-year cadets in 2008; though Josh Walker and Chase Ferman will likely return to lead the effort at a repeat title. Lead contenders for the title in freestyle include the hosts Minnesota, returning runners-up Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, Missouri, Iowa, and Wisconsin.

    Looking back at 2008

    Greco-Roman:
    Wisconsin emerged as champions in what was a very balanced field. In pool competition, the Badger State squad lost to Pennsylvania. In fact, that pool ended in a three-way tie; Illinois beat Pennsylvania but lost to Wisconsin. Wisconsin and Pennsylvania advanced on the basis of tiebreaker, while Illinois finished third in the pool but won the consolation bracket to finish in ninth. Border rivals Minnesota reached the final undefeated, with its final three victories against Pennsylvania, New York, and Indiana coming in the championship pool. Wisconsin countered with victories against Missouri, Iowa, and Kansas in its championship pool.

    Championship Match: Wisconsin defeated Minnesota, 32-31
    Third-Place Match: Pennsylvania defeated Missouri, 34-32
    Fifth-Place Match: New York defeated Iowa, 46-32
    Seventh-Place Match: Kansas defeated Indiana, 44-33
    Ninth-Place Match: Illinois defeated New Jersey, 50-25

    Freestyle:
    Heading into the championship final, the Oklahoma squad had beaten most of its opposition sooner rather than later. They finished first in the preliminary pool and advanced to the championship final with victories over Missouri, Wisconsin, and Delaware. However, their championship opponents from the Keystone State had paved a similar road with an undefeated run in preliminaries followed by victories over New Jersey, Minnesota, and Illinois. That finals match was close throughout, but Oklahoma used its strength in the middle of the lineup (6-3 in matches from 112 to 160) in order to squeeze out the title.

    Championship Match: Oklahoma defeated Pennsylvania, 35-33
    Third-Place Match: New Jersey defeated Missouri, 48-25
    Fifth-Place Match: Wisconsin defeated Minnesota, 39-27
    Seventh-Place Match: Illinois defeated Delaware, 39-33
    Ninth-Place Match: Iowa defeated New York, 40-36
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