The Greco-Roman competition was held on Friday, with the freestyle competition on Saturday and Sunday.
Freddie Rodriguez (Photo/MichiganGrappler.com)Cortez, ranked first among junior high wrestlers by InterMat, won the first period, 1-0, on a late takedown. Rodriguez then turned it up in the second and third periods with 4-1 and 4-0 victories to win the match in three periods. That gave Rodriguez his second consecutive FILA Cadet National freestyle title, and earned him Most Outstanding Wrestler honors for the tournament.
"I wrestled with the same intensity and aggression as in the first period, but kept in better positions," said Rodriguez of the second and third periods of the finals match.
Joining Rodriguez as a two-time FILA Cadet freestyle champion was Jason Tsirtsis from Indiana, champion of the 138.75-pound weight class. This weight was one of five in the freestyle competition to earn spots in the Pan-American qualifier for the Youth Olympic Games (the others being 101.25, 119, 167.5, and 220.5). The qualification tournament will be in May in Mexico, while the Youth Olympic Games will be in Singapore in August.
Ranked third among sophomores by InterMat, Tsirtsis went 9-0 on the competition; this included five matches in which he did not allow a point, and two others that he only allowed one point. Facing Blaise Butler from Illinois in the final, he trailed 2-0 in the first period prior to scoring a takedown and then getting three consecutive turns with an ankle lace to win the period 4-2. In the second period, Tsirtsis won 7-0 with two takedowns, two laces, and a gut-wrench.
"It has always been effective for me in par terre, as my hi-crotch takedown finish sets it up very well," observed Tsirtsis about his ankle lace attack. "It seems to work for me, so I keep going to it."
In addition to Rodriguez, two other wrestlers swept the Greco-Roman and freestyle competitions this weekend - Tanner Hall from Idaho at 220.5 pounds, and Brooks Black from New Jersey at 275.5 pounds.
Hall won the competition at 220.5 pounds with victories over the pair of finalists in the Cadet National freestyle competition at 215 pounds from last summer; Hall failed to place in Cadet freestyle last summer at 189, after winning the Greco-Roman title earlier in the week.
In his last match of pool competition, he defeated Nick Tavanello from Ohio 2-2, 4-1. Then, in the final, it was a three-period victory over Gage Harrah from Illinois. After losing the first period, 7-2, Hall came back to win the second period, 3-3, based on scoring last, and dominated the third period with a 6-0 victory.
"I kicked it into gear, and wasn't going to leave without giving it a good fight," said Hall about his comeback in the second and third periods. "My opponent was strong and explosive, but I was able to win it with positioning and perseverance."
Wrestling his finals match prior to the string of finals matches wrestled on the same match, Brooks Black defeated Doug Vollaro from Florida in three periods (0-1, 4-2, 2-1) to win the 275.5-pound weight class title. The 14th ranked wrestler in the freshman class also defeated Vollaro in three periods to win the Greco-Roman title on Friday.
Other weight class champions included Zach Howell from Delaware at 91 pounds, Nathan Tomasello from Ohio at 101.25 pounds, Jack Clark from New Jersey at 119 pounds, Brandon Jeske from Virginia at 127.75 pounds, Justin Koethe from Iowa at 152 pounds, Jordan Rogers from Washington at 167.5, and Austin Marsden from Illinois at 187.25.
Howell went 6-0 for the competition with four shutout wins by decision, a pin, and a three-period victory over Dylan Lucas from Florida in what was functionally the final of his pool. In the championship match, Howell faced Jared Oftedahl of Minnesota, a runner-up in the Greco-Roman tournament. Howell emerged victorious 2-0, 6-0.
"It motivates you to do better, though you really have to look at the big-picture," the high school freshman Howell responded to having to wrestle 103 and/or 112 during the scholastic season facing such a size disadvantage. "These results (against kids of equal size) validate the hard work I put in. It's a nice feeling."
In a rematch of the third place bout at 91 pounds in last summer's Cadet National Freestyle Championships, Tomasello defeated Jacob Schmitt from Michigan in three periods. This was after Schmitt defeated defending FILA Cadet and Cadet Nationals champion Brad Perkins from Missouri in the pool final.
Schmitt won the first period over Tomasello by a 4-0 score. Trailing 1-0 in the second period after Schmitt had scored on a push-out, Tomasello was able to score a late takedown to win the period 1-1 having scored the last point. Tomasello then won the match with a 1-0 third period victory.
"It was a slow start, (Jacob) won the hand fights and the shots in dominating the third period," stated Tomasello in assessing the match. "However, I made some adjustments and was able to get back into things with better positioning, resolve, and great execution."
Jack Clark -- ranked fifth among junior high wrestlers nationally -- dominated Saturday's competition with three shutout technical fall victories, and the other one coming by fall. However, competition on Sunday would be tougher starting with returning Cadet National freestyle All-American Eric Friedman of Maryland. Clark came through that match with a 6-0, 2-0 victory.
After a 7-1, 2-1 victory over Ernest Battaglia of Illinois, Clark advanced to the round-robin final against fellow eighth-grader Bryce Brill of Illinois (ranked third by InterMat). The pair of multiple-time Tulsa Nationals champions met in a three-period match as Clark won 5-3, 0-2, 1-1. Clark faced another Cadet National freestyle All-American Thomas Gilman of Iowa in the final, and won that match 0-1, 3-1, 1-0 in three periods.
"It's nothing new for me," answered Clark when asked about wrestling older kids like Friedman and Gilman -- who are both sophomores in high school. "I practice with Friedman and Kraisser (third and fifth in the same weight class) all the time."
Ranked third among freshmen nationally, Brandon Jeske dominated five matches on Saturday with two pins and three shutouts. This set up a match against top-ranked Ben Whitford of Illinois in Sunday's opening match. Jeske won the match 2-1, 2-3, 3-1 in three periods. A 3-0, 3-0 victory of Alec Mooradian from Michigan advanced him to the final against Kevin Norstrem, champion of the Greco-Roman competition on Friday.
Norstrem, ranked eighth among freshmen by InterMat, dominated five matches on Saturday giving up only one point in total. This set up a battle of undefeated wrestlers with Mark Grey, who is ranked fifth among sophomores nationally. The wrestlers split the first two periods, before Norstrem scored a 1-0 third period victory out of the clinch. He then beat Joey Gosinski of Illinois, 1-0, 1-0 to advance to the final.
The first two periods were back and forth and high scoring. Jeske took the first period, 7-3, and Norstrem took the second 4-3. The third period was scoreless until the last twenty seconds when Norstrem shot in on a fireman's carry and tried to dump the finish. However, Jeske trapped the attempt to secure the fall with one second left on the clock.
Justin Koethe of Iowa followed up last summer's Cadet National freestyle title at 145 pounds with a FILA Cadet title in the 152 pound classification. In six matches prior to the final, Koethe won five of them by either technical fall or pin. Koethe won a controlling victory in the final over Chris Castillo of Washington in two periods by scores of 4-1 and 3-1.
Two wrestlers that were All-Americans in both Greco-Roman and freestyle last summer at Cadet Nationals met in the FILA Cadet final at 167.5 pounds. After finishing as runner-up to Jake Waste of Minnesota in Greco-Roman (losing 1-0, 3-0), Kyle Crutchmer of Oklahoma sought a different fate in the freestyle final.
However, it was not to be as Jordan Rogers of Washington dominated the match with two 6-0 victories to earn a technical fall in the championship match. All four scores in the match, two in each period, came off of upper-body situations. "I like the counter offense in the over-under tie," commented Rogers. "When they shoot in, I'm able to blast with the hips for the toss."
A sophomore in high school, and second-year cadet, Rogers came into this event recovering from appendicitis, which precluded him from defending his scholastic state title just less than two months ago. He stated: "Winning is a great feeling and a stress relief. I guess it's good to win coming off of injury."
Like his high school teammate Harrah, Austin Marsden from Illinois -- a junior at Crystal Lake Central -- was a champion last summer in the Cadet National freestyle tournament. Unlike his teammate, Marsden was able to win a three-period championship finals match with a 1-0, 1-1, 5-4 victory over Lucas Sheridan of California.
"It feels good to win, the competition here was tough, especially Sheridan in the final," commented Marsden. "He was a really tough opponent. (Gage and I) always push each other, and we're good friends. It's always nice to have teammates to share your success with."
Finals Results:
42 kg/92.5 pounds: Zach Howell (Delaware) dec. Jarred Oftedahl (Minnesota), 2-0, 6-0
46 kg/101.25 pounds: Nathan Tomasello (Ohio) dec. Jacob Schmitt (Michigan), 0-4, 1-1, 1-0
50 kg/110.25 pounds: Freddie Rodriguez (Michigan) dec. Jered Cortez (Illinois), 0-1, 4-0, 4-1
54 kg/119 pounds: Jack Clark (New Jersey) dec. Thomas Gilman (Iowa), 0-1, 3-1, 1-0
58 kg/127.75 pounds: Brandon Jeske (Virginia) over Kevin Norstrem (Florida), fall 7-3, 3-4, 1:59
63 kg/138.75 pounds: Jason Tsirtsis (Indiana) dec. Blaise Butler (Illinois), 4-2, 7-0
69 kg/152 pounds: Justin Koethe (Iowa) dec. Christopher Castillo (Washington), 4-1, 3-1
76 kg/167.5 pounds: Jordan Rogers (Washington) dec. Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma), 6-0, 6-0
85 kg/187.25 pounds: Austin Marsden (Illinois) dec. Lucas Sheridan (California), 1-0, 1-1, 5-4
100 kg/220.5 pounds: Tanner Hall (Idaho) dec. Gage Harrah (Illinois), 2-7, 3-3, 6-0
125 kg/275.5 pounds: Brooks Black (New Jersey) dec. Doug Vollaro (Florida), 0-1, 4-2, 2-1
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