Adam Coon was the lone Junior Triple Crown winner this year (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Coon was one of 15 champions crowned in the Junior freestyle competition on the final day of the 2012 Junior & Cadet Nationals in Fargo that saw almost 4,000 wrestlers compete and over 7,000 matches contested over eight days.
At 106 pounds, Paul Mascarenas made history as the first wrestler from New Mexico to claim a Junior freestyle title. In addition, Mascarenas put a halt to Illinois' Nkoski Moody's bid at becoming the first two-time Junior Triple Crown winner. Moody appeared to be in the driver's seat in the early going as he built a 4-0 lead late into the first period. With just over 10 seconds left, Mascarenas scored a takedown off a drag and quickly transitioned to a gut wrench that he hit twice, scoring two points each time, to steal the period 5-4. Mascarenas kept the momentum on his side in the second period, scoring a one-point takedown off an ankle pick. A short time later Mascarenas countered a Moody attack and threw the Illinois wrestler to his back for an additional three points to make it 4-0, which is how it would end.
Iowa's Cory Clark and Illinois' Sam Brooks, two University of Iowa signees, were the only other Juniors besides Coon to win double titles in Fargo. Clark claimed his freestyle title on Saturday by coming from behind to defeat New Jersey's Joey McKenna at 126 pounds. McKenna, who attends Blair Academy, dominated the first period, scoring two one-point takedowns and two gut wrenches to win 6-0. Clark won the second period 5-3 after a wild flurry late in the period. McKenna scored the first points in the third period with a two-point crotch lift, but Clark reversed McKenna and scored two his own, which were the last points scored in the match, giving Clark the victory. Clark was named Outstanding Wrestler.
Brooks handled Minnesota's Broc Berge in the finals at 195 pounds. Brooks used a three-point throw in the first to give him all the points he needed to win the period 3-1. Berge scored a one-point takedown to lead 1-0 in the second period. But Brooks responded by hitting an inside trip, putting Berge to his back and securing the fall.
Sam Brooks was one of two individual champions for team champion Illinois (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Brill, a FILA Cadet National freestyle runner-up this spring, was dominant in the finals. He hit two double legs in the first period, scoring three points with each, to win the period. Brill shot another double leg in the second period, which Murphy countered and scored two points before Brill got on top and ended the match with a series of gut wrenches, earning an 11-4 win.
Ohio's Nathan Tomasello was the lone repeat champion in the Junior freestyle competition. Tomasello won a hard-fought three-period match against Michigan's Zac Hall in the finals at 120 pounds. Tomasello, who finished this past season ranked No. 2 nationally at 113 pounds, won the first period 3-1, scoring with two pushouts and a one-point takedown. Hall controlled the action in the second period, scoring with a takedown and turn to win 3-0. Tomasello took the final period 3-2 to win his second Junior freestyle stop sign.
Ohio had another champion in Anthony Collica, who won his title by defeating Missouri's Austin Eads in three periods at 145 pounds. Collica, who is ranked as the nation's No. 22 senior recruit, dropped the first period, but came back to win the final two periods, outscoring Eads 10-0 to close out the match.
Kyle Crutchmer was one of two OSU signees to win a Junior freestyle title (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Crutchmer earned a shutout victory, 1-0, 6-0, over Minnesota's Micah Barnes, a Nebraska signee, in the finals at 170 pounds. Crutchmer held a 1-0 lead late in the second period before countering a Barnes double leg and throwing the Minnesota wrestler to his back, picking up three points, before adding another two points off a gut wrench to claim the victory.
Rogers, who finished this past season ranked No. 1 nationally at 182 pounds, won in two straight periods over Georgia's Brooks Climmons in the 182-pound finals. Rogers used a three-point takedown off a double leg to pace him to a 5-2 victory in the first period. Rogers scored with a pushout and one-point takedown in the second period to win 2-0.
Minnesota's Tommy Thorn gets advice from Jared Lawrence and his father John Thorn (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Pennsylvania's lone champion was Zain Retherford, who defeated returning Junior freestyle champion Zane Richards, an Illinois signee, in two periods at 132 pounds. Richards scored first in both periods, but Retherford was able to respond each time and score in crucial times. Retherford, who was not eligible to compete during the high school season, earned a FILA Cadet freestyle title this spring.
Missouri's J'den Cox bounced back from a third-place finish in the Greco-Roman competition to win the freestyle competition at 220 pounds. His road to the finals included a victory over the wrestler who defeated him in Greco-Roman, Kyle Snyder of Maryland. Cox took out Snyder in pool competition, 1-0, 1-0, and dominated Illinois' Michael Swider in the finals, 4-0, 5-0.
California's Isaiah Martinez, one of the nation's top senior recruits, claimed a freestyle title at 160 pounds after a disappointing eighth-place finish in the Greco-Roman competition. Martinez defeated Minnesota's Nick Wanzek in the finals, 4-3, 0-6, 3-2.
Maryland's Josh Llopez became Maryland's first Junior freestyle champion in 12 years by winning the championship at 152 pounds over Florida's Yoanse Mejia. Llopez, a two-time state champion, won the first period from the leg clinch with a pushout. The two wrestlers traded points in the first minute of the third period. Llopez, though, was able to score the go-ahead point with just under 20 seconds remaining, which won him the period and the match.
Iowa's Tanner Rohweder won the title at 100 pounds with a two-period victory over Carlos Fuentez of Illinois. Rohweder picked up a one-point takedown 30 seconds into the first period, which is all he needed to win the period. Fuentez picked up the first point in the second period off a pushout, but Rohweder came back with two one-point takedowns to win the period and the match.
Finals Results:
100: Tanner Rohweder (Iowa) dec. Carlos Fuentez (Illinois), 1-0, 2-1
106: Paul Mascarenas (New Mexico) dec. Nkosi Moody (Illinois), 5-4, 4-0
113: Tommy Thorn (Minnesota) dec. Adrian Cordova (Colorado), 2-0, 6-0
120: Nathan Tomasello (Ohio) dec. Zac Hall (Michigan), 3-1, 0-3, 3-2
126: Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. Joey McKenna (New Jersey), 0-6, 5-3, 2-2
132: Zain Retherford (Pennsylvania) dec. Zane Richards (Illinois), 1-1, 1-1
138: Bryce Brill (Illinois) tech. fall Quinton Murphy (New York), 6-3, 11-4
145: Anthony Collica (Ohio) dec. Austin Eads (Missouri), 3-3, 3-0, 7-0
152: Josh Llopez (Maryland) dec. Yoanse Mejia (Florida), 1-0, 2-1
160: Isaiah Martinez (California) dec. Nick Wanzek (Minnesota), 4-3, 0-6, 3-2
170: Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma) dec. Micah Barnes (Minnesota), 1-0, 6-0
182: Jordan Rogers (Washington) dec. Glenn Climmons (Georgia), 5-2, 2-0
195: Sam Brooks (Illinois) pinned Broc Berge (Minnesota), 3-1, 0:32
220: J'den Cox (Missouri) dec. Michael Swider (Illinois), 4-0, 5-0
285: Adam Coon (Michigan) dec. Donte Winfield (Indiana), 1-0, 1-0
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