The competition in Greco-Roman and Freestyle represents the largest wrestling tournament in the world, and also the greatest assemblage of elite scholastic wrestlers in the United States. Over the years, this event has had many an NCAA finalist and United States Olympian come through its wings.
So what is in store for this year? Here's a touchdown worth of insights.
1. Break-out performances
Every year in Fargo it seems there are some freshmen-to-be that make an opening statement to their high school careers with a Cadet National title.
Last year it was Nick Roberts (North Star, PA), Mark Grey (Blair Academy, NJ), and Taylor Massa (St John's, MI) earning titles in both the Greco-Roman and Freestyle competitions. Massa is the nation's top wrestler in the Class of 2012 per InterMat, and Grey is ranked seventh. All three of these young men will be seeking repeat as double Cadet National champions in the coming weeks.
Going back to 2007, Hunter Stieber (Monroeville, OH) and Chris Phillips (Monroeville, OH) earned titles in the Freestyle competition, while Jesse Thielke (Germantown, WI) and Andrew Campolattano (Bound Brook, NJ) were winners in Greco-Roman. Phillips and Campolattano are the top two wrestlers in the Class of 2011, while Thielke and Stieber rank sixth and tenth respectively.
In the summer of 2006, when the current group of seniors-to-be was incoming freshmen, three wrestlers took home titles in the Cadet National Freestyle tournament; Logan Stieber (Monroeville, OH), Andrew Alton (Central Mountain, PA), and Jamie Clark (St Edward, OH). Stieber, Alton, and Clark rank first, second, and sixth respectively according to InterMat in the Class of 2010.
Four members of the graduating senior class had Fargo titles as part of their scrapbooks from their summer before ninth grade. In another juxtaposition for this pair of wrestlers, David Taylor (Graham, OH/Penn State) and Eric Grajales (Brandon, FL/Michigan) -- InterMat's top two wrestlers for this class -- earned championships at Fargo in 2005. Also with titles were Alec Ortiz (Newberg, OR/Minnesota) and Tyler Cox (Campbell County, WY/Wyoming).
Some wrestlers to eye on this summer include:
Brandon Jeske (Virginia)
Ranked third by InterMat -- FILA Cadet Greco-Roman champion at 110, competing at 112 pounds
Kevin Norstrem (Florida)
Ranked fourth by InterMat -- FILA Cadet Greco-Roman All-American at 119, projected to compete at 119 pounds
Ben Whitford (Michigan)
Ranked fifth by InterMat, projected to compete at 112 pounds
Brandon Sorensen (Iowa)
Ranked sixth by InterMat, projected to compete at 119 pounds
Brad Perkins (Missouri)
Ranked eighth by InterMat -- FILA Cadet Freestyle champion at 92.5, projected to compete at either 91 or 98 pounds
Joey Dance (Virginia)
Ranked 11th by InterMat -- FILA Cadet Freestyle champion at 110, competing at 105 pounds
2. Making the proverbial "leap"
The Junior National Championships offer a venue for wrestlers to make a couple types of "leaps."
There are the seniors-to-be that are seeking to impress the mass of college coaches that attend these championships. In addition to identifying talent and ability, these championships have a unique way in revealing the true character of a wrestler. How does a wrestler respond to facing truly elite competition? How does the wrestler face the adversity that is associated with tight matches? How does a wrestler battle through multiple elimination matches?
After two years of competing as cadets, it is time for a number of wrestlers to make that progression to the junior level. This includes four wrestlers that won double championships (Greco-Roman and freestyle) last summer at the Cadet Nationals -- Hayden Zilmer (Crosby-Ironton, MN), Cody Brewer (Oak Park, MO), Dylan Ness (Bloomington Kennedy, MN), and Andrew Campoloattano (Bound Brook, NJ). Jahwon Akui (St. Rita, IL) also was a double champion last summer, but is not slated to compete in Fargo this summer.
A two-time double champion at the Cadet level, Zillmer would have to be considered an early favorite at the 105 pound weight class. Campolattano is very likely to make an immediate impact as part of the Junior 189 pound weight class.
On the other hand, both Brewer and Ness are likely to find the junior level much more challenging. Look for Brewer to be competing in either the 119 or 125-pound weight class, and expect Ness to compete at 140 pounds.
3. Grappling with change in Greco-Roman
With the rule changes that went into effect internationally after the 2004 Athens Olympics, and were then implemented in Fargo competition starting with 2006, there had been a proliferation of 1-1 periods in Greco-Roman. This meant there was no scoring in the first 60 seconds of wrestling from the neutral position ... and then in the :30-:30 in which each wrestler had the reverse lift position, neither was able to score. The winner of the period would be the wrestler that locked first because they scored in the back half of the :30-:30 for not being turned.
However, this is no longer, as USA Wrestling implemented the changes in Greco-Roman established by FILA for this season -- the first after the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Each period in Greco-Roman now begins with wrestlers in neutral for 90 seconds and then there is one ordered hold for 30 seconds. This ordered hold can either be the par terre position or the reverse lift position.
It should be interesting to see what the implications of this rule change are on the Greco-Roman competition in Fargo, which commences on Saturday and continues through next Tuesday (7/18 to 7/20 cadets, and 7/19 to 7/21 juniors).
4. International Phenom
In just over three months, a high school junior-to-be immigrant from the Ukraine has made a major bolt onto the radar of the wrestling cognoscenti. In four major competitions, Nazar Kulchytskyy (Prarie du Chien, WI) has yet to lose a match. Kulchytskyy was a junior freestyle state champion in Wisconsin at 140 pounds, champion of the Northern Plains Junior Regional in freestyle at 140 pounds, and went 13-0 over the Junior National Duals in Greco-Roman and freestyle at 145 pounds.
Most notable among the wins in his portfolio are the one at the Northern Plains Regional over Ness (5-3, 3-0), and then a 3-0, 1-0 victory over Chris Villalonga (Blair Academy, NJ) in the Junior Freestyle Duals.
Look for Kulchytskyy to compete at either 140 or 145 pounds in Fargo in at least the freestyle competition, and possibly in Greco-Roman as well. Will he be the next Sidd Finch; or is he instead a real, true superstar in the Olympic styles?
5. The graduates among us
One of the more intriguing stories over the past few years in Fargo has been a seeming erosion of graduated seniors from the competition pool in the Junior National Championships.
The trend seems to be that more and more of these wrestlers are transitioning to their respective college campuses during the summer term. These wrestlers therefore get an early acclamation of what the collegiate wrestling experience is like, and some even get a head start academically by taking a class or two during the summer term. Already it is expected that the top-ranked graduated senior David Taylor will not appear in Fargo.
On the other hand, there are collegiate programs that want their incoming freshmen to partake in the process necessary to compete in Fargo (training, etc.), and then to compete in the championships.
6. Learn vertical pairing rules
There is a change in the tiebreaker procedure should wrestlers be tied for either third or fourth place in a pool, presuming each has already lost two times. In previous years, classification points took precedence, even if there was a head-to-head match between the two competitors. This year, a head-to-head match would take precedence over classification points. On average, this influences a small amount of the 64 weight classes contested in Fargo.
One example of a two-way tie for third in the pool that would have changed under this year's rule came in Pool B of the 171-pound junior freestyle weight class. Kyle Cuthbertson (Alabama) beats Ryan Loder (California). However, with both wrestlers eliminated in the same round, points were the first tiebreaker. Loder had 26 to Cuthbertson's 21, and thereby was awarded the higher place in the pool.
One example of a two-way tie for fourth in the pool, which means that one wrestler earns All-American honors while the other does not, that would have changed under this year's rule occurred in Pool B of the 189-pound junior freestyle weight class. Cody Magrum (Ohio) beat Justin Rau (Iowa). However, both wrestlers were eliminated in the same round, and points were the first tiebreaker. Rau had 18 to Magrum's 16, and as a result earned the All-American spot despite losing the head-to-head match.
For those unfamiliar with classification points, they are awarded as follows:
5 points -- Win by pin, disqualification, forfeit, etc.
4 points -- Win by technical fall
3 points -- Win by decision
1 point -- Scoring a point in a loss when the opponent does not score 5 classification points
0 points -- Failing to score within a match or during a loss in which the opponent scores 5 points
7. Will the notion of "Fargo" soon be obsolete?
In recent years, the Junior & Cadet National Championships came to be known as "Fargo" in the wrestling vernacular in deference to the host city for the event over these last fourteen years. However, starting in 2011, this vernacular may no longer be applicable from multiple fronts.
First, USA Wrestling has opened the right to host the Junior & Cadet National Championships to bid. This means that other cities could express interest in hosting the event, and move them from Fargo. Second, there is also the possibility that the Junior & Cadet National Championships will no longer be held as a combined event. There are a variety of rumors as to how USA Wrestling plans to structure these two events, along with the Kids National Championships event.
Further details should come out of the State Leaders' Summit, which will be held in conjunction with the Junior & Cadet National Championships.
Schedule of Events
Saturday, July 18
Cadet Greco-Roman commences, two sessions; 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 19
Junior Greco-Roman commences, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; combined cadet and junior session, 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Monday, July 20
Combined cadet and junior session, 9 a.m. to noon; junior women's freestyle commences 9a.m. to 2p.m., finals from 3p.m. to 5 p.m.; Cadet Greco-Roman finals from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 21
Junior Greco-Roman continues, 9 a.m. to noon; junior women's duals, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; junior Greco-Roman finals from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 22
Cadet freestyle commences, two sessions; 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 23
Junior freestyle commences, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; combined cadet and junior session, 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Friday, July 24
Combined cadet and junior session, 9 a.m. to noon; cadet freestyle finals from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; junior freestyle continues, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday, July 25
Junior freestyle finals from 9 a.m. to noon
Fargo Coverage
InterMat will continue its coverage of the upcoming ASICS/Vaughan Junior & Cadet National Championships with a mailbag column written by high school analyst Josh Lowe to be published on Thursday. While questions are welcomed about any subject related to high school wrestling, those about "Fargo" will be of higher priority. If you want to e-mail a question for use in the column, please e-mail josh@intermatwrestle.com with the word 'MAILBAG' in the subject line (name and home town/state would be appreciated as well).
InterMat senior writer Andrew Hipps will be providing coverage from Fargo, North Dakota throughout the course of the event. In addition, Josh Lowe will be providing daily thoughts and perspective on the happenings in Fargo.
For yet another year, Track Wrestling (http://www.trackwrestling.com) will be providing updated results throughout the championships.
Finally, for further coverage throughout the championships, check out http://www.themat.com.
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