The following represents a weight-by-weight overview of the field expected for the Cadet freestyle competition that commences on Wednesday at 9 a.m. CT, and has its medal match session on Friday at 2 p.m. Field compositions are based on registration information in Track Wrestling as of late Monday evening.
88:
Trey Keeley (Illinois) was the champion in Greco-Roman at this weight class, while Patrick McKee (Minnesota) finished as runner-up. Each is a primary contender in freestyle, along with the Cadet folkstyle champion up a weight class -- Cody Phippen (Kansas). Others to watch include Brandon Kaylor (Washington) and Jaret Lane (Pennsylvania).
94:
Cadet Greco-Roman finalists Nicholas Aguilar (California) and Brandon Meikel (Utah), Aguilar the champion, have to be considered primary contenders for the title in freestyle. Others to watch include a pair of FILA Cadet double All-Americans in Peter Ogunsanya (Illinois) and Holden Heller (Illinois); Jason Holmes (Arizona), the Cadet folkstyle champion down one weight class at 88 pounds; FILA Cadet freestyle All-American Rhett Golowneski (Oklahoma); and Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio).
100:
The pre-tournament favorite in this weight class would have to be Roman Bravo-Young (Arizona), who was champion in the Greco-Roman at this weight class and a runner-up at the FILA Cadet Nationals in freestyle at 101 pounds. Primary challengers would include state champion and Greco-Roman runner-up Dominic Lajoie (Michigan); state placers Jonathan Gomez (New York), Alec White (Indiana), and Max Murin (Pennsylvania); returning Cadet double All-Americans at 88 pounds in Brayden Schwalbe (Montana) and Brady Koontz (Wisconsin); Joseph Thomas (Maryland), who finished eight last year in Cadet freestyle at 88 pounds; and Matthew Parker (Pennsylvania).
106:
Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma) is one of two returning Cadet freestyle champions in the 17 weight class field, and the No. 39 overall prospect in the Class of 2017 is also a two-time FILA Cadet freestyle All-American (runner-up at 92 pounds last year, fourth at 110 this year). The champions at 106 pounds in the two USA Wrestling Cadet National competitions so far were both state champions during the most recent high school season -- Paul Konrath (Indiana) in folkstyle and Ian Timmins (Nevada) in Greco-Roman.
Three other wrestlers in this field were All-Americans at the FILA Cadet Nationals in freestyle over the Memorial Day weekend: Drew Mattin (Ohio), Zach Sherman (New Jersey), and Drew Mattin (Ohio). Cameron Hunsaker (Utah), third in Junior freestyle at 100 pounds, is the only wrestler other than Gfeller in this field to have been a Fargo All-American in freestyle previously. Additional wrestlers to watch are Anthony Madrigal (Illinois), ranked No. 18 in the Class of 2018; Rylee Molitor (Minnesota), a state runner-up and Cadet folkstyle runner-up; along with state champion Sidney Oliver (Missouri).
113:
Yianni Diakomihalis (New York), the nation's No. 5 ranked Class of 2017 wrestler, is the pre-tournament favorite among what is a rather deep field. The rising sophomore sensation sizzled during his freshman campaign -- winning the Super 32 Challenge before the season, the Flo Nationals after the season, and earning an undefeated state title at 106 pounds in between.
Four other wrestlers ranked in their respective grade level populate the field: Ty Agaisse (New Jersey), who is No. 31 in the Class of 2016; Ben Freeman (Michigan) and Austin Gomez (Illinois), ranked No. 19 and 26 respectively in the Class of 2017; and Andrew Merola (New Jersey), sitting at No. 23 in the Class of 2018. Freeman and Gomez have robust USA Wrestling resumes, as each has won a Cadet National title this year in the weight class, Freeman in folkstyle and Gomez in Greco-Roman.
The other main challenger in this weight class would be Ian Parker (Michigan), who was fifth last year in Cadet freestyle, and is also a two-time FILA Cadet freestyle All-American (third at 101 last year, sixth at 119 this year). Another FILA Cadet freestyle All-American in this field is Bryce West (Iowa), who was fifth at 110 pounds, and finished as runner-up in Greco-Roman to Gomez yesterday.
Additional returning Cadet freestyle All-Americans are Trey Chalifoux (Tennessee), Chris Deloza (California), Brent Jones (Minnesota), Will Kaldes (Pennsylvania), and Chase Wickman (Washington). Two other wrestlers meriting attention are state champion Paul Bianchi (Wisconsin) and state placer Navonte Demison (California).
120:
Two of the nation's best rising sophomores anchor the field in this weight class, No. 10 overall Austin O'Connor and No. 12 Vitali Arujau (New York). Each was a state champion during the scholastic season, O'Connor was third in Greco-Roman up a weight class, while Arujau placed fourth in FILA Cadet freestyle at the 119 pound weight class. The Greco-Roman champion in this weight class was Coltan Williams (Texas), who placed eight in freestyle last year at 100 pounds, while Wilson Smith (North Carolina) was the Greco-Roman runner-up.
Among the additional challengers to O'Connor and Arujau are state placer Parker Kropman (New York); Joe Lee (Indiana), ranked No. 20 overall in the Class of 2018; state runner-up Ryan Leisure (Iowa); state champions Ozzy Lugo (Florida) and Josh McClure (Missouri); returning Cadet freestyle All-American Travis Piotrowski (Illinois); Preseason Nationals champion Kanen Storr (Michigan); and National Prep third place finisher Requir van der Merwe (New Jersey).
126:
Jaden Enriquez of California is after a Cadet Triple Crown after winning Cadet National folkstyle and Greco-Roman titles (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Others to watch in this weight class include state champion Dylan Duncan (Illinois); Quentin Hovis (Arizona), who was runner-up to Enriquez in Greco-Roman and finished as a double All-American last year at 106 pounds; Alex Lloyd (Minnesota), ranked No. 17 in the Class of 2018; two-time state champion Chad Red (Indiana), ranked No. 22 in the Class of 2016; state runner-up Dresden Simon (Michigan); and National Prep placer Josh Wyland (Virginia).
132:
Jake Allar (Minnesota) upset Jaron Chavez, who is ranked No. 40 in the Class of 2017, to win the Greco-Roman title in this weight class. However, neither is the pre-tournament favorite, as that mantra is held by Eric Hong (Pennsylvania). Hong earned All-American honors in Greco-Roman for the second time on Monday, placed fourth in last year's freestyle competition at 113 pounds, and is the No. 9 overall prospect in the Class of 2017. His primary challenger would have to be Corey Shie (Ohio) -- the nation's No. 23 wrestler in that grade -- who won the Cadet folkstyle title at 126 pounds, was a Cadet freestyle All-American last year, and a FILA Cadet All-American in both styles over the Memorial Day weekend.
Additional wrestlers to watch in this weight class are returning Cadet freestyle 8th place finisher Zack Diamond (Hawaii), Cadet folkstyle runner-up Parker Filius (Montana), Preseason Nationals champion A.J. Jaffe (Illinois), 2013 Cadet National double All-American Jaron Jensen (Utah), state placers Kris Lindemann (New Jersey) and Shayne Oster (Illinois), along with returning Cadet freestyle All-American Andrew Mehrholz (Illinois).
138:
State champion Ethan Karsten (Missouri) was a rather unexpected champion in Greco-Roman, but he certainly earned it with a pair of victories over top 30 Class of 2017 prospects that have World Team experience in the style. In terms of the freestyle competition, he is not a natural favorite, as those would be a pair of top 30 Class of 2017 prospects in Hunter Bolen (Virginia) and Domenick Demas (Ohio); Bolen is No. 16 in that class, while No. 25 Demas placed fourth in FILA Cadet freestyle at 138 pounds.
Others to watch include a pair of nationally ranked incoming freshmen, No. 10 Josiah Rider (Colorado) and No. 14 Jaryn Curry (Oklahoma); Preseason Nationals champion Colin Clingenpeel (Iowa); Stephan Glasgow (New Jersey); and state champion Collin Kraus (Wisconsin).
145:
Though it will be his first major national-level high school type tournament, the clear favorite in this field is Brady Berge (Minnesota), who is ranked No. 2 in the Class of 2017. Providing a very stern challenge will be Jared Verkleeren (Pennsylvania), the FILA Cadet freestyle champion at 138 pounds who is ranked No. 15 in that grade level.
Three other nationally ranked Class of 2017 prospects join Berge and Verkleeren in the field: No. 38 Anthony Mantanona (California), a Cadet folkstyle champion; No. 41 Layne Van Anrooy (Oregon), runner-up in Cadet folkstyle; and No. 44 Max Wohlabaugh. Additional wrestlers to watch include Cadet Greco-Roman runner-up Logan Gruszka (Illinois), Cadet Greco-Roman champion Matthew Park (Idaho), and returning Cadet freestyle runner-up Jonathan Ross (Pennsylvania).
152:
Based on pre-registration this appears to be the weakest core weight of the competition. Greco-Roman finalists, champion Riley Jaramillo (Oregon) and runner-up Anthony Sherry (Iowa), have put themselves in the conversation. Additional notables include state champions Johnny Blankenship (Missouri) and Jesse Shearer (North Dakota), state runner-up Jacob Covaciu (Indiana), Austin Hiles (Ohio), Bryan McLaughlin (New Jersey), Jimmy Saylor (Pennsylvania), as well as the nation's No. 34 freshman Luke Troy (California).
160:
Cadet folkstyle champion in this weight class Jacob Warner (Illinois) is ranked No. 24 in the Class of 2017, and was fifth at 167 pounds in the FILA Cadet freestyle competition held over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. However, in Greco-Roman, he was upended in the semifinal by eventual champion Owen Webster (Minnesota), who was an in-season state champion during his sophomore campaign. One of those two wrestlers would seem a good lead candidate for the title here in freestyle.
Others to watch include returning Cadet freestyle All-American Andrew Berreyesa (Nevada); state placers Andrew Buckley (Missouri) and Joe Grello (New Jersey); Cadet folkstyle runner-up Tucker Leavitt (Idaho); two-time state placer Trey Meyer (Washington); and A.J. Pedro (Massachusetts), who is ranked No. 37 in the Class of 2017.
170:
The stellar Beau Breske (Wisconsin) enters this event as a clear favorite to repeat in freestyle and earn a Cadet Triple Crown. The nation's No. 6 ranked Class of 2016 prospect was also runner-up in both styles at 167 pounds during the FILA Cadet Nationals earlier this off-season. Two wrestlers in this field could provide a stern challenge: Brandon Dallavia (New Jersey) and Kamal Bey (Illinois). Dallavia, the nation's No. 16 rising junior, was fifth in Cadet freestyle last year; while Bey, No. 37 overall in this grade, was runner-up to Breske in Greco-Roman and runner-up last year down a weight class from Breske in freestyle.
Other registered notables in this field include state runner-up Ben Darmstadt (Ohio); Cadet folkstyle runners-up Gary Jantzer (Oregon) and Casey Randles (Idaho); James Handwerk (Ohio), the Cadet Greco-Roman runner-up down at 160; and Jack Jessen (Illinois), who is ranked No. 6 in the Class of 2018.
182:
As mentioned in the lede, Keegan Moore (Minnesota) -- ranked No. 10 in the Class of 2016 -- will enter this event as the strong favorite to earn a Cadet Triple Crown come Friday afternoon. Challengers to the title include state runners-up Antonio Agee (Virginia) and Christian Brunner (Illinois); Zane Black (Pennsylvania), ranked No. 20 in the Class of 2017; along with Cadet Greco-Roman runner-up Wyatt Koelling (Utah).
195:
Despite what most reasonable people would consider a very poor FILA Cadet freestyle tournament, Matt Correnti (New Jersey) will enter this event well-positioned to have a strong bounce back, as he's the favorite to win the tournament. Correnti, ranked No. 35 overall in the Class of 2016, has placed twice at his state tournament (8th and 3rd) and was third last year in this Cadet freestyle weight class. Most formidable among the challengers will be the two wrestlers to win Cadet National titles in this weight class so far -- state placer Kobe Woods (Indiana), the Folkstyle champion; and state runner-up Matt Stencel (Ohio), champion in Greco-Roman.
Others to watch include state champion Jeffrey Allen (Virginia), returning Cadet freestyle All-American Brian Barnes (Oregon), Cadet folkstyle runner-up Jacob Cavins (Indiana), Cadet Greco-Roman runner-up Wyatt Harden (Michigan), and the nation's No. 42 ranked Class of 2017 prospect in Cole Nye (Pennsylvania).
220:
Ranked No. 47 in the Class of 2016, and champion in Cadet folkstyle, Gannon Gremmel (Iowa) enters this tournament as the clear favorite. He also finished fifth at FILA Cadet freestyle earlier this off-season. Others to watch include state champion Sammy Evans (Tennessee), state placer Ethan Hofacker (Wisconsin), Cadet Greco-Roman champion Brandon Metz (North Dakota), and Cadet Greco-Roman runner-up Allen Stallings (Illinois).
285:
Probably the clearest favorite in the whole competition comes at this weight class in the form of Kevin Vough (Ohio), who is the nation's No. 14 ranked Class of 2017 prospect. Vough was a dominant champion in Greco-Roman over the previous two days and runner-up at 275 pounds in the FILA Cadet freestyle competition. Others to watch here will be state placer Bryan Ditchman (Illinois) and Cadet Greco-Roman runner-up Osawaru Odijhizuma (Oregon).
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