The following represents a weight-by-weight overview of the tournament field. Participant information is based on the Track Wrestling entry list as of late Friday night.
88:
The opening weight is led by Cody Phippen (Kansas), who placed 5th in the 92 pound weight class at the FILA Cadet Greco-Roman tournament in late May, and is seeking the second leg of a Cadet Triple Crown having won the Cadet Folkstyle title at 94 pounds in early April. Two other FILA Cadet Greco-Roman placers are in this weight class: Troy Keeley (Illinois), who placed third, and Patrick McKee (Minnesota), who placed sixth. Others to watch include Malik Heinselman (Colorado) and Jaret Lane (Pennsylvania).
94:
Illinois wrestlers have been the dominant narrative at the Cadet level this summer, and across levels at Fargo over the last few years. The two FILA Cadet Greco-Roman medalists in this weight class both reside from Illinois, Peter Ogunsanya and Holden Heller; Ogunsanya was 2nd in both styles (Greco-Roman and freestyle) and 92 pounds, while Heller was 4th in both styles. Others to watch include Rhett Golownoski (Oklahoma), Kade Lincoln (Idaho), and Elijah Varona (Florida).
100:
Five wrestlers that earned All-American honors in Greco-Roman last summer in Fargo return to this weight class. The highest placer among those is Brayden Schwalbe (Montana), who was 3rd in this style and fourth in freestyle, both coming at 88 pounds. Dylan and Brady Koontz (Wisconsin) were also All-Americans at 88 pounds, coming in fourth and seventh respectively, with Brady also placing in freestyle.
Jakob Campbell (Pennsylvania) and Dominic Lajoie (Michigan) placed 6th and 7th respectively at 94 pounds in Greco-Roman last summer. While in this wide open weight class, the favorite may end up being incoming freshman Roman Bravo-Young (Arizona), who was runner-up in FILA Cadet freestyle at 101 pounds.
106:
Drew West (Iowa) just competed in the FILA Cadet Greco-Roman World Championships this past week at 110 pounds, so one could argue that he is the favorite headed into the tournament. However, he'll have to clear a pretty formidable field of challengers to get the Fargo stop sign. Most notable among them is Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma), the No. 39 overall wrestler in the Class of 2017, and champion in Cadet freestyle last year at 94 pounds.
The highest returning Greco-Roman placer from Fargo last year is Alex Crowe (Minnesota), who took second at the Cadet level in the 88 pound weight class. The other returning Fargo All-American is Ty Lee (Wisconsin), who was third at the Junior level in the 100 pound weight class. Others to watch include two-time FILA Cadet freestyle All-American Drew Mattin (Ohio), Cadet folkstyle runner-up Rylee Molitor (Minnesota), two-time FILA Cadet All-American Zach Sherman (New Jersey), and FILA Cadet Greco-Roman third place finisher Trae Vasquez (Montana).
113:
Two of the nation's best Class of 2017 prospects headline the field in this weight class, No. 19 Ben Freeman (Michigan) and No. 26 Austin Gomez (Illinois). Freeman seeks the second leg of a Cadet Triple Crown, having won the folkstyle title already at 113 pounds; while Gomez is after a repeat Greco-Roman title in Fargo, having won last year at 94 pounds.
However, it is not just a two-person race, as there is a strong challenge pack headlined by Brent Jones (Minnesota) and Dack Punke (Illinois). Jones finished third in Fargo in both styles last summer at 94 pounds, and took fourth at the FILA Cadet Greco-Roman tournament in the 110 pound weight class; while Punke was the FILA Cadet Greco-Roman champion at 101 pounds this spring. Other Fargo All-Americans in Greco-Roman last year in this field include Paul Bianchi (Wisconsin), Will Egli (Indiana), and Dalton Young (Washington); while Chris Deloza (California), Will Kaldes (Pennsylvania), and Chase Wickman (Washington) were All-Americans in freestyle.
Two additional incoming ninth graders in this field merit attention: Jon Trowbridge (Kansas), who finished sixth in FILA Cadet Greco-Roman at 119 pounds; and Andrew Merola (New Jersey), who is ranked No. 23 overall in that class.
120:
Not as strong a weight class as the one above and the one below, but it is led by one of the notable Class of 2017 prospects in Austin O'Connor (Illinois). The state champion is ranked No. 10 overall among all rising sophomores. Others to watch include returning Cadet All-American Nolan Baker (Illinois), FILA Cadet Greco-Roman third place finisher Jacob Greenwood (Colorado), state runners-up Ryan Leisure (Iowa) and Ethan Reel (Illinois), state champion Ozzy Lugo (Florida), National Prep third place finisher Requir van der Merwe (New Jersey), and returning Cadet freestyle All-American Coltan Williams (Texas).
126:
A pretty solid weight class overall, which is led by Jaden Enriquez (California) and Chad Red (Indiana). Enriquez is ranked No. 13 overall in the Class of 2017, a returning Cadet double All-American (3rd in Greco-Roman, 4th in freestyle), finished as runner-up in FILA Cadet Greco-Roman and 127 pounds, and is after the second leg of a Cadet Triple Crown as he won the folkstyle title at 132 pounds in early April. Red, already a two-time state champion, is ranked No. 22 overall in the Class of 2016, placed 4th last year at 113 pounds in Cadet Greco-Roman, and has placed at both the Super 32 Challenge and Flo Nationals in his two high school seasons.
Others meriting attention include returning Cadet double All-American (3rd Greco-Roman, 5th freestyle) Quentin Hovis (Arizona); two-time state placer Jon Busiello (Pennsylvania); two-time state champion Michael Soler (Washington); Alex Lloyd (Minnesota), who is ranked No. 17 overall in the Class of 2018; and 2013 state placer Gaige Torres (Indiana).
132:
This weight class is headlined by two of the nation's elite Class of 2017 prospects in Eric Hong (Pennsylvania) and Corey Shie (Ohio). Hong was a Cadet double All-American last year at 113 pounds (3rd Greco-Roman, 4th freestyle), and is No. 9 overall in the class; while Shie was a FILA Cadet double All-American in May at 127 pounds (4th Greco-Roman, 6th freestyle), seeks the second leg of a Cadet Triple Crown after winning the folkstyle title at 126 pounds, and is No. 23 overall in the class.
Others to note include a pair of returning All-Americans in Jaron Chavez (Idaho) and Jaron Jensen (Utah); Chavez finished 5th last year at 106 pounds and is ranked No. 40 in the Class of 2017, while Jensen doubled in Fargo at 120 pounds (3rd Greco-Roman, 8th freestyle). Additional notables are state placers Jake Allar (Minnesota) and Kris Lindemann (New Jersey).
138:
Two present/past world team members in FILA Cadet Greco-Roman, along with a third ranked Class of 2017 prospect make for a formidable lead group in this weight class. The highest ranked of the rising sophomores is Hunter Bolen (Virginia), who comes in at No. 16 overall. However, the two world team members are No. 25 Domenick Demas (Ohio) and No. 28 Devin Bahr (Wisconsin), who were also both All-American last summer in Fargo in Greco-Roman.
Demas won his FILA Cadet title this past year at 138 pounds; while Bahr did so last year at 127 pounds, and is also after the second leg of a Cadet Triple Crown after he won this weight class in folkstyle during early April.
Two other returning Cadet Greco-Roman All-Americans are also in this field, Hayden Bates (Oregon) and Ethan Karsten (Missouri). Additional figures to note in this field are Leonard Merkin (New York), a two-time FILA Cadet Greco-Roman All-American; and Josiah Rider (Colorado), who is ranked No. 10 overall in the Class of 2018.
145:
Two nationally ranked Class of 2017 wrestlers led the way in this weight class, No. 38 Anthony Mantanona (California) and No. 44 Max Wohlabaugh (Florida). Mantanona seeks the second leg of a Cadet Triple Crown, as he won the folkstyle title in this weight class in April, while Wohlabaugh was a state champion this past year in high school.
The contenders pack isn't as strong here, but is led by returning All-American Liam Corbett (Hawaii), National Prep placer Paul Hutton (Maryland), Brandon Kui (New Jersey), incoming freshman Quentin Milliken (Pennsylvania), and state champion Mattew Park (Idaho).
152:
Arguably the shallowest weight class in this field as presently constituted. Two of the lead contenders are state champion Johnny Blankenship (Missouri) and state runner-up Jacob Covaciu (Indiana).
160:
Among those featured in this field are two wrestlers seeking Cadet Triple Crowns, Jacob Warner (Illinois) and Oscar Ramos (Wisconsin). Both wrestlers were also champions at the Preseason Nationals this past fall, while the pre-tournament favorite Warner was a FILA Cadet All-American in freestyle and is also ranked No. 24 overall in the Class of 2017.
Others to watch in this weight class are returning Cadet freestyle All-American Andrew Berreyesa (Nevada), state placer Andrew Buckley (Missouri), state champion and Cadet folkstyle runner-up Tucker Leavitt (Idaho), two-time state placer Trey Meyer (Washington), state champion Ashton Seely (Utah), along with state champion and FILA Cadet Greco-Roman third place finisher Owen Webster (Minnesota).
170:
Beau Breske (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Among the others to watch are state champions Jared Bird (Idaho) and Randy Meneweather (Illinois), returning Cadet Greco-Roman All-Americans in Brandon Haas (Iowa) and James Handwerk (Ohio), the No. 6 overall incoming freshman in Jack Jessen (Illinois), and Cadet folkstyle runner-up Casey Randles (Idaho).
182:
There is a clear favorite in this weight class, and it is Keegan Moore (Minnesota). The nation's No. 10 overall Class of 2016 prospect is after the second leg of a Cadet Triple Crown, as he won a second straight Cadet Folkstyle title in April. He was also runner-up in Cadet Greco-Roman last year at 170 pounds. Others to watch include state runner-up Antonio Agee (Virginia); returning All-American Dean Drugac (New Jersey); and Wyatt Koelling (Utah), who was a FILA Cadet Greco-Roman All-American in late May.
195:
There is no clear star in this weight class. The two lead contenders for the title did both place in their state tournaments this past year, and happened to split matches at the Cadet National Duals last month. State runner-up Matt Stencel (Ohio) won the meeting in freestyle, while Cadet folkstyle champion Kobe Woods (Indiana) won the match in Greco-Roman. Other contenders include state champion Jeffrey Allen (Virginia); returning Cadet freestyle All-American Brian Barnes (Oregon); and Cadet folkstyle runner-up Jacob Cavins (Indiana), who placed seventh in this tournament last year.
220:
Gannon Gremmel (Iowa) is the favorite in this weight class, as he seeks the second leg of a Cadet Triple Crown. The No. 47 overall Class of 2016 prospect was also a Preseason Nationals champion this fall and is already a two-time state placer. Others to watch include state champion Sammy Evans (Tennesee), returning Cadet Greco All-American Garyn Huntley (New York), state champion Brandon Metz (North Dakota), and Allen Stallings (Illinois).
285:
Arguably the most obvious favorite in the whole competition comes in the last weight class, as Kevin Vough (Ohio) leads the way here. The No. 14 overall Class of 2017 prospect placed third at state during his freshman campaign, and was a Flo Nationals champion. Last summer as a first-year Cadet, he was 7th in Cadet Greco-Roman and 283 pounds, and this year was a FILA Cadet double All-American (4th Greco-Roman, 2nd freestyle) at 275 pounds. Others to watch include FILA Cadet double All-American Thomas Helton (Illinois), Michael McCauley (California), and state champion Osawaru Odighizuwa (Oregon).
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