Two FILA Cadet freestyle world champions from this past weekend are among the headline wrestlers in the competition, as Mason Manville (New Jersey) and Mark Hall (Minnesota) are slated to compete at 152 and 170 pounds respectively. A pair of wrestlers have won both a Junior folkstyle title in early April and Greco-Roman title on Tuesday evening, and can win the Triple Crown with a title in freestyle, Randon Miranda (California) and Danny Vega (Arizona) at 100 and 106 pounds respectively.
Six returning and two former Junior freestyle champions also highlight the competition. Seeking to repeat titles from last year are Kirk Johansen (Illinois) at 106 pounds, Hunter Marko (Wisconsin) and Elijah Oliver (Illinois) at 120, Seth Gross (Minnesota) at 138, Ryan Blees (North Dakota) at 160, and Roy Nash (Utah) at 220; while 2012 champions Tommy Thorn (Minnesota) and Bryce Brill (Illinois) seek to win another title, they're at 132 and 152 pounds respectively.
The following is a weight-by-weight overview of the competition based on wrestlers registered in Track Wrestling as of Tuesday evening.
100:
The previously mentioned Miranda anchors the field in this weight class and should be considered a primary contender. He also was fifth in Cadet freestyle last year at 94 pounds. Other challengers will include Junior Greco-Roman runner-up Zack Murillo (Connecticut), runner-up in Cadet freestyle last year at 88 pounds and third at FILA Cadets in the 92 pound weight class; Louie Hayes (Illinois), third in Cadet freestyle last year at 88 and third in FILA Cadets at 101; 2012 Cadet freestyle All-American Jet Tryon (Missouri); and state champion Cole Rohan (Oregon).
106:
Also previously mentioned is the quest of Vega, who also was champion in Cadet freestyle last year at 100 pounds, for a Junior Triple Crown. Standing directly in his way will be Kirk Johansen (Illinois), last year's Junior freestyle champion at 100 pounds and this year a FILA Junior champion at 110. Additional returning Junior National freestyle All-Americans include Kade Evans (Utah), Arik Furseth (Wisconsin), Zac McCauley (Ohio), and Dalton Roberts (Michigan). Others meriting attention include state champions Brendan Coughlin (Maryland) and Howard Smith (Texas), two-time state placer Drew Hildebrandt (Indiana), FILA Junior freestyle All-American Bryce Brimhall (Utah), and state placer Kellan McKenna (New York).
113:
Leading the way in this field is Jack Mueller (Texas), last year's Cadet National freestyle champion at 106 pounds, who is ranked No. 29 overall in the Class of 2016. Three other wrestlers also ended the season in the weight class rankings: Joey Cisneros (California), the Junior folkstyle champion in this weight and a Junior freestyle runner-up last year at 106; Andrew Nieman (Oklahoma), last year's runner-up to Mueller in Fargo; and Matthew Schmitt (Missouri), runner-up to Vega last year in Fargo freestyle. Also in this field are the pair of finalists in the Junior 100 pound competition back in 2012, Tanner Rohweder (Iowa) and Carlos Fuentez (Illinois), who placed fifth and eighth last year at 106 respectively.
Five other wrestlers in this weight class have earned previous Fargo freestyle All-American honors: Tanner Cox (Utah), Brock George (Utah), Ulises Jacobo (Illinois), Jack Wagner (Iowa), and Josh Venia (Ohio). Additional wrestlers to watch in this weight class include 2013 state champion Benny Gomez (Michigan), Junior Greco-Roman runner-up Corbin Nirschl (Kansas), two-time state runner-up Garrett Pepple (Indiana), FILA Cadet freestyle third place finisher Joey Prata (Virginia), Junior Greco-Roman champion Dorian Sapien (Idaho), and Doyle Trout (Nebraska) who won Junior folkstyle up at 120.
120:
While 113 provided a pre-cursor of the juicy nature of Junior National freestyle weight classes, the proverbial fun begins here. As a starting point, the field includes four wrestlers ranked within their grade level and another pair that featured in the end of season weight class rankings. Two of those six wrestlers won Junior freestyle titles last year: Hunter Marko (Wisconsin) at 106 pounds, and the nation's No. 38 Class of 2015 Elijah Oliver (Illinois) at 113. Two-time Cadet freestyle and FILA Cadet freestyle All-American Austin Assad (Ohio) is No. 51 in the Class of 2015, two-time state champion Christian Moody (Oklahoma) sits at No. 73 in the Class of 2015, four-time state champion Sean Russell (Georgia) ended up No. 54 in the Class of 2014, while returning Junior freestyle third place finisher Kyle Akins (Illinois) ended the 2013-14 season in the weight class rankings at 120 pounds.
The weight class features another trio that earned All-American honors in Junior freestyle last year -- Camden Bertucci (Michigan), Michael Cullen (Illinois), and Nick Lukanich (Illinois) -- with each also being a Cadet All-American in 2012. Four additional wrestlers were also Cadet freestyle All-Americans in 2012: Ryan Friedman (Maryland), Logan Grass (West Virginia), Nolan Hellickson (Iowa), and Trayton Libolt (Oregon). Another pair were FILA Cadet freestyle All-Americans this year at 119 pounds, Brock Rathbun (Iowa) and Dalton Duffield (Oklahoma).
We've went two paragraphs without mentioning Junior Greco-Roman finalists Skyler Petry (Minnesota) and Anthony Cefolo (New Jersey). Others in the conversation include Cadet freestyle All-Americans from last year in Josh Kramer (Arizona) and Jake Newhouse (Ohio), state champion Jacob Schwarm (Iowa), and 2012 Junior freestyle All-American Noah Ajram (Iowa).
126:
Four top 100 Class of 2015 and a pair of top 50 Class of 2016 prospects anchor the field at this weight class. The field is led by returning Junior freestyle runner-up Kaid Brock (Oklahoma), who is ranked No. 31 in the Class of 2015, and also was a Cadet freestyle runner-up in 2012 and a FILA Cadet freestyle runner-up in 2013. Other ranked Class of 2015 wrestlers are No. 53 Chaz Tucker (New Jersey), who was fifth in Junior freestyle last year at this weight class; No. 61 Rico Montoya (New Mexico), a FILA Cadet freestyle All-American this year and a Cadet freestyle All-American last year; and No. 62 Lincoln Olson (Michigan), a Junior freestyle All-American back in 2012. Junior Greco-Roman champion Taylor LaMont (Utah) is ranked No. 18 in the Class of 2016, and was a Cadet freestyle champion last year at 120; while Junior folkstyle champion Mitch McKee (Minnesota) is ranked No. 44 in that class, and was a Cadet freestyle runner-up last year.
Others to watch include Junior Greco-Roman runner-up Keegan Calkins (Illinois), two-time Cadet freestyle All-American Evan Cheek (Ohio), three-time state champion Sean DeShazer (Kansas), two-time state champion Garrett Hancock (Ohio), two-time state placer Peter Lipari (New Jersey), and returning Cadet freestyle All-American Matt Noble (New Jersey).
132:
With three top 100 Class of 2014 and six top 100 Class of 2015 wrestlers preliminarily registered, my amateur math skills tell me at least one of them won't earn All-American honors. Such is life in a Fargo field some times. The joint favorites just might be two-time Cadet freestyle third place finisher Ke-Shawn Hayes (Missouri), who is ranked No. 3 in the Class of 2015; and 2012 Junior freestyle champion Tommy Thorn (Minnesota), who finished No. 21 in the Class of 2014.
The other two ranked Class of 2014 prospects are bound for Oklahoma State, No. 60 Gary Wayne Harding (Oklahoma) and No. 63 Mike Magaldo (New Jersey). Harding was third in Junior freestyle at this weight last year, while Magaldo was a four-time state placer and 2012 state champion.
Another future Cowboy is among the five other ranked Class of 2015 wrestlers, No. 44 Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma), a two-time state champion. Also in the ranked group are No. 35 Keegan Moore (Oklahoma), a 2013 state champion; No. 56 Cameron Kelly (Ohio), a 2012 state champion; No. 59 Brandon James (Indiana), a three-time Fargo freestyle All-American, including seventh last year in the Junior level; and No. 93 Jordan Shearer (North Dakota), a Junior Greco-Roman champion last year that also finished sixth in freestyle.
Also in this field is returning Junior freestyle All-American Stephen Polakowski (Illinois), who ended the 2013-14 season ranked at 120 pounds; Junior Greco-Roman champion Will Koll (New York); Junior Greco-Roman runner-up Will Kui (New Jersey); four-time state champion Michael Cook (Idaho); Cadet freestyle All-American Justin Demicco (Ohio); and state champion Michael Kostandaras (Ohio).
138:
More juice is present in this weight class with seven grade-level ranked wrestlers, four graduated seniors and three rising seniors. Seth Gross (Minnesota), last year's Junior freestyle champion at 132 pounds is after a fourth consecutive title in Fargo. However, he has lost matches during those title runs, something that will not work in this year's line bracketing format.
The University of Iowa bound Gross finished as the No. 58 ranked Class of 2014 wrestler and is joined by No. 62 Logan Ryan (Iowa) and No. 97 Zehlin Storr (Michigan), who were both two-time state champions, as well as No. 88 Cole Weaver (Michigan), a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American.
If Gross doesn't earn a fourth straight Fargo freestyle title, it is most likely that Fredy Stroker (Iowa) will. The nation's No. 10 ranked Class of 2015 prospect was fourth last year in Junior freestyle at 132 pounds and fifth the year before at the Cadet level. Other ranked rising seniors include No. 78 Will Roark (Missouri), a two-time state champion; and No. 96 Robert Lee (Wisconsin), fifth in Cadet freestyle last year and sixth in FILA Cadet freestyle this year.
Others to watch in this weight class include Ben Brancale (Minnesota), a 2012 Cadet freestyle All-American; returning Cadet freestyle All-American Alex Butler (Illinois); Junior Greco-Roman champion Blake Clevenger (Missouri); four-time state champion Dusty Hones (Utah), who ended 2013-14 in the 132 pound weight class rankings; Cadet freestyle runner-up Chase Lemons (Idaho); Junior folkstyle champion Tristan Moran (Oklahoma); Johnny O'Hearon (Utah) and Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma), who both were Cadet freestyle All-Americans last summer and FILA Cadet freestyle All-Americans this spring; and three-time state champion Maolu Woiwor (Minnesota).
145:
One could almost create two sets of All-Americans out of the grade-level ranked wrestlers in this field, as there are 15 in all. The highest rated of those are last year's Cadet freestyle champion Isaiah White (Illinois), who is No. 8 in the Class of 2016; and four-time Fargo freestyle All-American Zac Hall (Michigan), ranked No. 15 in the Class of 2014 and a runner-up at Junior 120 in 2012.
Joining Hall as nationally ranked graduated seniors are No. 35 Grant Leeth (Missouri), No. 42 Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (New York), and No. 74 Michael Longo (California). Leeth was champion in Junior folkstyle this spring and placed fifth in Junior freestyle last summer, Rodriguez-Spencer was the Junior Greco-Roman champion on Tuesday, while Longo is a two-time state placer.
The six nationally ranked rising seniors are led by No. 30 Ronnie Gentile (New Jersey) and No. 32 Max Thomsen (Iowa). Gentile is a two-time Fargo freestyle All-American at 138 pounds, third as a Cadet in 2012 and fourth as a Junior last year, and was state champion this past year in that weight class; while Thomsen is a three-time state champion. The other ranked wrestlers include No. 74 Patricio Lugo (Florida), who placed fifth in Cadet freestyle last year; No. 76 Bryce Parson (Idaho), a three-time state finalist and state champ in 2013; No. 81 Wyatt Wyckoff (California), a two-time state runner-up; and No. 100 Isaac Dulgarian (Kansas), a two-time state champion and 2011 Cadet freestyle All-American.
The four others joining White as ranked Class of 2016 wrestlers are No. 25 Hayden Hidlay (Pennsylvania), last year's Cadet freestyle runner-up at 126 pounds; No. 28 Kevin Budock (Maryland), a two-time National Prep runner-up; No. 42 Julian Flores (California), a two-time state placer; and No. 43 Austin Kraisser (Maryland), last year's Cadet freestyle runner-up in this weight and a FILA Cadet freestyle runner-up in May at 138.
There is a staggering amount of tonnage in this weight as a slew of other wrestlers have yet to be mentioned, including returning Cadet freestyle All-American Phyllip Deloach (Illinois), two-time state champion Chris Garcia (Illinois), Junior Greco-Roman runner-up from down at 138 Rudy Guillen (Georgia), returning Junior freestyle All-American Jonce Blaylock (Oklahoma), 2012 FILA Cadet freestyle champion Jordan Kutler (New Jersey), and 2013 FILA Cadet freestyle All-American Mark Voss (Minnesota).
152:
Two wrestlers in this weight class stand out above the rest. Bryce Brill (Illinois) finished as the No. 3 ranked wrestler in the Class of 2014, and was a Junior freestyle champion in 2013; while Mason Manville (New Jersey) sits at No. 2 in the Class of 2016, and just won a FILA Cadet World freestyle title in this weight class to add to an already glittering resume.
However, there are also six top 100 ranked rising seniors in this weight class field: No. 8 Joe Smith (Oklahoma), who was third last year at 138 pounds in Junior freestyle and the Cadet runner-up at 120 the year before; No. 27 David McFadden (New Jersey), who was third in Cadet freestyle last year; No. 54 Myles Amine (Michigan) and No. 60 Bryce Steiert (Iowa), who were both state champions this past year; No. 67 Dayton Racer (Missouri); and No. 97 Cole Walter (Pennsylvania), a three-time state placer.
Five other wrestlers in this field are past Cadet freestyle All-Americans; Thomas Dutton (New York) and Tyler Mann (Arkansas) earning that honor in 2012, while Ryan Klemp (Idaho), Jesse Porter (New York), and Jakob Restrepo (New York) earned their podium spots last year. Additional wrestlers to watch are NHSCA Junior National champion Sean Glasgow (New Jersey), FILA Cadet freestyle All-American Joey Gunter (Illinois), Junior Greco-Roman champion Brooks Robinson (Utah), and Junior Greco-Roman runner-up Nick Tarpley (Colorado).
160:
Logan Massa defeated Ryan Blees at the FILA Junior Nationals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)However, this field also features Logan Massa (Michigan), the nation's No. 2 ranked Class of 2015 prospect. Massa dominated Blees in the FILA Junior freestyle final at 154 pounds in April. About the only thing missing on a chalk full c.v. is a Fargo title. Joining Massa as ranked rising seniors are No. 7 Fox Baldwin (Florida), a 2012 Cadet freestyle champion who placed fifth at 163 in the FILA Junior competition; state champion Andrew Fogarty (Minnesota), ranked No. 36; No. 47 Colston DiBlasi (Missouri), a two-time state champion; along with NHSCA Junior National champions in No. 85 Ben Schram (Ohio) and No. 87 Jonathan Viruet (Massachusetts).
The other class ranked wrestler is Trace Carello (Illinois), who is No. 50 in the Class of 2016, and was a Cadet freestyle runner-up last summer and runner-up to Manville in FILA Cadet freestyle this spring.
Others meriting attention include Junior Greco-Roman champion Burke Paddock (New York); returning Cadet freestyle All-Americans Corbin Allen (Virginia), Spencer Heywood (Utah), and Ricky Padilla (California); 2012 Cadet freestyle All-Americans John Leal (California) and Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma); two-time state champion Izaec Quintanilla (Washington); 2013 FILA Cadet freestyle All-American Weston Dobler (North Dakota); two-time state placer Paden Moore (Minnesota); and Logan Breitenbach (Maryland), who ended the 2013-14 season nationally ranked at 160 pounds.
170:
The other FILA Cadet freestyle World Champion in this field is Mark Hall (Minnesota), who is ranked No. 1 nationally in the Class of 2016, and won Cadet National freestyle titles the last two summers in Fargo. Even with a stern travel schedule and transition, Hall will enter as the favorite. Based on registrations, the primary challenger will be Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma), the No. 20 ranked Class of 2014 wrestler who won the Junior folkstyle title in April and was runner-up in Greco-Roman on Tuesday.
The only other grade-level ranked wrestler in this field is Seth McLeod (Idaho), who is No. 79 in the Class of 2015. Three others in this field were Cadet freestyle All-Americans last year: Jordan Bushey (New York), Dustin Gray (Missouri), and Dylan Lydy (Indiana). Additional wrestlers meriting attention are Preseason Nationals champion Brett Bye (South Dakota), 2013 state champion Spencer Derifield (Iowa), 2012 Cadet freestyle All-American Josef Johnson (New Jersey), FILA Cadet freestyle All-American Andrew McNally (Ohio), returning Junior freestyle All-American Christian Stackhouse (New Jersey), and two-time state placer David-Brian Whisler (Ohio).
182:
The anchor in this field is Myles Martin (New Jersey), the nation's No. 4 ranked Class of 2015 prospect. He was a runner-up to Hall in Cadet freestyle in 2012, is a two-time FILA Cadet freestyle All-American (4th at 167 in 2013, 5th at 152 in 2012), and was eight at FILA Juniors in the 185 pound weight class this April. Joining Martin are three other top 100 Class of 2015 prospects: No. 41 Justan Rivera (Georgia), the Junior Greco-Roman champion and a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American, including last year's title in this weight class; No. 43 Dylan Wisman (Virginia), who placed fourth in this weight class at the Junior level last year; and No. 92 Cash Wilcke (Iowa), who was fourth in the Cadet freestyle weight class that Rivera won. An additional grade-level ranked wrestler populates this weight class in FILA Cadet freestyle All-American Nathan Traxler (Illinois), who is positioned No. 23 in the Class of 2016.
Two others in this field ended 2013-14 in the weight class rankings, state champion Mitch Bowman (Iowa) and returning Junior freestyle All-American Lance Dixon (Oklahoma). Others to note in this weight class are 2012 Cadet freestyle All-American Chance Cooper (Iowa), Junior Greco-Roman runner-up A.J. Kowal (Ohio), 2013 state champion Adis Radoncic (New York), state runner-up Eric Schultz (Illinois), and two-time state placer Tyler Wildmo (Michigan).
195:
Five grade-level ranked wrestlers provide the anchor for this weight class as well. The group is led by Lance Benick (Minnesota), who is No. 5 in the Class of 2015, a two-time Cadet National freestyle champion, and FILA Cadet freestyle champion up at 220 last year. Three-time Fargo champion in Greco-Roman, including in the Junior level on Tuesday, Samuel Colbray (Oregon) is ranked No. 12 in the Class of 2016. He was a FILA Cadet freestyle runner-up this year at 187, upsetting Benick along the way, and is a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American (runner-up last year).
Joining Benick in the Class of 2015 rankings are No. 16 Bobby Steveson (Minnesota), a 2012 Cadet freestyle All-American; and Andrew Marsden (Illinois), a returning Cadet freestyle All-American, and also a two-time FILA Cadet freestyle All-American. Rounding out the grade-level ranked wrestlers is Joel Dixon (Oklahoma), who finished at No. 76 in the Class of 2014, was a Junior freestyle runner-up last year and the Greco-Roman runner-up on Tuesday to Colbray.
Others to watch in this weight include a pair of returning Cadet freestyle All-Americans, Emilio Fowler (Kansas) and Randy Scott (Indiana), returning Junior freestyle All-American Edgar Ruano (Illinois); and NHSCA Junior National champion Jeff Velez (New Jersey).
220:
The favorite in this field for a third consecutive Fargo double, and second straight at the Junior level, is Roy Nash (Utah). He is ranked No. 23 in the Class of 2014, and was also a FILA Cadet freestyle runner-up to Benick last year. Other grade ranked wrestlers are Marcus Harrington (Iowa), a returning Junior freestyle All-American who finished his career No. 93 in the Class of 2014; three-time state champion Austin Myers (Kentucky), who is No. 23 in the Class of 2015; and returning Cadet freestyle All-American Ethan Andersen (Iowa) at No. 32 in the Class of 2016.
Another pair of wrestlers ended 2013-14 in the weight class rankings, 2012 Junior freestyle All-American Andrew Dixon (Oklahoma) and Junior folkstyle champion Fletcher Miller (Indiana); Miller was also a Junior freestyle All-American last summer. Joining Miller as returning Junior freestyle All-Americans are Lance Evans (Iowa) and Parker Knapp (Ohio).
Additional wrestlers to watch include state champion Christian Boyles (Missouri), Seth Brennock (Ohio), two-time state champion Clay Broze (Minnesota), Junior folkstyle runner-up Jacob Aven (Indiana), 2012 Cadet freestyle All-American Robert Enmon (Flordia), and returning Cadet freestyle All-American Youssef Hemida (New York).
285:
The favorite in this weight class as presently constituted is Junior folkstyle champion Adarios Jones (Illinois), who was also runner-up in Greco-Roman on Tuesday. Others to watch include 2013 Cadet Triple Crown winner Jacob Marnin (Iowa), who is ranked No. 46 in the Class of 2015; returning Junior freestyle All-Americans Jesse Webb (Vermont) and Michael Hobbs (Illinois); returning Cadet freestyle All-Americans Collin Braun (Missouri) and Tate Orndorff (Washington); 2012 Cadet freestyle All-Americans Blake Andrews (Texas), Zack Overbeck (Oklahoma), and Kaleb Staack (Iowa); along with state champions Matt Halverson (Wisconsin) and Ryan Prescott (Michigan).
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