Brayton Lee celebrates after winning a Junior freestyle title over Alex Lloyd (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)FARGO, N.D. -- Tuesday afternoon was one to remember for five graduated high school seniors, who got to have one last moment as a scholastic athlete before moving onto the collegiate competitive ranks. These young men all won championships in Junior freestyle on the raised mat.
The last match of the program saw No. 18 overall Class of 2018 wrestler Anthony Cassioppi of Illinois earn a repeat Junior National freestyle title at 285 pounds. The Iowa enrollee replicated a 3-1 Junior folkstyle finals victory over Nash Hutmacher of South Dakota, who is ranked No. 14 overall in the Class of 2020. It was augmented with a bit more flair, as the result was a dominant pin in 1:14, as Cassioppi was on his way to a technical fall.
For the tournament, Cassioppi earned three technical falls and had three victories by pin. This also included technical falls over the pair of wrestlers that contested the consolation final. With a win in the Greco-Roman tournament, Cassioppi would become a two-time Junior National triple crown winner. It was a worthy Outstanding Wrestler performance.
The first of three all-graduated senior showdowns came at 152 pounds, and it was a dandy as No. 11 Brayton Lee of Indiana outlasted No. 35 Alex Lloyd of Minnesota 3-3 via criteria. Lee, the Minnesota enrollee, came into the final winning his six previous matches by shutout technical fall but trailed 3-0 during the second period. A caution-and-one then a takedown yielded the points necessary for Lee to earn gold.
At 160 pounds, it was Danny Braunagel of Illinois, who relegated No. 56 Jared Franek of North Dakota to a second consecutive runner-up finish in Junior freestyle. Franek would score the first takedown, but it was 13 consecutive for the Illinois enrollee to earn the technical fall.
Earlier in the tournament, Braunagel earned victories over the wrestlers that finished third through fifth, including a 12-8 semifinal victory over returning Junior freestyle runner-up Tyler Dow of Wisconsin.
Last of the three came at 182 pounds, as it was the top 50 battle between No. 42 Joel Shapiro of Iowa and No. 46 Jack Jessen of Illinois. Having earned a ninth All-American finish in as many Fargo tournaments, and it being his third freestyle final (Junior runer-up last year, Cadet runner-up in 2015), the Northwestern enrollee Jessen got his elusive title. The 10-0 technical fall over Iowa State enrollee Shapiro was his seventh in as many tournament bouts.
Rounding out the graduated senior champions was No. 74 Lucas Davison of Indiana. The fellow Northwestern enrollee also earned a 10-0 technical fall, and it also was his seventh technical fall in as many tournament bouts. His finals opponent was No. 95 overall Class of 2019 wrestler Peter Christensen of Illinois.
However, the most impressive performance on Tuesday afternoon arguably was had by 170 pound champion Carson Kharchla of Ohio, who is ranked No. 10 overall in the Class of 2019. The rising senior thumped Dustin Plott of Oklahoma, who is ranked No. 9 overall in the Class of 2020 by 10-0 technical fall in 1:14. Kharchla used a pair of takedown and turn sequences before a third takedown was the match terminator.
During the tournament, the only points Kharchla gave up came in a 7-4 semifinal victory over Travis Wittlake of Oregon, who finished as the No. 2 overall Class of 2018 wrestler. In all, he beat wrestlers that finished 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th in the weight class.
Two other rising seniors from Ohio joined Kharchla as Junior National freestyle champions. Jordan Decatur, ranked No. 4 overall, won the title at 132 pounds with a 13-8 victory over Ridge Lovett of Idaho in a match that he led for the duration; Lovett is ranked No. 28 overall in the Class of 2019. Bryce Andonian, ranked No. 21 overall, won the title at 145 pounds using a pair of four-point moves to start and finish off Logan Meek of Oregon in a 12-2 technical fall victory.
Three additional rising seniors won titles on Tuesday afternoon. The first was No. 53 Eric Barnett of Wisconsin, who earned a pin in 1:32 over No. 59 Aden Reeves of Iowa at 120 pounds; Barnett's run to the final included victories over two additional All-Americans plus another pair of wrestlers that ended 2017-18 weight class ranked.
A seventh technical fall in seven bouts saw Michael Colaiocco of New Jersey, who is ranked No. 27 in the Class of 2019, earn gold at 126 pounds; his finals bout was a decisive and quick 10-0 technical fall over Reece Witcraft of Oklahoma.
An all-Illinois showdown of Class 2A state champions saw No. 44 Luke Luffman earn a tightly contested 4-2 decision over Jace Punke at 220 pounds. The Illinois verbal commit gave up the opening takedown to Punke, but countered with a takedown of his own before the first period was up. In the second period Luffman was able to score two one-point moves, the first of which was when Punke was put on the shot clock and could not score.
Three rising juniors won Junior freestyle titles, including repeat champion Will Guida of New Jersey (though he attends St. Paul's School for Boys in Maryland) at 106 pounds. Guida used a four-point move in each period to upend Anthony King of Illinois 11-3 in the championship bout.
In the program's next match, No. 32 overall Class of 2020 wrestlers Cullan Schriever of Iowa rallied back from a 7-0 late first period deficit to defeat Jonathan Prata of California 10-10 via criteria. Schriever responded with a takedown before the first period ended and a feet-to-back four-pointer early in the second period. However, Prata bursted back ahead 10-6 before a four-pointer from Schriever at the edge gave him the criteria lead and ultimate victory.
Lastly, at 138 pounds it No. 29 overall Keegan O'Toole of Wisconsin, who upset No. 37 overall rising senior Gabe Tagg of Ohio by 11-6 decision in the 138 pound championship bout. O'Toole jumped out to a 6-0 lead after one period, before a back-and-forth second period never saw Tagg really challenge to go ahead.
Rounding out the weight class champions was Joey Fischer of Pennsylvania, who won gold at 100 pounds with a 10-0 technical fall at 100 pounds over Ronan Schuelke of Illinois. Fischer was a state qualifier in his freshman season of high school.
All-Americans
100:
1st: Joseph Fischer (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Ronan Schuelke (Illinois), 10-0
3rd: Eli Griffin (Oklahoma) tech. fall Guillermo Juarez (Illinois), 12-1
5th: Christian Tanefeu (North Dakota) tech. fall Colin Noel (Ohio), 10-0
7th: Trent Thompson (Connecticut) tech. fall Kael Brisker (Iowa), 15-4
106:
1st: Wil Guida (New Jersey) dec. Anthony King (Illinois), 11-3
3rd: Brenden Chaowanapibool (Washington) dec. Zachary Espalin (Arizona), 12-6
5th: Riley Parker (Virginia) tech. fall Bryce Cockrell (Oklahoma), 10-0
7th: Alexzander Cottey (Indiana) pinned Sawyer Nash (Illinois), 1:00
113:
1st: Cullan Schriever (Iowa) dec. Jonathan Prata (California), 10-10
3rd: Brendon Garcia (Colorado) tech. fall Dustin Norris (Ohio), 14-4
5th: Dominic Chavez (Texas) tech. fall Joseph Thompson (Minnesota), 12-1
7th: Justin Cardani (Illinois) tech. fall Timothy Levine (California), 15-4
120:
1st: Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) pinned Aden Reeves (Iowa), 1:32
3rd: Julian Tagg (Ohio) dec. Kyle Biscoglia (Iowa), 7-5
5th: Corey Gamet (Michigan) by injury def. over Trevor Mastrogiovanni (New Jersey)
7th: Anthony Molton (Illinois) tech. fall Dylan Ragusin (Illinois), 18-7
126:
1st: Michael Colaiocco (New Jersey) tech. fall Reece Witcraft (Oklahoma), 10-0
3rd: Patrick McKee (Minnesota) dec. Kyle Burwick (North Dakota), 8-6
5th: Kai Orine (Missouri) tech. fall Kellyn March (South Dakota), 12-1
7th: Earl Blake (Maryland) tech. fall Ryder Ramsey (Oklahoma), 12-2
132:
1st: Jordan Decatur (Ohio) dec. Ridge Lovett (Idaho), 13-8
3rd: Beau Bartlett (Pennsylvania) by injury def. over Connor Mcgonagle (Pennsylvania)
5th: Jackson Henson (Pennsylvania) dec. Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio), 9-6
7th: Jacob Dado (Illinois) by injury def. over Malyke Hines (Florida)
138:
1st: Keegan O'Toole (Wisconsin) dec. Gabriel Tagg (Ohio), 11-6
3rd: Jaden Abas (California) tech. fall Lucas Revano (New Jersey), 11-0
5th: Edward Scott (Pennsylvania) by injury def. over Jordan Crace (Ohio)
7th: Beau Ohlson (Oregon) tech. fall Nicholas Termini (Illinois), 14-4
145:
1st: Bryce Andonian (Ohio) tech. fall Logan Meek (Oregon), 12-2
3rd: Michael Blockhus (Iowa) tech. fall Daniel Manibog (Texas), 19-8
5th: Drew Scharenbrock (Wisconsin) pinned Colton Yapoujian (Colorado), 5:21
7th: Cade Devos (Iowa) dec. Johnny Levett (Florida), 12-1
152:
1st: Brayton Lee (Indiana) dec. Alex Lloyd (Minnesota), 3-3
3rd: Connor Brady (Ohio) dec. Kendall Coleman (Illinois), 4-0
5th: Jace Luchau (California) by injury def. over Cameron Amine (Michigan)
7th: Daniel Mancini (Pennsylvania) dec. Tyler Eischens (Minnesota), 9-8
160:
1st: Danny Braunagel (Illinois) tech. fall Jared Franek (North Dakota), 13-2
3rd: Nelson Brands (Iowa) tech. fall Robert Kanniard (New Jersey), 11-0
5th: Tyler Dow (Wisconsin) pinned Nevan Snodgrass (Ohio), 2:50
7th: Sean Harman (Oregon) tech. fall Jacob Stefanowicz (Pennsylvania), 12-1
170:
1st: Carson Kharchla (Ohio) tech. fall Dustin Plott (Oklahoma), 10-0
3rd: Parker Keckeisen (Wisconsin) dec. Carter Starocci (Pennsylvania), 9-6
5th: Travis Wittlake Jr. (Oregon) tech. fall Ben Sarasin (Iowa), 10-0
7th: Christopher Foca (New Jersey) by injury def. over Luca Pontone (Massachusetts)
182:
1st: Jack Jessen (Illinois) tech. fall Joel Shapiro (Iowa), 11-0
3rd: Zachary Braunagel (Illinois) dec. Tate Samuelson (Colorado), 10-8
5th: Devin Winston (Missouri) pinned Jackson Turley (Virginia), 4:52
7th: Talon Borror (Oklahoma) pinned Victor Marcelli (Ohio), 2:25
195:
1st: Lucas Davison (Indiana) tech. fall Peter Christensen (Illinois), 10-0
3rd: Wyatt Hendrickson (Kansas) tech. fall Austin Cooley (Massachusetts), 12-2
5th: Beau Yineman (Wisconsin) dec. Tyrell Gordon (Iowa), 5-0
7th: Sergio Villalobos (Illinois) dec. Matthew Cover (Ohio), 8-1
220:
1st: Luke Luffman (Illinois) dec. Jace Punke (Illinois), 4-2
3rd: Boone Mcdermott (Iowa) tech. fall Keaton Fogler (Illinois), 11-0
5th: Joshua Heindselman (Oklahoma) dec. Cole Fibranz (Minnesota), 8-2
7th: Garrett Kappes (Maryland) tech. fall Victor Jaquez Jr. (California), 13-2
285:
1st: Anthony Cassioppi (Illinois) pinned Nash Hutmacher (South Dakota), 1:14
3rd: Mason Parris (Indiana) tech. fall John Mcconkey (Iowa), 10-0
5th: Austin Emerson (Michigan) dec. Aydin Guttridge (Illinois), 2-1
7th: Spencer Trenary (Iowa) dec. Lee Herrington (Nebraska), 8-6
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