The following is a preview of each Junior freestyle final.
100: Jaret Lane (Pennsylvania) vs. Jason Holmes (Arizona)
Both wrestlers in this match were Cadet double All-Americans last summer at 88 pounds, with Holmes out-placing Lane in both tournaments. However, Lane won the Greco-Roman title on Tuesday afternoon, while Holmes placed fourth. During the freestyle event, Holmes is four-for-four in technical falls; while Lane has a pin and a technical fall among three match victories.
106: Louie Hayes (Illinois) vs. Liam Cronin (California)
This is a battle of state runners-up from the folkstyle season. Hayes won the Greco-Roman title earlier in the week, and is after a Fargo double, while Cronin placed third. For this tournament, Hayes has four shutout technical falls and a pin from five matches, while Cronin is sitting on three technical falls in four matches.
113: Brandon Courtney (Arizona) vs. Drew Mattin (Ohio)
This is a battle of high school state champions. Both wrestlers competed in the 50 kilogram weight class at the UWW Cadet Nationals, with Courtney taking fifth to the second earned by Mattin. During this tournament, Courtney has two technical falls and a pin from five matches, while Mattin has four technical falls from five matches. Mattin is a double All-American for the second straight year, fourth in Cadet last year both styles and seventh in Greco-Roman earlier this week.
120: Jack Mueller (Texas) vs. Daton Fix (Oklahoma)
Mueller, ranked No. 23 in the Class of 2016, had reached the semifinal round with five technical falls victories. That included victories in the last two matches over a pair of top 100 Class of 2016 wrestlers. His semifinal victory came 13-10 over Austin Gomez (Illinois), ranked No. 13 in the Class of 2017. Fix, ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2017, has five technical falls in as many matches on the way to the final. Both wrestlers placed competing at 55 kilograms in the UWW Junior Nationals in May; Fix won the weight class, while Mueller was fifth.
126: Austin Assad (Ohio) vs. Navonte Demison (California)
Assad seeks a repeat Junior freestyle title, having won it last year at 120 pounds. The University of Michigan enrollee finished his career ranked No. 56 in the Class of 2015. For this tournament, Assad started with three technical falls, and followed it with 7-0 and 8-7 decisions in the last two bouts. Demison, champion in Junior folkstyle at this weight class and ranked No. 39 in the Class of 2017, has had a superlative tournament. He has six technical falls from six matches, including shutouts in the last two rounds against top 100 Class of 2016 prospect Alex Mackall (Ohio) and Iowa state champ Nolan Hellickson.
132: Taylor LaMont (Utah) vs. Mitch McKee (Minnesota)
This is a rematch of the Greco-Roman final, which was won 4-2 by McKee; the pair of wrestlers also met in both styles at the Junior Duals last month, LaMont won by pin in Greco-Roman, while McKee snagged a 6-4 victory in freestyle. Between the two wrestlers, they have been in ten Fargo finals; McKee in six, and is seeking a repeat Junior freestyle title, and LaMont in four. Ranked No. 12 in the Class of 2016, McKee had four shutout technical falls prior to the decisions in the quarterfinal and semifinal; while No. 36 LaMont has four shutout technical falls from five matches, including one in the semifinal over 2013 Junior freestyle champion Hunter Marko (Wisconsin).
138: Keegan Moore (Oklahoma) vs. Matthew Kolodzik (New Jersey)
Two of the nation's top 20 Class of 2015 wrestlers will be battle here. West Virginia enrollee Moore is ranked No. 18, while Princeton enrollee finished No. 9 in the rankings. Moore, who placed fourth in Junior freestyle last year, started the tournament with a pin, followed up with four shutout technical falls before a 7-2 semifinal victory over fellow elite Class of 2015 wrestler Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma). Kolodzik, a Cadet freestyle champion in 2012, started his tournament with five technical falls before a 5-0 victory in the semifinal round; giving up points in just one of six matches to date.
145: Fredy Stroker (Iowa) vs. Patricio Lugo (Florida)
It's a battle of nationally ranked Class of 2015 wrestlers, as No. 15 Stroker -- bound for Minnesota -- faces Edinboro bound No. 75 Lugo. Stroker, fourth last year in Junior freestyle, started the tournament with three shutout technical falls, a pin, and a 7-0 decision before a 3-2 semifinal victory over No. 14 Max Thomsen (Iowa). For the tournament, Lugo is on four technical falls from six matches.
152: Larry Early (Illinois) vs. Evan Wick (California)
Early finished as the No. 42 ranked wrestler in the Class of 2015, and is bound for the University of Minnesota. It has been a most excellent tournament, as it started off with three shutout technical falls and an 8-2 decision, before another 8-2 decision over defending champion Mason Manville (Virignia); the semifinal was an 11-4 decision victory over Junior folkstyle champion Luke Troy (California). Two-time state placer Wick, whose placements are fifth and fourth, has been a giant killer in the tournament with wins over a pair of top 25 Class of 2016 wrestlers in Hayden Hidlay (Pennsylvania) and Griffin Parriott (Minnesota).
160: Joe Smith (Oklahoma) vs. Lucas Jeske (Minnesota)
The Oklahoma State enrollee Smith finished his career ranked No. 16 in the Class of 2015. Seeking his first Fargo title, Smith has went six matches in the tournament so far, with all six ending in a shutout technical fall. Jeske, state champion as a junior, enters the final with four technical falls from six matches and wins over a pair of top 100 Class of 2016 wrestlers along the way.
170: Beau Breske (Wisconsin) vs. Xavier Montalvo (Illinois)
This is a rematch of a Preseason Nationals championship match from late October that was won 2-1 in the tiebreaker by the Illinois enrollee Montalvo. This is a second Fargo final for Montalvo, who finished ranked No. 34 in the Class of 2015, and was runner-up in Junior Greco-Roman in 2013. Breske, ranked No. 13 in the Class of 2013, was a two-time Cadet National double champion and placed third earlier this week in Greco-Roman. Montalvo has four shutout technical falls and a 9-3 decision from five matches; while Breske has five technical falls and a twenty second pin in six matches this week.
182: Dylan Wisman (Virginia) vs. Nick Reenan (Texas)
Wisman finished ranked as the No. 85 ranked wrestler in the Class of 2015, and the Missouri enrollee is now a three-time Junior freestyle All-American. For this tournament, Wisman has two shutout technical falls and a pin, as well as tight decisions over a pair of grade-level ranked wrestlers. Reenan, ranked No. 9 in the Class of 2016, seeks a double title at this weight class. For this tournament, the Northwestern verbal commit is sitting on five technical falls from five bouts.
195: Samuel Colbray (Oregon) vs. Jacob Seely (Colorado)
This is a battle of returning Junior freestyle All-Americans, Colbray was third and Seely seventh in this weight class last year, with Colbray securing a 7-5 quarterfinal victory along the way. Colbray, ranked No. 10 in the Class of 2016, was runner-up in the Greco-Roman tournament; he started this tournament with three technical falls before an 11-6 quarterfinal decision and a 6-5 semifinal decision against fellow returning Junior freestyle All-American Kevin Mulligan (New Jersey). Seely finished No. 90 in the Class of 2015, and has five technical falls in as many matches this tournament.
220: Rylee Streifel (Minnesota) vs. Jordan Wood (Pennsylvania)
The Minnesota enrollee Streifel was never in the state finals during his high school career, but is now a two-time Junior freestyle All-American. He started this tournament with two shutout technical falls before an 11-8 quarterfinal decision over No. 57 in the Class of 2015 Austin Marsden and then an 11-1 technical fall in the semifinal over Matt Stencel, ranked No. 41 in the Class of 2016. Wood, ranked No. 6 in the Class of 2016, is a returning UWW Cadet world silver medalist in this weight class and a state champion this past year after runner-up finishes the previous two years. For this tournament, Wood sits on four technical falls and a thirteen second pin.
285: Osawaru Odighizuwa (Oregon) vs. Kevin Vough (Ohio)
This is a rematch of last year's Cadet freestyle semifinal, which was won by Odighizuwa 10-0. The wrestlers have also met in Fargo in Greco-Roman the last two years; Vough winning 8-1 in last year's championship match, while Odighizuwa won by fall in eighteen seconds this year during the consolation round of 12 on the way to a third place finish. Odighizuwa, a UCLA football commit on the defensive line, is ranked No. 39 in the Class of 2016; for this tournament he started with two shutout technical falls, then a 5-0 victory over a fellow top 100 Class of 2016 wrestler, before two additional decisions over returning Junior freestyle All-Americans. Vough had two pins and two shutout technical falls before a 9-4 semifinal decision over a returning Junior freestyle All-American.
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