100: Hunter Marko (Wisconsin), an in-season state champion who won a Cadet Triple Crown last year at 94 pounds, enters as the weight class favorite. Other contenders include Junior Greco-Roman finalists Dalton Roberts (Michigan) and Kirk Johansen (Illinois), who both were Cadet freestyle All-Americans last year.
106: Three Fargo champions anchor the field in this weight class: defending Junior freestyle champion at 100 pounds Tanner Rohweder (Iowa), returning Cadet freestyle champion at 100 pounds Miguel Silva, Jr (Illinois), and the Junior Greco-Roman champion in this weight class Brandon Staley (Florida). Fargo runners-up in this field include Joey Cisneros (California), who finished second in Junior Greco-Roman on Tuesday; Carlos Fuentez (Illinois), second last year in Junior freestyle; Nick Lukanich (Illinois), second in Cadet freestyle last year; and Luke Karam (Pennsylvania), second in Cadet freestyle in 2011. Additional wrestler to watch is returning Junior freestyle All-American Brock George (Utah), who was third in Junior Greco-Roman on Tuesday.
113: This weight class has the makings of a relatively open field; however, the slight early favorite would have to be Skyler Petry (Minnesota), who was runner-up in Greco-Roman at this weight class. Others to watch include Anthony Cefolo (New Jersey), an in-season state champion in 2012 and third in Junior Greco-Roman on Tuesday; returning Cadet freestyle All-American Nolan Hellickson (Iowa); Junior folkstyle champion Brian Rossi (Illinois); FILA Junior freestyle runner-up Doyle Trout (Nebraska); along with Christian Moody (Oklahoma), Elijah Oliver (Tennessee), and Armando Torres (Ohio).
120: Tommy Thorn (Minnesota), ranked No. 18 in the Class of 2014, seeks to repeat as Junior National freestyle champion and win a third Fargo freestyle crown in as many years. However, this field will not be an easy one to navigate with six other grade level ranked wrestlers present. Junior Greco-Roman champion Ronnie Bresser (Oregon) was ranked No. 76 in the Class of 2013, and a Junior double All-American last year; fellow Junior Greco-Roman champion Josh Terao (Hawaii) is ranked No. 92 in the Class of 2014, and was a Cadet double All-American last year; Kaid Brock (Oklahoma) and Austin Assad (Ohio) are both two-time Cadet freestyle All-Americans, and are ranked No. 25 and No. 36 in the Class of 2015 respectively; Jordan Allen (West Virginia) is No. 40 in the Class of 2014; while James Flint (Florida) is No. 99 in the Class of 2014. Others to watch are two-time Cadet freestyle All-American A.C. Headlee (Pennsylvania), Junior freestyle All-American Alijah Jeffrey (Iowa), FILA Cadet freestyle third place finisher Jens Lantz (Wisconsin), and two-time Junior Greco-Roman top three finisher Jared Oftedahl (Minnesota).
126: Nathan Tomasello (Ohio), who finished high school ranked No. 15 overall in the Class of 2013, has won Junior National freestyle titles the two previous seasons. This field presents a rather stern test; in fact one where he is not the favorite, that would be 2011 Junior National freestyle All-American Jered Cortez, who is ranked No. 7 overall in the Class of 2014. Five other grade level ranked wrestlers join these two: two-time Cadet freestyle All-American Jaydin Clayton (Missouri) is ranked No. 28 in the Class of 2015, Julian Flores (California) is No. 17 in the Class of 2016, two-time Cadet freestyle All-American Brandon James (Indiana) is No. 49 in the Class of 2015, Vincenzo Joseph (Pennsylvania) sits No. 47 in the Class of 2015, while returning Junior freestyle All-American Mason Pengilly (California) is No. 57 in the Class of 2014. Others to watch include FILA Cadet freestyle champion Sean Fausz (Kentucky), 2012 Cadet freestyle runner-up Chaz Tucker (New Jersey), along with Junior Greco-Roman top three finishers Jordan Shearer (North Dakota), Cub Yeager (Oklahoma), and William Koll (New York).
132: Even with a level of depth in this weight that is downright nasty, there is one clear favorite, and that is Hayden Tuma (Idaho). Tuma is ranked No. 6 overall in the Class of 2014, won the Junior Greco-Roman title on Tuesday for the second straight year, was a FILA Junior double All-American, and was third in Junior freestyle last year. An absurd seven additional Top 100 Class of 2014 prospects are in this field: No. 16 Zac Hall (Michigan), who was a Junior freestyle runner-up last year; No. 28 Colton Adams (Nebraska); No. 37 Cole Weaver (Michigan), a Cadet double finalist last year; No. 55 Seth Gross (Minnesota), a two-time Cadet freestyle champion; No. 60 Anthony Giraldo (New Jersey), who was third in Junior Greco-Roman; No. 88 Gary Wayne Harding (Oklahoma), a 2011 Cadet freestyle runner-up; and No. 97 Jacob Rubio (Texas), who was a Cadet double All-American last year. Three additional wrestlers in this field are ranked in the Class of 2015: returning Cadet freestyle All-American Michael Kemerer (Pennsylvania) is ranked No. 6, fellow Cadet freestyle All-American Fredy Stroker (Pennsylvania) is ranked No. 16, while Keegan Moore (Oklahoma) is No. 18.
California's Aaron Pico, who just completed his freshman year of high school, notched a win over NCAA qualifier Joey Ward at the FILA Junior Nationals this spring in Akron, Ohio (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)145: Anthony Collica (Ohio), a two-time Junior freestyle All-American who ended his career No. 20 in the Class of 2013, won the title last year in this weight class and seeks to repeat. Among those standing in his way are four grade level ranked wrestlers: Mitch Bengtson (Minnesota), a three-time Junior Greco-Roman All-Amiercan who ended his career No. 34 in the Class of 2013; Daniel Lewis (Missouri), ranked No. 36 in the Class of 2014; Gary Dinmore (New Jersey), ranked No. 67 in the Class of 2014; and Tommy Forte (Indiana), ranked No. 10 in the Class of 2015. Others to watch include Junior Greco-Roman champion Blayne Briceno (California), Junior Greco-Roman runner-up Matthew Moody (Georgia), and 2011 Junior freestyle All-American Jared Johnshoy (Idaho).
152: Bryce Brill (Illinois), ranked No. 3 in the Class of 2014, is a defending Junior National freestyle champion. However, in order to repeat, he is going to have to navigate one heck of a gauntlet -- at least based on the entrants listed at this point. The field includes three ranked Class of 2013 wrestlers, five additional ranked from the Class of 2014, and one other in the Class of 2015. Notable graduated seniors include No. 30 Jake Short (Minnesota), a two-time Junior freestyle All-American; No. 62 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa), a returning Junior freestyle All-American; No. 86 Darick Lapaglia (Missouri), a returning Junior freestyle All-American; Junior folkstyle champion Grant LaMont (Utah); and returning Junior freestyle runner-up Austin Eads (Missouri). Additional rising seniors include No. 32 Jack Clark (New Jersey); No. 34 Jon-Jay Chavez (Idaho), champion in Junior Greco-Roman, a FILA Cadet double champion, and FILA Junior double All-American; No. 35 Grant Leeth (Missouri); No. 45 Ryan Blees (North Dakota); No. 85 Vinny Corsaro (Indiana); returning Junior freestyle All-American Jack Bass (Virginia); and Junior Greco-Roman runner-up Andrew Millsap (Kansas). In addition, there is defending Cadet freestyle champion Anthony Valencia (California), who is ranked No. 13 in the Class of 2015 and was third at FILA Cadets in freestyle.
160: Two-time Junior freestyle All-American (2011 runner-up) Brian Murphy (Illinois), who finished with the No. 27 ranking in the Class of 2013, enters the tournament as the slight favorite. Four other grade level ranked wrestlers are present in this field: Burke Paddock (New York), No. 39 in the Class of 2014; returning Cadet freestyle runner-up Kimball Bastian (Utah), No. 68 in the Class of 2014; Markus Scheidel (Ohio), No. 60 in the Class of 2013; and returning Cadet double All-American Chris Weiler (Pennsylvania), ranked No. 15 in the Class of 2016. Some of the additional wrestlers to watch include Seth Leigel (Wisconsin) and Ryan Preisch (Pennsylvania).
170: Davonte Mahomes (Illinois), ranked No. 51 in the Class of 2014, will enter this event seeking a Junior Triple Crown; however, his Greco-Roman and folkstyle titles came at 160 pounds. There are four wrestlers in this field who stand out a clear step ahead of Mahomes: Zach Beard (Oklahoma), who was ranked No. 13 in the Class of 2013; returning Junior freestyle runner-up Nick Wanzek (Minnesota), who was No. 22 in the Class of 2013; Bo Nickal (Texas), who is ranked No. 8 in the Class of 2014, a returning Cadet Triple Crown winner, and FILA Cadet freestyle champion this year; along with Chandler Rogers (Washington), who is No. 13 in the Class of 2014 and seeks a sweep of the Fargo titles in this weight class. Other notable wrestlers include Tyler Askey (Georgia), who was No. 56 in the Class of 2013; Lance Dixon (Oklahoma), who is No. 46 in the Class of 2014; Andrew Garcia (Michigan), who is No. 73 in the Class of 2014; Junior Greco-Roman runner-up at 160 Xavier Montalvo (Illinois), who is No. 45 in the Class of 2015; and Junior Greco-Roman runner-up Jared Johnson (Kansas).
182: Domenic Abounader (Ohio), who ended his career ranked No. 11 in the Class of 2013, enters this tournament as the clear weight class favorite. He is joined by four other grade level ranked wrestlers: returning Junior freestyle All-American Andrew Dixon (Oklahoma) as well as returning Cadet freestyle champions in Michael Pixley (Missouri) and Ryan Christensen (Washington) whom are No. 30, 38, and 41 in the Class of 2014 respectively; along with Junior Greco-Roman champion Preston Lehmann (North Dakota), who finished up No. 46 in the Class of 2013. Other wrestlers to watch include Junior Greco-Roman top three finishers Dan Hawkins (Maryland) and Nick Corba (Ohio).
195: Though it is Chance McClure (Georgia), ranked No. 100 in the Class of 2014, who seeks the sweep of the titles in Fargo from this weight class -- he is not the clear favorite here. That mantle would be held by Mitch Sliga (Indiana), a Cadet double winner in 2010 and 2011, who ended his high school career ranked No. 31 in the Class of 2013. McClure and Sliga are joined by five other grade level ranked wrestlers: Jared Haught (West Virginia), No. 68 in the Class of 2013; Derek White (Oklahoma), No. 78 in the Class of 2014; Joel Dixon (Oklahoma), No. 82 in the Class of 2014; Junior Greco-Roman runner-up Jeramy Sweany (California), No. 84 in the Class of 2014; and Reggie Williams (New York), No. 98 in the Class of 2014
220: Roy Nash (Utah) is as prohibitive a favorite as a non-superstar can ever be in a Junior freestyle weight class. He enters the tournament seeking a second consecutive sweep of titles in Fargo, doubling at the Cadet level last year, and is currently No. 79 in the Class of 2014. There is no other grade level ranked wrestler in this field, while the most notable challenger just may be Tommy Petersen (Minnesota).
285: Things seem to be back to normal for Adam Coon (Michigan), as he is one tournament away from a second straight Junior Triple Crown. Ranked No. 2 in the final Class of 2013 rankings, Coon took a temporary sabbatical from his normal winning in mid-June as he was swept in both the FILA Junior freestyle and Greco-Roman challenge finals at the World Team Trials. However, he earned a shutout technical fall victory over Sam Stoll in the finals on Tuesday afternoon. Ranked No. 11 in the Class of 2014, Stoll is the primary threat to Coon winning the triple crown. Others to watch include Wesley Bernard (Indiana); Nathan Butler (Kansas), who ended with the No. 64 spot in the Class of 2013; Adarios Jones (Illinois), who was third in Junior Greco-Roman; returning Junior freestyle All-American Jake Scanlan (Iowa); and Wyatt Spears (Oregon), a Cadet Nationals double winner last year.
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