Mitchell McKee has won Fargo titles each of the last four years (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)The Fargo Week is officially upon us. Competition for athletes in the Junior age group, one in which any wrestler that competed in grades nine through twelve during the 2015-16 school year is eligible, starts on Monday with the Greco-Roman event. The tournament then concludes with medal matches on Tuesday afternoon. Most athletes in this competition have completed their junior year in high school, while a significant amount of others have graduated from high school or are rising juniors.
There are more known commodities at the Junior level than at the Cadet level, since they've been competing at the high school level longer. None the less, the Junior events are robust competitions, one in which All-American honors are truly earned.
Below is an overview of the participating field in each weight class for the Junior Greco-Roman competition. Information used in this preview is based on registration posted to Trackwrestling as of early afternoon on Saturday, July 16.
100 pounds: Last year Mosha Schwartz (Colorado) was a Cadet Triple Crown winner at 88 pounds, and this year he already earned the first leg of the Junior Triple Crown when he won the folkstyle national title in this weight class in early April. Schwartz is the very strong favorite in this competition, ranked No. 45 overall in the Class of 2019, and will be representing the United States at the UWW Cadet World Champions in Greco-Roman at 46 kilograms (101 pounds).
Another pair in this weight class were also All-Americans in Cadet Greco-Roman last summer, all at 94 pounds. Brandon Nunez (New York) placed fifth, Cevion Severado (Missouri) placed sixth. Each were also state medalists this past high school season, and placers at the UWW Cadet Nationals in Greco-Roman at 46 kilograms; Severado was the runner-up to Schwartz, while Nunez placed fifth. An additional pair of wrestlers were scholastic season state champions, Brendan Garcia (Colorado) and Darrick Stacey (Idaho). Others to watch include Brenden Chaowanapibool (Washington), who was undefeated in Greco-Roman at last month's Junior Duals; state medalist Camden Russell (Nebraska); Junior folkstyle runner-up Cody Holmes (Wisconsin); and state medalist Matthew Petersen (Minnesota), a returning Greco-Roman All-American from this Junior weight class last year.
106 pounds: Jaret Lane (Pennsylvania) seeks a repeat title in Junior Greco-Roman, after winning last year at 100 pounds and then finishing runner-up in the freestyle competition. He is also a two-time state placer, including a runner-up finish this past high school season, and was champion at the FloNationals this spring. Four others from this weight class joined Lane in going undefeated at last month's Junior Duals in Greco-Roman: two-time state champion Brandon Kaylor (Washington), state champions Cody Phippen (Missouri) and Elijah Varona (Florida), along with Jason Holmes (Arizona).
Kaylor placed third in Greco-Roman at last month's UWW Cadet Nationals in the 50 kilogram (110 pound) weight class, Phippen was a Cadet double All-American last year at 94 pounds, Varona was runner-up to Lane in Greco-Roman last summer and a freestyle All-american, while Holmes was fourth in Greco-Roman and beat Lane in the freestyle final last summer.
Additional wrestlers to watch include two-time state champions Koby Milner (Georgia) and Wyatt Adams (Oklahoma), state runners-up Cody Craig (Maine) and Dalton Stutzman (Utah), along with returning Junior double All-Americans Nathan Rankin (Texas) and Tyler Cunningham (Nebraska); Rankin was a scholastic state medalist, while Cunningham was a state champion.
113 pounds: Dack Punke (Illinois) seeks a repeat title in Junior Greco-Roman, after winning the title last year in this weight class. In addition, he was a scholastic state champion this past season, and has represented the United States twice in Greco-Roman at the UWW Cadet World Championships. Joining Punke (who competed at 50 kilos) on last year's Cadet World Team was Brady Koontz (Wisconsin), who competed at 46 kilos and also was a scholastic state champion this season.
Four wrestlers in this weight class are two-time state champions: Brock Bergelin (Wisconsin), also a two-time UWW Cadet Greco-Roman runner-up at 50 kilos; Joey Thomas (Maryland), sixth in Junior Greco-Roman at 106 pounds last summer; Justin Portillo (Iowa); and Ty Smith (Nevada), champion in Junior folkstyle this spring. At least seven others in this weight class were scholastic state champions this past season, including Junior Greco-Roman runner-up Dylan Koontz (Wisconsin); Joey Melendez (Illinois); Joseph Harrison (Nebraska), who was undefeated in Greco-Roman at last month's Junior Duals; Kelvin Eblen (Missouri), a returning All-American in Junior Greco-Roman; and Patrick McKee (Minnesota), two times a Cadet double All-American in Fargo.
Four others in this weight class won state titles in 2015, including Jake Stogdill (Nebraska), a UWW Junior Greco All-American this spring at 55 kilos (121 pounds). The additional notable in this weight class is Nico Aguilar (California), state runner-up this past season, and a Cadet National double champion in 2014.
120 pounds: A pair of wrestlers in this rather deep weight class have already won Junior National titles in Greco-Roman, Dalton Duffield (Oklahoma) in 2015 and Danny Vega (Arizona) in 2014. Oklahoma bound Duffield is also a two-time state runner-up and placed fourth at the UWW Junior Nationals in Greco-Roman this spring; while Iowa State bound Vega ended his career as the No. 76 overall Class of 2016 prospect, is a three-time state champion, and was a Junior Triple Crown winner in 2014.
Two others in this weight class are ranked as top 100 prospects in the Class of 2017, No. 63 Drew Mattin (Ohio) and No. 78 Colin Valdiviez (Missouri). Mattin went undefeated in Greco-Roman at the Junior Duals last month, is a two-time state champion, two-time Super 32 Challenge placer, and has earned double All-American honors in Fargo the last two years (Junior 113 in 2015); while Valdiviez was a state champion this past year, along with being a Super 32 Challenge placer, who also placed third at the UWW Cadet Nationals in Greco-Roman last month.
Another pair of wrestlers have been runners-up in Junior Greco-Roman previously, Corbin Nirschl (Kansas) and Jordan Martinez (Colorado); Nirschl is also a three-time state finalist, winning a title in 2014, while Martinez won state this past season and also was runner-up in Greco-Roman at the UWW Junior Nationals this spring. Seven others in this weight are multiple time state champions, including Wesley Dawkins (Nebraska) and Trae Vasquez (Montana), who were undefeated at the Junior Duals in Greco-Roman last month; while Ian Timmins (Nevada) was a FloNationals champion and won a Cadet Greco-Roman title in 2014, Jaxon Cole (Utah) is a two-time FloNationals placer, Jet Taylor (Oklahoma) is a FloNationals placer, with Connor Brown (Missouri) a three-time state champion.
Rounding out the lot of wrestlers to note are three-time state placer Brenden Baker (Iowa), a 2014 Junior Greco All-American; two-time state placer Chase Zollman (California); two-time state runner-up Liam Cronin (California), a returning Junior double All-American; along with state champions Jack Skudlarczyk (Texas) and Victor Gliva (Minnesota).
126 pounds: Three-time Fargo runner-up, including last year in Junior Greco-Roman, Matthew Schmitt (Missouri) enters this weight class as the slight favorite. Also a three-time state champion, the West Virginia bound wrestler graduated as the No. 47 overall wrestler in the Class of 2016. Three other grade level ranked wrestlers are in this weight class: Alex Thomsen (Iowa), No. 30 overall in the Class of 2018, along with Class of 2017 wrestlers in No. 77 Cole Manley (Pennsylvania) and No. 81 Drew West (Iowa). Thomsen is a two-time state champion, a Cadet double All-American last year, and a Super 32 Challenge placer; Manley is a two-time state placer, runner-up in 2014; while West is a three-time state placer, champion in 2014, and finished third in Junior Greco-Roman last year.
Three other notable title contenders are graduated seniors. Multi-time state champion Paul Bianchi (Wisconsin), a three-time Greco-Roman All-American in Fargo; NHSCA Senior Nationals champion Codi Russell (Georgia); and New England regional champion Peter Del Gallo (Maine). Another pair of three-time state champions are among those to watch, Josh Portillo (Iowa) and Clai Quintanilla (Washington), a Cadet Greco All-American last year. Another trio earned All-American honors last year in Cadet Greco-Roman: two-time state champion Clayton Currier (Montana), 2015 state runner-up Gary Joint (California), and UWW Cadet Greco runner-up Jack Karstetter (Oklahoma).
Others to watch include two-time state placer Jakob Campbell (Pennsylvania), 2015 state champion and FloNationals placer Michael Millage (Iowa), 2015 state champion and three-time finalist Rylee Molitor (Minnesota), along with 2015 state placer Zach Villarreal (Illinois) who went undefeated at the Junior Duals in Greco-Roman.
132 pounds: Even in what is a very strong overall weight, there is just one favorite, and that is Taylor LaMont (Utah). He represented the United States at the UWW Cadet World Championships the previous three years, and will be competing at the Junior World Championships in the 60 kilo (132 pound) weight class next month. In addition, the No. 23 overall Class of 2016 wrestler is a three-time Junior Greco All-American in Fargo, including a national title in 2014. However, there is another Junior Greco-Roman national champion in this weight class, Gabe Townsell (Illinois). He won that title a weight class below LaMont last year, and was also a Cadet National champion in Greco-Roman during the summer of 2013; however, he was third behind LaMont at the UWW Junior Nationals this spring in Greco-Roman.
Three wrestlers in this weight class join LaMont as being grade level ranked wrestlers, all happen to be in the Class of 2017: No. 28 Chris Sandoval (Colorado), No. 86 Timmy Kane (Connecticut), and No. 88 K.J. Fenstermacher (Pennsylvania). Sandoval won the Junior folkstyle title in this weight class, and seeks a Junior Triple Crown; Kane was a Cadet double All-American last summer; while Fenstermacher is a two-time state placer. There is a pair of wrestlers in this weight class that placed third in Junior Greco-Roman last summer, both being three-time scholastic state champions as well, Brent Jones (Minnesota) and Dalton Young (Washington).
Additional wrestlers to watch in this weight class include a pair of FloNationals placers in Keaton Geerts (Iowa) and Tanner Cox (Utah); state champion Jacob Butler (Oklahoma) and two-time state placer Blaine Martinez (Texas) who both went undefeated at the Junior Duals in Greco-Roman last month; three-time state champion Danny Bertoni (Maryland); Zach Van Alst (Alabama), a returning Junior Greco All-American; state champion Jakob Bergeland (Minnesota), a returning Cadet double All-American; along with state champion Tristan Lara (Iowa).
138 pounds: Even in a field with four other grade-level ranked wrestlers, the clear favorite is Mitchell McKee (Minnesota), who has been a star in Fargo. The No. 20 overall Class of 2016 prospect has won Fargo titles each of the last four years (three in Greco-Roman, including last year's Junior title at 132), and is already a seven-time finalist in eight tournament attempts. McKee has also finished as a double All-American at the UWW Junior Nationals these last two years, and is a two-time Super 32 Challenge placer.
The other ranked Class of 2016 wrestler is No. 86 Jarrett Degen (Montana), a four-time state champion who placed eighth in Junior Greco-Roman last summer. The three ranked Class of 2017 wrestlers are No. 30 Jaden Enriquez (California), No. 59 Alec Hagan (Missouri), and No. 85 Corey Shie (Ohio). Enriquez is a two-time state placer, a two-time UWW Cadet Greco-Roman runner-up to LaMont, and a two-time Cadet double All-American (winning gold in Greco-Roman in 2014); Hagan was state champ this high school season, and was a Cadet double All-American last year; while Shie is a two-time state placer, placed at the Super 32 and FloNationals during 2015-16, and was third in Junior Greco-Roman last summer.
Others to watch in this weight class include state champion Brik Filippo (Oklahoma); state champion Nolan Baker (Illinois), a three-time Greco-Roman All-American in Fargo; UWW Cadet Greco-Roman runner-up Calvin Germinaro (Minnesota); three-time state placer Alex Crowe (Mnnesota), a Cadet Greco-Roman runner-up in 2013; along with multiple time state champions in Dakota Galt (South Dakota) and Taylor Nein (North Dakota).
145 pounds: Returning Junior Greco-Roman runner-up Austin O'Connor (Illinois) is ranked No. 11 overall in the Class of 2017. The three-time state champion was also a Super 32 Challenge runner-up in the fall of 2015, and enters this event as the favorite. Three other wrestlers in this weight class join O'Connor in being grade-level ranked wrestlers.
Anthony Artalona (Florida) and Alex Lloyd (Minnesota) are ranked No. 17 and No. 24 overall in the Class of 2018. Each was a Cadet National Greco-Roman champion last summer. Artalona is also a two-time state champion, and doubled up that Greco-Roman title with a freestyle title in Fargo; while Lloyd also won a Junior National folkstyle title this spring, and is a two-time Cadet double All-American along with winning a high school state title this winter. Ryan Deakin (Colorado), a two-time Junior Greco-Roman All-American, finished as the No. 95 overall wrestler in the Class of 2016; he also was a two-time state champion and placed third in the Super 32 Challenge.
Two wrestlers in this weight class return as Junior Greco All-Americans, David Rivera-Kohr (Illinois) and two-time state champion Jaron Jensen (Utah), who also took second in Greco-Roman at the UWW Junior Nationals this spring. Others to watch include multi-time state champions Brandon Konecny (Arizona), undefeated in Greco-Roman at the Junior Duals last month; Eli King (Tennessee); Justin Ruffin (Georgia); and Ryan Leisure (Iowa), who also finished runner-up in Greco-Roman at the UWW Junior Nationals this spring.
152 pounds: On the surface this appears to be a battle between two elite wrestlers in Griffin Parriott (Minnesota) and Quentin Hovis (Arizona). Parriott ended his scholastic career as a four-time state champion, two-time Super 32 Challenge placer, and ranked No. 17 overall in the Class of 2016; while Hovis is a three-time state champion, three-time Greco-Roman All-American in Fargo (third at the Junior level last year), a UWW Junior Greco-Roman champion, and ranked No. 20 overall in the Class of 2017.
Three wrestlers in this weight class joined Hovis in going undefeated in Greco-Roman at the Junior Duals last month. Anthony Scantlin (Kansas) is a two-time state champion, state runner-up Billy Higgins (Nebraska) was a Cadet Greco All-American in 2014, while 2015 state champion Thomas Lisher (Missouri) was a Junior Greco All-American last year. Another pair of wrestlers were multiple-time state champions, Jaron Chavez (Idaho) and Zemua Baptista (Nebraska); Chavez is ranked No. 80 overall in the Class of 2017, and is a two-time Cadet Greco All-American (runner-up in 2014).
Others to watch include state champion and Cadet freestyle runner-up Jaryn Curry (Oklahoma); Super 32 Challenge placer Lenny Merkin (New York), a 2014 Junior Greco All-American; two-time state placers Davey Tunon (Ohio) and Ethan Reel (Illinois); along with state placer Joshua Kim (California).
160 pounds: Six grade-level ranked wrestlers make this arguably the deepest weight class in the tournament. The Iowa State bound Colton Clingenpeel (Iowa) finished as the No. 85 overall wrestler in the Class of 2016; he was state champion this past year, and is a returning Junior Greco All-American. Trent Hidlay (Pennsylvania) placed at the Super 32 Challenge and was runner-up at the FloNationals, finished as runner-up in his state tournament, and is ranked No. 23 overall in the Class of 2018.
The other four are all Class of 2017 wrestlers: No. 19 Layne Van Anrooy (Oregon), a three-time state champion; No. 32 Eric Hong (Pennsylvania), a two-time Super 32 placer, two-time Cadet double All-American, and 2014 National Prep champion; No. 34 Jake Allar (Minnesota), third at both the UWW Junior and Cadet Nationals in Greco-Roman, a state champion and Super 32 Challenge placer, and a 2015 Cadet World team member in Greco-Roman; and No. 44 Luke Troy (California), a two-time third place finisher at state and a Junior National freestyle All-American last summer.
Others to watch include Cadet Greco-Roman runner-up Andrew Johnson (Kansas); state champion Emille Shannon (Illinois); state runner-up Fritz Schierl (Wisconsin), a Junior Greco All-American last summer; Josh Anderson (Nebraska), a UWW Junior Greco All-American this spring; two-time state placer Kenny O'Neil (Minnesota); Cadet Greco-Roman champion Max Wohlabaugh, who won the UWW Cadet Greco-Roman title this spring; state runner-up Ryder Punke (Illinois), a 2014 Junior Greco All-American; along with state champion Trey Meyer (Washington), a 2014 Cadet National freestyle champion.
170 pounds: Three grade-level ranked wrestlers populate this weight class, Jack Jessen (Illinois), Anthony Mantanona (California), and Clay Lautt (Kansas). Jessen is ranked No. 13 in the Class of 2018, a two-time state placer (2015 runner-up), and a two-time Cadet National double All-American; Mantanona is ranked No. 31 in the Class of 2017, a two-time state placer (runner-up this past season), a Super 32 Challenge placer, and FloNationals champion; while Lautt is ranked No. 98 in the Class of 2017, a two-time state champion, Cadet double All-American last summer, and a UWW Cadet National champion in Greco-Roman this spring.
Another pair in this weight class were Junior National runners-up in Greco-Roman last summer, Andrew Berreyesa (Nevada) and Riley Jaramillo (Oregon). Berreyesa is a three-time state finalist (2015 state champion) and a FloNationals placer, while Jaramillo is a two-time state champion and also a 2014 Cadet Greco-Roman champion. Additional wrestlers to watch include three-time state champion Jacob Hart (West Virginia), a FloNationals placer; two-time state champion Johnny Blankenship (Missouri); three-time state placer Leo Tarantino (Florida); state champion Myles Wilson (Colorado); 2015 state champion Thomas Brackett (Tennessee), who was undefeated at the Junior Duals in Greco-Roman last month; and state medalist Victor Marcelli (Ohio), a Cadet double All-American last summer.
182 pounds: Returning Junior Greco-Roman champion Kamal Bey (Illinois) is the anchor figure in this weight class. The No. 11 overall Class of 2016 wrestler is also going to be on the UWW Junior World Team in Greco-Roman at 74 kilos (163 pounds) laster this summer. Two others in this weight class are grade-level ranked, Owen Webster (Minnesota) and James Handwerk (Ohio). Webster is ranked No. 48 overall in the Class of 2016; the 2014 state champion was a Junior freestyle All-American last year and a Cadet Greco-Roman champion in 2014, and also a Cadet World team member in freestyle during the summer of 2014. Handwerk is ranked No. 65 in the Class of 2017, a two-time state champion, and a returning Junior National double All-American.
Two others in this weight class earned All-American honors in Junior Greco-Roman last summer, two-time state medalist Aaron Paddock (New York) and two-time state champion Matt Waddell (Georiga). Additional wrestlers to note in this weight class include two-time state medalist Anthony Sherry (Iowa), a two-time Cadet double All-american; state champion Bear Hughes (Oklahoma); state champion Robert Coleman (Oregon), a FloNationals placer; Dylan Servis (Kansas), a two-time Cadet Greco All-American; two-time state champion Kevin Parker (New York), a Junior National freestyle All-American; state medalist Logan Gruszka (Illinois), a 2014 Cadet World team member in Greco-Roman; along with two-time state champion Trevor Nichelson (Nebraska).
195 pounds: The pre-tournament favorite would be Andrew Davison (Indiana), who is seeking the second leg to the Junior Triple Crown having won the folkstyle title this spring. He is ranked No. 61 overall in the Class of 2017, and also a Cadet double All-American last year, including a champion in Greco-Roman. Most likely to pose a direct challenge is two-time state champion John Borst (Virginia), a FloNationals placer and UWW Cadet double All-American this spring.
At least five others were scholastic state champions this past season. They include multi-time champions Cade Brownlee (Nebraska) and Haydn Maley (Oregon), a FloNationals placer; along with Chad Porter (Arizona), Noah Ryan (Minnesota), and Trenton Schultz (Colorado). Others to watch include Bonifacio Escobar (California), a Cadet Greco All-American last summer; two-time state placer Danny Salas (California), a Cadet double All-American last summer; three-time state placer Donovan Doyle (Iowa); two-time state placer John Kelbly (Ohio); state runners-up Samuel Grove (Minnesota) and Nolan Funk (Colorado), who went undefeated in Greco-Roman at last month's Junior Duals; along with state medalist Sean O'Malley (New Jersey).
220 pounds: Samuel Colbray (Oregon) was a double runner-up at the Junior Nationals last summer after winning a Greco-Roman title each of the previous three years in Fargo (2014 was at the Junior level). The No. 14 overall wrestler in the Class of 2016 is a strong favorite to get a fourth Greco-Roman championship in Fargo before moving on to Iowa State. The most direct threat would seem to be Zane Black (Pennsylvania), ranked No. 69 overall in the Class of 2017; he placed at National Preps in 2015, placed at the Super 32 Challenge in the fall of 2015, and was fourth in Junior Greco-Roman last summer.
Joining Black in going undefeated at the Junior Duals in Greco-Roman was Daryl Aiello (California), a two-time state placer and Junior freestyle All-American last summer. Another returning Junior All-American in Fargo is Jeffrey Allen (Virginia), a two-time state champion who placed eighth at 195 pounds in Greco-Roman. Others two watch include three-time state champion Ashton Seely (Utah); state medalists Andrew Fenton (Ohio), Anthony Piscopo (Pennsylvania), and Diata Drayton (Illinois); Cadet double All-American Colin Lawler (Texas); and state champion Max Darrah (Missouri).
285 pounds: Junior folkstyle champion this spring, returning Junior Greco-Roman runner-up Carter Isley (Iowa) is well positioned to win this second leg of the Junior Triple Crown. He is also ranked as the No. 58 overall prospect in the Class of 2016 as a two-time state champion. Two others are ranked within their respective grade levels, Brandon Metz (North Dakota) and Anthony Cassioppi (Illinois). Metz is No. 57 in the Class of 2017 as a three-time state champion and returning Junior Greco All-American, while Cassioppi is the No. 42 prospect in the Class of 2018 as a state third place finisher and returning Cadet double third place medalist.
Five others in this weight class were double All-Americans in Fargo last summer. Two-time state placer Gavin Nye (California) did so at the Cadet level, including a runner-up finish in Greco-Roman at 285 pounds; state champion Kayne Hutchsion (Kansas) did so at the Cadet level, including a Greco-Roman runner-up finish at 220; state champion Sammy de Seriere (Colorado) did so at the Cadet level; state medalist Thomas Helton (Illinois) did so at the Junior level; while state medalist Zach Muller (Illinois) did so at the Cadet level.
Others to watch include state runner-up Aaron Costello (Iowa), two-time state champion Brian Barnes (Oregon), and two-time state placer Trenton Lieruance (Oklahoma).
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