Lowe: Eight wrestlers who raised their stock in Fargo

It can be argued that the Cadet and Junior National Championships that happened last week in Fargo, N.D., represents the most rigorous test for high school aged wrestlers in the United States. Given that the event has an extremely high-level field, it draws the attention of many a Division I college coach, as well as fans and analysts. Below is an All-American squad (four from the Junior pool, and four from the Cadet pool) of wrestlers who increased their visibility and position in the minds and hearts of coaches and fans.

Juniors

1. Ryan Blees (Bismarck, N.D.), freestyle champion at 152 pounds

Ryan Blees (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)

Coming into Fargo ranked No. 45 in the Class of 2014, given the composition of his pool, Blees had to be considered "on the bubble" for an All-American finish in Fargo. His tournament started in relatively tame fashion, a pair of shutout technical fall victories over opposition from Utah and Wisconsin. Things would start to get testy -- at least on paper -- when he drew Reed Van Anrooy (Oregon) in the third round. The Oregon State bound Van Anrooy was a four-time state finalist, two-time state champion, third at the NHSCA Senior and Junior Nationals, and ended the 2012-13 season weight class ranked at 152 pounds.

Blees would earn a 14-5 decision victory in that match to set up a fourth round bout against Logan Brietenbach (Maryland), a two-time National Prep placer that had finished third in Junior folkstyle and fourth in Junior Greco-Roman. Blees had positive history against him, winning 11-4 in that Junior folkstyle tournament, and that positive pattern continued with a shutout technical fall. His next match was a fifth round fall over Andrew Fogarty (Minnesota), who placed third at state during his first two years of high school.

Now came a sixth round match against Brian Murphy (Illinois), who already was a two-time Junior freestyle All-American and ended high school ranked No. 27 in the Class of 2013. The result of that match was a 15-4 technical fall victory for Blees to put him in terrific position for All-American honors, which would be confirmed in the next round. In that seventh round, Blees was paired against Jack Clark (New Jersey), ranked No. 32 in the Class of 2014 and a two-time National Prep champion. With the 8-3 victory, Blees now advanced to the round-robin. In those matches, Blees would earn a 17-7 technical fall victory over Anthony Valencia (California), a Cadet freestyle champion last year and ranked No. 13 in the Class of 2015; and his last pool match came in the form of a 9-6 decision over Brandon Sorenson (Iowa), a returning Junior freestyle All-American who had finished his prep career as a four-time state champion and ranked No. 62 in the Class of 2013.

The championship final for Blees came against Jake Short (Minnesota), now a three-time Junior freestyle All-American who had finished second in this tournament in 2011. In addition, Short ended his prep as a four-time state champion and ranked No. 30 overall in the Class of 2013. Blees would win the title in a back-and-forth match with a 12-9 victory, cementing a superlative 10-0 week in Fargo with at least five very high quality wins.

2. Michael Pixley (Missouri), freestyle champion at 182 pounds

Michael Pixley (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)

Last year, Pixley was a Cadet National freestyle champion at 182 pounds. This year, he made the transition to the Junior level, entering the tournament as the No. 38 ranked wrestler in the Class of 2014. Based on the composition of his pool, which was the deeper of the two, a low All-American finish would have been the expectation. Pixley drew an opening match against Jake Turk (Illinois), an opponent one would have expected to be a tough test, given his 4-2 Junior freestyle performance last year and in-season state title. However, that was not to be the case, as the match ended in a 10-0 technical fall; it was the first of five shutout technical falls among his eight technical falls from eight match run to the championship. Pixley’s next match was another shutout technical fall against an opponent from Texas; while the third match would be another shutout technical fall, this time over New England regional champion Elliot Antler (Connecticut)

These first three matches put him at 3-0, setting up a match against pre-tournament favorite Domenic Abounader (Ohio). The University of Michigan bound Abounader was a three-time state champion, who ended the 2012-13 season ranked No. 1 at 182 pounds and the No. 11 overall recruit in the Class of 2013. However, Pixley was the one making the statement, in the form of a 12-2 technical fall victory. His fifth round match would come against returning Junior freestyle All-American Andrew Dixon (Oklahoma), who entered with the No. 30 ranking in the Class of 2014. However, like the previous four matches, Pixley dominated to the tune of an 11-1 technical fall.

After a sixth-round by confirmed an All-American finish for Pixley, the seventh round match came against Jesse Stephanos (Florida). It ended in a 10-0 technical fall for Pixley, which would advance him to the round-robin portion of pool competition with that result also carrying forward. In what was the de facto pool final, Pixley now drew three-time state champion Preston Lehmann (North Dakota), who finished his prep career ranked No. 46 in the Class of 2013. By now the pattern should be familiar, it was a 15-4 technical fall for Pixley. In the Saturday morning championship match, Pixley amassed his eighth and final technical fall of the tournament in an 11-0 victory over Riley Lefever (Indiana).

3. Blayne Briceno (California), Greco-Roman champion and freestyle runner-up at 145 pounds

Having already graduated from high school a two-time state placer in California, finishes of 8th at 132 pounds in 2012 and 6th at 152 in 2013, Briceno happened to not have made his college choice as of yet headed into "Fargo week". Based upon information received, options he is/was considering include Iowa State, North Dakota State, Cal State-Bakersfield, and Cal Poly. Even being as late in the process as things stand, this double finals finish may be change the dynamic significantly, in terms of the money being offered to him and/or the schools in play.

During his run to the Greco-Roman title, Briceno wrestled in nine matches, winning eight of them by technical fall. Notable wins for Briceno came against Mitch Bengtson (Minnesota) and Grant Leeth (Missouri); the two matches that also happened to be remotely competitive looking at the scores, as the other seven had Briceno scoring shutout technical falls. Bengtson ended his prep career as a five-time state finalist (four-time champion), ranked No. 34 in the Class of 2013, and became a third-time Junior Greco-Roman All-American after this tournament; while Leeth enters his senior year of high school as a three-time state finalist (two-time champion), and was ranked No. 35 in the Class of 2014 entering Fargo.

In the Junior freestyle competition, Briceno capitalized on the weaker of the two pools at 145 pounds to win nine matches (eight wins, plus an injury default during the round-robin portion) in advancing to the championship final. Notable wins came in the form of a 16-10 decision over state champion Nosomy Pozo (Florida), a fall against state champion Jared Scharenbock (Wisconsin), and a 9-8 decision over two-time state placer Luke Zilverberg (Minnesota). Briceno’s barrage through Fargo would end in the championship match, when Anthony Collica (Ohio) scored a first-period fall to win a second straight Junior freestyle title.

4. Dylan Wisman (Virginia), Greco-Roman and freestyle fourth place finisher at 182 pounds

Before last week’s Cadet and Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D., mention the name Dylan Wisman to wrestling fans across the country and you’d get a collective, "Who the heck is he?" After the happenings in Fargo, one might get a better response in return. In two high school seasons to date, Wisman placed second at 138 and 160 pounds in Virginia’s Class AA state tournament. His freshman season featured eight losses, while his sophomore year state finals loss was 7-3 to a relatively unheralded Christopher Tyree from Staunton River. Wisman’s major 2012-13 competitions included a DNP at the Beast of the East after losing in the quarterfinal round; along with a DNP finish at the FloNationals, two matches away from placement.

The Greco-Roman tournament started well enough for Wisman, a fall and two shutout technical falls against rather unheralded opposition from New Jersey, Georgia, and Maryland. This set up a fourth round bout against Illinois state champion Jake Turk, which Wisman won by 2-0 decision. The fifth round match came against Wisconsin state champion Aaron Rothwell, a Pitt bound wrestler who won the Preseason Nationals this past November. Wisman won that match by 9-1 technical fall; and would move to 6-0 for the tournament with a 9-2 technical fall victory over California state runner-up Nick Fiegener, who was runner-up in Cadet Greco-Roman last year. His last pool match, which acted as the de facto pool final, was a 5-4 loss to National Prep placer Daniel Hawkins (Maryland), who was now a two-time Junior Greco-Roman All-American. Wisman’s tournament would conclude with a 3-1 loss to Ohio state champion Nick Corba in the third place bout.

In the freestyle tournament, things did not start as well for Wisman, as Indiana state runner-up Riley Lefever would win their opening match by 12-2 technical fall. A second round technical fall against an opponent from Arkansas set up a third round rematch from the Greco-Roman third place match, this time Wisman would beat the Ohio state champion Corba 10-3 to remain in the competition. A pair of first-period falls against opposition from Minnesota and Colorado would lead to a sixth round first-period fall over eventual All-American, and Missouri state champion, John Filipek. All-American status would be clinched in the next round with a 19-8 technical fall over Illinois state runner-up Colin Carr. The opening round loss against Lefever carried forward into the round-robin, where he would close out pool competition with a 12-2 technical fall over Iowa state champion Dylan Blackford. His tournament did conclude with a first-period loss by fall against Preston Lehmann of North Dakota, so Wisman finished double fourth.

Cadets

1. Jacob Marnin (Iowa), double champion at 285 pounds

Jacob Marnin (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)

Though Marnin did enter the Fargo week as a known commodity, he has yet to start in the varsity lineup during the state series in either of his two high school seasons. Admittedly, the circumstances are somewhat understandable given the superlative lineups present at Southeast Polk, Iowa over the last two years. In 2012 super-stud Willie Miklus won a state title at 220, with Bryce Fisher placing third at 285; while in 2013 it was Bryce Fisher winning state at 220, with now two-time Junior feestyle All-American Jake Scanlan placing fourth at 285.

Already on the resume for Marnin was a pair of finals appearances in Cadet freestyle, winning that title this past year to set up his Triple Crown, and a Cadet double All-American finish (fourth in Greco-Roman and fifth in freestyle). Over the two tournaments in Fargo, Marnin would wrestle thirteen matches -- six in Greco-Roman and seven in freestyle -- with just one going the distance, a 13-6 second round decision in freestyle; the other matches included eight falls and four technical falls.

2. Taylor LaMont (Utah), Junior Greco-Roman seventh place and Cadet freestyle champion at 120 pounds

Taylor LaMont (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)

This one here does not fit the description of a major discovery, or extreme leap of performance level, but instead is a validation of the Cadet and Junior Duals performances from June. It also may suggest that his present position at No. 25 in the Class of 2016 is slightly low. In Lamont’s off-season before Fargo, he was a Cadet folkstyle champion at 113 pounds, FILA Cadet Greco-Roman champion at 119, and had undefeated performances in both styles at both the Cadet and Junior Duals in the 120 weight class.

During Fargo, LaMont competed in the Junior Greco-Roman competition, despite being a first-year Cadet, to avoid having to wrestle on Sunday for religious reasons. After an opening round bye, LaMont would amass wins in the next five rounds to position himself for an All-American finish -- three by technical fall and two by fall. Losses by decision in his last two matches of pool competition would relegate LaMont to the seventh place match. Those losses came against multi-time state champion Casey Cobb (Idaho), who is now a two-time All-American in Junior Greco-Roman; and No. 99 Class of 2014 prospect James Flint, a three-time state champion and 2012 FILA Cadet Greco-Roman champion. He would close out the tournament with a pin in the seventh place bout against an opponent from Colorado.

Without a day of recovery, LaMont jumped into Cadet freestyle after making scratch weight. None of his first seven matches would go the distance, four technical falls followed by two first-period pins, then followed by his second shutout technical fall of the tournament. Notable in that string were wins over very talented rising freshman Quinn Devaney of Maryland; two-time Tennessee state champion Chris Debien, who was runner-up in Cadet Greco-Roman; Ohio state champion Jake Spiess; and Indiana state champion, now Cadet double All-American, Chad Red who was ranked No. 20 in the Class of 2016. That string of matches advanced him to the round-robin, where he would win two decisions on criteria to advance to the championship match. Those wins came against two-time Idaho state champion Drake Foster, who is now a two-time Cadet double All-American, and Ohio state placer Alex Mackall. The championship final victory was by 11-7 score over Gabe Townsell, who had won the Cadet Greco-Roman title in this weight class.

3. Carter Happel (Iowa), Cadet freestyle champion at 132 pounds

Though Happel went 43-1 in winning state as a freshman this past season, he entered Fargo a relative unknown at the national level. The state title came at 120 pounds in Iowa’s smallest classification, he was not ranked among the top 50 Class of 2016 prospects, and his previous Cadet freestyle appearance was a 2-2 finish at 120 pounds last summer. However, those who did not know Happel before would come to know him.

In the first seven rounds, where Happel went 7-0 to clinch an All-American finish, only his third round 15-9 decision over an opponent from Wisconsin went the distance. His other match results were four technical falls and two pins. The eighth was a 12-6 decision over two-time Wisconsin state finalist Robert Lee, which advanced him to a pool final; Happel would win that match 25-17 over Justin Demicco from Ohio. The championship bout, his tenth of the week, would be a fifth technical fall; this time it was 10-0 over Jonathan Ross (Pennsylvania).

4. Beau Breske (Wisconsin), Cadet double champion at 170 pounds

Given that most already know of Breske as an elite age group talent, some may poo-poo what he did during Fargo by saying, "Oh he was the favorite, so he did what he should have." However, to go seventeen matches over two tournaments and give up just a single point is absurdly good, regardless of context. Some background on Breske is that he is ranked No. 9 overall in the Class of 2016, won a state title in Wisconsin at 152 pounds during the 2012-13 season, was runner-up to Mark Hall in Cadet folkstyle at 160 pounds, and placed fourth in the 167.5 pound weight class during the FILA Cadet Greco-Roman tournament in May.

Eight matches in Greco-Roman for Breske, eight wins by shutout technical fall, including those over the second, third, and fifth place finishers. The most notable opponent victory came in the championship final against Keegan Moore (Minnesota), who had won the Cadet folkstyle title at 170 pounds and is ranked No. 22 in the Class of 2016.

Nine freestyle matches for Breske resulted in eight technical falls (seven by shutout) and one pin. The pin came against the fifth place wrestler, while the lot of technical falls included those over wrestlers finishing second, third, and eighth.

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