Mason Manville is on Team USA in both styles (Photo/David Peterson)Want to get your Olympic wrestling styles fix before Fargo sets in? Are you either nocturnal or an extremely early riser? Next week you can follow the FILA Cadet World Championships in Snina, Slovakia. For six days starting on Tuesday, July 15, the best wrestlers in the United States with 1997-1999 birthdays will be competing against the best from across the world in Greco-Roman, men's freestyle and women's freestyle.
Preliminary competition on each day of the championships will start at 4 a.m. Eastern, which is 10 a.m. local, and conclude at 8 a.m. Eastern (2 p.m. local). The medal session on the opening day is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Eastern (7:30 local), while on other days it is a Noon Eastern (6 p.m. local) start.
Greco-Roman will be contested on Tuesday, July 15 and Wednesday, July 16; Women's Freestyle is scheduled for Thursday and Friday; with (men's) freestyle on the docket for Saturday and Sunday. Five of the ten weight classes in a given style will be contested each day; weigh-in will be the day prior to the competition, with standard international bracketing procedures in effect (consolation only for those that lose to a finalist, double bronze medals, etc).
Below is a breakdown of the United States hopes in Greco-Roman and (men's) freestyle. Keep in mind that there is limited (to virtually no) knowledge about the nature of the opposition, so analysis is limited to being context-based; namely how the relative abilities and performance of our individuals can project on an international level.
Greco-Roman
The group competing on Tuesday is virtual novices when it comes to the international prism of competition. While Taylor LaMont will be in his second FILA Cadet World Championships, the other four are making their debut at competitions outside the United States.
50 kilos: Drew West (Highland Riverside, Iowa)
West was sixth in Cadet Greco-Roman last summer in Fargo, while competing at the 106 pound weight class. The in-season state champion at 106 pounds in Iowa's Class 1A tournament qualified for Snina by winning the FILA Cadet National Championships in Akron in late May.
54 kilos: Jake Spiess (Delta, Ohio)
Spiess failed to earn All-American honors in two previous Cadet Greco-Roman tournaments in Fargo, but his title in May at the FILA Cadet Nationals was his second All-American honor in that event, as he finished fourth in the same 54 kilogram weight class in 2013. While he did win this weight class in Akron, Spiess was not unblemished during the tournament. In addition, he was an in-season state champion at 106 pounds during his freshman year in 2013, before finishing third at 113 this past year.
58 kilos: Taylor LaMont (Maple Mountain, Utah)
LaMont is now a two-time FILA Cadet Nationals champion in Greco-Roman, winning last year at 54 kilograms. This will be his second appearance at the World Championships, after he went 1-2 last year in Zrenjanin, Serbia. Last summer, LaMont was also seventh in Junior Greco-Roman at 120 pounds and a Cadet freestyle champion at the same weight class. He has won in-season state titles during both of his high school seasons, and is ranked No. 18 in the Class of 2016.
63 kilos: Dominick Demas (Dublin Coffman, Ohio)
Demas finished fourth last summer in Cadet Greco-Roman last summer in Fargo, while competing at the 138 pound weight class. He qualified for the World Championships, like all the others, by winning the FILA Cadet National Championships in Akron in late May. During the high school season he placed sixth at 138 pounds, and is currently No. 25 in the Class of 2017.
100 kilos: Ethan Andersen (Southeast Polk, Iowa)
Though Andersen failed to earn All-American honors in Cadet Greco-Roman last summer at 195 pounds, going 1-2 in the competition, he did finish seventh in freestyle later on that week. He has made a significant leap this past year, finishing undefeated during the high school season to win his first state title, while competing at 220 pounds. Andersen is currently ranked No. 32 in the Class of 2016.
Similar to those competing on the tournament's opening day, the group competing on Wednesday is shallow when it comes to international experience, with Mason Manville possessing most of it.
42 kilos: Jason Holmes (Arizona)
The incoming freshman has a solid history of productivity in USA Wrestling events, as he augments the FILA Cadet Greco-Roman title from late May with a Cadet National folkstyle title from early April of this year. Still, the world stage is a potential source of culture shock.
46 kilos: Dack Punke (Washington, Ill.)
In order to earn the World Team spot, Punke upset Cade Olivas, who earned a bronze medal at 42 kilos in FILA Cadet Greco-Roman. One can either view this as a transformational breakthrough moment, and a sign of things to come in Slovakia next week; or as an out-of-line result that deprives a more viable medal contender from competing for the United States. During this past high school season, his freshman year, Punke placed third at 106 pounds.
69 kilos: Mason Manville (Blair Academy, N.J.)
Manville is the clear star on the Greco-Roman squad, and one of the best in America born in the 1997 calendar year (ranked No. 2 overall in the Class of 2016). Greco-Roman is probably his most productive of the three styles, as he was both a FILA Cadet and FILA Junior Nationals champion this year, a Pan-American champion this year, has won Cadet National titles in Fargo each of the last two summers, and this was his third consecutive FILA Cadet All-American finish in Greco-Roman (second in 2013, fourth in 2014). In some context of this competition, Manville was runner-up last year in this weight class to Jon-Jay Chavez, who went on to earn a bronze medal at the FILA Cadet World Championships.
76 kilos: Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.)
If Manville is the star of the squad, Reenan plays the lead of second fiddle. He is certainly a quality wrestler, having to clear a formidable field to win the FILA Cadet Nationals this year. In addition, Reenan won a Cadet Greco-Roman title last year in Fargo at 152 pounds as part of his Triple Crown campaign, and placed third at 132 pounds in Cadet Greco-Roman back in 2012. From an in-season standpoint, he was runner-up to Manville at the National Prep championships this season at 152 pounds, and is ranked No. 9 overall in the Class of 2016.
85 kilos: Timothy Young (East Aurora, Ill.)
Like fellow Land of Lincoln native Punke, Young is on the team by virtue of a major upset in the FILA Cadet Greco-Roman national final. His came in the form of a 13-4 technical fall victory over Samuel Colbray, who has won Cadet Greco-Roman titles each of the last two summers in Fargo. Young's peripheral resume is very shallow; for example, he did not even make the tournament from which state qualification occurs this past season at 170 pounds.
From an overall standpoint, last year at the FILA Cadet World Championships, the United States had two bronze medalists. That was enough to place tied for 13th as a program in the point standings. A similar number of medalists would not surprise next week, with primary medal targets being Manville and Reenan, while the experience of LaMont could serve as an asset.
Freestyle
The group competing on Saturday includes a couple of very known commodities in competition outside of the United States, with two others who won Cadet National freestyle titles last year in Fargo.
42 kilos: Gavin Teasale (Jefferson-Morgan, Pa.)
Though this will be Teasdale's debut on the international stage, he has a very strong pedigree domestically. He was dominant in both of his major freestyle titles won at the Cadet level, last summer in Fargo at 88 pounds and the FILA Cadet title in late May that earned him a spot on this world team. Teasdale is ranked No. 3 overall in the Class of 2018, and trains at the same Young Guns Wrestling Club in Western Pennsylvania that has produced two other members of the freestyle squad.
50 kilos: Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional, Pa.)
This will be a second appearance for him at the FILA Cadet World Championships in this weight class, as he went 2-2 in last year's late August competition in Zrenjanin, Serbia. Lee's two losses in that event came to the silver medalist in the quarterfinals and one of the bronze medalists in the consolation. The goal for the nation's No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2017 is clear, as he has asserted the belief that he can (and will) win the world title next week in Slovakia. While that may be bold, it isn't at all bold to call him a legitimate medal contender.
58 kilos: Carter Happel (Lisbon, Iowa)
In the FILA Cadet Nationals title that qualified Happel onto this World Championships team, Happel did lose a match during the preliminary competition. However, he did qualify for the final, where he upset pre-tournament Nick Lee by a 12-7 decision; Lee has now finished second twice at FILA Cadet Nationals in this weight class, but has won gold at the Pan-American championships in this weight each of the last two years. That said, Happel does have a solid foundation of domestic success, including a Cadet National freestyle title at 132 pounds last year in Fargo, a pair of in-season high school state titles, along with being ranked No. 17 overall in the Class of 2016.
69 kilos: Mason Manville (Blair Academy, N.J.)
Manville will be the lone American wrestler competing in both styles at next week's FILA Cadet World Championships. In freestyle, he has won gold at the Pan-American championships each of the last two years at this weight class, is a two-time Cadet National finalist in Fargo (winning last year at 145 pounds), and is a two-time FILA Cadet National All-American (winning the title this year). Further, he is ranked No. 2 overall in the Class of 2016, and is a two-time National Prep finalist, winning the title this past season at 152 pounds.
85 kilos: Hunter Ritter (John Carroll, Md.)
Clearly the least credentialed of the group competing on Saturday, Ritter was the beneficiary of an upset loss suffered by Lance Benick -- last year's representative at 100 kilos: in the other preliminary pool at the FILA Cadet Nationals in May. On his resume is a FILA Cadet Greco-Roman runner-up finish from last year, double Cadet All-American honors in Fargo last summer (champion in Greco-Roman), and a pair of placements at the National Prep championships (including a runner-up finish this past year at 182 pounds). Ritter is ranked as the No. 37 overall prospect in the Class of 2015.
The group competing on the last day of competition at the FILA Cadet World Championships, which is one week from Sunday, features a pair of wrestlers with discernable international experience as well as arguably the nation's highest profile prep wrestling prospect.
46 kilos: Cade Olivas (St. John Bosco, Calif.)
Olivas earned a bronze medal in last year's Greco-Roman competiton at 42 kilos, and hopes to replicate that level of success up a weight in the other style of competition. The nation's top-ranked Class of 2018 prospect did win the Pan-American Championships in this weight class in early May. His resume of accomplishments across styles to date is abundant.
54 kilos: Daton Fix (Sand Springs, Okla.)
Last year he was runner-up at the FILA Cadet Nationals down one weight class to Spencer Lee, but went on to win the Pan-American Championships in that weight class. Fix added a second Pan-American FILA Cadet title two months ago in this weight class, and will be making his debut at the FILA Cadet World Championships next week. His domestic resume is abundant, featuring a Cadet Triple Crown last year, an in-season state title at 113 pounds during his freshman year of high school, and at present the No. 3 overall position in the Class of 2017.
63 kilos: Jared Verkleeren (Belle Vernon, Pa.)
Clearly the least credentialed member of the American freestyle team happens to have qualified out of the weight class that most thought was the weakest at the FILA Cadet Nationals in late May. During this past high school season, his freshman year, Verkleeren went 1-2 in the state tournament up at 145 pounds despite missing the first third of the season while coming back from injury. Six of his nine victories at the FILA Cadets came by pin or technical fall. He is currently ranked No. 15 in the Class of 2017.
76 kilos: Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.)
Arguably the nation's most talked about prep wrestler is making a long-awaited debut at the FILA Cadet World Championships, as Bo Nickal served as a personal blockade the last two years (upending Hall during preliminary competition in 2012, while beating him in last year's final bout). Nickal did represent the United States very well in this weight class last year, where he placed fifth, as he lost in the bronze medal bout. In terms of Hall, this was his third All-American finish in three attempts at the FILA Cadet Nationals, and he has won Cadet National freestyle titles in Fargo each of the last two years, last year's being the capper on a Triple Crown. Further, he is a four-time high school state champion, winning the past year at 170 pounds; Hall is also ranked No. 1 overall in the Class of 2016.
100 kilos: Jordan Wood (Boyertown, Pa.)
While this is a debut for Wood on the international stage, he does have clear credentials within domestic competition. Last year he was a double All-American at the Cadet Nationals, second in Greco-Roman and third in freestyle, losing only to Lance Benick in both styles. In addition, Wood has finished second at state twice in as many in-season high school attempts at 220 pound. At present, he is ranked as the No. 5 overall prospect in the Class of 2016.
Last year's FILA Cadet World Championships saw only one American earn a medal in freestyle, the gold medal won by Aaron Pico. However, multiple other wrestlers won two-plus matches to finish in the top ten of their respective weight classes. That was enough to see the United States finish ninth in the standings.
While predicting in specific is next to impossible, this group of wrestlers has the potential to perform at a similar level -- in terms of wins, contention, and overall standing. What that means in terms of medals won, check out the competition one week from Saturday and Sunday to find out.
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