Those matches involved more than 3700 bracket participants -- though obviously in many cases one athlete was on brackets in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. It narrowed things down to a total of 512 All-American honors, which reflected less than 14 percent of those on the bracket.
From last year, overall participation was a virtual wash, as increases in competitors at the Junior level were mostly countered by decreases at the Cadet level. Below is a chart and spreadsheet showing participation patterns in Fargo over the last ten years for each of the tournaments.
Land of Lincoln leads the way
In a headline that has become more or less overkill during the summer months, Illinois was once again the dominant state in this USA Wrestling event by almost any metric. They won the points and All-American count distinctions in both Cadet competitions as well as the Junior Greco-Roman event (New Jersey had the most points in Junior freestyle, while Pennsylvania and Oklahoma had the most All-Americans)
In terms of aggregate points (8 for first down to 1 for eighth) across the four events, Illinois had almost 100 more than the next best state (293 to Minnesota with 194). If one looks at Greco-Roman only, the margin was just over 60 (170 for Illinois to 108 for Minnesota); looking at freestyle only, the gap was much narrower (123 for Illinois to 111 for Pennsylvania and 91 for New Jersey); in terms of Cadet level performance, where they won both styles at the Duals in Daytona Beach, they doubled the points of the next team in line (189 for Illinois to 95 for Ohio and 90 for Minnesota); while Illinois and Minnesota had the joint most points combined on the Junior level with 104.
In terms of cumulative All-Americans, the gap was 22 between Illinois and Minnesota, who had the second most (66 to 44, Pennsylvania third with 34). For Greco-Roman, Illinois almost had as many All-Americans as the next two combined (37 in comparison to 24 for Minnesota and 17 for Wisconsin); while in freestyle it was a bit closer, as Illinois had 29 in comparison to 25 for Pennsylvania and 20 for Minnesota). Looking at the Cadet program, Illinois had more than the next two combined (41 in comparison to 22 for Minnesota and 18 for Pennsylvania); and it was much closer at the Junior level with Illinois having 25 All-Americans, in comparison to 22 for Minnesota and 17 for Oklahoma.
In terms of cumulative finalists, Illinois led the way with 14 to Minnesota having 13 and Ohio with 8. Breaking it out in terms of Greco-Roman, Illinois and Minnesota had the joint most with 7, while Utah had 5; and in terms of freestyle it was Illinois with 7, while New Jersey and Minnesota had 6 each. Looking at the Cadet program, Illinois led the way with 10, while Minnesota with 6 and Ohio on 5 were next in line; while for the Junior program, Minnesota led the way with 7, with 6 for New Jersey, and Illinois one of four squads with 4 each.
Not that this is breaking news at this point, but there are a few simple keys -- easier said than to do it -- for the success of Illinois in USA Wrestling competitions. First and foremost, there is a base of talent within the state. Secondly, there is strong coaching present. Third, and arguably more important than the first two, is that there is a prioritization on competing in these events for the wrestlers, from the coaches, and within a strong leadership structure.
Depth is the defining factor
While much is made out of the champions and All-American finishers in each of the competitions, it wouldn't carry (as) much value if the journey didn't involve matches against strong competition. Obviously not everyone earns All-American distinction, and that includes some extremely high-end competitors. For the freestyle competitions, let's take a look at eight notable wrestlers from each weight class that failed to earn All-American honors.
Junior Nationals
100: only 24 participants
106: Emilio Alcantav (Arizona), Jordan Aquino (California), Brendan Coughlin (Maryland), Ian Mullen (Illinois), Dack Punke (Illinois), ^Dalton Roberts (Michigan), Arick Shankles (Alabama), Colin Valdivez (Missouri)
113: Max Johnson (Michigan), ^Zac McCauley (Ohio), Cody Minnick (Illinois), Toribio Navarro (Tennesse), Corbin Nirschl (Kansas), ^Tanner Rohweder (Iowa), Josh Venia (Ohio), and Jack Wagner (Iowa)
120: *Camden Bertucci (Michigan), Michael Cullen (Illinois), Dalton Duffield (Oklahoma), Nolan Hellickson (Iowa), *Nick Lukanich (Illinois), ^Christian Moody (Oklahoma), *^Elijah Oliver (Tennessee), and Brock Rathbun (Iowa)
126: Keegan Calkins (Illinois), Evan Cheek (Ohio), Jacob Fontanez (Oklahoma), Garrett Hancock (Ohio), ^Taylor LaMont (Utah), ^Richard Montoya (New Mexico), Matthew Noble (New Jersey), and *Stephen Polakowski (Illinois)
132: ^Cameron Kelly (Ohio), Michael Kostandaras (Ohio), ^Sam Krivus (Pennsylvania), William Koll (New York), ^Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma), Marty Margolis (Maryland), Cole Martin (Wisconsin), and ^*Jordan Shearer (North Dakota)
138: Ian Brown (Pennsylvania), Alex Butler (Illinois), ^Julian Flores (California), Dusty Hone (Utah), *^Brandon James (Indiana), ^Robert Lee (Wisconsin), Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma), and ^Cole Weaver (Michigan)
145: *Jonce Blaylock (Oklahoma), ^Kevin Budock (Maryland), ^Hayden Hidlay (Pennsylvania), ^Austin Kraisser (Maryland), ^*Grant Leeth (Missouri), ^Michael Longo (California), ^Bryce Parson (Idaho), and ^Max Thomsen (Iowa)
152: Lorenzo de la Riva (California), ^Colstin DiBlasi (Missouri), ^Isaac Dulgarian (Kansas), Thomas Dutton (New York), Collbran Meeker (Oregon), Jared Scharenbock (Wisconsin), Chase Straw (Iowa), and ^Cole Walter (Pennsylvania)
160: Corbin Allen (Virginia), ^Trace Carello (Illinois), Weston Dobler (North Dakota), ^Andrew Fogarty (Minnesota), Paden Moore (Minnesota), ^Dayton Racer (Missouri), ^Ben Schram (Ohio), and ^Jonathan Viruet (Massachusetts)
170: Gavin Grater (Kansas), Dustin Gray (Missouri), Jacob Holschlag (Iowa), Dylan Lydy (Indiana), Andrew McNally (Ohio), Tyler McNutt (Missouri), Garrett Miller (Texas), and Weston Taylor (Arizona)
182: Jordan Dieringer (Oklahoma), ^Seth McLeod (Idaho), Adis Radoncic (New York), Eric Schultz (Illinois), *Christian Stackhouse (New Jersey), Jacob Weber (New York), Nick Weldon (Alabam), and Tyler Wildmo (Michigan)
195: David Chadd (Wisconsin), Chance Cooper (Missouri), Terell Fields (Pennsylvania), Emilio Fowler (Kansas), *Edgar Ruano (Illinois), Randy Scott (Indiana), and Jeffrey Velez (New Jersey)
220: Christian Boyles (Missouri), Seth Brennock (Ohio), Christian Colucci (New Jersey), Christian Dulaney (Minnesota), *Lance Evans (Iowa), *Parker Knapp (Ohio), *^Roy Nash (Utah), and Rafael Rokosz (New York)
285: Blake Andrews (Texas), Collin Braun (Missouri), Dane Drimmer (Colorado), Matt Halverson (Wisconsin), Conan Jennings (Ohio), Ryan Monk (Pennsylvania), Ryan Prescott (Michigan), and Kaleb Staack (Iowa)
*indicates returning Junior All-American
^indicates grade-level ranked prospect
Junior Nationals
84: only 28 participants
91: only 27 participants
100: Cody Craig (Maine), Boo Dryden (Kansas), Jackson Kohlberg (Illinois), *Brady Koontz (Wisconsin), Dylan Koontz (Wisconsin), Eusebio Rivera (Illinois), *Brayden Schwalbe (Montana), and Alec White (Indiana)
106: Jakob Campbell (Pennsylvania), Colin Gerardi (Virginia), *Cameron Hunsaker (Utah), Dominic Lajoie (Michigan), Austin Macias (Illinois), Michael McGee (Illinois), Rylee Molitor (Minnesota), Cody Trybus (Maryland)
113: *Trey Chalifoux (Tennessee), Navonte Demison (California), *Will Kaldes (Pennsylvania), Tim Kane (Connecticut), ^Andrew Merola (New Jersey), Logan Treaster (Kansas), *Drew West (Iowa), and *Chase Wickman (Washington)
120: Tate Carney (Kansas), Peter Del Gallo (Maine), ^Joe Lee (Indiana), Ryan Leisure (Iowa), Wyatt Long (Pennsylvania), Josh McClure (Missouri), Requir van der Merwe (New Jersey), and Jacob Wasser (Pennsylvania)
126: Alex Felix (California), Mogan Fuenffinger (Minnesota), *Quentin Hovis (Arizona), Ethan Krause (Maryland), *Andrew Mehrholz (Illinois), Avery Shay (Connecticut), Dresden Simon (Michigan), Josh Wyland (Virginia)
132: Jake Allar (Minnesota), ^Jaron Chavez (Idaho), *Chris Deloza (California), *Zackary Diamond (Hawaii), Parker Filius (Montana), Aaron Kruk (Illinois), Trysten Perales (Washington), and Michael Peters (Illinois)
138: ^Hunter Bolen (Virginia), ^Jaryn Curry (Oklahoma), Brett Johnson (Indiana), Brandon Konecny (Arizona), Brock Port (Pennsylvania), ^Josiah Rider (Colorado), Jason Romero (Colorado), and Demarius Smith-Terhune (Illinois)
145: Spencer Carey (New Jersey), Anthony Cheloni (Illinois), Liam Corbett (Hawaii), Jacob Covaciu (Indiana), Quentin Milliken (Pennsylvania), Tervell Timmons (Illinois), ^Layne Van Anrooy (Oregon), and ^Max Wohlabaugh (Florida)
152: Riley Jaramillo (Oregon), Lucas Jeske (Minnesota), Jake Lanning (Illinois), Bryan McLaughlin (New Jersey), ^A.J. Pedro (Massachusetts), Jimmy Saylor (Pennsylvania), Gage Thomas (Pennsylvania), and Josh Weinstein (North Carolina)
160: A.J. Alford (South Carolina), Nigel Feliz (New Jersey), Jacob Gray (Indiana), Tucker Leavitt (Idaho), Mason McDaniel (Washington), Drew Peck (Pennsylvania), Davis Perry (Alabama), and Ashton Seely (Utah)
170: Dylan Anderson (Wisconsin), Braden Best (Missouri), J.T. Brown (Ohio), Andrew Buckley (Missouri), Frank Guida (Pennsylvania), Ethan Kimber (Minnesota), Lawrence Kosoy (Florida), and Evan Ronsen (Minnesota)
182: Hakim Coles (Pennsylvania), Dean Drugac (New Jersey), Riley Kauzlaric (Illinois), Colin McCracken (Pennsylvania), Casey Randles (Idaho), Kobe Rosas (California), Noah Ryan (Minnesota), and James Watters (Illinois)
195: Christian Araneo (New York), *Brian Barnes (Oregon), Dakota Carnes (Oklahoma), Sam Erckenback (Minnesota), Bailey Kelly (Kansas), Forrest Lalunguna (Colorado), Chris Martinez (Ohio), and Dylan Prince (Kansas)
220: Dustin Dukleth (California), Ethan Hofacker (Wisconsin), Casey Jumps (Missouri), Matt Naig (Iowa), Caleb Ring (Iowa), Ryan Socha (Wisconsin), Cameron Wetli (Indiana), and Tommy Williams (Missouri)
285: only 228 participants
*indicates returning Cadet, Junior, and/or FILA Cadet All-American
^indicates grade-level ranked prospect
Triple Crowns
In recent years, USA Wrestling has placed an emphasis on winning a Triple Crown at the Cadet and Junior levels. The distinction is earned by winning a title at the Folkstyle Nationals in Cedar Falls, Iowa during the early spring and then sweeping titles in Greco-Roman and freestyle during the Fargo week. During this year, a pair of wrestlers in both the Cadet and Junior levels earned the Triple Crown distinction.
Earning the honor at the Cadet level were Beau Breske (Wisconsin) and Keegan Moore (Minnesota), who swept titles at 170 and 182 pounds respectively. Both wrestlers are ranked in the top 10 nationally of the Class of 2016, Breske is No. 6, while Moore is No. 10.
At the Junior level, the accomplishment was achieved by wrestlers in the 100 and 106 pound weight classes. Rising senior Randon Miranda (California), who has yet to place in his state tournament due to being obviously undersized, did it at 100 pounds. While at 106 pounds, it was done by Danny Vega (Arizona), who was also a finalist in all three styles last year at 100 pounds on the Cadet level -- champion in freestyle after taking second in both folkstyle and Greco-Roman.
Double the fun
Also a major accomplishment is the ability to win titles in both styles during the Fargo week. The tournaments are wrestled at a high level with just one day between the two competitions, which exacerbates the internal physical and mental rigor in addition to externally navigating tough opponents.
Sweeping titles at the Cadet level were Nicolas Aguilar (California) at 94 pounds, Roman Bravo-Young (Arizona) at 100, Austin Gomez (Illinois) at 113, Ethan Karsten (Missouri) at 138, and Matt Stencel (Ohio) at 195 -- along with Triple Crown winners Breske and Moore. No wrestlers other than Triple Crown winners Miranda and Vega were able to sweep the titles in Fargo at the Junior level.
Additional wrestlers to make the finals in both styles at the Cadet level were:
Ian Timmins (Nevada) -- Greco champ, freestyle runner-up at 106 pounds
Jaden Enriquez (California) -- Greco champ, freestyle runner-up at 126
Matthew Park (Idaho) -- Greco champ, freestyle runner-up at 145
Owen Webster (Minnesota) -- Greco champ, freestyle runner-up at 160
Kamal Bey (Illinois) -- runner-up in both styles at 170 to Breske
Wyatt Koelling (Utah) -- runner-up in both styles at 182 to Moore
Osawaru Odighizuwa (Oregon) -- Greco runner-up, freestyle champion at 285
Additional wrestlers to make the finals in both styles at the Junior level:
Zack Murillo (Connecticut) -- runner-up in both styles at 100 to Miranda
Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma) -- Greco runner-up, at 170
A.J. Kowal (Ohio) -- at 182
Adarios Jones (Illinois) -- Greco-runner-up, at 285
Just to even navigate two big-brackets against high-end competition and earn All-American honors in both styles is a significant accomplishment.
In addition to the double champions and double finalists, these wrestlers were double All-Americans at the Cadet level:
Troy Allen (Virginia) -- Greco fourth, freestyle eighth at 195
Christian Ayala (California) -- Greco third, freestyle sixth at 220
Devin Bahr (Wisconsin) -- Greco runner-up, freestyle third at 138
Jake Bergeland (Minnesota) -- eighth in both styles at 120
Andrew Berreyesa (Nevada) -- Greco third, freestyle sixth at 160
Domenick Demas (Ohio) -- Greco third, freestyle sixth at 138
Bryan Ditchman (Illinois) -- Greco third, freestyle fourth at 285
Luke Drugac (New Jersey) -- Greco sixth, freestyle seventh at 170
Ben Freeman (Michigan) -- Greco third, freestyle runner-up at 113
James Handwerk (Ohio) -- Greco runner-up at 160, freestyle fifth at 170
Wyatt Harden (Michigan) -- Greco runner-up, freestyle sixth at 195
Jason Holmes (Arizona) -- Greco third, freestyle runner-up at 88
Eric Hong (Pennsylvania) -- third in both styles at 132
Jack Jessen (Illinois) -- third in both styles at 170
Brent Jones (Minnesota) -- Greco fourth, freestyle eighth at 113
Brandon Kaylor (Washington) -- fifth in both styles at 88
Jaret Lane (Pennsylvania) -- eighth in both styles at 88
Alex Lloyd (Minnesota) -- Greco sixth, freestyle fifth at 126
Isaac Luellen (Kansas) -- Greco fourth, freestyle sixth at 182
Jordan Martinez (Colorado) -- Greco seventh, freestyle eighth at 106
Drew Mattin (Ohio) -- fourth in both styles at 106
Patrick McKee (Minnesota) -- Greco runner-up, freestyle sixth at 88
Brandon Meikel (Utah) -- Greco runner-up, freestyle seventh at 94
Joey Melendez (Illinois) -- Greco sixth, freestyle seventh at 88
Brandon Metz (North Dakota) -- Greco champion, freestyle third at 220
Hunter Mullins (Washington) -- Greco fifth, freestyle second at 285
Jeremiah Moody (Wisconsin) -- Greco third, freestyle fifth at 152
Austin O'Connor (Illinois) -- Greco third at 126, freestyle fifth at 132
Peter Ogunsanya (Illinois) -- third in both styles at 94
Izaak Olejnik (California) -- Greco seventh, freestyle eighth at 94
Andrew Piehl (Minnesota) -- seventh in both styles at 285
Anthony Piscopo (Pennsylvania) -- Greco seventh, freestyle fifth at 220
Marcus Povlick (Illinois) -- Greco sixth, freestyle fourth at 100
Lucas Ready (Michigan) -- Greco fifth, freestyle runner-up at 220
Anthony Sherry (Iowa) -- Greco runner-up, freestyle sixth at 152
Corey Shie (Ohio) -- fourth in both styles at 126
Billy Simpson (Oklahoma) -- Greco seventh, freestyle third at 88
Elijah Varona (Florida) -- Greco sixth, freestyle fifth at 94
Kevin Vough (Ohio) -- Greco champion, freestyle third at 285
Jacob Warner (Illinois) -- fifth in both styles at 160
Bryce West (Iowa) -- Greco runner-up, freestyle fourth at 113
Coltan Williams (Texas) -- Greco champion, freestyle fifth at 120
Kobe Woods (Indiana) -- Greco seventh, freestyle runner-up at 195
Dalton Young (Washington) -- fifth in both styles at 113
Taylor LaMont earned All-American honors in both styles, though at different levels. He was the Junior Greco-Roman champion and third in Cadet freestyle, both at 126 pounds.
Double All-Americans in the Junior level, in addition to those that made the final in both styles:
Jacob Armstrong (Utah) -- Greco third, freestyle fourth at 182
Brett Bye (South Daktoa) -- Greco third at 160, freestyle fourth at 170
Anthony Cefolo (New Jersey) -- Greco runner-up, freestyle third at 120
Joey Cisneros (California) -- Greco fourth, freestyle third at 113
Samuel Colbray (Oregon) -- Greco champion, freestyle third at 195
Ryan Deakin (Colorado) -- Greco fifth, freestyle seventh at 120
Sean DeShazer (Kansas) -- Greco third, freestyle fourth at 126
Joel Dixon (Oklahoma) -- Greco second, freestyle fourth at 195
Benny Gomez (Michigan) -- fifth in both styles at 113
Louie Hayes (Illinois) -- third in both styles at 100
Michael Hobbs (Illinois) -- Greco fifth, freestyle sixth at 285
Kirk Johansen (Illinois) -- Greco fifth, freestyle seventh at 106
Jake Marnin (Iowa) -- fourth in both styles at 285
Mitch McKee (Minnesota) -- Greco fifth, freestyle champion at 126
Austin Myers (Kentucky) -- Greco sixth, freestyle third at 220
Mason Nafieh (Oklahoma) -- Greco seventh, freestyle fifth at 100
Tate Orndorff (Washington) -- third in both styles at 285
Burke Paddock (New York) -- Greco champion at 160, freestyle third at 170
Skyler Petry (Minnesota) -- Greco champion, freestyle fourth at 120
Justan Rivera (Georgia) -- Greco champion, freestyle eighth at 182
Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (New York) -- Greco champion at 145, freestyle eighth at 152
Michael Rogers (Pennsylvania) -- Greco third at 220, freestyle eighth at 285
Dorian Sapien (Idaho) -- Greco champion, freestyle seventh at 113
Bobby Steveson (Minnesota) -- Greco sixth, freestyle champion at 195
Jet Tryon (Missouri) -- Greco fifth, freestyle seventh at 100
Jesse Webb (Vermont) -- Greco sixth, freestyle runner-up at 285
In all, 58 Cadet wrestlers earned All-American honors in both Fargo tournaments, while the distinction was achieved by 32 at the Junior level, and then you have LaMont who doubled at split levels.
Exceeding perceptions
Every year during the Fargo week there are wrestlers whose performance level exceeds what was projected of them based on ability, past productivity, or whatever. A discussion of some of the wrestlers who most notably saw their "stock" increase during the Fargo week will appear as the Wednesday Lowe Down feature.
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