Iowa recruit Nate Jesuroga was undefeated at the Junior freestyle duals (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Over the weekend the Junior National Duals took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Junior Duals have long been one of the most notable high school-aged events of the spring/summer. With the current bracketing system in Fargo, there could be an argument that you see more significant matchups at the Junior Duals compared to Fargo.
As you probably know by now, Team Iowa went back-to-back and captured their second consecutive Junior freestyle championship. They also won in Greco, as well. With the success of the high schoolers from Iowa, you'd guess that the Iowa Hawkeyes recruits probably cleaned up at the event. You probably would have guessed right then. In addition to the Hawkeyes, we've outlined five other schools that had recruits shine at the Duals.
Bucknell
170: Noah Mulvaney - Wisconsin (8-0) - Class of 2023
285: Logan Shephard - Ohio (6-1)
The Bison had a pair of recruits combine to go 14-1 with Noah Mulvaney, who is from the Class of 2023 and Logan Shephard, who will be arriving on campus this year. Mulvaney grabbed a 17-9 victory over #234 Bradley Gillum (IL), a graduated senior, and his biggest win came via tech over #69 Tyler Lillard (OH), also from the Class of 2022. Shepherd posted a shutout win over Daniel Herrera (CA), who is currently ranked 11th in the nation and is a top-50 recruit from the Class of 2024.
Cornell
195: Michael Dellagatta - New Jersey (8-0) - Class of 2023
I tried to keep it to schools with multiple recruits that shined, but Michael Dellagatta was so good, that he deserves to be recognized alone. Dellagatta registered a pair of dominating wins over Class of 2023 Big Board'er, Adam Haselius (MI) amongst his eight victories. The win that will help propel Dellagatta up the rankings was a 12-1 tech of #4 Sawyer Bartelt, currently a top-ten wrestler in the Class of 2024. Bartelt was the only one of Dellagatta's opponents to manage a point against the future Big Red big man.
Iowa
120: Nate Jesuroga - Iowa (8-0) - Class of 2023
145: Joel Jesuroga - Iowa (6-0)
138: Ryder Block - Iowa (5-1) - Class of 2023
160: Aiden Riggins - Iowa (8-0)
195/220: Kolby Franklin - Iowa (7-0)
The back-to-back champions from Team Iowa were led by a handful of future Hawkeyes (maybe more in the future). Starting at the lower weights, Nate Jesuroga did not surrender a point in his eight contests and outscored the opposition 76-0. The top-ranked 126 lber in the nation was responsible for the only losses of the tournament for Alan Koehler (MN) and Marcus Blaze (OH), both top-eight ranked wrestlers. Older brother Joel was almost as efficient, giving up just two points in six matches. His most significant win was 10-1 over #11 Jace Roller. After losing by fall in his opening bout, Ryder Block reeled off five straight wins, one of which was a 14-4 tech over #1 (132) Nasir Bailey (IL). Aiden Riggins, ranked #38 on the 2022 Big Board, edged #10 Jordan Williams (OK) by a point, then did the same against Thor Michaelson (WA), currently ranked #11 at 160 lbs. Kolby Franklin teched his way through the tournament and tallied wins over #7 Jersey Robb (OK), #16 Dylan Bravo-Packer (CO), #5 Carter Neves (OH).
Nebraska
120: Alan Koehler - Minnesota (6-1) - Class of 2023
120: Kael Lauridsen - Nebraska (9-0) - Class of 2023
138: Ismael Ayoub - Ohio (6-1)
It was a good day for the future Huskers, as these big three combined to win 21 of 23 bouts in freestyle. Alan Koehler teched dangerous Greco-specialist, Ray Ray Harris (CA), 18-8. Later he downed 2024 Big Board'er, Gage Walker (OK), 7-2. Kael Lauridsen went unbeaten for the home team with a 10-0 tech over #10 Leo DeLuca (NJ) the highlight of his tournament. Lauridsen had a tech or fall in all nine of his matches and was only scored upon, by one opponent. Late commit, Ismael Ayoub, defeated Cal Poly-signee #174 Johnny Lopez (CA) 8-2, before teching Cael Erickson (WI), in the last match before the gold medal dual.
Stanford
145: Zach Hanson - Minnesota (7-0) - Class of 2023
152: Hunter Garvin - Iowa (8-0)
The future is bright in Palo Alto, not just because of the beautiful weather, but because of the young talent on the horizon for Rob Koll's team. Zach Hanson was pushed a bit by #20 Collin Guffey (CA), but prevailed with an 11-8 decision. After that, he turned it up by teching #11 Jace Roller (CA) and notching a 6-4 win over #224 (Class of 2022) Jacob Frost (IA). The only thing that broke up Hunter Garvin's tech streak was a forfeit sandwiched in the middle. Garvin teched former Cadet Greco World Team member Braden Stauffenberg (IL), along with #4 Kael Voinovich (OK), and #12 Wynton Denkins (OH).
Wyoming
126: Brayden Sonnentag - Wisconsin (7-1) - Class of 2023
145: Cole Brooks - Oklahoma (5-0) - Class of 2023
The Wyoming Cowboys had a breakout recruiting year in 2022 and look to be headed towards another strong signing class after the exploits of two commits, Brayden Sonnentag and Cole Brooks. Sonnentag edged #5 Drew Gorman (GA) on criteria, in his first bout of the tournament. He'd later major Ray Ray Harris (CA) and picked up a win from an injury default over JJ McComas-Rogers (OK). Cole Brooks didn't seem to break a sweat with four wins via tech and another by fall. One of those 10-0 techs came at the expense of Brennan Van Hoecke (FL), the #54 overall wrestler from the Class of 2022.
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