Major uptick in participation
It was the highest number of participants across the four events of male wrestling in Fargo in exactly ten years. There were 4,032 participants when summing those in Cadet Greco-Roman, Junior Greco-Roman, Cadet freestyle, and Junior freestyle. The last time there were 4,000 was in 2005, when there was 4,065. In fact, the third most participants in the 2005-2015 stretch came in 2007 when there were 3,980; all other years have seen 3,800 or less.
There was peak participation for the 2005-2015 stretch of time this year in the Cadet Greco-Roman event (913, previous high was 885 in 2005). The Cadet freestyle total of 1,084 was the highest since 2005 when 1,114 wrestlers took to the mats. For Junior Greco-Roman, the 895 participants was joint most with 2007; while the Junior freestyle total of 1,140 was the highest since 2005 when 1,173 wrestlers took to the mats.
Relative to the 2011 low of 3,467 participants (note that the actual number of human beings is less, as those competing in multiple competitions count multiple times), the 2015 total is up significantly. At 4,032 participants this year, that represents an increase of more than 16 percent.
Double your pleasure
Navigating through ten-plus matches, and in some cases more than fifteen, over the course of a week is hard work. Add to that, the need to make weight multiple times over the tournaments, and it's a grind. These wrestlers that won titles in both styles, made the finals in both styles, or just even earned All-American honors in both styles put in a hard week's work and should be commended.
Double champions
Louie Hayes (Illinois), Junior 106
Nick Reenan (Texas), Junior 182
Mosha Schwartz (Colorado), Cadet 88 -- also a Triple Crown winner, when adding in folkstyle from April
Malik Heinselman (Colorado), Cadet 84
Roman Bravo-Young (Arizona), Cadet 113
Nick Raimo (New Jersey), Cadet 120
Anthony Artalona (Florida), Cadet 145
Jacob Warner (Illinois), Cadet 170
Nick Boykin (Tennessee), Cadet 285
Double finalists
Brock Hardy (Utah), Cadet 132 runner-up in both styles
Ryan Karoly (New Jersey), Cadet 160 runner-up in both styles
Jack Jessen (Illinois), Cadet 170 runner-up in both styles
Jake Boyd (Missouri), Cadet 195, Greco-Roman runner-up and freestyle champion
Cohlton Schultz (Colorado), Cadet 220, Greco-Roman champion and freestyle runner-up
Jaret Lane (Pennsylvania), Junior 100, Greco-Roman champion and freestyle runner-up
Mitch McKee (Minnesota), Junior 132, Greco-Roman champion and freestyle runner-up
Taylor LaMont (Utah), Junior 132, Greco-Roman runner-up and freestyle champion
Samuel Colbray (Oregon), Junior 195 runner-up in both styles
Jordan Wood (Pennsylvania), Junior 220, Greco-Roman runner-up and freestyle champion
Drops of knowledge
Only one weight class of the 32 that are in the Cadet and Junior levels had completely different sets of All-Americans between Greco-Roman and freestyle, 160 pounds at the Junior level.
While five Junior weight classes had zero or one double All-Americans present, all but one Cadet weight class had multiple All-Americans. Cadet 106 was the weight class with just one double All-American. As a matter of detail, there was a second Cadet Greco All-American that earned All-American honors in freestyle; however, Cadet champ Malik Johnson (Missouri) was seventh in Junior freestyle at 113.
Furthermore, only four Cadet weight classes in total had two or less double All-Americans. Those additional weight classes were 138, 145, and 152 that had two doublers each. However, it should be noted that there was an additional Greco-Roman All-American at both 145 and 152 that earned freestyle All-American honors up a weight class; Braeden Redlin (Texas) did so at 145/152, while Max Wohlabaugh (Florida) did so at 152/160.
In total there were 103 wrestlers to earn All-American honors in both styles during the Fargo week. 65 wrestlers did so at the Cadet level, while 37 earned the distinction on the Junior level, with Malik Johnson (Missouri) having the "mixed double".
While all but the 100-pound weight class on the Junior level had three or less double All-Americans, eight of the seventeen Cadet weight classes had four or more double All-Americans, not accounting for any that earned their All-American honors at different weight classes in each style.
Both the 100-pound Junior weight class and the 195-pound Cadet weight classes had seven of the eight All-Americans as the same between the events. Five of the All-Americans at Cadet 88, 160, 220, and 285 were the same between events; while four were the same at 94, 132, and 182. It should be noted that there was a Cadet 160 Greco All-American who earned freestyle All-American honors at 170, while there was a Cadet freestyle All-American at 160 who earned All-American honors at 152 in Greco-Roman.
"State"-ment of dominance
Team Illinois continued to assert its dominance in the Olympic styles at the scholastic age levels with its success in Fargo over the past week. During the month of June, Illinois won dual meet titles in Schoolboy freestyle, both styles of Cadets, and Junior Greco-Roman. This week Illinois swept its way to both Cadet titles, won the Junior Greco-Roman title, and was a narrow third in Junior freestyle (Oklahoma won that tournament with Ohio as the runner-up).
In terms of All-Americans earned, Illinois had the most for any state in the three events it won, and joint most with Oklahoma and Ohio in Junior freestyle. Those counts were 17 in Cadet Greco-Roman, 20 in Cadet freestyle, then 12 each in Junior Greco-Roman and freestyle.
This should not be a revelation, as the Illinois program continues to get the job done year over year. Wrestlers, coaches, leadership, and families. All across the board.
Fargo as a perception changer
Every year, the events in Fargo serve to shift the perception of many wrestlers on the national landscape. While the results of the tournaments can influence things in both a positive and negative way, the feature InterMat does on an annual basis will focus on those wrestlers for whom the Fargo tournaments served to boost their "stock." The article, featuring a selection of wrestlers at the Cadet and Junior level, will be published later on this week.
Updated grade-level rankings
The updated grade-level rankings for the Class of 2016 through 2019, as well as the junior high group, to reflect the happenings of Fargo -- as well as for other events that have happened since the mid-June update -- will be published during early August.
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