Andre Gonzales became a double champion at 106 pounds (Photo/John Sachs-Tech-Fall.com)FARGO, N.D. -- Andre Gonzales (California) has yet to wrestle in a state final in high school, but is leaving Fargo as a national champion in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at 106 pounds.
Gonzales, a state third-place finisher in one-class California, claimed a Junior freestyle title earlier this week and capped off a double title in Fargo on Friday afternoon by winning the Junior National Greco-Roman championship over Ryan Rowland (Florida), 5-2. Gonzales took a 1-0 lead into the break. He extended his lead to 5-0 after a four-point throw in the second period. Rowland would score two points late off a caution but ultimately fall short.
Gonzales was one of three Fargo double champions in the Junior division. Also winning double titles were Anthony Echemendia (Arizona) and Luke Luffman (Illinois).
Anthony Echemendia nearly securd a fall after a four-point throw (Photo/David Peterson, Minnesota/USA Wrestling)Echemendia won in dominant fashion at 145 pounds, picking up a 10-0 technical superiority in the finals over Edward Scott (Pennsylvania). The 19-year-old Cuban scored with a body lock early in the match and nearly secured a fall before settling for four points. He then used three turns -- the final one a gut wrench -- to end the match. Echemendia was an undefeated state champion this past season for Sunnyside High School in Arizona.
Luffman, who will attend Illinois, dominated Spencer Trenary (Iowa) in the finals at 285 pounds, winning by 10-0 technical superiority. He built a 9-0 lead after the opening period and put the match away 40 seconds into the second period with a step out.
Three wrestlers won their second straight as Junior National Greco-Roman champions: Chayse La Joie (Michigan) at 120 pounds, Ridge Lovett (Idaho) at 138 pounds and Jace Punke (Illinois) at 220 pounds.
La Joie, a three-time state champion, won his second straight title with a 12-2 technical superiority over Fargo freestyle champion Anthony Molton (Illinois) at 120 pounds. He went up 8-2 in the first period and then used a four-point throw in the second period to end the match.
Lovett, a Nebraska signee, won his second straight title with a 10-0 technical superiority over Cade Lucio (California) in the finals at 138 pounds. After going up 6-0, Lovett threw Lucio for four points to finish the match in two minutes. Lovett became a 10-time All-American in Fargo.
Punke repeated as champion by earning a medical forfeit in the finals at 220 pounds over Braxton Amos (West Virginia), a five-time Fargo champion and the nation's No. 2 senior.
Illinois won its 12th straight team title in Junior Greco-Roman, finishing with 61 points.
Iowa finished second in the team standings, 15 points behind Illinois, and had a pair of champions: Brandon O'Brien (100) and Cade DeVos (160).
O'Brien exacted some revenge on Daniel Sheen (Illinois) en route to winning the title at 100 pounds. After Sheen defeated O'Brian in the freestyle finals, the 16-year-old Iowan flipped the result in the Greco-Roman finals, winning 8-5 in a back-and-forth match. Sheen led 3-0 at the break. O'Brien grabbed the lead in the second period after a takedown and gut wrench. Sheen quickly regained the lead. But with 20 seconds left, O'Brien picked up a takedown and then scored with a gut wrench to win by three.
DeVos, a South Dakota signee, used a strong first period to pace him to a 5-1 victory in the finals over Ryan Cody (Florida). DeVos scored his first point off a passivity and then two used a gut wrench to score two turns and go up 5-0. Cody would score his only point in the second period off a passivity.
Nebraska crowned two champions: Camden Russell (126) and James Burks (152).
Camden Russell defeated InterMat Classic champion Cael Swensen to win the title (Photo/David Peterson, Minnesota/USA Wrestling)Russell captured the title at 126 pounds by topping InterMat Classic champion Cael Swensen (Minnesota) 8-5 in the finals. Swensen went up 3-0, but Russell battled back to take a 3-3 criteria lead before scoring with a four-point throw. Swensen would score two points late off a throw, but Russell would hang on for the win.
James Burks knocked off returning champion Cael Carlson (Photo/David Peterson, Minnesota/USA Wrestling)Burks turned in a very impressive finals performance, beating returning Junior Greco-Roman champion Cael Carlson (Minnesota) 11-0 in the finals at 152 pounds. He went up 4-0 with a takedown and gut wrench and then continued to pile on the points, scoring with a step out, then arm throw before ending the match with a four-point move.
Billy Sullivan throws Sheldon Seymour (Photo/David Peterson, Minnesota/USA Wrestling)Billy Sullivan (Nevada) was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament after rolling to the title at 113 pounds with a 12-0 technical superiority over Sheldon Seymour (Pennsylvania), a 2018 U16 Greco-Roman national champion. Sullivan becomes Nevada's second Junior Greco-Roman champion ever. He scored with two four-point throws in the first period and then closed out the match by scoring two points off an arm throw.
Haiden Drury (Washington) won his second consecutive Fargo Greco-Roman title, but first at the Junior level. He edged Mosha Schwartz (Colorado) 4-3 in the finals at 132 pounds. Drury scored first off a passivity, but Schwartz came back to take the lead after countering a gut wrench attempt by Drury and scoring two points. In the second period, Schwartz extended his lead to 3-1 before Drury scored a takedown to grab a criteria lead. He then held on for the win.
Chris Foca (New Jersey), a state champion for Bergen Catholic, made quick work of Jacob Anderson (Alaska) in the finals at 182 pounds. He scored a takedown off a drag and then used a gut wrench to score two turns and go up 6-0. He closed the match with a four-point move. Foca, who is headed to Cornell, was a runner-up in the Junior Greco-Roman competition last summer.
Angel Garcia (Pennsylvania) shut out Lance Runyon (Iowa) 7-0 to earn the title at 170 pounds. Garcia scored a takedown off a drag to go up 2-0. He then went up 4-0 after a caution and two. Garcia then scored with a step out and late score after Runyon tried a late desperation throw.
At 195 pounds, Vincent Baker (Georgia), who will wrestle collegiately for Duke, picked up a 13-2 technical superiority in the finals over Artem Loginov (California).
Placement Match Results
100:
1st: Brandon O'Brien (Iowa) dec. Daniel Sheen (Illinois), 8-5
3rd: Kaleb Casey (Wisconsin) dec. Christan Forbes (Oklahoma), 15-11
5th: Michael Longo (Connecticut) tech. Carson Nishida (Illinois), 11-1 4:28
7th: Cael Keck (Missouri) dec. Robert Gardner (Pennsylvania), 11-8
106:
1st: Andre Gonzales (California) dec. Ryan Rowland (Florida), 5-2
3rd: Jeremy Bockert (Alaska) tech. Chad Bellis (Illinois), 17-6 5:54
5th: Caleb- Coyle (Nebraska) dec. Quade Smith (Utah), 9-2
7th: Kenny Sailas (Colorado) tech. Steven Foster (Pennsylvania), 11-0 1:55
113:
1st: Billy Sullivan (Nevada) tech. Sheldon Seymour (Pennsylvania), 12-0 2:02
3rd: Joseph Couch (Maryland) dec. Angelo Lozado (Colorado), 10-4
5th: Nathan Rubino (Nebraska) dec Christian Decatur-luker (North Carolina), 6-3
7th: Gary Steen (Pennsylvania) dec. Richard Treanor (North Carolina), 10-1
120:
1st: Chayse La Joie (Michigan) tech. Anthony Molton (Illinois), 12-2 3:37
3rd: Jakason Burks (Nebraska) tech. Cooper Flynn (Tennessee), 10-0 2:34
5th: Chris Kim (Pennsylvania) dec. Grant Treaster (Kansas), 6-4
7th: Zach Keal (Kansas) pinned Christian Cabuag (California), 2:40
126:
1st: Camden Russell (Nebraska) dec. Cael Swensen (Minnesota), 8-4
3rd: Adam Allard (Iowa) dec. Nick Masters (Georgia), 11-11
5th: Brody Norman (Illinois) dec. Tj Long (Oklahoma), 5-3
7th: Theorius Robison (Colorado) pinned Chase Randall (Washington), 2:40
132:
1st: Haiden Drury (Washington) dec. Mosha Schwartz (Colorado), 4-3
3rd: Kellyn March (South Dakota) tech. Caleb Gross (Wisconsin), 10-0 0:29
5th: Tarrell Wallace jr (Florida) dec. Ezekiel Hulet (Illinois), 12-4
7th: Preston Martin (Kansas) dec. Khyler Brewer (Missouri), 10-8
138:
1st: Ridge Lovett (Idaho) tech. Cade Lucio (California), 10-0 2:00
3rd: Caden Mccrary (Georgia) dec. Joshua Saunders (Missouri), 7-4
5th: Robby Vaughn (Washington) inj. dft Antonio Segura (Colorado)
7th: Bretli Reyna (Florida) tech. Logan Hatch (Wisconsin), 13-1 5:37
145:
1st: Anthony Echemendia (Arizona) tech. Edward Scott (Pennsylvania), 10-0 1:20
3rd: Chandler Mooney (Minnesota) dec. Payne Carr (Kentucky), 16-10
5th: Luke Odom (Illinois) dec. Chance Mclane (Montana), 4-1
7th: Vincent Zerban (Illinois) tech. Aaden Valdez (Colorado), 10-0 1:51
152:
1st: James Burks (Nebraska) tech. Cael Carlson (Minnesota), 11-0 1:59
3rd: Aaron Gandara (Arizona) dec. Kaden Reetz (Wisconsin), 14-9
5th: Grigol Khochiashvili (Pennsylvania) dec Kevin Contos ii (Ohio), 13-10
7th: Maxwell Kristoff (Illinois) pinned Steven Villalobos (Florida), 0:55
160:
1st: Cade DeVos (Iowa) dec. Ryan Cody (Florida), 5-1
3rd: Adrian St.germain (Washington) pinned Weston Milnes (Colorado), 1:43
5th: Cael Valencia (California) inj dft Jace Luchau (California)
7th: Wyatt Pfau (Colorado) inj dft Caleb Waddell (Georgia)
170:
1st: Angel Garcia (Pennsylvania) dec. Lance Runyon (Iowa), 7-0
3rd: Nevan Snodgrass (Ohio) tech. Nico Zavala (California), 15-4 4:10
5th: Caden Rogers (Pennsylvania) tech. Dajun Johnson (Wisconsin), 10-0 0:35
7th: Greyden Penner (Missouri) dec. Jaden Bullock (Virginia), 10-6
182:
1st: Christopher Foca (New Jersey) tech. Jacob Anderson (Alaska), 10-0 0:42
3rd: Colton Hawks (Missouri) dec. Josh Labarbera (Illinois), 8-6
5th: Kalyn Jahn (Wisconsin) tech. Jackson White (Missouri), 10-0 0:24
7th: Ashton Habeil (Florida) pinned Trevor Swier (Illinois), 1:58
195:
1st: Vincent Baker (Georgia) tech. Artem Loginov (California), 13-2 4:19
3rd: Isaac Trumble (Nebraska) dec. Matthew Kaylor (North Dakota), 14-8
5th: Jonovan Smith (California) tech. Denzel Mabry (California), 11-1 6:00
7th: Kasten Grape (Nebraska) inj dft. Matthew Cover (Ohio)
220:
1st: Jace Punke (Illinois) inj dft. Braxton Amos (West Virginia)
3rd: Gabe Christenson (Iowa) tech. Cade Lautt (Kansas), 11-1 2:02
5th: Cody Fisher (Iowa) pinned Cabe Dickerson (Oklahoma), 5:57
7th: Jacob Christensen (California) tech. Ramin Abraham (Illinois), 10-0 1:12
285:
1st: Luke Luffman (Illinois) tech. Spencer Trenary (Iowa), 10-0 3:40
3rd: Nash Hutmacher (South Dakota) inj dft Donovan King (Michigan)
5th: Alex Coleman (Ohio) pinned Joey Slackman (New York), 0:40
7th: Ryan Johnson (Texas) inj. dft. Aydin Guttridge (Illinois)
Outstanding Wrestler: Billy Sullivan (Nevada), 113 pounds
Most Falls in Least Time: Preston Martin (Kansas), 132 pounds, 6 falls in 10:26
Team Standings (Top Five)
1. Illinois 61
2. Iowa 46
3. California 44
4. Nebraska 38
4. Pennsylvania 38
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