84: The pre-tournament favorite in this weight class would be Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma), who was a finalist in all three Roller World of Wrestling "Triple Crown" events this past year -- winning at the Tulsa Kickoff and Reno Worlds. Other wrestlers to watch include Gannon Volk (Minnesota), who was undefeated in the Cadet Freestyle Duals, as well as Casey Cobb (Idaho) and Parker Howell (Kansas) -- each of whom only had one loss at the Cadet Duals.
91: The apparent favorite in this weight class would be Jared Oftedahl (Minnesota) -- undefeated at the Cadet Duals, a Cadet double All-American last year, and a FILA Cadet double runner-up this past April. Two wrestlers ranked in their respective grade level are present in this weight -- FILA Cadet double All-American Dylan Lucas (Florida) is ranked fourth among junior high wrestlers, while Tommy Thorn (Minnesota) is ranked 16th in the Class of 2014. Dylan Akers (Texas), Brandon George (Utah), and Kyle Kelly (New York) return as Cadet All-Americans, while Thomas Walton (North Dakota) went undefeated at the Cadet Duals.
98: Nathan Tomasello (Ohio) is the early favorite in this weight class after winning the FILA Cadet freestyle title at 101 pounds, after taking third in Cadet freestyle last summer at 98 pounds. In addition, Tomasello is ranked 27th in the Class of 2013 and was 9-1 at the Junior Duals competing at 105. Three wrestlers that went 10-1 respectively at the Cadet Duals would have to be the primary challengers to Tomasello: Darian Cruz (Pennsylvania), Phillip Laux (Iowa), a Cadet freestyle runner-up last summer, and Joey McKenna (New Jersey), who is ranked 11th among incoming freshmen in the Class of 2014. In addition both Cadet 84 pound finalists from last year made the move up two weight class, champion Darshawn Sharp (Georgia) and runner-up Billy Rappo (Pennsylvania). Javier Vieyra (Kansas) was a Cadet All-American last year. FILA Cadet All-American Noah Teaney (Missouri), ranked 20th in the Class of 2014, is one of many notable incoming freshman seeking to use this tournament as a way to get further on the national radar.
105: Jered Cortez (Illinois) seeks to win his first Cadet title at a USA Wrestling event, as he was runner-up at 98 pounds last summer in Fargo and took second in the 110 pound weight class at FILA Cadets. The second ranked wrestler in the Class of 2014 also was undefeated at 112 pounds in last month’s Cadet Duals. Joining Cortez in this weight class as a FILA Cadet runner-up (at 101) and undefeated at Cadet Duals (in this weight) is Jacob Schmitt (Michigan). Schmitt is ranked 28th in the Class of 2013, and finished fourth at Cadet Nationals last summer. Losing one match each at the Cadet Duals is another pair of prime challengers in Zeke Moisey (Pennsylvania) and Jaret Singh (Missouri). Moisey is ranked seventh in the Class of 2014, while Singh was a Cadet All-American last summer. Colby Knight (Iowa) is a returning Cadet All-American, while Anthony Ashnault (New Jersey) is ranked 24th in the Class of 2013.
112: Two wrestlers have to be considered favorites in this weight class. The first is Dominick Malone (Connecticut), a returning Cadet All-American who ended the scholastic season ranked seventh at 112 pounds and is now ranked 35th among wrestlers in the Class of 2012. Joining Malone is returning Junior 105 pound runner-up Jack Hathaway (Iowa), who was undefeated up at 119 pounds in last month’s Cadet Duals. Four wrestlers that had just one loss at the Cadet Duals are prime challengers in this weight class: Sam Brancale (Minnesota), who was also a FILA Cadet All-American, Max Hvolbeck (California), also a Cadet National and FILA Cadet All-American, along with incoming freshmen Ali Nasser (California) and Will Steltzen (Oklahoma). Joining Hathaway as a Junior All-American in this weight class is Austin Hood (Kansas). Others to watch include Troy Heilman (New Jersey), Paul Klee (California), and ranked 49th in the Class of 2013 Jake Velarde (Washington).
119: A quartet of wrestlers stand out at the top of this weight class -- Stephen Myers (Ohio) is a returning Cadet All-American, and ranked ninth among Class of 2013 wrestlers, Thomas Gilman (Nebraska) also is a returning Cadet All-American, finished runner-up in April’s FILA Cadet tournament, and is ranked 49th in the Class of 2012, Bryce Brill (Illinois) went undefeated at the Cadet Duals, was a FILA Cadet All-American, and is ranked fourth in the Class of 2014, and Corey Keener (Pennsylvania) was an All-American in both styles at both Cadet Nationals and FILA Cadets, and ended the scholastic season nationally ranked at 112 pounds (so did Myers and Gilman). Other wrestlers to watch include Mitch Bengtson (Minnesota), ranked 19th in the Class of 2013, Russell Coleman (Missouri), who is ranked 35th in the Class of 2013, Clayton Ream (Missouri), and incoming freshman Hayden Tuma (Idaho).
125: Other than the superstar Ben Whitford (Illinois), this is a weight class that is kind of thin when it comes to highly credentialed kids. As a result, this is a weight bracket where any number of perceived sleepers could come in and sneak home with All-American spots. Whitford is a defending Cadet National champion, placed at FILA Cadets this past April, and is ranked third in the Class of 2013. The next best wrestlers in this weight class would probably be John Fahy (Kentucky) and Dakota Trom (Minnesota). Tyson Dippery (Pennsylvania) is the only other returning Cadet All-American in this weight class, and he is ranked 40th in the Class of 2013. Some of the sleeper candidates include Tyler Cowger (Oregon), Mitch Newhouse (Ohio), and Josh Pennell (Michigan).
130: Like in Greco-Roman, this weight class points towards a big name final pitting Brandon Jeske (Virginia) against Zane Richards (Illinois). Jeske, a FILA Cadet champion, is ranked second in the Class of 2013, while Richards, a Cadet All-American, went undefeated at the Cadet Duals last month and is ranked 50th in the Class of 2012. The only other returning Cadet All-American is Natrelle Demison (California). Two additional wrestlers are ranked in their graduating class -- TJ Miller (New Jersey) and Reed Van Anrooy (Oregon), who are ranked 32nd and 43rd respectively in the Class of 2013.
135: One of the main rivalries to emerge out of this off-season has the potential for another chapter at a point deep in the competition of this weight class. That would be the matchup between Jake Short (Minnesota) and Brandon Sorensen (Iowa). Short upended Sorensen in the finals of the Cadet National folkstyle tournament, while Sorensen avenged that loss in a three period battle at the Cadet Duals in freestyle. Sorensen is a returning Cadet runner-up, and ranked fourth in the Class of 2013, while Short a returning Cadet All-American is ranked 11th in the Class of 2013. The third wrestler in the three-headed monster at the top of this weight class would be Isaiah Martinez (California), who is ranked seventh in the Class of 2013. A fourth ranked member of the Class of 2013 is in this weight class -- Joey Lavallee (Nevada), who finds himself positioned 45th. Other wrestlers to watch include returning Cadet All-American Cody Ross (Florida), Laike Gardner (Pennsylvania), who went 10-1 at the Cadet Duals, Garrett Hammond (Pennsylvania), and incoming freshman Toby Hague (New Jersey).
140: The clear favorite in this weight class is Brandon Kingsley (Minnesota), who went undefeated at the Cadet Duals and is ranked 15th in the Class of 2012. The lone returning Cadet All-American is Tyler Askey (Georgia), who is ranked 29th among members of the Class of 2013, one of three in this weight class. Joining Askey are Brian Murphy (Illinois) and Jake Marlin (Iowa), who are ranked 22nd and 24th respectively. Angelo Silvestro (Illinois) was a FILA Cadet All-American. Others to watch include TJ Fox (Ohio), who had just one loss at the Cadet Duals, Payne Hayden (Michigan), and Ross Parsons (New Jersey).
140: The top-ranked incoming freshman, Class of 2014, Chance Marsteller (Pennsylvania) enters this weight as the pre-tournament favorite, however, he will have to navigate a rather credible field to win the title. Leading the challengers is Jacob Crawford (Virginia), who ended the scholastic season 17th at 130 pounds and is ranked 25th in the Class of 2012. Two additional wrestlers in this weight class were undefeated at the Cadet Duals -- Jared Reis (North Dakota) and Nick Wanzek (Minnesota). The other primary challenger in addition to Crawford would have to be Gabriel Moreno (Iowa), a returning Cadet All-American who took Marsteller to the limit in a three period loss at the Cadet Duals. Rounding out the notables in this field are a pair of ranked wrestlers from the class of 2013, Coleman Hammond (California) and Daniel Woiwor (Minnesota), who are positioned 14th and 26th respectively.
152: Three of the four ranked from the Class of 2013 that populate this weight class stand as tri-favorites: 12th ranked Eric Morris (Pennsylvania), 13th ranked returning Cadet All-American Oliver Pierce (Texas), and 18th ranked Brooks Climmons (Georgia) who was undefeated at the Cadet Duals. Three others in this weight class also went undefeated at the Cadet Duals: Zach Beard (Oklahoma), who is ranked 46th in the Class of 2013, Cougar Babin (Texas), and Tim Riley (Pennsylvania). Two additional wrestlers to watch are Austin Myers (Ohio), ranked ninth among junior high wrestlers, and Cadet All-American Victor Pereira (California).
160: After the last few weight classes, this one is rather thin with a limited amount of notable wrestlers. Leading the way here is FILA Cadet All-American Burke Paddock (New York), who is ranked sixth in the Class of 2014. Others to watch include Domenic Abounader (Ohio), ranked 41st in the Class of 2013, FILA Cadet All-American Scott Gibbons (Louisiana), and Andras Lukacs-Farkas (Iowa), who had just one loss at the Cadet Duals.
171: Like in Greco-Roman in this weight class, things on the surface seem to be pointed towards a featured final bout involving Sam Brooks (Illinois) and Jordan Rogers (Washington). Both wrestlers were Cadet runners-up in freestyle last summer, Brooks is ranked 20th in the Class of 2012, while FILA Cadet champion Rogers is ranked 21st in the Class of 2012. Dakota DesLauriers (Pennsylvania) joins the duo as a returning Cadet All-American, and is ranked 48th in the Class of 2013. Others to watch include Jack Dechow (Illinois), winner of the Cadet folkstyle title in early April, Matt Reed (Kansas), undefeated at the Cadet Duals, and Jonathan Inman (Missouri), who lost just one match at the Cadet Duals.
189: Mitch Sliga (Indiana) enters as the pre-tournament favorite in this weight class, and is seeking the Cadet "Triple Crown" having won the folkstyle title in April. Coming off a third place finish as a freshman at 189 pounds in the scholastic season, Sliga is ranked 16th among Class of 2013 wrestlers. The lone returning Cadet All-American in this weight class is Brad Johnson (Illinois). Others to watch in this weight class include a pair of wrestlers that went undefeated at the Cadet Duals -- Joey Dedick (Illinois) and Hashem Omari (Missouri) -- as well as Mickey Pelfrey (Iowa) who lost just one match there.
215: There are joint favorites in this weight class, a matchup between wrestlers that have met once in each of the three wrestling styles this off-season. Michael Kroells (Minnesota) defeated Adam Coon (Michigan) in the finals of the Cadet Folkstyle Nationals and at the Cadet Duals in Greco, before falling short in freestyle at the Cadet Duals. Kroells, a returning Cadet All-American, is ranked 18th in the Class of 2012, while Coon, ranked 21st in the Class of 2013, went undefeated at both the Cadet and Junior Duals in freestyle. Others to watch in this weight include returning Cadet All-American Joe Scanlan (Iowa), Jimmy Trull (Washington), and Ty Walz (Ohio).
285: No puns intended here, but as is the general trend at Cadet heavy-weight, it tends to be lean for known commodities. There is no exception here, though the strong favorite in this weight class has already made a name having just completed his freshman year of high school. Brooks Black (Pennsylvania), ranked sixth among Class of 2013 wrestlers, was a National Prep runner-up and swept titles at the FILA Cadet Nationals in April. The prime challenge to Black will come from Doug Vollaro (Florida), a returning Cadet All-American, who was runner-up to Black in both styles at the FILA Cadets. Others to watch are Cadet folkstyle champion John Dreggors (Florida) and the sixth-ranked junior high wrestler in the country Michael Johnson (Illinois).
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