Seven ‘Fargo’ wrestlers picked as double finalists in Greco and freestyle
By Rob Sherrill, WIN High School Columnist
It’s time for our annual fearless forecast. You know…the one where we hang ourselves out to dry. Who will make the Cadet and Junior National finals at Fargo, N.D., during between July 15-21?
But before we do that, it’s time to give some credit to some wrestlers who went above and beyond the call of duty this spring and summer. Not many wrestlers venture beyond the borders of their particular home region, but it’s time to recognize the five wrestlers, who won three events this off-season.
They are:
Cadet – Gage Richmond, 138, TN (Central Region Freestyle, Southeast Region Greco-Roman and Freestyle)
Junior – Adam Coon, 285, MI (Central Region Greco-Roman and Freestyle, FILA Junior Greco-Roman)
Dylan Lucas, 126, FL (FILA Cadet Greco-Roman, Southeast Region Greco-Roman and Freestyle)
Geordan Speiller, 170, FL (West Region Freestyle, FILA Junior Greco-Roman, FILA Junior World Team Trials)
Hayden Tuma, 145, ID (Northwest Region Greco-Roman and Freestyle, FILA Cadet Greco-Roman)
Several others won two regionals, then threw in at least one undefeated style at either the Cadet or Junior National Duals this off-season.
They are:
Cadet – Frankie Bruno, 100, FL; Sam Brancale, 132, MN; Kent Lane, 120, PA; Cole Weaver, 120, MI; Brooks Robinson, 138, UT; Mason Manville, 145, MN; Kimball Bastian, 152, UT; Michael Pixley, 182, MO
Junior – Dylan Peters, 120, IA; Alex Meyer, 181, IA; Nolan Boyd, 195, OK
Now it’s on to our predictions for this year’s Junior and Cadet Nationals in Greco-Roman and freestyle.
As is our usual rule, everybody who makes our predictions already has participated in at least one USA Wrestling event this year. In some years, that has limited the available talent pool significantly (though we’re not using that as an excuse). No Fargo walk-ins on this list, regardless of ability. Still, plenty of the nation’s elite wrestlers have come out for one or more events this year.
The Cadet and Junior National Duals were available to us at press time, so we decided to take advantage of them. Dual-meet wrestling, though, regardless of the venue, is a sport of momentum. A lot of upsets take place after your teammates have won four or five matches in a row (an upset win) or after a similar losing streak (an upset loss). That’s where the mental toughness aspect of the sport comes in. As we’ve seen, however, a lot of those results get turned around a few weeks later under the Dome.
So, with apologies to blind squirrels everywhere, here are what the Cadet and Junior National finals could look like:
Cadet Nationals
Greco-Roman: Begins July 15, Finals set for July 16 (2 p.m. CDT)
Freestyle: Begins July 18, Finals set for July 20 (2 p.m. CDT)
88 pounds:
GR, Dalton Roberts (MI) vs. Michael Doetsch (MD);
FS, Louie Hayes (IL) vs. Drew Hildebrandt (IN)
94 pounds:
GR, Hunter Marko (WI) vs. Paul Fitterer (MN);
FS, Jonathan Gabriel (PA) vs. Joey Prata (VA)
100 pounds:
Texan Isaac Jimenez (bottom), who lost to Minnesota’s double winner Gannon Volk in last year’s Greco final, could be the young man to beat in both styles in this year’s Cadet Nationals at 100 pounds. (Wyatt Schultz image)
GR, Dylan Chatterton (PA) vs. Isaac Jimenez (TX);
FS, Frankie Bruno (FL) vs. Jimenez
106 pounds:
GR, Camden Bertucci (MI) vs. Sean DeShazer (KS);
FS, Ke-Shawn Hayes (MO) vs. Jordan Kutler (NJ)
113 pounds:
GR, Cody Karstetter (OK) vs. Kyle Norstrem (FL);
FS, Stevan Micic (IN) vs. Cameron Sykora (MN)
120 pounds:
GR, Jon Marmolejo (IL) vs. Dante Rodriguez (NE);
FS, Joe Smith (OK) vs. Zahid Valencia (CA)
126 pounds:
GR, Logan Massa (MI) vs. Jacob Rubio (TX);
FS, Matthew Floresca (WA) vs. Johnny O’Hearon (UT)
132 pounds:
GR, Josh Anderson (UT) vs. Zech Bresser (OR);
FS, Seth Gross (MN) vs. Austin Kraisser (MD)
138 pounds:
GR, Miguel Barreras (NM) vs. Brooks Robinson (UT);
FS, Gage Richmond (TN) vs. Dominic Russ (MI)
145 pounds:
GR, Fox Baldwin (FL) vs. Mason Manville (FL);
FS, Baldwin vs. Manville
152 pounds:
GR, Kimball Bastian (UT) vs. Xavier Montalvo (IL);
FS, Paden Bailey (OK) vs. Bo Nickal (TX)
160 pounds:
GR, Elijah Kerr-Brown (GA) vs. Mason Reinhardt (WI);
FS, Dillon Artigliere (NJ) vs. Zachary Graver (PA)
170 pounds:
GR, Gable Frandsen (WI) vs. Dylan Wisman (VA);
FS, Angus Arthur (MI) vs. Taylor Workman (OH)
182 pounds:
GR, Blake Andrews (TX) vs. Mike Smith (MD);
FS, Michael Pixley (MO) vs. Justan Rivera (GA)
195 pounds:
GR, Landon Pelham (MI) vs. Jovan Reyes (PA);
FS, Tommy Marquez (KS) vs. Michael Sullivan (MD)
220 pounds:
GR, Tyler Orndorff (WA) vs. Tyler Schmidt (WI);
FS, Christian Jenco (NJ) vs. Orndorff
Heavyweight:
GR, Dane Drimmer (CO) vs. Tanner Farmer (IL);
FS, Chase Henderson (OH) vs. Zyah Ra (MO)
Junior Nationals
Greco-Roman: Begins July 16, Finals set for July 17 (2:15 p.m. CDT)
Freestyle: Begins July 19, Finals set for July 21 (10 a.m. CDT)
Jabari Moody (left) of Illinois just missed winning a double title in last year’s Cadet Nationals when Cody Jackson of Oregon rallied to beat him. Moody is moving up to the Junior division this year and hopes to duplicate what his older brother did last in in winning both a Greco and freestyle title as a Junior. (Wyatt Schultz image)
100 pounds:
GR, Brock George (UT) vs. Jabari Moody (IL);
FS, Josh Kramer (AZ) vs. Moody
106 pounds:
GR, Doyle Trout (NE) vs. Pup Simmons (OK);
FS, Joey Cisneros (CA) vs. Ethan Lizak (PA)
113 pounds:
GR, Jarred Oftedahl (MN) vs. Mitch Rogaliner (MI);
FS, Eli Hale (OK) vs. Tommy Pawelski (IL)
120 pounds:
GR, James Flint (FL) vs. Dylan Peters (IA);
FS, Immanuel Henderson (GA) vs. Tommy Thorn (MN)
126 pounds:
GR, Dylan Lucas (FL) vs. Jacob Schmitt (MI);
FS, Cory Clark (IA) vs. Jered Cortez (IL)
132 pounds:
GR, Sam Jones (LA) vs. Zane Richards (IL);
FS, Sam Brancale (MN) vs. Zain Retherford (PA)
138 pounds:
GR, Mitch Bengtson (MN) vs. Hayden Tuma (ID);
FS, Bryce Brill (IL) vs. Kevin Norstrem (FL)
145 pounds:
GR, Garrett Hoffner (MN) vs. Tyrell White (PA);
FS, Clayton Ream (MO) vs. Brandon Sorensen (IA)
152 pounds:
GR, Grant LaMont (UT) vs. Oliver Pierce (TX);
FS, Dylan Milonas (NJ) vs. Brian Murphy (IL)
160 pounds:
GR, Matt Gray (WI) vs. Connor Sutton (NY);
FS, Brian Harvey (IN) vs. Justin Koethe (IA)
170 pounds:
GR, Matt Reed (KS) vs. Chandler Rogers (WA);
FS, Chance Marsteller (PA) vs. Geordan Speiller (FL)
182 pounds:
GR, Joel Dixon (OK) vs. Alex Meyer (IA);
FS, Sam Brooks (IL) vs. Kyle Crutchmer (OK)
195 pounds:
GR, Nolan Boyd (OK) vs. Brandon Larson (ND);
FS, Mason Kumiashiro (CA) vs. Mitch Sliga (IN)
220 pounds:
GR, J’Den Cox (MO) vs. Matt Voss (WA);
FS, Cox vs. Willie Miklus (IA)
Heavyweight:
GR, Nathan Butler (KS) vs. Adam Coon (MI);
FS, Brooks Black (PA) vs. Coon
