Wisconsin’s Peterson is only returning Fargo champ in 16U Greco
Photo: Haakon Peterson (top) of Wisconsin defeated Javaan Yarbrough of Ohio for the 88-pound 16U crown in Greco-Roman after losing to Yarbrough in the 16U freestyle final last summer.
By Mike Finn
Haakon Peterson of Hollandale, Wisc., reached the finals of both styles at the 2021 U16 Nationals last July in Fargo, N.D., where he first lost to Ohio’s Javaan Yarbrough in freestyle at 88 pounds before avenging that setback with a victory over Yarbrough in Greco-Roman.
The 15-year-old Peterson, who also represented Sebolt Wrestling Academy of Iowa in the 2021 Nationals, is the only wrestler in this year’s U16 Nationals who could duplicate that level of success. He will move up to 94 pounds and is the only one of 17 Greco-Roman champions who will also compete at that age group and style when 16U Greco begins takes place in the Fargodome, July 20-21. 11 of those U16 champions in Greco-Roman from last summer will wrestle as Juniors in 2022. Yarbrough is also moving up to the Junior tournament.
Meanwhile, a pair of runner-ups in the 2021 U16 Greco-Roman Nationals, are scheduled to compete again the 2022 Nationals: Brady Phelps of Illinois, who is moving from 94 to 106 pounds this July; and Trey Wagner of Pennsylvania, who will wrestle at 120 pounds this summer after finishing second last July at 100 pounds.
Of the 7,100 wrestlers who will compete in the six tournaments of the 16U/Junior Nationals next week, preliminary numbers suggest that 1,171 wrestlers from 47 states in 16U will compete in Greco-Roman. That will break the record of 1,011 Greco-Roman wrestlers who competed in 2002.
The source for these numbers can be found in Jason Bryant’s MatTalk Online Fargo Almanac. (https://mattalkonline.gumroad.com/l/fargoguide)
In the most recent issue of WIN Magazine, high school columnist Rob Sherrill picked his finalists for the 2022 16U Greco-Roman tournament, based on results from the 16U National Duals in June:
88 – Jarrett Smith (MI) vs. Chris Swan (CA)
94 – Saxton Scott (ID) vs. Wyatt Ulrey (IN)
100 -Lawson Eller (MN) vs. Lincoln Sledzianowski (FL)
106 – Kolter Burton (ID) vs. Jace Hedeman (IA)
113 – Cole Collett (OK) vs. Declan Koch (WI)
120 – Brodie Christmas (AL) vs. Matt Martino (ID)
126 – Phoenix Contos (OH) vs. Drew Gorman (GA)
132 – Tyson Charmoli (MN) vs. Braeden Moore (KS)
138 – Alex Braun (MN) vs. Logan Paradice (GA)
145 – David Burks (VA) vs. Emil Necula (GA)
152 – Max Norman (TN) vs. Claudio Torres (FL)
160 – Merrik Murray (MO) vs. Tristan Steldt (WI)
170 – Bryce Burkett (MN) vs. Hudson Rogers (ID)
182 – De’Alcapon Veazy (IN) vs. Cittadino Tuttle (MN)
195 – Brennan Carey (MN) vs. Aidan Cooley (TX)
220 – Rylan Kuhn (MO) vs. Nicholas Sahakian (CA)
285 – Lee Smith (IL) vs. Cooper Martinson (IA)
This event first began in 1971 as a Junior men’s freestyle tournament and eventually added Greco in Juniors and both styles in 16U as well as women’s tournaments in 16U and Junior. The first 16U (formerly Cadet) Nationals was held in 1986 in Allendale, Mich., and moved to several other locations before joining the Fargo experience in 1996.
The following is a schedule for all six tournaments in 2022. Click on tourney to view preview of that event. Previews on Junior freestyle and Greco-Roman will be available on July 13 and 14.
| Tourney | First-round | Quarters/Semis | Finals |
| 16U women’s FS | July 16, 8 a.m. | July 16, 3 p.m. | July 17, 1:30 p.m. |
| 16U men’s FS | July 16, 8 a.m. | July 17, 4:30 p.m. | July 18, 1:30 p.m. |
| Junior men’s FS | July 17, 4:30 p.m. | July 18, 9 a.m./4:30 p.m. | July 19, 1 p.m. |
| Junior women’s FS | July 19, 9 a.m. | July 19, 4 p.m./July 20 9 a.m. | July 20, 2 p.m. |
| 16U Greco | July 20, 8 a.m. | July 20, 5 p.m./July 21, 8:30 a.m. | July 21, 2 p.m. |
| Junior Greco | July 21, 8:30 a.m. | July 21, 4:30 p.m./July 22, 9 a.m. | July 22, 2 p.m. |
The following are the All-American matches from the 2021 16U Greco-Roman Nationals.
Championship Matches
88 – Haakon Peterson (Wisconsin) dec. Javaan Yarbrough (Ohio), 5-2
94 – Mack Mauger (Idaho) dec. Brady Phelps (Illinois), 6-0
100 – Layne Kleimann (Utah) won by TF over Trey Wagner (Pennsylvania), 13-0 1:44
106 – Anthony Ruzic (Illinois) dec. Matthew Martino (Idaho), 4-3
113 – Austin Laudenbach (Minnesota) dec. Nick Treaster (Kansas), 4-3
120 – Kael Lauridsen (Nebraska) won by TF over Tanner Frothinger (Idaho), 11-0 1:07
126 – Mason Gibson (Pennsylvania) dec. Kamdyn Williams (Pennsylvania), 12-9
132 – Zach Hanson (Minnesota) won by TF over Dmitri Alarcon (Colorado), 12-1 3:38
138 – Joel Adams (Nebraska) won by TF over Brady Collins (Colorado), 12-0 1:24
145 – Pierson Manville (Pennsylvania) dec. Brett Back (Wisconsin), 6-1
152 – Arvin Khosravy (California) dec. Nicholas Fox (Iowa), 9-6
160 – Liam Scrivanich (Pennsylvania) dec. Jed Wester (Minnesota), 11-4
170 – Oscar Williams (Oklahoma) dec. Toby Schoffstall (Virginia), 6-4
182 – Cody Merrill (California) dec. Soren Herzog (Minnesota), 6-0
195 – Sawyer Bartelt (Florida) dec. William Mccleary (Utah), 8-2
220 – Koy Hopke (Wisconsin) dec. Austin Johnson (Pennsylvania), 9-4
285 – Navarro Schunke (South Dakota) dec. Spencer Lanosga (Louisiana), 9-2
3rd-Place Matches
88 – Griffin Rial (Colorado) dec. Lawson Eller (Minnesota), 9-7
94 – Ezekiel Witt (Kansas) dec. Cadyn Coyle (Nebraska), 10-3
100 – Aaron Seidel (Pennsylvania) dec. Jaxton Packer (Idaho), 7-5
106 – Sloan Johannsen (South Dakota) dec. Carter Nogle (Maryland), 11-9
113 – Marcello Milani (Michigan) dec. Drew Gorman (Georgia), 5-3
120 – Zan Fugitt (Missouri) won by TF over Garrett Reece (Colorado), 12-1 3:51
126 – Ayson Rice (South Dakota) dec. Aaron Lucio (Michigan), 17-10
132 – Casper Stewart (New York) won by TF over Gabriel Delgado (Nevada), 15-4 3:46
138 – Noah manuel Tapia (Illinois) dec. Jude Randall (Oklahoma), 12-5
145 – Dylan Evans (Pennsylvania) dec. Ethan Mojena (Florida), 5-3
152 – Zachary Eliszewski (Wisconsin) won by TF over Kj Evans (Oklahoma), 15-5 3:28
160 – Roman Garcia (Florida) dec. Travis Smith (Minnesota), 14-5
170 – Noah Poe-hatten (Montana) dec. Hoke Poe hogan (Georgia), 17-11
182 – De’alcapon Veazy (Indiana) won by TF over Kingsley Menifee (Virginia), 15-4 4:00
195 – Mccrae Hagarty (Iowa) dec. Max Agresti (Delaware), 5-3
220 – Erick Brothers (West Virginia) pinned Vaun Halstead (Oregon), 6-0 0:59
285 – Sebastian Lopez (Kansas) dec. Aidan Fockler (Ohio), 8-1
5th-Place Matches
88 – Cole Welte (Nebraska) won by TF over Revin Dickman (Indiana), 13-0 1:59
94 – Davis Motyka (Pennsylvania) won by TF over Josef Garshnick (Pennsylvania), 11-0 3:34
100 – Gage Singleton (Oregon) won by TF over Cole Gentsch (Illinois), 10-0 0:58
106 – Noah Nininger (Virginia) pinned Nathan Desmond (Pennsylvania), 4-2 2:50
113 – Logan Swensen (Minnesota) dec. Miles Anderson (Nebraska), 0-0
120 – Ruben Lorenzana (Ohio) dec. Jax Forrest (North Carolina), 13-13
126 – Daniel Zepeda (California) dec. Adrian Meza (Arizona), 14-6
132 – Laird Root (California) dec. Jj Mccomas-rogers (Oklahoma), 4-3
138 – Brandon Cody (Florida) pinned Cade White (Idaho), 14-3 3:46
145 – Duncan Christensen (Virginia) dec. Layton Schneider (Oklahoma), 5-3
152 – Lars Michaelson (Washington) dec. Dominic Bambinelli (Georgia), 7-2
160 – Talon Mccollom (Oklahoma) won by TF over Luis Mendoza (Washington), 10-0 0:20
170 – Harvey Ludington (New Jersey) dec. Nick Nosler (Illinois), 13-8
182 – Ian Smith (Wisconsin) dec. Hudson Davis (Oregon), 0-0
195 – Richard Thomas (Oklahoma) dec. Dai’mont Mucker (Missouri), 12-6
220 – Parker Ferrell (Virginia) dec. Samuel Murphy (Missouri), 10-5
285 – Aidan Trujillo (Colorado) won by forfeit over Wyatt Smith (Iowa), 0-0
7th-Place Matches
88 – Kole Davidheiser (Pennsylvania) won by TF over William Jakeway (South Carolina), 15-4 3:14
94 – Ryker Graff (Iowa) won by TF over Devin Bobzien (California), 13-0 1:35
100 – Jared Johnston (Ohio) dec. Colin Martin (Virginia), 9-6
106 – Adam Butler (Ohio) won by TF over Sean Campbell (New York), 11-0 3:45
113 – Treygen Morin (Idaho) won by TF over Sam Herring (Pennsylvania), 11-0 1:15
120 – Phoenix Contos (Ohio) dec. Marcos Torrez (Washington), 10-8
126 – Rhett Koenig (Wisconsin) dec. Joshua Neiwert (Washington), 4-1
132 – Gabriel Bouyssou (Rhode Island) dec. Alex Mentzer (South Dakota), 12-6
138 – Justin Avila (Iowa) dec. Yannis Charles (South Carolina), 15-13
145 – Mike Baker (Iowa) dec. Hudson Rogers (Idaho), 9-3
152 – Gavin Fernandez (California) won by TF over Braxton Strick (Missouri), 10-0 2:00
160 – Gavin Ricketts (Kentucky) dec. Tyler Martinez (Illinois), 8-3
170 – Maximus Hanson (Minnesota) pinned David Malin (Wisconsin), 4-4 2:38
182 – Erik Mccown (Oklahoma) pinned Adrian Gacek (Pennsylvania), 13-10 3:02
195 – Hunter Tibodeau (Washington) won by TF over William Caneer (Alabama), 18-6 2:18
220 – Nicholas Sahakian (California) dec. Jacob Walker (Iowa), 0-0
285 – Cameron Groncki (New York) pinned Willie Cox (Alabama), 6-0 0:57
