FARGO JOURNAL: Moore, Grajales match was one to remember
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by Craig Sesker
FARGO, N.D. - It was the match of the tournament.
The 130-pound freestyle battle between Iowa's Nate Moore and Florida's Eric Grajales in Friday's late session.
Too bad it was on a side mat - Mat 10 - and it wasn't in the finals. But because the entries are drawn into the bracket, the match occurred earlier in the event than many people had hoped.
It was still an instant classic. It was an unbelievable match between two stud prospects. Wrestlers, coaches and fans were all huddled around the mat.
Grajales hit an early headlock to take a 3-0 lead, but the powerful Moore stormed back to win the period 7-4. Grajales won a wild second period 7-6 before Moore eventually pulled out a 4-2 win in the third period. Moore went on to win the title while Grajales wrestled back to place third.
Moore is headed to the University of Iowa and is an impressive prospect to say the least. He is a perfect fit for the Tom Brands style of wrestling with his hard-charging approach. The kid already is physical enough to be a force at the collegiate level. Moore is the best wrestler I've seen in this tournament.
Unlike a lot of graduated seniors, Moore is here in Fargo. Kudos to him for competing in this event.
Grajales, a senior-to-be at national pwoer Brandon (Fla.), is the No. 2 ranked recruit in the country. He has made two Junior World Teams in Greco-Roman wrestling.
Friday, July 25
FARGO, N.D. - One of the guys I always enjoy running into at wrestling tournaments is Todd Beckerman.
My first year at the Omaha World-Herald was his final season wrestling for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Beckerman had an excellent season, placing fourth at the NCAA tournament in Iowa City. He just missed reaching the finals that year after dropping a heartbreaker in the semifinals.
Beckerman is now an assistant coach at Maryland. I had a chance to hang out with Beckerman, a Maryland native, last night. He's a great guy, and he's an excellent young coach.
He's here in Fargo helping the Maryland team at Junior and Cadet Nationals.
He was on a strong University of Nebraska team that included NCAA champions Brad Vering and Jason Powell along with NCAA runner-up Bryan Snyder. It was a good group of guys to cover.
Beckerman said he is excited about seeing how Vering, a guy he wrestled side-by-side with for four years in Lincoln, fares at the upcoming Olympics in Beijing, China.
Looking forward to seeing how the new coaching staff, led by new head coach Kerry McCoy, does at Maryland. McCoy also will be in Beijing for the Olympics. He's one of the Olympic Team coaches in freestyle.
I just can't believe Beckerman didn't know I grew up in Iowa.
Thursday, July 24
FARGO, N.D. - One of the fun parts about being in Fargo this week is seeing all the wrestling people walking around with T-shirts from our 2008 U.S. Olympians.
Among the T-shirts I've seen featuring our Olympians are ones for Spenser Mango, Jake Deitchler, Henry Cejudo, Ben Askren and "Silent H" Andy Hrovat.
I love the Deitchler shirts, which feature the unforgettable pose of him celebrating his dramatic win at the Olympic Trials. I picked one of those shirts up a couple of days ago when Jake was here signing autographs at Buffalo Wild Wings.
But the shirts I've seen the most of, and the ones I personally like best, are the Spenser Mango shirts. The design is very unique and very cool. The Mango shirts were all over the place when a group of us hung out at Buck's, a local establishment, last night in Fargo. I just picked up one of Spenser's shirts here in the Fargo Dome.
Spenser's brother, Ryan, begins his quest for his second Junior Nationals title of the week today. Ryan won a Junior Nationals Greco-Roman title on Tuesday and he now takes aim at a freestyle title.
Spenser and Ryan's mother, Deborah, is here in Fargo this week. Her support has paved the way for her sons to excel on the mat. It's a great family.
Deborah and Ryan will be in Beijing to support Spenser. Don't be surprised if Spenser wins a medal in the Olympics.
Wednesday, July 23
FARGO, N.D. - One of the guys who helps keep me sane during the Junior and Cadet Nationals is scoreboard guru Jim Shipman.
He also knows where all the great restaurants and places to hang out are in Fargo. He also has a vehicle (which I don't), so we're able to drive town and eat something besides chicken wings.
Jim has been coming to this event for years and does a great job helping us run this event.
I met Jim at the 2002 NCAA Tournament in Albany and despite being a Pittsburgh Pirates fan (I follow the Cincinnati Reds) he's fun to hang out with. I met Jim through former co-worker Ted Witulski, and like Ted, he's quite the character. Unlike Ted, we don't get three months off a year.
We had a great dinner last night at Granite City, a popular Fargo restaurant. We sat outside and it was a great evening. The weather has been virtually perfect the whole week we've been here. It's unseasonably cool for Fargo.
I'm hoping to hook up with Jim in his hometown in September when my beloved Iowa Hawkeyes play football at Pittsburgh.
It's been a fun week here so far. Great wrestling, great weather.
The Cadet Nationals kick off today in freestyle. I see a few college coaches rolling in here this morning.
A week from today I will fly to Beijing, China to cover the Olympics. That should be an incredible event.
Tuesday, July 22
FARGO, N.D. - USA Wrestling has added something new at the Junior and Cadet Nationals this year.
We're conducting video interviews of all the champions in each style and posting them on our site.
Interviews with all the Cadet Nationals Greco-Roman and Junior Nationals women's freestyle champions are now posted in our Fargo Special Section on TheMat.com. Check them out.
It's another way to recognize some of these young athletes and allow wrestling fans a chance to hear their thoughts on winning this prestigious event.
Joe Miller has done a great job with the interviews and he will be talking to all of the Junior Nationals Greco-Roman champions later today.
Monday, July 21
FARGO, N.D. - One of the great moments in recent history at Junior Nationals was when Nebraska's Todd Meneely was crowned a double champion in Greco-Roman and freestyle.
Meneely knocked off Teyon Ware of Oklahoma, who went on to win a pair of NCAA titles for the Oklahoma Sooners, in the 2002 freestyle finals. Ware was the No. 1 ranked recruit in the country. Many wrestling fans still remember the picture that ran in WIN Magazine of Meneely flexing after his win.
Meneely headed to the University of Iowa, but was only there for a year and half. He overcame some off-the-mat problems and has ended up having a terrific college career for the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Meneely, who is in Fargo this week watching the Junior and Cadet Nationals, has won a pair of Division II national titles and will look for his third title as a senior during the 2008-09 season. He qualified for the 2007 U.S. World Team Trials and came up just short of placing.
Meneely plans to continue wrestling internationally. He won University Nationals in 2007 and wrestled well at the World University Trials this year before falling to Josh Churella in the finals of the Challenge Tournament.
I got to know Todd and his family when I worked as a sportswriter at the Omaha World-Herald. His father, Jay, is coaching the wrestlers from Nebraska. I had a chance to hook up with Todd and Jay last night at a local restaurant. It was fun to catch up with those guys.
I'm happy to report that Todd is doing great and he has turned his life around.
Sunday, July 20
FARGO, N.D. - One of the great parts of attending the largest wrestling tournament in the world is it provides a reunion of sorts for the wrestling community.
After Day 1 of the Junior and Cadet Nationals, a large group of wrestling people gathered around the big-screen televisions at Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the mixed martial arts bouts being staged on Saturday night.
Among the people sitting at our table were World champions Kristie Marano and Joe Warren, and World medalist Harry Lester. As most people know, wrestlers have been extremely successful when moving on to ultimate fighting.
One of the first to make a splash was past Olympic and World silver medalist Matt Lindland, who is still going strong in MMA at age 38. We watched Lindland pummel his overmatched opponent en route to winning by unanimous decision. Matt's superior conditioning was evident in his victory.
Joe is now training for his first fight. If Harry ever decided to give MMA a shot, I think he would be highly successful.
Anybody who thought Harry was competitive as a wrestler should see him in the corner as a coach. He certainly has shown plenty of fire and passion in coaching some of the young Greco-Roman kids from Ohio.
It was great to see Kristie again. She's one of my favorite people in the sport who I've worked with on a number of stories over the last three years. She's moved to Oklahoma with her daughter, Kayla. Kristie is here coaching some of the girls wrestlers from Pennsylvania.
Day 2 of this event is now underway in the Fargo Dome. Nearly 800 wrestlers from 44 states are competing in the Cadet Nationals Greco-Roman division.
Saturday, July 19
FARGO, N.D. - The last time I was in Fargo, North Dakota, the temperature was a blistering 106 degrees in late July of 2006.
We had a day to kill before we flew home at the conclusion of the Junior and Cadet Nationals, so we took in a minor-league baseball game on the North Dakota State University campus.
When I stepped off the plane late Friday afternoon in Fargo, I was pleasantly surprised that the temperature was in the mid-70s. As an added bonus, the air conditioning actually worked in the dorm room I'm staying in at NDSU.
We attended a baseball game last night and the weather couldn't have been more perfect for this time of year.
I sat with co-workers Tony Black and Steve Beuning for the last few innings of the game. Steve's cousin was pitching for visiting Winnipeg. It was a fun night at the yard.
Welcome back to Fargo! It's the home of the largest wrestling tournament in the world. Over the next eight days the best Junior and Cadet wrestlers in the United States will battle it out in Greco-Roman and freestyle on 23 mats in the spacious confines of the Fargo Dome.
Numerous top Division I coaches will roll into town as well, as this is an annual recruiting hotbed with so many talented young wrestlers assembled under one roof.
This is my second trip to Fargo for this event. I missed the 2007 tournament since I was down in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, covering the Pan American Games.
We will provide daily wire-to-wire coverage of this event on TheMat.com. Check out what we have to offer.
Hopefully, the temperature will stay closer to 80 than 100 during our week here in North Dakota.
It's going to be an exciting next month for the folks at USA Wrestling. After I fly home on July 27, I turn around three days later and fly to Beijing, China, for my first Olympics. Can't wait to go see our men and women chase Olympic gold!
The 130-pound freestyle battle between Iowa's Nate Moore and Florida's Eric Grajales in Friday's late session.
Too bad it was on a side mat - Mat 10 - and it wasn't in the finals. But because the entries are drawn into the bracket, the match occurred earlier in the event than many people had hoped.
It was still an instant classic. It was an unbelievable match between two stud prospects. Wrestlers, coaches and fans were all huddled around the mat.
Grajales hit an early headlock to take a 3-0 lead, but the powerful Moore stormed back to win the period 7-4. Grajales won a wild second period 7-6 before Moore eventually pulled out a 4-2 win in the third period. Moore went on to win the title while Grajales wrestled back to place third.
Moore is headed to the University of Iowa and is an impressive prospect to say the least. He is a perfect fit for the Tom Brands style of wrestling with his hard-charging approach. The kid already is physical enough to be a force at the collegiate level. Moore is the best wrestler I've seen in this tournament.
Unlike a lot of graduated seniors, Moore is here in Fargo. Kudos to him for competing in this event.
Grajales, a senior-to-be at national pwoer Brandon (Fla.), is the No. 2 ranked recruit in the country. He has made two Junior World Teams in Greco-Roman wrestling.
Friday, July 25
FARGO, N.D. - One of the guys I always enjoy running into at wrestling tournaments is Todd Beckerman.
My first year at the Omaha World-Herald was his final season wrestling for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Beckerman had an excellent season, placing fourth at the NCAA tournament in Iowa City. He just missed reaching the finals that year after dropping a heartbreaker in the semifinals.
Beckerman is now an assistant coach at Maryland. I had a chance to hang out with Beckerman, a Maryland native, last night. He's a great guy, and he's an excellent young coach.
He's here in Fargo helping the Maryland team at Junior and Cadet Nationals.
He was on a strong University of Nebraska team that included NCAA champions Brad Vering and Jason Powell along with NCAA runner-up Bryan Snyder. It was a good group of guys to cover.
Beckerman said he is excited about seeing how Vering, a guy he wrestled side-by-side with for four years in Lincoln, fares at the upcoming Olympics in Beijing, China.
Looking forward to seeing how the new coaching staff, led by new head coach Kerry McCoy, does at Maryland. McCoy also will be in Beijing for the Olympics. He's one of the Olympic Team coaches in freestyle.
I just can't believe Beckerman didn't know I grew up in Iowa.
Thursday, July 24
FARGO, N.D. - One of the fun parts about being in Fargo this week is seeing all the wrestling people walking around with T-shirts from our 2008 U.S. Olympians.
Among the T-shirts I've seen featuring our Olympians are ones for Spenser Mango, Jake Deitchler, Henry Cejudo, Ben Askren and "Silent H" Andy Hrovat.
I love the Deitchler shirts, which feature the unforgettable pose of him celebrating his dramatic win at the Olympic Trials. I picked one of those shirts up a couple of days ago when Jake was here signing autographs at Buffalo Wild Wings.
But the shirts I've seen the most of, and the ones I personally like best, are the Spenser Mango shirts. The design is very unique and very cool. The Mango shirts were all over the place when a group of us hung out at Buck's, a local establishment, last night in Fargo. I just picked up one of Spenser's shirts here in the Fargo Dome.
Spenser's brother, Ryan, begins his quest for his second Junior Nationals title of the week today. Ryan won a Junior Nationals Greco-Roman title on Tuesday and he now takes aim at a freestyle title.
Spenser and Ryan's mother, Deborah, is here in Fargo this week. Her support has paved the way for her sons to excel on the mat. It's a great family.
Deborah and Ryan will be in Beijing to support Spenser. Don't be surprised if Spenser wins a medal in the Olympics.
Wednesday, July 23
FARGO, N.D. - One of the guys who helps keep me sane during the Junior and Cadet Nationals is scoreboard guru Jim Shipman.
He also knows where all the great restaurants and places to hang out are in Fargo. He also has a vehicle (which I don't), so we're able to drive town and eat something besides chicken wings.
Jim has been coming to this event for years and does a great job helping us run this event.
I met Jim at the 2002 NCAA Tournament in Albany and despite being a Pittsburgh Pirates fan (I follow the Cincinnati Reds) he's fun to hang out with. I met Jim through former co-worker Ted Witulski, and like Ted, he's quite the character. Unlike Ted, we don't get three months off a year.
We had a great dinner last night at Granite City, a popular Fargo restaurant. We sat outside and it was a great evening. The weather has been virtually perfect the whole week we've been here. It's unseasonably cool for Fargo.
I'm hoping to hook up with Jim in his hometown in September when my beloved Iowa Hawkeyes play football at Pittsburgh.
It's been a fun week here so far. Great wrestling, great weather.
The Cadet Nationals kick off today in freestyle. I see a few college coaches rolling in here this morning.
A week from today I will fly to Beijing, China to cover the Olympics. That should be an incredible event.
Tuesday, July 22
FARGO, N.D. - USA Wrestling has added something new at the Junior and Cadet Nationals this year.
We're conducting video interviews of all the champions in each style and posting them on our site.
Interviews with all the Cadet Nationals Greco-Roman and Junior Nationals women's freestyle champions are now posted in our Fargo Special Section on TheMat.com. Check them out.
It's another way to recognize some of these young athletes and allow wrestling fans a chance to hear their thoughts on winning this prestigious event.
Joe Miller has done a great job with the interviews and he will be talking to all of the Junior Nationals Greco-Roman champions later today.
Monday, July 21
FARGO, N.D. - One of the great moments in recent history at Junior Nationals was when Nebraska's Todd Meneely was crowned a double champion in Greco-Roman and freestyle.
Meneely knocked off Teyon Ware of Oklahoma, who went on to win a pair of NCAA titles for the Oklahoma Sooners, in the 2002 freestyle finals. Ware was the No. 1 ranked recruit in the country. Many wrestling fans still remember the picture that ran in WIN Magazine of Meneely flexing after his win.
Meneely headed to the University of Iowa, but was only there for a year and half. He overcame some off-the-mat problems and has ended up having a terrific college career for the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Meneely, who is in Fargo this week watching the Junior and Cadet Nationals, has won a pair of Division II national titles and will look for his third title as a senior during the 2008-09 season. He qualified for the 2007 U.S. World Team Trials and came up just short of placing.
Meneely plans to continue wrestling internationally. He won University Nationals in 2007 and wrestled well at the World University Trials this year before falling to Josh Churella in the finals of the Challenge Tournament.
I got to know Todd and his family when I worked as a sportswriter at the Omaha World-Herald. His father, Jay, is coaching the wrestlers from Nebraska. I had a chance to hook up with Todd and Jay last night at a local restaurant. It was fun to catch up with those guys.
I'm happy to report that Todd is doing great and he has turned his life around.
Sunday, July 20
FARGO, N.D. - One of the great parts of attending the largest wrestling tournament in the world is it provides a reunion of sorts for the wrestling community.
After Day 1 of the Junior and Cadet Nationals, a large group of wrestling people gathered around the big-screen televisions at Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the mixed martial arts bouts being staged on Saturday night.
Among the people sitting at our table were World champions Kristie Marano and Joe Warren, and World medalist Harry Lester. As most people know, wrestlers have been extremely successful when moving on to ultimate fighting.
One of the first to make a splash was past Olympic and World silver medalist Matt Lindland, who is still going strong in MMA at age 38. We watched Lindland pummel his overmatched opponent en route to winning by unanimous decision. Matt's superior conditioning was evident in his victory.
Joe is now training for his first fight. If Harry ever decided to give MMA a shot, I think he would be highly successful.
Anybody who thought Harry was competitive as a wrestler should see him in the corner as a coach. He certainly has shown plenty of fire and passion in coaching some of the young Greco-Roman kids from Ohio.
It was great to see Kristie again. She's one of my favorite people in the sport who I've worked with on a number of stories over the last three years. She's moved to Oklahoma with her daughter, Kayla. Kristie is here coaching some of the girls wrestlers from Pennsylvania.
Day 2 of this event is now underway in the Fargo Dome. Nearly 800 wrestlers from 44 states are competing in the Cadet Nationals Greco-Roman division.
Saturday, July 19
FARGO, N.D. - The last time I was in Fargo, North Dakota, the temperature was a blistering 106 degrees in late July of 2006.
We had a day to kill before we flew home at the conclusion of the Junior and Cadet Nationals, so we took in a minor-league baseball game on the North Dakota State University campus.
When I stepped off the plane late Friday afternoon in Fargo, I was pleasantly surprised that the temperature was in the mid-70s. As an added bonus, the air conditioning actually worked in the dorm room I'm staying in at NDSU.
We attended a baseball game last night and the weather couldn't have been more perfect for this time of year.
I sat with co-workers Tony Black and Steve Beuning for the last few innings of the game. Steve's cousin was pitching for visiting Winnipeg. It was a fun night at the yard.
Welcome back to Fargo! It's the home of the largest wrestling tournament in the world. Over the next eight days the best Junior and Cadet wrestlers in the United States will battle it out in Greco-Roman and freestyle on 23 mats in the spacious confines of the Fargo Dome.
Numerous top Division I coaches will roll into town as well, as this is an annual recruiting hotbed with so many talented young wrestlers assembled under one roof.
This is my second trip to Fargo for this event. I missed the 2007 tournament since I was down in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, covering the Pan American Games.
We will provide daily wire-to-wire coverage of this event on TheMat.com. Check out what we have to offer.
Hopefully, the temperature will stay closer to 80 than 100 during our week here in North Dakota.
It's going to be an exciting next month for the folks at USA Wrestling. After I fly home on July 27, I turn around three days later and fly to Beijing, China, for my first Olympics. Can't wait to go see our men and women chase Olympic gold!
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