Jade Rauser wins Triple Crown, Alton twins share OW award to highlight Junior Nationals freestyle finals
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by Craig Sesker
Montana's Jade Rauser (right) battles Iowa's Jack Hathaway in the 105-pound finals. Photo by John Sachs/Tech-fall.com
FARGO, N.D. - Jade Rauser's summer vacation from high school hasn't been much of a vacation.
On most summer mornings, while many of his classmates are sleeping in, Jade and his twin brother Valyen are out on one of their daily three-mile runs in Montana.
All the extra work paid dividends for Jade Rauser when he became USA Wrestling's first Junior Triple Crown winner on Saturday morning at the FargoDome.
Rauser, from Townsend, Montana, made history when he swept Iowa's Jack Hathaway 6-0, 3-0 in the 105-pound Junior Nationals freestyle finals.
"It's great to become the first Triple Crown winner," Rauser said. "Fargo is a really tough tournament and I've thought about winning this since I was a little kid. My brother and I have worked really hard for this, and it's great to see it pay off."
Rauser won Folkstyle Nationals in April and followed by winning Junior Nationals in Greco-Roman on Tuesday. This is the third year that Juniors have had a chance to win the Triple Crown. The Junior division was added at the 2007 Folkstyle Nationals.
Jade's twin brother, Valyen, finished second in freestyle at 112. Arizona's Ryak Finch downed Valyen Rauser in the freestyle finals after also defeating him in the Greco finals.
"Rauser's a great wrestler and I knew it was going to be a tough match," Finch said. "After finishing second last year (in both styles), I was pretty determined to come back here and win this. I worked really hard for this tournament."
Another set of talented twins, Andrew (140) and Dylan Alton (145) of Pennsylvania, came through by repeating as Junior Nationals freestyle champions. The Altons have now combined to win a total of eight Junior and Cadet titles in freestyle and Greco-Roman in Fargo.
The Penn State recruits continued to show why they are two of the top prospects to come along in recent years. The Altons shared the award as Outstanding Wrestler of the Junior Nationals freestyle tournament.
Andrew Alton outlasted Josh Kindig of Pennsylvania in a tough, three-period battle in the finals.
"It's tough wrestling him because we train together and we're pretty good friends," Andrew Alton said. "He's a real tough kid and we know each other's styles real well."
Dylan Alton also had to go three periods before he held off Vlad Dombrowskiy of California in his gold-medal match.
"There is a lot of pressure and expectations for us," Dylan Alton said. "Having a brother going through the same thing helps me a lot. We support each other and push each other."
Dylan Alton beat Kindig in the Junior finals last year.
Pennsylvania finished with three champions as Josh Dziewa also won a Junior Nationals freestyle crown at 135. Pennsylvania won the Junior Nationals team title.
Washington's Derek Garcia (152), a Cadet Nationals Greco champion in 2007, capped a dominant run through the tournament en route to winning a Junior Nationals freestyle title. Garcia beat Florida's Joseph Cozart 6-0, 7-1 in the finals.
Garcia has been training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
"The key for me in this tournament was to just go out there and have fun," Garcia said. "I just tried not to put too much pressure on myself. I had (2006 World champion and USA Wrestling Assistant National Coach) Bill Zadick in my corner coaching me and that made a big difference. He's wrestled with me and he's taught me so much. I can't say enough about what Bill's done for me."
Washington's Ruben Navejas dropped the first period before coming back to down New York's Maxwell Soria 0-2, 1-0, 4-1 in the morning's first finals bout at 98. Navejas won the freestyle title after placing second in Junior Nationals in Greco-Roman.
Washington crowned a third Junior Nationals freestyle champion when Jake Swartz won at 189.
A pair of University of Iowa recruits - Derek St. John (160) of Iowa and Ethen Lofthouse (171) of Utah - won Junior Nationals freestyle titles on Saturday.
Ohio had a pair of champions in Ty Mitch (119) and Jeremey Johnson (285). Minnesota also had two champions with David Thorn (125) and Tony Nelson (215) winning titles.
Johnson recorded a first-period pin to cap the eight-day tournament late Saturday morning in Fargo.
Indiana's Cashe' Quiroga won the title at 130.
JUNIOR NATIONALS FREESTYLE FINALS RESULTS
98 Pounds
Ruben Navejas (Washington) dec. Maxwell Soria (New York), 0-2, 1-0, 4-1
105 Pounds
Jade Rauser (Montana) dec. Jack Hathaway (Iowa), 6-0, 3-0
112 Pounds
Ryak Finch (Arizona) dec. Valyen Rauser (Montana), 6-0, 6-0
119 Pounds
Ty Mitch (Ohio) dec. Nico Megaludis (Pennsylvania), 1-0, 1-0
125 Pounds
David Thorn (Minnesota) dec. Devin Carter (Virginia), 1-0, 3-1
130 Pounds
Cashe' Quiroga (Indiana) dec. Nick Dardanes (Illinois), 1-2, 7-0, 5-0
135 Pounds
Josh Dziewa (Pennsylvania) dec. C.J. Napier (Kansas), 3-3, 1-0
140 Pounds
Andrew Alton (Pennsylvania) dec. Josh Kindig (Pennsylvania), 3-0, 3-4, 1-0
145 Pounds
Dylan Alton (Pennsylvania) dec. Vlad Dombrowskiy (California), 6-0, 2-3, 3-1
152 Pounds
Derek Garcia (Washington) dec. Joseph Cozart (Florida), 6-0, 7-1
160 Pounds
Derek St. John (Iowa) dec. Robert Kokesh (South Dakota), 4-1, 4-2
171 Pounds
Ethen Lofthouse (Utah) dec. Lee Munster (Illinois), 5-1, 4-0
189 Pounds
Jake Swartz (Washington) dec. Max Huntley (New Jersey), 1-1, 0-2, 3-0
215 Pounds
Tony Nelson (Minnesota) dec. Derrick Borlie (Virginia), 3-1, 2-1
285 Pounds
Jeremy Johnson (Ohio) pinned Jake Kettler (Minnesota), 1:28
FARGO, N.D. - Jade Rauser's summer vacation from high school hasn't been much of a vacation.
On most summer mornings, while many of his classmates are sleeping in, Jade and his twin brother Valyen are out on one of their daily three-mile runs in Montana.
All the extra work paid dividends for Jade Rauser when he became USA Wrestling's first Junior Triple Crown winner on Saturday morning at the FargoDome.
Rauser, from Townsend, Montana, made history when he swept Iowa's Jack Hathaway 6-0, 3-0 in the 105-pound Junior Nationals freestyle finals.
"It's great to become the first Triple Crown winner," Rauser said. "Fargo is a really tough tournament and I've thought about winning this since I was a little kid. My brother and I have worked really hard for this, and it's great to see it pay off."
Rauser won Folkstyle Nationals in April and followed by winning Junior Nationals in Greco-Roman on Tuesday. This is the third year that Juniors have had a chance to win the Triple Crown. The Junior division was added at the 2007 Folkstyle Nationals.
Jade's twin brother, Valyen, finished second in freestyle at 112. Arizona's Ryak Finch downed Valyen Rauser in the freestyle finals after also defeating him in the Greco finals.
"Rauser's a great wrestler and I knew it was going to be a tough match," Finch said. "After finishing second last year (in both styles), I was pretty determined to come back here and win this. I worked really hard for this tournament."
Another set of talented twins, Andrew (140) and Dylan Alton (145) of Pennsylvania, came through by repeating as Junior Nationals freestyle champions. The Altons have now combined to win a total of eight Junior and Cadet titles in freestyle and Greco-Roman in Fargo.
The Penn State recruits continued to show why they are two of the top prospects to come along in recent years. The Altons shared the award as Outstanding Wrestler of the Junior Nationals freestyle tournament.
Andrew Alton outlasted Josh Kindig of Pennsylvania in a tough, three-period battle in the finals.
"It's tough wrestling him because we train together and we're pretty good friends," Andrew Alton said. "He's a real tough kid and we know each other's styles real well."
Dylan Alton also had to go three periods before he held off Vlad Dombrowskiy of California in his gold-medal match.
"There is a lot of pressure and expectations for us," Dylan Alton said. "Having a brother going through the same thing helps me a lot. We support each other and push each other."
Dylan Alton beat Kindig in the Junior finals last year.
Pennsylvania finished with three champions as Josh Dziewa also won a Junior Nationals freestyle crown at 135. Pennsylvania won the Junior Nationals team title.
Washington's Derek Garcia (152), a Cadet Nationals Greco champion in 2007, capped a dominant run through the tournament en route to winning a Junior Nationals freestyle title. Garcia beat Florida's Joseph Cozart 6-0, 7-1 in the finals.
Garcia has been training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
"The key for me in this tournament was to just go out there and have fun," Garcia said. "I just tried not to put too much pressure on myself. I had (2006 World champion and USA Wrestling Assistant National Coach) Bill Zadick in my corner coaching me and that made a big difference. He's wrestled with me and he's taught me so much. I can't say enough about what Bill's done for me."
Washington's Ruben Navejas dropped the first period before coming back to down New York's Maxwell Soria 0-2, 1-0, 4-1 in the morning's first finals bout at 98. Navejas won the freestyle title after placing second in Junior Nationals in Greco-Roman.
Washington crowned a third Junior Nationals freestyle champion when Jake Swartz won at 189.
A pair of University of Iowa recruits - Derek St. John (160) of Iowa and Ethen Lofthouse (171) of Utah - won Junior Nationals freestyle titles on Saturday.
Ohio had a pair of champions in Ty Mitch (119) and Jeremey Johnson (285). Minnesota also had two champions with David Thorn (125) and Tony Nelson (215) winning titles.
Johnson recorded a first-period pin to cap the eight-day tournament late Saturday morning in Fargo.
Indiana's Cashe' Quiroga won the title at 130.
JUNIOR NATIONALS FREESTYLE FINALS RESULTS
98 Pounds
Ruben Navejas (Washington) dec. Maxwell Soria (New York), 0-2, 1-0, 4-1
105 Pounds
Jade Rauser (Montana) dec. Jack Hathaway (Iowa), 6-0, 3-0
112 Pounds
Ryak Finch (Arizona) dec. Valyen Rauser (Montana), 6-0, 6-0
119 Pounds
Ty Mitch (Ohio) dec. Nico Megaludis (Pennsylvania), 1-0, 1-0
125 Pounds
David Thorn (Minnesota) dec. Devin Carter (Virginia), 1-0, 3-1
130 Pounds
Cashe' Quiroga (Indiana) dec. Nick Dardanes (Illinois), 1-2, 7-0, 5-0
135 Pounds
Josh Dziewa (Pennsylvania) dec. C.J. Napier (Kansas), 3-3, 1-0
140 Pounds
Andrew Alton (Pennsylvania) dec. Josh Kindig (Pennsylvania), 3-0, 3-4, 1-0
145 Pounds
Dylan Alton (Pennsylvania) dec. Vlad Dombrowskiy (California), 6-0, 2-3, 3-1
152 Pounds
Derek Garcia (Washington) dec. Joseph Cozart (Florida), 6-0, 7-1
160 Pounds
Derek St. John (Iowa) dec. Robert Kokesh (South Dakota), 4-1, 4-2
171 Pounds
Ethen Lofthouse (Utah) dec. Lee Munster (Illinois), 5-1, 4-0
189 Pounds
Jake Swartz (Washington) dec. Max Huntley (New Jersey), 1-1, 0-2, 3-0
215 Pounds
Tony Nelson (Minnesota) dec. Derrick Borlie (Virginia), 3-1, 2-1
285 Pounds
Jeremy Johnson (Ohio) pinned Jake Kettler (Minnesota), 1:28
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