High school stars Pico, Hall, Valencia, Fix, Vega excel at UWW Junior Freestyle finals in Las Vegas
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by Alex Pernice and Gary Abbott
Aaron Pico battles Zain Retherford in the 66 kg finals at the UWW Junior Freestyle Nationals. Photo by John Sachs, Wrestlers Are Warriors
LAS VEGAS, NEV. – The UWW Junior level, which features 17-20 years old, is often an opportunity to preview the top college underclassmen who will be making big news in the near future after some time in college wrestling rooms.
This year, the freestyle finals was a showcase of many amazing current high school stars, who seem to be coming into their own way ahead of schedule.
Eleven champions were crowned during the finals of the 2015 UWW Junior Freestyle National Championships on Saturday afternoon. Of this group, five very special prep talents emerged
Of the final bouts, the most anticipated was the rematch at 66 kg between 2014 Junior World silver medalist and 2013 Cadet World champion Aaron Pico and 2012 Cadet World champion and Penn State NCAA All-American Zain Retherford. Pico, 18, is a high school junior academically this year.
Pico beat Retherford, 7-0 in the UWW Junior Nationals finals last year. At the UWW Junior World Team Trials, it was Pico, 3-0 and 5-1.
Retherford jumped to a 3-2 lead in the first period, with both getting takedowns and Retherford adding a pushout. In the second period, Pico scored a four-pointer on the edge, then added a spin behind to win a chippy 8-5 match, where both were bleeding from the head throughout the bout.
“Face it. Everybody knows who I am in the U.S. I feel the only chance they have is to get me out of my game, clunk me in the head. But that doesn’t work. They try to get one takedown, a pushout and keep it close. I always have to find a way to win, and I did that. It felt good, but I could have done better,” said Pico.
He also explained why he did not enter the Senior division, after getting a No. 3 pre-seed at 65 kg, after a strong year on the Senior level.
“My coach (Valentin Kalika) told me to go Juniors. I always listen to my coach. My coach is No. 1. He said, ‘I feel you should go Juniors.’ I said, ‘Coach, I want to go Seniors real bad.’ But I said, ‘Coach I am going to listen to you.’ I don’t trust a lot of people, except my close family and the people who help me,” he said.
2014 Cadet World champion Mark Hall of Minnesota, who is also a junior in high school, a earned gold in the finals as well, defeating standout Penn State redshirt freshman Jason Nolf, 13-8 at 74 kg. Hall was in control from the start of the bout, but Nolf made it closer late in the match.
“Usually, I am pretty emotional. I get really excited. When you go up against all these tough guys, you don’t want to give up takedowns like I did. You don’t want to give up easy points like I did. When June comes at the World Team Trials, Jason Nolf is going to be, like, he gives up easy. There are points I can get. So I won. I had a good tournament, but that’s not how you want to win,” said Hall.
Hall was named Outstanding Wrestler for his strong effort on Saturday.
Zahid Valencia of California and Myles Martin of New Jersey, two of the top high school wrestlers in the country, battled it out in the 84 kg finals. Valencia came out victorious, beating Martin 7-0. They have been regular rivals on the prep circuit. Valencia, a senior, is headed to Arizona State.
Other high school champions included 2014 Cadet World Team member Daton Fix of Oklahoma at 55 kg and 2015 Junior Triple Crown winner Danny Vega of Arizona at 50 kg.
Fix, who is only a sophomore in high school, dominated college opponent Stevan Micic with a technical fall, 10-0. Micic, who has competed on U.S. age-group World Teams, competes for Northwestern.
Vega earned his title after pinning 2013 Cadet World Team member Devin Brown of Pennsylvania in the first period.
It is not that young college stars did not do well during the finals. It just seemed that the high school kids made an amazing impression in comparison to other years.
Among the champions were Oklahoma State’s Gary Wayne Harding at 60 kg, Tommy Thorn of Minnesota at 63 kg, Archie Colgan of Wyoming at 70 kg, Chandler Rogers of Oklahoma State at 79 kg, Anthony Cassar of Penn State at 96 kg and Nathan Butler of Stanford at 120 kg.
The top eight place winners from today’s competition qualify for the UWW Junior Freestyle World Team Trials in Madison, Wis., June 10. Those who won championship titles have earned the No. 1 position at their weight in Madison.
2015 UWW JUNIOR FREESTYLE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
LAS VEGAS, NEV., MAY 8-9
Gold medal finals
50 kg / 110 lbs
Danny Vega (Tucson Cyclones) won by fall over Devin Brown (Young Guns) (Fall 1:41)
55 KG /121 lbs
Daton Fix (Team Big) won by tech fall over Stevan Micic (Chicago RTC) (TF 10-0)
60 KG /132 lbs
Gary Harding (Cowboy wrestling club) won by decision over Mitchell McKee (Pinnacle) (Dec 10-7)
Men - 63 KG / 138.75 lbs
Thomas Thorn (Minnesota Storm) won by decision over Samuel Crane (Missouri Wrestling Foundation) (Dec 14-11)
Men - 66 KG / 145.5 lbs
Aaron Pico (Titian Mercery Wrestling Club) won by decision over Zain Retherford (Nittany Lion Wrestling Club) (Dec 8-5)
70 KG / 154.25 lbs
Archie Colgan (Wyoming Wrestling RTC) won by decision over Alec Pantaleo (Michigan - CKWC) (Dec 7-0)
74 KG / 163 lbs
Mark Hall Ll (Minnesota Storm) won by decision over Jason Nolf (Nittany Lion Wrestling Club) (Dec 13-8)
79 KG / 174 lbs
Chandler Rogers (Cowboy wrestling club) won by fall over Dominic Scalise (Unattached) (Fall 1:20)
84 KG / 185 lbs
Zahid Valencia (Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club) won by decision over Miles Martin (McDonough WC), 7-0
96 KG / 211.5 lbs
Anthony Cassar (Nittany Lion Wrestling Club) won by decision over Jacob Seely (Unattached) (Dec 8-3)
120 KG / 264.5 lbs
Nathan Butler (Stanford Wrestling Club) won by tech fall over Jeramy Sweany (Titian Mercery Wrestling Club) (TF 11-0)
Additional medal results will be posted shortly.
LAS VEGAS, NEV. – The UWW Junior level, which features 17-20 years old, is often an opportunity to preview the top college underclassmen who will be making big news in the near future after some time in college wrestling rooms.
This year, the freestyle finals was a showcase of many amazing current high school stars, who seem to be coming into their own way ahead of schedule.
Eleven champions were crowned during the finals of the 2015 UWW Junior Freestyle National Championships on Saturday afternoon. Of this group, five very special prep talents emerged
Of the final bouts, the most anticipated was the rematch at 66 kg between 2014 Junior World silver medalist and 2013 Cadet World champion Aaron Pico and 2012 Cadet World champion and Penn State NCAA All-American Zain Retherford. Pico, 18, is a high school junior academically this year.
Pico beat Retherford, 7-0 in the UWW Junior Nationals finals last year. At the UWW Junior World Team Trials, it was Pico, 3-0 and 5-1.
Retherford jumped to a 3-2 lead in the first period, with both getting takedowns and Retherford adding a pushout. In the second period, Pico scored a four-pointer on the edge, then added a spin behind to win a chippy 8-5 match, where both were bleeding from the head throughout the bout.
“Face it. Everybody knows who I am in the U.S. I feel the only chance they have is to get me out of my game, clunk me in the head. But that doesn’t work. They try to get one takedown, a pushout and keep it close. I always have to find a way to win, and I did that. It felt good, but I could have done better,” said Pico.
He also explained why he did not enter the Senior division, after getting a No. 3 pre-seed at 65 kg, after a strong year on the Senior level.
“My coach (Valentin Kalika) told me to go Juniors. I always listen to my coach. My coach is No. 1. He said, ‘I feel you should go Juniors.’ I said, ‘Coach, I want to go Seniors real bad.’ But I said, ‘Coach I am going to listen to you.’ I don’t trust a lot of people, except my close family and the people who help me,” he said.
2014 Cadet World champion Mark Hall of Minnesota, who is also a junior in high school, a earned gold in the finals as well, defeating standout Penn State redshirt freshman Jason Nolf, 13-8 at 74 kg. Hall was in control from the start of the bout, but Nolf made it closer late in the match.
“Usually, I am pretty emotional. I get really excited. When you go up against all these tough guys, you don’t want to give up takedowns like I did. You don’t want to give up easy points like I did. When June comes at the World Team Trials, Jason Nolf is going to be, like, he gives up easy. There are points I can get. So I won. I had a good tournament, but that’s not how you want to win,” said Hall.
Hall was named Outstanding Wrestler for his strong effort on Saturday.
Zahid Valencia of California and Myles Martin of New Jersey, two of the top high school wrestlers in the country, battled it out in the 84 kg finals. Valencia came out victorious, beating Martin 7-0. They have been regular rivals on the prep circuit. Valencia, a senior, is headed to Arizona State.
Other high school champions included 2014 Cadet World Team member Daton Fix of Oklahoma at 55 kg and 2015 Junior Triple Crown winner Danny Vega of Arizona at 50 kg.
Fix, who is only a sophomore in high school, dominated college opponent Stevan Micic with a technical fall, 10-0. Micic, who has competed on U.S. age-group World Teams, competes for Northwestern.
Vega earned his title after pinning 2013 Cadet World Team member Devin Brown of Pennsylvania in the first period.
It is not that young college stars did not do well during the finals. It just seemed that the high school kids made an amazing impression in comparison to other years.
Among the champions were Oklahoma State’s Gary Wayne Harding at 60 kg, Tommy Thorn of Minnesota at 63 kg, Archie Colgan of Wyoming at 70 kg, Chandler Rogers of Oklahoma State at 79 kg, Anthony Cassar of Penn State at 96 kg and Nathan Butler of Stanford at 120 kg.
The top eight place winners from today’s competition qualify for the UWW Junior Freestyle World Team Trials in Madison, Wis., June 10. Those who won championship titles have earned the No. 1 position at their weight in Madison.
2015 UWW JUNIOR FREESTYLE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
LAS VEGAS, NEV., MAY 8-9
Gold medal finals
50 kg / 110 lbs
Danny Vega (Tucson Cyclones) won by fall over Devin Brown (Young Guns) (Fall 1:41)
55 KG /121 lbs
Daton Fix (Team Big) won by tech fall over Stevan Micic (Chicago RTC) (TF 10-0)
60 KG /132 lbs
Gary Harding (Cowboy wrestling club) won by decision over Mitchell McKee (Pinnacle) (Dec 10-7)
Men - 63 KG / 138.75 lbs
Thomas Thorn (Minnesota Storm) won by decision over Samuel Crane (Missouri Wrestling Foundation) (Dec 14-11)
Men - 66 KG / 145.5 lbs
Aaron Pico (Titian Mercery Wrestling Club) won by decision over Zain Retherford (Nittany Lion Wrestling Club) (Dec 8-5)
70 KG / 154.25 lbs
Archie Colgan (Wyoming Wrestling RTC) won by decision over Alec Pantaleo (Michigan - CKWC) (Dec 7-0)
74 KG / 163 lbs
Mark Hall Ll (Minnesota Storm) won by decision over Jason Nolf (Nittany Lion Wrestling Club) (Dec 13-8)
79 KG / 174 lbs
Chandler Rogers (Cowboy wrestling club) won by fall over Dominic Scalise (Unattached) (Fall 1:20)
84 KG / 185 lbs
Zahid Valencia (Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club) won by decision over Miles Martin (McDonough WC), 7-0
96 KG / 211.5 lbs
Anthony Cassar (Nittany Lion Wrestling Club) won by decision over Jacob Seely (Unattached) (Dec 8-3)
120 KG / 264.5 lbs
Nathan Butler (Stanford Wrestling Club) won by tech fall over Jeramy Sweany (Titian Mercery Wrestling Club) (TF 11-0)
Additional medal results will be posted shortly.
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