UPDATE: Artalona repeats as champion, Carr named Outstanding Wrestler in Junior Freestyle Nationals in Fargo
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by Gary Abbott. USA Wrestling
Anthony Artalona brings on an attack as Kaden Gfeller reacts in defense during the 145-pound freestyle finals at the USMC Junior Nationals on Tuesday. Photo by Austin Bernard.
FARGO, N.D. – Anthony Artalona of Florida won the 145-pound title to repeat as freestyle champion at the 2017 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals on Tuesday afternoon.
Artalona used a slick four-point takedown to loosen up a tight battle and defeat a tough Kaden Gfeller of Oklahoma in the championship finals. Gfeller led 3-0, but an Artalona takedown closed it to 3-2. In one quick exchange, Artalona scored his four-pointer to take the lead which he did not relinquish.
“He came out there hoping to push the pace a little bit. He had that nice shot and I knew it was coming, but he still hit me with it. I tried to battle back but I had trouble shooting on him because he has real good defense,” said Artalona.
Artalona has been dominant in Fargo, with two Junior freestyle titles to go along with a 2015 Cadet double title.
“I go out there and wrestle one match at a time and wrestle smart. I don’t think about it any differently. It’s just another match. I try not to get too nervous. That’s what I always do. It doesn’t feel that much different to me. I always go into a match knowing that if I make any mistakes, I could be dropped to the loser bracket. In previous years I’ve had close matches where I go down and I have to come back. Some people don’t realize it, but every kid here is good. I just have to come out and wrestle one match at a time,” said Artalona.
The champion at 160 pounds, David Carr of Ohio, was named Outstanding Wrestler after opening up his takedown offense for a 13-3 technical fall over Tyler Dow of Wisconsin. Carr scored five different takedowns in the match, and also managed to turn Dow to secure the technical fall.
While Carr was a Cadet World bronze medalist last year, this is his first Fargo national title.
“It’s a big one for me. It’s a good way to end the summer, so I’m happy. I felt like I just needed to show why I’m the best. I needed to dominate. I teched everyone I wrestled except for my semis match. I like having a target on my back. It makes me wrestle harder, and it makes me train harder. That’s why I came here: to show that I’m the best,” said Carr.
Two wrestlers are still alive in the hunt for the Junior Triple Crown, which is awarded to any Junior athlete who wins national titles in folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman the same year. 2017 USA Wrestling Folkstyle National champions Max Lyon of Iowa (182) and Anthony Cassioppi of Illinois (285).
Lyon fell behind early to Jack Jessen of Illinois, but scored four straight takedowns including a four-pointer to score a 10-3 victory.
“I wrote my two goals for the summer every day, which were Fargo champ and a 4.0 for summer class. Every day I would look at that goal and go into practice thinking about that goal. I feel like that really helped with focus and doing all of the little things right,” said Lyon, who has already started classes at Purdue where he will compete.
Cassioppi, who was second at the Junior Nationals last year, had a tight match with 2016 Junior Nationals Greco-Roman champion Brandon Metz of North Dakota. Breaking a 1-1 tie with a second-period takedown, Cassioppi closed out a 4-1 win for the Junior Nationals title.
“It feels great. Fargo has been my goal. I haven’t had a candy bar since I lost last year. I made a deal with myself that I couldn’t have a candy bar until I win it. It’s going to be nice having a Snickers now. It’s a really fun tournament. It’s long but it’s one of my favorite tournaments of the year. I get amped leading up to this. It’s the best of the best. It’s just awesome,” said Cassioppi.
Most of the finals bouts were not competitive as 10 of the 15 finals bouts were either technical falls or pins.
Racking up victories by pin were Wil Guida of New Jersey (100) and Patrick McKee of Minnesota (120), both who won their first Junior Nationals title.
Guida was trailing when he took down and pinned Jackson Cockrell of Oklahoma in 2:13. Guida trailed 1-0 in the first period when he got a takedown and immediately put Cockrell to his back, securing the pin in one lighting move.
McKee was in control when he put away Joey Melendez of Illinois in 3:59. McKee broke a 2-2 tie with a counter exposure, then turned Melendez again and pressed for the pin.
One of the eight technical falls came at 106 pounds, where Samuel Latona became Alabama’s first Junior Nationals champion with a 12-2 technical fall over Christopher Trelli of Connecticut. Latona was dominant on his feet, securing a number of different leg attack takedowns and finishes.
Other champions scoring technical falls were Ty Smith of Nevada at 113 pounds, Atilano Escobar of Arizona (132), Ben Freeman of Michigan (138), Aaron Brooks of Maryland (170), Jacob Warner of Illinois (195) and Zach Elam of Missouri (220).
At 126 pounds, Michigan recruit Drew Mattin of Ohio stopped 2017 Junior Folkstyle National champion Paul Konrath of Indiana by a solid 8-1 margin.
Illinois won the team title handily with 82 points, followed by runner-up Ohio with 37 and Iowa with 36. In addition to champions Guida, Warner and Cassioppi, Illinois boasted 16 individual All-Americans.
The combined USMC Junior and Cadet Nationals continues on Wednesday, with the Cadet Greco-Roman and Junior Women’s divisions. Catch the action on Flowrestling
USMC JUNIOR NATIONALS
At Fargo, N.D., July 18
Men’s Freestyle Results
100 pounds
1st - Wil Guida (New Jersey) pin Jackson Cockrell (Oklahoma), 2:13
3rd - Jacob Rundell (Illinois) dec. Jacob Moran (Indiana), 6-3
5th - Daniel Kimball (Iowa) inj. df. Timothy Levine (California)
7th - Christian Goin (Illinois) tech. fall Preston Blotter (Utah), 10-0 0:47
106 pounds
1st - Samuel Latona (Alabama) tech. fall Christopher Trelli (Connecticut), 12-2, 5:07
3rd - Brendon Garcia (Colorado) tech. fall Anthony Talamonti Manteno, IL (Illinois), 14-4, 2:13
5th - Steele Dias (Nevada) tech. fall Reese Fry (Michigan), 10-0 1:41
7th - Justin Cardani (Illinois) dec. Blake Fredrickson (California), 11-8
113 pounds
1st- Ty Smith (Nevada) tech. fall Brandon Kaylor (Washington), 17-6, 3:19
3rd - Cody Phippen (Missouri) tech. fall Jace Koelzer (Kansas), 10-0 1:19
5th Aden Reeves (Iowa) tech. fall Andres Lucero (Colorado), 12-2 1:33
7th - Benyamin Kamali (Michigan) tech. fall Nick Onea (Pennsylvania), 10-0 1:38
120 pounds
1st - Patrick McKee (Minnesota) pin Joey Melendez (Illinois), 3:59
3rd - Patrick Glory (New Jersey) tech. fall Michael Colaiocco Sparta Township, NJ (New Jersey), 14-3 1:48
5th - Ridge Lovett Post Falls, ID (Idaho) dec. Rayvon Foley Ann Arbor, MI (Michigan), 11-9
7th - Tommy Hoskins Jamestown, OH (Ohio) tech. fall Rhett Golowenski Edmond, OK (Oklahoma), 10-0 1:07
126 pounds
1st - Drew Mattin (Ohio) dec. Paul Konrath (Indiana), 8-1
3rd - Jakob Camacho (Connecticut) dec. Jared Van Vleet (Illinois), 13-4
5th - Alex Thomsen (Iowa) tech. fall Aaron Schulist (Wisconsin), 11-0 1:27
7th - Austin Macias (Illinois) tech. fall Jack Karstetter (Oklahoma), 19-9 5:12
132 pounds
1st- Atilano Escobar (Arizona) tech. fall Alexander Cruz (Washington), 10-0, 1:40
3rd - Brent Jones (Minnesota) pin Tyler Deen (California), 1:13
5th - Chase Zollmann (California) dec. Gabe Miller (Pennsylvania), 10-5
7th - Andrew Alirez (Colorado) tech. fall Zach Price (Iowa), 10-0 1:59
138 pounds
1st - Ben Freeman (Michigan) tech. fall Jeremy Schoenherr (Wisconsin), 10-0, 4:30
3rd - Parker Filius (Montana) dec. Jakob Bergeland (Minnesota), 18-17
5th - Jaden Enriquez (California) tech. fall Michael Millage (Iowa), 13-2 5:13
7th - Jack Davis (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Jason Kraisser (Maryland), 10-0 1:22
145 pounds
1st- Anthony Artalona (Florida) dec. Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma), 6-4
3rd - Brayton Lee (Indiana) dec. Alexander Lloyd (Minnesota), 4-3
5th - Sam Sasso (Pennsylvania) dec. Justin Mccoy (Pennsylvania), 7-4
7th - Brock Hardy (Utah) tech. fall Logan Meek (Oregon), 12-2, 1:24
152 pounds
1st - Will Lewan (Illinois) dec. Jared Franek (North Dakota), 6-2
3rd - Peyton Robb (Minnesota) tech. fall Justin Ruffin (Georgia), 10-0 0:59
5th - Joshua Kim (California) dec. Markus Hartman (Illinois), 6-2
7th - Isaac Wilcox (Utah) tech. fall Tyler Eischens (Minnesota), 14-2 4:18
160 pounds
1st -.David Carr (Ohio) tech. fall Tyler Dow (Wisconsin), 13-3, 3:36
3rd- Joe Lee (Indiana) inj. dft. Carson Kharchla (Ohio)
5th - Andrew Merola (New Jersey) inj dft Jake Allar (Minnesota)
7th - Jaron Chavez (Idaho) VPO1 Jalin Harper (Kansas), 6-4
170 pounds –
1st - Aaron Brooks (Maryland) tech. fall Trent Hidlay (Pennsylvania), 13-3, 3:40
3rd - Max Wohlabaugh (Florida) tech. fall Zachary Braunagel (Illinois), 11-0 3:56
5th - Jeremiah Kent (Missouri) dec. Andrew Berreyesa (Nevada), 7-6
7th - Leonardo Tarantino (New Jersey) dec. Josh Ramirez (Louisiana), 3-3
182 pounds
1st- Max Lyon (Iowa) dec. Jack Jessen (Illinois), 10-3
3rd - Lucas Davison (Indiana) VSU1 Cameron Caffey (Illinois), 21-11 5:12
5th - Christian Knop (Alabama) VSU1 Myles Wilson (Colorado), 20-9 5:55
7th - Victor Marcelli (Ohio) VSU1 Austin Harris (Oregon), 15-4 4:54
195 pounds
1st - Jacob Warner (Illinois) tech. fall Miles Lee (Pennsylvania), 11-0, 3:32
3rd - Brandon Whitman (Michigan) dec. Jakob Woodley (Pennsylvania), 4-2
5th - Dakota Howard (Ohio) tech. fall Matthew Waddell (Georgia), 20-10 4:05
7th - Joel Shapiro (Iowa) pin Collin Mccoy (Texas), 1:37
220 pounds
1st - Zach Elam (Missouri) tech. fall Haydn Maley (Oregon), 14-4, 5:03
3rd - Francis Duggan (Iowa) tech. fall Antonio Mccloud (Ohio), 11-0 3:37
5th - Tyrell Gordon (Iowa) forfeit Jace Punke (Illinois)
7th - Tyler Curd (Missouri) tech. fall Max Darrah (Missouri), 14-4 4:37
285 pounds
1st- Anthony Cassioppi (Illinois) dec. Brandon Metz (North Dakota), 4-1
3rd - Zach Muller (Illinois) dec. Samson Evans (Tennessee), 7-2
5th - Austin Emerson (Michigan) dec. Jon Spaulding (Ohio), 5-1
7th Brandon Reed (Kentucky) tech. fall Paul Robinson (Georgia), 10-0 0:27
Team Standings
1 Illinois 82
2 Ohio 37
3 Iowa 36
4 Minnesota 34
5 Pennsylvania 32
6 Indiana 30
7 Michigan 26
8 New Jersey 25
9 California 21
9 Missouri 21
11 Wisconsin 17
12 Oklahoma 16
13 Nevada 15
14 Florida 14
14 North Dakota 14
14 Washington 14
14 Colorado 14
18 Connecticut 13
19 Alabama 12
20 Georgia 9
20 Maryland 9
20 Oregon 9
23 Arizona 8
24 Idaho 6
24 Montana 6
24 Kansas 6
27 Tennessee 5
27 Utah 5
29 Kentucky 2
30 Louisiana 1
30 Texas 1
FARGO, N.D. – Anthony Artalona of Florida won the 145-pound title to repeat as freestyle champion at the 2017 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals on Tuesday afternoon.
Artalona used a slick four-point takedown to loosen up a tight battle and defeat a tough Kaden Gfeller of Oklahoma in the championship finals. Gfeller led 3-0, but an Artalona takedown closed it to 3-2. In one quick exchange, Artalona scored his four-pointer to take the lead which he did not relinquish.
“He came out there hoping to push the pace a little bit. He had that nice shot and I knew it was coming, but he still hit me with it. I tried to battle back but I had trouble shooting on him because he has real good defense,” said Artalona.
Artalona has been dominant in Fargo, with two Junior freestyle titles to go along with a 2015 Cadet double title.
“I go out there and wrestle one match at a time and wrestle smart. I don’t think about it any differently. It’s just another match. I try not to get too nervous. That’s what I always do. It doesn’t feel that much different to me. I always go into a match knowing that if I make any mistakes, I could be dropped to the loser bracket. In previous years I’ve had close matches where I go down and I have to come back. Some people don’t realize it, but every kid here is good. I just have to come out and wrestle one match at a time,” said Artalona.
The champion at 160 pounds, David Carr of Ohio, was named Outstanding Wrestler after opening up his takedown offense for a 13-3 technical fall over Tyler Dow of Wisconsin. Carr scored five different takedowns in the match, and also managed to turn Dow to secure the technical fall.
While Carr was a Cadet World bronze medalist last year, this is his first Fargo national title.
“It’s a big one for me. It’s a good way to end the summer, so I’m happy. I felt like I just needed to show why I’m the best. I needed to dominate. I teched everyone I wrestled except for my semis match. I like having a target on my back. It makes me wrestle harder, and it makes me train harder. That’s why I came here: to show that I’m the best,” said Carr.
Two wrestlers are still alive in the hunt for the Junior Triple Crown, which is awarded to any Junior athlete who wins national titles in folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman the same year. 2017 USA Wrestling Folkstyle National champions Max Lyon of Iowa (182) and Anthony Cassioppi of Illinois (285).
Lyon fell behind early to Jack Jessen of Illinois, but scored four straight takedowns including a four-pointer to score a 10-3 victory.
“I wrote my two goals for the summer every day, which were Fargo champ and a 4.0 for summer class. Every day I would look at that goal and go into practice thinking about that goal. I feel like that really helped with focus and doing all of the little things right,” said Lyon, who has already started classes at Purdue where he will compete.
Cassioppi, who was second at the Junior Nationals last year, had a tight match with 2016 Junior Nationals Greco-Roman champion Brandon Metz of North Dakota. Breaking a 1-1 tie with a second-period takedown, Cassioppi closed out a 4-1 win for the Junior Nationals title.
“It feels great. Fargo has been my goal. I haven’t had a candy bar since I lost last year. I made a deal with myself that I couldn’t have a candy bar until I win it. It’s going to be nice having a Snickers now. It’s a really fun tournament. It’s long but it’s one of my favorite tournaments of the year. I get amped leading up to this. It’s the best of the best. It’s just awesome,” said Cassioppi.
Most of the finals bouts were not competitive as 10 of the 15 finals bouts were either technical falls or pins.
Racking up victories by pin were Wil Guida of New Jersey (100) and Patrick McKee of Minnesota (120), both who won their first Junior Nationals title.
Guida was trailing when he took down and pinned Jackson Cockrell of Oklahoma in 2:13. Guida trailed 1-0 in the first period when he got a takedown and immediately put Cockrell to his back, securing the pin in one lighting move.
McKee was in control when he put away Joey Melendez of Illinois in 3:59. McKee broke a 2-2 tie with a counter exposure, then turned Melendez again and pressed for the pin.
One of the eight technical falls came at 106 pounds, where Samuel Latona became Alabama’s first Junior Nationals champion with a 12-2 technical fall over Christopher Trelli of Connecticut. Latona was dominant on his feet, securing a number of different leg attack takedowns and finishes.
Other champions scoring technical falls were Ty Smith of Nevada at 113 pounds, Atilano Escobar of Arizona (132), Ben Freeman of Michigan (138), Aaron Brooks of Maryland (170), Jacob Warner of Illinois (195) and Zach Elam of Missouri (220).
At 126 pounds, Michigan recruit Drew Mattin of Ohio stopped 2017 Junior Folkstyle National champion Paul Konrath of Indiana by a solid 8-1 margin.
Illinois won the team title handily with 82 points, followed by runner-up Ohio with 37 and Iowa with 36. In addition to champions Guida, Warner and Cassioppi, Illinois boasted 16 individual All-Americans.
The combined USMC Junior and Cadet Nationals continues on Wednesday, with the Cadet Greco-Roman and Junior Women’s divisions. Catch the action on Flowrestling
USMC JUNIOR NATIONALS
At Fargo, N.D., July 18
Men’s Freestyle Results
100 pounds
1st - Wil Guida (New Jersey) pin Jackson Cockrell (Oklahoma), 2:13
3rd - Jacob Rundell (Illinois) dec. Jacob Moran (Indiana), 6-3
5th - Daniel Kimball (Iowa) inj. df. Timothy Levine (California)
7th - Christian Goin (Illinois) tech. fall Preston Blotter (Utah), 10-0 0:47
106 pounds
1st - Samuel Latona (Alabama) tech. fall Christopher Trelli (Connecticut), 12-2, 5:07
3rd - Brendon Garcia (Colorado) tech. fall Anthony Talamonti Manteno, IL (Illinois), 14-4, 2:13
5th - Steele Dias (Nevada) tech. fall Reese Fry (Michigan), 10-0 1:41
7th - Justin Cardani (Illinois) dec. Blake Fredrickson (California), 11-8
113 pounds
1st- Ty Smith (Nevada) tech. fall Brandon Kaylor (Washington), 17-6, 3:19
3rd - Cody Phippen (Missouri) tech. fall Jace Koelzer (Kansas), 10-0 1:19
5th Aden Reeves (Iowa) tech. fall Andres Lucero (Colorado), 12-2 1:33
7th - Benyamin Kamali (Michigan) tech. fall Nick Onea (Pennsylvania), 10-0 1:38
120 pounds
1st - Patrick McKee (Minnesota) pin Joey Melendez (Illinois), 3:59
3rd - Patrick Glory (New Jersey) tech. fall Michael Colaiocco Sparta Township, NJ (New Jersey), 14-3 1:48
5th - Ridge Lovett Post Falls, ID (Idaho) dec. Rayvon Foley Ann Arbor, MI (Michigan), 11-9
7th - Tommy Hoskins Jamestown, OH (Ohio) tech. fall Rhett Golowenski Edmond, OK (Oklahoma), 10-0 1:07
126 pounds
1st - Drew Mattin (Ohio) dec. Paul Konrath (Indiana), 8-1
3rd - Jakob Camacho (Connecticut) dec. Jared Van Vleet (Illinois), 13-4
5th - Alex Thomsen (Iowa) tech. fall Aaron Schulist (Wisconsin), 11-0 1:27
7th - Austin Macias (Illinois) tech. fall Jack Karstetter (Oklahoma), 19-9 5:12
132 pounds
1st- Atilano Escobar (Arizona) tech. fall Alexander Cruz (Washington), 10-0, 1:40
3rd - Brent Jones (Minnesota) pin Tyler Deen (California), 1:13
5th - Chase Zollmann (California) dec. Gabe Miller (Pennsylvania), 10-5
7th - Andrew Alirez (Colorado) tech. fall Zach Price (Iowa), 10-0 1:59
138 pounds
1st - Ben Freeman (Michigan) tech. fall Jeremy Schoenherr (Wisconsin), 10-0, 4:30
3rd - Parker Filius (Montana) dec. Jakob Bergeland (Minnesota), 18-17
5th - Jaden Enriquez (California) tech. fall Michael Millage (Iowa), 13-2 5:13
7th - Jack Davis (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Jason Kraisser (Maryland), 10-0 1:22
145 pounds
1st- Anthony Artalona (Florida) dec. Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma), 6-4
3rd - Brayton Lee (Indiana) dec. Alexander Lloyd (Minnesota), 4-3
5th - Sam Sasso (Pennsylvania) dec. Justin Mccoy (Pennsylvania), 7-4
7th - Brock Hardy (Utah) tech. fall Logan Meek (Oregon), 12-2, 1:24
152 pounds
1st - Will Lewan (Illinois) dec. Jared Franek (North Dakota), 6-2
3rd - Peyton Robb (Minnesota) tech. fall Justin Ruffin (Georgia), 10-0 0:59
5th - Joshua Kim (California) dec. Markus Hartman (Illinois), 6-2
7th - Isaac Wilcox (Utah) tech. fall Tyler Eischens (Minnesota), 14-2 4:18
160 pounds
1st -.David Carr (Ohio) tech. fall Tyler Dow (Wisconsin), 13-3, 3:36
3rd- Joe Lee (Indiana) inj. dft. Carson Kharchla (Ohio)
5th - Andrew Merola (New Jersey) inj dft Jake Allar (Minnesota)
7th - Jaron Chavez (Idaho) VPO1 Jalin Harper (Kansas), 6-4
170 pounds –
1st - Aaron Brooks (Maryland) tech. fall Trent Hidlay (Pennsylvania), 13-3, 3:40
3rd - Max Wohlabaugh (Florida) tech. fall Zachary Braunagel (Illinois), 11-0 3:56
5th - Jeremiah Kent (Missouri) dec. Andrew Berreyesa (Nevada), 7-6
7th - Leonardo Tarantino (New Jersey) dec. Josh Ramirez (Louisiana), 3-3
182 pounds
1st- Max Lyon (Iowa) dec. Jack Jessen (Illinois), 10-3
3rd - Lucas Davison (Indiana) VSU1 Cameron Caffey (Illinois), 21-11 5:12
5th - Christian Knop (Alabama) VSU1 Myles Wilson (Colorado), 20-9 5:55
7th - Victor Marcelli (Ohio) VSU1 Austin Harris (Oregon), 15-4 4:54
195 pounds
1st - Jacob Warner (Illinois) tech. fall Miles Lee (Pennsylvania), 11-0, 3:32
3rd - Brandon Whitman (Michigan) dec. Jakob Woodley (Pennsylvania), 4-2
5th - Dakota Howard (Ohio) tech. fall Matthew Waddell (Georgia), 20-10 4:05
7th - Joel Shapiro (Iowa) pin Collin Mccoy (Texas), 1:37
220 pounds
1st - Zach Elam (Missouri) tech. fall Haydn Maley (Oregon), 14-4, 5:03
3rd - Francis Duggan (Iowa) tech. fall Antonio Mccloud (Ohio), 11-0 3:37
5th - Tyrell Gordon (Iowa) forfeit Jace Punke (Illinois)
7th - Tyler Curd (Missouri) tech. fall Max Darrah (Missouri), 14-4 4:37
285 pounds
1st- Anthony Cassioppi (Illinois) dec. Brandon Metz (North Dakota), 4-1
3rd - Zach Muller (Illinois) dec. Samson Evans (Tennessee), 7-2
5th - Austin Emerson (Michigan) dec. Jon Spaulding (Ohio), 5-1
7th Brandon Reed (Kentucky) tech. fall Paul Robinson (Georgia), 10-0 0:27
Team Standings
1 Illinois 82
2 Ohio 37
3 Iowa 36
4 Minnesota 34
5 Pennsylvania 32
6 Indiana 30
7 Michigan 26
8 New Jersey 25
9 California 21
9 Missouri 21
11 Wisconsin 17
12 Oklahoma 16
13 Nevada 15
14 Florida 14
14 North Dakota 14
14 Washington 14
14 Colorado 14
18 Connecticut 13
19 Alabama 12
20 Georgia 9
20 Maryland 9
20 Oregon 9
23 Arizona 8
24 Idaho 6
24 Montana 6
24 Kansas 6
27 Tennessee 5
27 Utah 5
29 Kentucky 2
30 Louisiana 1
30 Texas 1
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