Top high-school bouts and two freestyle matches set for Missouri Border Brawl in St. Louis, March 14
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by Taylor Miller, USA Wrestling
Josh Kindig, pictured, is in a featured Senior freestyle match during the Missouri Border Brawl on Tuesday.
The Missouri Border Brawl is set for Tuesday, March 14, at 7 p.m. at the historic St. Louis Union Station Hotel. Serving as a fundraiser for the Xtreme Coture GI Foundation, the Border Brawl showcases matchups between some of the nation’s best high-school wrestlers, along with exciting Senior-level freestyle matches.
The Senior freestyle bouts feature Josh Kindig taking on Joey Lazor and Tommy Gantt battling against Haislan Garcia.
Kindig, a coach for the Tarheel Wrestling Club in Chapel Hill, N.C., is a 2014 NCAA finalist and All-American for Oklahoma State. During his high school days, Kindig was a two-time Pennsylvania state champion. A 2011 Junior World team member, Kindig ranked among the top prep wrestlers in both freestyle and Greco-Roman.
Lazor coaches for Northern Iowa’s RTC, the Panther Wrestling Club. The two-time MAC champion finished sixth at the 2014 NCAA Championships and was the only Georgia native to earn All-America honors that year. At Union Grove High School, Lazor won two state titles and recorded 180 pins.
Both Kindig and Lazor compete at 61 kg at the Senior level.
Gantt, a part of the Wolfpack Wrestling Club, is a two-time University Nationals bronze medalist. Wrestling for North Carolina State, Gantt was a 2016 All-American and an ACC Champion. During his high school career at Cahokia High School, he produced top-three finishes at the state tournament twice.
Coming from the Arizona State coaching staff, Garcia will take on Gantt in the second Senior All-Star match. Garcia is a three-time Olympian, competing for Canada. He competed in 2008, 2012 and 2016. A nine-time Canadian national champion, Garcia’s highest finish at the World Championships was in 2010, when he finished fifth.
There are 11 high-school matches with Team Missouri facing Team Border.
Missouri will be represented by several Missouri state champs, including four-time state champion Connor Brown and two-time state champions Cameron Valdiviez (126), Alec Hagan (138), Brit Wilson (170) and Jake Boyd (195).
Team Border consists of athletes from Illinois, Iowa and Oklahoma and collectively own 24 state titles. Among them is four-time Oklahoma state champion Daton Fix (132) and four-time Illinois state champion Austin O’Connor (152).
Past wrestlers in this event include Ed Ruth, Jake Herbert, Tyler Caldwell, Chris Honeycutt, Joe Smith, Kaid Brock, Jaydin Eierman, Max Thomsen and many more.
Those interested in buying tickets in advance can do so at www.cagetix.com/mbb2017. Doors open at 5 p.m. CT with action beginning at 7 p.m.
The event will be broadcast live on Trackcast.
“I want to thank Stephen Walters, Juliet Scherer, Chris Roseman, Kristina Flowers, Corey Musiol, Bob Meyer, Ron and Jan Mirikitani, Justin Tritz and so many others for their contributions to the Missouri Border Brawl,” President and Founder of Missouri Border Brawl David Mirikitani said. “Without their efforts this event would not be possible. The first event was a great success with some fantastic wrestling and we expect this one to be the same or even better. Please come out for a great night of wrestling and support our deserving veterans.”
The 501 (c) (3), non-profit corporation was founded in 2009 by Randy Couture to honor the veterans of America’s armed forces. The Xtreme Couture GI Foundation (XCGIF) was formed to particularly raise awareness of and funds to support those wounded in action, as well as their families. The goal of the Xtreme Couture GI Foundation is to fulfill any unmet needs of these brave men and women as they return to civilian life. 100% of all foundation proceeds raised go directly into the hands of U.S. veterans wounded in action who need more resources beyond what the government provides. For more information, visit XCGIF.org.
2017 MISSOURI BORDER BRAWL
March 14 at St. Louis Union Station Hotel (St. Louis, Mo.)
High-school pairings
113: Anthony Piscotta (Timberland HS/MO) vs. Dack Punke (Washington Community HS/IL)
120: Connor Brown (Oak Grove HS/MO) vs. Paxton Rosen (Edmond North HS/OK)
126: Cameron Valdiviez (Rockhurst HS/MO) vs. Jet Taylor (Sallisaw HS/OK)
132: Colin Valdiviez (Rockhurst HS/MO) vs. Daton Fix (Sand Springs HS/OK)
138: Alec Hagan (Eureka HS/MO) vs. Jason Renteria (Oak Park and River Forest HS/IL)
138: Taylor Brown (Warrensburg HS/MO) vs. Jack Karstetter (Charles Page HS/OK)
145: Niko Chavez (Williard HS/MO) vs. Brik Filippo (Tuttle HS/OK)
152: Hunter Shelton (Oak Park HS/MO) vs. Austin O’Connor (St. Rita of Cascia HS/IL)
170: Brit Wilson (Mexico HS/MO) vs. Marcus Coleman (Ames HS/Iowa)
182: Dylan Komperda (Francis Howell HS/MO) vs. Max Lyon (Western Dubuque HS/Iowa)
195: Jame Boyd (Smithville HS/MO) vs. Patrick Brucki (Carl Sandburg HS/IL)
All-star pairings
61 kg: Josh Kindig (Tarheel WC) vs. Joey Lazor (Panther WC)
70 kg: Tommy Gantt (Wolfpack WC) vs. Haislan Garcia (Canada)
The Missouri Border Brawl is set for Tuesday, March 14, at 7 p.m. at the historic St. Louis Union Station Hotel. Serving as a fundraiser for the Xtreme Coture GI Foundation, the Border Brawl showcases matchups between some of the nation’s best high-school wrestlers, along with exciting Senior-level freestyle matches.
The Senior freestyle bouts feature Josh Kindig taking on Joey Lazor and Tommy Gantt battling against Haislan Garcia.
Kindig, a coach for the Tarheel Wrestling Club in Chapel Hill, N.C., is a 2014 NCAA finalist and All-American for Oklahoma State. During his high school days, Kindig was a two-time Pennsylvania state champion. A 2011 Junior World team member, Kindig ranked among the top prep wrestlers in both freestyle and Greco-Roman.
Lazor coaches for Northern Iowa’s RTC, the Panther Wrestling Club. The two-time MAC champion finished sixth at the 2014 NCAA Championships and was the only Georgia native to earn All-America honors that year. At Union Grove High School, Lazor won two state titles and recorded 180 pins.
Both Kindig and Lazor compete at 61 kg at the Senior level.
Gantt, a part of the Wolfpack Wrestling Club, is a two-time University Nationals bronze medalist. Wrestling for North Carolina State, Gantt was a 2016 All-American and an ACC Champion. During his high school career at Cahokia High School, he produced top-three finishes at the state tournament twice.
Coming from the Arizona State coaching staff, Garcia will take on Gantt in the second Senior All-Star match. Garcia is a three-time Olympian, competing for Canada. He competed in 2008, 2012 and 2016. A nine-time Canadian national champion, Garcia’s highest finish at the World Championships was in 2010, when he finished fifth.
There are 11 high-school matches with Team Missouri facing Team Border.
Missouri will be represented by several Missouri state champs, including four-time state champion Connor Brown and two-time state champions Cameron Valdiviez (126), Alec Hagan (138), Brit Wilson (170) and Jake Boyd (195).
Team Border consists of athletes from Illinois, Iowa and Oklahoma and collectively own 24 state titles. Among them is four-time Oklahoma state champion Daton Fix (132) and four-time Illinois state champion Austin O’Connor (152).
Past wrestlers in this event include Ed Ruth, Jake Herbert, Tyler Caldwell, Chris Honeycutt, Joe Smith, Kaid Brock, Jaydin Eierman, Max Thomsen and many more.
Those interested in buying tickets in advance can do so at www.cagetix.com/mbb2017. Doors open at 5 p.m. CT with action beginning at 7 p.m.
The event will be broadcast live on Trackcast.
“I want to thank Stephen Walters, Juliet Scherer, Chris Roseman, Kristina Flowers, Corey Musiol, Bob Meyer, Ron and Jan Mirikitani, Justin Tritz and so many others for their contributions to the Missouri Border Brawl,” President and Founder of Missouri Border Brawl David Mirikitani said. “Without their efforts this event would not be possible. The first event was a great success with some fantastic wrestling and we expect this one to be the same or even better. Please come out for a great night of wrestling and support our deserving veterans.”
The 501 (c) (3), non-profit corporation was founded in 2009 by Randy Couture to honor the veterans of America’s armed forces. The Xtreme Couture GI Foundation (XCGIF) was formed to particularly raise awareness of and funds to support those wounded in action, as well as their families. The goal of the Xtreme Couture GI Foundation is to fulfill any unmet needs of these brave men and women as they return to civilian life. 100% of all foundation proceeds raised go directly into the hands of U.S. veterans wounded in action who need more resources beyond what the government provides. For more information, visit XCGIF.org.
2017 MISSOURI BORDER BRAWL
March 14 at St. Louis Union Station Hotel (St. Louis, Mo.)
High-school pairings
113: Anthony Piscotta (Timberland HS/MO) vs. Dack Punke (Washington Community HS/IL)
120: Connor Brown (Oak Grove HS/MO) vs. Paxton Rosen (Edmond North HS/OK)
126: Cameron Valdiviez (Rockhurst HS/MO) vs. Jet Taylor (Sallisaw HS/OK)
132: Colin Valdiviez (Rockhurst HS/MO) vs. Daton Fix (Sand Springs HS/OK)
138: Alec Hagan (Eureka HS/MO) vs. Jason Renteria (Oak Park and River Forest HS/IL)
138: Taylor Brown (Warrensburg HS/MO) vs. Jack Karstetter (Charles Page HS/OK)
145: Niko Chavez (Williard HS/MO) vs. Brik Filippo (Tuttle HS/OK)
152: Hunter Shelton (Oak Park HS/MO) vs. Austin O’Connor (St. Rita of Cascia HS/IL)
170: Brit Wilson (Mexico HS/MO) vs. Marcus Coleman (Ames HS/Iowa)
182: Dylan Komperda (Francis Howell HS/MO) vs. Max Lyon (Western Dubuque HS/Iowa)
195: Jame Boyd (Smithville HS/MO) vs. Patrick Brucki (Carl Sandburg HS/IL)
All-star pairings
61 kg: Josh Kindig (Tarheel WC) vs. Joey Lazor (Panther WC)
70 kg: Tommy Gantt (Wolfpack WC) vs. Haislan Garcia (Canada)
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