Fargo Day 3 preview (7/16): Freestyle bonanza – Juniors wrestle semis, Cadets have their finals
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Competition portrait of Anthony Artalona of Florida by Jim Thrall, Matfocus.com
Fans of men’s freestyle will have one of the best days in Fargo, with day two of the Junior freestyle competition, and the medal matches of the Cadet freestyle tournament.
With the Cadets, you get to see the upcoming stars on the high school level make a name for themselves. It represents the future.
With the Juniors, you see the elite of the high school wrestling wrestling for national titles and personal honor. For the graduated seniors, this is the end of their high school journey and a last event before college begins. For the juniors and sophomores, this is the opportunity to raise their relevance on the national level and to impress the huge number of college coaches on hand who are there to watch and plan their recruiting.
WHAT CONTINUES: JUNIOR FREESTYLE REACHES SEMIFINALS
In Junior men’s freestyle, the round of 16 and the quarterfinals are in the morning at 9 a.m., perhaps the most intense round where upsets are possible and the action is levely. The Junior freestylers finish in the evening with semifinals and their consolations at 5:30 p.m. We will walk out on Monday night knowing who is in the Junior Freestyle finals, and who will be All-Americans for this year.
Day one saw the loss of a returning champion, when senior Mitchell McKee of Minnesota was bounced the round of 64 by Pennsylvania’s opening match by Doug Zapf of Pennsylvania, 9-7 at 126 pounds. Another big name was knocked off during the day, when Jaden Abas of California, No. 1 in the FloWrestling rankings, fell to Clay Carlson of Minnesota, 6-6 at 138 pounds.
Three other returning champions are safely in the round of 16, Wil Guida of New Jersey at 106, Anthony Artalona of Florida at 145 and Anthony Cassioppi of Illinois at 285. Cassioppi is on a quest to win his second Junior Triple Crown, after winning last year as a junior. The only person to do that was Michigan heavyweight Adam Coon during his junior and senior years as a Junior wrestler.
There are two returning runners-up in the field at 160 pounds, Jared Franek of North Dakota and Tyler Dow of Wisconsin. They are successfully separated in different half-brackets, and would only meet in the finals or consolations. The other 2017 runner-ups still in the draw are Jackson Cockrell of Oklahoma at 113, Brandon Kaylor of Washington at 120 and Jack Jessen of Illinois at 182.
You have got to watch the action at 120 pounds. The top half bracket features past World Team member Cevion Severado of Missouri, 2017 Junior All-Americans Daniel Kimball of Iowa and Aden Reeves of Iowa, 2017 Cadet National champion Dylan Ragusin, 2018 Folkstyle Nationals champion Jake Svihel of Minnesota and past age-group World Team member Julian Tagg of Ohio.
The 120 bottom half bracket features returning Junior runner-up Brandon Kaylor of Washington, past Cadet National champions Noah Surtin of Illinois and Corey Gamet of Michigan and returning Junior All-American Rhett Golowenski of Oklahoma. Whoever makes the finals at 120 will have truly earned it.
WHAT FINISHES: CADET FREESTYLE MEDAL ROUNDS HELD
Cadet men’s freestyle finish of their tournament Monday afternoon. Starting at 1 p.m., the FargoDome lights shut off and the spot lights turn on.
Here are the finals pairings for the Cadet Freestyle Nationals:
Cadet Freestyle finals pairings
88 - Jore Volk (Minnesota) vs. Mason Gehloff (Minnesota)
94 - Maxximus Martinez (California) vs. Carter Fousek (Iowa)
100 - Jordan Williams (Oklahoma) vs. Alex Almeyda (New Jersey)
106 - Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) vs. Yusief Lillie (Washington)
113 - Daniel Cardenas (Colorado) vs. Jakason Burks (Nebraska)
120 - Jesse Ybarra (Arizona) vs. Caleb Rathjen (Iowa)
126 - Michael Burnett (Ohio) vs. Dominick Serrano (Colorado)
132 - Ryan Franco (California) vs. Joshua Edmond (Michigan)
138 - Travis Mastrogiovanni (New Jersey) vs. Luke Geog (Ohio)
145 - Carson Manville (Pennsylvania) vs. John Martin Best (West Virginia)
152 - Manuel Rojas (Michigan) vs. Tate Picklo (Oklahoma)
160 - Quayin Short (Minnesota) vs. Connor Oneil (New Jersey)
170 - Luke Stout (Pennsylvania) vs. Sam Skillings (Wisconsin)
182 - Nathan Haas (California) vs. Rocky Elam (Missouri)
195 - Kolby Franklin (Pennsylvania) vs. Noah Pettigrew (Georgia)
220 - Chris Island (California) vs. Nathaniel Deasey (Arizona)
285 - Hayden Copass (Illinois) vs. Colby Whitehill (Pennsylvania)
Notes: Returning champion Carson Manville of Pennsylvania, and returning runners-up Dominick Serrano of Colorado (126) and Ryan Franco of California (132) are in the finals for the second straight year… There is an all-Minnesota finals at 88 pounds, as Jore Volk battles Mason Gehloff… Four athletes are still eligible for the Cadet Triple Crown, Gehloff, Maxximus Martinez of California (94), Jordan Williams of Oklahoma (94) and Chris Island of California (220)… The returning team champion Illinois has only one athlete in the finals, heavyweight Hayden Copass, but has 10 still going in the consolations. The teams most likely to push for the team title are Pennsylvania, with four finalists and 10 in the consis and Ohio with two finalists and 11 in the consis.
MONDAY SCHEDULE
9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. – Cadet Freestyle: Session V – Consolation Semifinals
9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Junior Men's Freestyle: Session III – 1/8 Championships, Quarterfinals & Consolations
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. – Cadet Freestyle: Session VI - Finals, Medal Matches & Awards
5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. – Junior Men's Freestyle: Session IV –- Semifinals, Consolations and Consolation Semifinals
Fans of men’s freestyle will have one of the best days in Fargo, with day two of the Junior freestyle competition, and the medal matches of the Cadet freestyle tournament.
With the Cadets, you get to see the upcoming stars on the high school level make a name for themselves. It represents the future.
With the Juniors, you see the elite of the high school wrestling wrestling for national titles and personal honor. For the graduated seniors, this is the end of their high school journey and a last event before college begins. For the juniors and sophomores, this is the opportunity to raise their relevance on the national level and to impress the huge number of college coaches on hand who are there to watch and plan their recruiting.
WHAT CONTINUES: JUNIOR FREESTYLE REACHES SEMIFINALS
In Junior men’s freestyle, the round of 16 and the quarterfinals are in the morning at 9 a.m., perhaps the most intense round where upsets are possible and the action is levely. The Junior freestylers finish in the evening with semifinals and their consolations at 5:30 p.m. We will walk out on Monday night knowing who is in the Junior Freestyle finals, and who will be All-Americans for this year.
Day one saw the loss of a returning champion, when senior Mitchell McKee of Minnesota was bounced the round of 64 by Pennsylvania’s opening match by Doug Zapf of Pennsylvania, 9-7 at 126 pounds. Another big name was knocked off during the day, when Jaden Abas of California, No. 1 in the FloWrestling rankings, fell to Clay Carlson of Minnesota, 6-6 at 138 pounds.
Three other returning champions are safely in the round of 16, Wil Guida of New Jersey at 106, Anthony Artalona of Florida at 145 and Anthony Cassioppi of Illinois at 285. Cassioppi is on a quest to win his second Junior Triple Crown, after winning last year as a junior. The only person to do that was Michigan heavyweight Adam Coon during his junior and senior years as a Junior wrestler.
There are two returning runners-up in the field at 160 pounds, Jared Franek of North Dakota and Tyler Dow of Wisconsin. They are successfully separated in different half-brackets, and would only meet in the finals or consolations. The other 2017 runner-ups still in the draw are Jackson Cockrell of Oklahoma at 113, Brandon Kaylor of Washington at 120 and Jack Jessen of Illinois at 182.
You have got to watch the action at 120 pounds. The top half bracket features past World Team member Cevion Severado of Missouri, 2017 Junior All-Americans Daniel Kimball of Iowa and Aden Reeves of Iowa, 2017 Cadet National champion Dylan Ragusin, 2018 Folkstyle Nationals champion Jake Svihel of Minnesota and past age-group World Team member Julian Tagg of Ohio.
The 120 bottom half bracket features returning Junior runner-up Brandon Kaylor of Washington, past Cadet National champions Noah Surtin of Illinois and Corey Gamet of Michigan and returning Junior All-American Rhett Golowenski of Oklahoma. Whoever makes the finals at 120 will have truly earned it.
WHAT FINISHES: CADET FREESTYLE MEDAL ROUNDS HELD
Cadet men’s freestyle finish of their tournament Monday afternoon. Starting at 1 p.m., the FargoDome lights shut off and the spot lights turn on.
Here are the finals pairings for the Cadet Freestyle Nationals:
Cadet Freestyle finals pairings
88 - Jore Volk (Minnesota) vs. Mason Gehloff (Minnesota)
94 - Maxximus Martinez (California) vs. Carter Fousek (Iowa)
100 - Jordan Williams (Oklahoma) vs. Alex Almeyda (New Jersey)
106 - Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) vs. Yusief Lillie (Washington)
113 - Daniel Cardenas (Colorado) vs. Jakason Burks (Nebraska)
120 - Jesse Ybarra (Arizona) vs. Caleb Rathjen (Iowa)
126 - Michael Burnett (Ohio) vs. Dominick Serrano (Colorado)
132 - Ryan Franco (California) vs. Joshua Edmond (Michigan)
138 - Travis Mastrogiovanni (New Jersey) vs. Luke Geog (Ohio)
145 - Carson Manville (Pennsylvania) vs. John Martin Best (West Virginia)
152 - Manuel Rojas (Michigan) vs. Tate Picklo (Oklahoma)
160 - Quayin Short (Minnesota) vs. Connor Oneil (New Jersey)
170 - Luke Stout (Pennsylvania) vs. Sam Skillings (Wisconsin)
182 - Nathan Haas (California) vs. Rocky Elam (Missouri)
195 - Kolby Franklin (Pennsylvania) vs. Noah Pettigrew (Georgia)
220 - Chris Island (California) vs. Nathaniel Deasey (Arizona)
285 - Hayden Copass (Illinois) vs. Colby Whitehill (Pennsylvania)
Notes: Returning champion Carson Manville of Pennsylvania, and returning runners-up Dominick Serrano of Colorado (126) and Ryan Franco of California (132) are in the finals for the second straight year… There is an all-Minnesota finals at 88 pounds, as Jore Volk battles Mason Gehloff… Four athletes are still eligible for the Cadet Triple Crown, Gehloff, Maxximus Martinez of California (94), Jordan Williams of Oklahoma (94) and Chris Island of California (220)… The returning team champion Illinois has only one athlete in the finals, heavyweight Hayden Copass, but has 10 still going in the consolations. The teams most likely to push for the team title are Pennsylvania, with four finalists and 10 in the consis and Ohio with two finalists and 11 in the consis.
MONDAY SCHEDULE
9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. – Cadet Freestyle: Session V – Consolation Semifinals
9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Junior Men's Freestyle: Session III – 1/8 Championships, Quarterfinals & Consolations
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. – Cadet Freestyle: Session VI - Finals, Medal Matches & Awards
5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. – Junior Men's Freestyle: Session IV –- Semifinals, Consolations and Consolation Semifinals
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