Fargo Day 1 preview (7/13): 16U women’s and men’s freestyle kicks of seven days of action
Share:
by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
2018 16U National champions Jordan Williams of Oklahoma (left) and Nicolar Rivera of Wisconsin (right) are both at 120 pounds this year. Photo by Jim Thrall, MatFocus.com
Click here for the USMC 16U Nationals brackets on FloArena
https://arena.flowrestling.org/event/5845df2e-32d9-4d99-9c97-7b519ef78508
WHAT’S NEW: 16U men and women freestylers get it going.
The first two tournaments kick off on Saturday, both in the 16U age division, with men’s freestyle and women’s freestyle hitting the mats.
The women’s tournament, which had just over 360 entries as of Friday morning, is scheduled to go the farthest on Saturday, with the championship side of the bracket going through the semifinals. We will know the finalists in each weight class if everything goes to schedule. There are 11 finalists who are returning and have registered, including six champions.
The men’s tournament, with 1,263 entries as of Friday morning, is only scheduled to wrestle preliminaries on Saturday. The quarterfinals are not until Sunday morning. There are nine finalists, including five returning champions, who are in the preliminary draw.
NOTES: Returning finalists and some potential showdowns
16U men’s champions Williams and Rivera both at 120 pounds – A pair of 16U national champions are registered for the same weight class this year in Fargo, as both Jordan Williams of Oklahoma and Nicolar Rivera of Wisconsin are at 120 pounds. Both have grown since last year, since Williams won his 16U title at 100 pounds in 2018 and Rivera won his stop sign at 106 pounds. They are on opposite sides of the bracket, so a finals battle is possible if they both win their side of the draw.
16U women’s champions Fitzgerald and Dorado-Marin both at 117 pounds – The women’s event will have two returning champions in the same bracket as well. Ally Fitzgerald of New York and Adriana Dorado-Marin of Colorado are registered at 117 pounds. Dorado-Marin returns at the same weight class as last summer, while Fitzgerald is moving up from 112 pounds. In the Girls National rankings, Dorado-Marin is No. 3 at 117, while Fitzgerald holds down No. 10 at 122 pounds. In the draw, they ended up in opposite brackets, so they could meet in the finals if they both can advance that far.
Returning 16U men’s freestyle champions: Jordan Williams of Oklahoma (120). Nicolar Rivera of Wisconsin (120), Tate Picklo of Oklahoma (172), Noah Pettigrew of Georgia (195) and Hayden Copass of Illinois (285). Pettigrew and Copass are at the same weights as last year. Williams is up from 100, Rivera is up from 106, Picklo is up from 152.
Returning 16U National women’s freestyle champions: Sterling Dias of Nevada (94) , Sage Mortimer of Utah (100), Ally Fitzgerald of New York (117) , Adriana Dorado-Marin of Colorado (117), Kennedy Blades of Illinois (164) and Olivia Brown of Oklahoma (200). Dias, Mortimer, Dorado-Marin and Brown return at the same weight as last year. Fitzgerald has moved up from 112 and Blades is up from 152.
Returning 16U men’s freestyle runners-up: Jore Volk of Minnesota (100), Daniel Cardenas of Colorado (132), Manuel Rojas of Michigan (152) and Kolby Franklin of Pennsylvania (220). Rojas is at the same weight as last year. Volk is up from 88, Cardenas is up from 113 and Franklin is up from 195.
Returning 16U women’s freestyle runners-up : Ava Bayless of Pennsylvania (106), Charlotte Kouyoumtjian of California (122), Lily Sherer of Pennsylvania (132) , Sara Sulejmani of Illinois (144) and Sydney Manos of Illinois (144).
WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE TEAM RACE
16U women’s outlook: California is the defending champion and has dominant at this age-level for years. Last year, California was 17 points ahead of runner-up New York, with Illinois, Washington and Pennsylvania rounding out the top five. Squad size will matter, and California, Illinois and Texas, which have been strong in women's wrestling, have big groups. A state with a huge 16U women's team is Missouri, which can Show-Me how much the state has progressed in women's wrestling starting with its 16U team.
16U men’s outlook: Last year, Pennsylvania was the 16U team champion in freestyle in Fargo, followed by Ohio, Minnesota, Illinois and New Jersey. All are traditional powers at this age level. This year’s 16U National Duals could be telling, as Minnesota won the freestyle title, beating Illinois in the finals, with Pennsylvania, Georgia and Iowa the next three teams.
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE UPDATED
9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p;m. - 16U Women Freestyle: Session I – Preliminaries and Consolations
9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. - 16U Men’s Freestyle: Session I – Preliminaries and Consolations
3:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. - 16U Men’s Freestyle: Session II – Preliminaries, Consolations
3:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. - 16U Women Freestyle: Session II – Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Consolations
Click here for the USMC 16U Nationals brackets on FloArena
https://arena.flowrestling.org/event/5845df2e-32d9-4d99-9c97-7b519ef78508
WHAT’S NEW: 16U men and women freestylers get it going.
The first two tournaments kick off on Saturday, both in the 16U age division, with men’s freestyle and women’s freestyle hitting the mats.
The women’s tournament, which had just over 360 entries as of Friday morning, is scheduled to go the farthest on Saturday, with the championship side of the bracket going through the semifinals. We will know the finalists in each weight class if everything goes to schedule. There are 11 finalists who are returning and have registered, including six champions.
The men’s tournament, with 1,263 entries as of Friday morning, is only scheduled to wrestle preliminaries on Saturday. The quarterfinals are not until Sunday morning. There are nine finalists, including five returning champions, who are in the preliminary draw.
NOTES: Returning finalists and some potential showdowns
16U men’s champions Williams and Rivera both at 120 pounds – A pair of 16U national champions are registered for the same weight class this year in Fargo, as both Jordan Williams of Oklahoma and Nicolar Rivera of Wisconsin are at 120 pounds. Both have grown since last year, since Williams won his 16U title at 100 pounds in 2018 and Rivera won his stop sign at 106 pounds. They are on opposite sides of the bracket, so a finals battle is possible if they both win their side of the draw.
16U women’s champions Fitzgerald and Dorado-Marin both at 117 pounds – The women’s event will have two returning champions in the same bracket as well. Ally Fitzgerald of New York and Adriana Dorado-Marin of Colorado are registered at 117 pounds. Dorado-Marin returns at the same weight class as last summer, while Fitzgerald is moving up from 112 pounds. In the Girls National rankings, Dorado-Marin is No. 3 at 117, while Fitzgerald holds down No. 10 at 122 pounds. In the draw, they ended up in opposite brackets, so they could meet in the finals if they both can advance that far.
Returning 16U men’s freestyle champions: Jordan Williams of Oklahoma (120). Nicolar Rivera of Wisconsin (120), Tate Picklo of Oklahoma (172), Noah Pettigrew of Georgia (195) and Hayden Copass of Illinois (285). Pettigrew and Copass are at the same weights as last year. Williams is up from 100, Rivera is up from 106, Picklo is up from 152.
Returning 16U National women’s freestyle champions: Sterling Dias of Nevada (94) , Sage Mortimer of Utah (100), Ally Fitzgerald of New York (117) , Adriana Dorado-Marin of Colorado (117), Kennedy Blades of Illinois (164) and Olivia Brown of Oklahoma (200). Dias, Mortimer, Dorado-Marin and Brown return at the same weight as last year. Fitzgerald has moved up from 112 and Blades is up from 152.
Returning 16U men’s freestyle runners-up: Jore Volk of Minnesota (100), Daniel Cardenas of Colorado (132), Manuel Rojas of Michigan (152) and Kolby Franklin of Pennsylvania (220). Rojas is at the same weight as last year. Volk is up from 88, Cardenas is up from 113 and Franklin is up from 195.
Returning 16U women’s freestyle runners-up : Ava Bayless of Pennsylvania (106), Charlotte Kouyoumtjian of California (122), Lily Sherer of Pennsylvania (132) , Sara Sulejmani of Illinois (144) and Sydney Manos of Illinois (144).
WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE TEAM RACE
16U women’s outlook: California is the defending champion and has dominant at this age-level for years. Last year, California was 17 points ahead of runner-up New York, with Illinois, Washington and Pennsylvania rounding out the top five. Squad size will matter, and California, Illinois and Texas, which have been strong in women's wrestling, have big groups. A state with a huge 16U women's team is Missouri, which can Show-Me how much the state has progressed in women's wrestling starting with its 16U team.
16U men’s outlook: Last year, Pennsylvania was the 16U team champion in freestyle in Fargo, followed by Ohio, Minnesota, Illinois and New Jersey. All are traditional powers at this age level. This year’s 16U National Duals could be telling, as Minnesota won the freestyle title, beating Illinois in the finals, with Pennsylvania, Georgia and Iowa the next three teams.
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE UPDATED
9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p;m. - 16U Women Freestyle: Session I – Preliminaries and Consolations
9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. - 16U Men’s Freestyle: Session I – Preliminaries and Consolations
3:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. - 16U Men’s Freestyle: Session II – Preliminaries, Consolations
3:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. - 16U Women Freestyle: Session II – Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Consolations
Read More#
Turner and Fowler win U17 World titles, Crull gets bronze, U.S. women in second place after one day
2023 National High School Girls Wrestling Guide released, celebrating success with 122 pages of data from every state
USA Wrestling shatters records with 7,134 total entries in the 2023 USMC Junior/16U Nationals in Fargo
World medalists Adams, Attao, plus four defending champs advance to Junior Greco-Roman quarterfinals set for Saturday in Fargo, N.D.
