#GrecoMonday: Numerous age-group World Team members and Senior Nationals placers entered for UWW Junior Nationals

Photo of 2020 Senior Nationals champion Benji Peak courtesy of Sam Janicki. Peak is slated to compete in the 67 kg bracket.

The 2020 UWW Greco-Roman Junior Nationals will take place this Friday in Omaha, Nebraska at the CHI Health Center Arena. While there will be no Junior World Championships this year, the tournament is still packed with talented wrestlers. Registration is ongoing, and won’t close until Tuesday at 6:00 pm Mountain Standard Time. This article will be updated with any notable new registrations until closing. Below, let’s take a look at the ten Junior Greco-Roman weight classes.

55 kg
55 kg is one of the deepest Junior brackets with several age-group World Team members registered. Jett Strickenberger is one of the frontrunners to watch. A 2019 Cadet World Team member, Strickenberger won Preseason Nationals two weeks ago with a victory over California hammer Joey Cruz in the finals.

2015 Cadet World Team member Eric Barnett is another wrestler who will likely be in contention to bring home a title. As a true freshman for Wisconsin last season, Barnett compiled a 21-11 record. 2019 Cadet World Team member Conor Knopick has shown that he has the chops to hang with some of the best wrestlers in the country. Last month, Knopick placed eighth at Senior Nationals.

Other wrestlers that should not be overlooked include 2019 Fargo Junior champion Billy Sullivan and 2019 FloNationals Cadet champion Max Black. Additionally, 2019 UWW Nationals Cadet runner-up Sam Smith and 2019 Fargo Junior third-place finisher Joseph Couch and Jeremy Bockert are in the field.

60 kg
Two-time Fargo Junior champion Chayse LaJoie is one of the big names in the field at 60 kg. LaJoie is currently taking a grayshirt year before enrolling at Cornell. Robert Perez, who has trained with the EAP program in Colorado Springs, is also a hammer to look for. Perez is a 2019 Cadet World team member and a 2019 Pan Am champion in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. He won Fargo 16U titles in 2018 and 2019.

2019 Fargo Junior champion Camden Russell is another one of the top contenders in the field. Russell trains at the MWC Wrestling Academy, the same club that Conor Knopick wrestles for. Greco specialist David Stepanian is a title contender in the bracket. Stepanian, who wrestles for the Northern Michigan University Olympic Training Site, is a 2019 Junior Austrian Open champion.

There are also a slew of Junior Fargo placers including Nick Masters, Caleb Gross, Hunter Sparks and Khyler Brewer.

63 kg
63 kg seems to be a wide-open weight class. Potential front-runners include, Tarrell Wallace Jr., a 2019 UWW Cadet Nationals runner-up and 2019 Fargo Junior fifth-place finisher, Payton Jacobson, a two-time Fargo 16U place winner and Aidan Lenz, a 2018 Southern Plains Regional 16U runner-up.

67 kg
The hands-down favorite at 67 kg is Benji Peak, the 2020 Senior Nationals champion. Peak, a two-time UWW Junior Nationals runner-up, torched the Senior field in Iowa last month, earning outstanding wrestler honors by outscoring his opponents, 46-0, over five matches.

Looking to challenge Peak will be Aaden Valdez, a 2019 Fargo Junior All-American and 2019 Southern Plains Regional champion, Payne Carr a 2019 Fargo Junior fourth-place finisher and Dayton Porsch, a 2019 UWW Junior Nationals fifth-place finisher and 2018 Southern Plains Regional Junior champion.

72 kg
72 kg is another bracket that is prime for up-and-comers to earn some National recognition. Notable names currently registered include McKay Foy, a 2017 16U Fargo champion and two-time Fargo Junior All-Americans Weston Milnes and Jacob Stefanowicz.

77 kg
2019 Junior World Team member Jack Ervien is the man to beat at 77 kg. Ervien, a redshirt freshman at Campbell, was a 2018 Junior World Team Trials runner-up and Fargo Junior All-American. 2018 Southern Plains Regional Junior champion Floyd Miller and 2019 Southern Plains Regional Junior fourth-place finisher Justin McCunn will look to make their marks as well.

82 kg
2017 Cadet World Team member and 2016 Cadet Pan Am champion Jake Hendricks is the most credentialed wrestler at 82 kg. He is a 2019 UWW Junior Nationals third-place finisher and a 2018 runner-up. Hendricks is a junior at the University of Pennsylvania.

2019 UWW Junior Nationals fifth-place finisher Dane Harter will also look to contend. Harter also placed sixth at the 2018 UWW Junior Nationals. Another wrestler to watch is Alaska’s Jacob Anderson, a 2019 Junior Fargo runner-up.

87 kg
2019 Cadet World Team member Tyler Hannah leads the pack at 87 kg. Hannah is a 2018 16U Fargo champion and a 2017 Fargo 16U runner-up. Jack Darrah, a 2019 Cadet Pan Am champion, is another big name in the bracket. In 2019, Darrah finished runner-up at both FloNationals and the 16U division in Fargo. 2020 Folkstyle Preseason Nationals champion Joey Braunagel could also make some noise in this bracket.

97 kg
While 97 kg is the smallest bracket so far in terms of competitors, it still contains considerable talent. 2020 Senior Nationals seventh-place finisher Denzel Mabry is poised to compete for a title. Mabry finished sixth in the Junior division at Fargo in 2019.

NC State freshman Isaac Trumble, a 2019 Fargo Junior third-place finisher is another wrestler to keep an eye on. 2017 Fargo 16U third-place finisher Sione Halo cannot be overlooked either. He is the 2019 Junior Northwest Regional runner-up.

130 kg
Spencer Trenary, last year’s third-place finisher, will look to move up the podium and claim a title in 2020. Trenary, a 2019 Fargo Junior runner-up, recorded a 21-9 record last season redshirting for South Dakota State. Trenary is also a 2016 Fargo 16U champion.

Others to watch in the bracket include, 2019 Northwest Regional Junior champion Caspian Grabowski, 2018 16U Fargo All-American Josiah Hill and 2017 Fargo 16U All-American Justin Ramos.