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Monday’s Junior Nationals men’s freestyle semifinal pairings set, Arizona’s Ysaguirre Jr. headlines morning session
by Joe Wedra, Special to TheMat.com
Emilio Ysaguirre Jr., of Arizona had a big session on Monday morning. Photo by Tony Rotundo, Wrestlers Are Warriors.
FARGO, N.D. – Monday’s men’s freestyle semifinal pairings are officially set as the 50th Junior Nationals tournament continues this week in the FargoDome. The session was headlined by Arizona’s #13 Emilio Ysaguirre Jr., who knocked off top-ranked Nic Bouzakis of Pennsylvania and #6 Hunter Mason of Tennessee to continue his incredible run through the event. Both Illinois and Indiana have five wrestlers in the semifinals.
Tonight’s semifinal round will begin at 5:00 p.m. CST and will feature 41 FloWrestling nationally-ranked wrestlers.
The 113-pound weight class began Monday’s Round of 16 action with several key matchups that mixed up the bracket early. The wrestling started with Minnesota’s #10 Caleb Thoennes picking up a quick 10-0 tech fall (0:44) over Gylon Sims of Illinois, who is ranked No. 6 at 106 pounds. Shortly after Thoeness’ upset, two more ranked wrestlers were knocked out of title contention. Kolton Misener of Kansas notched an 8-3 victory over #20 Ashton Jackson, while #11 Ben Aranda of Illinois posted a 14-3 tech fall victory over #19 Kyison Garcia (Utah).
A bit later in the Round of 16 action, two more notable upsets happened almost simultaneously, knocking out a pair of top-ten-ranked wrestlers. First at 126, Illinois’ #11 Vincent Robinson went down to the wire with Connecticut’s #8 Nico Provo, holding on for a 5-4 win. Earlier in the tournament, Robinson also took down #2 Dean Peterson of New Jersey. He will wrestle #2 Drake Ayala of Iowa in the semifinals.
Shortly after, it was Ysaguirre Jr. who put the tournament on notice, posting one of the top upsets of the event, knocking off Tennessee’s #6 Hunter Mason in a 9-5 decision. The Arizona standout would later create waves around the arena with his standout victory over top-ranked Bouzakis. In total, Ysaguirre Jr. is now 6-0. His semifinals match will be against Nebraska’s #17 Garrett Grice.
At 145 pounds, California’s #16 Henry Porter posted one of the biggest wins of the session, knocking off Colorado’s Benjamin Alanis, who is ranked No. 4 at 138 pounds. The match was a wild back-and-forth affair, but Porter held on for a wild 18-15 win to earn a spot in the quarterfinals.
At 220, #4 Noah Pettigrew (Georgia) posted another key victory in the morning session, a standout 7-2 decision over #6 Ben Vanadia of Ohio. He's set for tonight's semifinals at 220 against Indiana's Christian Carroll, who is ranked third at 195 pounds.
The quarterfinal upsets began at the 120-pound weight class, as #12 Kannon Webster of Illinois turned heads with a massive victory over #2 Cooper Flynn of Tennessee. Webster’s 4-2 decision marked the largest upset of the session up to that point, giving him a berth into tonight’s semifinals. He’ll face Colorado’s #9 Jett Strickenberger in what should be one of the most highly-anticipated bouts of the session.
Later in the session, yet another second-ranked wrestler fell as Pennsylvania’s #12 Kolby Franklin captured the attention of the arena. Against #2 Rylan Rogers of Washington, Franklin held on for a 5-4 upset to punch his ticket into the semifinals. He will wrestle Ohio’s Seth Shumate, ranked No. 5, for a spot in tomorrow’s finals.
The other second-ranked wrestler in the field, Iowa’s Drake Ayala (126), continued his winning ways and will wrestle Illinois’ Robinson in the semifinals.
Tonight’s men’s freestyle Junior Nationals action begins again at 5:00 p.m. EST with the semifinals and consolations. Every match can be watched live on FloWrestling.
JUNIOR MEN’S FREESTYLE NATIONALS
At Fargo, N.D., July 19
SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS
100
Trechaun Tecson (OK) vs Nate Smith (IN)
Zane Donley (OK) vs Hank Kriegler (NE)
106
Brandom Morvari (MN) vs Wyatt Skebba (WI)
Hunter Taylor (MO) vs No. 4 Christian Forbes (OK)
113
No. 4 Braeden Davis (MI) vs Codie Cuerbo (OH)
No. 13 Alan Koehler (MN) vs No. 11 Benjamin Aranda (IL)
120
No. 12 Kannon Webster (IL) vs No. 9 Jett Strickenberger (CO)
Grigor Cholakyan (CA) vs Yusief Lillie (WA)
126
No. 2 Drake Ayala (IA) vs No. 11 Vincent Robinson (IL)
No. 16 Jore Volk (MN) vs No. 12 Sergio Lemley (IN)
132
No. 13 Emilio Ysarguirre Jr. vs No. 17 Garret Grice (NE)
No. 5 Zeke Seltzer (IN) vs Nasir Bailey (IL)
138
No. 15 Tagen Jamison (TX) vs No. 20 Kimo Leia (CA)
No. 7 Casey Swiderski (MI) vs Ty Whalen (NJ)
145
No. 4 Caleb Rathjen (IA) vs. No. 18 Nicco Ruiz (CA)
No. 9 Matthew Bianchi (WI) vs No. 3 Jordan Williams (OK)
152
No. 3 Caleb Henson (GA) vs No. 4 Cael Swensen (MN)
Daniel Wask (NJ) vs No. 18 Erik Gibson (PA)
160
No. 9 Joshua Barr (MI) vs No. 11 Braeden Scoles (WI)
No. 10 Aiden Riggins (IA) vs No. 12 Antrell Taylor (NE)
170
No. 14 Brayden Thompson (IL) vs Luke Geog (OH)
Brody Baumann (IN) vs No. 4 Manuel Rojas (MI)
182
No. 9 Thomas Stewart (MD) vs No. 15 Hayden Walters (OR)
No. 3 Brian Soldano (NJ) vs No. 8 Bennett Berge (MN)
195
No. 8 Caden Rogers (PA) vs No. 9 Dylan Fishback (OH)
No. 5 Seth Shumate (OH) vs No. 12 Kolby Franklin (PA)
220
No. 4 (195) Martin Cosgrove (NJ) vs No. 11 Ben Kueter (IA)
No. 4 Noah Pettigrew (GA) vs. No. 3 (195) Christian Carroll (IN)
285
Jamikael Lytle (CA) vs Ben Kawczynski
Charles Crews III (PA) vs No. 1 Chase Horne (GA)
Teams with most wrestlers in the semifinals
T1 - Illinois (5)
T1 - Indiana (5)
T1 - Minnesota (5)
T4 - California (4)
T4 - Iowa (4)
T4 - Michigan (4)
T4 - New Jersey (4)
T4 - Ohio (4)
T4 - Oklahoma (4)
T4 - Pennsylvania (4)
T4 - Wisconsin (4)
FARGO, N.D. – Monday’s men’s freestyle semifinal pairings are officially set as the 50th Junior Nationals tournament continues this week in the FargoDome. The session was headlined by Arizona’s #13 Emilio Ysaguirre Jr., who knocked off top-ranked Nic Bouzakis of Pennsylvania and #6 Hunter Mason of Tennessee to continue his incredible run through the event. Both Illinois and Indiana have five wrestlers in the semifinals.
Tonight’s semifinal round will begin at 5:00 p.m. CST and will feature 41 FloWrestling nationally-ranked wrestlers.
The 113-pound weight class began Monday’s Round of 16 action with several key matchups that mixed up the bracket early. The wrestling started with Minnesota’s #10 Caleb Thoennes picking up a quick 10-0 tech fall (0:44) over Gylon Sims of Illinois, who is ranked No. 6 at 106 pounds. Shortly after Thoeness’ upset, two more ranked wrestlers were knocked out of title contention. Kolton Misener of Kansas notched an 8-3 victory over #20 Ashton Jackson, while #11 Ben Aranda of Illinois posted a 14-3 tech fall victory over #19 Kyison Garcia (Utah).
A bit later in the Round of 16 action, two more notable upsets happened almost simultaneously, knocking out a pair of top-ten-ranked wrestlers. First at 126, Illinois’ #11 Vincent Robinson went down to the wire with Connecticut’s #8 Nico Provo, holding on for a 5-4 win. Earlier in the tournament, Robinson also took down #2 Dean Peterson of New Jersey. He will wrestle #2 Drake Ayala of Iowa in the semifinals.
Shortly after, it was Ysaguirre Jr. who put the tournament on notice, posting one of the top upsets of the event, knocking off Tennessee’s #6 Hunter Mason in a 9-5 decision. The Arizona standout would later create waves around the arena with his standout victory over top-ranked Bouzakis. In total, Ysaguirre Jr. is now 6-0. His semifinals match will be against Nebraska’s #17 Garrett Grice.
At 145 pounds, California’s #16 Henry Porter posted one of the biggest wins of the session, knocking off Colorado’s Benjamin Alanis, who is ranked No. 4 at 138 pounds. The match was a wild back-and-forth affair, but Porter held on for a wild 18-15 win to earn a spot in the quarterfinals.
At 220, #4 Noah Pettigrew (Georgia) posted another key victory in the morning session, a standout 7-2 decision over #6 Ben Vanadia of Ohio. He's set for tonight's semifinals at 220 against Indiana's Christian Carroll, who is ranked third at 195 pounds.
The quarterfinal upsets began at the 120-pound weight class, as #12 Kannon Webster of Illinois turned heads with a massive victory over #2 Cooper Flynn of Tennessee. Webster’s 4-2 decision marked the largest upset of the session up to that point, giving him a berth into tonight’s semifinals. He’ll face Colorado’s #9 Jett Strickenberger in what should be one of the most highly-anticipated bouts of the session.
Later in the session, yet another second-ranked wrestler fell as Pennsylvania’s #12 Kolby Franklin captured the attention of the arena. Against #2 Rylan Rogers of Washington, Franklin held on for a 5-4 upset to punch his ticket into the semifinals. He will wrestle Ohio’s Seth Shumate, ranked No. 5, for a spot in tomorrow’s finals.
The other second-ranked wrestler in the field, Iowa’s Drake Ayala (126), continued his winning ways and will wrestle Illinois’ Robinson in the semifinals.
Tonight’s men’s freestyle Junior Nationals action begins again at 5:00 p.m. EST with the semifinals and consolations. Every match can be watched live on FloWrestling.
JUNIOR MEN’S FREESTYLE NATIONALS
At Fargo, N.D., July 19
SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS
100
Trechaun Tecson (OK) vs Nate Smith (IN)
Zane Donley (OK) vs Hank Kriegler (NE)
106
Brandom Morvari (MN) vs Wyatt Skebba (WI)
Hunter Taylor (MO) vs No. 4 Christian Forbes (OK)
113
No. 4 Braeden Davis (MI) vs Codie Cuerbo (OH)
No. 13 Alan Koehler (MN) vs No. 11 Benjamin Aranda (IL)
120
No. 12 Kannon Webster (IL) vs No. 9 Jett Strickenberger (CO)
Grigor Cholakyan (CA) vs Yusief Lillie (WA)
126
No. 2 Drake Ayala (IA) vs No. 11 Vincent Robinson (IL)
No. 16 Jore Volk (MN) vs No. 12 Sergio Lemley (IN)
132
No. 13 Emilio Ysarguirre Jr. vs No. 17 Garret Grice (NE)
No. 5 Zeke Seltzer (IN) vs Nasir Bailey (IL)
138
No. 15 Tagen Jamison (TX) vs No. 20 Kimo Leia (CA)
No. 7 Casey Swiderski (MI) vs Ty Whalen (NJ)
145
No. 4 Caleb Rathjen (IA) vs. No. 18 Nicco Ruiz (CA)
No. 9 Matthew Bianchi (WI) vs No. 3 Jordan Williams (OK)
152
No. 3 Caleb Henson (GA) vs No. 4 Cael Swensen (MN)
Daniel Wask (NJ) vs No. 18 Erik Gibson (PA)
160
No. 9 Joshua Barr (MI) vs No. 11 Braeden Scoles (WI)
No. 10 Aiden Riggins (IA) vs No. 12 Antrell Taylor (NE)
170
No. 14 Brayden Thompson (IL) vs Luke Geog (OH)
Brody Baumann (IN) vs No. 4 Manuel Rojas (MI)
182
No. 9 Thomas Stewart (MD) vs No. 15 Hayden Walters (OR)
No. 3 Brian Soldano (NJ) vs No. 8 Bennett Berge (MN)
195
No. 8 Caden Rogers (PA) vs No. 9 Dylan Fishback (OH)
No. 5 Seth Shumate (OH) vs No. 12 Kolby Franklin (PA)
220
No. 4 (195) Martin Cosgrove (NJ) vs No. 11 Ben Kueter (IA)
No. 4 Noah Pettigrew (GA) vs. No. 3 (195) Christian Carroll (IN)
285
Jamikael Lytle (CA) vs Ben Kawczynski
Charles Crews III (PA) vs No. 1 Chase Horne (GA)
Teams with most wrestlers in the semifinals
T1 - Illinois (5)
T1 - Indiana (5)
T1 - Minnesota (5)
T4 - California (4)
T4 - Iowa (4)
T4 - Michigan (4)
T4 - New Jersey (4)
T4 - Ohio (4)
T4 - Oklahoma (4)
T4 - Pennsylvania (4)
T4 - Wisconsin (4)