Team Illinois wins the 2021 Junior Greco-Roman team title; Alaska’s Bockert wins Outstanding Wrestler
by Joe Wedra, Special to TheMat.com
Photo of Jeremy Bockert by Austin Bernard
Fargo, N.D. — Team Illinois secured the 2021 Junior Greco-Roman team title as the final championship of the week’s action at the FargoDome officially wrapped up on Friday afternoon. Alaska’s Jeremy Bockert was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler after winning the 126-pound title. Team Nebraska led the way with the number of individual champions with three.
Bockert, just the third-ever Junior Greco-Roman champion from the state of Alaska, had perhaps the most electrifying finals performance of the afternoon, winning the bout with style. His massive five-point throw secured an 11-1 win over Iowa’s Gable Porter just over a minute into the match. Bockert took third at the 2019 Junior Nationals in Greco-Roman. The 18-year-old was a 2021 Alaska D1 state champion at 130 pounds.
In the highly-anticipated 195-pounds finals, Iowa’s #15 Wyatt Voelker knocked off 2019 Junior Nationals runner-up Ryan Cody of Florida, 7-5. Cody carried a one-point lead into the break, but Voelker was persistent, scoring two takedowns in the second to post the win. Voelker, who earned All-American status in the junior freestyle division, also won 2021 Iowa Junior state titles in both freestyle and Greco-Roman.
California’s Ray Ray Harris (106), the only USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals winner in Friday’s field, won the Junior Greco-Roman finals bout at 106 pounds over in-state competitor Elias Navida. Harris, who won the 2019 16U Nationals in Greco-Roman, was tied at two at the break with Navida before putting Navida to his back 35 seconds into the second period to lock up the win.
In a key 113-pound final, Arizona’s Davian Guanajuanto controlled the finals match early against Illinois’ Benjamin Aranda to post a standout 7-7 win on criteria. Aranda was a two-time finalist this week in Fargo, also taking second in the Junior Freestyle tournament. Guanajuanto led a 7-0 match with 90 seconds left, but Aranda found a trap-arm gut and tightened the match to just one point. A step-out point tied things up at seven, but Guanajuanto’s first-period four-point throw proved to be the difference-maker.
Starting off our finals action, Kolter Burton (Idaho) wasted no time to win his championship in style. After scoring early against California’s Jeremy Oani, Burton threw Oani to his back and locked up a pin with just over a minute left in the first period. Burton, who is a 2021 Idaho state freestyle champion, took fifth at the 16U Freestyle Nationals earlier this week.
In an all-Colorado finals bout at 120 pounds, Max Black knocked off Jett Strickenberger in a 3-1 match to collect a Fargo title. Black, who took seventh in the 16U freestyle tournament earlier this week, also took third at the 2019 UWW Cadet Nationals in Greco-Roman. He held onto his lead with tough defense late in the match to finish up the win. Strickenberger took fourth in the Junior Freestyle division earlier this week and was a 2019 UWW Cadet Nationals champion in Greco-Roman.
Tennessee notched an individual champion at 132 pounds as James Dalrymple worked a 4-0 win over Nevada’s Anthony Aniciete. Dalrymple used an early four-point move in the first period as enough momentum to carry throughout the six-minute bout. The 18-year-old is a two-time Tennessee state champion who took third at the 2021 Southeast Junior Regionals in Greco-Roman.
Washington’s Q’veli Quintanilla found himself losing 3-0 at the break of the 138-pound finals to Minnesota’s Kyle Boeke, but he used a four-point throw which he transitioned to a tight gut wrench to complete a 6-3 victory. Quintanilla took eighth in the 2021 UWW Cadet Nationals in Greco-Roman and is a 2021 Washington state champion in both freestyle and Greco-Roman.
At 145, Nebraska’s Tyler Antoniak closed out his Fargo title with a 9-4 win over Jack Milos of Illinois. Antoniak, who took fifth in the UWW Cadet Nationals in Greco-Roman, led a 5-4 match midway through the second period before scoring twice late to wrap up the decision. Antoniak, 17, also won the 2019 U15 Nationals in Greco-Roman.
Nebraska saw back-to-back Fargo champs when Nick Hamilton defeated Wisconsin’s Cale Anderson, 2-1, to win the Junior Greco-Roman title at 152-pounds. There was not much scoring in the match, but Hamilton used stingy defense to hold off Anderson’s late push and pick up the Fargo title. Hamilton, a 2021 Southern Plains Regional Junior champion in Greco-Roman, won a 2021 Nebraska Class A state title at 152 pounds. He also knocked off Oklahoma’s Jordan Williams (Junior Freestyle champion at 145 pounds) in the morning’s semifinal session.
At 160 pounds, California’s M.J. Gaitan scored a loud four-point throw just over a minute into the finals match, ultimately putting Wisconsin’s Caden Young to his back to wrap up the pin just 87 seconds into the finals bout. Gaitan, who is ranked No. 13 at his weight class nationally by FloWrestling, adds a Fargo title to his resume — he will be a senior this year at Temecula Valley High School.
Nebraska’s third champion came at 170 pounds, where Evan Canoyer posted a dramatic late win over Wisconsin’s Jared Stricker. Canoyer trailed in a 5-3 match with under 15 seconds left, but scored a two-point takedown off of a body lock to take the 5-5 lead on criteria. The two-time Nebraska Class B state champion held off a late push, finishing up the Fargo title.
The quickest win of the session came at 182 pounds, where Deanthony Parker of Illinois wrapped up a 10-0 technical fall win in just 1:12 to capture his Junior Greco-Roman title over New York’s Michael Altomer. Parker, who is ranked No. 20 by FloWrestling at 182 pounds, locked up a flashy four-point throw and then two more points on a leg foul to take a 6-0 lead 45 seconds into the match. Another quick takedown and a gut finished the performance for the 2021 Illinois state champion.
At 220 pounds, New York’s Alex Semenenko used two four-point scores in his finals match against Illinois’ Andrew Blackburn-Forst to post a 16-10 win. Semenenko, a rising senior at Poly Prep who was the 2021 Southeast Junior Regionals champion in Greco-Roman, used a high-paced six minutes to knock off Blackburn-Forst, who was an All-American in this week’s junior freestyle tournament.
Wrapping up the action at 285, Illinois’ Ryan Boersma, who took third in this week’s junior freestyle competition, locked up the win in the finals over Idaho’s Aden Attao with a pin in 4:31. Boersma, who is a 2021 Illinois Junior Nationals Duals Team member, is set to attend the University of Missouri after he completes his time at Mt. Carmel High School.
Make sure to check out our special section for this year's 16U and Junior Nationals to catch up on anything you missed.
100 LBS
1st Kolter Burton (Idaho) pin Jeremy Oani (California), 1:39
3rd Andrew Fox (Utah) dec. Cole Rogers (Montana), 12-7
5th Vincent Biondoletti (Florida) pin Isaac Stewart (Montana), 4:23
7th Ian Werner (Alaska) dec. Jaymz Young (Illinois), 8-1
106 LBS
1st Ray Ray Harris (California) pin Elias Navida (California), 3:35
3rd Michael Longo (Connecticut) tech. fall Christian Forbes (Oklahoma), 10-0 2:49
5th Brandon Morvari (Minnesota) tech. fall Ethan Grimminger (California), 12-2 3:00
7th Marco Tocci (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Tyler Washburn (Florida), 19-8 5:26
113 LBS
1st Davian Guanajuato (Arizona) dec. Benjamin Aranda (Illinois), 7-7
3rd Alan Koehler (Minnesota) dec. Kyison Garcia (Utah), 5-3
5th Kenneth Hendriksen (Texas) tech. fall Kaleb Casey (Wisconsin), 15-4 3:26
7th Nolan Wertanen (Michigan) pin Dominic Dealtonaga (California), 1:16
120 LBS
1st Max Black (Colorado) dec. Jett Strickenberger (Colorado), 3-1
3rd Kannon Webster (Illinois) dec. Jonathan Gurule (New Mexico), 5-1
5th Christian Tanefeu (North Dakota) tech. fall Paul Kelly (California), 12-2 2:11
7th Yusief Lillie (Washington) dec. Mitchell Neiner (Washington), 7-5
126 LBS
1st Jeremy Bockert (Alaska) tech fall Gable Porter (Iowa), 11-1 1:21
3rd Carter Stephenson (Colorado) dec. Wilfried Tanefeu (North Dakota), 5-1
5th Teegan Vasquez (Montana) dec. Keith Smith (Nebraska), 5-2
7th Tristan Bremer (Idaho) pin Kyle Rice (Idaho), 2:40
132 LBS
1st James Dalrymple (Tennessee) dec. Anthony Aniciete (Nevada), 4-0
3rd Joseph Airola (Colorado) dec. Ethan Fernandez (New Jersey), 8-1
5th Nash Singleton (Oregon) tech. fall Christopher Martino (Idaho), 11-0 0:45
7th Walker Bents (Minnesota) dec. Elijah Paulson (Minnesota), 7-2
138 LBS
1st Q'veli Quintanilla (Washington) dec. Kyle Boeke (Minnesota), 6-3
3rd Weston Dalton (Colorado) dec. Ramon Ramos (Arizona), 8-6
5th Stevie Barnes (Iowa) tech. fall Koy Buesgens (Minnesota), 10-0 4:35
7th Ashton Miess (Wisconsin) dec. Alec Peralta (California), 7-4
145 LBS
1st Tyler Antoniak (Nebraska) dec. Jack Milos (Illinois), 9-4
3rd Matthew Rodriguez (California) dec. Gunnar Hamre (Wisconsin), 10-5
5th Ivan Morris (Colorado) pin Cael Rahnavardi (Iowa), 1:06
7th Richard Fedalen (Maryland) dec. Conor Goucher (Washington), 7-4
152 LBS
1st Nick Hamilton (Nebraska) dec. Cale Anderson (Wisconsin), 2-1
3rd Paniro Johnson (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Derek Raike (West Virginia), 11-0 3:00
5th Thor Michaelson (Washington) inj. dft Jordan Williams (Oklahoma), 0:00
7th Daniel Wask (New Jersey) dec. Michael Kilic (Georgia), 15-6
160 LBS
1st Manuel (m.j.) Gaitan (California) pin Caden Young (Wisconsin), 1:27
3rd Robert Weston (Georgia) dec. Alaa Elkerm (New Jersey), 5-5
5th Aaron Dobbs (Wisconsin) pin Erik Gibson (Pennsylvania), 1:06
7th Matthew Rogge (Wisconsin) pin Gaetano Console (Illinois), 4:00
170 LBS
1st Evan Canoyer (Nebraska) dec. Jared Stricker (Wisconsin), 5-5
3rd Derek Matthews (Idaho) tech. fall Caden Ernd (Illinois), 12-0 1:41
5th Joseph Jens (Illinois) dec. Codei Khawaja (Indiana), 4-1
7th Bradley Gillum (Illinois) dec. Adrian Artsisheuskiy (New York), 11-6
182 LBS
1st Deanthony Parker (Illinois) tech. fall Michael Altomer (New York), 10-0 1:12
3rd Clayton Whiting (Wisconsin) tech. fall Dante Roggio (Idaho), 10-0 0:44
5th Adam Ahrendsen (Iowa) pin Jared Simma (Kansas), 1:06
7th Drake Buchanan (Indiana) dec. Asher Ruchti (Oregon), 14-8
195 LBS
1st Wyatt Voelker (Iowa) dec. Ryan Cody (Florida), 7-5
3rd Caden Rogers (Pennsylvania) dec. Tom Culp (Illinois), 4-3
5th Nicholas Casad (Indiana) inj. dft Gabe Sollars (Indiana), 1:00
7th John Gunderson (Wisconsin) tech. fall Eli Sheeren (Texas), 11-0 4:05
220 LBS
1st Alex Semenenko (New York) dec.Andrew Blackburn-forst (Illinois), 16-10
3rd Kalob Runyon (Iowa) dec. Ashton Davis (Tennessee), 6-4
5th Joshua Howell (Indiana) tech. fall Gary Powell (Ohio), 10-0 1:02
7th Crew Howard (Iowa) pin Ghee Rachal (Illinois), 2:01
285 LBS
1st Ryan Boersma (Illinois) pin Aden Attao (Idaho), 4:31
3rd Matthew Moore (Colorado) pin Keith Miley (Missouri), 2:28
5th Jacob Barnes (Oregon) pin Aiden Lacoma (Virginia), 0:39
7th Hayden Simpson (Oklahoma) pin Tristan Kemp (Massachusetts), 0:36
Outstanding Wrestling
Jeremy Bockert
Most Pins in the Least Amount of Time
285 lbs – Hayden Simpson (OK)
Team standings
1 Illinois 169
2 - California 123
3 - Wisconsin 118
4 - Colorado 114
5 - Iowa 90
6 - Idaho 86
7 - Nebraska 82
8 - Minnesota 58
9 - New York 47
10 Washington 43
11 - Pennsylvania 42
12 - (tie) Arizona, Indiana and Tennessee 37
15 - Florida 31
16 - Alaska 30
17 - New Jersey 29
18 - Montana 28
19 - Utah 27
20 - Oklahoma 24
21 - North Dakota 21
22 - (tie) Nevada and Oregon 20
24 - Georgia 17
25 - Connecticut 15
26 - (tie) Missouri, New Mexico and West Virginia 12
29 - Texas 11
30 - (tie) Kansas, Ohio and Virginia 7
33 - (tie) Maryland and Michigan 5
35 - Massachusetts 2