Wolbert maintains Triple Crown eligibility, during USMC 16U men's freestyle finals in Fargo, N.D.

Aaron Ries of Ohio celebrated after winning the heavyweight final at the USMC 16U men's freestyle finals. Photo by Tony Rotundo of WrestlersareWarriors.

Fargo, N.D. — With a finals session full of action and drama, a new set of 16U freestyle national champions were crowned on the raised center mat in the FargoDome on Monday afternoon
Kellen Wolbert of Wisconsin kept his Triple Crown goals intact with a freestyle national championship at 113.
In the team race, Pennsylvania won its fourth consecutive team title and seventh overall, scoring 223 points ahead of runner-up California with 212 points. Ohio, New Jersey and Wisconsin rounded out the top five.
In the opening bout, a challenge brick changed it all. A backflip celebration turned premature. At 88 pounds, Caleb Noble of Wisconsin flipped after apparently winning his match over Iowa’s Mac Crosson.
With seconds remaining, Noble dumped Crosson to his back which Noble thought was a takedown for him. As the whistle blew, Noble pumped his fist, galloped around the mat and jumped into a backflip. After the officials review, Crosson actually scored the winning takedown. In response, Crosson performed a backflip of his own.
At 94, Haakon Peterson of Wisconsin avenged a runner-up finish in 2021 with a freestyle national championahip. He used poise and his technique to beat Indiana’s Nathan Rioux, 5-1. After being hit for passivity early in the first period, Peterson began to let his offense show and attacked Rioux.
Rioux’s pesky handfighting canceled out Peterson’s deep underhook until Peterson shot and dumped his opponent on the edge of the mat. After a passivity point and another takedown, Peterson secured a national championship at 94. He celebrated the same way Crosson did with a backflip.
California’s Michael Romero charged from the whistle against Keanu Dillard of Pennsylvania, in the 113 final. The mindset to consistently attack and limit Dillard’s time to stand around proved to be a major difference in the bout. Romero grabbed several takedowns and punished Dillard, 13-4, to win a national championship.
Two returning champions entered the afternoon with an opportunity to repeat. Seth Mendoza of Illinois sought a repeat with a national championship at 106. But Kentucky’s Jayden Raney had different plans. He beat Mendoza, 6-4. After a 4-4 score at the break, the bout’s outcome depended on the final seconds.With about 10 seconds left, Mendoza circled and reached for Raney, who responded with a slick counter and climbed up the leg for the winning takedown as time expired.
At 113, Wolbert continued his Triple Crown eligibility with a 12-9 victory over California’s Moses Mendoza. To win a Triple Crown, a wrestler must claim folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman national championships.
A bout later, another returning champion finished as runner-up. Marcus Blaze of Ohio used consistent attacks and pressure to defeat 2021 16U national champion Anthony Knox of New Jersey, 3-3, on criteria. After the whistle, Blaze shrugged and grinned as if he wasn’t surprised with the result.
Illinois’ Benjamin Davino concluded his warpath with a national championship at 126. He clipped Landon Robideau, 3-0. After taking a 3-0 lead, Davino dodged constant pressure from Robideau and pushed toward the mat a second before time expired. Much like his previous wins in this tournament, Davino separated the score and soundly defeated his opponent. With the victory, Davino claimed his first Fargo championship and outscored opponents, 59-0.
Up at 132, Brock Mantanona of California attacked from the whistle and ended up as Fargo champion, using several big moves to defeat Minnesota’s Tyson Charmoli, 8-5.
In a tightly contested bout at 138, PJ Duke, a New York state champion, used a decisive second period takedown to roll past Pennsylvania’s Vince Bouzakis, 6-4. Duke shot toward Bouzakis and followed through for two. He continued to apply pressure and limit offense from Bouzakis. Despite the runner-up finish, Bouzakis became a repeat All-American.
In one of the more intriguing weights, Kody Routledge of Oklahoma emerged as a contender at 145, without the load of credentials boasted by some of the other Fargo finalists.
In a battle with Kollin Rath of Pennsylvania, Routledge worked a takedown in the first period and added another via pushout. With about 65 seconds left in the second period, Rath lifted Routledge from his lower leg out of bounds to grab a point. But Routledge’s firm position in the tie ups didn’t cause any offensive opportunity for Rath. As the final whistle blew, Routledge won, 4-2.
At 152, Ladarion Lockett made it two in a row for Oklahoma, as he stymied Alessio Perentin of New Jersey, 6-1. Lockett’s championship adds to a collection of national titles. A year ago, Lockett won a U15 national championship. Like Crosson and Peterson, Lockett celebrated with a backflip.
Up at 160, Pennsylvania’s Bekhruz Sadriddinov make quick work of California’s Travis Grace, via a 10-0 technical fall. With the win, he gave Pennsylvania its first and only individual national championship of the day.
Nearly 20 seconds into the bout, Sadriddnov circled around Grace, lifted his opponent and dumped him ot the back for a four-point fall. After that, Sadriddinov continued to attack with another four-pointer before he closed it out with a takedown. With the win, Sadriddinov continued his family’s wrestling history. His father, Saviddin Navrusov competed on the Uzbekistan world team. Sadrinnov moved to the U.S. when he was 7.
Ohio’s Jarrel Miller Jr. edged Minnesota’s Bryce Burkett, 7-4, in a high paced bout with plenty of scrambling. Miller enthusiastically celebrated with his coaches after the victory.
At 182, in this scramble heavy battle between returning Junior and 16U All-Americans, Wisconsin’s Aeoden Sinclair ended the Triple Crown dreams from Indiana’s De’Alcapon Veazy with a dominant 12-1 victory. Sinclair started the scoring with a speedy takedown, but Veazy quickly turned belly up and earned a reversal. But that was all Veazy would score. Sinclair ended it with a series of gut wrenches after scoring a takedown.
The 220 final featured one of the highest scoring bouts of the night. Utah’s Jay Henderson defeated Adam Farha of California, 10-8. These light heavyweights scored a flurry of points in short time. In this back-and-forth battle with several lead changes, Henderson conquered a 6-2 deficit to eventually come back and score the winning takedown with only seconds remaining.
The last match of the afternoon didn’t last long, 68 seconds to be exact. Ohio’s Aaron Ries bowled over Georgia’s Jacob Levy and trapped him for a pin. Ries hopped up with arms extended and yelled with pumped fists.


USMC 16U NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Fargo, N.D., July 18, 2022


Freestyle results

88 LBS
1st Mac Crosson (Iowa) dec. Caleb Noble (Wisconsin), 7-6
3rd Jarrett Smith (Michigan) dec. Cason Craft (Oklahoma), 7-0
5th Charles Esposito (New Jersey) tech. fall James Hemmila (Illinois), 11-0 3:35
7th Kaison Schreier (Missouri) dec. Tanner Tran (Tennessee), 10-4
94 LBS
1st Haakon Peterson (Wisconsin) dec. Nathan Rioux (Indiana), 5-1
3rd Ayden Dodd (Ohio) dec. Cole Welte (Nebraska), 6-4
5th Kole Davidheiser (Pennsylvania) dec. Lincoln Rohr (Ohio), 11-6
7th Sean Willcox (California) dec. Trey Beissel (Minnesota), 4-2
100 LBS
1st Michael Romero (California) dec. Keanu Dillard (Pennsylvania), 13-4
3rd Lincoln Sledzianowski (Florida) tech. fall Slater Hicks (California), 10-0 0:35
5th Rylan Seacrist (Ohio) tech. fall Titan Friederichs (Minnesota), 15-4 2:17
7th Carter Pearson (Iowa) dec. Revin Dickman (Indiana), 1-1
106 LBS
1st Jayden Raney (Kentucky) dec. Seth Mendoza (Illinois), 6-4
3rd Isaiah Cortez (California) dec. Jake Knight (Iowa), 7-0
5th Kolter Burton (Idaho) dec. Aaron Seidel (Pennsylvania), 8-2
7th Tyler Dekraker (Virginia) dec. Aydan Thomas (Oklahoma), 7-0
113 LBS
1st Kellen Wolbert (Wisconsin) dec. Moses Mendoza (California), 12-9
3rd Elijah Cortez (California) dec. Nathan Carrillo (California), 6-0
5th Cameron Stinson jr. (North Carolina) dec. Edwin Sierra (California), 10-2
7th Gabriel Ramirez (Arizona) dec. Connor Fiser (Iowa), 4-2
120 LBS
1st Marcus Blaze (Ohio) dec. Anthony Knox (New Jersey), 3-3
3rd Gauge Botero (Pennsylvania) dec. Bo Bassett (Pennsylvania), 6-4
5th Jordyn Raney (Kentucky) tech. fall Sam Herring (Pennsylvania), 14-4 2:00
7th Jackson Blum (Michigan) dec. Manuel Saldate (Nevada), 10-6
126 LBS
1st Benjamin Davino (Illinois) dec. Landon Robideau (Minnesota), 3-0
3rd Thomas Verrette (Colorado) dec. Elias Navida (California), 4-0
5th Maximus Riggins (Iowa) tech. fall Giosue Hickman (Arizona), 10-0 1:45
7th Emmitt Sherlock (Maryland) dec. Carlos Stanton jr. (Arizona), 11-4
132 LBS
1st Brock Mantanona (California) dec. Tyson Charmoli (Minnesota), 8-5
3rd Maddox Shaw (Pennsylvania) pin Billy Greenwood (Colorado), 1:08
5th Garrett Reece (Colorado) dec. Moses kayden Gross (South Dakota), 9-8
7th Adyn Bostick (Arizona) dec. Benjamin Weader (Virginia), 10-3
138 LBS
1st PJ Duke (New York) dec. Vince Bouzakis (Pennsylvania), 4-1
3rd Gabriel Bouyssou (Rhode Island) tech. fall Logan w. Paradice (Georgia), 12-0 1:45
5th Elvis Solis (Florida) tech.fall Grayson Woodcock (Ohio), 10-0 3:50
7th Alex Braun (Minnesota) dec. Caden Bellis (New York), 9-6
145 LBS
1st Kody Routledge (Oklahoma) dec. Kollin Rath (Pennsylvania), 4-2
3rd Collin Gaj (Pennsylvania) dec. Cameron Milheim (Pennsylvania), 4-2
5th Tycho Carmichael (Iowa) dec. Beau Hickman (Oklahoma), 12-4
7th Beau Priest (California) dec. Emil Necula (Georgia), 4-1
152 LBS
1st Ladarion Lockett (Oklahoma) dec. Alessio Perentin (New Jersey), 6-1
3rd Brodie Dominique (Ohio) dec. Christopher Crawford (New York), 9-3
5th Claudio Torres (Florida) dec. Luca Felix (West Virginia), 2-2
7th Maximus Norman (Tennessee) dec. Jake Stoffel (Wisconsin), 12-6
160 LBS
1st Bekhruz Sadriddinov (Pennsylvania) tech fall Travis Grace (California), 10-0 1:48
3rd Max Nevlin (New Jersey) tech fall Jordan Chapman (New Jersey), 10-0 1:30
5th Cade Ziola (Nebraska) dec.Israel Ibarra (Arizona), 11-6
7th Tyrel Miller (Ohio) tech fall Aydan Carlson (Minnesota), 10-0 2:00
170 LBS
1st Jarrel Miller jr (Ohio) dec. Bryce Burkett (Minnesota), 7-4
3rd Ryan Burton (New Jersey) dec.Adrien Reyes (California), 2-2
5th Peyton Westpfahl (Missouri) dec.Hudson Rogers (Idaho), 5-0
7th Liam Byrne (Oregon) inj dft Peter Snyder (Maryland)
182 LBS
1st Aeoden Sinclair (Wisconsin) tech fall De'alcapon Veazy (Indiana), 12-1 3:05
3rd Adam Waters (Pennsylvania) tech fall Cittadino Tuttle (Minnesota), 11-0 2:47
5th Rocco Dellagatta (New Jersey) tech fall Caleb Marzolino (Pennsylvania), 10-0 0:49
7th Coby Merrill (California) tech fall Samuel Watkins (Kansas), 12-0 2:48
195 LBS
1st Dreshaun Ross (Iowa) dec. Vincenzo Lavalle (New Jersey), 6-4
3rd Chase Matthias (Wisconsin) tech. fall Jake Conroy (Pennsylvania), 12-2 1:54
5th Michael Mocco (Florida) tech. fall Mason Ellis (Alabama), 10-0 1:06
7th Aiden Cooley (Texas) tech. fall Kayden Cartee (California), 10-0 3:36
220 LBS
1st Jay Henderson (Utah) dec. Adam Farha (California), 10-8
3rd Melvin Whitehead (Nevada) dec. Ean Winchester (Pennsylvania), 5-1
5th Rylan Kuhn (Missouri) dec. James Bechter (Ohio), 7-0
7th Koen Mattern (Washington) dec. Brayden Hill (Kansas), 10-0 0:44
285 LBS
1st Aaron Ries (Ohio) pin Jacob Levy (Georgia), 4-0 1:08
3rd Sampson Stillwell (Missouri) tech fall Cooper Martinson (Iowa), 10-0 0:35
5th Nicholas Bowser (Ohio) dec. Evan Gratz (Wisconsin), 9-8
7th Caleb Rodriguez (Florida) tech. fall Milan Colvin (Kansas), 10-0 1:04


16U Men’s Freestyle Team Standings
1 Pennsylvania 223
2 California 212
3 Ohio 149
4 New Jersey 120
5 Wisconsin 119
6 Iowa 99
7 Minnesota 88
8 Oklahoma 71
9 Illinois 52
10 Florida 47
11 Indiana 42
12 New York 39
13 Missouri 38
14 Colorado 36
15 Georgia 34
15 Kentucky 34
17 Arizona 26
18 Utah 25
19 Nebraska 21
20 Michigan 20
21 Nevada 17
22 Idaho 16
23 Rhode Island 15
24 North Carolina 9
25 (tie) Alabama, Maryland, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia 7
31 Kansas
32 (tie) Oregon, Texas and Washington 5