Idaho shines with first-ever team title in Junior Greco-Roman National Championships

Photo: Mack Mauger of Idaho throws his opponent in the 2023 USMC Junior Greco-Roman National Championships. (Andrea Jones/MatFocus.com)

FARGO, N.D.—It was a historic night of action at the 2023 USMC Junior Greco-Roman National Championships as Idaho captured its first team title in tournament history.

Idaho won its first-ever team title this year. Entering the medal matches and finals, Idaho sat at the top with 117 points. They finished the tournament with 141 points and had two national champions, two second-place finishers, one fourth-place finisher, three fifth-place finishers, one sixth-place finisher and one seventh-place finisher for a total of 10 All-Americans.

There were four athletes that compete on the U20 World team and all claimed 2023 USMC Greco-Roman National Championships in Landon Drury (CO), Joel Adams (NE), Sawyer Bartelt (FL) and Aden Attao (ID).

The final at 138 pounds featured U20 World Team member Landon Drury face off against Alabama’s Isaiah Powe. Drury was victorious in the match, taking the 8-0 technical fall for his first Fargo title. Drury joined Attao, Bartelt and Adams as U20 World Team members that won titles at this year’s championship event.

At 152 pounds, U20 World Team member Joel Adams claimed the national title, taking the match against Jadon Skellenger of Idaho with a last-second throw, scoring four points after trailing. Adams adds this championship to a long list of titles, including a 2023 U20 World Team Trials championship in Greco-Roman and a 2022 U17 World championship title.

U20 World Team member Sawyer Bartelt of Florida earned the win at 220 pounds, defeating Oscar Williams of Oklahoma in the finals. Bartelt is the 2023 U20 World Team Trials champion in Greco-Roman, 2023 U20 Nationals Greco-Roman champion and placed fifth at the event in 2022. Previously, Bartelt had won the title in the 16U age group in 2021.

Aden Attao helped Idaho to their first-ever national team title with a win at 285 pounds. Attao had a quick finish in the finals, earning the 8-0 technical fall against teammate Shilo Jones. Attao entered the tournament with high accolades, as he is a U20 World bronze medalist in Greco-Roman and will return to the U20 World Championships later this year. He also earned a gold medal at the U20 Pan-American Championships held last week in Santiago, Chile.

Four returning champions won titles at this year’s USMC Greco-Roman National Championships in Mack Mauger of Idaho (113), Otto Black of Colorado (132), Kannon Webster of Illinois (145) and Aden Attao of Idaho (285).

Idaho’s Mack Mauger was the first champion to nab back-to-back titles this evening, defeating Texas’ Kody Tanimoto in a 5-1 decision. Mauger navigated his way through the bracket with four technical falls and two decisions, winning the championship at 113 pounds. Earlier this week, Mauger placed third in the Junior men’s freestyle championships, adding more All-American honors in Fargo.

At 132 pounds, it was Colorado’s Otto Black that had his arm raised at the end of the match, winning the title for the second-straight year. Black, an experienced competitor in Greco-Roman, defeated Missouri’s Zan Fugitt and was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. This was the second consecutive year that Black finished atop the podium.

Kannon Webster was the third athlete to repeat last year’s result, besting Illinois teammate Noah Manuel Tapia by 6-3 decision. He was the only wrestler to win in both styles at the 2023 USMC Junior National Championships and adds to a long list of honors at this event. With the victory, Webster earned his fourth Fargo championship over the past three years and has made the Junior national finals four times. He won the title in freestyle in 2021 and 2023 and in Greco-Roman in 2022. Webster is the 22nd wrestler to win at least four national titles across all styles and age divisions.

At 100 pounds, Cadyn Correll was Illinois’ first champion of the night, controlling Mason Brayfield of Missouri in a 13-7 decision. Correll placed sixth earlier this week in the 16U Men’s Freestyle National Championships, adding more All-America honors with the win.

Cadyn Coyle of Nebraska captured the title at 106 pounds, defeating Ezekiel Witt of Kansas in the finals by 10-2 technical fall. Coyle tacked on more honors as he was third in the 16U Greco-Roman National Championships in 2022.

In the final match at 120 pounds, Elyle Francisco of Alaska was victorious, defeating Ryker Graff of Iowa by technical fall for his first Fargo title.

At 126 pounds, California’s Isaiah Cortez was in control near the end, scoring eight unanswered points in the second period after trailing early against Oklahoma’s Rhett Peak. Cortez adds to his All-American honors as he placed third in Greco-Roman at the 2022 16U Greco-Roman National Championships.

Wisconsin’s Ashton Miess won the title at 160 pounds, defeating North Dakota’s Leandro Araujo by 10-0 technical fall. Miess earned All-American honors in 2021, placing seventh at 138 pounds.

In the finals at 170 pounds, Iowa’s Nicholas Fox captured the match against Georgia’s Tyler Secoy, adding to his two-time Greco-Roman and two-time men’s freestyle All-American honors.

Tate Naaktgeboren of Iowa joined Webster as the only two double champions in the Junior division, as both athletes won men’s freestyle titles earlier this week. Naaktgeboren was victorious in his match against Franklin Ordonez-Fernandez of Florida, taking the 6-1 decision. He placed fifth at last year’s tournament in Greco-Roman and ensured the highest spot this year on the podium.

At 195 pounds, Minnesota’s Joey Novak was the champion, controlling his match against state teammate Cittadino Tuttle. Novak placed third in the 2023 Junior Nationals in men’s freestyle earlier this week and earned his first Fargo crown with the win.

Junior Greco-Roman National Championships
At Fargo, N.D., July 21-22

100 pounds
1st - Caden Correll (Illinois) dec. Mason Brayfield (Missouri), 13-7
3rd - Caden Smith (Virginia) pin Gabriel Rosales (Idaho), 6-3 5:15
5th - Hunter Anderson (Idaho) pin Kaison Schreier (Missouri), 11-10 4:14
7th - Brady Byrd (Indiana) forfeit Alexander Diaz (Pennsylvania)

106 pounds
1st - Cadyn Coyle (Nebraska) tech. fall Ezekiel Witt (Kansas), 10-2 3:59
3rd - Damian Moreno (Arizona) tech. fall Isaac Stewart (Montana), 10-1 1:41
5th - Hunter Sanchez (Utah) dec. Kiyan Simon (Alabama), 5-2
7th - Gavin Miller (Oklahoma) pin Malachi Ortiz (Florida), 6-3 1:31

113 pounds
1st - Mack Mauger (Idaho) dec. Kody Tanimoto (Texas), 5-1
3rd - Davis Motyka (Pennsylvania) dec. Kaiden Powell (Kansas), 4-2
5th - Lawson Eller (Minnesota) inj. def. Brayten Casey (Wisconsin)
7th - Nathan Rioux (Indiana) pin Anthony Alanis (Illinois), 12-8 3:41

120 pounds
1st - Elyle Francisco (Alaska) tech. fall Ryker Graff (Iowa), 8-0 3:52
3rd - Musa Tamaradze (Massachusetts) forfeit Isaac Hampton (Oregon), 0-0
5th - Jaxton Packer (Idaho) tech. fall Moses Mendoza (California), 11-0 1:54
7th - Anthony Ruzic (Illinois) tech. fall Easton Cooper (Wisconsin), 8-0 3:00

126 pounds
1st - Isaiah Cortez (California) dec. Rhett Peak (Oklahoma), 9-3
3rd - Massey Odiotti (Illinois) dec. Layne Kleimann (Utah), 7-3
5th - Billy Townson (California) tech. fall Treygen Morin (Idaho), 8-0 1:34
7th - Miles Anderson (Nebraska) tech. fall Cooper Shore (Ohio), 11-2 4:19

132 pounds
1st - Otto Black (Colorado) tech. fall Zan Fugitt (Missouri), 11-0 2:18
3rd - Gable Porter (Iowa) pin Carter Nogle (Maryland), 6-0 1:32
5th - Dmytro Chubenko (Ohio) pin Matthew Beem (Iowa), 6-0 3:52
7th - Amryn Nutter (Wisconsin) tech. fall Angel Serrano (Colorado), 12-4 5:51

138 pounds
1st - Landon Drury (Colorado) tech. fall Isaiah Powe (Alabama), 8-0 1:55
3rd - Maksym Chubenko (Ohio) tech. fall Paul Kelly (California), 8-0 4:20
5th - Tanner Frothinger (Idaho) pin Kane Naaktgeboren (Iowa), 4-0 0:37
7th - Maddox Khalimsky (Illinois) dec. Emil Necula (Georgia), 7-4

145 pounds
1st - Kannon Webster (Illinois) dec. Noah manuel Tapia (Illinois), 6-3
3rd - Pierson Manville (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Brady Collins (Colorado), 8-0 1:00
5th - Gabriel Bouyssou (Rhode Island) tech. fall Garrett Reece (Colorado), 8-0 0:14
7th - Alex Braun (Minnesota) forfeit Daniel Zepeda (California), 0-0

152 pounds
1st - Joel Adams (Nebraska) dec. Jadon Skellenger (Idaho), 4-2
3rd - Aliaksandr Kikiniou (California) tech. fall Owen Hicks (New York), 11-3 4:46
5th - Tj Schierl (Wisconsin) dec. Matthew Randolph (Minnesota), 5-1
7th - Laird Root (California) inj. def. Casper Stewart (New York)

160 pounds
1st - Ashton Miess (Wisconsin) tech. fall Leandro (lj) Araujo (North Dakota), 10-0 4:50
3rd - Benjamin Smith (Maryland) dec. Brett Back (Wisconsin), 7-0
5th - Patrick Brackett (Colorado) tech. fall Jude Randall (Oklahoma), 10-1 4:18
7th - Kale Roth (Wisconsin) inj. def. Thor Michaelson (Washington)

170 pounds
1st - Nicholas Fox (Iowa) dec. Tyler Secoy (Georgia), 5-4
3rd - Adam Waters (Pennsylvania) dec. Caden Young (Wisconsin), 5-2
5th - Deontre Buttram (Oklahoma) dec. Angelo Posada (California), 17-16
7th - Gavin Ricketts (Kentucky) tech. fall Dominic Bambinelli (Georgia), 9-0 2:29

182 pounds
1st - Tate Naaktgeboren (Iowa) dec. Franklin Ordonez-fernandez (Florida), 6-1
3rd - Brayden Gautreau (Michigan) dec. Aidan Squier (New Jersey), 6-5
5th - Justin Rademacher (Oregon) tech. fall De'alcapon Veazy (Indiana), 8-0 0:47
7th - Isaiah Twait (Idaho) forfeit Marco Christiansen (Minnesota)

195 pounds
1st - Joey Novak (Minnesota) pin Cittadino Tuttle (Minnesota), 6-0 4:41
3rd - Payton Thomas (Oklahoma) pin Kingsley Menifee (Virginia), 4-0 1:28
5th - Karson Tompkins (Texas) tech. fall Quinlan Morgan (Minnesota), 8-0 0:58
7th - Dillon Bechtold (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Sean Carroll (Kansas), 16-5 4:50

220 pounds
1st - Sawyer Bartelt (Florida) dec. Oscar Williams (Oklahoma), 3-1
3rd - Coby Merrill (California) dec. Jared Thiry (Iowa), 5-3
5th - Nick Nosler (Illinois) tech. fall Torin Forsyth (Kansas), 9-0 1:56
7th - Jarrett Stoner (Texas) tech. fall Mason Christian (Montana), 10-2 1:29

285 pounds
1st - Aden Attao (Idaho) tech. fall Shilo Jones (Idaho), 8-0 0:17
3rd - Richard Thomas (Oklahoma) pin Connor Aney (Washington), 5-0 1:28
5th - Cameron Geuther (Iowa) dec. Soren Pirhoun (Virginia), 5-4
7th - Navarro Schunke (South Dakota) dec. Cameron Groncki (New York), 8-4

Final Team Standings

1 Idaho (141)
2 Iowa (120)
3 Illinois (106)
4 California (97)
5 Oklahoma (91)
6 Colorado (80)
7 Wisconsin (77)
8 Minnesota (75)
9 Nebraska (55)
10 Pennsylvania (52)
11 Florida (47)
11 Missouri (47)
13 Kansas (41)
14 Texas (34)
14 Virginia (34)
16 Alabama (27)
16 Maryland (27)
18 Ohio (26)
19 Alaska (25)
20 Georgia (24)
21 Oregon (21)
21 Utah (21)
23 North Dakota (20)
24 Indiana (17)
25 New York (16)
26 Arizona (15)
26 Massachusetts (15)
26 Michigan (15)
29 Montana (14)
29 Washington (14)
31 New Jersey (12)
32 Rhode Island (9)
33 Kentucky (5)
33 South Dakota (5)
35 Arkansas
35 Connecticut
35 Hawaii
35 Louisiana
35 Maine
35 Nevada
35 New Mexico
35 North Carolina
35 South Carolina
35 Tennessee
35 US Territory
35 Wyoming