The Breakdown - Episode 29 - The State of ...
North Carolina
The numbers in Fargo for Team North Carolina were down. I am certain it is because the NCHSAA moved the season back and the high school state tournament finished about 2 weeks before the trip to Fargo. There is no doubt there are other reasons why some kids decide to make the trip and others do not, but the pushing back of the high school season certainly had an impact. That said - the trip was very fruitful in many ways for Team NC. Jax Forrest earned double All American status in 16U’s and he was joined on the podium by Hallie Misplay who finished 8th in 16U freestyle at 132. Many of those that didn’t make the podium still had a good run in their bracket and some quality wins.
I am going to go through every wrestler and give their record (and any wins - or losses that really stood out to me). At the bottom of each group - I include a very short summary of who from North Carolina stood out to me over the course of the week. The goal of everyone in Fargo is to make the podium … so talking about that in reference to the number of All Americans for the state is important context.
16U Freestyle (1 All Americans)
Cooper Davis (113) - 0-2
Jax Forrest (113) - 4th - All American - 6-2 - Wild quarterfinal win over Jack Consiglio of Pennsylvania (6th), Win over Draegen Orine of Missouri (5th); Lost to eventual Champ Leo DeLuca of New Jersey and Vincent Kilkeary of Pennsylvania (3rd).
Tyler Tracy (138) - 2-2 - Lost a close 8-6 decision to Jeremy Manibog of Texas who lost in the Bloodround.
Savoy New (170) - 5-2 - Lost to Jared Schoppe of New Jersey (3rd)
16U Greco (1 All Americans)
Cooper Davis (120) - 1-2
Jax Forrest (120) - 6th - All American - 4-3 - Won four in a row to make the semis - Lost to Tanner Frothinger of Idaho (2nd), Garrett Reece of Colorado (4th), and Ruben Lorenzana of Ohio in a wild 13-13 loss on criteria.
Tyler Tracy (138) - 2-2
Savoy New (170) - 4-2 - Lost to Max Hanson of Minnesota (7th)
16U Women’s Freestyle (1 All Americans)
Reagan Riddick (112) - 2-2 - Lost to the eventual Champ Cecilia Williams of Michigan in the quarters; Lost to Presley Anderson of California (7th) 4-2 in the bloodround
Hallie Misplay (132) - 8th - All American - 4-3 - Lost to Lilly Luft of Iowa twice (5th) and Brenya Crahan of Missouri (7th)
16U Breakdown
The 16U’s from NC might have been small in number, but were mighty in the brackets. They wrestled excellently over their 3-4 days and were led by double All American Jax Forrest and Freestyle All American Hallie Misplay. As a group they finished 30-22 … few teams finish above .500 with several kids going 0-2. Obviously Forrest making the podium in both styles helps a great deal, but Savoy New also went 5-2 in freestyle and 4-2 in Greco (each time losing to a wrestler that made the podium). Reagan Riddick was 2-2 and both losses came to someone on the podium … losing 4-2 in the bloodround has to be tough.
Junior Freestyle (No All Americans)
Joseph Baisley (106) - 1-2
Matthew Vindigni (106) - 1-2
Damon Landreth (113) - 2-2 - Lost to eventual Champ Braeden Davis of Michigan
Isaac Gawronski (126) - 0-2 - Lost to Braden Basile of Florida (6th)
Cody Rutherford (132) - 0-2
Noah Tocaben (132) - 1-2
Greyson Harris (152) - 0-2 - Lost to Dylan Elmore of Kansas (8th)
Alexander Gunning (160) - 1-2
David Varner (160) - 1-2
Luke Masterton (160) - 1-2
Carson Floyd (195) - 3-2
Junior Greco (No All Americans)
Joseph Baisley (106) - 0-2 - Lost to Tyler Washburn of Florida (8th)
Matthew Vindigni (113) - 0-2 - Lost to Kenneth Hendriksen of Texas (5th)
Damon Landreth (120) - 1-2 - Lost to Jackson Gurule of New Mexico (4th)
Isaac Gawronski (120) - 1-2
Cody Rutherford (132) - 0-2 - Lost to Walker Bents of Minnesota (7th)
Noah Tocaben (138) - 0-2
Luke Masterton (160) - 3-2
Alexander Gunning (160) - 1-2
David Varner (170) - 1-2
Carson Floyd (195) - 2-2 - Lost to Nicholas Casad of Indiana (5th)
Junior Women’s Freestyle (No All Americans)
Reagan Riddick (117) - 2-2
Jo-Ellen Hutto (127) - 3-2
Aaliyah Milligan (164) - 1-2
Ella Beam (200) - 1-2 - Lost to Trinity Monaghan of Pennsylvania (7th)
Junior Breakdown
None of the Juniors had a breakout performance like Jax, but several wrestled well. Carson Floyd was 3-2 in Freestyle and 2-2 in Greco … finishing with a better than .500 record in Fargo. Damon Landreth ran into All Americans early in his brackets (to Basile in Freestyle and to Gurule in Greco). The other notable Junior performance for the guys was Luke Masteron that finished 3-2 in Greco and was 1-2 in Freestyle. On the women’s side … Hutto was 3-2 in a bracket that included a round of 128 (meaning there were between 65 and 128 women in the 127 lb. bracket for Junior Women). Hutto lost her first match and then rallied to win 3 in a row before being eliminated. Riddick battled hard in both the 16U and JR brackets and is certainly a name to watch out for moving forward.