Alabama in Fargo

Here is a quick look at how Alabama fared in Fargo last week.

Before we begin …

Onto the tournament …

Alabama has an outstanding trip to Fargo

It never hurts when one of the top wrestlers in the country decides he wants to continue to show how dominant he is and makes the trip to Fargo before heading off to wrestle at the University of Northern Iowa in the fall. Cory Land led the way for Team Alabama - claiming the 132 lb. Freestyle National Title and taking 2nd in Greco at the same weight. Cory helped push Alabama to 18th in Junior Men Freestyle (the team only gets points for those wrestlers that finish top 8 … and Cory was the only Alabamian to do so in Junior Men Freestyle).

Cory had four 10-0 tech falls before beating Grigor Cholakyan of California 10-6 in the quarters and Omay Ayoub of Ohio 12-4 in the semifinals. Cory beat Kannon Webster of Illinois 11-0 in the finals to claim Alabama’s first title since Sam Latona took the top spot in 2017 (his only loss of the week was also to Webster in the Greco finals).

But Cory was certainly not the only bright spot for Team Alabama … he was joined on the podium by a teammate in every tournament - JR FS, JR Greco, JR Women, 16U FS, 16U Greco, and 16U Women (which might be a first for Alabama).

  • Jaden New was 4th at 145 in Junior Greco - Jaden won 4 in a row including a wild one over Owen Hicks (NY) in the quarters. He lost to Colon (IL) in the semis before beating Araujo (ND) to make the consi finals … where he lost to 2021 Fargo Greco Champ Quintanilla (WA).

  • Yasmine kalilly Oliveira was 4th at 164 in Junior Women Freestyle - Yasmine won 3 in a row before running into eventual runner-up Ella Pagel (MN) in the quarters. Wins over Favara (FL), Miller (PA), and Simon (IA) put her in the consi finals where she lost to Shannon Workinger (WA).

  • Evelyn Holmes-Smith was 6th at 117 in 16U Women Freestyle - roller-coaster ride for Evelyn … 2 wins and then a 6-5 loss to Gonzales (CA) in the quarters (Gonzales ended up finishing 2nd). Two more wins to make the podium and then 2 losses put her 6th.

  • Lena Johannson was 8th at 138 in 16U Women Freestyle - 1-1 to start and had to battle backthrough the backside to make the podium. Lena beat Lopardo (GA), McNack (MO), and Bode (NY) before dropping her final two matches to finish 8th.

  • Cole Carter was 4th at 195 in 16U Greco - 3 wins in a row before dropping his semi to Brennan Carey (MO) … Carey would be the eventual champ … beat Jason Singer (PA) - again to make the consi finals before losing to Aidan Cooley (TX).

  • Brodie Christmas was 6th at 113 in 16U Greco - great run for Brodie. 4 wins to start things off before losing to Sierra (CA) in the quarters. Beat Jason Worthley (UT) and Wyatt Medlin (IL) to make the podium before dropping his final 2 matches to take 6th.

  • and … Mason Ellis pulled a rare double - making the podium in both 16U Freestyle (6th) and 16U Greco (3rd). Really good run by Mason in Freestyle … won 4 in a row including tough wins over Singer (PA) and Perez (IL) - lost in the semis to eventual Champ Ross (IA). Lost final two matches to Conroy (PA) and Mocco (FL) to take 6th. Came back in Greco and made the podium again - this time up at 220. Again won 4 in a row to start things off … lost to Missouri’s Rylan Kuhn 3-1 in the semis before beating Mattern and Henderson to take 3rd.

As a “team” (and don’t get me wrong I understand scoring only the All Americans) - Alabama finished:

  • 18th Junior Men Freestyle

  • t17th Junior Greco

  • 26th Junior Women

  • t25th 16U Freestyle

  • 20th 16U Greco

  • 31st 16U Women

Bloodrounders

Getting to the bloodround of any major tournament is an accomplishment … getting so close to the podium in Fargo only to fall by one match can be heart-breaking. Here are Alabama’s bloodrounders in 2022:

  • Daishun Powe (145 - 16U Greco) - Powe won 3 in a row to start, but dropped matches to Gabriel Delgado (NV) in the quarters and then Alex Smith (IN) in the bloodround to miss the podium.

  • Evelyn Holmes-Smith (117 - JR Women) - Evelyn had already made the podium in 16U, but came within one win of doubling up in 2022. She won 6-5 over Rian Grunwald (MN) and 6-4 over Taira Sakamoto (CA) to get there, but couldn’t beat Torieonna Buchanan (IN) to get on the podium a second time.

There are many others that wrestled extremely well … Alabama brought a large contingent, but with 6 states to cover - there is now way to highlight everyone that competed. Check out the brackets for yourself at the link above.

Jason FulmoreComment