Florida in Fargo
Here is a quick look at how Florida fared in Fargo last week.
Before we begin …
You can find the Brackets in FloArena
You can find my pictures of the event (at least the days I was there - I got Covid on Day 5 and missed the final two days of the tournament
Onto the tournament …
Florida had a “day” in Fargo
Team Florida entered Fargo with high expectations and seemed to deliver on each of them. There are multiple reasons for their success in Fargo … and honestly may more that I probably don’t know, but I’m going to try to identify a few from an outsiders perspective. First, the leadership provided by David Mason, Steve Mocco, Daisy Santos, and so many coaches was outstanding. If you listened to them talk to each athlete (whether those athletes were in the championship side of the bracket or the consis) - the message was positive and more importantly specific to what they needed to do to be successful. Second, they put together a team (from top to bottom) that was outstanding. They had Senior leaders in Brendon Abdon, Brennan Van Hoecke, Ethan Vegara, and others, but they also had a mixture of new faces to the dome … some of which excelled - other struggled, but each had an opportunity to watch Team Florida enjoy success on the biggest stage. Finally, the team looked very prepared as they entered each tournament. The only glances at the clock from Florida athletes was to assess how much more time they had in the period to score.
Now that isn’t to say there weren’t “bumps” in the road. You don’t enter “Fargo” and have everything go your way. Adjustments need to be made and Team Florida seemed to handle those with relative ease. In the end, Florida finished top 5 in both Junior and 16U Greco (adding to their totals in both - 16U top 5 finishes is now 4 and Junior top 5 finishes is now 7). The Florida women added to their top 10 total - Juniors now have 8 (one place from top 5 which they have yet to accomplish). And the 16U Men Freestyle added to their top 10 totals - which is now at 6. Below is a quick look at all 30 All Americans from the Sunshine State including the 5 Champions (and an outstanding wrestler winner)
Lincoln Seldzianowski was 1st at 100 in 16U Greco and 3rd in 16U Freestyle - Lincoln entered as one of the top 100 lbers in the country and he didn’t disappoint. He dominated in Greco (really wrestling significantly better than anyone else … and as a result he took home the outstanding wrestler for 16U Greco). He outscored his opponents 55-1 and won all 6 matches by technical superiority on his way to the 100 lb. title. He was nearly as dominant in Freestyle - going 8-1 and finishing 3rd with his only loss coming to Keanu Dillard of PA 3-1 in the quarters.
Clare Booe was 1st at 106 in Junior Women - Booe was super impressive on her way to the 106 lb. title. She had 4 falls and 2 technical superiorities and really dominated every match except one … she beat top seed Ava Ward in the semis in a match in which she was down 4-2 a minute in before taking Ava to her back for the fall (other than that match she outscored her opponents 39-3).
Juliana Diaz was 1st at 117 in Junior Women - Julianna ran to the semis without yielding a point - outscoring her opponents 35-0. In the semis she drew Arieana Arias of California … she got up 7-4 after the 1st period before Arias tied it up with a minute remaining. Diaz then reeled off 10 straight points to get the technical superiority as time expired. In the finals Julianna got up 4-0 on Montes of Texas and cruised to a 6-2 win and the 117 lb. title.
Brennan Van Hoecke was 1st at 145 in Junior Greco - Brennan had a good run in Freestyle, but just missed the podium … he rectified that in Greco where he ran through everyone on his way to the 145 lb. title. In fact, he could’ve made the argument that he should’ve been the OW in Junior Greco after outscoring his opponents 57-4 including a 10-2 tech over Jayden Colon of Illinois in the finals.
Brendon Abdon was 7th at 160 in Junior Freestyle and 1st at 160 in Junior Greco - Brendon had a great run on the backside in Freestyle to take 7th at 160. He won 2 in a row before losing to Cash Stewart of Wisconsin in the Round of 32. He then had to beat his high school teammate Tito Solorzano to begin his run back to the podium … reeling off 5 wins in a row including a 9-7 win over Cooper Willis of Wisconsin. After making the podium in Freestyle - Brendon turned his attention to Greco and joined his Florida Junior teammates Ethan Vergara and Sawyer Bartelt as double All Americans … but he would have bragging rights on the way home as Brendon was able to grind his way to the top step. A 7-5 semifinal win over Cody Chittum of Tennessee was huge on the road to the top step (ending Chittum’s run to be a double Champ after claiming the 152 lb. Freestyle title days earlier). a 40 second fall of Jadon Skellenger of Idaho in the finals was the cherry on top of a great week in Fargo for Abdon.
Double All Americans
Elvis Solis was 5th at 138 in 16U Freestyle and 3rd in 16U Greco - Elvis won 3 in a row with ease to begin Freestyle … he then had to grind out a 3-0 win over Trent Hoover of PA and a 9-3 win over Jarrett Wadsen of MN to book a rematch with PA’s Vince Bouzakis in the semis (Solis lost to Bouzakis 3-2 at 16U duals a few months back). Losses to Bouzakis and Gabriel Bouyssou and a win over Grayson Woodcock finished up his Freestyle run (6-2 and 5th). Elvis started off Greco with 4 straight wins before losing to eventual Champ Bouyssou in the quarters. Solis would then win 4 in a row (including a win over teammate Anderson Heap in the bloodround) to take 3rd.
Claudio Torres was 5th at 152 in 16U Freestyle and 6th in 16U Greco - CJ lost “early” in Freestyle and had to battle his way through the backside of the bracket. He won 3 in a row before losing to Carter Davis of PA 8-6 in the Round of 16 … meaning he needed 3 wins to make the podium. He got the fall over Kaleb Shine of Montana in a wild one before downing Jackson Angelo of PA. He got up 8-0 on Alex Rodrigues of Maryland before getting the win 16-12 in the bloodround. CJ finished 2-1 to take 5th in Freestyle. Greco was a different story as Claudio won his first 4 matches with relative ease to make the semis … before losing to Shine. Losses to Florida teammate Gianni Maldonado and Banks Love put him 6th in Greco.
Michael Mocco was 5th at 195 in 16U Freestyle and 2nd in 16U Greco - Mocco took care of business early in each style … making the semis in Freestyle before losing to eventual runner-up Vincenzo Lavalle (NJ) in Freestyle and losing in the finals to Brennan Carey of Missouri in Greco. Michael dominated in his wins with the only close match coming in a loss to Chase Mathias of Wisconsin 11-7 in the consis in Freestyle.
Sawyer Bartelt was 3rd at 220 in Junior Freestyle and 5th at 220 in Junior Greco - Sawyer entered Fargo on a roll … having won the Pan-Am Championships just weeks before and only having one loss at Junior duals. After being a double All American in 16U a year ago (as well as a Greco Champ) - he was amongst the contenders to claim a title in both styles. Sawyer made a run in both, but came up just short - losing in the semis in both styles (to Kolby Franklin in Freestyle and eventual Champ Max Ramberg of Wisconsin in Greco).
Ethan Vergara was 3rd at 285 in both Junior Freestyle and Greco - Ethan came in as a man on a mission … and showed that he amongst the best 285’s I nthe country by taking 3rd in both styles. In Freestyle he lost very early to Max Acciardi (NJ) in the Round of 32 and won 8 in a row to take 3rd (he dominated the backside - outscoring his opponents 74-2). In Greco he pushed to the semis before losing to eventual Champ Aden Attao of Idaho. Ethan finished his tournament with a pair of 9-0 technical superiorities and an impressive 16-2 on the week.
Caleb Rodriguez was 7th at 285 in 16U Freestyle and 5th in 16U Greco - our final double All American is Caleb Rodoriguez. Caleb lost his first match in Freestyle and then won 4 in a row to make the podium before taking a loss to Sampson Stillwell of Missouri and a win over Milan Colvin of Kansas to take 7th. Caleb began Greco 2-0 before losing in the quarters to Stillwell again … Caleb rebounded from that loss and finished 3-1 the rest of the way to take 5th.
All Americans
Mary Manis was 2nd at 100 in 16U Women - Mary had to grind her way to the 100 lb. 16U Women’s final - she beat Lisa Pastoriza 4-1, Hannah Lopez 8-0, Gigi Bragg 6-4, and Lauren Nguyen 8-4 before falling in the finals to Indiana’s Rianne Murphy.
Christian Fretwell was 3rd at 120 in 16U Greco - After just missing the podium in Freestyle … Christian came out blazing in Greco - going 5-0 before running into Jordan Raney of Kentucky in the semifinals. Wins over Maximus Riggins and Billy Townson finished his week in Fargo with a 3rd place in Greco.
Draven McCall was 4th at 132 in 16U Greco - Draven battled it out in 16U Greco - winning a close match over Marco Dalakishvili (MO) 7-7 on criteria early in the tournament. He made the semis before losing 5-1 to Nate Askew of Georgia … a win over Tre Haines (WA) and a loss to Nolan Fellers (IA) put him 4th.
Gianni Maldonado was 4th at 152 in 16U Greco - Like Fretwell, Gianni had to regroup after making the bloodround in Freestyle only to come up just short. Few people wrestled better in the backside that Gianni … he went 1-1 to start the tournament and then had to battle to make the podium - winning 7 in a row to make the consi finals where he lost to Damarion Ross 2-1.
Christian Moder was 4th at 170 in Junior Greco - Christian started with a tough 14-10 win over Tyler Hicks (OH) and then cruised to semis where he dropped an 8-7 decision to Georgia’s Omaury Alvarez. A win and a loss on the backside ended his trip to Fargo with a 4th place spot on the podium.
Cheyenne Cruce was 4th at 200 in 16U Women - Cheyenne took the tough road to the podium … losing her first match Kiona Michel of Washington. Wins over Isabella Phillips, Phoenix Lindseth, and an avenging loss over Michel put her in the consi finals where she dropped her consi final to a tough Blythe Cayko of Colorado.
Gabriele Tedesco was 5th at 100 in 16U Women - if I were Abdon, Walker, or anyone coaching Gabriele - I might have a heart attack … she puts up points in bunches, but always seems to be in close matches. She had two falls before losing the eventual Champ Rianne Murphy in the quarters and then we began with the back and forth matches. She pinned Monee Cordero of California with the scored tied 14-14 (and leading 8-0 in that match) then pinned Avy Perez of California with the score tied at 9 and followed that up with a win in her 5th place match 9-9 on criteria over Madison Heinzer.
Sofia Delgado was 5th at 138 in 16U Women - Sofia dominated early with 3 10-0 wins to advance to the semis where she lost to eventual Champ Sarah Henckel of Connecticut. Sofia lost to Madison Westerburg before finishing with a dominant 10-0 VSU over Annabelle Davis of Texas to take 5th.
Patrick Jones was 6th at 120 in Junior Greco - Patrick chose the tough path to the podium in Junior Greco at 120. He lost his opening match 10-2 to Massey Odiotti of Illinois before reeling off 8 wins on the backside - including a wild 15-13 win over Noah Pearson of Colorado and a 9-7 win over Austin Laudenbach of Minnesota in the bloodround. Few wrestlers lose in the Round of 128 and make their way back to the podium - Patrick is one of the few.
Andrea Smith was 6th at 225 in Junior Women - Andrea won 2 early before losing to Alysse Phillips of California in the quarters. Wins over Makayla Rivera and Karla Padilla Zepeda put her on the podium … and loss to Rewa Chababo setup a rematch with Phillips for 5th. Really great run for Andrea in her final trip to Fargo.
Henlee Haynes was 7th at 180 in Junior Women - Henlee got a tough draw - pulling top seed and eventual champ Sabrina Nauss of Michigan in the Round of 32. That meant Henlee needed 5 wins to make the podium … she had some close matches on the backside, but came out on top in each and made the podium … a loss to Isabella Renfro and a win over Taylor Knox put Henlee 7th in her first trip to Fargo.
As a “team” (and don’t get me wrong I understand scoring only the All Americans) - Alabama finished:
14th Junior Men Freestyle
4th Junior Greco
6th Junior Women
10th 16U Freestyle
3rd 16U Greco
11th 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 Florida’s bloodrounders in 2022:
Cameron Galvin (112 - Junior Women) - 5-2 at 112 won’t get you on the podium … that’s how deep 112 is in Junior Women. Cameron won her first 3 matches with relative ease before losing to eventual Champ Alexandra Szkotnicki in the Round of 16. Wins over Turnwall and Malovich put her in the bloodround, but a loss to a returning Fargo Champ - Cecilia Williams - ended her run for the podium.
Tyler Washburn (113 - Junior Greco) - Tyler also chose the tough path back to the podium … winning his first match, but losing his second to Logan Bickel of Indiana in the Round of 32 (that would mean he would need 5 wins to make the podium … he would get 4). Tyler won 4 in a row, but couldn’t get the win in the bloodround vs. Blake Walden of Oklahoma and just missed earning a spot on the podium for a second year.
Christian Fretwell (120 - 16U Freestyle) - Extremely tough bracket in Freestyle … Christian had to battle to hold off Kieron McCormack of Georgia early in the tournament. Fretwell lost his round of 16 match to Sam Herring before winning 2 in a row to make the bloodround where he would lose to Jackson Blum of Michigan 6-2.
Anderson Heap (132 - 16U Freestyle and 16U Greco) - Few wrestlers made the bloodround in both styles, but Anderson was one of those. He finished 4-2 in Freestyle - losing to Ben Weader of Virginia in the bloodround after having beaten Nate Askew of Georgia 6-4 in the consis. For Greco, Anderson bumped to 138 and once again made a great run, but came up one win short. He won 3 in a row before losing to Logan Paradice in the Round of 16 … wins over Baumann and Valdez put him in the bloodround where he fell to Florida teammate Elvis Solis 5-2.
Gabriella Perez (138 - Junior Women) - 138 in Junior Women is super deep … Gabriella won 4 in a row before running into Alessandra Elliott of New York in the quarters. That loss put her in the bloodround opposite Liv Wieber of Idaho … a tough loss there ended her run with a 4-2 record in one of the deepest weights in Junior Women.
Gianni Maldonado (145 - 16U Freestyle) - Gianni lost his first match in Freestyle and put himself in a tough position to make the podium … but he made a run for it. Gianni won 6 in a row on the backside before falling to Oklahoma’s Beau Hickman in the bloodround.
Alyssa Favara (164 - Junior Women) - Alyssa finished 4-2 with losses to All Americans Haley Ward and Yasmine Oliveira … Alyssa dominated in her 4 wins (outscoring her opponents 33-2 with 2 quick falls), but couldn’t get past Ward and Oliveira to make the podium again.
Roman Garcia (170 - Junior Greco) - Roman won his first two matches by a combined score of 18-0 … and then won a wild one 9-8 over Kasey Ross of Iowa to make the quarters. A loss to Florida teammate Moder put him in the bloodround and a loss to Codei Khawaja ended his tournament one win shy of making the podium again.
Daniel Williams (182 - Junior Freestyle) - 5-2 in a deep Junior 182 means you come up one win shy of the podium. Danny won his first 3 matches with relative ease before dropping his Round of 16 match to Ray Weed of New Jersey. Wins over Rhodes and a solid 9-6 win over Josh Cordio of Massachusetts put him in the bloodround. A 5-0 loss to Justin Rademacher ended his run in Freestyle.
Cheyenne Cruce (200 - Junior Women) - After taking 4th in 16U, Cheyenne return to make a run in Juniors. She won her first two matches (including a 10-0 VSU over Cayko who she lost to in the consi finals in 16U), but lost her quarterfinal to returning Fargo Champ Sam Calkins of California and then to Zoe Adam in the bloodround.
Elijah Vansickle (220 - 16U Greco) - Elijah won his first and then lost to Gorsuch of Wyoming in the Round of 16 after leading 10-7 … wins over Solano and Barton put him in the bloodround, but a loss to James Bechter of Ohio ended his trip to Fargo one match short of the podium.
Austin Foye (285 - Junior Greco) - Austin got a very tough draw - getting #2 seed Cameron Groncki in the opening round. A loss in the Round of 64 means you need 6 wins to make the podium … Austin dominated in 5 wins on the backside, but couldn’t get the win over Bruce Wagers of Ohio in the bloodround.
There are many others that wrestled extremely well … Florida 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.
