USA Wrestling's 16U Duals
What to Know:
Style: Freestyle & Greco-Roman
Date: June 6-10, 2023
Location: Mercyhealth Sportscore Two 8800 E. Riverside Blvd Loves Park, IL 61111
Where to Watch: FloWrestling
Brackets:
Schedule:
Wednesday, June 7 (GR 32 Teams EST.)
9:00 AM to 12:30 PM - Greco Roman Session 1: (16 mats) Rounds 1 & 2 Preliminary Championship Match, Championship Semi-Finals, & Consolation Quarterfinals
1:30 PM to 7:00 PM - Greco-Roman Session 2: (16 mats) Rounds 3, 4 & 5 - Consolation Semi-Finals & 1st Place Match, Placement Match 3rd, 5th, 7th, True 2nd place Match
Thursday, June 8 (Greco Roman Continued)
8:00 AM to 12:00 PM - Greco-Roman Session 3: Color Pools (Gold/Silver, Bronze/Copper, Red/Blue, Green/Yellow) Rounds 1 & 2 Preliminary Duals (All 16 Mats)
1:00 PM to 5:00 PM - Greco-Roman Session 4: (All 16 Mats) Rounds 3 & 4 Preliminary Duals & Finals Placement Match Dual
Friday, June 9 (EST. 36 Freestyle Teams)
8:00 AM to 12:30 PM - Freestyle Session 1: (16 mats) Rounds 1, 2, & 3– Preliminaries, Consolations, & Semifinals
1:30 PM to 8:00 PM - Freestyle Session 2: (16 mats) Rounds 4, 5 & 6 – Consolations, Placement (1st-8th), & True 2nd AND Round 1 - Preliminary Duals Color Pools (Gold/Silver, Bronze/Copper, Red/Blue, Green/Yellow)
Saturday, June 10
9:00 AM to 3:00 PM - Freestyle Session 3: (16 Mats) Rounds 2, 3 & 4 - (16 mats) Preliminary Duals and Finals Placement Match (Awards to follow)
A look back to 2022 … Greco
California topped Pennsylvania Blue 37-37 on criteria (9 wins vs. 8 wins)
Tennessee was the only SE team to earn All American Honors by finishing 8th.
The 16U’s from the Volunteer State went 0-4 on Day 2, but were competitive - losing to PA Blue 40-36 and Oklahoma Red (who finished 4th) 45-30
Florida finished 11th overall and 3rd in the Bronze/Copper Pool with Georgia Blue taking 8th in the Bronze/Copper Pool
Florida lost to Missouri 38-36 and Minnesota Blue 39-36 on Day 1 … Minnesota Blue finished 3rd overall
Georgia Blue lost to PA Blue and Colorado on Day 1, but struggled on Day 2.
Other Teams were Alabama 4-4, Georgia Red 4-4 and North Carolina 1-7
The following showed out in Greco (as I said last year … not all records are created equal … Casen Roark finished 7-2 and TN was in the All American Pool (so his competition was likely more difficult than others) - but with 2 losses he isn’t listed below):
88: Gabe Swann (GA Blue) was 7-1
94: Axel Ritchie (TN) was 8-1
100: Lincoln Sledzianowski (FL) was 7-0
106: Nicholas Owens (GA Red) was 8-0
120: Brodie Christmas (AL) was 8-0
120: Cael Kusky (GA Red) was 6-1
132: Nathaniel Askew (GA Blue) was 4-0
132: Anderson Heap (FL) was 6-1
138: EJ Solis (FL) was 6-1
145: Emil Necula (GA Blue) was 8-1
145: Gavin Balmeceda (FL) was 6-1
152: Maximus Norman (TN) was 9-0
152: CJ Torres (FL) was 6-1
195: Cole Carter (AL) was 8-1
195: Michael Mocco (FL) was 6-1
285: Willie Cox (AL) was 8-0
285: Jacob Levy (GA Blue) was 8-1
285: Trevquan Gary (NC) was 7-1
A look back to 2022 … Freestyle
Florida was the only SE state to make their way through the grueling 16U Freestyle bracket and finish top 8 … Florida was 7th overall after taking 2nd in Pool B to California (who they lost 37-35) on Day 1 and then losing a trio of tough duals to PA Blue, Wisconsin Red, and Iowa (35-34) before downing Oklahoma Blue to finish their trip.
Both Tennessee and Georgia Blue finished day 1 in the top 4 of their pool before finishing the tournament in the Bronze/Copper Pool … Tennessee downed Georgia 38-33 to take 7th in the Bronze/Copper Pool (Georgia Blue was 8th).
Both Alabama and Georgia Red finished 2-6 (and each had a win over the other); North Carolina finished 1-6
The following had a great weekend in Freestyle (remember given how the team does - not all records are created equal … that said we have only highlighted those below that went unbeaten or had 1 loss in 5 or more matches):
100: Lincoln Sledzianowski (FL) was 7-0
113: Stone Phillips (AL) was 4-1
120: Brodie Christmas (AL) was 8-0
120: Christian Fretwell (FL) was 6-1
132: Casen Roark (TN) was 8-1
138: Logan Paradice (GA Blue) was 8-0
138: EJ Solis (FL) was 6-1
152: Maximus Norman (TN) was 9-0
152: CJ Torres (FL) was 7-0
195/220: Cole Carter (AL) was 7-1
195/220: Mason Ellis (AL) was 6-1
285: Willie Cox (AL) was 8-0
285: Jacob Levy (GA Blue) was 7-1
And now a look to this year’s 16U Duals …
Remember we do not have the lineup for any of the teams outside the SE. But we expect traditional powers like Pennsylvania, California, Oklahoma, etc. will all be in the mix … so much of a teams success comes down to matchups so watch for those important individual matchups in each of the duals. We highlight a few from each of the SE squads that will be key to helping their squad to a top 8 finish.
We begin with …
The Breakdown: Team Tennessee - Coached by Rex Kendle, Ed Holland, and Brock Budesheim - comes ready to make a run for the top 8. 11 members of this squad competed last year on either the 14U or 16U team and that experience will be huge. The squad is exceptionally tough down low with Hudson Chittum, Shamus Regan, Jose Cordero, Tanner Tran, Axel Ritchie, and Ollie Phillips. Chittum, Regan, Cordero, Ritchie, Tran, and Phillips all have experience at either the duals or in Fargo … as does Cash Waymire, Bo Dominguez, and Cooper Ledbetter. Max Norman, who was unbeaten at 16U duals last year in both styles, and Cy Fowler hold down the top of the lineup, but if there are any questions about how far this team will go - it likely will come down to how well Keel, Wade, Thompson, Russell, and Davis wrestle.
The Breakdown: Terry Allison leads the 16U’s, but there are many other coaches on the roster given how large the group is that Georgia is sending. Georgia has enough for a Red and Blue squad and I’m certain that will be worked out this weekend or just before they arrive. Georgia, like Tennessee, has a number of wrestlers that have 14U or 16U duals experience or have been on the mat in Fargo. And in one case - Josiah Boyden has been around the world competing at the U14/U15 level. McArthur, Metz, Mills, Flowers, Krutules, Owens and Smyth competed at the duals a year ago and it is nice to have a squad that has that experience to kick off each of your duals. Askew, Rheaume, Roe, and McCoy provide that same experience from 145-195. This could be a huge opportunity for Prinzo, Sharp, Keane, Stiffler, Dossett, and others to put themselves in a good spot heading to Fargo … big wins help in the separation criteria for Fargo.
The Breakdown: Buddy Harrison, Alec Baynard, and Jacob Tutterow lead the NC 16U’s this week … but with 4 forfeits in the lineup this will likely be a huge opportunity for individuals to make their mark and get some great experience. Historically teams that have more than one or two forfeits simply cannot keep pace with the top states and that is likely the situation North Carolina finds itself in this week. That said - Joseph Little has 14U duals experience and Ethan Brownlee was on this squad a year ago … that will be important as they battle through whichever “color” pool they are in on day 2. Very interested to see how Dominic Blue, Jacob Powell, and others compete.
The Breakdown: Coach JD Ramsay is joined by Mike Palazzo, Alexis DeArmas, and Humberto Miret in leading a squad that has a lot of potential … but not a great deal of experience (at least in terms of USA Wrestling duals). Michael Mocco was 5-2 in Freestyle and 6-1 in Greco at last year’s 16U duals and used it to propel himself onto the podium in Fargo in both styles. Zeno Moore, Liam Davis, Gavin Fisher, and Everett Stephens are the only other members of the squad that have duals experience … that doesn’t mean Team Florida won’t shine, but it does mean we don’t know yet how well they will come together up and down the lineup. Yandro Soto, Charlie Desena, Jonathan Moder, and others have shown the ability to excel individually, but duals are a different beast. This team has a ton of upside … the question is whether they will reach their potential. If I were guessing I’d say they will be very close to finishing top 8.
The Breakdown: Alabama has grown by leaps and bounds over the last two decades and that is evident in their level of competitiveness at National Duals. Not sure they have ever finished top 8 in 14U, 16U, Juniors, or Girls, but they have become more and more competitive … and that should be true of this 16U squad as well. In fact it wouldn’t surprise me to see Alabama break through and into the top 8 with the crew that Coaches Ricky Korn and Cole Thomas have assembled. Six of the names above competed at 16U duals last year including Stone Phillips who was 4-1 in Freestyle and 4-2 in Greco. Add in two hammers that competed at 14U duals a year ago in Jameson Thomas (6-1 in Freestyle and 5-2 in Greco) and Will Atkinson (6-1 in Freestyle and 6-1 in Greco) and you’ve got a squad with the potential to make some noise. Watch out for John Stewart - doesn’t have previous duals experience, but is one of our top wrestlers in the class of 2026. The key for Bama, same as it is for a few others, is up top. They forfeit 220 and that will be tough, but they need Kirk, Bell, Wilson, Righter, McConnell, and Thomas from 152-285 to score points … Bama will be in every dual based on their lightweights - how far they go will be up to how well the top part of the lineup competes.
The Breakdown: Coach Lehr has had some moving parts in pulling this team together, but the above roster looks like the final group as the team heads to Illinois. A few things stand out … 1) with so many forfeits - the focus will be on individual success and not the team working fora top 8 finish and 2) there are some outstanding 16U’s on the list headlined by Cason Howle and Said Gasimov. Howle had a successful first year as a 16U in Fargo last summer and figures to be in the hunt for a spot on the podium this year.