A Fan's Guide to Fargo - Alabama Edition

History:

Alabama has had 71 medalists going back to their first-ever - Ron Woods who took 6th in Junior Greco in 1977 at 154 lbs. As a team they have never won or finished top 5 (or top 10) in any of the styles, in either age group or in either men or women and that isn’t likely to change in 2024. Fargo is not only a battle of hammers, but it is also a battle of attrition and Alabama rarely brings a large enough group to make a run in any of the styles on either the men’s or women’s side. Alabama’s largest group in 2024 is 25 wrestlers and that is in the toughest tournament in Fargo - Junior Men. That doesn’t mean you can’t make a run for a top 10 finish with a team of fewer than 30, but it is tough (take last year’s Junior Freestyle as an example … Pennsylvania won it with 79 wrestlers, Wisconsin was 2nd with 67, Iowa was 5th with 63, Minnesota was 10th with 59 … even a similarly small state (in terms of population) like Idaho - which finished 12th - brought 49).

California has dominated the Women’s tournaments with a combination of numbers and hammers. But if Alabama (and other SE states) are going to break into the top 10 - the women’s side (particularly at 16U) is where they can make an impact with fewer numbers. But still keep in mind that you need significantly more than we currently bring … Iowa was 10th in Junior Women last year and they had a roster of 43 (Alabama’s Junior women’s roster last year was 6). So breaking into the top 10 is going to be a challenge. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t individuals (both currently and in the past that have had some outstanding success). Kiyan Simon and Isaiah Powe both made the Junior finals a year ago - Simon losing in the 100 lb. Freestyle finals and Powe losing in the 138 lb. Greco final (Simon also finished 6th at 106 in Junior Greco). In fact, much of the Alabama’s recent success has come in Greco … Powe and Cory Land were finalists in back to back years (2022 and 2023) and 9 of their 20 Junior All Americans have come within the last 9 years. They’ve also had the same level of success at in 16U Greco with 5 All Americans (Will Caneer, Willie Cox, Brodie Christmas, Cole Carter, and Mason Ellis) since 2021.

A few notable historical things on the Men’s side:

  • Despite the number of All Americans - Alabama has never had a Junior Greco Champion (Erwin Lavender (1982), Sam Latona (2017), Cory Land (2022), and Isaiah Powe (2023) have all taken 2nd).

  • Alabama has had 2 Junior National Champions (Latona and Land)

  • Alabama’s biggest struggle is in 16U Freestyle - 12 total All Americans, No Champs and just one finalist (Latona in 2016).

On the women’s side, Hannah Gladden was the name to know for years. Gladden was Alabama’s only All American until 2022. Gladden was 3rd at 16U in 2012 and 6th in Juniors the same year and then was 4th in 2013 and 5th in 2014. Recently, Alabama has had three women make the podium including 2x All American Evelyn Holmes-Smith. She and Lena Johannson made the podium together in 2022 in 16U and Yasmine Oliveira was 4th in the Junior Women’s tournament that same year … Alabama went from 1 woman as an All American to a total of 4 in one tournament - certainly a huge step for women’s wrestling in the state. Holmes-Smith is joined by a talented group of teammates as they look to add to that number in 2024 (and Holmes-Smith will look to add a title or another All American trophy to the two she already has at home - 6th in 2022 and 4th in 2023).

Attribution: Data reported above is courtesy of Jason Bryant of Mat Talk Online and the Fargo Almanac that is published each year.

2024 Squad:

The 2024 squad returns 3 that have been on the podium previously - Kiyan Simon, Willie Cox, and Evelyn Holmes-Smith. Simon was a 2x All American (1x finalist) a year ago as a first-year Junior … but he will be making the big jump from 100 (Freestyle) and 106 (Greco) to 113 this year. The 113 lb. weight class is a different ballgame than wrestling 100 or 106. Holmes-Smith has been on the podium twice before - both in 16U … she also makes a big jump this year - from 16U to Juniors. Like Simon, Holmes-Smith making the jump from 16U to Juniors is a different beast - she has a ton of talent, but she will need wrestle extremely well to make the podium as a first-year Junior. Willie Cox was a 16U All American two years ago and now, in his final trip to Fargo, will look to be one of he few from Alabama to make the podium in both 16U and Juniors.

All of that to say … none of their paths are easy. And the wrestler that could claim a title might be someone we haven’t mentioned yet. That is Daishun Powe. Powe has been outstanding in both Freestyle and Greco this spring and summer and nearly made the podium here last year. He was 5-2 in Freestyle (coming up 2 wins from making the podium) and was 4-2 in Greco (losing in the bloodround to Casper Stewart of New York). On the women’s side, both Taimane Benemerito and Elizabeth Rosentiel are names to know and remember … despite small numbers - Alabama could walk away with as many All Americans this year as they have in any other year.

Italicized wrestlers competed for Alabama in 2023 (or medaled in a previous year … we didn’t look at year’s before that for those that competed, but did not medal):

16U Women:

  • 100 Dorinda Curtis

  • 130 Taimane Benemerito (for Hawaii)

  • 136 Kimber Alford

  • 136 Annabella Harris

  • 148 Heather Butler

Junior Women:

  • 110 Erin Clarkson

  • 120 Evelyn Holmes-Smith (4th in 16U in 2023; 6th in 16U in 2022)

  • 125 Kalyse Hill

  • 135 Elizabeth Rosenstiel

  • 135 Chloe Parsons

  • 135 Aenaya Vines

  • 140 Jolene Walls

  • 140 Jessalynn Allen

  • 190 Aniyah Griffin

16U Men Freestyle:

  • 100 - Ryan McKelvey

  • 100 - Coreu Powe

  • 113 - William Atkinson

  • 120 - Karson Poe

  • 126 - Cordell Lee

  • 132 - Braxton Montgomery

  • 138 - Dalton Ellis

  • 144 - Colyn Finley

  • 157 - Alex Bacon

  • 190 - Kourtlan Kendrick

16U Men Greco:

  • 100 - Ryan McKelvey

  • 100 - Coreu Powe

  • 113 - William Atkinson

  • 120 - Karson Poe

  • 126 - Cordell Lee

  • 132 - Braxton Montgomery

  • 138 - Dalton Ellis

  • 144 - Colyn Finley

  • 157 - Alex Bacon

  • 190 - Kourtlan Kendrick

Junior Men Freestyle:

  • 100 - Jameson Thomas

  • 106 - Bobby Rutkoff

  • 113 - Kiyan Simon (2nd at 100 in 2023)

  • 113 - Justin Harbin

  • 120 - Aiden Morris

  • 126 - Hayden Cook

  • 126 - Mason Hahm

  • 126 - Hunter Graham

  • 132 - Joseph Sowell

  • 138 - William Anderson

  • 138 - Bradley Williams

  • 144 - Yanik Simon

  • 144 - Julian Lowe

  • 150 - Daishun Powe

  • 157 - Cruz Rainwater

  • 157 - Andrew Anderson

  • 165 - Cody Kirk

  • 175 - Oliver Howard

  • 175 - Broc Righter

  • 175 - Cort Bulloch

  • 175 - Trip Cole

  • 215 - Kyle Oliveira

  • 215 - Joey Stephens

  • 285 - Zack Chatman

  • 285 - Willie Cox

Junior Men Greco:

  • 100 - Jameson Thomas

  • 106 - Bobby Rutkoff

  • 113 - Kiyan Simon (6th at 106 in 2023)

  • 113 - Justin Harbin

  • 120 - Aiden Morris

  • 126 - Hayden Cook

  • 126 - Mason Hahm

  • 126 - Hunter Graham

  • 132 - Joseph Sowell

  • 138 - William Anderson

  • 138 - Bradley Williams

  • 144 - Yanik Simon

  • 144 - Julian Lowe

  • 150 - Daishun Powe

  • 157 - Cruz Rainwater

  • 157 - Andrew Anderson

  • 165 - Cody Kirk

  • 175 - Oliver Howard

  • 175 - Broc Righter

  • 175 - Cort Bulloch

  • 175 - Trip Cole

  • 215 - Kyle Oliveira

  • 215 - Joey Stephens

  • 285 - Zack Chatman

  • 285 - Willie Cox (8th at 285 in 16U in 2021)

Who to Watch:

There are so many athletes you could watch and for everyone reading this, I’m sure you have the individual or individuals you are most interested in following. For me there are tons of wrestlers to watch - but I have a tendency to gravitate to specific storylines or ideas when focusing on individuals and I’ve tried to capture that below. Honestly, many different wrestlers could fall into each of these headings, but I don’t have the capacity to write about everyone. I can’t wait to see who I don’t mention has a great tournament and I can mention them in the wrap-up under the heading … here is who I missed in the preview. For each group below I focused on one name (and narrowing it to just one was extremely difficult in so many cases) for each of these descriptors:

Can’t Miss Hammer - someone that has been here before and this state’s best shot to make the podium.

Breakout Candidate - wasn’t in Fargo in 2023, but has wrestled well this spring/summer and is ready to make their mark on the Fargo stage.

Day 2 - for those of you unfamiliar with Fargo … much of the field is eliminated by the end of Day 1. Only a few make it Day 2 in the largest tournament in the world … this individual has the ability to make that happen.

Stepping Up - this wrestler had an outstanding run as either a 14U or a 16U previously … but this is their first year (If I’m wrong please let me know) in the new age group and they are ready to make the most of the opportunity.

  • 16U Men’s Freestyle

    • Can’t Miss Hammer: Will Atkinson - 2-2 as a first-year 16U a year ago

    • Breakout Candidate: Coreu Powe

    • Day 2: Colyn Finley

    • Stepping Up: Karson Poe

  • 16U Greco

    • Can’t Miss Hammer: Will Atkinson

    • Breakout Candidate: Coreu Powe

    • Day 2: Colyn Finley

    • Stepping Up: Karson Poe

  • Junior Men’s Freestyle

    • Can’t Miss Hammer: Daishun Powe - lost to Avery Allen of Montana twice last year and finished 5-2 - only better this year

    • Breakout Candidate: Bradley Williams

    • Day 2: Will Anderson - 2-2 as a first-year Junior last year

    • Stepping Up: Cody Kirk

  • Junior Greco

    • Can’t Miss Hammer: Daishun Powe - Bloodround in 2023 - could make a run for a stop sign in 2024

    • Breakout Candidate: Bradley Williams

    • Day 2: Willie Cox - 16U AA in Greco - will certainly make a run in Juniors

    • Stepping Up: Cruz Rainwater - 2-2 in 16U Greco a year ago

  • 16U Women’s Freestyle

    • Can’t Miss Hammer: Taimane Benemerito - 3-2 a year ago as a first-year 16U wrestling for Hawaii.

    • Breakout Candidate: Kimber Alford

    • Day 2: Heather Butler

    • Stepping Up:

  • Junior Women’s Freestyle

    • Can’t Miss Hammer: Evelyn Holmes-Smith - 2x All American; first-year Junior, but has wrestled everywhere on the biggest stages - moving to Juniors is just another step in the process.

    • Breakout Candidate: Aenaya Vines

    • Day 2: Elizabeth Rosenstiel - 4-2 in 2023 and one match from making the podium; Kalyse Hill another Junior to watch. Alabama has never had 3 women All Americans in the same year - Holmes-Smith, Rosentiel, and Hill are a trio that could make that happen this year.

    • Stepping Up: Jessalynn Allen

Jason Fulmore