A Fan's Guide to Fargo - Florida Edition

History:

Florida has a deep history as it relates to USA Wrestling’s Junior and 16U National Championships … also known as Fargo. Wrestlers from the Sunshine State have won a combined 536 medals including 83 National Titles. That is an impressive number, but in comparison - Florida ranks 17th on the list (to give you an idea - Illinois sits at #1 with 1,817 All Americans) … Florida is gaining ground and this year’s squad has the ability to inch ever closer to #16 on the list (Indiana). For your info … Florida sits #15 in total number of Champions with 83 and trails #14 Washington by 16.

The majority of Fargo medals have come at the Junior level with 156 in Greco, 81 in men’s freestyle, and 59 in women’s freestyle. Florida has had 7 top 5 finishes in Junior Greco, but has never finished in the top 5 in either men’s or women’s freestyle (at the Junior level) … the Junior men were 8th in both 2009 and 2010, but haven’t been able to crack the top 10 since. Florida’s best finish in Junior Greco was 2nd in 2009 and 2011 (behind perennial power Illinois). The Junior women have just gotten better and better each year and continue to climb into the conversation. They were 10th in 2003 (just the 2nd year of the tournament) and have hovered about that level for years until recent success. The Junior women have finished 6th and 8th in each of the last two Fargo’s and will look to break into the top 5 for the first time this year.

The success at the 16U level looks very similar to that in Juniors. The 16U men have made the top 5 once in Freestyle (and that was all the way back in 1990 when they finished 5th) with a total of 6 top 10 finishes and have finished top 5 in Greco 4 times (with a total of 15 times in the top 10). Florida’s best Greco finish in 16U was just two years ago when they took 3rd behind California and Wisconsin. Surprisingly, the 16U women have struggled a bit (and hopefully that will change now that we enter the 3rd year of sanctioned wrestling in the state for the women). The 16U women have never made the top 5 and have just two top 10 finishes (but one of those was in 2023 when they finished 7th - their highest finish ever for 16U women). Both Mary Manis and Mya Bethel won titles in 16U a year ago and both return and will be hunting a title in Juniors this week.

A few interesting stats to consider:

  • 16U Women have had a total of 20 All Americans and 4 National Champions - 12 of the 20 (and 3 of the 4 Champs) have come in the last 3 years.

  • Junior Men have had plenty of success recently making the podium in Freestyle (3 in 2023; 3 in 2022; 4 in 2021, etc.) but you have to go back to 2017 for our last National Champion (Anthony Artalona) and Florida’s best shot at claiming a title this year (Michael Mocco) is training for the World Championships and isn’t on the roster.

  • On the All-Time list …

    • David Craig and Rocky Cozart have a total of 8 medals (that won’t be matched by anyone this year)

    • Anthony Artalona, Eric Grajales, and Shawn McCoy have the most Fargo titles (4 each) … that mark will not be in jeopardy this week

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


2024 Squad:

Tons to talk about from the Sunshine State. We start with the women and very different expectations when looking at the 16U’s and the Juniors. The majority of the 16U roster is new to the Fargodome. Just Isis Severe and Ailee Briggs competed a year ago. There are some hammers (Abigail Gonzalez, Paola Ramirez, and others), but matching the 4 All Americans from 2023 at 16U is going to be tough. The Junior roster, on the other hand, is loaded with Fargo experience. All 4 2023 16U All Americans move to Juniors and Mary Manis and Mya Bethel will look to claim another title (just at a different level). Grace Leota and Kailani Barrientos will look to make another run at the podium (this time as Juniors). But a strength of the Junior women is the depth of the roster. 17 Juniors competed here a year ago … that is huge and will be one of the reasons Florida will bring home some hardware.

On the men’s side … the 16U’s have a ton of talent, but not a lot of “Fargo” experience. Mac Andrews, KJ Vazquez, Nik Blake, Landon Quiroga and others wrestled well as first-year 16U’s in 2023 … they return and each will be hunting a spot on the podium. That said - the 16U’s best shot might come from those making their Fargo debut. Jovani Solis, Peter Mocco, Joanni Tovar, Adaias Ortiz and others all could make a run as well. The 16U’s have talent - but Fargo is beast. We will see how many can fight their way to a top 8 finish. Like the 16U’s, the Junior roster is full of hammers. BUT … not a ton of returning AA’s. 2023 Fargo Champ Michael Mocco is prepping for the World Championships and 2023 Fargo Champ Sawyer Bartelt is preparing to head to Iowa State (remember though - graduated seniors can wrestle in this event one final time just after high school graduation). Zeno Moore (a 16U AA last year) moves up to Juniors and fellow LHP Highlander CJ Torres returns after taking 4th last year at 152. Otherwise it is a talented group, but one sans Fargo hardware (Christian Fretwell was 16U AA in Greco in 2022 and EJ Solis made the podium in both styles in 2022 as a 16U). Solis nearly made the podium last year as did Heap and Bulko (Greco). Interestingly, Malachi Ortiz earned All American honors in Junior Greco last year, but is only on the roster for Freestyle (unless I overlooked him).

Italicized wrestlers competed for Florida 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:

  • 94 - Ashlie Schlegel

  • 100 - Aniyah Whayne

  • 106 - Maya  Alvarado

  • 106 - Abigail Gonzalez

  • 106 - Miayalee Ortiz

  • 112 - MacKenzie Allcroft

  • 112 - Bianca Ribeiro-Barbosa

  • 118 - Sarah Walsh

  • 118 - Paola Ramirez

  • 124 - Willow White

  • 130 - Isis Severe

  • 136 - Ailee Briggs

  • 136 - Jada Williams

  • 142 - Malia Rezac

  • 148 - Alisha Vilar

  • 170 - Alexa Calidonio

  • 190 - Latoya Sylvestre

  • 190 - Tor'Rina Rushing

Junior Women:

  • 95 - Sophie Booe

  • 95 - Chrissy Rebarchek

  • 100 - Emily Doolittle

  • 100 - Katherine Brooks

  • 105 - Erin Rizzuto

  • 105 - Sigrun Metzger

  • 105 - Camdyn Elliott

  • 110 - Keana Bush

  • 110 - Natalia Choquegonza

  • 115 - Joslyn Johnson

  • 115 - Lily Powell

  • 115 - Mariah Mills

  • 115 - Camilla Delgado

  • 115 - Kaitelynn Oliver

  • 120 - Milana Borrelli (5th in JRs in 2023)

  • 120 - Emma Bauknight

  • 120 - Naomie Sylvestrie

  • 125 - Mary Manis (16U National Champion in 2023)

  • 125 - Jasmine Serrano

  • 125 - Daniela Espinal

  • 130 - Alissa Brown Washington

  • 130 - Christina Borgmann

  • 130 - Sheyla Ochoa Salgado

  • 130 - Chloe Parets

  • 135 - Kailani Barrientos (7th in 16U in 2023)

  • 145 - Katherine Stewart

  • 145 - Viktoriya Devochkina

  • 155 - Mya Bethel (16U National Champion in 2023)

  • 155 - Sofia Delgado

  • 170 - Megan Preston

  • 170 - Payton Moyer

  • 170 - Chloe Stinnett

  • 190 - Grace Leota (4th in 16U In 2023)

  • 235 - Kinea Moore

16U Men Freestyle:

  • 88 - Liam Parker

  • 94 - Zachary Leto

  • 100 - RJ Phelan

  • 100 - Ethan Smith

  • 106 - Stefano Garcia

  • 106 - Cash Caillaui

  • 106 - Brock Glover

  • 113 - Jovanni Tovar

  • 120 - Eric Bush

  • 113 - Sully Karmon

  • 120 - Reid Yakes

  • 120 - Landon Quiroga

  • 120 - Andrew Taylor

  • 126 - Timmy Boda

  • 126 - Adaias Ortiz

  • 126 - Skylar West

  • 132 - Jovani Solis

  • 132 - Dylan Fernandez

  • 132 - James Aguilar

  • 132 - Jaxson Perry

  • 138 - Armand Williams

  • 138 - Clinton Thompson JR

  • 138 - Jasper Croom

  • 144 - Mason O’Dell

  • 144 - Noah Leota

  • 144 - Nikolas Gray

  • 144 - Luke Manghisi

  • 150 - Nikolas Blake

  • 150 - Jonathan Moreno

  • 150 - Charly Sainteus

  • 150 - Derik Palmer

  • 157 - Kawayran Vazquez

  • 157 - Tyree Graham

  • 165 - Mac Andrews

  • 165 - James Shaw Garrett

  • 165 - Colton Bell

  • 175 - Raymond Shaw

  • 190 - Peter Mocco

  • 190 - Darius Montgomery

  • 190 - Grant Silverfield

  • 190 - Richard Lugo

  • 215 - Sebastian Morera

  • 285 - Blake Elder

16U Men Greco:

  • 88 - Liam Parker

  • 94 - Zachary Leto

  • 100 - RJ Phelan

  • 100 - Ethan Smith

  • 106 - Stefano Garcia

  • 106 - Cash Caillaui

  • 106 - Brock Glover

  • 113 - Jovanni Tovar

  • 113/120 - Eric Bush

  • 113/120 - Sully Karmon

  • 120 - Reid Yakes

  • 120 - Landon Quiroga

  • 120 - Andrew Taylor

  • 126 - Timmy Boda

  • 126 - Skylar West

  • 132 - Jovani Solis

  • 132 - James Aguilar

  • 132 - Jaxson Perry

  • 138 - Armand Williams

  • 138 - Clinton Thompson JR

  • 138 - Jasper Croom

  • 144 - Mason O’Dell

  • 144 - Noah Leota

  • 144 - Nikolas Gray

  • 144 - Luke Manghisi

  • 150 - Jonathan Moreno

  • 150 - Charly Sainteus

  • 150 - Derik Palmer

  • 157 - Kawayran Vazquez (7th in 16U at 145)

  • 157 - Tyree Graham

  • 165 - Mac Andrews

  • 165 - James Shaw Garrett

  • 175 - Raymond Shaw

  • 190 - Peter Mocco

  • 190 - Darius Montgomery

  • 190 - Grant Silverfield

  • 190 - Richard Lugo

  • 215 - Sebastian Morera

  • 285 - Blake Elder

Junior Men Freestyle:

  • 100 - David Serrano

  • 106 - Roderick Brown

  • 113 - Malachi Ortiz

  • 113 - Gary Mendez

  • 113 - Liam Davis

  • 113 - Eric Perez

  • 120 - Preston Neufeld

  • 120 - Marlo Clark, Jr.

  • 120 - Mark Bonfante

  • 120 - Micheal Maisonet

  • 120 - David Leiva

  • 126 - Alex Giglietti

  • 126 - Sebastian Degennaro

  • 126 - Jack Oliver

  • 126 - Coby Shields

  • 132 - Christian Fretwell

  • 132 - Jaiden Oliver

  • 132 - Daniel Aranda

  • 138 - Elvis Solis (5th in 16U in 2022)

  • 138 - Maximus Brady

  • 138 - Josue Batista

  • 138 - Jayce Paridon

  • 138 - Charlie DeSena

  • 138 - Collin Kacena

  • 144 - James Kosza

  • 144 - Benjamin Wolgamuth

  • 144 - Zeno Moore (7th in 16U at 145)

  • 144 - Jayden Bowles

  • 150 - Anderson Heap

  • 150 - Izaiah Zaitouni

  • 150 - Frank Florio IV.

  • 157 - Eric Hodge

  • 157 - Angel Prieto

  • 157 - Jose Guttierez

  • 157 - Claudio Torres Jr (4th in JRs at 152)

  • 165 - Willie White

  • 165 - Pavel Bulko

  • 165 - Sage Suarez

  • 165 - Drake Bonney

  • 175 - Gage Wiggins

  • 175 - Gunner Holland

  • 175 - Amir Coston

  • 175 - Gerson Alette

  • 175 - Husam Mustafa

  • 175 - Connor Bonney

  • 175 - Evangelo Mercado

  • 190 - Alan Rivera

  • 190 - Deacon Delong

  • 190 - Brian Senalle

  • 190 - Brooks Baker

  • 190 - Robert Kucharczk

  • 215 - Alex Smith

  • 215 - Ryan Sirico

  • 215 - Brady Comerford

  • 285 - Ralph Riche

  • 285 - Liam Higgins

  • 285 - Gavyn Uribes

Junior Men Greco:

  • 100 - David Serrano

  • 106 - Roderick Brown

  • 113 - Gary Mendez

  • 113 - Eric Perez

  • 120 - Preston Neufeld

  • 120 - Marlo Clark, Jr.

  • 120 - Mark Bonfante

  • 120 - Micheal Maisonet

  • 120 - David Leiva

  • 126 - Alex Giglietti

  • 126 - Jack Oliver

  • 126 - Coby Shields

  • 132 - Christian Fretwell (3rd in 16U in 2022)

  • 138 - Elvis Solis (3rd in 16U in 2022)

  • 138 - Maximus Brady

  • 138 - Josue Batista

  • 144 - James Kosza

  • 144 - Benjamin Wolgamuth

  • 144 - Jayden Bowles

  • 150 - Anderson Heap

  • 150 - Izaiah Zaitouni

  • 150 - Frank Florio IV.

  • 157 - Eric Hodge

  • 157 - Angel Prieto

  • 157 - Jose Guttierez

  • 165 - Willie White

  • 165 - Pavel Bulko

  • 165 - Sage Suarez

  • 175 - Gage Wiggins

  • 175 - Gunner Holland

  • 175 - Amir Coston

  • 175 - Gerson Alette

  • 175 - Evangelo Mercado

  • 190 - Alan Rivera

  • 190 - Deacon Delong

  • 190 - Brian Senalle

  • 190 - Brooks Baker

  • 215 - Alex Smith

  • 215 - Ryan Sirico

  • 215 - Brady Comerford

  • 285 - Ralph Riche

  • 285 - Liam Higgins

  • 285 - Gavyn Uribes


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: Jovani Solis - represented Puerto Rico at Pan Ams … winning Gold in Freestyle. Fargo is a different beast, but so is Solis. The easy pick here is Vazquez, but we went with Solis … Florida could have as many as 6 that make the 16U podium.

    • Breakout Candidate: Adaias Ortiz

    • Day 2: Mac Andrews … our off the radar pick was Nik Blake, but he is out due to injury so we go with Andrews who is a little more on the Fargo radar, but still has a great shot to make a run for the podium as do Quiroga, Williams, and others.

    • Stepping Up: Tovar or Mocco … both were outstanding 14U’s a year ago. Both look ready to claim a spot on the podium this week.

  • 16U Greco

    • Can’t Miss Hammer: Kawayran Vazquez - 7th in Greco as a first-year 16U.

    • Breakout Candidate: Jovanni or Jovani … Tovar or Solis. Both are hammers and each has the ability to beat anyone else in the bracket.

    • Day 2: Mac Andrews - 2-2 as a first-year 16U last year. Andrews had a great 16U duals and is dialed in to make a run.

    • Stepping Up: Peter Mocco - getting better with each tournament … ready for that next step in Fargo

  • Junior Men’s Freestyle

    • Can’t Miss Hammer: CJ Torres - 4th in Junior Freestyle last year as a first-year Junior. Don’t be surprised to see a pair of future Hokies and SE hammers celebrating with Fargo titles in Torres and Drew Gorman of Georgia.

    • Breakout Candidate: Alex Smith - another Highlander that will be ready to make a run.

    • Day 2: Max Brady - watching Brady give Swenson everything he could handle at SE Regions makes him our pick. Swenson lost 3-2 in the bloods last year and Brady was 3-2 overall … he has gotten better and better over the last 12 months and if that trajectory continues he will be on the podium this week. Truth is Solis, Heap, Holland, Fretwell, etc. could be in this spot, but we went with Brady based on that match vs. Swenson.

    • Stepping Up: Eric Hodge - 3-2 in 16U Freestyle and really could’ve made the podium. The jump to Juniors is tough, but Hodge has the ability to make it.

  • Junior Greco

    • Can’t Miss Hammer: Anderson Heap - nearly made the podium last year. 8-1 at Junior duals with lone loss coming 3-2 to Ramos of Wisconsin.

    • Breakout Candidate: Gunner Holland - missed 2023 due to injury, but has been outstanding this spring and summer. Could also put Max Brady or Christian Fretwell here - neither wrestled Greco in Fargo last year.

    • Day 2: Pavel Bulko - Greco hammer. Bulko nearly made the podium last year. He makes a run for a title this year.

    • Stepping Up: Willie White - not sure White is a first-year Junior, but regadless he is certainly one to watch after going 6-3 at Junior Duals

  • 16U Women’s Freestyle

    • Can’t Miss Hammer: Ailee Briggs - 1-2 a year ago, but has grown by leaps and bounds … Ailee makes a run for the podium as a 2nd year 16U

    • Breakout Candidate: Abigail Gonzalez - everyone in Florida already knows; Fargo finds out this week … Abby Gonzalez is next.

    • Day 2: Maya Alvarado

    • Stepping Up: Paola Ramirez or Willow White - not sure if either are 1st year 16U’s or not, but both will make some noise

  • Junior Women’s Freestyle

    Picking this group was super difficult … 2 16U Champs, returning All Americans, and a bunch of returners that are hungry to make the podium. This might be the best Junior Women’s team that Florida has ever put together.

    • Can’t Miss Hammer: Mya Bethel - I’ve spent some time this spring and summer watching some of the top US women compete … Bethel has been at so many of those practices … 16U Champ last year and just keep getting better and better

    • Breakout Candidate: Christina Borgmann

    • Day 2: Katherine Stewart - previous AA’s Delgado, Borrelli, Barrientos, and Leota are the easy picks. We fully expect them to be contending for a spot on the podium on Day 2 … so we decided to go with someone that has shown the mettle to make a run, but hasn’t been there previously. Stewart was 3-2 as a first-year Junior in 2023 … that experience is going to pay dividends this week. We could’ve picked Bush, Mills, Rizzuto, Johnson, or Elliott as well. That quintet could all be wrestling for a spot on the podium.

    • Stepping Up: Mary Manis - just like Bethel - moves up after claiming a title last year in 16U. Juniors are a different beast, but Manis has been everywhere and has competed against everyone. She was 2nd as a first-year 16U … don’t be surprised if she betters that as a first-year Junior.

Jason Fulmore