A Fan's Guide to Fargo - North Carolina Edition
History:
North Carolina has had 115 medalists going back to their first-ever - James Johnson who took 3rd in Junior Greco in 1976 at 191.5 lbs. As a team they have never won (or finished top 5) in any of the styles and have only broken into the top 10 twice (9th in Junior Men’s Freestyle in 1998 and 8th in Junior Greco in 1980). We are fairly far removed from either of those top 10 finishes, but that doesn’t mean North Carolinas has brough home some hardware in recent years.
On the 16U Men’s side, both Cam Stinson and Jax Forrest have made the podium in the 2020’s (Stinson in 2022 and Forrest in 2021). Jeremiah Price and Savoy New both made the podium in Junior Freestyle (Price in 2022 and New in 2023) and Hailie Misplay is the lone wrestler on the women’s side to have claimed All American since 2020 (taking 8th in 16U in 2021).
The North Carolina women trail their SE counterparts in terms of All American honors. Heaven Fitch is the only NC Junior to have ever made the podium (5th in 2019) and Fitch is just one of three 16U women to have made the podium (she is joined by Misplay and Kayla Mesar). Still North Carolina has made a significant step forward and are bringing a large and competitive roster in 2024.
A few other stats:
No North Carolinian has made the podium in Junior Greco in the 2020’s … the last being Christian Decatur-Luker and Richard Treanor in 2019.
Treanor is joined by Chris Bullins and Ty Reynolds are the most decorated for the state. Each claimed a Fargo All American plaque four times … Ty Reynolds is the only one to also have claimed a title (Reynolds was 1st in 16U Freestyle in 1996 at 121 lbs.)
The North Carolina women have never had a champ (or finalist) - Heaven Fitch is the highest placer - taking 3rd at 94 lbs. in 16U in 2019).
Attribution: Data reported above is courtesy of Jason Bryant of Mat Talk Online and the Fargo Almanac that is published each year.
2024 Squad:
Best team that North Carolina has brought in years. This team has top end talent as well as depth and will finish better than any team in recent years. The 16U women have only had 4 All Americans in their history … they bring just 6 with 5 of the 6 being in Faego for the first time. Last year’s 5 wrestled well (most going 2-2), but not close enough to make the podium. Lilly Reese returns and has to be amongst the favorites from this crew to make a deep run. Keep an eye on LilyAnn Blair as well. The numbers for the Junior women are way up from last year and this is a squad that has both talent and experience. Snow, Palmisciano, and Vindigni have all been here before and that is huge. North Carolina’s best shot at a Junior Medalist for the women might be from the group that are making their debut in the Dome … Faith Bane, Wyntergale Oxendine, Megan Rowland, or someone else. Heaven Fitch is the only Junior woman to ever make the podium … will that change this week?
North Carolina has assembled the best 16U and Junior men’s roster in quite some time. Yes they’ve had hammers like All Americans Jeremiah Price, Cam Stinson, and Savoy New, but it has been years since they’ve had both the top end talent and the depth. 2010 was the last time NC had 3 Junior Freestyle All Americans (and the only year that tops that was 1998 when they had 4). Expectations are high that this year’s squad could match or exceed those numbers. The 16U’s are led by Bentley Sly, Jack Harty, the Johnson duo just to name a few. The 16U squad has some hammers and this time will make some noise. Can’t express how excited I am to watch the Juniors … Savoy New claimed an All American spot last year and this year’s squad has a number of wrestlers that will look to etch their name in the Record book. That said - making the podium in Juniors is a daunting task, but this team has several that could make a run.
Italicized wrestlers competed for North Carolina 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:
106 - Sydney Martin
124 - LilyAnn Blair
124 - Mia Kiser
136 - Mia Lavigne
142 - Ella Friedman
142 - Lilly Reese
Junior Women:
100 - Anna Ockerman
105 - Megan Rowland
110 - Sofia Ortiz Rodriguez
115 - Gabriella Bumgardner
115- Siena Palmisciano
120 - Kylie Brigman
120 - Addison Vindigni
125 - Kamilah Brooks
125 - Alfa Dominguez Gutierrez
130 - Kennedie Snow
135 - Isabella Campbell
145 - Faith Bane
170 - Anasette Cooper
190 - Wyntergale Oxendine
235 - Priscilla DeWitt
16U Men Freestyle:
88 Christopher Goucher
106 Joseph Little III
113 Holton Quincy
113 Mac Johnson
120 Carson Giannotti
120 Tye Johnson
120 Gabriel Rogers
126 Mason Yount
138 Denys Tsap
138 Josh Brezac
144 Aaron Ellison
144 Bentley Sly
150 Mason Hollar
150 Griffin Barber
150 Seth Downing
150 Tripp Sullivan
165 Jack Harty
175 Logan Mumy
175 Cameron Perryman
16U Men Greco:
88 Christopher Goucher
106 Joseph Little III
113 Holton Quincy
113 Mac Johnson
120 Carson Giannotti
120 Tye Johnson
120 Gabriel Rogers
126 Mason Yount
138 Denys Tsap
138 Josh Brezac
144 Aaron Ellison
144 Bentley Sly
150 Mason Hollar
150 Griffin Barber
150 Seth Downing
150 Tripp Sullivan
165 Jack Harty
175 Logan Mumy
175 Cameron Perryman
Junior Men Freestyle:
120 Ethan Brownlee
120 Elijah Dorsey
126 Devon Conner
132 Layne Armstrong
138 Jackson Rowling
138 Alexander Schweitzer
138 Kaleb Flores
138 Shawn Bass
144 Ashton Shields-Adams
150 John Schulz
157 Jeremiah Johnson
157 Braden Reynolds
157 Luke Osborne
165 Troy Shannon
175 Dominic Blue
175 Connor Reese
175 Noah Michael
190 Harrison Compton
190 Brock Sullivan
190 Troy Deniz
190 Tayshaun Glover
215 Hayden Haynes
215 Dantrell Williams
285 Sebastian Rivera
285 Austin Rivera
285 Damien Couture
Junior Men Greco:
120 Ethan Brownlee
120 Elijah Dorsey
126 Devon Conner
132 Layne Armstrong
138 Jackson Rowling
138 Alexander Schweitzer
138 Kaleb Flores
138 Shawn Bass
144 Ashton Shields-Adams
150 John Schulz
157 Jeremiah Johnson
157 Braden Reynolds
157 Luke Osborne
165 Troy Shannon
175 Dominic Blue
175 Connor Reese
175 Noah Michael
190 Harrison Compton
190 Brock Sullivan
190 Troy Deniz
190 Tayshaun Glover
215 Hayden Haynes
215 Dantrell Williams
285 Sebastian Rivera
285 Austin Rivera
285 Damien Couture
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: Bently Sly - Not sure there was a more impressive 16U at Southeast Regions than Sly. 144 in 16U is deep, but I’d be surprised if he isn’t knocking on the door for some hardware to take back to NC.
Breakout Candidate: Jack Harty - Not sure if Harty is a first-year 16U or not, but regardless he has the ability to make a run.
Day 2: Mac Johnson - duals hammers with Mac and Tye … both will be in the hunt. Keep an eye on Gabriel Rogers as well.
Stepping Up: Holton Quincy - not sure if Quincy or Tsap are 1st-year 16U’s, but neither wrestled in Fargo last year.
16U Greco
Can’t Miss Hammer: Mac Johnson - Every year I look around at the end of the tournament and see someone from each SE state that is still battling (and I don’t know them really well) … that was Mac Johnson last year in Greco. Johnson was wrestling one of the Cassioppi’s in the bloodround and end up just short of making the podium as a first-year 16U. He and Tye will both be bringing some hardware back to NC in 2024.
Breakout Candidate: Bently Sly - Sly, Harty, Sullivan …. there are a number of potential breakout candidates for NC this year in 16U.
Day 2: Tye Johnson
Stepping Up: Denys Tsap - good run at 16U duals in Greco - looking for a similar performance in Fargo this week.
Junior Men’s Freestyle
Can’t Miss Hammer: Tayshaun Glover - back in NC there might be others that have more accolades than Glover, but you can’t deny how good he was in Fargo a year ago. He went 4-2 in Junior Freestyle and his two losses came to wrestlers that made the podium.
Breakout Candidate: Dominic Blue should play the role of Greg Merriman this week … Merriman had a great run in Fargo last year and Blue is poised to do that this year.
Day 2: Brock Sullivan
Stepping Up: Hayden Haynes - 16U experience at 220 and ready the next step. Haynes was 2-2 with a close loss and a loss to an eventual All American at the weight.
Junior Greco
Can’t Miss Hammer: Tayshaun Glover - we go with Glover again … there are others that could make runs as well, but Glover has already shown the ability to perform well on the biggest stage.
Breakout Candidate: Harrison Compton, Dominic Blue or another of the upper middleweights could have a run like Merriman did last year (finishing 5-2 and 2 wins from the podium).
Day 2: Troy Shannon - this spot could be Jackson Rowling or Devon Conner - both wrestled well at Junior Duals, but we go with the experience of Shannon.
Stepping Up: Ethan Brownlee had a great run in 16U Greco last year (finishing 3-2) … the step up to Juniors is tough but Brownlee has put in the time and looks ready to make a run as a 1st-year Junior.
16U Women’s Freestyle
Can’t Miss Hammer: Lilly Reese - having been here previously as a first-year 16U is huge. Reese was 2-2 and if she can add another 2 or 3 wins - she could be on the podium.
Breakout Candidate: Lily Ann Blair - big fan of Blair who has wrestled in both Tennessee and North Carolina previously … although it is her first time Fargo - she has wrestled in big events before.
Day 2: Mia Kiser
Stepping Up:
Junior Women’s Freestyle
Can’t Miss Hammer: Faith Bane - 5-2 at duals with a loss to Illinois hammer Sydney Perry. 145 is a tough weight, but Bane should be in the hunt to make a deep run.
Breakout Candidate: Kennedie Snow - 2-2 in 16U a year ago. Tough jump to Juniors, but Kennedie has been here before (which is a huge advantage)
Day 2: Wyntergale Oxendine - hard to know given that we haven’t seen Oxendine outside the high school season. Tough wrestler in the state - going to be fun to watch her compete in Fargo.
Stepping Up: Addison Vindigni - 1-2 in 16U in 2023. Just like Snow and Palmisciano - making the big jump to Juniors. But having been here before is going to be helpful for all three especially in close matches.