TEAM ALABAMA has dropped their roster for Fargo and there are several wrestlers positioned to make a real run at a spot on the podium. Before we get to those to watch, here is a little background on “Fargo”. Fargo 2021 is the 50th edition of the prestigious Junior Nationals event. The first event, held in the summer of 1971, in Iowa City was Freestyle only … so we have progressed significantly since those early days - adding Greco and then 16U’s (Cadets) and the Girls (at both the Junior and 16U levels). For a fantastic breakdown of the history of “Fargo” (in reality, Junior Nationals and the other national-level USA Wrestling “high school aged” events) you should check out the Fargo Almanac produced by Jason Bryant. It is 187 pages of pure “Fargo” gold (even though the event wasn’t held in Fargo for the first 20+ years).

The 2019 edition of the event had 5,000+ entries (yes many wrestled more than one style) and, given that we missed 2020, 2021 could feature an even larger number. Alabama is set to bring 20 in JR Freestyle (up 9 from 2019), 19 in JR Greco (up 10 from 2019), 21 in 16U Freestyle (up 11 from 2019), and 21 in 16U Greco (up 11 from 2019). Overall, Alabama will have 41 more entires in 2021 than they did in 2019. The one disappointment is the lack of a girls team heading to Fargo. It is hard to keep the momentum of sanctioning girls wrestling with the AHSAA when the state cannot get some of the best girls (Evelyn Holmes-Smith, Lena Johannson, Jade Eldridge, and others) to compete in the most important tournament each year for high school-aged girls. I don’t know the reasons for their absence, but that is something Alabama needs to focus on as we move into the 2021-2022 academic year (want motivation? - 49 (of the 80) 2021 NCWWC (NCAA) College All Americans placed in Fargo and 40 of the 2021 NAIA All Americans).

Alabama has had 54 All Americans and 2 Champions over the 50 years. Jaden New returns after taking 4th at 132 in the 16U Greco bracket in 2019. Jaden is joined by several others that have “Fargo” experience including Yanni Vines, Bryce Wanagat, Warren Hoyt, and Levi Miller. That experience could pay dividends as a significantly fewer number of Juniors have had the experience (having missed the 2020 event because of the COVID pandemic). Team Alabama should have several wrestlers looking to make the podium … these are the wrestlers I’m watching:

• If Vines makes 113 for Freestyle he has to be amongst the favorites. He won SE Regions in both Freestyle and Greco up at 120 and was 6-2 wrestling 120 and 126 in Greco at Junior Duals. Vines will be tough at 113 or 120 and should be in the hunt at either weight and in both styles.

• Will Miller and Warren Hoyt both had outstanding seasons and wrestled superb at Junior Duals. Miller was one of the few wrestlers to go unbeaten in both styles. Hoyt was 5-3 in Greco and 7-1 in Freestyle. Neither got the opportunity to wrestle some of the top in their weight at Junior duals (except on a few occasions - Hoyt vs. 16U Fargo Runner-up Jared Simma of Kansas, etc.), but that shouldn’t be much of a factor in how well they will do in Fargo. Do they have the ability to win 6, 7 or 8 to make the podium? I don’t know, but they will be in the hunt.

• Stone, Latona, and Ortis are 3 others that should be in the hunt for a spot on the podium in Juniors.

• And New who has already proven the ability to make the podium at 16U. Can he do so at the Junior level in 2021?

• Each of the 16U’s, except Will Caneer, struggled a bit at 16U duals a month ago (primarily in Freestyle where they appeared a bit banged up after grinding through the Greco competition). So the first 16U to watch is Will Caneer. Caneer was 6-1 in Freestyle and 8-0 in Greco in Indiana - his only loss coming up at 220 to Logan Buchanan of Kansas. Caneer has to be on the radar to make a run for a spot on the podium.

• Brodie Christmas, Hudson Waldrop and Cale Tucker both wrestled well in Greco, but it looked like they were hurt heading into freestyle (particularly Christmas who didn’t get to wrestle a match in Freestyle at the duals).

• Will Anderson and Clay Johnston are two others that could make a deep run. Johnston was 5-1 in Greco (only losing to Manibog of Texas) and 4-3 in Freestyle. Anderson was 6-2 in Greco and 2-1 in Freestyle (splitting time with Caleb Wright).

Alabama has a real shot to have at least 3 Junior All Americans. It will be interesting to see how the 16U crew handles the grind of Fargo and whether they can win some close matches and make the podium as well.

Alabama Entries:

Men's - USA Junior Freestyle
113 Yanni Vines
120 Marcus Wright
132 Devin Stone, Bryce Wanagat, Lindrix Cooper
138 River Scruggs
145 Carson Reaves, James Latona, Logan Reaves
152 Jaden New, Gray Ortis
160 Will Miller
170 Aiden Knight, Joshua Kirby, Carson Freeman, Keenan Wyatt
182 Levi Miller, Kalob Johnstone, Warren Hoyt
220 Timbrook Hodge

Men's - USA Junior Greco-Roman
120 Marcus Wright, Yanni Vines
132 Bryce Wanagat, Lindrix Cooper
138 Devin Stone, River Scruggs
145 Carson Reaves, Logan Reaves, James Latona
152 Jaden New, Gray Ortis
160 Will Miller
170 Aiden Knight, Joshua Kirby, Carson Freeman, Keenan Wyatt
182 Levi Miller, Warren Hoyt
220 Timbrook Hodge

Men's - 16U Freestyle
88 Wallace Blue, Clark Box
100 Cale Tucker
106 Caleb Wright, Brodie Christmas
113 Noah Smith, William Anderson
120 Hudson Waldrop
138 Kristian Seals, Bryce Alli
145 Collin Burroughs, Clay Johnston, Jacob Wheeler, Brady Goodwin
182 Grayson Gulde, William Conlon, Ian Osbourn
195 Cole Carter, William Caneer, Mason Ellis
285 Willie Cox

Men's - 16U Greco-Roman
88 Wallace Blue, Clark Box
106 Cale Tucker, Caleb Wright, Brodie Christmas
113 Noah Smith, William Anderson
120 Hudson Waldrop
138 Kristian Seals, Bryce Alli
145 Collin Burroughs, Jacob Wheeler, Clay Johnston, Brady Goodwin
182 Grayson Gulde, William Conlon, Ian Osbourn
195 Cole Carter, William Caneer, Mason Ellis
285 Willie Cox

TEAM SOUTH CAROLINA has dropped their roster for Fargo and there are some notable names on the list - particularly on the girls side. “Fargo” 2021 is the 50th edition of the prestigious Junior Nationals event. The first event, held in the summer of 1971, in Iowa City was Freestyle only … so we have progressed significantly since those early days - adding Greco and then 16U’s (Cadets) and the Girls (at both the Junior and 16U levels). For a fantastic breakdown of the history of “Fargo” (in reality, Junior Nationals and the other national-level USA Wrestling “high school aged” events) you should check out the Fargo Almanac produced by Jason Bryant. It is 187 pages of pure “Fargo” gold (even though the event wasn’t held in Fargo for the first 20+ years).

The 2019 edition of the event had 5,000+ entries (yes many wrestled more than one style) and, given that we missed 2020, 2021 could feature an even larger number. South Carolina will bring 7 in JR Freestyle (up 1 from 2019), 7 in JR Greco (up 3 from 2019), 7 in Junior Women’s Freestyle (up 6 from 2019), 7 in 16U Freestyle (up 5 from 2019), 8 in 16U Greco (up 6 from 2019), and 2 in 16U Women’s Freestyle (the same # they brought in 2019). Overall, the Palmetto state will have 21 more entires in 2021 than they did in 2019.

South Carolina has had 39 All Americans and 6 Champions over the 50 years, but not many in recent memory. Terrance Thompson is the only National Champ on the boys side, winning Junior Greco at 98 lbs. in 1998. Genesis Patterson was the last girls freestyle champ in 2013, taking the title in 16U at 101 lbs. But 2021 could be where that drought ends. Dasia Yearby returns after taking 2nd at 164 lbs in 2019 and should be just one of a number of South Carolina girls who will be in the mix for a spot on the podium. Yearby, ranked #10 at 180 in the latest rankings, is joined by Zao Estrada and April Kelly. Estrada is registered to wrestle in both 16U and Junior Girls Freestyle, as well as 16U Greco. She’s ranked #2 at 112 in girls freestyle, but is also registered for 16U boys Greco. Kelly is ranked #13 at 127 and will make a run at the podium in Junior Freestyle. The SC girls have several others that sit just outside the top 25 rankings, but don’t be surprised to see Caitlyn Davis and Emma Burk in the “Juniors” and Annalise Maralit at “16U” make a run at the podium. The last boys All American was Trevor Mansfield in Greco in 2016. That isn’t likely to change in 2021, but keep an eye on Yannis Charles in 16U. He wrestled well at Junior Duals and figures to do well in 16U in Fargo.

South Carolina Entries:

Men's - USA Junior Freestyle
120 Bryson Harper
132 Ryu Brown
138 Jason Garay
152 Justin Hayes
195 Zachary Hornsby, Patrick Brophy
285 Dontavius Daniels

Men's - USA Junior Greco-Roman
120 Bryson Harper
132 Ryu Brown
138 Jason Garay
152 Justin Hayes
195 Zachary Hornsby, Patrick Brophy
285 Dontavius Daniels

Women's - USA Junior Freestyle
106 Zao Estrada
122 Isabella Hoffman
127 April Kelly
138 Caroline Gilstrap
144 Caitlyn Davis
152 Emma Burk
180 Dasia Yearby

Men's - 16U Freestyle
88 William Jakeway
126 Hassan Williams
132 Yannis Charles, Gavin Wilson
145 Anderson Hall
152 Steel Walker
182 Mason Parsons

Men's - 16U Greco-Roman
88 William Jakeway
94 Zao Estrada
126 Hassan Williams
132 Yannis Charles, Gavin Wilson
145 Anderson Hall
152 Steel Walker
182 Mason Parsons

Women's - 16U Freestyle
100 Annalise Maralit
106 Zao Estrada

Nationally ranked girls: Zao Estrada (No. 2 at 112, No. 25 P-4-P), April Kelly (No. 13 at 127), Dasia Yearby (No. 10 at 180).

Georgia finishes 4th in Greco Duals

Georgia is a really good example of how hard it is to make the All American pool at Junior Duals. How it takes a team to win the close duals … Georgia might have had several undefeated wrestlers if they had dropped to another pool (that’s not a knock on them or the other pools - it is simply a reality). The All American Pool is a grind and it was a battle to get there in the first place. They had 2 fierce battles in Pool A - a 36-33 win over Indiana Gold and a 34-33 win over Iowa before losing to Illinois 59-10. A loss to either Indiana or Iowa could have put them out of the top 6, but the team persevered.

The Indiana match wasn’t actually as close as the final score would lead you to believe - Georgia forfeited the final 2 weights (10 points) after securing the win. Still that wouldn’t have been possible without several hard fought wins earlier (Austin Thiel over Braxton Vest 5-4 at 132 comes to mind). Iowa was a different story - Georgia had to battle until the final match (and get a team point from Dominic DiTomasso in a 22-10 loss to Chad Bellis at 120 to secure the win). Illinois easily handled Georgia 59-10 in the pool A final - and would go on to win the title fairly easily.

Georgia started to Gold/Silver (All American Pool) with a loss to Oklahoma Blue, but rebounded with a 34-31 win over Wisconsin and a 33-32 win over California before losing to Illinois (again) and Minnesota Blue. Fourth overall in some outstanding duals and terrific individual matches. You can expect many of these kids to battle again in Fargo - this time with an individual stopsign on the line.

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Florida and Tennessee just miss on top 6

Tennessee shared Pool A with Georgia, Iowa, Illinois and others. Florida was in Pool C with Oklahoma Blue, California, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Texas A, and Alabama.

Tennessee wrestled Iowa tough in their opening match - losing 37-24. The boys from the Volunteer state bounced back with wins over Indiana 46-15 and Minnesota Red 39-29 to make the Pool A consi finals where they lost to Iowa (again 37-24). Tennessee lost their opening match in the Bronze/Copper Pool to Florida 39-25 and then beat Michigan Blue and Missouri before losing to Iowa (for the 3rd time) and Colorado. Tennessee finished 4th and was in every dual until the end.

Florida finished 3rd in Pool C - downing Texas A 41-24 before losing to top seed Oklahoma Blue 43-21. Wins over Alabama and Missouri gave them a shot at making the All American pool … but a 40-26 loss to California for true second put them into the Bronze/Copper Pool. Florida finished 3rd in the Bronze pool with wins over Tennessee and Missouri and losses to Colorado, Michigan Blue, and Iowa.

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Alabama finishes 5th in the Red Pool

Alabama lost their opening match to California before getting a bye to a match with Florida (also a loss). Alabama finished Pool C with a loss to Pennsylvania … the Red pool didn’t offer much relief as Team Alabama took losses to Kansas, Minnesota Red, Oklahoma Red, and Pennsylvania (again) before getting their only dual win of the tournament over Texas B.

The team overall might have struggled, but Alabama was competitive in every dual and had some outstanding individual performances.

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Five on the Rise

The Greco portion of the Junior Duals were filled with some outstanding individual performances. We’ve identified 5 below that really stood out (but could have increased that to ten without a problem … as a result - the others to watch section below highlights some of those that you should definitely keep an eye on heading into Fargo).

Another thing to keep in mind … Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee were all close (or in Georgia’s case) in the top pool - meaning that there were no easy matches. If you looked at some of the breakdowns from Cadets or Schoolboys you might have seen many wrestlers going undefeated. That’s just not the reality (for the most part) in Junior duals.

• 138 - David Panone (Georgia) - 5-1 with three really good wins over Moore of Illinois, Rodriguez of California and Miess of Wisconsin. Lost to Stevie Barnes of Iowa.

• 160 - Will Miller (Alabama) - simply outstanding - finishing 7-0 at 160. 5 tech falls, a fall and a 10-6 decision of Collin McCorkle of Pennsylvania. Didn’t get to see Kootnz, Wiley, or Rogge, but was great in the matchups he did get.

• 170 - Aidan Bowers (Tennessee) - Bowers was simply outstanding - 8-0 (with 8 tech falls). He didn’t look challenged in any match that I watched.

• 195 - Ryan Cody (Florida) - Cody was dominant in his 8 wins (7 techs and a fall) - in fact in each tech fall win he didn’t give up a point. Lost a close one to Voelker of Iowa 8-6 and lost to Kodiak Stephens of California.

• 220 - Ashton Davis (Tennessee) - 8-1 and dominated in all but one match. Only loss came to Kalob Runyan of Iowa by fall (he beat Runyan twice before 10-4 and 10-0. Davis has to be amongst the top contenders in Fargo at 220.

Others to watch:

• 106 - Tyler Washburn (Florida) - 6-4 at 106 with losses to Forbes and Ray Ray Harris. Looked great in his 6 wins - has to think he should have won the match vs. Jackson Blum of Michigan (lost 7-6).

• 113 - Christian Guzman (Florida) - 7-3 but with 2 losses that could have gone his way - a 9-9 loss on criteria to Hendrikson of Texas and a 12-11 loss to Stokes of Oklahoma. Had a nice fall of Nolan Wertanen of Michigan.

• 120/126 - Yanni Vines (Alabama) - 6-2 with one of those losses coming to Anthony Ferraro of Pennsylvania up at 126. Won some tight matches at 120 that helped Alabama stay in the duals. Only match that I’m sure Yanni would want back is the 11-1 loss to Grigor Cholakyan of California … Vines had beaten Grigor earlier this year in folkstyle.

• 120 - Bentley Ellison (Tennessee) - 6-2 and split matches with Garret Rinken of Iowa. Ellison’s only other loss came to Chad Bellis of Iowa (an 11-1 tech fall). Some really good wrestling from Bentley in Greco.

• 126 - Hayden Whidden (Florida) - 7-3 with good wins over Lozado, Dindl, and Caviness. Whidden can make the podium in Fargo, but he will need to figure out how to beat those on that next tier (Porter of Iowa and Moore of Missouri).

• 132 - Sebastian Melguizo (Florida) - 7-3 with tough losses to Jordan Cullors of Oklahoma and Joseph Airola of Colorado. Had an excellent 7-5 win over Keyveon Roller of Tennessee.

• 132 - Keyveon Roller (Tennessee) - 6-2 with two tough losses (to Melguizo 7-5 and to Walker Bents of Minnesota 5-3). Had a very good win over Kade Willis of Missouri.

• 138/145 - Dayne Dalrymple (Tennessee) - 5-4 with 2 losses to a very good Stevie Barnes of Iowa as well as a 1-1 criteria loss to Eli Ashcroft of Missouri. Go watch Dalrymple vs Gust of Minnesota - a 15-8 win but it was fun to watch.

• 145 - Michael Kilic (Georgia) - 5-1 - two outstanding matches to watch if you area fan … a 9-6 win over Nicco Ruiz of California and the 4-1 loss to Tommy Curran of Illinois.

• 182 - Gervacio Gonzalez (Tennessee) - 7-2. 1-2 vs. Ahrendsen of Iowa. Really good wins over Mariacher of Indiana and Nicolosi of Florida.

• 182/195 - Warren Hoyt (Alabama) - went 5-3 overall - 5-2 at 182 with one of his losses coming up at 195 vs. Meissner of Minnesota. Split matches with Richner of Pennsylvania and had a nice tech fall of Nicolosi of Florida.

• 182/195 - Matthew Singleton (Georgia) - 4-2 with a tough 4-3 loss to Deanthony Parker of Illinois. Singelton’s other loss came up at 195 to Stephens of California. Nice win over Ahrendsen of Iowa.

• 220 - Tristan Middlebrook (Florida) - 7-3 with some good wins (Kitchignham of Oklahoma to name one). Still needs to get wins over the likes of Runyon, Ferris, and Ashton Davis if he is going to make a run for the podium in Fargo.

• 285 - Chase Horne (Georgia) - 3-0 and split time with Valle at 285. Didn’t give up a point in his 3 wins … including wins over Fleshman and Beese. Would like to have seen Horne vs. Boersma of Illinois (but I’m sure that’s coming in July).