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The Breakdown - Episode 5 - Florida Cadets just miss on "All American" in Greco at Duals

Here is the breakdown from the 16U (Cadet) Greco National Duals that took place over 2 days in Westfield, Indiana. A breakdown of the 14U (Schoolboys) will be coming later today/tomorrow. And then we will get the Freestyle portion posted.


Not to bury the lead with results and other information … but the takeaway from the 2 days of action was that the Florida Cadets just missed making the All American in Greco and finished on top of the Bronze/Copper Pool. Georgia Blue finished 7th in the Bronze/Copper pool in Greco. Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia Red all had good individual performances, but struggled overall to make the top pools as a team.

Already know the team results? Jump down to the bottom of each section as we highlight some individuals that had a great 2 days (each style) of wrestling.

Let’s Start the Breakdown with a look at Greco …. Day 1 Pool Action

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Florida lost their opening match to Minnesota Blue (the overall eventual Champs), but rebounded with wins over Indiana Blue, Oklahoma Red, and Iowa (39-38 in a match that came down to a Sawyer Bartelt win) to take 3rd. Because Pennsylvania Blue lost to Minnesota in the finals … Florida had a shot at true second, but lost a close one to PA 42-31. As a result they would move to the Bronze/Copper Pool.


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Illinois downed Indiana Gold to win Pool B … Georgia Red finished with losses to Minnesota Red, Texas Red, and Michigan Blue to take 8th. Alabama lost to Indiana Gold 48-24, but got a nice win over Michigan Blue 49-24 in the consis. Alabama then lost to Minnesota Red and Texas Red to finish 6th.


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Tennessee suffered two very close losses - 40-35 to Missouri and 35-34 to Pennsylvania Red to fall to the 7th/8th place match in Pool C. They easily beat Delaware, but would be relegated to the Red Pool for Day 2. Oklahoma Blue finished 1st with Idaho 2nd.


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Georgia Blue received a by into the semis where they got the top seed California - losing 53-22 to the team that would eventually take first in the Pool (and 3rd overall). Georgia rebounded with a 65-16 win over Texas Blue and a 55-16 hammering of Nebraska 55-16 to take 3rd. Georgia lost a tough 45-30 match to Wisconsin for true second. Georgia joined Florida in the Bronze/Copper Pool for Day 2.


Day 2:

Minnesota Blue would end up taking the title with wins over Indiana Gold, Idaho, California (53-18) and Oklahoma Blue 48-26. In fact - Florida gave Minnesota Blue their toughest match of the tournament (minus the final vs. Oklahoma).


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Florida took care of business going 4-0 on the day … wins over Kansas Red (48-32), Colorado (42-33), and Georgia (47-30) as well as New Jersey (52-25) to finish 9th overall - one spot from All American. Georgia finished the tournament with losses to Colorado, Kansas Red, and Florida before downing Nebraska to finish 7th in the pool.


Oklahoma Red won the Yellow pool over Texas Red …

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Tennessee finished up the Greco part of the duals red hot with wins over Texas Blue, Indiana Blue, Michigan Blue before downing Alabama 37-30 to take the top spot in the Red Pool. Alabama also finished well - suffering their only loss of Day 2 to Tennessee.

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Georgia Red - which had several forfeits throughout their lineup - finished the tournament 5th in the Green Pool - getting their lone dual win over Michigan Red 44-18.


Five on the Rise from Cadet Greco

It should be noted that not all results in the duals are created equal. Because who you face on the second day depends entirely on how well your team wrestles in Day 1. So there are wrestlers with losses that make the list and others that went unbeaten that may not make the list. It is the nature of the beast as it relates to duals.

Also the difference between being a first-year or a second-year cadet is huge. I don’t know which “year cadet” each of the wrestlers are … but if any of the below are 1st-year cadets - you better lookout for next year.

These are the 5 that jumped off the screen … but the “other” listed below also had an outstanding two days of Greco:

  • 120 - Casen Roark (Tennessee) - Tough to pick between Roak, Sturgill, Desselle, and Mason Jakob. All four were unbeaten. Roark gets the nod here with two very good wins over Hudson Waldrop and Vincent Echavarry. Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to see Roark or his teammates against some of the best because Tennessee lost their first two matches. Don’t get me wrong - wins over Echavarry and Waldrop are outstanding, but we would have liked to have seen Roark vs. Kilkeary (who beat Heap on criteria).

  • 170 - Brian Burburija (Florida) - Burburija was simply superb this weekend in Greco. He finished 9-0 with a nice 15-7 win over Cole Han-Lindemyer of Minnesota along with tech falls of Hoke Poe-Hogan of Georgia and Harvey Ludington of New Jersey. It was his 10-0 tech of Braden Brown of Oklahoma that was really impressive. We didn’t get to see him vs. David Malin of Wisconsin, but that match is likely to happen in the next month.

  • 182 - Omaury Alvarez (Georgia) - 8-0 splitting time between 182 and 195. 5 tech falls, 2 falls, and a forfeit. Only downside was we didn’t get to see Omaury vs. Smith of Utah or Schoppe of New Jersey (we didn’t even get to see him vs. Roos of Iowa or Shupp of Pennsylvania). When we did get to watch Omaury wrestle - he was outstanding, but he didn’t get the bigger names that he will likely need to beat to take home a stop sign from Fargo.

  • 195 - Sawyer Bartelt (Florida) - 9-0 at 195/220. Stepped in a big way time and again for Florida. The moment was never too big and he came through for the team on more than one occasion. Anyone that beats Sonny Sasso 5-0 has to be among the favorites heading into Fargo.

  • 220 - William Caneer (Alabama) - finished unbeaten (8-0 with 7 tech falls and a 13-9 decision win over Henry of Indiana). Unfortunately we didn’t get to see how Caneer matched up with Bartelt, Alvarez, Agresti, or Sonny Sasso. Still going unbeaten is a major accomplishment and should put him on the “watch list” for Fargo.

Others to keep an eye heading into Fargo:

  • 100 - Fredrick Mitchum (Florida) - 8-1 and was key to Florida hanging tough with Minnesota and beating Colorado. Wins over Lyden and Declan Strait pop out - but needs to be closer with wrestlers like Graff of Iowa if he wants to make the podium in Fargo.

  • 100 - Mason Jakob (Tennessee) - 7-0 (6-0 with a forfeit). Wins over Cale Tucker and Malachi Stratton. Didn’t get to see Jakob vs. Kleimann or Mauger - which would have been interesting. But Jakob used the opportunity to sharpen his skills and will be on the radar heading into Fargo.

  • 106 - Brodie Christmas (Alabama) - 5-2 (4-2 with a forfeit) - must find a way to beat the likes of Tishner if Brodie is going to make the podium in Fargo.

  • 106 - Christian Fretwell (Florida) - 7-2 (6-2 with a forfeit). Wrestled Ambrose of Minnesota tough, but the bar is Sam Herring if you want to be on the podium in Fargo (which was Fretwell’s only other loss).

  • 106 - Jack Anderson (Tennessee) - finished 4-3, but had a huge win over Brodie Christmas to help lead Tennessee to first in the Red Pool.

  • 113 - Will Anderson (Alabama) - 6-2 (5-2 with a forfeit) - lost a close one to Milano of Michigan otherwise was close to making the top 5. Needs to find a way to match Laudenbach of Minnesota if he wants to take home a stop sign from Fargo.

  • 120 - Anderson Heap (Florida) - 8-1 (6-1 with 2 forfeits) - only loss to Vincent Kilkeary (one of the top 120’s in the country) …. losing 7-7 on criteria. Heap is a good example of someone that could make the 5 above. His wins over Reece of Colorado and Casella of Kansas show he is ready to make a run for a stop sign in Fargo.

  • 126 - Logan Paradice (Georgia) - 5-3 (4-3 with a forfeit). Wrestled well in a very tough weight … lost a close one to Alarcon of Colorado, but will need to be more in the matches with the likes of Guffey and Koenig if Logan wants to make the podium in Fargo.

  • 126 - Hunter Sturgill (Tennessee) - Sturgill looks like a lock to make a run in Fargo. This weekend didn’t provide the matchup we wanted (vs. Alarcon, Robideau, Koenig, etc.) but wins over Magro, Jones, etc. did nothing to make us think he won’t be in the hunt in July.

  • 132 - Landon Desselle (Tennessee) - 6-0 … but similar situation as his unbeaten Tennessee teammates. Good wins over Graham and McClain, but we didn’t get to see Desselle vs. Smith, Root or Faglioni.

  • 132 - Cade Parent (Georgia) - 5-3 (4-3 with a forfeit) … similar to his teammate Paradice. Good wrestling in a very tough weight.

  • 138 - Brandon Cody (Florida) - 6-3 … beat wrestlers that you’d expect, but lost to Perentin New Jersey, Hanson of Minnesota, and Searcy of Indiana in matches that weren’t that close. Cody is on track to be in the hunt in Fargo, but will need to up the game if he wants to make the podium in Dakota.

  • 152 - Dominic Bambinelli (Georgia) - 7-1. Bambinelli is right there. Lost a close one to Khosravy of California 4-3. Didn’t get to see Bambinelli vs. Strick, Ferrari or Baker. That would give everyone a good idea if he is likely to make a run for a stop sign or not. Still 7-1 over some very competition.

  • 160 - Cordell White (Florida) - 8-1 with his only loss coming to Travis Smith of Minnesota. White wrestled extremely well and should be on every 160’s radar heading into Fargo … he’s not likely to win it, but he’s good enough to make the podium and knock some hammers off along the way.

  • 182 - Will Conlon (Alabama) - 4-1 with a loss to Schreiber of Tennessee. Won close matches and lost a close match.

  • 285 - Caleb Rodriguez (Florida) - 6-3. Lost to some hammers, but also had some very good wins. Rodriguez was an important piece of the puzzle for Florida and there is no way they finish 9th without him. Still … he is close to making a run in Fargo, but needs to be more in matches like vs. Wyatt Smith and Sebastian Lopez if he wants to be on the podium.

There were a few others that wrestled hard and did well vs. the competition, but the level wasn’t nearly what they can expect to see in Fargo. It will be interesting to see which Cadets use this experience as a springboard to winning some tough matches in late July.

The Breakdown - Episode 4 - Schoolboy and Cadet Duals Update Day 1

Simple results - lots of nuance lost in just the reporting of results. Will provide greater detail once we actually wrap-up the Greco and move onto Freestyle.

The bets example of what am I talking about is Anderson Heap of Florida . Heap’s name won’t show up below - he went 4-1 with his only loss coming to #1 Vincent Kilkeary of Pennsylvania on criteria (after wrestling 5 tough matches). But too little time to dig into that at the moment. Expect that level of analysis once we get the final breakdown.

Still good day for both Georgia and Florida Cadets … were in the hunt for All American pool status and came up just short. Tennessee Cadets lost two very close matches and fell all the way to 7th in their pool. We could see a Florida vs. Georgia schoolboy matchup tomorrow which will be fun, but Tennessee will finish above all others in the SE at schoolboys after making the Bronze/Copper Pool.

14U (Schoolboys) Greco

Pool C

  • Tennessee finishes 4th (2-2 on the day)

    • Beat Georgia 46-36

    • Lost to Iowa 63-15

    • Beat Nebraska 51-30

    • Lost to Claifornia 60-20

  • Georgia finishes 5th (2-2 on the day)

    • Lost to Tennessee 46-36

    • Beat Alabama 56-25

    • Lost to California 61-17

    • Beat Nebraska 55-25

  • Alabama finishes 7th (1-2 on the day)

    • Lost to Iowa 67-10

    • Lost to Georgia 56-25

    • Beat Michigan Red 57-24

Pool D

  • Florida finishes 5th (2-2 on the day)

    • Lost to Maryland 36-36

    • Beat Pennsylvania Red 37-36

    • Lost to Indiana Gold 49-33

    • Beat Oklahoma Blue 48-34

Unbeaten Individuals after Day 1

  • 71 - Everett Stephens (Florida)

  • 77 - Cooper McArthur (Georgia)

  • 87 - Lincoln Sledzianowski (Florida)

  • 92 - William Phillips (Tennessee)

  • 106 - Kiowa Vines (Alabama)

  • 106/110 - Zac Bosken (Tennessee)

  • 114 - Bradley Williams (Alabama)

  • 130/136 - Gavin Isaacs (Florida)

  • 136 - Moose Bringer (Georgia)

  • 165 - Michael Mocco (Florida)

  • 187 - Alexander Smith (Florida)

  • 250 - Sebastian Garcia (Georgia)


16U (Cadets) Greco

Pool A

  • Florida finishes 3rd (3-2 on the day)

    • Lost to Minnesota Blue 53-25

    • Beat Indiana Blue 52-26

    • Beat Oklahoma Red 52-24

    • Beat Iowa 39-38

    • Lost to Pennsylvania Blue 42-31 for true second

Pool B

  • Alabama finishes 6th (1-2 on the day)

    • Lost to Indiana Gold 48-24

    • Beat Michigan Blue 49-24

    • Lost to Texas Red 40-37

  • Georgia Red finishes 8th (0-3 on the day)

    • Lost to Minnesota Red 66-11

    • Lost to Texas Red 66-10

    • Lost to Michigan Blue 50-13

Pool C

  • Tennessee finishes 7th (1-2 on the day)

    • Lost to Missouri 40-35

    • Lost to Pennsylvania Red 35-34

    • Beat Delaware 47-19

Pool D

  • Georgia Blue finishes 3rd (2-2 on the day)

    • Lost to California 53-22

    • Beat Texas Blue 65-16

    • Beat Nebraska 55-15

    • Lost to Wisconsin 45-30 for true second

Unbeaten Individuals after Day 1

  • 100 - Mason Jakob (Tennessee)

  • 120 - Casen Roark (Tennessee)

  • 126 - Hunter Surgill (Tennessee)

  • 132 - Landon Desselle (Tennessee)

  • 138 - Connor Payne (Tennessee)

  • 145 - Latrell Schafer (Georgia)

  • 160 - Tyler Secoy (Georgia)

  • 170 - Brian Burburija (Florida)

  • 182 - William Conlon (Alabama)

  • 182 - Landon Williams (Tennessee)

  • 182 - Ian Osbourn (Alabama)

  • 182/195 - Omaury Alvarez (Georgia)

  • 195 - Sawyer Bartelt (Florida)

  • 195/220 - William Caneer (Alabama)

National Preps Wrap Up

Nineteen current or former SE hammers made the podium at National Preps this past weekend. Former Georgia Hammer (and current Wyoming Seminary wrestler) led the way as he took the top step at 170 lbs. Below is a brief wrap-up of each wrestler that made the podium.


The Lightweights (106-132)

  • Alex Ropski of Christian Brothers (TN) took 8th at 106. He came in as the #8 seed and finished the weekend 3-3 - his 3-0 decision of Henry Kopf of North Carolina put him on the podium.

  • North Carolina’s Pearce Phillips climbed to the #6 spot on the podium at 113. He came in the as the #10 seed and dropped his opening match to #7 seed Lynn Rozynski. Phillips got 3 wins in a row - including a 2-1 decision over TJ Langley of PA to make the 5th/6th match. Phillips lost to Rozynski again for 5th (but this time in sudden victory).

  • Former Florida hammer Kai Owen (now at Wyoming Seminary) finished 3rd at 120 and he was joined on the podium by Baylor’s Jackson Bond who was 5th. Owen was the 6 seed and finished the weekend 5-1 (his only loss coming to eventual Champ Nico Provo. Bond was the #4 seed and lost in the semis to Brennen Cernus of PA … finished the weekend 4-2.

  • Dayne Dalrymple finished his career at Christian Brothers in the #7 spot on the podium at 132. The 132 lb. bracket was stacked … Dayne lost in the quarters to eventual Champ Jimmy Harrington and then lost in the consi quarters to Christian Colman of PA. Dalrymple finished his high school career with a hard fought 1-0 decision of CJ Shea to take 7th.

The Middleweights (138-170)

  • Providence Day’s (NC) Nathaniel Insko and Tennessee’s Mason Alley made the podium at 152. Insko finished 6th and Alley was 7th. Insko, who wasn’t seeded, downed Alley 2-1 in the Round of 16 before he lost to Baller of Texas in the quarters. Alley rebounded from that early loss to with 3 in a row to make the podium - including a 1-0 decision over Tennessee’s Ian McGehee in the bloodround.

  • 160 featured a rematch of the Tennessee Division 2 160 lb. State Finals. McCallie’s Gavin Cagle got the takedown over Christian Brothers Aidan Bowers in overtime of their semifinal match to avenge his loss to Bowers in the state final. Cagle lost a 6-4 decision to Massachusetts Cesar Alvan in the finals. Bowers won his consi semi before dropping his 3rd/4th match to Nate Taylor 4-2.

  • 170 featured a ton of Georgia hammers - none of which still wrestle in Georgia. Wyoming Seminary’s Gabe Arnold downed McCallie’s (TN) Alex Whitworth 5-1 to take the title. Arnold beat good friend (and current Baylor hammer) Omaury Alvarez 5-1 in the semis … Alvarez rebounded to finish 3rd. Three Georgia wrestlers in the top 3 spots and none representing Georgia.

The Upperweights (182-285)

  • Tennessee was well represented at 182 - with Gunnar Garriques (Baylor) and Gervacio Gonzalez (Christian Brothers) both making the podium. Garriques finished 4th after dropping his semifinal match to eventual Champ Jack Wehmeyer of PA. Gonzalez bounced back from a quarterfinal loss to eventual Runner-up TJ Stewart to take 6th. Garriques downed Gonzalez 3-1 in the consi semis.

  • Baylor and Christian Brothers were represented on the podium at 195 as well. Baylor’s David Harper made a run for the top step - falling to PA’s Caden Rogers 3-1 in the finals. Neither was challenged on their way to the finals. Christian Brothers Connor Billingsley dropped a tough 3-1 decision to PA’s Andrew Connolly in the quarters. Billingsley rebounded with a 9-2 decision of Maryland’s Jeremiah Aybar to make the podium.

  • Montgomery Bell Academy’s Gabe Fisher made the finals at 220 - eventually losing to PA hammer Nic Feldman. It was a nice run by Fisher that included a solid 3-1 win over Alex Semenenko. Fisher was joined on the podium by fellow Tennessean Asher Hodge who took 7th.

  • Max Fisher finished up his season going 3-3 in a deep 285 lb. weight and finished 8th. He lost to eventual Champ and #1 seed Coltin Deery of PA in the quarters and then beat Beau Edwards of Texas 1-0 to make the podium.