TEAM TENNESSEE dropped their Fargo roster and there are some serious “stopsign” hunters on the list. Everyone - including the other SE states better watch out for these hammers. “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. Tennessee will bring 21 in JR Freestyle (up 13 from 2019), 14 in JR Greco (up 8 from 2019), 8 in Junior Women’s Freestyle (up 3 from 2019), 15 in 16U Freestyle (up 4 from 2019), 11 in 16U Greco (up 2 from 2019), and 8 in 16U Women’s Freestyle (up 7 from 2019). Overall, Tennessee will have 38 more entries in 2021 than they did in 2019 - with the majority coming in Junior Freestyle. After doing several episodes of What to Watch … the takeaway is that every SE state thus far has more wrestlers competing in Fargo than they did in 2019 (some “categories” might be fewer, but the overall numbers are up from 2019).
Cooper Flynn, the Virginia Tech signee, is the latest Junior All American from Tennessee after placing 7th in Freestyle and 4th in Greco in 2019. Flynn was very good in 2019 - he is significantly better in 2021 and will certainly be in the hunt for a stopsign (especially considering he is listed to be back at 120 again in 2021). The 16U crew had 4 Freestyle All Americans in 2019 including Cody Chittum and Ashton Davis … both now on the Junior roster. Chittum was also a Greco runner-up at 16U in 2019. The Girls have never had a Freestyle Champ or a 16U Champ or All American … the last Junior All American was Emma Walker in 2019. Can one of the Tennessee Ladies breakthrough and win it at Juniors or find the podium at 16U? I’d venture to guess the answer to that question is yes.
Who to Watch: So obviously the top name to watch is Cooper Flynn. Cooper was an AA in both styles at 120 in 2019 and he is going to be tough to beat at 120 in 2021. Cody Chittum has grown by leaps and bounds since his 2019 double AA performance. Chittum comes in the #1 ranked wrestler by Flowrestling at 145 and the #8 pound-for-pound wrestler in the country. He has to be amongst the favorites to claim a stopsign at 145. The other returning All American in the JR group is Ashton Davis. Ashton has looked superb over the last few months and will be in the mix for a stopsign at 220 … it isn’t inconceivable we could see any of these hammers against another SE hammer in the finals. If there is one wrestler, outside of Chittum, that grown the most in the 2 years since Fargo … it is Hunter Mason. Mason is now ranked #6 by Flowrestling at 132, but more than that I watched him really handle some top level competition at SE Regions and Elite 8 Duals over the last 8 months and he looks ready to take home a title in 2021. Dayne Dalrymple (freestyle), Aidan Bowers (Greco), Brayden Ivy (Freestyle) will all be in the hunt for a spot on the podium. Keep an eye on Gervacio Gonzalez, Kodiak Cannedy, and others in the JR group.
Look to Casen Roark, Hunter Sturgill, and Landon Desselle in the 16U group. Roark was 7-1 in Freestyle, 7-0 in Greco at 16U Duals and beat a very good Anderson Heap of Florida to take the SE Region title a couple of months back. Sturgill was 8-0 in Freestyle, 7-0 in Greco at 16U Duals and Desselle was 5-1 in Freestyle and 6-0 in Greco at 16U Duals. The level of competition is about to go way up, but these 3 appear ready to make a run in 16U. Mason Jakob was unbeaten, Jarvis Little was 7-1 in Freestyle and 5-2 in Greco, and Kaiden Bates was 6-2 in Freestyle and 6-1 in Greco at the 16U Duals. As stated earlier … “the level of competition is about to go way up” … it will be interesting to see each of these 3 in the middle of it.
Avery Kibelbek is back wrestling for Tennessee after spending the past year at Wyoming Seminary in Pennsylvania. She is ranked #25 and should be in the mix to make the podium in Juniors at 106. Tennessee’s best shot to have their first 16U All American is Maggie Graham. Graham is ranked #4 and has spent much of the last month preparing and competing at the Pan Am’s. She will compete in both Juniors and 16U, but has to be amongst the favorites to claim a title in 16U. Ella Murphey, Ella-Lina Gonzalez, and Katelynn Hernandez are a few of the others to keep an eye this week.
Tennessee Entries:
Men's - USA Junior Freestyle
120 Cooper Flynn
126 Calvin Eason
132 Hunter Mason, Sammy Shires
138 James Dalrymple
138 Brayden Ivy
145 Sean Pitts, Noah Kang, Cody Chittum
152 Benjamin Stigamier, Finley Jameson, Colby Dalon
160 Ian McGehee, Kodiak Cannedy, Tanner Willett
182 Gervacio Gonzalez
195 Connor Milhorn, Jose Suarez-Pereira
220 Ashton Davis, Richmond Flowers
285 Ryan Smith
Men's - USA Junior Greco-Roman
126 Cooper Flynn
132 James Dalrymple
138 Hunter Mason
145 Sean Pitts, Cody Chittum
152 Finley Jameson
160 Ian McGehee, Tanner Willett
170 Aiden Bowers
182 Gervacio Gonzalez
195 Connor Milhorn, Jose Suarez-Pereira
220 Ashton Davis
285 Ryan Smith
Women's - USA Junior Freestyle
106 Avery Kibelbek
112 Ella-Lina Gonzalez, Grace Elliott
117 Melanie Val
122 Katelynn Hernandez, Kristen Allsup
132 Rontaysia Payne
200 Shayra Calderon
Men's - 16U Freestyle
100 Mason Jakob
113 Jarvis Little, Brody Gobbell, Cash Graziano
120 Jackson Wimsatt, Casen Roark
126 Hunter Sturgill, Noah Creque
132 Landon Desselle
145 Spencer Kon
152 Taylor Wimsatt
160 Kaiden Bates
182 Jensen Schreiber
195 Nicolas Jenkins, William Parodi
Men's - 16U Greco-Roman
100 Mason Jakob
113 Cash Graziano, Jarvis Little
120 Jackson Wimsatt
126 Hunter Sturgill, Noah Creque
132 Landon Desselle
152 Taylor Wimsatt
160 Kaiden Bates
182 Jensen Schreiber
195 Nicolas Jenkins
Women's - 16U Freestyle
112 Ella-Lina Gonzalez
117 Melanie Val
122 Katelynn Hernandez, Kristen Allsup
127 Caila Weatherspoon
144 Maggie Graham
152 Genesis Gilmore
200 Ella Murphey
FloWrestling nationally ranked men: Cody Chittum (No. 1 at 145, No. 8 P-4-P), Hunter Mason (No. 6 at 132),
Nationally ranked girls: Avery Kibelbek (No. 25 at 112), Maggie Graham (No. 4 at 152), Ella Murphey (No. 14 at 200),