Tough to get a great picture of Georgia’s Gabe Arnold because he has been just a buzzsaw on his way to the 16U 170 lb. Freestyle finals. Arnold is 6-0 and has outscored his opponents 54-2. He gets a tough Cody Merrill of California in the finals tomorrow afternoon. Georgia sits in 13th in the team race and Arnold will be joined in tomorrow’s All American round by Drew Gorman (113), Latrell Schafer (145), Dominic Bambinelli (152), and Tyler Secoy (160). All four of Arnold’s Georgia teammates have yet to determine their place on the podium … each will wrestle in at least one consolation match in the morning.

Team Florida also have 5 16U All Americans in the mix … each in the consolations. Brian Burburija and Roman Garcia join North Carolina’s Jax Forrest in the consi semis (waiting on an opponent in the morning - Burburija, Garcia and Forrest will each place no lower than 6th). Joining Burburija and Garcia on the podium tomorrow are their Team Florida teammates Ethan Mojena (138), Ethan Rivera (106), and Sawyer Bartelt (195). Florida sits in 19th as we head into the final few matches of the 16U freestyle tournament.

FYI … the consolations will be wrestled in the morning starting at 9 am Fargo time and the All American round is scheduled to begin in the early afternoon (but the schedule may change a bit depending on where USA Wrestling takes a break).

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Day 1 in Junior Freestyle and Tons of Fireworks

Tons to go through in Juniors … so we will keep it simple. All of the wrestlers on the championship side are into the round of 16. Consolations are into the Round of 16 #1 (could be less if the weight class is smaller, but I’m fairly certain that most are into the RD 16 #1 - meaning they have to win 4 matches tomorrow to make the podium. Let’s take it by state …

Alabama (1 Championship; 1 Consolations)

• Championship

  • Carson Freeman (170)

• Consolation

  • Yanni Vines (120)

Florida (12 Championship; 6 Consolations)

• Championship

  • Vincent Biondoletti (100)

  • Tyler Washburn (106)

  • Braden Basile (126)

  • Kai Owen (126)

  • Sebastian Melguizo (126)

  • Danny Nini (132)

  • Thomas Crook (138)

  • Myles Griffin (145)

  • Jonathan Ley (152)

  • Sergio Desiante (160)

  • Tyre Smith (220)

  • Ethan Vergara (285)

• Consolation

  • Robert Allcroft (100)

  • Cooper Haase (120)

  • Eligh Rivera (132)

  • Brennan Van Hoecke (138)

  • Daniel Williams (160)

  • Ryan Cody (195)

Georgia (5 Championship; 4 Consolations)

• Championship

  • Cole Hunt (113)

  • Caleb Henson (152)

  • Michael Kilic (152)

  • Noah Pettigrew (220)

  • Chase Horne (285)

• Consolation

  • Robert Austin Westbrook (126)

  • RJ Weston (160)

  • Nolan Pozzobon (182)

  • Logan Webster (220)

North Carolina (0 Championship; 3 Consolations)

• Consolation

  • Joseph Baisley (106)

  • Matthew Vindigni (106)

  • Carson Floyd (195)

Tennessee (4 Championship; 2 Consolations)

• Championship

  • Cooper Flynn (120)

  • Hunter Mason (132)

  • Kodiak Cannedy (160)

  • Ashton Davis (220)

• Consolations

  • Brayden Ivy (138)

  • Ryan Smith (285)

I’m going to start with the 16U women in this post and will follow it up with Episode 20 where we talk about both the 16U and Junior men. There is a ton to get to in this post (and we’ve got 3 interviews plus the All American results) - so I decided to break it into 2 episodes. It is also important to note that when everything is said and done from Fargo, we will do a full recap of the action (including all of the wrestlers that competed). But given how late it is in much of the Southeast and the amount of work still in front of me … this will only focus on the 16U All Americans.

We begin - at the beginning. 94 lbs. - the smallest weight in the field and Florida’s first National Champion since 2013. Valerie Solorio used her underhooks to control the action and really bullied Gabriella Gomez of Illinois around to claim the title. Gomez scored the first points on a takedown in the 1st period, but Solorio took control from there … scoring 2 takedowns plus a step-out point to lead 5-2 at the break. She controlled the action in the 2nd period - giving up just one more point and won 6-3.

Solorio was one of 4 All Americans from Florida. She was joined on the podium by Clare Booe (4th at 100), Alyssa Favara (6th at 200), and Destiny Madison (8th at 180). With 4 All Americans, Florida finished 11th in the team race (which California won with ease - they had 1 champ, 3 other finalists, and another 9 All Americans). I got an opportunity to speak with 3 of the Florida All Americans …

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Estrada and Gillmore come up just short of a National Title

South Carolina’s Zao Estrada wrestled superb to reach the finals at 112, but couldn’t figure out a way to get past Cecilia Williams of Michigan. Williams got a takedown in the 1st period and took a 2-0 lead to the break. Estrada evened the score 2-2 in the 2nd, but Williams was able to get another and seal the 4-2 win. Tennessee’s Genesis Gillmore ran into the an absolute hammer in Jasmine Robinson of Texas in the 152 lb. finals. Robinson earned the fall in just over a minute … she didn’t give up a point in the tournament and was voted the 16U outstanding wrestler. Tennessee had another All American in Maggie Graham at 144. Graham bounced back from her semifinal match to down Lizzie Shunn of Utah 10-4 to finish 3rd. Georgia’s Genevieve An and North Carolina’s Hallie Misplay round out our Southeast All Americans. An finished 5th at 138 and Misplay was 8th at 132. I got the chance to talk with both of them briefly after their tournaments …

26 16U Women began the day … and 3 SE hammers are in the finals tomorrow afternoon

Florida’s Valarie Solorio, South Carolina’s Zao Estrada, and Tennessee’s Genesis Gilmore will each wrestle for a Fargo 16U National title tomorrow afternoon. Here is a quick recap of their path to the finals, as well as, the other All Americans at their weight.

94 lbs. Valarie Solorio (FL) vs. Gabriella Gomez (IL) for 1st. Solorio had a 12-0 “tech” of Annalise Maralit of South Carolina, a 14-8 win over Gigi Bragg of Michigan, and a 13-0 “tech” of Megan Valdez of California to reach the finals opposite Gomez.

100 lbs. Clare Booe (FL) will wrestle Juliana Alejandro (NV) for 3rd. Booe only loss came to Minnesota’s Aspen Blasko in the 2nd round (Blasko will wrestle for 5th tomorrow). Other than that loss - Booe has been on a tear … with a 30 second fall, a 10-2 win, a 9-0 win over Aubre Krazer of Pennsylvania (who will wrestle for 7th), and a 7-0 win over Angelina Cassioppi of Illinois (Cassioppi will wrestle for 5th tomorrow).

112 lbs. Zao Estrada (SC) vs. Cecelia Williams (MI) for 1st. Estrada is a beast on top and really made quick work of her opponents once she was able to get to that position. She “teched” her way to the finals (11-0, 12-0, 14-2, and 12-1) - 3 of her opponents also made the podium as All Americans.

132 lbs. Hallie Misplay (NC) will wrestle Brenya Crahan (MO) for 7th. Misplay went 4-2 on the day with a pair of losses of Iowa’s Lilly Luft (she lost to her in the opening round and then again in the consi quarters). Hallie had 4 consecutive wins to make the podium.

138 lbs. Genevieve An (GA) will wrestle Taylor Miess (CO) for 5th. An had 2 wins to make the semis, but dropped her semifinal match to Lydia Roope of Michigan and then lost to Attalia Watson of Illinois in the consi semis.

144 lbs. Maggie Graham (TN) will wrestle Lizzie Shunn of Utah for 3rd. Graham finished the day 5-1 with her only loss coming in the quarters to finalist Nebi Tsarni of Maryland.

152 lbs. Genesis Gilmore (TN) vs. Jasmine Robinson (TX) for 1st. Gilmore went 3-0 with 3 falls, but it was far from easy. She was in battles vs. Emily Brown of New York and Abigail Ervasti of Minnesota. She takes on a very tough Jasmine Robinson tomorrow for the title at 152.

180 lbs. Destiny Madison (FL) will wrestle Kiley McClain (CA) for 7th. Madison lost her opening match to eventual finalist Kiara Ganey, but battled back to make the podium at 180.

200 lbs. Alyssa Favara (FL) will wrestle Madisen Pillars (WA) for 5th.

Summary: 3 finalists and 9 total All Americans from the SE. Florida currently sits in 11th in the team race and with a few wins tomorrow has an opportunity to break into the top 10. Florida put 4 of their 5 wrestlers on the podium.

FYI … this was just a quick interview with Valerie after her semifinal win. She is the first 16U finalist for Florida since 2013 when Nadie Fiege won the title at 198 lbs.

Fiege is currently Florida’s only 16U Champ. Valerie will look to change that tomorrow.

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98 16U Men began their quest for a Fargo stopsign … just 18 are still in the hunt for a spot on the podium.

Tough day for some - while others cruised into the quarters.

Dominic Bambinelli, Gabe Arnold, and Latrell Schafer of Georgia cruised into their quarters. Drew Gorman also made the quarters for Georgia, but had to battle vs. Marcello Milani of Michigan (10-8) in order to get there.

Brian Burburija, Ethan Mojena, and Roman Garcia each took care of business for Florida. Garcia has yet to allow a point to be scored as he finished the day 3-0 at 160. Tennessee’s Casen Roark (120) and North Carolina’s Jax Forrest (113) each looked superb in their brackets and are into the quarters.

Down, but not out … these wrestlers lost on day 1, but are still alive in the consis.

Wallace Blue of Alabama and William Jakeway of South Carolina are the only Cadets from their states in the hunt for a spot on the podium. Savoy New is in the consi’s for North Carolina at 170. Florida has three in the consis in Kendrick Hodge, Ethan Rivera, and Sawyer Bartelt. Bartelt lost to Pennsylvania’s Sonny Sasso in the Round of 32 and has won 3 in a row to get to this point.

Georgia also have 3 in the consolation bracket. Albert Butler at 220, Omaury Alvarez at 182, and Tyler Secoy at 160. Secoy lost his first match to Travis Smith of Minnesota and has won 4 in a row to get to this point in the bracket (including wins over Elijah Penton and Omer Barak of Florida) … Smith (the person Tyler lost to in the opening round) is in the quarters at 160.

Wrestlers in the consis need two more wins to make the podium … our quarterfinalists can get on the podium with a win in their next match.