GA’s Gabe Arnold downs Rocco Welsh to claim the WNO 170 lb. title. You can find the full match at flowrestling.com
GA’s Caleb Henson down Jordan Williams 5-4 to claim the 152 lb. WNO title
FL’s Val Solorio gets up on Paatoriza, but can’t get the win at the Who’s #1 event at 94 lbs.
SC’s Zao Estrada gets the first takedown, but can’t keep the lead and falls to Diduch in their 117 WNO bout
Tennessee
Dayne Dalrymple ran through the Junior Greco 132 lb. bracket with little problem on his way to claiming a Fargo #stopsign. Tennessee had a very good week in Fargo with the Juniors really stepping up and taking some hardware back home. Cooper Flynn and Hunter Mason placed in Junior Freestyle and Ashton Davis placed in Junior Greco. No Junior women made the podium, but the 16U’s showed out as Genesis Gilmore made the finals at 152 and Maggie Graham finished 3rd at 144. None of the 16U men found the podium, but there were some outstanding performances there as well.
Dalrymple became the first Tennessee Junior Greco Roman champ since 2016 when Tommy Brackett won it at 170 (and just the second ever). Gilmore and Graham became the first ever 16U Women All Americans from Tennessee. Overall it was a really good trip for the Volunteer state. I am going to go through every wrestler and give their record (and any wins - or losses that really stood out to me). At the bottom of each group - I include a very short summary of who from Tennessee stood out to me over the course of the week. The goal of everyone in Fargo is to make the podium … so talking about that in reference to the number of All Americans for the state is important context.
16U Freestyle (No All Americans)
Mason Jakob (100) - 3-2
Brody Gobbell (113) - 1-2
Cash Graziano (113) - 0-2
Casen Roark (120) - 3-2 - Lost to Jacob Myers of Colorado (6th) and Maddox Shaw of Pennsylvania (5th)
Jackson Wimsett (120) - 0-2
Jarvis Little (120) - 3-2
Hunter Sturgill (126) - 3-2 - Lost to Mason Gibson of Pennsylvania (3rd)
Noah Creque (126) - 0-2
Landon Deselle (132) - 3-2
Taylor Wimsatt (152) - 0-2
Kaiden Bates (160) - 0-2
Jensen Schreiber (182) - 3-2
Nicolas Jenkins (195) - 1-2
William Parodi (195) - 0-2
16U Greco Roman (No All Americans)
Mason Jakob (100) - 1-2
Cash Graziano (113) - 0-2 - Lost to Marcello Milani of Michigan (3rd)
Jarvis Little (120) - 1-2
Hunter Sturgill (126) - 3-2 - Lost to Aaron Lucio of Michigan (4th) and Ayden Rice of South Dakota (3rd)
Noah Creque (126) - 1-2
Landon Deselle (132) - 1-2 - Lost to Alex Mentzer of South Dakota (8th) and Gabriel Bouyssou of Rhode Island (7th)
Kaiden Bates (160) - 1-2
Jensen Schreiber (182) - 0-2
Nicolas Jenkins (195) - 1-2
16U Women (2 All Americans)
Ella-lina Gonzalez (112) - 2-2 - Lost to eventual Runner-up Zao Estrada of South Carolina and Joy Cantu of Indiana (8th)
Melanie Val (117) - 2-2 - Lost to Elena Ivaldi of California (3rd)
Katelynn Hernandez (122) - 1-2
Kristen Allsup (122) - 2-2
Caila Weatherspoon (127) - 0-2
Maggie Graham (144) - 3rd - All American - 6-1 - Lost to eventual Champion Nebi Tsarni of Maryland; Beat Lizzie Shunn of Utah (4th), Faith Bartoszek of Wisconsin (5th), Kaylie Peterson of Indiana (8th)
Genesis Gilmore (152) - 2nd - All American - 3-1 - Lost to eventual Champ (and outstanding wrestler) Jasmine Robinson of Texas; Beat Abigail Ervasti of Minnesota (5th) and Gianna Falise of Colorado (8th)
16U Breakdown
Obviously the women took the spotlight for the 16U Tennessee crew. Maggie Graham and Genesis Gilmore both made the podium - marking the first time a 16U woman has made the podium. Gilmore went 3-1 and fell to the eventual Champ - and the tournament’s outstanding wrestler (in both 16U and Juniors) - Jasmine Robinson. Graham’s only loss also came to the eventual champ in Nebi Tsarni of Maryland in the quarters. Hard fought wins over Shunn and Bartoszek put Graham on the podium in 3rd. Ella-lina Gonzalez is another of note … her two losses came to the eventual runner-up and to Cantu who finished 8th.
No boys were able to climb on the podium in 2021 - but that doesn’t mean there weren’t some outstanding performances. Four names stood out to me after a few days of wrestling:
Hunter Sturgill - Sturgill wrestled both styles and finished 3-2 in both … losing to Mason Gibson (3rd in Freestyle) and All Americans Ayden Rice (3rd in Greco) and Aaron Lucio (4th in Greco). You have to find ways to beat those guys, but Sturgill is right on the cusp of breaking through to a spot on the podium.
Casen Roark made a nice run in Freestyle before falling to All Americans Jacob Myers and Maddox Shaw. He is another 16U that is very close to making the podium and pusing his way into the national conversation.
Jarvis Little and Landon Desellle wrestled better in Freestyle than Greco, but finished the week with a .500 record in both styles combined. Little had nice wins over Hudson Waldrop of Alabama and others. Deselle lost to All Americans Mentzer and Bouyssou in Greco. They are two names to keep an eye as we move into 2021-2022.
Junior Freestyle (2 All Americans)
Cooper Flynn (120) - 3rd - All American - 8-1 with his only loss coming to eventual Champ Kannon Webster of Illinois on a controversial call (I’ll explain below); Wins over Jett Strickenberger of Colorado (4th); Grigor Cholakyan of California (5th); Sean Seefelt of Ohio (8th); Max Black of Colorado (7th)
Calvin Eason (126) - 0-2
Hunter Mason (132) - 7th - All American - 7-2 - Loss to Emilio Ysaguirre Jr of Arizona (2nd) and Danny Nini of Florida (4th). Beat Greyson Clark of Wisconsin (8th).
Sammy Shires (132) - 3-2
Brayden Ivy (138) - 5-2
Dayne Dalrymple (138) - 2-2 - Lost to eventual Runner-up Casey Swiderski of Michigan
Noah Kang (145) - 0-2
Sean Pitts (145) - 0-2
Benjamin Stigmier (152) - 0-2
Colby Dalon (152) - 3-2
Finley Jameson (152) - 0-2
Ian Mcgehee (160) - 2-2
Kodiak Cannedy (160) - 4-2 - Good win over Gunner Filipowicz of Georgia; Both losses came to wrestlers that lost in the Bloodround.
Tanner Willett (160) - 1-2
Gervacio Gonzalez (182) - 0-2
Connor Milhorn (195) - 0-2
Jose Suarez-Pereira (195) - 0-2
Ashton Davis (220) - 3-2 - Loss to Noah Pettigrew of Georgia (3rd) and Andrew Blackburn-Forst of Illinois (7th)
Richmond Flowers (220) - 0-2
Ryan Smith (285) - 1-2
Junior Greco Roman (2 All Americans)
Dayne Dalrymple (132) - National Champ - 6-0 with wins over Anthony Aniciete of Nevada (2nd), Nash Singleton of Oregon (5th), Walker Bents of Minnesota (7th)
Finley Jameson (152) - 1-2 - Lost to Michael Kilic of Georgia (8th)
Tanner Willett (160) - 2-2
Aiden Bowers (170) - 1-2
Gervacio Gonzalez (182) - 5-2 - Lost to Drake Buchanan of Indiana (7th) and Asher Ruchti of Oregon (8th)
Connor Milhorn (195) - 0-2
Jose Suarez-Pereira (195) - 0-2
Ashton Davis (220) - 4th - All American - 7-2 - Lost to Kalob Runyan of Iowa (3rd) and Gary Powell of Ohio (6th); Wins over Joshua Howell of Indiana (5th) and Ghee Rachal of Illinois (8th)
Ryan Smith (285) - 0-2
16U Women (No All Americans)
Avery Kibelbek (106) - 2-2 - Lost to eventual Runner-up Kiely Tabaldo of California and Faith Cole of Missouri (3rd)
Ella-lina Gonzalez (112) - 2-2 - Lost to Avery Ashley of Texas (4th)
Grace Elliott (112) - 0-2
Melanie Val (117) - 1-2
Katelynn Hernandez (122) - 2-2
Kristen Allsup (122) - 1-2
Rontaysia Payne (132) - 3-2 - Lost to Taylor Fierbach-Graveman of South Dakota (6th)
Junior Breakdown
We have to start with Dalrymple. Dayne put together a nice run and claimed the 132 lb. Junior Greco title. He also wrestled well in freestyle - losing to eventual runner-up Swiderski early in the tournament. Go watch Dayne’s matches vs. Walker Bents, Panone, Singleton, and his final vs. Aniciete. He held position and scored points when he needed … put pressure on the other wrestler. Ashton Davis had a nice run in Greco - taking 4th and just missed a spot on the podium in freestyle … losing to Pettigrew and then Blackburn-Forst in the bloodround.
We had fireworks at 120 and 132 in Junior freestyle. First - the Cooper Flynn vs. Kannon Webster match. Flynn leads the entire match, but in reality “shut it down” with 30 seconds remaining and got hit with passivity (after having been warned earlier) with 4 seconds remaining. It rarely gets called and probably shouldn’t have been called in that match, but it was and it was the difference in the match. I love how Cooper bounced back and dominated his next 4 matches to take 3rd. He was there to win it, but after taking the loss he didn’t shut things down - he persevered. Virginia Tech got a good one in my opinion. Hunter Mason lost to eventual runner-up Ysaguirre in the Round fo 16 and then battled back to the consi quarters … where he took what many feel was a controversial 3-3 criteria loss to Florida’s Danny Nini. The Tennessees coaches were screaming about passivity the entire match and Nini was hit twice in the 1st period and then not in the 2nd. These two always go at it … and this one didn’t end up in Mason’s favor. Expect them to cross paths again at the GFC or Super 32 in the next few months.
So who didn’t make the podium, but also stood out …
Avery Kibelbek lost to Tabaldo and Cole at 106 - who finished 2nd and 3rd. She looked good on her attacks, but couldn’t get over the hump with 2 of the best 106’s in the tournament.
Gervacio Gonzalez bounced back from a poor freestyle showing to go 5-2 in Greco - losing to two All Americans.
Brayden Ivy went 5-2 in freestyle. Was bloodied and battered but in every match. His biggest challenge was losing his opening match and then having to fight through the backside. Won 5 in a row before falling to a very good James Harrington of Massachusetts.
Kodiak Cannedy - 4-2 in freestyle. Good win over Filipowicz. Both losses came to highly ranked wrestlers that fell in the bloodround. Junior 160 was widely regarded by the college coaches I spoke with - the most difficult bracket in Fargo in 2021.
North Carolina
The numbers in Fargo for Team North Carolina were down. I am certain it is because the NCHSAA moved the season back and the high school state tournament finished about 2 weeks before the trip to Fargo. There is no doubt there are other reasons why some kids decide to make the trip and others do not, but the pushing back of the high school season certainly had an impact. That said - the trip was very fruitful in many ways for Team NC. Jax Forrest earned double All American status in 16U’s and he was joined on the podium by Hallie Misplay who finished 8th in 16U freestyle at 132. Many of those that didn’t make the podium still had a good run in their bracket and some quality wins.
I am going to go through every wrestler and give their record (and any wins - or losses that really stood out to me). At the bottom of each group - I include a very short summary of who from North Carolina stood out to me over the course of the week. The goal of everyone in Fargo is to make the podium … so talking about that in reference to the number of All Americans for the state is important context.
16U Freestyle (1 All Americans)
Cooper Davis (113) - 0-2
Jax Forrest (113) - 4th - All American - 6-2 - Wild quarterfinal win over Jack Consiglio of Pennsylvania (6th), Win over Draegen Orine of Missouri (5th); Lost to eventual Champ Leo DeLuca of New Jersey and Vincent Kilkeary of Pennsylvania (3rd).
Tyler Tracy (138) - 2-2 - Lost a close 8-6 decision to Jeremy Manibog of Texas who lost in the Bloodround.
Savoy New (170) - 5-2 - Lost to Jared Schoppe of New Jersey (3rd)
16U Greco (1 All Americans)
Cooper Davis (120) - 1-2
Jax Forrest (120) - 6th - All American - 4-3 - Won four in a row to make the semis - Lost to Tanner Frothinger of Idaho (2nd), Garrett Reece of Colorado (4th), and Ruben Lorenzana of Ohio in a wild 13-13 loss on criteria.
Tyler Tracy (138) - 2-2
Savoy New (170) - 4-2 - Lost to Max Hanson of Minnesota (7th)
16U Women’s Freestyle (1 All Americans)
Reagan Riddick (112) - 2-2 - Lost to the eventual Champ Cecilia Williams of Michigan in the quarters; Lost to Presley Anderson of California (7th) 4-2 in the bloodround
Hallie Misplay (132) - 8th - All American - 4-3 - Lost to Lilly Luft of Iowa twice (5th) and Brenya Crahan of Missouri (7th)
16U Breakdown
The 16U’s from NC might have been small in number, but were mighty in the brackets. They wrestled excellently over their 3-4 days and were led by double All American Jax Forrest and Freestyle All American Hallie Misplay. As a group they finished 30-22 … few teams finish above .500 with several kids going 0-2. Obviously Forrest making the podium in both styles helps a great deal, but Savoy New also went 5-2 in freestyle and 4-2 in Greco (each time losing to a wrestler that made the podium). Reagan Riddick was 2-2 and both losses came to someone on the podium … losing 4-2 in the bloodround has to be tough.
Junior Freestyle (No All Americans)
Joseph Baisley (106) - 1-2
Matthew Vindigni (106) - 1-2
Damon Landreth (113) - 2-2 - Lost to eventual Champ Braeden Davis of Michigan
Isaac Gawronski (126) - 0-2 - Lost to Braden Basile of Florida (6th)
Cody Rutherford (132) - 0-2
Noah Tocaben (132) - 1-2
Greyson Harris (152) - 0-2 - Lost to Dylan Elmore of Kansas (8th)
Alexander Gunning (160) - 1-2
David Varner (160) - 1-2
Luke Masterton (160) - 1-2
Carson Floyd (195) - 3-2
Junior Greco (No All Americans)
Joseph Baisley (106) - 0-2 - Lost to Tyler Washburn of Florida (8th)
Matthew Vindigni (113) - 0-2 - Lost to Kenneth Hendriksen of Texas (5th)
Damon Landreth (120) - 1-2 - Lost to Jackson Gurule of New Mexico (4th)
Isaac Gawronski (120) - 1-2
Cody Rutherford (132) - 0-2 - Lost to Walker Bents of Minnesota (7th)
Noah Tocaben (138) - 0-2
Luke Masterton (160) - 3-2
Alexander Gunning (160) - 1-2
David Varner (170) - 1-2
Carson Floyd (195) - 2-2 - Lost to Nicholas Casad of Indiana (5th)
Junior Women’s Freestyle (No All Americans)
Reagan Riddick (117) - 2-2
Jo-Ellen Hutto (127) - 3-2
Aaliyah Milligan (164) - 1-2
Ella Beam (200) - 1-2 - Lost to Trinity Monaghan of Pennsylvania (7th)
Junior Breakdown
None of the Juniors had a breakout performance like Jax, but several wrestled well. Carson Floyd was 3-2 in Freestyle and 2-2 in Greco … finishing with a better than .500 record in Fargo. Damon Landreth ran into All Americans early in his brackets (to Basile in Freestyle and to Gurule in Greco). The other notable Junior performance for the guys was Luke Masteron that finished 3-2 in Greco and was 1-2 in Freestyle. On the women’s side … Hutto was 3-2 in a bracket that included a round of 128 (meaning there were between 65 and 128 women in the 127 lb. bracket for Junior Women). Hutto lost her first match and then rallied to win 3 in a row before being eliminated. Riddick battled hard in both the 16U and JR brackets and is certainly a name to watch out for moving forward.