Welcome to the Men’s tournament and we began the day in Junior Freestyle - easily the toughest tournament of the week. That’s not discounting any of the others - being a Fargo All American is a great accomplishment whether you are talking 16U, Greco, etc. but the fact is … Junior Men is another animal altogether. So maing Day 2 is an accomplishment of the tournament is an accomplishment - but tomorrow the rubber meets the road and as one coach said, “tomorrow things get real. If you want to be the best in the country, you must survive and advance Day 2.”

So let’s take a look at who survived Day 1 and where they sit as we head to day 2 in Junior Men. Given the time it takes to cover them all … those listed below are still on th championship side - plenty of others are still grinding through the backside.

Alabama (2 Championship; 14 Consis)

• #15 Daishun Powe (150) - 3-0 with 3 10-0 superior decisions; NEXT: #18 Tre Haines (WA)

• Oliver Howard (175) - 2-0 (12-1 and 16-9); NEXT: #12 Mason Ontiveros (CA)

Florida (15 Championship; 23 Consis)

• #16 Roderick Brown (106) - 1-0 (10-0); NEXT #17 Gabe Swann (GA)

• #8 Liam Davis (113) - 1-0 (11-0); NEXT: #25 Cooper Himz (IA)

• #24 Sebastian Degennaro (126) - 2-0 (7-2; 12-1); NEXT: #9 Lukas Littleton Mascaro (PA)

• #19 Christian Fretwell (132) - 2-0 (10-0, 8-6); NEXT: #14 Jake Hockaday (IN)

• Daniel Aranda (132) - 3-0 (4-2; 10-0; 4-4); NEXT: #17 Ryan Kennedy (OH)

• Jayce Paridon (138) - 2-0 (Fall, 12-2); NEXT: #14 Joshua Requena (CA)

• Maximus Brady (138) - 3-0 (10-0; 14-4; 10-0); NEXT: #4 Layne Kleimann (UT)

• Charlie Desena (138) - 2-0 (11-1; 10-0); NEXT: #8 Dmitri Alarcon (CO)

• #23 EJ Solis (138) - 2-0 (11-0; 11-1); NEXT: #10 Dalton Perry (PA)

• #13 Zeno Moore (144) - 2-0 (10-0; 13-0); NEXT: #20 Owen Mcmullen (PA)

• #9 Anderson Heap (150) - 2-0 (12-1, 12-2); NEXT: #24 Jake Moon (TX)

• #14 CJ Torres (157) - 3-0 (2 Falls; 10-0); NEXT: #19 Mario Carini (CA)

• #27 Gunner Holland (165) - 2-0 (10-0; 10-0); NEXT: #6 Evan Roudebush (IN)

• #8 Robert Kuckarczk (190) - 1-0 (12-0); NEXT: #25 Brock Rios (CA)

• #28 Alex Smith (215) - 2-0 (13-2, 13-2); NEXT: #5 Angelo Posada (CA)

Georgia (13 Championship; 13 Consis)

• #19 Eli Bowman (100) - 1-0 (10-0); NEXT: #14 Niko Selianitis (CA)

• #17 Gabe Swann (106) - 1-0 (10-0); NEXT: #16 Roderick Brown (FL)

• #28 Antonio Mills (120) - 2-0 (11-0; 13-2); NEXT: #5 Gauge Botero (PA)

• #5 Blue Stiffler (138) - 2-0 (Fall; 12-2); NEXT: #28 Evan Gosz (IL)

• #6 Drew Gorman (138) - 2-0 (10-0; 15-4); NEXT: #27 Wil Oberbroeckling (IA)

• #7 Logan Paradice (144) - 2-0 (11-0; 14-2); NEXT: #26 Brayden Canoyer (NE)

• #22 Cade Parent (157) - 2-0 (16-13; 10-0); NEXT: Kyle Wojcicki (KY)

• #7 Dominic Bambinelli (165) - 2-0 (10-0; 10-0); NEXT: #26 Tyson Clear (OH)

• JT Bowers (165) - 3-0 (Fall; 14-2; 17-6); NEXT: #11 Tristan Steldt (WI)

• Landon Jones (175) - 2-0 (10-0; 11-0); NEXT: #27 Anthony Rinehart (IN)

• #13 Chris Mance (175) - 2-0 (Fall; 11-0); NEXT: #20 Owen Wasley (WI)

• #21 Conor McCloskey (190) - 2-0 (Fall; 10-0); NEXT: #12 Isaac Sheeren (TX)

• #11 Jacob Levy (285) - 1-0 (10-0); NEXT: #22 Koen Mattern (WA)

North Carolina (0 Championship; 17 Consis)

South Carolina (1 Championship; 4 Consis)

• #7 Cason Howle (215) - 2-0 (10-0; 10-0); NEXT: Matthew Harrold (MA)

Tennessee (6 Championship; 20 Consis)

• #18 Triston Mouton (100) - NEXT: #15 Chase Dubuque (NJ)

• #9 Jose Cordero (106) - 1-0 (13-3); NEXT: #24 Mohamed Mohamed (NE)

• Carson Dupill (120) - 2-0 (11-1; 14-4); NEXT: #19 Blake Beissel (MN)

• #19 Hunter Sturgill (150) - 3-0 (10-0; 10-0; 10-0); NEXT: #14 Bas Diaz (IA)

• #8 Maximus Norman (165) - 2-0 (Fall; 10-0); NEXT: #25 Christopher Crawford (KY)

• #16 Tyson Russell (285) - 1-0 (Fall); NEXT: #17 Brayden Hill (KS)

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A quick breakdown of 16U’s as we head to Day 4 (or Day 2 of their tournament):

Alabama (1 Championship; 2 Consis)

• Kourtlan Kendrick (190) - (2 Falls); NEXT: #1 David Calkins (CA)

Florida (14 Championship; 8 Consis)

• #20 Liam Parker (88) - NEXT: #13 Daniel Yeoman (IA)

• Zachary Leto (94) - NEXT: #4 Traevon Ducking (IN)

• #4 Jovanni Tovar (113) - 3-0 (10-0; 10-0; 12-0); NEXT: Austin Bickerton (OH)

• Landon Quiroga (120) - 2-0 (10-0; Fall); NEXT: #20 Cale Vandermark (IA)

• #20 Adaias Ortiz (126) - 3-0 (12-2; 12-2; 7-2); NEXT: #13 Aidan Larson (OR)

• #11 Jovani Solis (132) - 2-0 (8-3; 10-0); NEXT: #22 Cooper Williams (WA)

• #29 Jonathan Moreno (157) - 2-0 (8-5; Fall); NEXT: #4 Jaxon Miller (IA)

• KJ Vazquez (157) - 1-0 (8-6); NEXT: #26 Zachery Little (TN)

• #14 Tyree Graham (157) - 2-0 (10-0; Fall); NEXT: #19 Samuel Almedina (PA)

• #23 Mac Andrews (165) - 2-0 (11-0; 10-0); NEXT: #10 Jayden Williams (MI)

• Raymond Shaw (175) - 1-0 (12-1); NEXT: #7 Brayden Koester (IA)

• Darrius Montgomery (190) - 2-0 (9-4; 11-0); NEXT: #9 Seer Godwise (IN)

• #5 Peter Mocco (190) - 2-0 (Fall; 10-0); NEXT: #28 Nevin Mattessich (NJ)

• #19 Blake Elder (285) - 1-0 (Fall); NEXT: #14 Mateo Vinciguerra (NJ)

Georgia (5 Championship; 9 Consis)

• #2 Ariah Mills (88) - NEXT: Preet Panchal (PA)

• #2 Cody Clarke (94) - NEXT: Caine Luger (ND)

• #11 Jake Rheaume (165) - 2-0 (16-4; 12-2); NEXT: #22 Malaki Davis (IL)

• Rolando Gonzalez (175) - 2-0 (Fall; 7-6); NEXT: James Capasso (NY)

• #3 Ronan An (190) - 2-0 (10-0; 10-0); NEXT: #30 Robert Ibarra (AZ)

North Carolina (1 Championship; 6 Consis)

• Bentley Sly (144) - 2-0 (9-0; 6-2); NEXT: #5 Ladd Holman (UT)

South Carolina (4 Championship; 4 Consis)

• #10 Stephano Calderon (88) - 1-0 (7-1); NEXT: #23 Rowan Gantzer (CO)

• Preston White (126) - 2-0 (16-8; 10-0); NEXT: #1 Bruno Cassioppi (IL)

• Sy Strobel (144) - 2-0 (Fall; 10-0); NEXT: #2 Noah Bull (UT)

• #20 Landon Jackson (215) - 1-0 (17-6); NEXT: #13 Kellen Fellure (IN)

Tennessee (5 Championship; 7 Consis)

• #1 Hudson Chittum (88) - NEXT: Tymen Robinson (IL)

• #15 Malachi Puckett (138) - 2-0 (8-0; 10-0); NEXT: #18 Vinnie Gutierrez (CA)

• #13 Titus Norman (150) - 2-0 (13-2; 11-2); NEXT: #20 Daniel Acosta (TX)

• #26 Zachery Little (157) - 2-0 (10-0; 10-0); NEXT: KJ Vazquez (FL)

• #15 Ryder Smith (215) - 1-0 (10-0); NEXT: #18 Eli Stevens (CO)

Estrada and Johnson Win Fargo Titles

Zao Estrada finaly won her Fargo title and did so in dominating fashion (I only say finally because she has been so very close before - this year she dominated on her way to the stop sign). Estrada cruised to the 115 lb. Junior title with a 10-0 superior decision over Cassidy Benwell of Missouri. Estrada had 2 falls and 5 superior decisions and outpointed her competition 68-4 over 2 days. Estrada became the first Junior women’s champion from South Carolina since Briena Delgado in 2010. She also became South Carolina’s third four-time Fargo All-American.

Janiya Johnson showed off her incredible athleticism throughout the weekend. It was no more evident than her finals match where she threw Jayci Shelton of Missouri for four to open up a close match in the finals. Johnson, the 3 seed, beat #2 seed Pulk in the semis and top seed Shelton in the finals to claim her first Fargo title. Johnson’s title now makes it 2 for Tennessee. A year ago, Piper Fowler won the first title and now Johnson has added her name to the list … don’t be shocked if someone makes it #3 next year.

Tennessee #100

Tennessee entered the weekend with 97 total All Americans … the women added 4 to that list - making either Sturgill, Hilton, Johnson, or Murphey #100 (I’m not sure when you would count it - so we can just celebrate all 4). Ella Murphey became the first Junior woman finalist in state history … she finished 2nd at 190 to Isabella Phillips of Washington. Caroline Hilton came within seconds of winning a Fargo title and lost a close one to Taina McGowan (3-2) in the 130 lb. final. Hilton and fellow All American Ryleigh Sturgill (4th at 100) are both first-year 16U’s and both should be considered amongst the favorites to claim a stop sign in 2025.

Tennessee 16U’s top SE

Johnson, Sturgill, and Hilton helped the Tennessee women to another top 10 finish (finishing 8th). That was the best finish of any state in the SE. Georgia was 20th and Florida was 26th … Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina did not have an All American.

South Carolina Junior Women are top in the SE

South Carolina put two on the podium with Estrada winning it all at 115 and Annalise Maralit taking 5th at 95 lbs. As a result, South Carolina outpointed Florida by a single point to take 17th. Florida with 4 Junior All Americans was 18th, Tennessee was 25th, and Georgia was 28th. Alabama and North Carolina did not have an All American (which is needed to score team points).

Georgia’s trio of All Americans

Greta Garbuzovas had a great run to the 16U 142 lb. finals, but lost to top seed Violette Lasure of Pennsylvania 11-5. Gabruzovas and Lasure went back and forth throughout the match, but Lasure was able to get the win with two takedowns late. Garbuzaovas was joined on the Fargo podium by fellow Lumpkin County hammer Cadence Grulla. Grulla finished 7th at 88 lbs beating Annabelle Wessel of New York 7-1 in her last match of the tournament. Genevieve An finished her Fargo career as one of Georgia’s best … her 3rd place finish in Junior 190 was her 4th time of the Fargo podium - putting her in elite company (just two other women have matched that feat).

Florida’s 6 All Americans

The Florida women did not crown a Fargo champ this year, but finished with 6 All Americans (2 in 16U and 4 in Juniors). Abigail Gonzales finished 4th at 106 and Latoya Sylvestre was 7th at 190 in 16U. Mya Bethel, a returning Fargo 16U Champ, paced the Juniors - taking 3rd and avenging her only loss of the tournament (she lost to Adriana Palumbo in the quarters, but was able to get the fall for 3rd).She was joined on the Fargo podium by Milana Borrelli (5th - now a 2x AA), Christina Borgmann (6th at 130), and Kinea Moore (8th at 235). Florida had 6 Juniors that made day 2, but lost in the bloodround (1 win from being an All American).

I’ve decided to do this as a by the numbers because I’m exhausted after day 1 and the numbers do a good job of explaining everything that happened on a busy day in Fargo. Note: if a wrestler is in the semifinals tomorrow morning - they are already and All American. They are wrestling to find out where they will end up on the podium (1st through 6th). Those in the bloodround need a win to secure a top 8 finish.

I captured a ton of pics - so our first item is a link to the smugmug account. Remember if you are an athlete or parent - please look through them and take whatever you like. If you post - I’d love for you tag sewrestle, but it isn’t necessary. If you are a media company - please feel free to use, but also 1) please attribute to sewrestle and 2) please send us an email or a DM on social media to let us know where it is posted.

1 - Junior All American for Georgia. Genevieve An is in the semis at 190 and will look to make another Fargo final. But she is the only one. The Georgia Junior girls is a talented bunch and several had some outstanding runs and came up just short of making it to the 2nd day. Our day 2 candidate was Kori Campbell and she was one of several that came close … finishing 3-2 and lost one match from making it to day 2. Abby Plemmons, Delialah Betances, and others had good runs, but came up just short of advancing to day 2.

1 - Junior All American for Tennessee. Georgia has An, Tennessee has Ella Murphey - who will All American again in 2024. She was an All American in 2022 in Juniors as well. Murphey will wrestle former Florida hammer Alyssa Favara in the opposite semi from An.

2 - 16U All Americans from Georgia. After missing out on the podium a year ago - Georgia comes back with 2 that will AA in 2024 (a huge accomplishment given that they only brought 4). Greta Garbuzovas is in the semis and Cadence Grulla is in the consis. We should amend this to say 2 16U AA’s from Lumpkin County, Georgia.

3 - 3 potential Junior All Americans for South Carolina. The Juniors girls have always been a strength for team South Carolina and 2024 is no different. Zao Estrada and Annalise Maralit wrestle in semis in the morning and Tiyanna Mack will wrestle in the bloodround.

5 - Tennessee 16U women have 5 in the hunt for a spot on the podium. 3 in the semis (Sturgill, Hilton, and Johnson) - each looking to claim a stop sign and 2 (Levendusky and Elizabella Laurin who will wrestle in the bloodround in the morning).

10 - Florida has 10 Junior All Americans in the bloodround. No semifinalists, but 10 that could AA. Florida has never had 10 All Americans in one year on the women’s side (I believe they had 10 Greco Junior All Americans back in 2011 .. but the most they have ever had in Junior women is 6 in 2021).