Given such robust fields, there are wrestlers that inherently perform above prior conceived notions about their ability level. Below are five such wrestlers who thrived in the freestyle (and in some cases Greco-Roman) tournaments in the 16U division.
Evan Tallmadge (Brick Memorial, N.J.), 106-pound champion in freestyle
As a freshman in high school competing at 106 pounds, Tallmadge advanced to the state tournament with a 31-3 record. However, that state tournament run ended with a 2-2 record, finishing two matches short of the podium after a 9-6 loss to eventual state medalist Kelly Dunnigan (Don Bosco Prep) in the round of 16 before getting eliminated by the score of 7-4 against Nicholas Diaz (St. John Vianney).
In Fargo, Tallmadge started his tournament with a pair of technical superiority victories to set up a showdown with state champion Trevor Anderson (Ankeny, Iowa) in the round of 16; the 6-2 victory put Tallmadge on notice to all. His quarterfinal match was a win by fall in 28 seconds over No. 21 overall Class of 2023 wrestlers Greyson Clark (Kaukauna, Wis.).
This set up a semifinal clash against a returning 16U freestyle All-American in Sean Seefeldt (St. Edward, Ohio), who was a state runner-up during his high school season; an 8-6-win propelled Tallmadge to a championship match against incoming freshman Mitchell Neiner from Washington, a match that he won 10-8. In the title run for Tallmadge the last four wins came over All-Americans.
Kyren Butler (Copley, Ohio), third place at 126 pounds in freestyle
In each of his two high school seasons to date, Butler won his opening round match at the state tournament before losing both matches on Friday morning (quarterfinal and consolation round of 12) to finish at 1-2 for the weekend, one match short of placement. However, just over one week ago in Fargo, Butler was locked in and had a most excellent tournament.
It started with three decisive wins - 10-2 and 10-1 decisions, then a 10-0 technical superiority - before a round of 16 bout raised eyebrows. In that match, Butler trailed 4-3 late before a pair of late scores gave him a 6-4 victory over two-time state champion Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Seneca Valley, Pa.); admittedly Herrera-Rondon is much stronger in folkstyle, but one is still talking about a wrestler ranked No. 13 overall in the Class of 2021. In the following match, Butler advanced to the semifinal with a 7-2 win over state medalist Eli Rocha (Platte County, Mo.); both Herrera-Rondon and Rocha would bounce back to earn All-American honors.
After a 12-2 loss in the semifinal to eventual runner-up Ramon Ramos (Valiant Prep, Ariz.), Butler bounced back with two more wins in consolation to earn third place. Those wins came 4-4 by criteria over two-time state champion Derrick Cardinal (Forest Lake, Minn.) and then 8-4 over Ismael Ayoub (Dublin Coffman, Ohio).
John Wiley scores with a big throw in the in the round of 16 in Greco-Roman (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)John Wiley (Mustang, Okla.), 138-pound champion in both freestyle and Greco-Roman
Wiley entered Fargo ranked No. 29 overall in the Class of 2022, coming off a state championship high school season plus going 11-0 across freestyle and Greco-Roman at the 16U Duals in Spokane last month. It should be noted that he bounced back from a fourth-place regional finish to win state at 126 pounds with a 5-1 finals victory over Carter Young one week after he lost 8-5 to Young in the regional semifinal.
In Fargo freestyle, Wiley's tournament started with three technical superiority shutout victories. The round of 16 yielded a fourth consecutive such victory, 10-0 over state champion Justin Bartee (Point Pleasant, W.Va.). Wiley gave up his first points of the tournament in a 12-2 technical superiority over two-time state placer Preston Owens (Kuna, Idaho), who would bounce back with a win in his next bout to earn All-American honors.
Next up was his toughest match of the tournament, a 10-6 victory over Joshua Barr (Davison, Mich.), the 16U folkstyle champion who is ranked No. 6 overall in the Class of 2023. Wiley capped off freestyle with a 10-4 win over Nicholas Vafiadis (New Kent, Va.), who is ranked No. 50 overall in the Class of 2022. Then, he would double up with gold in Greco to end the week, which was a one position improvement from a runner-up finish last year in that tournament.
Leonard Pinto (Stroudsburg, Pa.), 170-pound champion in freestyle, third in Greco-Roman
Pinto was already known as a clear talent entering the Fargo week, coming in off a third-place finish at state as a high school sophomore competing in Pennsylvania Class 3A at 170 pounds. He would follow that up with a NHSCA Sophomore Nationals title, and then a Northeast Regional 16U title that included a win over UWW Cadet Nationals runner-up Rylan Rogers (Blair Academy, N.J.).
Ranked No. 23 overall in the Class of 2021, Pinto was a clear contender entering the freestyle tournament. Three shutout technical superiority victories put him into a quarterfinal match against 16U folkstyle national champion Andrew Wenzel (Dakota, Ill.), a match that ended in another 10-0 technical superiority win. Then it was an anticipated semifinal clash with returning 16U freestyle champion Tate Picklo (Mustang, Okla.); however the match with Picklo, ranked No. 18 overall in the Class of 2021, was yet another 10-0 technical superiority victory. The championship match was a 7-1 win over Rogers, who is ranked No. 15 in the Class of 2022. Picklo followed that up with a third place finish in Greco-Roman.
Evan Bates (Chesterton, Ind.), 195-pound runner-up in freestyle, third in Greco-Roman
Though Bates went 48-3 as a sophomore, placing third at the state tournament, and went 7-0 in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at last month's 16U Duals he was a relative unknown nationally. However, that scenario would vanish after the first match of his Fargo freestyle tournament in the form of a 4-1 win over Noah Pettigrew (Valdosta, Ga./Blair Academy, N.J.). Pettigrew won a 16U freestyle national title in this weight class in 2018, and was a UWW Cadet freestyle All-American this year, entering the tournament ranked No. 12 in the Class of 2022.
Two subsequent technical superiority victories would propel Bates to the quarterfinal round, where he would pick up two more wins by technical superiority over eventual All-Americans to reach the final. Those wins came 14-2 over state medalist Bennett Tabor (Simley, Minn.) and 11-0 over state medalist Wyatt Voelker (West Delaware, Iowa). The championship match was an 11-0 technical superiority defeat to Seth Shumate (Dublin Coffman), ranked No. 4 overall in the Class of 2022. Bates subsequently finished third in Greco-Roman.
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