Pico, a Cadet World champion in 2013, won a hard-fought 8-5 battle over 2009 Cadet World champion Zain Retherford in the finals at 66 kilos, to earn a spot in the best-of-three finals of the UWW Junior World Team Trials next month in Madison, Wisconsin.
Retherford, an All-American for Penn State, took a 3-2 lead early in the match, but Pico scored with a four-point move in the second period, which ultimately proved to be the difference in the match. It was a rematch of last year's UWW Junior Nationals finals match at 66 kilos, also won by Pico.
"I felt I didn't wrestle my best here," said Pico. "But you've always got to find a way to win. You've got to stay focused and take the good with the good and the bad with the bad."
On the senior level, Pico is ranked No. 3 in the U.S. and No. 18 in the world at 65 kilos. According to Pico, it was his coach Valentin Kalika who suggested that he compete at the junior level in Las Vegas, as opposed to the senior level.
"I feel I'm ready, but like I've said in other interviews, if my coach says I need to go juniors, I'll listen to him," said Pico.
Mark Hall (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)"I won. I had a good tournament," said Hall. "But at the same time, that's not how you want to win. That's not how you want to take a gold medal home, a stop sign. So I have a lot to work on still."
Hall used a variety of ways to score, including a trip, crotch throw and countering Nolf's attacks. Hall nearly secured a technical fall in the second period when he went up 11-2, but Nolf scored three late takedowns to keep the match competitive. Hall, who attends Apple Valley High School in Minnesota, was honored as the 2015 InterMat High School Wrestler of the Year.
Daton Fix, a high school sophomore, was dominant, winning by technical fall over Northwestern wrestler Stevan Micic in the finals. After taking Micic down, Fix used a trap-arm gut wrench to score consecutive turns and roll to a technical fall victory. Fix had an impressive run to the title, which included victories over NCAA Division I qualifiers Ronnie Bresser and Ethan Lizak. He is a two-time Oklahoma state champion who went 40-0 this past season.
In a battle of top recruits from the Class of 2015, Arizona State signee Zahid Valencia blanked Ohio State signee Myles Martin, 7-0, in the finals at 84 kilos. Valencia led 3-0 in the second period before breaking the match open with a four-point move. It's the third meeting between the two since November, with Valencia taking all three of the matches.
Two Oklahoma State wrestlers, Gary Wayne Harding and Chandler Rogers, claimed titles. Harding topped Mitchell McKee, 10-7, at 60 kilos. Harding was an NCAA qualifier this past season and posted a 30-12 record. Rogers, a 2012 Cadet World Team member, pinned Dominic Scalise in the first period at 79 kilos. Rogers compiled a 16-5 record as a redshirt.
At 70 kilos, Wyoming Cowboy Archie Colgan capped off an impressive tournament by shutting out Alec Pantaleo, 7-0, in the finals. Pantaleo went 2-2 at the NCAAs as a true freshman at Michigan this past season. Colgan had a semifinal victory over four-time Ohio State Micah Jordan, who redshirted for Ohio State this past season.
Danny Vega, a 2014 USA Wrestling Junior National Triple Crown winner, took the title at 50 kilos, pinning WVU signee Devin Brown in the finals. The match was scoreless midway through the first period when Vega pancaked Brown to his back and secured the pin. Vega was an undefeated (34-0) state champion in Arizona this past season as a junior.
Minnesota's Tommy Thorn, a two-time Cadet World Team member, took the title at 63 kilos, beating surprise finalist Sam Crane, 14-11, in the finals. Crane scored first to go up 2-0, but Thorn responded with a takedown and four-point throw to go up 7-2. The two battled back and forth the rest of the way, and Thorn held on for a three-point decision.
Penn State freshman Anthony Cassar won the title at 96 kilos, topping Jacob Seely, 8-3, in the finals. Cassar started slowly, but pulled away in the second period with three takedowns.
Stanford's Nathan Butler won by technical fall, 11-0, over Jeramy Sweany to take the title at 120 kilos.
Results:
50 kilos: Danny Vega pinned Devin Brown, 1:41
55 kilos: Daton Fix tech. fall Stevan Micic, 10-0
60 kilos: Gary Wayne Harding dec. Mitchell McKee, 10-7
63 kilos: Tommy Thorn dec. Sam Crane, 14-11
66 kilos: Aaron Pico dec. Zain Retherford, 8-5
70 kilos: Archie Colgan dec. Alec Pantaleo, 7-0
74 kilos: Mark Hall dec. Jason Nolf, 13-8
79 kilos: Chandler Rogers pinned Dominic Scalise, 1:20
84 kilos: Zahid Valencia dec. Myles Martin, 7-0
96 kilos: Anthony Cassar dec. Jacob Seely, 8-3
120 kilos: Nathan Butler tech. fall Jeramy Sweany, 11-0
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