DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A year ago, Illinois entered the Cadet National Duals as one of the favorites in the Greco-Roman competition after winning titles in two of the three previous years, but fell to Pennsylvania in the pool competition prior to the finals.
On Thursday, Illinois captured the Cadet National Duals championship in Greco-Roman with a 39-32 victory over Pennsylvania Red in the championship match.
"We won the little battles," said Illinois coach George Kirgan, who also coaches at the high school and club levels in Granite City, Ill. "We scored points when we needed to. We got the pins when we needed to. We stayed off our backs when we needed to. We did all the good things that make a good team."
Illinois entered this year's event seeded sixth, but finished 9-0 en route to winning the championship.
"We knew the seeding points weren't really true to the talent of our team," said Kirgan, who wrestled collegiately at Nebraska and Northern Illinois. "We just used that to motivate the guys."
Illinois also had to overcome adversity after losing its 145-pounder, Zachary Pickering, who was disqualified earlier in the competition against Wisconsin.
"The kids rallied behind each other, said Kirgan. "We had a great camp. That made us a team and helped allow us to win those close matches."
In Thursday's championship match, Jabari Moody got things started for Illinois against Pennsylvania, winning in three periods at 84 pounds.
Moody, an IL/USAW Cadet double champion and Cadet Nationals folkstyle champion, finished a perfect 8-0 in the Greco-Roman competition.
"He's a tough kid," Kirgan said of Moody, the younger brother of seven-time national champion Nkosi Moody. "I really think he'll do well in Fargo. He'll be one of the frontrunners."
Nicholas Koch received a forfeit at 91 pounds, which extended the lead to 8-1 in favor of Illinois.
Pennsylvania bounced back to win the next two matches with Ethan Lizak and Darian Cruz, which cut the deficit to 8-7.
Lizak, a PIAA state runner-up this past season for Parkland, shut out Austin Ryan, 3-0, 2-0, at 98 pounds.
Cruz, a Super 32 Challenge champion, Beast of the East champion, and NHSCA Sophomore Nationals champion, blanked Matthew Rundell, 6-0, 1-0, at 105 pounds.
Illinois then went on a six-match run, winning every weight class from 112 pounds through 140 pounds, outscoring Pennsylvania 22-1 during the run.
That run started with Jon Marmolejo's 4-0, 2-1 victory over Cole Walter at 112 pounds.
Darius Henry, a FILA Cadet Nationals Greco-Roman champion, continued his dominance at 119 pounds, beating Zach Kelly, 6-0, 6-0. Henry finished 7-0 in the Greco-Roman competition.
At 125 pounds, Michael Sepke scored a shutout victory over Justin Staudenamyer, 1-0, 4-0.
Jake O'Mara was dominant at 130 pounds, winning the first period 7-0 before pinning Demetri D'Orsaneo in the second period.
"Jake O'Mara really wrestled his butt off," said Kirgan. "He was relatively unknown. His pin in the championship was huge for us."
Xavier Montalvo picked up a shutout technical fall shutout victory 7-0, 6-0, over Seth Decker at 135 pounds.
Mitchell Alexander registered a shutout victory against Garrett Hammond 8-0, 5-0, at 140 pounds, which gave Illinois a commanding 30-8 lead.
Pennsylvania battled back, winning by forfeit at 145 pounds, and then getting victories at 152, 160, and 171 pounds to cut the deficit to 31-26 heading into the final three matches.
But Illinois sealed the dual meet and national championship with victories from Sage Hecox at 189 pounds and Edgar Ruano at 215 pounds, before giving up a forfeit at 285 pounds to close the dual meet.
"It's about getting momentum, where you get one win after another win," said Kirgan. "When we were losing, it was about stopping the bleeding and getting back to what we do best ... keeping it simple, controlling the positions, winning the one-point matches, and winning the position game."
With this year's championship, Illinois has now won the Cadet National Duals title in Greco-Roman three of the past five years.
"This is a huge event for Illinois," said Kirgan. "We take great pride in the Duals. We thank USA Wrestling for putting on a great tournament, giving these kids the opportunities to wrestle in these big national tournaments when they're young."
Michigan Red defeated New Jersey, 41-24, to finish third in the competition. Michigan Red's only loss throughout the three-day event came to Illinois in the pool competition.
Wisconsin claimed fifth place with a 46-26 victory over Utah.
Last year's champion, Minnesota, finished seventh.
Championship: Illinois 39, Pennsylvania Red 32
84: Jabari Moody (Illinois) dec. Luke Karem (Pennsylvania Red), 1-0, 0-2, 2-0
91: Nicholas Koch (Illinois) forf. Colin Mashack (Pennsylvania Red)
98: Ethan Lizak (Pennsylvania Red) dec. Austin Ryan (Illinois), 3-0, 2-0
105: Darian Cruz (Pennsylvania Red) dec. Matthew Rundell (Illinois) 6-0, 1-0
112: Jon Marmolejo (Illinois) dec. Cole Walter (Pennsylvania Red), 4-0, 2-1
119: Darius Henry (Illinois) tech. fall Zach Kelly (Pennsylvania Red), 6-0, 6-0
125: Michael Sepke (Illinois) dec. Justin Staudenamyer (Pennsylvania Red), 1-0, 4-0
130: Jake O`Mara (Illinois) pinned Demetri D`Orsaneo (Pennsylvania Red), 7-0, 1:16
135: Xavier Montalvo (Illinois) tech. fall Seth Decker (Pennsylvania Red), 7-0, 6-0
140: Mitchell Alexander (Illinois) dec. Garrett Hammond (Pennsylvania Red), 8-0, 5-0
145: Connor Burns (Pennsylvania Red) forfeit Zachary Pickering (Illinois)
152: Chance Marsteller (Pennsylvania Red) pinned Davonte Mahomes (Illinois), 1:49
160: Troy Hembury (Pennsylvania Red) dec. Richard Robertson (Illinois), 1-0, 3-2
171: Raymond O`Donnell (Pennsylvania Red) pinned Joey Ariola (Illinois), 2-8, 8-1, 0:39
189: Sage Hecox (Illinois) dec. Javon Reyes (Pennsylvania Red), 2-0, 4-2
215: Edgar Ruano (Illinois) pinned Austin Buttry (Pennsylvania Red), 1:16
285: Nazar Mirenenko (Pennsylvania Red) forf. Adarios Jones (Illinois)
Third Place: Michigan Red 41, New Jersey 24
84: Brandon Paetzell (New Jersey) dec. Dalton Roberts (Michigan Red), 7-0, 1-6, 5-1
91: Lincoln Olson (Michigan Red) dec. Dan Boychuck (New Jersey), 0-1, 2-1, 1-0
98: Joe Garcia (Michigan Red) dec. Tyler Casamenti (New Jersey), 2-0, 2-0
105: Joseph Ghione (New Jersey) dec. Logan Griffin (Michigan Red), 7-1, 6-5
112: Joseph McKenna (New Jersey) dec. Zac Hall (Michigan Red), 6-1, 6-0
119: Cole Weaver (Michigan Red) dec. Xaviel Ramos (New Jersey), 0-6, 6-5, 4-1
125: Anthony Gonzales (Michigan Red) dec. Anthony Ashnault (New Jersey), 0-3, 3-3, 3-1
130: Zehlin Storr (Michigan Red) dec. John Van Brill (New Jersey), 2-0, 7-0
135: Riley Hanson (Michigan Red) dec. Myles Martin (New Jersey), 3-0, 1-0
140: Toby Hague (New Jersey) dec. Logan Marcicki (Michigan Red), 7-1, 4-1
145: TJ Barnes (Michigan Red) dec. Dillon Artigliere (New Jersey), 2-0, 4-0
152: Andrew Garcia (Michigan Red) dec. Dylan Milonas (New Jersey), 5-0, 4-1, 0-0
160: Johnny Sebastian (New Jersey) dec. Shon Powell (Michigan Red), 7-3, 5-3
171: Jadean Bernstein (New Jersey) dec. Teddy Warren (Michigan Red), 7-0, 3-2
189: Mitchell Tyler (Michigan Red) dec. Corey Damiana (New Jersey), 4-3, 1-0
215: Brian Moran (Michigan Red) pinned Jeff Miller (New Jersey), 0:57
285: Miguel Correa (Michigan Red) dec. Carmine Goldsack (New Jersey), 2-0, 2-2
Fifth Place: Wisconsin 46, Utah 26
84: Brock George (Utah) dec. Walker Christensen (Wisconsin), 2-0, 5-4
91: Joe Mondragon (Utah) dec. Dillon Koenigs (Wisconsin), 2-1, 5-0
98: Ty Pelot (Wisconsin) tech. fall Jaydon Rogers (Utah), 6-0, 9-2
105: Jens Lantz (Wisconsin) dec. Dusty Hone (Utah), 1-0, 1-0
112: Branson Ashworth (Utah) dec. Andrew Crone (Wisconsin), 1:11
119: Gabriel Grahek (Wisconsin) dec. Antonio Meikel (Utah), 3-1, 2-2
125: Jacob Armstrong (Utah) dec. Kyle Mezera (Wisconsin), 3-2, 3-1
130: Joseph Nelson (Wisconsin) dec. Landon Knutzen (Utah), 6-0, 5-2
135: Grant LaMont (Utah) dec. Mitchell Berenz (Wisconsin), 8-0, 2-1
140: Travis Hettinga (Wisconsin) pinned Dalton Harmon (Utah), 0:30
145: Kimball Bastian (Utah) dec. Jared Scharenbrock (Wisconsin), 0-3, 4-0, 5-0
152: Jared Schaaf (Wisconsin) dec. Jake Tolman (Utah), 2-0, 1-0
160: Jake Stilling (Wisconsin) tech. fall Nick Sorenson (Utah), 10-4, 8-1
171: Aaron Rothwell (Wisconsin) dec. Kohler Smoot (Utah), 3-1, 1-0
189: Quinn Faust (Wisconsin) pinned Daviaire Dickerson (Utah), 1:03
215: Dakota Johnson (Wisconsin) pinned Roy Nash (Utah), 8-1, 0-2, 0:58
285: Alex Lennartson (Wisconsin) dec. Zac Dawe (Utah), 1-1, 2-0
Seventh Place: Minnesota 37, Missouri 31
84: Double Forfeit
91: Gannon Volk (Minnesota Storm) tech. fall Carter Behler (Missouri), 7-0, 6-0
98: Ke-Shawn Hayes (Missouri) tech. fall Blane Tschida (Minnesota Storm), 6-0, 7-0
105: Reid Lyden (Minnesota Storm) tech. fall Matt Barmann (Missouri), 6-0, 6-0
112: Devan Richter (Missouri) pinned James Pleski (Minnesota Storm), 5-3, 0:13
119: Seth Gross (Minnesota Storm) pinned Seth Brayfield (Missouri), 4-3, 1:58
125: Brett Stolarczyk (Minnesota Storm) pinned Colston DiBlasi (Missouri), 4-0, 0:23
130: Aaron Trio (Minnesota Storm) dec. Montel Maggitt (Missouri), 7-1, 5-1
135: Mason Moreno (Minnesota Storm) tech. fall Tyler Brown (Missouri), 6-0, 8-0
140: Grant Leeth (Missouri) dec. TJ O'Hara (Minnesota Storm), 1-0, 2-0
145: Dayton Racer (Missouri) dec. Jake Deutchlander (Minnesota Storm), 4-4, 3-0, 1-0
152: Austin Boniface (Minnesota Storm) pinned Tony Clinesmith (Missouri), 0:33
160: Brennan Johnson (Missouri) pinned Gus Phillips (Minnesota Storm), 1:12
171: Joseph Bradford (Missouri) dec. Isaac Josephson (Minnesota Storm), 6-5, 3-3
189: Matt McClimens (Missouri) dec. Will Balow (Minnesota Storm), 1-0, 6-0
215: J'den Cox (Missouri) tech. fall Nathan Preston (Minnesota Storm), 6-0, 8-0
285: Sam Stoll (Minnesota Storm) pinned Jacob Semple (Missouri), 0:32
All-Tournament Team
84: Jabari Moody (Illinois) 8-0
91: Gannon Volk (Minnesota Storm) 9-0, Isaac Jimenez (Texas) 7-0
105: Darian Cruz (Pennsylvania Red) 9-0
112: Joseph McKenna (New Jersey) 9-0
119: Darius Henry (Illinois) 7-0
125: Anthony Gonzales (Michigan Red) 7-0
135: Grant LaMont (Utah) 9-0, Bo Nickal (Texas) 7-0, Fox Baldwin (Florida Blue) 7-0, John Edwards (Georgia Red) 7-0
140: Mitchell Alexander (Illinois) 9-0
152: Chance Marsteller (Pennsylvania Red) 9-0, Andrew Garcia (Michigan Red) 7-0
171: Jadean Bernstein (New Jersey) 9-0, Kacee Hutchinson (North Carolina) 6-0
189: Tyler Andreason (Florida Blue) 7-0, Tyler Denova (Georgia Red) 7-0
215: Carter Shipley (Florida Blue) 7-0, Edgar Ruano (Illinois) 6-0
285: Nazar Mirenenko (Pennsylvania Red) 9-0, Sam Stoll (Minnesota Storm) 8-0
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