Will Lewan of Illinois defeated Peyton Robb of Minnesota to reach the finals at 152 pounds (Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)Arguably the biggest four days of the scholastic wrestling year come to a conclusion Tuesday afternoon with the Junior National freestyle championship finals and consolation matches, which start at 2 p.m. CT. Below are the matchups, as well as an overview of the championship finals.
100: Jackson Cockrell (Oklahoma) vs. Will Guida (New Jersey)
Cockrell qualified for state as a freshman at 106 pounds after earning eighth in Cadet Greco-Roman last year at 88 pounds. On the tournament, he beat a pair of Junior folkstyle placers in Daniel Rehfeldt (Michigan) and Anthony King (Illinois) before knocking off Junior folkstyle national champion Daniel Kimball (Iowa) 3-2 in the semifinal. Guida has three technical fall victories from three matches in his tournament, only giving up points in his round of 16 win over Junior folkstyle runner-up Devin Harmison (Iowa); during the high school season he was competed at 113 for St. Paul's in Maryland due to the presence of Kurt McHenry at 106.
3rd: Jacob Rundell (Illinois) vs. Jacob Moran (Indiana)
5th: Timothy Levine (California) vs. Daniel Kimball (Iowa)
7th: Preston Blotter (Utah) vs. Christian Goin (Illinois)
106: Christopher Trelli (Connecticut) vs. Sam Latona (Alabama)
Trelli placed fourth at the New England regional tournament this past season, and earned wins over three tournament placers during the course of this event; those victories were 17-6 over two-time Cadet folkstyle champion Steele Dias, 8-8 on criteria over state champion and UWW Cadet freestyle All-American Justin Cardani, and then it was a 7-5 win over returning runner-up Brendon Garcia in the semifinal. Latona finished as runner-up last year in Cadet freestyle and was a champion at the NHSCA Sophomore Nationals this spring. In the course of this tournament, it has been four technical fall victories from four bouts.
3rd: Anthony Talamonti (Illinois) vs. Brendon Garcia (Colorado)
5th: Steele Dias (Nevada) vs. Reese Fry (Michigan)
7th: Justin Cardani (Illinois) vs. Blake Fredrickson (California)
113: Brandon Kaylor (Washington) vs. Ty Smith (Nevada)
This match features a pair of rising seniors, who have three state titles in their high school careers to date. Kaylor is a returning Junior freestyle All-American, and earned technical fall victories in his first four matches, including a 14-3 victory in the round of 16 over Ben Kamali that avenged a loss in the Flo Nationals final this spring. The semifinal victory was 15-12 over two-time Cadet freestyle All-American Aden Reeves. Smith is also a returning Junior freestyle All-American, fifth at 106 pounds losing to Kaylor by fall in 57 seconds in the consolation semifinal last year. He has four technical falls from five matches, including a 13-2 semifinal victory over NHSCA Junior Nationals champion Jace Koelzer, a Cadet freestyle runner-up last year.
3rd: Jace Koelzer (Kansas) vs. Cody Phippen (Missouri)
5th: Andrew Lucero (Colorado) vs. Aden Reeves (Iowa)
7th: Nicholas Onea (Pennsylvania) vs. Ben Kamali (Michigan)
120: Joey Melendez (Illinois) vs. Patrick McKee (Minnesota)
This match features a pair of top 100 Class of 2018 wrestlers that are two-time state champions. Ranked No. 67 overall among rising seniors, Melendez has ran through a strong gauntlet of opposition to reach the final. His last four wins are a 13-2 technical fall over UWW Cadet freestyle All-American Kyle Gollhoffer (Georiga), 11-2 over two-time returning Junior freestyle All-American Dominic LaJoie (Michigan), an 11-1 technical fall over returning All-American Michael Colaiocco, and then a 6-4 semifinal win over two-time Cadet freestyle runner-up Ridge Lovett. McKee is now a four-time Fargo freestyle All-American, having finished third the prior two years (once as a Cadet, last year as a Junior). He has also had three very narrow escapes during this tournament: 14-13 in the opening round; 16-14 in the quarterfinal against Tommy Hoskins, who is ranked No. 46 among rising seniors; and then 19-17 over two-time Fargo freestyle runner-up Rayvon Foley in the semifinal.
3rd: Michael Colaiocco (New Jersey) vs. Patrick Glory (New Jersey)
5th: Rayvon Foley (Michigan) vs. Ridge Lovett (Idaho)
7th: Rhett Golowenski (Oklahoma) vs. Tommy Hoskins (Ohio)
126: Paul Konrath (Indiana) vs. Drew Mattin (Ohio)
It's a pair of graduated seniors who will be enrolling at Big Ten schools in this finals bout. No. 86 overall in the Class of 2017, Konrath will be attending Wisconsin, while Mattin is a Michigan enrollee. Two-time Junior folkstyle champion Konrath is in the Junior freestyle final for a second straight year in this weight class, having finished second last year. Three-time state champion Mattin is now a three-time Junior freestyle All-American, and was runner-up at 113 pounds two years ago. Mattin had four technical falls from four bouts prior to a 12-11 semifinal barn-burner with Alex Thomsen, a wrestler whom he split matches against at the UWW Junior Nationals in April.
3rd: Jakob Camacho (Connecticut) vs. Jared Van Vleet (Illinois)
5th: Alex Thomsen (Iowa) vs. Aaron Schulist (Wisconsin)
7th: Austin Macias (Illinois) vs. Jack Karstetter (Oklahoma)
132: Atilano Escobar (Arizona) vs. Alexander Cruz (Washington)
This is the total "Cinderella" final of the Junior freestyle program, as a litany of upsets in what wasn't the deepest of weights to start out with has played itself out. The rising senior Escobar was a state champion in 2016 and runner-up in Cadet Greco-Roman that same year, while this spring was fifth at the UWW Cadet Nationals in freestyle. His run this tournament includes four technical falls and then pins in the last two matches, including one in the quarterfinal against pre-tournament favorite Andrew Alirez (Colorado). Three-time state champion Cruz is a returning Cadet freestyle All-Ameican had four technical falls from four bouts prior to an 8-7 semifinal victory over Tyler Deen, who had upset the other top pre-tournament contender, Jackson Henson (West Virginia) in the round of 16.
3rd: Tyler Deen (California) vs. Brent Jones (Minnesota)
5th: Gabe Miller (Pennsylvania) vs. Chase Zollmann (California)
7th: Andrew Alirez (Colorado) vs. Zach Price (Iowa)
138: Ben Freeman (Michigan) vs. Jeremy Schoenherr (Wisconsin)
This is Freeman's first Junior freestyle All-American finish, though he was a Cadet freestyle runner-up in 2014. Ranked No. 37 overall among graduated seniors, he joins Mattin as a Michigan enrollee. He had four pins from four matches prior to a pin in the semifinal against state champion Jaden Enriquez (California), who ended the season ranked nationally like defeated quarterfinal opponent Jake Bergeland (Minnesota). Three-time state champion Schoenherr placed seventh in Junior freestyle last year, and had three technical falls from his first four matches before an 8-5 quarterfinal win over top 100 Class of 2018 wrestler Jack Davis; the semifinal was a fourth technical fall victory, that against two-time state champion Michael Millage.
3rd: Jake Bergeland (Minnesota) vs. Parker Filius (Montana)
5th: Michael Millage (Iowa) vs. Jaden Enriquez (California)
7th: Jason Kraisser (Maryland) vs. Jack Davis (Pennsylvania)
145: Anthony Artalona (Florida) vs. Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma)
Ranked No. 27 overall in the Class of 2018, defending Junior National freestyle champion Artalona is back in the final having technical falls in his first five matches prior to a 10-10 criteria victory in the semifinal over Sammy Sasso; Sasso is ranked No. 11 among rising seniors and beat Artalona at last month's Junior Duals. 2015 Junior freestyle third place finisher Gfeller will enroll at Oklahoma State, finishing high school as a four-time state champion and as the No. 20 overall Class of 2017 wrestler. It was four shutout technical fall victories prior to an 8-5 win over No. 16 rising senior Brayton Lee in the quarterfinal and a 15-5 technical fall over No. 23 rising senior Alex Lloyd in the semifinal.
3rd: Alex Lloyd (Minnesota) vs. Brayton Lee (Indiana)
5th: Justin McCoy (Pennsylvania) vs. Sammy Sasso (Pennsylvania)
7th: Logan Meek (Oregon) vs. Brock Hardy (Utah)
152: Will Lewan (Illinois) vs. Jared Franek (North Dakota)
This is a rematch from the semifinal round at last month's UWW Cadet freestyle tournament, a bout that Lewan won 5-0 on the way to the championship. In the semifinal round, Lewan beat Peyton Robb 7-4, which replicated the sweep in the best-of-three championship series at last month's UWW Cadet freestyle tournament. Prior to that, the nation's No. 19 overall Class of 2018 wrestler had won a pair of bouts by eight points and the other pair by technical fall. Franek was a Cadet National freestyle champion last year, and is ranked No. 76 in the rising senior class. His 7-3 semifinal victory over Markus Hartman was a replica of last year's Cadet freestyle final, while Franek beat fellow top 100 rising senior Tyler Eischens by shutout technical fall in the quarterfinal.
3rd: Justin Ruffin (Georgia) vs. Peyton Robb (Minnesota)
5th: Markus Hartman (Illinois) vs. Joshua Kim (California)
7th: Isaac Wilcox (Utah) vs. Tyler Eischens (Minnesota)
160: Tyler Dow (Wisconsin) vs. David Carr (Ohio)
Dow, twice a Cadet Nationals and UWW Cadet freestyle All-American, advanced to the semifinal round with three technical falls and two pins. In that semifinal, it was the No. 82 overall Class of 2018 wrestler who doled out the upset of the tournament in upending this weight class's returning champion Jake Allar by a 12-11 decision. On the other side of the bracket, Cadet World silver medalist Carr also was dominant on his way to the semifinal with four technical falls, the last two over a Junior folkstyle champion and a top 100 rising senior. Ranked No. 7 in the 2018 class, Carr upending No. 15 Joe Lee 8-6 in the semifinal to avenge a loss from April's UWW Junior Nationals semifinal round; Carr had swept Lee in last year's UWW Cadet National freestyle finals series.
3rd: Joe Lee (Indiana) vs. Carson Kharchla (Ohio)
5th: Andrew Merola (New Jersey) vs. Jake Allar (Minnesota)
7th: Jalin Harper (Kansas) vs. Jaron Chavez (Idaho)
170: Trent Hidlay (Pennsylvania) vs. Aaron Brooks (Maryland)
This is one of the tournament's showcase finals as a pair of top 50 seniors collide. No. 22 Hidlay is a returning Junior freestyle All-American has run circles through this tournament winning all six of his bouts by shutout technical fall, including a quarterfinal defeat of fellow returning Junior freestyle All-American Josh Ramirez. No. 43 Brooks was a Cadet National double champion last year and runner-up last month's UWW Cadet Nationals in freestyle. Things have not been easy for him, as there have been a one-point and two-point decision victory among his five bouts.
3rd: Max Wohlabaugh (Florida) vs. Zach Braunagel (Illinois)
5th: Andrew Berreyesa (Nevada) vs. Jeremiah Kent (Missouri)
7th: Josh Ramirez (Louisiana) vs. Leo Tarantino (New Jersey)
182: Jack Jessen (Illinois) vs. Max Lyon (Iowa)
This is a rematch of the Junior National folkstyle final from April, a match won 7-5 by Purdue enrollee Lyon, who was the No. 54 overall wrestler in the Class of 2017. Now a two-time Junior freestyle All-American, Jessen is seeking a Fargo stop sign before he wins a high school state title (2nd/3rd/2nd so far); he is ranked No. 31 overall in the Class of 2018. Jessen has yet to give up a point in this tournament, winning all five of his bouts by shutout technical fall.
3rd: Lucas Davison (Indiana) vs. Cameron Caffey (Illinois)
5th: Myles Wilson (Colorado) vs. Christian Knop (Alabama)
7th: Austin Harris (Oregon) vs. Victor Marcelli (Ohio)
195: Jacob Warner (Illinois) vs. Miles Lee (Pennsylvania)
Iowa signee Warner was a Cadet World bronze medalist last summer, and the No. 7 overall Class of 2017 wrestler has done nothing but dominate in this event. It's been five technical falls from five bouts, the last two against wrestlers that ended their senior seasons nationally ranked in weight classes; Nebraska enrollee Colton Wolfe (Nebraska) and Oklahoma enrollee Jake Woodley. Lee placed sixth in this weight last year in Fargo, reaching this year's final on the strength of four technical falls before a 6-2 upset over fellow repeat Junior freestyle All-American Matthew Waddell; Waddell is an Oklahoma enrollee.
3rd: Jake Woodley (Pennsylvania) vs. Brandon Whitman (Michigan)
5th: Cody Howard (Ohio) vs. Matthew Waddell (Georgia)
7th: Collin McCoy (Texas) vs. Joel Shapiro (Iowa)
220: Zach Elam (Missouri) vs. Haydn Maley (Oregon)
Two-time state champion Elam is ranked No. 69 in the Class of 2018, and was a runner-up in Junior folkstyle. In the semifinal, it was an 8-5 victory over No. 66 rising senior Francis Duggan (Iowa). His prior four matches were three shutout technical fall victories along with a pin; the beaten opponents in the round of 16 and quarterfinals were returning Cadet freestyle All-Americans in Chase Trusell (Utah) and Tyler Curd. Stanford enrollee Maley was a four-time state champion and won the Junior Greco-Roman tournament last year. His run to the final features four pins and a technical fall.
3rd: Francis Duggan (Iowa) vs. Antonio McCloud (Ohio)
5th: Tyrell Gordon (Iowa) vs. Jace Punke (Illinois)
7th: Tyler Curd (Missouri) vs. Max Darrah (Missouri)
285: Anthony Cassioppi (Illinois) vs. Brandon Metz (North Dakota)
Iowa commit Cassioppi is ranked No. 32 overall in the Class of 2018, and was a Junior folkstyle champion this spring. In addition, he was runner-up in this weight class last year and placed fifth at the UWW Junior Nationals at 120 kilos, including a win over Metz during that tournament. Metz placed third in this weight class last year, while winning the Junior Greco-Roman title; the North Dakota State enrollee finished as the No. 32 overall wrestler in the Class of 2017. Metz has three shutout technical falls and two narrow decisions, while Cassioppi has a pin and four technical falls from five matches.
3rd: Sammy Evans (Tennessee) vs. Zach Muller (Illinois)
5th: Jon Spaulding (Ohio) vs. Austin Emerson (Michigan)
7th: Paul Robinson (Georgia) vs. Brandon Reed (Kentucky)
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