For a 16th consecutive year, the ASICS/Vaughan Junior & Cadet National Championships return to the FARGODOME in Fargo, North Dakota. This year's events will commence on July 16 with the start of Cadet Women's competition, and the Junior National freestyle finals marking their conclusion on July 23. However, the primary four events of the week kick off on Sunday with the start of the Cadet National Greco-Roman competition.
Now with seven different competitions (Junior & Cadet Women, Junior Women Duals, Junior & Cadet Greco-Roman, and Junior & Cadet freestyle) held over eight days, the week in Fargo remains the largest single wrestling tournament in the world. It is also -- bar none -- the preeminent compilation of elite scholastic wrestlers in the United States. Over the years, many NCAA finalists and U.S. Olympians have competed in these tournaments.
Given its perch on top of the scholastic wrestling calendar, what stories should one eye during the week of Fargo?
1. Breakout performances
Every year in Fargo it seems there are some freshmen-to-be that make an opening statement to their high school careers with a Cadet National title.
Last year, there was a trio of wrestlers that won Cadet National Greco-Roman titles, while another trio was champions of the Cadet National freestyle tournament. Rising to the top step of the podium in Greco-Roman were Joey McKenna (Blair Academy, N.J.), Hayden Tuma (Centennial, Idaho), and Patrick Coover (Blair Academy, N.J.). Those earning titles in freestyle were Brent Fleetwood (Smyrna, Del.), Jered Cortez (Glenbard North, Ill.), and Chance Marsteller (Kennard-Dale, Pa.).
Coover and Cortez move onto the Junior level this year, while the other four seek repeat Cadet titles, and possibly even augment them with a stop sign in the style they did not win last year. Five of the six wrestlers -- all but Fleetwood -- are ranked in the top 13 for the Class of 2014 (Marsteller is ranked No. 1 in this class).
Likewise in 2009, six incoming freshmen earned "stop signs" during the week of Fargo. Dylan Akers (Flower Mound, Texas), Oliver Pierce (Allen, Tex.), and Brooks Black (Blair Academy, N.J.) were Greco-Roman champions; while Brad Perkins (Oak Park, Mo.), Joey Dance (Christiansburg, Va.), and Ben Whitford (St. Johns, Mich.) were champions in freestyle. Additionally, Dance and Whitford took second place in Greco-Roman.
This past year, Black and Whitford were double champions at the Cadet level, while Pierce added a Cadet freestyle title to go with the prior year's Greco-Roman title. Black and Whitford are ranked second and third respectively in the Class of 2013, with Pierce occupying the eleventh position.
It was a trio of wrestlers in 2008 that picked up Fargo championships headed into their freshman years, when Nick Roberts (North Star, Pa.), Mark Grey (Blair Academy, N.J.), and Taylor Massa (St. Johns, Mich.) each swept their way to Greco-Roman and freestyle titles. Roberts also doubled as a Cadet in 2009, while skipping last year due to FILA Junior World Team commitments; Grey was a double Cadet finalist in 2009 (Greco-Roman champion), and a double All-American in his Junior debut last year; Massa earned double Cadet titles in 2009, and earned All-American honors in both styles as a Junior last year.
In 2007, when the group of wrestlers that just graduated high school were about to enter high school, two wrestlers each won titles in Cadet Greco-Roman and freestyle. Greco-Roman championships were won by Andrew Campolattano (Bound Brook, N.J./Ohio State) and Jesse Thielke (Germantown, Wis./USOTC); while Hunter Stieber (Monroeville, Ohio/Ohio State) and Chris Phillips (Monroeville, Ohio/North Carolina State) won freestyle titles.
Some wrestlers to keep an eye on this summer include:
2. Cadet to Junior transition
For many of the stars of "Fargo week" last year, there will be a significant transition this coming year, and some new challenges for them to face. Eleven wrestlers that made the finals in both Greco-Roman and freestyle at the Cadet last year make the jump to the Junior level. While many of these young men are expected to do very well in the upcoming tournaments, there will be more challengers for their thrones -- both in quantity and quality.
One of the most interesting things to follow year-in and year-out is how the new group of Junior-level competitors is able to transition. In many cases, they thrive -- and that is what helps identify whom the true stars of scholastic-aged wrestling are.
Three wrestlers that doubled as Cadets last year make their Junior level debuts in Fargo -- Ben Whitford (St. Johns, Mich.), Jordan Rogers (Mead, Wash.), and Brooks Black (Blair Academy, N.J.).
There are six wrestlers that made the finals in both styles at the Cadet level last year, but won just one title, making their debuts in Junior competition. Four of these wrestlers won their title in Greco-Roman, falling short in freestyle: Jacob Schmitt (St. Johns, Mich.), Jack Hathaway (Iowa City West, Iowa), Tyler Coates (Ellensburg, Wash.), and Adam Coon (Fowlerville, Mich.). The other two were runner-up in Greco-Roman, but earned their "stop sign" at the end of the week in freestyle: Austin Hood (Louisburg, Kans.) and Brandon Jeske (Cox, Va.).
The final two wrestlers took second place honors in both styles: TJ Fox (Field, Ohio) and Doug Vollaro (Oviedo, Fla.).
3. Will the championships return to Fargo?
Over the years, there has always been some chatter about the tournament staying in the present format, staying in Fargo, and the like. However, there will be some real conversations conducted in the coming months about where the event will be held going forward and in what format.
Last year, USA Wrestling placed a RFP (request for proposals) from groups wishing to host the Junior and Cadet National Championships. In addition to Fargo, N.D. wishing to retain the event, there were at least two other sites wishing to obtain the events. Those groups will be able to observe the proceedings, assess their interest levels, and make their case to USA Wrestling -- with decision likely to be made within the next two months.
4. Participation trending downward, but Fargo still remains the "place to be" in offseason wrestling
One of the discussions topics posed within the wrestling community is if participation within the Olympic styles is down at the high school level. A very legitimate way to examine this is to look at participation trends at the Cadet and Junior Nationals over the previous six years -- which also happens to be the period of time for which data was available through TrackWrestling.
Any number of possible rationale have been proposed. One of the theories is that the rule changes within freestyle and Greco-Roman have made the sports less popular, less translatable to scholastic wrestling, and therefore less promoted to high school aged wrestlers. Another theory is that the proliferation of opportunities for scholastic-style competition during the spring and summer months has made it possible for wrestlers to get a high level quantity and quality of competition without competing in the Olympic styles.
Despite those two theories and the many more that are out there, the Junior & Cadet National Championships remain a primary destination for high school aged wrestlers during the offseason, especially for those seeking to make a name for themselves among the prominent wrestlers in the country. College coaches from across the country travel to Fargo, N.D. for the competition. The major national wrestling publications will make their presence known during the course of the competition as well. The competitions remain a critical measuring stick in determining the elite high school aged wrestlers in America.
5. As to why the significance of Fargo …
InterMat explored the topic in a May 2010 feature, which explored the number of NCAA All-Americans that also competed (most notably earning All-American honors) at the Cadet and Junior Nationals, as well as the number of Junior & Cadet National placewinners who then went on to earn All-American status at the NCAA Division I Championships.
Based on an audit of the 2011 NCAA All-American list, and the list of Fargo All-Americans over the years, the (unofficial) number of NCAA All-Americans that were also Fargo AAs broken down by weight was as follows:
125: 6
133: 6
141: 7
149: 4
157: 7
165: 7
174: 5
184: 4
197: 5
285: 6
That would be a total of 57 from the 80 (71.25 percent) All-Americans this past season, which is a relatively high number within the range that was shown during the 2006-2010 tournament study. Of some interest, that list does not include NCAA champions Anthony Robles, Jordan Burroughs, or Dustin Kilgore; nor does that include runner-up finishers Frank Molinaro, Nick Amuchastegui, or Robert Hamlin.
6. Key vertical pairing reminders
The Cadet and Junior Nationals are conducted using a bracketing concept known as vertical pairing, which essentially is a hybrid of double elimination and round-robin competition. At the start of the tournament, the wrestlers in each weight class are placed into two pools. The first match of the tournament for each wrestler will be against the one right next to them on the chart. If it was an eight-person chart: 1 vs. 2, 3 vs. 4, 5 vs. 6, and 7 vs. 8. If it was a nine-person chart, those four matchups would hold with the wrestler 9 getting a bye.
From that point of the tournament onward, wrestlers are eliminated when they lose for a second time. The assignment of matches for a given round will start at the "top of the list" with each wrestler assigned a match against the "first available" opponent; a wrestler with a bye in the previous round becomes the "top of the list." In the eight person example, the second round matches would place 1 vs. 3, 2 vs. 4, 5 vs. 7, and 6 vs. 8. In the nine person example, second round matches would place 9 vs. 1, 2 vs. 3, 4 vs. 5, and 6 vs. 7, with 8 getting the bye.
At the point that four wrestlers remain alive in a pool, they earn All-American honors, as they will finish in the eight placing positions. Should it go from five or six wrestlers remaining to three remaining, the fourth position is determined by a tiebreaking procedure. If possible, head-to-head is utilized. However, if it is not possible to use head-to-head, total classification points are used to determine the All-American finisher (if a tie exists there, then an extra match will be staged to determine the All-American finisher).
As a refresher, and for those unfamiliar with classification points, they are awarded as follows:
5: Pin, disqualification, forfeit, etc.
4: Technical fall
3: Decision
1: Scoring a point in a loss when the opponent does not score 5 classification points
0: Failing to score within a match, or during a loss in which the opponent scores 5 points
If the pool has three wrestlers remaining with less than two losses, the "round-robin" will ensue. Prior matches involving those wrestlers "carry forward," along with the classification points earned in those matches. After the round-robin is complete, the wrestler with the most classification points will win the pool (and advance to the first place match); head-to-head is the first tiebreaker in the case of a tie, then it goes to total points earned in pool competition.
If a pool goes from four remaining to two remaining, the two wrestlers with less than two losses will either (1) wrestle if they haven't met already in pool competition (2) if a match involving them has occurred in pool competition, that match's winner is the pool champion. The third and fourth-place finisher will be determined by tie-breaking procedure: head-to-head, total points, and match if necessary.
The most obvious part of the vertical pairing/pool competition format is that wrestlers finishing first in the two pools meet for the championship, those finishing second meet for third, those finishing third meet for fifth, and those in fourth place meet for seventh overall.
Schedule of Events
All times reflect Central time zone
2 p.m. to 5 p.m. -- Cadet girls
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. -- Cadet girls medals
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. -- Cadet Greco-Roman
3 p.m. to 7 p.m. -- Cadet Greco-Roman
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. -- Cadet Greco-Roman
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. -- Junior Greco-Roman
2 p.m. to 5 p.m. -- Cadet Greco-Roman medals
6 p.m. to 9 p.m. -- Junior Greco-Roman
9 a.m. to 12 p.m. -- Junior Greco-Roman
9 a.m. to 12 p.m. -- Junior girls
2 p.m. to 4 p.m. -- Junior Greco-Roman
2 p.m. to 4 p.m. -- Junior girls
5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. -- Junior Greco-Roman medals
9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. -- Junior girls
9:30 a.m. to 1:30 -- Cadet freestyle
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. -- Junior girls medals
3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. -- Cadet freestyle
3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. -- Junior girls duals
9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. -- Junior girls duals
9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. -- Junior freestyle
3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. -- Junior freestyle
3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. -- Cadet freestyle
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. -- Cadet freestyle
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. -- Junior freestyle
2 p.m. to 5 p.m. -- Cadet freestyle medals
6 p.m. to 8 p.m. -- Junior freestyle
9 a.m. to 11 a.m. -- Junior freestyle
11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. -- Junior freestyle medals
Fargo Coverage
InterMat will again be providing coverage of the Junior & Cadet National Championships, starting with this feature. InterMat senior writer Andrew Hipps will be providing recaps of all the championship sessions, while InterMat high school analyst Josh Lowe will be offering perspective on various aspects of the event. InterMat contributor Steve Elwood will also be providing a feature.
For yet another year, TrackWrestling.com will be providing updated results throughout the championships.
Video coverage -- in terms of matches and interviews -- will be available through TheMat.TV, as well as through Flowrestling.com.
Photo coverage will be provided by Tech-Fall.com, The Guillotine, The Predicament, JediCheetah.com, and others.
Finally, for further coverage throughout the championships, check out TheMat.com.
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