Performances in Fargo can shape the narrative about wrestlers headed into the next scholastic season, as well as the perception that college coaches will have about the prospective student athlete. They can also serve as important confidence and development boosts for the athletes themselves.
Let's take a look at five young men from each the Junior and Cadet levels whose performances during the Fargo week enhanced their stock.
Juniors
Osawaru Odighizuwa (David Douglas, Ore.), 285-pound freestyle champion, Greco-Roman third-place finisher
Already a verbal commit to play football at UCLA along the defensive line, the nation's No. 39 ranked wrestler in the Class of 2016 had little incentive to be at Fargo last week. However, Odighizuwa made the trip, performed rather well, and did so in both styles to boot. His freestyle tournament started with two shutout technical fall victories, continued with a 5-0 victory over fellow top 100 rising senior Carter Isley (Iowa), a 9-2 victory in the quarterfinal over 2014 Junior National double All-American Michael Rogers (Pennsylvania), then a 3-1 semifinal victory over top 25 graduated senior Austin Myers (Kentucky), and concluded with an 11-0 technical fall in the final over top 15 Class of 2017 wrestler Kevin Vough (Ohio).
Odighizuwa went 8-1 in the Greco-Roman tournament to finish third. The lone loss was an early round fall against Brandon Metz (North Dakota), a Cadet Nationals champion in Greco-Roman last year. That outcome would be avenged with an 8-6 decision in the consolation semifinal. Among his six consolation wins was a first minute fall over another Cadet Nationals champion from 2014 in Kevin Vough.
Among the most impressive things about this physical freak is that he doesn't turn 17 for another two weeks. Odighizuwa's older brother Owa was drafted by the New York Giants in the third round after being a two-year starter at UCLA. Osawaru's performance puts him in position to almost assuredly be the nation's No. 1 wrestler at 285 pounds come early November.
California's Evan Wick reached the Junior freestyle finals at 152 before losing to Larry Early (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Let's cut to the chase here, the evidence to suggest a run to the Junior National freestyle final for Evan Wick prior to the event was rather faint. Among the resume points within the last year include failure to place at the Junior National folkstyle tournament in April (both losses to wrestlers outside the top 100 of the 2015/2016 classes, though Wick did have one win over a top 100 Class of 2016 wrestler in the tournament); two mid-placement finishes in the California state tournament (fourth as a junior, fifth as a sophomore); and a 1-2 record in last summer's Junior National freestyle tournament.
However, a run to the Junior National freestyle final is exactly what happened. Ranked outside the top 100 for the Class of 2016, Wick had a pair of wins over top 25 wrestlers in his grade level during the tournament; 14-13 over No. 20 Hayden Hidlay (Pennsylvania) in the round of 16, and a pin at the 5:46 mark over No. 22 Griffin Parriott (Minnesota) in the semifinal. Additional wins included a 12-0 technical fall over two-time state champion Zemua Baptista (Nebraska) in the third round and an 11-0 technical fall over state placer Austin Hiles (Ohio), a wrestler that would have been considered a relative peer to Wick prior to the last week, in the quarterfinal. The championship final loss came 12-8 to Larry Early (Illinois), ranked as a top 50 Class of 2015 wrestler, in a match that was tied 8-8 late.
It is almost a sure bet that Wick now moves into the top 100 for his grade level. He certainly garnered the attention of college coaches everywhere with the wins over Hidlay and Parriott, as well as the very well-contested finals match against Minnesota enrollee Early.
Lucas Jeske (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.), 160-pound freestyle runner-up
Even though Jeske won a state title during this past high school season, he was not a truly known commodity on the national level headed into the Fargo week. Jeske's first four matches in Junior freestyle were one-sided outcomes; two shutout technical falls and a pin followed by an 18-7 technical fall over state runner-up Tristan Johnson (Iowa).
His quarterfinal came against top 100 Class of 2016 wrestler Canten Marriott (Missouri), an opponent that Jeske had lost in overtime against at the Preseason Nationals; however, this go around, Jeske came through with an 8-6 victory. In the semifinal round, Jeske would come through with an 11-1 technical fall victory over Brandon Dallavia (New Jersey), who is ranked inside the top 25 for the Class of 2016. The championship match loss was a shutout technical fall against Oklahoma State enrollee Joe Smith (Oklahoma); however, that is what Smith did to everyone else during the tournament as well.
It is almost a sure bet that Jeske now moves into the top 100 for his grade level. Any skepticism there was about his state title this past year in Minnesota should be totally vanquished at this point.
Travis Piotrowski (Prairie Ridge, Ill.), 120-pound freestyle third place
Piotrowski entered this year's Junior freestyle tournament having twice finished state third in the high school season, and a low-placing Cadet freestyle All-American (6th in 2013, 7th in 2014). He was also outside the top 100 for the Class of 2016. Piotrowski started the tournament with a pair of 11-0 technical falls before a pair of matches against wrestlers more of his caliber. It was a 10-0 technical fall over two-time state champion Matt Schmitt (Missouri), a returning Junior freestyle runner-up, in the round of 16; which was immediately followed by another 10-0 technical fall, this one over Ian Parker (Michigan), who is ranked No. 77 in the Class of 2016.
The semifinal for Piotrowski was an expected 13-3 technical fall loss against Daton Fix (Oklahoma). However, Piotrowski ended the tournament with positive momentum, a 13-5 decision over Schmitt in the consolation semifinal, followed by a 13-0 technical fall over Parker in the third place bout. It is almost a sure bet that Piotrowski now fits into the top 100 for the Class of 2016 after placing third in a weight class that saw two top 100 Class of 2016 wrestlers fail to place, along with many other excellent wrestlers falling short of the podium.
Dean Drugac (Morris Knolls, N.J.), 195-pound double All-American, fourth in freestyle, seventh in Greco-Roman
Not only has Drugac yet to earn a state placement finish, he has yet to win a front side match in either of his state tournament appearances in the Garden State. Previously in Fargo, Drugac had a pair of Cadet All-American finishes in Greco-Roman, but was not an All-American in freestyle either of those two years. However, this year in Fargo at the Junior level, he was a double All-American.
Drugac's freestyle tournament started with two shutout technical falls before a 15-5 technical fall loss to top 100 Class of 2016 wrestler Wyatt Koelling (Utah). The next match was an injury default win that left him two matches short of All-American honors. After an 18-7 technical fall over state runner-up Nick McShea (New York), it was a 10-8 win over returning Junior freestyle All-American, No. 100 ranked Class of 2015 wrestler Cash Wilcke (Iowa) to confirm the podium.
The freestyle tournament for Drugac would end with a 9-7 decision over two-time state placer Christian Brunner (Illinois), advancement to the third-place match when Koelling defaulted the consolation semifinal, and then losing by 12-2 technical fall to top 100 Class of 2016 wrestler Jack Harris (Ohio). While it may not be enough to crack the Class of 2016 top 100 for Drugac, his success in Fargo certainly elevated his "stock" in the eyes of this national ranking coordinator and the vast majority of college coaches.
Cadets
Pennsylvania's Sammy Sasso claimed a Cadet freestyle title at 132 (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)It's a little tough to say that a wrestler who is already ranked No. 14 in the Class of 2018 should be a "stock up" candidate. However, the Cadet freestyle tournament that Sasso had was most impressive, including wins over four of the next five in the placement standings at the event, with three of those ranked wrestlers in the Class of 2018.
The tournament for Sasso started with a pair of 10-0 technical falls, those coming over a Michigan state placer and Florida state champion. In the round of 16, it was a 12-6 decision over Carson Kharchlava (Ohio), who placed fourth in the event. The quarterfinal was a 13-3 technical fall over Brayton Lee (Indiana), who finished third in the weight class and is ranked No. 30 in the Class of 2018. Next, it was a semifinal pin in 5:36 over Alex Lloyd (Minnesota), the Greco-Roman champ, who is ranked No. 21 in the Class of 2018. Finally, the championship match was a 4-1 decision over Cadet double runner-up Brock Hardy (Utah), ranked No. 19 in the Class of 2018.
Carson Kharchlava (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio), 132-pound freestyle fourth place
Though Kharchlava was not ranked among the top 25 in the Class of 2019, the incoming freshman was not a totally unknown commodity, as he won a middle school division Super 32 Challenge title in the fall. However, this was a performance that would certainly suggest that he should be ranked among the top 25 incoming freshman, and be a force at the state level during this upcoming high school season.
His freestyle tournament started with a pair of 10-0 technical falls, the second of which was over state champion Brock Mauller (Missouri). In the round of 16 match, he lost by 12-6 decision to eventual champion Sammy Sasso (Pennsylvania) to drop to the consolation bracket. From there it would be five straight wins to reach the consolation final. Among those victories include a 14-1 technical fall over junior high state champion Baylor Fernandes (Illinois), an 11-0 technical fall over state placer J.J. Figueroa (California), and 8-4 victory over Alex Lloyd (Minnesota). The third-place match loss came by 10-1 decision to Brayton Lee (Indiana).
Alex Thomsen (Underwood, Iowa), 120-pound freestyle runner-up, Greco-Roman fourth-place finisher
Though Thomsen has already been distinguished in his short high school career, Preseason Nationals champion and undefeated state champion as a freshman, this week in Fargo marked more notches on the resume for the No. 45 ranked Class of 2018 wrestler. His freestyle tournament started with two shutout technical falls sandwiched around a pin, prior to an 8-1 decision over state placer John Burger (New Jersey) in the round of 16.
The quarterfinal match was a 13-6 victory over two-time state champion Jacori Teemer (New York), who is ranked No. 27 in the Class of 2018. Next was a pin in 3:49 over UWW Cadet freestyle All-American Max Murin (Pennsylvania), a returning Cadet freestyle runner-up, in the semifinal. The championship loss to Nick Raimo (New Jersey), ranked No. 3 in the Class of 2019 and a double champion last week, came in a 15-13 slugfest that was one of the best matches of the whole event.
During Greco-Roman, Thomsen went 7-2 with both losses coming to the same wrestler by 5-3 and 10-9 scores. Look for this Class of 2018 star from Iowa to shoot up the grade level rankings in the next update.
Jake Boyd (Smithville, Mo.), 195-pound double finalist, champion in freestyle
In two high school seasons, Boyd did not make the state final, third as a sophomore at 195 after a consolation quarterfinal appearance at 160 as a freshman. However, last week in Fargo, Boyd made both finals at the Cadet level. On his way to the freestyle final, the path started with three technical falls including one in the round of 16 over state qualifier Saylor Schmit (Minnesota). The semifinal match was a reversal of the Greco-Roman final, this affair being a 10-3 victory for Boyd over state champion Brady Daniel (Maryland). Then in the final, it was a 9-2 victory to confirm the championship.
Anthony Artalona (Tampa Prep, Fla.), 145-pound double champion
Artalona is ranked No. 44 in the Class of 2017, though that is in error, as he is a Class of 2018 wrestler. Already a two-time state champion and a double All-American at the UWW Cadet Nationals in the 63 kilogram weight class, this isn't so much a "stock up" as it is an enhanced awareness, which is something that Fargo tends to provide.
The rising sophomore went 13-0 across styles in Fargo with a pin and four technical falls during each of the title runs. It was six wins in Greco-Roman and seven wins in freestyle. Notable victories in freestyle included those over Preseason Nationals champion Emille Shannon (Illinois), incoming freshman and Tulsa Nationals champion Brian Case (Michigan), and the 11-4 championship match victory over Jaryn Curry (Oklahoma), who is ranked No. 29 in the Class of 2018.
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