Fargo 2024: By the Numbers

The 2024 U.S. Marine Corps Junior and 16U Nationals, affectionately known as Fargo, finished up last week with champions crowned across all three Olympic styles. The massive event continues to be one of the highlights on the summer wrestling calendar and a springboard for competitors looking for national accolades before college. The following looks at the statistical standouts in each one of the styles and age levels as well as the highest-scoring match and who spent the most time wrestling. Junior Men's Freestyle New Jersey's Harvey Ludington entered the 190-pound bracket as the fifth seed. In his very first match, he announced his status as a true contender with a 12-1 first-period superiority victory over Brandon Carr of Pennsylvania. While it was a thoroughly dominant performance, it was also the only match in the tournament where Ludington surrendered a single point. He won his next six matches by a combined score of 62 to 0. For the tournament, he averaged 10.75 points per minute, allowed only 0.15 points per minute, and therefore finished with a +10.61 point differential. Technically it was the second-best point differential in junior men's freestyle, but only because Joseph Muhlstein pulled out of the event following a 10-0 victory. Ludington is ranked as the 11th best prospect in the Class of 2025 by MatScouts and is currently committed to Arizona State. Junior Women's Freestyle Eduarda Rodrigues did not allow a single point on her way to the finals at 155 pounds. She defeated her first five opponents by a combined score of 52 to 0. In the finals, Rodrigues faced off against Maryland's Ugochi Anunobi, who upset both the second-seeded Alison Evans and third-seeded Adriana Palumbo, along the way. Early on in the finals, it looked like Ugochi could be on the path to yet another upset as she scored a four-point throw less than 30 seconds into the match. However, Rodrigues then took control and was leading by a 17-6 score when the referee slapped the mat early in the second period. On her way to the title, Rodrigues averaged 8.04 points per minute and allowed only 0.70. Her +7.34 was the highest point differential in women's freestyle across both the junior and 16U brackets. Junior Greco Roman Adam Waters entered the 175-pound freestyle junior bracket as the top seed, but he was upset in the semifinals by eventual champion Ryan Burton from New Jersey. Perhaps that was driving the Pennsylvania wrestler a few days later on the Greco side. He did not give up a single point on his way to the title and outscored his opposition 40 to zero. He averaged 6.09 points per minute, which was the second-highest scoring rate in junior Greco. That scoring rate combined with his perfect defense left him with a +6.09 differential, which was clearly the highest in the bracket. Waters is currently ranked fourth at 175 pounds by MatScouts and will be a junior next season at Faith Christian Academy in his home state. 16U Men's Freestyle In terms of performance in a single style, no other wrestler had a better point differential than Aaron Stewart put up in the 165-pound 16U freestyle tournament. He averaged 10.63 points per minute and was not scored on once in the style. All seven of his matches were terminated in under two minutes. His longest bout came in the semifinals where Nebraska’s Riley Johnson was able to hang on for 1:57. Stewart also claimed the title in Greco. However, his stat line was slightly less impressive. In his semifinal match in that style, he allowed Maryland’s Salah Tasrni to score five points, but he still won by an 8-5 final score and advanced to the finals. In Greco, Stewart had a +4.51 differential, which ranked 11th in the bracket. 16U Women's Freestyle Taina Fernandez was awarded the top seed at 136 pounds, and she showed that prowess early. In her very first match, she scored a match termination victory in only 24 seconds. On her path to the tournament title, Fernandez did not allow a single point and scored 58. Her +6.28 point differential was the highest in the style. In the finals, she faced off against Corynne McNulty, and while it was her longest match of the event, Fernandez was still able to latch on a leg lace early in the second period and finish the contest with an 11-0 victory. 16U Greco Roman In the freestyle semifinals, Alexander Pierce came up just short as he dropped a 2-2 criteria match to eventual champion Shamus Regan. However, he certainly bounced back in Greco and picked up the title at 113 pounds. He did not get a rematch against Regan, but he did average 7.25 points per minute, which was the second-highest scoring rate in the style. Pierce allowed only 1.11 points per minute and therefore finished with a +6.14 point differential. No other competitor in the bracket had a differential above six. Highest Scoring Match In the round of 128 of the 138-pound tournament of junior men’s freestyle, JT Schneider of Connecticut faced off against Jack Bainbridge of Minnesota. It ended up being the highest-scoring bout of Fargo. In the first minute, it looked like Schneider was going to run away with the bout as he scored eight quick points. However, Bainbridge refused to go along with the finish and made it a contest. With about a minute to go in the match, Schneider held a one-point 23-22 lead, but he scored the final six points and finished with a 29-22 VPO1 victory. Will Lewan Most Match Time Award Even though there is no overtime in the Olympic styles, many wrestlers were able to put in some serious mat time at Fargo. Many of the athletes compete in multiple styles, which can lead to quite a loaded week of matches. Also, do not forget that beach wrestling is not tracked by FloArena, so it is entirely possible some of the competitors added some time on the sand. Excluding matches in the sand pit, Tre Haines of Washington had the most match time across all styles and weights at Fargo. He entered both Junior freestyle and Greco at 150 pounds and spent over 84 minutes wrestling across his 16 matches.

Sign In

Fargo 2024: By the Numbers

User Feedback

Recommended Comments

Create an account or sign in to comment

Create an account

Sign in

Categories

Rankings

Browse

Activity

Support