InterMat Staff

The 2021 Cadet World Championship team (Photo courtesy of USA Wrestling) Friday, July 23rd, 2021, will go down as a historic day in American women's wrestling history. That was the day that the US Women's Cadet team won its first world championship. Seven of the ten team members will leave Budapest with a world medal. The team capped today's competition with three gold medals and a bronze. Like the men's freestyle portion of the competition, the team race came down to the US and India. The tournament's final match, the 69kg gold medal bout, was responsible for determining the winner. 2019 Cadet World bronze medalist Amit Elor was representing the Americans against Yevheniia Siedykh (Ukraine). It took less than :30 for Elor to get on the scoreboard and, once she did, she never looked back. Late in the period, Elor whipped Siedykh over to her back for the winning takedown, but didn't settle for just a 10-0 tech; she pursued more and got the fall. Also winning gold medals today for team USA were Erica Pastoriza (40 kg) and Katie Gomez (53 kg). Pastoriza did not surrender a point in her pre-finals tests and was just as good in the gold medal match. She needed only 1:34 to secure a fall over Romania's Alexandra Voiculescu. Interestingly enough, Gomez's final match was her biggest blowout of the tournament. She teched Natalia Khramenkova (Russia) 10-0 for the world title. Her stiffest test of the competition came in the quarterfinals when she edged Antim (India) 5-4, after a last-second rally. In addition, to the American gold medalists, Ava Ward also claimed a bronze medal today at 46 kg. Ward got the team off to a good start by racking up a fall in the repechage round, which locked up a date with Sviatlana Katenka (Belarus) for the bronze. Ward was never seriously threatened and rolled to an 8-1 win. The entire women's team went 7-0 during medal round matches at the tournament. Not only did the US women put the finishing touches on their team title, but the Greco-Roman team got their tournament started, as well. The Greco team seemingly build off the other two teams' momentum and turned in a strong performance, too. The Greco team placed two in the semifinals, Otto Black (48 kg) and Cory Land (55 kg), with Land clinching a medal and earning a berth in the world finals. The Alabama native systematically dismantled Zhantoro Mirzaliev (Kyrgyzstan) 5-0, which vaulted him into the gold medal match. Black had a fall and a 4-0 shutout before dropping a 5-5 heartbreaker to Servet Angl (Turkey) in the semis. Cadet World Freestyle silver medalist Jim Mullen will have the opportunity to wrestle for another medal tomorrow. He fell in the opening round to Germany's Nikita Ovsjanikov, 7-2, but has been pulled into repechage since Ovsjanikov made the finals. He'll need to defeat Lyova Sargsyan (Armenia) to compete for the bronze medal. Friday Cadet World Championship Results Women's Freestyle 40 kg - Erica Pastoriza (USA) (W) vs. Alexandra Voiculescu (Romania) Fall 1:34 - Gold Medal Match 46 kg - Ava Ward (USA) (W) vs. Sviatlana Katenka (Belarus) 8-1 - Bronze Medal Match 53 kg - Katie Gomez (USA) (W) vs. Natalia Khramenkova (Russia) 10-0 - Gold Medal Match 69 kg - Amit Elor (USA) (W) vs. Yevheniia Siedykh (Ukraine) Fall 1:56 - Gold Medal Match Greco-Roman 48 kg - Otto Black (USA) (W) vs. Yuri Karapetyan (Armenia) Fall 3:36 (W) vs. Peter Totok (Hungary) 4-0 (L) vs. Servet Angl (Turkey) 5-5 Bronze Medal Opponent - Winner of Dzmitry Darahi (Belarus)/Faraim Mustafayev (Azerbaijan) 55 kg - Cory Land (USA) (W) vs. Berati Inac (Turkey) 10-0 (W) vs. Adam Silverin (Sweden) 9-6 (W) vs. Zhantoro Mirzaliev (Kyrgyzstan) 4-0 65 kg - Jadon Skellenger (USA) (W) vs. Rokas Cepauskas (Lithuania) Fall 3:07 (W) vs. Ashot Poghosyan (Bulgaria) 8-0 (L) vs. Ankit Gulia (India) 14-6 80 kg - Ryder Rogotzke (USA) (W) vs. Mihael Salajec (Croatia) 8-0 (L) vs. Joju Samadov (Azerbaijan) 11-4 110 kg - Jim Mullen (USA) (L) vs. Nikita Ovsjanikov (Germany) 7-2 Repechage Opponent - Lyova Sargsyan (Armenia)

New Northern Colorado volunteer assistant Earl Hall (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) With all that was going on in the wrestling world in Fargo and the Cadet World Championships, as well as the looming Olympic Games, college news may have taken a back seat this week. We don't blame you if you missed out on three new assistant coaching hires that were made public earlier this week. Brown, Northern Colorado, and Ohio added to their respective staffs. Here is a little bit about each of the new assistant coaches. Earl Hall (Northern Colorado) Northern Colorado made an announcement yesterday that they were adding Earl Hall as a volunteer assistant. Hall held the same role for the University of Virginia in 2021. He is no stranger to Bears head coach Troy Nickerson, as Nickerson was an assistant coach at Iowa State, while Hall was competing for the Cyclones. During his days at Iowa State, Hall earned All-American honors on two occasions. He was eighth as a freshman, at 125 lbs, and seventh during his junior campaign, up at 133. Hall qualified for the NCAA Championships four times and was seeded in the top-13 during his last three trips. Prior to nationals, Hall made the Big 12 finals twice. Hall will undoubtedly bolster the Bears lightweights as he did at UVA. The 2021 campaign saw the Cavaliers send wrestlers to nationals at 125-141 and 133 lber Louie Hayes got onto the NCAA podium for the first time in his career. Their 125 lber Patrick McCormick developed as the year progressed and avenged a regular-season loss to Colton Camacho (Pittsburgh) at the ACC meet, which helped him automatically qualify for nationals. Hall also has worked with Virginia's Cavalier Wrestling Club, so he'll also contribute on the freestyle side. TJ Dudley (Brown) Tuesday, Brown University announced the addition of TJ Dudley as the team's volunteer assistant. Dudley was a three-time All-American for Nebraska from 2014-17. He finished eighth, second, and third during his final three years competing for the Huskers (the same alma mater as Bears head coach Todd Beckerman). Dudley was a four-time national qualifier for Nebraska and had his best Big Ten finish as a junior when he made the finals, opposite Iowa's Sam Brooks. Brown has a young, talented crop of upperweights for Dudley to work with. Harrison Trahan (174), Drew Clearie (184), James Araneo (197), and Tony Pray (197) are all part of an underrated recruiting Class of 2021 headed to Providence. Shakur Laney (Ohio) Also this week, Shakur Laney returned to take an assistant coaching position with his alma mater, Ohio University. Laney was a three-time NCAA qualifier for the Bobcats, competing from 2016-20. Laney's best year came in 2017 when he won the MAC title and received the 13th seed at 125 lbs. He later would move up and finish his career at 141 lbs. Like the rest of the nation, Laney wasn't able to finish his 2020 season due to the cancellation of the national tournament during the onset of the Covid pandemic. Laney received an at-large bid to the tournament and was set to be the 23rd seed. His record during the 2019-20 campaign was 21-10 and he finished at 85-14 for head coach Joel Greenlee. Some of Ohio's top grapplers could be in Laney's range. Lone NCAA qualifier from the 2021 season, Mario Guillen, is at 133 lbs, while 2020 qualifier Alec Hagan is expected to be at 149. Additionally, Ohio has transfer Tommy Hoskins and a host of fresh faces expected to contribute at 125.

220 lb Junior Freestyle National Champion Christian Carroll of Indiana (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Junior Freestyle at this year's Fargo tournament wrapped up on Tuesday. As always, the event featured some of the top high school wrestlers across the country and some very large brackets. The following looks at some of the statistical trends and top performers from the tournament. This year, in particular, there were an astonishing number of matches finished before the full six minutes. Only 24% of matches ended via VPO or VPO1 during the event. The most common match result was a shutout by superiority with 36% of the matches ended via that method. The high number of finishes contributed to a very low average match time. The average match across the tournament lasted only 3:17. The weight division with the quickest average match time was actually 220 pounds where the matches lasted only 2:40. The division with the longest average match time of 4:40 was 106 pounds. Many coaches are probably pleased to see the brightest stars of the next generation of wrestlers lighting up the scoreboard. After all, coaches often praise an offensive mindset. It will be interesting to see if this style is here to stay or if the aggregate scoring will come down after these wrestlers are introduced to the grind of the collegiate wrestling scene that can emphasize situational scoring and close matches. Point Differential Drake Ayala dominated his way through the 126-pound bracket. Along the way, he defeated seven opponents, surrendered only two points and finished all of his bouts in the first period. Following the event, he was named "Outstanding Wrestler." Ayala also had the highest point differential in the entire tournament. He scored 7.05 points per minute, allowed 0.39 points per minute for a +6.66 differential. The future Hawkeye really stood out in the event as his differential was nearly a point higher than the rest of the field. Zane Donley who won the tournament at 100 pounds finished second in terms of point differential with +5.87, while the 220-pound champion had the fifth highest with +4.30. Top Five Point Differentials (Minimum Four Matches) 126: Drake Ayala 6.66 100: Zane Donley 5.87 285: Xavier Doolin 5.58 132: Maxximus Martinez 4.41 220: Christian Carroll 4.30 Points per Minute While Ayala had the highest differential, he was slightly edged in terms of pure scoring by heavyweight Xavier Doolin. He averaged 7.21 points per minute while he was on the mat. Doolin did suffer a fall against Ryan Boersma and defaulted out of a match against Gage Cook. However, in his other five matches, he scored 46 points in under four minutes. Doolin is part of Northern Colorado's 2021 recruiting class, which was ranked 19th by InterMat. It should be interesting to see if his high scoring will carry over to the Big 12. Top Five Points per Minute Rates (Minimum Four Matches) 285: Xavier Doolin 7.21 126: Drake Ayala 7.05 100: Zane Donley 6.33 170: Jackson Rosado 6.22 170: Simon Swan 5.71 Points Against per Minute While top recruit Cooper Flynn was one of the favorites going into this tournament at 120-pounds, he suffered an upset against eventual champion Kannon Webster in the quarterfinals. He did recover and wrestle back for third place. Even though Flynn did not take the tournament title, the soon-to-be Virginia Tech wrestler did earn the distinction of allowing the fewest points per minute (0.20) among all wrestlers with at least four matches. During the tournament, Flynn wrestled a total of nine matches and allowed only seven points. Four of those points came in his 4-2 loss against Webster. 138-pound champion Tagen Jamison leaned heavily on his defense as he allowed only 0.25 points per minute on his way to the title. Also, Manuel Rojas allowed only 0.28 points per minute as he won the title at 170 pounds. Top Points Against per Minute Rates (Minimum Four Matches) 120: Cooper Flynn 0.20 138: Tagen Jamison 0.25 170: Manuel Rojas 0.28 145: Caleb Rathjen 0.32 160: Joshua Barr 0.33 195: Rylan Rogers 0.33 132: Maxximus Martinez 0.33 Highest Scoring Matches As previously stated, this was a very high scoring tournament. While most of these matches were one-sided blowouts, there were also several bouts where both wrestlers were regular contributors to the scoreboard. The highest scoring match of the event came in the 132-pound bracket. Aliazer Alicea and Kyler Neuberger met in the round of 128, which was the first bout for each wrestler. The match got off to a wild start as Alicea scored a takedown and an exposure in the first 40 seconds before Neuberger came back with a five-point throw. Alicea held a 14-13 lead at the break before breaking things open in the second period. Neuberger did not stop scoring either, but Alicea put up a five-point throw of his own and took the bout via a 30-23 score. Their combined 53 points was the highest combined total of the tournament. The only wrestler to both place and finish in the top five for highest scoring matches was Hank Kriegler. The 100-pound wrestler had a 49-point match against Drew Dolphin and eventually finished sixth at the weight. Top Five Highest Scoring Matches 132: Aliazer Alicea over Kyler Neuberger 30-23 100: Hank Kriegler over Drew Dolphin 26-23 170: Tate Entriken over Samajay Alboyd 24-18 195: Diego Chavez over Ryan Cody 23-18 195: Connor Barket over Blake Schaffer 21-19

Oklahoma All-American Dom Demas (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Reports surfaced on Wednesday from the Houston Chronicle that OU and Texas had reached out to the SEC to discuss the possibility of leaving the Big 12 and joining the SEC. Since then, rumors have swirled in every direction, some assuming it is a done deal and the schools are both headed out, some saying it's purely hearsay and there's no truth at all to it, and there's just about everything in between. But what would happen with the OU wrestling program if the rest of the school's sports went to the SEC? As most know, the SEC does not sponsor wrestling, so OU would have to wrestle in another conference. We've seen this exact scenario play out once before. Missouri and Texas A&M left for the SEC in 2011, and when that occurred, Mizzou went to the MAC for wrestling. Ten years later, the Big 12 announced Missouri would be coming back and this upcoming wrestling season, we'll see their return. If OU were to bail on the conference, theoretically, they could be allowed to stay in the Big 12 for wrestling. But as we've seen with Missouri, the powers that be in the Big 12 aren't likely to take their exit kindly and would probably not allow that immediately. So, where would OU wrestling go? The MAC makes a reasonable amount of sense. OU head coach Lou Rosselli is from New York and has coached in both Pennsylvania and Ohio, and the MAC has schools in all those states. There would be some benefits for Rosselli as the travel and competition in those locations would give him even more recruiting inroads in the area. OU would also quickly be a power in the conference as we saw with Missouri, but their competition would certainly not be on the level they currently see in the Big 12. The Pac-12 recently announced steps they were taking to bolster wrestling membership in the conference. They've recently added Little Rock, which is, of course, not far from Norman. And given the direction they seem to be pushing with wrestling, it's safe to assume they would be in the conversation. The bigger conversation surrounding this is what it could do to the conference as a whole? If OU and Texas, the Big 12 cash cows, were to leave, many believe that could create chaos across the college sports landscape and even potentially lead to the demise of the entire Big 12. If this happens, it's not only bad for the Big 12, but also bad for the sport of wrestling. The Big 12 conference and commissioner Bob Bowlsby have been good for wrestling. You can go back to the old Big 8 days, which helped developed traditional national powers like Oklahoma State, Iowa State, and Oklahoma. And absorbing the Western Wrestling Conference has been a wonderful thing for wrestling and put the affiliate programs on a national stage. South Dakota State got an NCAA champion and is on the way to getting some of the best facilities in the country; Wyoming was squarely in the mix for the Big 12 title at the conference tournament last year, and on and on. If the Big 12 goes away, who knows what could happen with some of these programs that have almost all been moving in a positive direction recently? There's a lot of uncertainty with this right now and most things surrounding this are all speculation, so who knows what will happen? Maybe nothing. But if this does happen, it's sure to cause a ripple effect across the wrestling world in one way or another.

Double Outstanding Wrestler Jasmine Robinson(Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The Junior Women's Freestyle National Championships ended the same way that the 16U tournament did, with Texas 152 lber Jasmine Robinson (Texas) earning Outstanding Wrestler honors, while California celebrated a team title. Robinson went 6-0 on her way to a Junior National title and did not have a match that lasted longer than 1:52. In the Junior tournament, she rolled with four falls and two techs. She did not surrender a point in the entire competition. Robinson's Junior opponent, Rose Cassioppi (Illinois), entered the tournament ranked fifth in the nation at 164 lbs. For the 11th straight Junior Women's tournament, it was California that prevailed. The traditional powerhouse had five individual champions, two more finalists, and outdistanced themselves from second-place Texas by more than 80 points. A total of 14 California natives earned All-American honors. At the opening weight, 100 lbs, California had co-champions as twins Brianna and Emilie Gonzalez did not wrestle each other. Brianna earned her berth in the finals after knocking off former UWW Cadet World Team member Alex Szkotnicki (Maryland), 4-2. In the second bout, a pair of California natives squared off at 106 lbs. Both Paige Morales and Kiely Tabaldo also met in the 16U national finals. Like that meeting, it was Morales that prevailed. This time it was 8-4. Another title for California came at 138 lbs as Savannah Gomez was able to gain a fall over North Central recruit Sara Sulejmani (Illinois). The rising junior dominated the tempo of the bout and held an 8-2 lead at the time of the fall, only :30 seconds into the second period. California's final title came at 200 lbs when Sam Calkins prevailed 2-2 on criteria over Riley Dempewolf (Indiana). Calkins walked into the finals without surrendering a point, but had to dig deep to defeat Dempewolf. The Indiana native scored two points via a step-out and a shot clock violation in the opening period. Calkins got her winning points midway through the second and was able to hold on to win. One of the most storied women's careers in Fargo ended after Sage Mortimer (Utah) claimed her fourth national title at 112. She did so by holding off talented Samara Chavez (Texas), 12-7. Despite a 10-2 lead from Mortimer, Chavez nearly pinned the Utah native during a second-period surge. Mortimer finishes her high school career as a five-time Fargo finalist, four-time champ (twice at Juniors and 16U). She also placed in Junior Greco-Roman in 2018. Both Mortimer and Chavez will be teammates at King University in the fall. Also joining the pair at King is 132 lb champion London Houston (Washington). London left no doubt about the outcome and needed only :56 seconds to amass a dozen points en route to a 12-1 tech of Hanna Errthum (Wisconsin). Another dominating performance and potential OW candidate came in the form of Cadet World bronze medalist and Olympic Trials finalist Kylie Welker (Wisconsin). Welker's championship bout, against Ashley Reed (Connecticut) was her longest of the tournament (1:24). She outscored her competition 45-0 and that doesn't count a victory via fall. Aside from California, the only other states with multiple champions were Texas and Washington. After Robinson won at 152 lbs, Brittyn Corbishley became the second Texan to earn a stop sign. Though Corbishley had a challenging field to navigate, you wouldn't know by judging her results. She did not give up a single point all tournament and never wrestled into the second period. Her last two wins came over a former Fargo 16U champion (Jaycee Foeller - Missouri) and a 16U runner-up (Taryn Martin). Washington's other finalist was Shelby Moore at 122 lbs. Moore was one of three women to double-up and win at both age groups (Morales and Robinson). Her finals opponent, Jennifer Soto (California), nearly pulled off the feat in 2019. Soto was a 16U champion and Junior runner-up. In the 2021 finals, Soto could not generate any offense and fell 5-1 to Moore. There were a pair of bouts that appeared to be marquee matchups, based on the credentials of its participants, that would end up as blowouts. At 127 lbs, 2019 16U runner-up Alexis Janiak (Illinois) squared off with 2019 16U champion Sofia Macaluso (New York). Janiak got an early takedown and managed to turn Macaluso four times with a leg lace for a quick 10-0 win. At 144 lbs, a pair of returning 16U national champions, Destiny Rodriguez (Oregon) and Reese Larramendy (Nevada), clashed. Larramendy opened up the scoring with a pair of points via exposure; however, Rodriguez scored 13 of the last 14 points to earn a win via tech. Aside from Gomez at 138 lbs, two other finals matched ended with a fall; Ngao Shoua Whitethorn (Minnesota) at 117 and Eliana Bommarito (Michigan) at 225. Whitethorn finished her tournament with four falls overall. Bommarito had two pins throughout the tournament and was never seriously threatened. Final Junior Women's Freestyle Championship Results 100 lbs - No Contest (Brianna Gonzalez/Emilie Gonzalez) 106 lbs - Paige Morales (California) over Kiely Tabaldo (California) 112 lbs - Sage Mortimer (Utah) over Samara Chavez (Texas) 117 lbs - Ngao Shoua Whitethorn (Minnesota) over Jaclyn Dehney (Massachusetts) Fall 3:34 122 lbs - Shelby Moore (Washington) over Jennifer Soto (California) 5-1 127 lbs - Alexis Janiak (Illinois) over Sofia Macaluso (New York) 10-0 132 lbs - London Houston (Washington) over Hanna Errthum (Wisconsin) 12-1 138 lbs - Savannah Gomez (California) over Sara Sulejmani (Illinois) 8-2 144 lbs - Destiny Rodriguez (Oregon) over Reese Larramendy (Nevada) 13-3 152 lbs - Jasmine Robinson (Texas) over Rose Cassioppi (Illinois) 164 lbs - Kylie Welker (Wisconsin) over Ashley Reed (Connecticut) 13-0 180 lbs - Brittyn Corbishley (Texas) over Taryn Martin (Ohio) 11-0 200 lbs - Sam Calkins (California) over Riley Dempewolf (Indiana) 2-2 225 lbs - Eliana Bommarito (Michigan) over Lexie Cole (Missouri) 2:34

Donnie Vinson (Cornell) Neil Erisman (Little Rock) Zach Tanelli (Columbia) Cody Caldwell (South Dakota State) Adam Hall (NC State)

2021 Cadet World Champion Bo Bassett (Photo courtesy of Josh Conklin; JoshConklinPhotos.com) On the final day of competition in men's freestyle at the Cadet World Championships, the American team won two out of three medal round matches. The highlight of the day was the performance by Bo Bassett in the 45 kg finals. Bassett only needed a minute and 27 seconds to dispose of Alikhan Ashinov (Russia) to clinch his world title. Despite giving up the initial takedown, Bassett was undeterred and picked up a pair of his own before muscling Ashinov to his back with a cow catcher. A few seconds later the Russian was pinned. Two previous opponents met the same fate as Ashinov, since Bassett pinned three and teched his semifinal opponent 13-2. Also picking up hardware was Nate Jesuroga at 51 kg. In the bronze medal match, the Iowa native also surrendered the first takedown, but gave up nothing afterwards. Jesuroga tied the match (though he owned criteria) in the waning seconds of the opening period, then blew the bout open in the second. He would go on to win, 6-2. Gavin Nelson at 92 kg was shut out by Kazakhstan's Kamil Kurugliyev 4-0 in his bid for a bronze medal. Team USA's final medal haul includes a pair of golds (Bassett, Meyer Shapiro), three silvers (Luke Lilledahl, James Rowley, Jim Mullen), and a bronze (Jesuroga). That was good enough for a second place finish, as a team, just four points behind India. The American's did finish ahead of third-place Russia, for the first time in Cadet World competition. Also, on Wednesday, the Cadet Women's team took the mat for the first time. Four of the five who competed today are still in the medal hunt on Thursday. Audrey Jimenez (49 kg) and Lillian Freitas (73 kg) advanced to the semifinals and will wrestle for a bronze medal. Angie Dill (43 kg) and Savannah Cosme (57 kg) have to fight through repechage matches before wrestling for a medal. Jimenez led all American women's competitors with three victories on the day, each coming via technical superiority, 10-0. Freitas had a pair of wins, one via tech and another by fall. Both fell in the semis by two points. Wednesday's Cadet World Championship Results Men's Freestyle 45 kg - Bo Bassett (USA) (W) vs. Alikhan Ashinov (Russia) Fall 1:27 - Gold Medal Match 51 kg - Nate Jesuroga (USA) (W) vs. Tigran Buniatyan (Armenia) 6-2 - Bronze Medal Match 92 kg - Gavin Nelson (USA) (W) vs. Kamil Kurugliyev (Kazakhstan) - Bronze Medal Match Women's Freestyle 43 kg - Angie Dill (USA) (W) vs. Julia Dolna (Poland) Fall :55 (L) vs. Tannu (India) 13-0 Repechage Opponent - Yelyzaveta Kulakivska (Ukraine) 49 kg - Audrey Jimenez (USA) (W) vs. Neha Kiran Chougale (India) 10-0 (W) vs. Laura Ganikyzy (Kazakhstan) 10-0 (W) vs. Sarah Lins (Austria) 10-0 (L) vs. Svenja Jungo (Switzerland) 8-6 Bronze Medal Opponent - Winner of Fabiana Rinella (Italy)/Delia Voiculescu (Romania) 57 kg - Savannah Cosme (USA) (L) vs. Selvi Ilyasgolu (Turkey) 6-0 Repechage Opponent - Khaliun Byambasuren (Mongolia) 65 kg - Grace Stem (USA) (L) vs. Duygu Gen (Turkey) 6-6 73 kg - Lillian Freitas (USA) (W) vs. Patrycja Dorota Cuber (Poland) Fall :36 (W) vs. Valentina Toreniyazova (Uzbekistan) 10-0 (L) vs. Kseniya Patapovich (Belarus) 3-1 Bronze Medal Opponent - Winner of Milla Andelic (Croatia)/Veronika Nyikos (Hungary)

Two-time Junior National freestyle champion Drake Ayala (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The big one is in the books; The Men's Junior Freestyle National Championships held their All-American matches on Tuesday and 120 wrestlers were able to get onto the national podium. This portion of “Fargo” included almost 1600 wrestlers competing for 15 stop signs. Needless to say, competition was fierce and there are plenty of quality competitors that missed the top-eight. Today we're looking at those that finished the tournament as All-American's and which colleges they will attend in the future. Cal Poly Luka Wick - California (4th at 152 lbs) Campbell Sebastian Melguizo - Florida (8th at 126 lbs) Cleveland State Benjamin Aranda - Illinois (2nd at 113 lbs) Columbia Richard Fedalen - Maryland (6th at 145 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Cornell Erik Gibson - Pennsylvania (6th at 152 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Nico Provo - Connecticut (7th at 126 lbs) Illinois Christian Carroll - Indiana (1st at 220 lbs) -- Class of 2023 Kannon Webster - Illinois (1st at 120 lbs) -- Class of 2023 Indiana Henry Porter - California (7th at 145 lbs) Iowa Drake Ayala - Iowa (1st at 126 lbs) Caleb Rathjen - Iowa (2nd at 145 lbs) Iowa State Paniro Johnson - Pennsylvania (3rd at 152 lbs) Manuel Rojas - Michigan (1st at 170 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Casey Swiderski - Michigan (2nd at 138 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Lehigh Caden Rogers - Pennsylvania (5th at 195 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Little Rock Matt Bianchi - Wisconsin (3rd at 145 lbs) Michigan Rylan Rogers - Washington (3rd at 195 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Minnesota Blaine Brenner - Wisconsin (6th at 138 lbs) Tagen Jamison - Texas (1st at 138 lbs) Bennett Tabor - Minnesota (5th at 220 lbs) Missouri Ryan Boersma - Illinois (3rd at 285 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Zeke Seltzer - Indiana (5th at 132 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Clayton Whiting - Wisconsin (5th at 182 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Navy Danny Wask - New Jersey (2nd at 152 lbs) -- Class of 2022 NC State Jackson Arrington - Pennsylvania (4th at 145 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Chase Horne - Georgia (2nd at 285 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Dylan Fishback - Ohio (1st at 195 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Nebraska Harley Andrews - Oklahoma (8th at 285 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Antrell Taylor - Nebraska (5th at 160 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Adam Thebeau - Illinois (8th at 160 lbs) North Carolina Cole Hunt - Georgia (6th at 113 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Noah Pettigrew - Georgia (3rd at 220 lbs) -- Class of 2022 North Dakota State DeAnthony Parker - Illinois (7th at 182 lbs) Northern Colorado Benjamin Alanis - Arizona (8th at 145 lbs) Northern Iowa Jared Simma - Kansas (6th at 182 lbs) Northwestern Evan Bates - Indiana (7th at 195 lbs) Ohio State Seth Shumate - Ohio (2nd at 195 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Oklahoma Christian Forbes - Oklahoma (4th at 106 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Oklahoma State Luke Mechler - Wisconsin (6th at 160 lbs) Penn Martin Cosgrove - New Jersey (4th at 220 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Sean Seefeldt - Ohio (8th at 120 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Princeton Ty Whalen - New Jersey (3rd at 138 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Purdue Ben Vanadia - Ohio (8th at 220 lbs) Rutgers Brian Soldano - New Jersey (2nd at 182 lbs) -- Class of 2022 South Dakota State Cael Swensen - Minnesota (5th at 152 lbs) Utah Valley Yusief Lillie - Washington (2nd at 120 lbs) UW-LaCrosse Ben Kawczynski - Wisconsin (1st at 285 lbs) Virginia Garrett Grice - Nebraska (6th at 132 lbs) Virginia Tech Cooper Flynn - Tennessee (3rd at 120 lbs) Caleb Henson - Georgia (1st at 152 lbs) -- Class of 2022 Wyoming Jore Volk - Minnesota (3rd at 126 lbs) -- Class of 2022

120 lb Junior National Champion Kannon Webster (Photo courtesy of Josh Conklin; JoshConklinPhotos.com) A month after falling at the Junior National Duals, Team Illinois returned to the top of the heap in Men's Junior freestyle. Illinois claimed their fourth consecutive team title behind a pair of champions and 11 All-Americans. The first of the two winners for Illinois was Kannon Webster at 120 lbs. Just a rising junior, Webster dominated graduating senior Yusief Lillie. Despite the age discrepancy and an opponent that was the decorated of any wrestler in any of the tournaments in Fargo (he entered as a five-time medalist), Webster was never in danger during a 12-1 tech. Along with his win over Lillie, Webster defeated past 16U finalists Jett Stickenberger (Colorado) and Mitchell Neiner (Washington), as well as top-seeded Cooper Flynn. The second champion for Illinois was 132 lber Nasir Bailey. Bailey scored a clutch takedown over Emilio Ysaguirre (Arizona) as time expired to win the stop sign 4-4 with criteria in his favor. Bailey had quite the run himself downing South Dakota State recruit Derrick Cardinal (Minnesota), Virginia signee Kyren Butler (Ohio), and Missouri recruit Zeke Seltzer (Indiana), just for a place in the finals. Even in defeat, Ysaguirre made himself a household name by knocking off pound-for-pound #1 Nic Bouzakis (Pennsylvania) in the quarterfinals. Outstanding Wrestler honors were given to Drake Ayala (Iowa), who logged a 10-0 tech of Sergio Lemley (Indiana), within the first minute. Ayala was the only wrestler at the tournament to win his second Junior freestyle national title. In fact, none of Ayala's seven bouts lasted into the second period. He won in his opening match via fall before reeling off six straight tech falls, outscoring the opposition 64-2. The championship finals started with a run of lopsided bouts. Each of the first five matches were decided by techs. Zane Donley (Oklahoma - 100), Hunter Taylor (Missouri - 106), Braeden Davis (Michigan - 106), Webster, then Ayala logged wins without much resistance. Davis was one of the trio champions for Team Michigan, the only state to produce three. Josh Barr and Manuel Rojas went back-to-back at 160 and 170 lbs for Michigan. Rojas finally got over the hump after taking second at the 16U division in both 2018 and 2019. Barr was a prominent finisher in 2019, as well, placing fourth. While Ayala grabbed his second Junior title and third overall, it was Jordan Williams (Oklahoma) at 145 that also claimed his third stop sign. Williams won a pair at the 16U level in 2018 and 2019. His win featured one of the more dramatic endings of the afternoon. Caleb Rathjen generally controlled the bulk of the bout and held a 3-1 lead into the waning seconds. Williams was able to gain a pair of points via exposure as the clock expired. A lost challenge by the Iowa bench made the final score, 4-3. Another competitor that is no stranger to the top step on the Fargo podium is the winner at 182 lbs, TJ Stewart (Maryland). Stewart won a 16U freestyle title in 2019. This time he was paired with the top-ranked 182 lber in the nation, Brian Soldano (New Jersey). Stewart jumped out to a 6-0 Aside from Ayala, the only graduated seniors that claimed national titles on Tuesday were Tagen Jamison (Texas) and Ben Kawczynski (Wisconsin). Jamison cruised to a 7-2 win over Iowa State recruit Casey Swiderski (Michigan). Jamison will continue his career at Minnesota. Kawczynski was relentless with his reattacks and stopped the top-ranked big man, Chase Horne (Georgia), 12-4. He will enroll at UW-LaCrosse in the fall. Before Kawczynski took the mat, 220 lber Christian Carroll (Indiana) put on a clinic. Carroll teched Iowa's Ben Kueter 12-0 for his title. Only one of Carroll's seven bouts went the distance, as he racked up two falls and four techs. Finally, a pair of rising seniors that have committed to ACC schools won titles at 160 and 195. Caleb Henson (Georgia) was the top-seed and held serve during a back-and-forth bout against Danny Wask (New Jersey), 9-9. The lead changed hands seven times throughout the six minutes and the Virginia Tech recruit was able to fend off a scrappy Wask. In the battle of Ohio natives, at 195 lbs, it was a future NC State Wolfpack, Dylan Fishback, that prevailed. Fishback scored a five-pointer early in the contest and never let up. He would go on to secure a fall over Ohio State recruit Seth Shumate, a double 16U champion from 2019. Junior National Freestyle Finals 100 lbs - Zane Donley (OK) over Nate Smith (IN) 13-2 106 lbs - Hunter Taylor (MO) over Brandon Morvari (MN) 10-0 113 lbs - Braeden Davis (MI) over Benjamin Aranda (IL) 11-1 120 lbs - Kannon Webster (IL) over Yusief Lillie (WA) 12-1 126 lbs - Drake Ayala (IA) over Sergio Lemley (IN) 10-0 132 lbs - Nasir Bailey (IL) over Emilio Ysaguirre (AZ) 4-4 138 lbs - Tagen Jamison (TX) over Casey Swiderski (MI) 7-2 145 lbs - Jordan Williams (OK) over Caleb Rathjen (IA) 4-3 152 lbs - Caleb Henson (GA) Danny Wask (NJ) 9-9 160 lbs - Josh Barr (MI) over Aiden Riggins (IA) 4-4 170 lbs - Manuel Rojas (MI) over Brayden Thompson (IL) 5-2 182 lbs - Thomas Stewart (MD) over Brian Soldano (NJ) 8-4 195 lbs - Dylan Fishback (OH) over Seth Shumate (OH) Fall 5:25 220 lbs - Christian Carroll (IN) over Ben Kueter (IA) 12-0 285 lbs - Ben Kawczynski (WI) over Chase Horne (GA) 12-4

Cadet World Champion Meyer Shapiro (Photo courtesy of Josh Conklin; JoshConklinPhotos.com) The second day of competition at the Cadet World Championships in Budapest, Hungary saw medals handed out for the first time at the event. Four Americans earned some hardware led by 65 kg gold medalist Meyer Shairpo. Luke Lilledahl (48 kg), James Rowley (80 kg), and Jim Mullen (110 kg) all settled for silver medals. Shapiro jumped out to an early lead on his finals opponent, Giorgi Gogritchiani (Georgia) after a shot clock point. Eager to add to his lead, Shapiro stayed on the offensive, but was caught in a chin whip for four points by the Georgian. During the sequence, Shapiro did earn a point for a reversal. The American's heavy hands and pace were too much, as Shapiro grabbed a pair of late takedowns to take a 6-4 lead. He was able to withstand the final charge from Gogritchiani and stuffed the Georgian's takedown attempt straight to his back for a fall with one second remaining in the bout. In addition to the finals matches, the remaining five men's freestyle weights got underway. Bo Bassett at 45 kg earned a place in tomorrow's finals after racking up two pins and a tech fall in the semifinals. Two others, Nate Jesuroga (51 kg) and Gavin Nelson (92 kg), will wrestle for bronze medals tomorrow. Tuesday's Cadet World Championship Results 45 kg - Bo Bassett (USA) (W) vs. Malkhazi Khelaia (Georgia) Fall (W) vs. Yusif Isparov (Azerbaijan) Fall (W) vs. Umidjon Iskandarov (Uzbekistan) 13-2 Finals Opponent - Alikhan Ashinov (Russia) 48 kg - Luke Lilledahl (USA) (L) vs. Aman (India) 5-2 - Gold Medal Match 51 kg - Nate Jesuroga (USA) (W) vs. Resul Dogan (Turkey) 4-2 (L) vs. Nodirbek Jumanazarov (Uzbekistan) 10-0 Bronze Medal Opponent - Tigran Buniatyan (Armenia) 60 kg - Beau Mantanona (USA) (L) vs. Abdulrahman Ibrahimov (Azerbaijan) 6-2 65 kg - Meyer Shapiro (USA) (W) vs. Giorgi Gogritchiani (Georgia) Fall - Gold Medal Match 71 kg - Levi Haines (USA) (W) vs. Asadbek Karimov (Uzbekistan) Fall (L) vs. Cengizhan Dogan (Turkey) 4-3 80 kg - James Rowley (USA) (L) vs. Sagar Jaglan (India) 4-0 - Gold Medal Match 92 kg - Gavin Nelson (USA) (W) vs. Khaleifah Alhefeiti (UAE) Fall (W) vs. Georgian Tripon (Romania) 2-0 (L) vs. Zhorik Dzhioev (Russia) 8-0 110 kg - Jim Mullen (USA) (L) vs. Amirreza Masoumi Valardi (Iran) 10-0 - Gold Medal Match

Two-time world champion Zaurbek Sidakov (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) As of today, we under 50 days from the start of wrestling at the Olympic Games. Over the next 50 days, we'll bring you one profile per day of a decorated international contender. Make sure you get to know the wrestlers that Team USA will compete against in Tokyo. 7/15/21 - Taha Akgul (Turkey) 7/13/21 - Artur Naifonov (Russia) 7/11/21 - Vazgen Tevanyan (Armenia) 7/10/21 - Khadzhimurad Ghadzhiev (Azerbaijan) 7/8/21 - Ali Shabanov (Belarus) 7/7/21 - Gadzhimurad Rashidov (Russia) 7/6/21 - Suleyman Karadeniz (Turkey) 7/5/21 - Frank Chamizo (Italy) 7/3/21 - Yui Susaki (Japan) 7/1/21 - Amir Zare (Iran) 6/28/21 - Zavur Uguev (Russia) 6/27/21 - Zhan Beleniuk (Ukraine) 6/26/21 - Sergey Kozyrev (Russia) 6/24/21 - Kenchiro Fumita (Japan) 6/23/21 - Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (Belarus) 6/22/21 - Erica Wiebe (Canada) 6/21/21 - Myles Amine (San Marino) 6/20/21 - Sofia Mattsson (Sweden) 6/19/21 - Hassan Yazdani Charati (Iran) 6/18/21 - Tamas Lorincz (Hungary) 6/17/21 - Takuro Otoguro (Japan) 6/16/21 - Elizbar Odikadze (Georgia) 6/15/21 - Koumba Larroque (France) 6/14/21 - Haji Aliyev (Azerbaijan) 6/13/21 - Ningning Rong (China) 6/12/21 - Bajrang Punia (India) 6/11/21 - Frank Staebler (Germany) 6/10/21 - Geno Petriashvili (Georgia) An age group prospect who turned the corner into a legend at the end of the 2016-2020 quad, #1 Zaurbek Sidakov of Russia has become a history maker for Russia at 74 KG. Coming into his own during a renaissance for the deepest weight in wrestling, Sidakov has ascended to the top of the pound-for-pound standings with back-to-back world titles beating divisional elites the likes of 5x World/Olympic champion #8 Jordan Burroughs (USA) and 2x World champion #5 Frank Chamizo (ITA) to take his crown. With a huge matchup against two-time 79 KG world champion #2 Kyle Dake (USA) looming at the Tokyo Olympics, today our Olympic profile will cover the career of two-time 74 KG world champion #1 Zaurbek Sidakov of Russia. The Stats #1 Zaurbek Sidakov (RUS) - 2017 70 KG Russian Nationals 5th, 2016 70 KG Russian Nationals 1st, 2017 70 KG Yarygin 2nd, 2016 U-23 European Championships 3rd, 2016 74 KG Junior European Championships 3rd, 2016 Yarygin 70 KG 1st, 2016 70 KG European Championships 5th, 2015 65 KG Junior World Championships 3rd, 2015 65 KG Olympia Tournament 3rd, 2015 65 KG Yarygin 3rd. 2014 65 KG Copa Brasil 1st, 2017 70 KG Alans tournament runner-up, 2018 74 KG Yarygin runner-up, 2018 74 KG Military world champion(74), 2018 U-23 74 KG European Champ, 2018 Russian Nationals champ(74), 2018 74 KG world champ, 2019 74 KG Yarygin champion, 2019 74 KG European Games champion, 2019 74 KG world champion, 2020 74 KG Russian Nationals bronze medalist, 2021 74 KG Russian Nationals champion, 2021 74 KG Sassari City tournament champion. Key Wins: #3 Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (2017 70 KG Yarygin), #2 (70) Evgeni Zherbaev (2016 70 KG Nationals, 2017 70 KG Russian Nationals), #5 (79) Radik Valiev (2016 70 KG National finals), #5 Frank Chamizo (2017 70 KG Alans, 2018 74 KG world championships, 2019 74 KG world championships), #6 Razambek Zhamalov (2021 74 KG Russian Nationals finals), #7 Avtandil Kentchadze (2015 66 KG Junior world bronze medal match, 2018 74 KG U-23 Euros, 2018 74 KG world finals, 2019 European Games), #8 Jordan Burroughs (2018 74 KG world quarterfinals, 2019 74 KG world championships), #9 Timur Bizhoev (2018 74 KG Russian Nationals quarters, 2017 70 KG Yarygin, 2021 74 KG Russian Nationals), #1 (79) Akhsarbek Gulaev (2018 74 KG U-23 Euro finals), #14 Khetag Tsabolov (2018 74 KG Russian Nationals finals) #16 Magomed Kurbanaliev (2019 74 KG Russian Nationals wrestle-off, 2020 Russian Nationals 74 KG bronze medal match, 2021 74 KG Russian Nationals), Kakhaber Khubezhty (2018 74 KG Yarygin semis), Khusey Suyunchev (2016 Nationals), #9 (79) Atsamaz Sanakoev (2016 Yarygin), Kamal Malikov (2016 70 KG Yarygin), Alibek Akbaev (2016 70 KG Yarygin), Batzorig Buyanjav (2016 70 KG Yarygin), Devid Safaryan (2016 70 KG European Championships), Alibegghadzi Emeev (2015 65 KG Yarygin bronze medal match), Khabib magomedov(2016 Nationals), Rasul Dzhukaev (2017 70 KG Yarygin), #14 (79) Evgeni Lapshov (2018 74 KG Russian Nationals semis), Timur Nikolaev (2017 70 KG Yarygin), Ildous Giniyatullin (2016 70 KG Nationals), Aaron Pico (2014 65 KG Yuri Gusov Tournament), #9 (70) Azamat Nurikov (2019 74 KG European Games). Key Losses: Brent Metcalf (2015 65 KG Yarygin), Murad Suleymanov (2016 74 KG Junior European Championships), #16 Magomed Kurbanaliev (2015 65 KG Intercontinental Cup, 2015 65 KG Russian Nationals, 2017 70 KG Alans tournament), Magomed Muslimov (2015 65 KG World Cup) Franklin Mauren Castillo( 2015 65 KG world cup), Mandakhnaran Ganzorig (2015 65 KG World Cup), Israil Kasumov (2017 70 KG Yarygin finals), Yuji Fujinami (2015 66 KG Junior worlds), #3 Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (2017 70 KG Russian Nationals), Rasul Dzhukaev (2017 70 KG Russian Nationals), Gadjimurad Omarov (2017 70 KG U-23 European Championships), #14 Khetag Tsabolov (2018 Yarygin finals, 2021 74 KG Russian Nationals) 2014-2017 Beginning his career at the 65 KG weight class, #1 Zaurbek Sidakov would turn heads with a win in the finals over 2013 Cadet world champion and U.S. phenom Aaron Pico in the finals of the Yuri Gusov tournament in early 2014. Pico would go onto to take bronze at the 66 KG Junior World Championships behind future 3x World/Olympic champion #2 (86) Hassan Yazdani Charati (IRI), while Sidakov finished his successful 2014 campaign with a Copa Brasil title over 2014 Senior national runner-up Shikhsaid Jalilov of Russia. 2015 began with Sidakov's debut at the legendary Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix, Russia's unofficial “Russian Nationals before Russian Nationals,” where the brackets are boasted to be deeper than that of the World and Olympic championships. Along with sheer depth, there is another important function of the Yarygin in that the highest Russian medalist will be sent as the European Championship representative with the runner-up or second-highest medalist then being sent as the representative for the World Cup. Competing in the Senior's division while only 19 years old, Sidakov would make the quarterfinals against 2013 Yarygin runner-up Brent Metcalf of the United States and fall 9-1 to the American standout. With Metcalf making the finals with a victory over 2013 Russian Nationals bronze medalist Alibegghadzi Emeev (RUS) in the semifinals, Sidakov qualified for the bronze medal match. In the bronze medal match, Sidakov would beat Emeev 3-2 for bronze. Sidakov was selected to represent Russia at the World Cup, while champion #11 (65) Ilyas Bekbulatov (UZB) was chosen to compete at the European Games and fellow bronze medalist #2 (70) Evgheni Zherbaev (RUS) represented Russia at the inaugural U23 European championships. Coming off his bronze medal finish at the Yarygin, the World cup debut of Sidakov was highly anticipated. But in a field as deep as the World Cup and as young as Sidakov was, there was to be growing pains. Going 0-3, Sidakov dropped matches to two world bronze medalists Mandakhnaran Ganzorig (MGL), 2018 70 KG world bronze medalist Franklin Maren Castillo (CUB) and Magomed Muslimov (AZE). Coming off the rough showing at the World Cup, Sidakov entered his first Senior Russian Nationals tournament and drew returning 2014 European champion #16 Magomed Kurbanaliev (RUS) in the first round of action. Kurbanaliev would walk away the winner and Sidakov was eliminated after Kurbanaliev's loss to eventual champion Bekbulatov. Competing only nine days later at the Olympia tournament at 70 KG in Greece, Sidakov came away with gold over 2014 65 KG world bronze medalist Mihail Sava of Moldova. Competing at his final Senior-level event before his debut at the Junior World Championships, Sidakov would draw old rival Kurbanaliev in the opening round of the Ali Aliev. The veteran Kurbanaliev was still too much for Sidakov and the North Ossetian standout was eliminated after Kurbanaliev's loss to eventual runner-up Emeev, a wrestler who'd Sidakov beaten earlier in the year at the Yarygin. As the favorite to win gold at the Junior World Championships, after impressive wins over Russian Nationals medalists Emeev (RUS) and Shikhsaid Jalilov (RUS), along with beating returning runner-up Aaron Pico (USA) in 2014, Sidakov would make the semifinal against 2013 63 KG Cadet World runner-up Yuji Fujinami of Japan. Sidakov, length with a powerful slideby and impressive swim high crotch, was overpowered by the powerful leg attacks and finishes of his Japanese opponent and while he mounted a comeback late, he'd fall 5-4 to Fujinami, who'd go on to take silver to Teymur Mammadov (AZE). Rebounding from his semifinal loss to Fujinami, Sidakov would take bronze at the Junior World Championships with a 9-4 win over #7 Avtandil Kentchadze (GEO). 2016 began for Sidakov with a move up to 70 KG, where he'd debut at the Ivan Yarygin Memorial. Beginning his tournament with a win over Alibek Akbaev (RUS), Sidakov notched the biggest win of his career in the quarterfinals over three-time Russian Nationals bronze medalist Kamal Malikov (RUS) to move onto the semifinals, where he'd take on 2013 74 KG Russian Nationals bronze medalist #9 (79) Atsamaz Sanakoev (RUS). Sidakov, proving himself ever capable of wrestling up to and past the levels of his elders, beat out credentialed Sanakoev 1-1 to move onto the finals to take on Khusey Suyunchev (RUS). Upsetting two-time Russian Nationals runner-up #1 (70) Israil Kasumov (RUS) to make the finals of the Kadyrov Cup in 2015, Suyunchev led Sidakov throughout most of their finals match, but a late takedown in the second period would seal the 2-2 criteria win and the chance to represent Russia at the European Championships. In his opening match at the European championships, Sidakov took on 2010 Russian Nationals bronze medalist, 2010 European runner-up #18 (65) Magomedmurad Gadzhiev of Poland. Gadzhiev, who'd announced himself as a world title contender upon his move to 70 KG in 2015, was one of the favorites in a loaded 65 KG field at the Tokyo Olympics. Against the heavily credentialed Gadzhiev, Sidakov fell behind 4-4 and lost. Offered a chance at repechage with Gadzhiev making the finals, Sidakov would put together wins over Muhammad Ilkhan (TUR) and 2013 65 KG world champion Devid Safaryan (ARM) to make the bronze medal match opposite two-time world fifth-place finisher #9 (70) Azamat Nurikov (BLR). Nurikov, a dangerous upper body wrestler who capitalizes on the mistakes of his opponents, was able to pull away with a 9-7 win for the bronze medal and leave Sidakov in 5th place at his first Senior European championships. Coming off his Yarygin title and showing himself capable of hanging with the best of the world at 70 KG at the European Championships, Sidakov entered the Senior Russian Nationals championships. Outscoring his competition 31-5 on his to the finals that included a win over returning Russian Nationals bronze medalist #2 (70) Evgheni Zherbaev (RUS), Zherbaev faced off against 2014 69 KG Cadet world runner-up #5 (79) Radik Valiev (RUS). In a battle between the two evenly matched age group standouts, it would be Sidakov who'd pull away for the 4-2 win and his first Senior Russian Nationals title. Finishing 2016, competing up at 74 KG for the Junior European championships, Sidakov was dominant on his path to the finals with a 33-2 scoring difference between him and the rest of the competition. The man standing opposite Sidakov would be the powerful Murad Suleymanov of Azerbaijan. Suleymanov is an absolute bear of a wrestler, as physical as they come and one of the best leg attack finishers in the middleweights but who failed to fulfill his potential off bad match I.Q. and poor conditioning. The smaller Sidakov saw his size disadvantage used against him by the hulking Suleymanov, who peppered Sidakov with leg attacks for the 9-4 win securing Junior European gold. After an early finish to 2016, taking silver at the 74 KG Junior European Championships in May, Sidakov returned after his six-month layoff, looking to claim his second 70 KG Yarygin title to start off 2017. Sidakov's tournament began with a 5-0 victory over 2009 66 KG world runner-up Rasul Dzhukaev (RUS) that was followed by a win over Timur Nikolaev (RUS) in the Round of 16 that secured him a spot in the quarterfinals opposite 2013 69 KG Cadet world bronze medalist #9 Timur Bizhoev (RUS). Bizhoev, as stingy and heavy-handed of a wrestler as they came, pushed the returning champion Sidakov but fell to the North Ossetian in a close 3-1 loss. The close win over Bizhoev set up a wild semifinal match against #3 Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (BLR), who'd just upset 2016 74 KG Russian Nationals bronze medalist Khusey Suyunchev (RUS) 5-3 in the quarterfinals. Sidakov and Kadimagomedov went to war in the semifinals with Sidakov taking the 2-0 lead to end the first, but Kadimagomedov came roaring back to score 7 points and Sidakov returning the favor to pull away with a 9-7 win and stave off the upset-minded Kadimagomedov. The finals saw Sidakov taking on the fearsome #1 (70) Israil Kasumov (RUS), the returning three-time national runner-up. In what would be the critical point of the match, the athletic specimen Kasumov would high leg over a takedown attempt from Sidakov for exposure and take a 5-2 win over the North Ossetian for gold. Following the finals loss to Kasumov, Sidakov was selected as the representative for the U23 European Championships. A dominant Sidakov crushed his competition 35-5 on his path to the finals, where he'd meet returning U23 European runner-up Gadjimurad Omarov (AZE). Omarov, taking away the impressive offense of talented North Ossetian, would neutralize Sidakov for a 1-1 win and U23 European gold. After runner-up finishes at the Yarygin and U23 European championships, Sidakov was determined to break through for gold at the Senior Russian Nationals. Wins over Zherbaev, Nikolaev, and Shamil Magomedov (RUS) put Sidakov in the finals opposite #3 Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (BLR). In what would be one of the craziest sequences of the entire Russian Nationals championships, Sidakov shot in on a swim-high crotch and Kadimagomedov deftly countered and clamped in like a boa constrictor on a crushing head pinch that exposed Sidakov and was awarded exposure and a critical match lead. The North-Ossetian corner exploded in protest and like adding kerosene to the fire, the crowd joined into the rioting and it was not until after 15 minutes of chaos that Sidakov and Kadimagomedov's match presumed with Kadimagomedov in the lead over the returning national champion Sidakov. A charging Sidakov would try his best, but he could not unseat the surging Kadimagomedov, who walked away with a 4-2 upset win over the returning national champion. With a 3-1 win over 2015 Russian Nationals bronze medalist Rasul Dzhukaev (RUS), who'd upset three-time returning national runner-up #1 (70) Israil Kasumov (RUS), Kadimagomedov made the Russian Nationals finals and Sidakov was pulled into the bronze medal match opposite Dzhukaev. Holding a 1-1 lead over Dzhukaev with short time leading in the second, a high crotch reattack from the Chechen veteran would spell doom for Sidakov in a 3-1 loss and have him finish in 5th place at Russian Nationals. Coming off the disappointment of Russian Nationals, Sidakov would be a very busy man to end 2017. First came a title at the Stepan Sargsyan title over Konstantine Khabalashvili of Georgia and next a runner-up finish at the Ugra Cup to #1 (70) Israil Kasumov (RUS). Finishing the year at the Alans in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia, on his home turf, Sidakov would have the breakthrough tournament of his career. Making the semifinals off a win over 2016 Junior World bronze medalist Shmagi Todua (GEO), Sidakov faced off against reigning two-time world champion #5 Frank Chamizo (ITA). Chamizo had been seen as untouchable after his run at the world championships where he put on an offensive clinic against five World/Olympic medalists in Elamin Dogdurbek Uulu (KGZ), Ikhtiyor Navruzov (UZB), Akzhurek Tanatarov (KAZ), Yakup Gor (TUR) and #7 (70) James Green (USA). Chamizo was going to be another elite that Sidakov would be close against but fall all the same. Except Sidakov wasn't close at all, Sidakov was the front runner, Sidakov exhausted Chamizo, completely stymying the brilliant offense of the Italian champion from building momentum in a career-defining 9-6 victory. Seeking to build off his momentum from his massive win over Chamizo, Sidakov sought revenge for his two past losses to 2016 world champion Kurbanaliev. Sidakov looked keen to actualize a win over Kurbanaliev and throughout the majority of the match led the Dagestani standout, but a critical mistake from Sidakov off a slideby gave Kurbanaliev the opportunity to use his underhooks to get to a bodylock and score a massive four-point throw that would change the entire course of the match and win him the Alans title 7-5. 2018-2021 Announcing his contender status with his 70 KG runner-up finish at the Alans, Sidakov made the move up to 74 KG in 2018, as he had outgrown the 70 KG weight class. Debuting at his new weight class at the Yarygin, Sidakov would make the finals opposite returning world runner-up #14 Khetag Tsabolov (SRB). Falling behind the returning Russian national champion 1-0 at the end of the first, a clutch head outside single early in the second for Tsabolov would push his lead over Sidakov to 3-0 and seal the win a 3-1 win for him after a late Sidakov push. Coming off his silver medal at the Yarygin, Sidakov competed at the World Military Championships, winning gold over Hamed Rashidi of Iran before going into an impressive field at the U23 European Championships. A 12-1 win over returning champion #7 Avtandil Kentchadze (GEO) put Sidakov in the finals opposite the returning world runner-up #1 (79) Akhsarbek Gulaev (SVK). Against his fellow North-Ossetian Gulaev, Sidakov would be limited to a 3-1 for U23 European gold for his final competition before the Russian Nationals in August. Making his second Russian Nationals finals match with victories over #9 Timur Bizhoev (RUS) and #14 (79) Evgheni Lapshov (RUS) in the quarterfinals and semifinals, Sidakov would get his chance of revenge from his Yarygin finals loss to Tsabolov. In the match-winning takedown, Sidakov was able to secure a double leg takedown with short time in the second on the edge of the mat to take his second national title with a 2-2 win over Tsabolov. Beginning his first Senior World Championships with a 10-0 win over Miroslav Kirov of Bulgaria in the qualification round, Sidakov moved onto the Round of 16 against 2011 60 KG world runner-up Franklin Gomez Matos (PUR) and won 6-0 to set up a huge quarterfinal match against returning world champion Jordan Burroughs (USA). After an opening takedown from Burroughs, Sidakov took the 2-2 lead in the final minute of the match with a beautiful slideby. The second period began with Burroughs charging in on a single leg to retake the lead 3-2 with a pushout. A clean high crotch for Sidakov would take the 4-2 match lead with 32 seconds left. Converting a single leg takedown with 10 seconds left, Burroughs took the 5-4 lead. Immediately on the restart of the match, Sidakov dives in on a swim high crotch and gets in on Burroughs' legs and driving up to his feet with every ounce of strength left in his body and driving across a double leg Sidakov is able to get the step out with one second remaining in the match to take the 5-5 win over the returning world champion. A last-second challenge for Burroughs was waved off, and so sealed the 6-5 win for Sidakov. Getting no relief in his next match, Sidakov would face off against reigning 70 KG world champion Frank Chamizo of Italy. A 1-0 lead led Sidakov through the first period and late in the second period, with Chamizo up 1-1 off a shot clock violation, Sidakov would convert off a bodylock takedown with under a minute left in the match to take the 3-1 lead. A high crotch to a double leg for Chamizo earned him a stepout, but it was not enough to stop Sidakov, who would make the world finals with a 3-2 win over the reigning 70 KG world champion. In the world finals match against Avtandil Kentchadze (GEO) would bank off a high crotch takedown in the first period to conclude his spectacular run with world gold. Off the high of his world title, Sidakov began 2019 by winning his second Yarygin title with wins over #9 Timur Bizhoev (RUS), #9 (70) Azamat Nurikov (BLR) and 2x World medalist Yakup Gor (TUR). Sidakov would put together a 2-0 record at the World Cup, alternating action with #9 Timur Bizhoev (RUS) that saw him beat Geandry Garzon (CUB) and 2014 Asian champion Reza Afzali Paemani (IRI). Not competing at the Russian Nationals due to a scheduling issue with the European Games, Sidakov would wrestle the winner of the Russian Nationals at a later date to decide who would compete at the World Championships. At the European Games, Sidakov would begin his tournament with a 5-3 win over #7 Avtandil Kentchadze (GEO) in a rematch of their 2018 world finals. An early chest wrap in the semifinals against #9 (70) Azamat Nurikov (BLR) looked to spell trouble for Sidakov, but the North Ossetian world champ recovered for the 6-4 win. In the finals, Sidakov was completely dominant with a first-period pin over two-time World/Olympic medalist #13 Soner Demirtas (TUR). Winning his wrestle-off against Russian National champion Kurbanaliev at the Russian National team training camp, Sidakov went into the World Championships looking to claim his second consecutive world title. Sidakov's first real test of the world championships wouldn't come until the semifinals against Burroughs. Trailing the American with 5 seconds left in the match, Sidakov was able to pull off a miraculous pushout to walk away with a 4-3 win in another razor-thin victory over the American great. Facing a familiar opponent in Italy's Chamizo, Sidakov pulled away from the Italian with a 5-2 finals win for world title number two. Sidakov would only compete once in 2020 at the Russian Nationals championships looking to win his third national title. In his opening round match, he would face returning national runner-up Tsabolov in a rematch of their 2018 national finals match. Tsabolov was on fire and peppered Sidakov with head outside singles and a crucial set of exposures would give Tsabolov the huge 12-3 upset over the reigning two-time world champion Sidakov. With Tsabolov making the finals off an 8-7 criteria win over returning national champion #16 Magomed Kurbanaliev (RUS), Sidakov was pulled into repechage where he'd face his old foe Kurbanaliev for bronze. Sidakov showed the Dagestani no mercy and punished the past national champion 9-1 for bronze. Sidakov's path to Olympic gold in 2021 would begin with first winning arguably the tougher tournament in Russian Nationals. Buyan Tsyrenov (RUS), Darsam Dzhaparov (RUS), #16 Magomed Kurbanaliev (RUS) and #9 Timur Bizhoev (RUS) would fall to Sidakov on his path to the finals where he'd face returning national champion Razambek Zhamalov of Russia. A spectacular rise through the rankings saw Zhamalov take out world champions Tsabolov and Chamizo to conclude 2020 and be a contender in Tokyo. In the battle of the two best 74's in the world, it would again come down to the last second heroics of Sidakov in big matches that would seal the win with two stepouts for the 2-2 win over the 2020 Individual World Cup champion and Russian Nationals title number three. To finalize his 2021 competition schedule before the Tokyo Olympics, Sidakov won the City of Sassari tournament title over Jasmit Phulka (CAN). #1 Zaurbek Sidkaov (RUS) is in elite company in a loaded field at the 74 KG Olympics along with a pair of two-time world champions in #2 Kyle Dake (USA) and #5 Frank Chamizo (ITA). The trio are all in the runnings to make history and if Sidakov is able to come away beating them and the ever dangerous Kadimagomedov who's also in the bracket, then he will have put his name on the shortlist of best 74 KG wrestlers of the past generation. A man who, time and time, has come up clutch, the Olympics will be Sidakov's greatest test and there is no bigger or better story to me than that going into Tokyo.

#1 Ranked Gabe Arnold after winning the 170 lb 16U freestyle title (Photo courtesy of Josh Conklin; JoshConklinPhotos.com) It took a total team effort for Team Pennsylvania to claim their third straight 16U Men's Freestyle national championship. Despite not finishing with a champion for the first time since 2016, Pennsylvania put 21 wrestlers on the podium, including four in the finals. In total, nine Pennsylvania wrestlers finished in the top four of their respective weights. New Jersey led the way with three national champions, Anthony Knox (106), Leo Deluca (113), and Lou Cerchio (NJ). Arizona, Minnesota, and Ohio were the only other states with multiple champions. One of Arizona's two champions, Kyler Larkin (126), was named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestling. Larkin became a crowd favorite after pulling a stunning upset of #2 Mason Gibson (PA) in the semifinals. He completed his title run by downing two-time Minnesota runner-up Landon Robideau for a crown. Larkin's Valiant Prep teammate Adrian Meza (120) won Arizona's other title by shutting out Aden Valencia (CA), 3-0. The first of two titles for Ohio took place in the opening match of the finals when Javaan Yarbrough outscored Haakon Peterson (WI) 10-4. Ohio was bound to get a win at 182 as both finalists call the state home. Camden McDanel got the best of Luke Vanadia in a back-and-forth contest that featured plenty of action. Scoring continued to be prevalent in the next bout as Max McEnelly (MN) hung on against Sonny Sasso (PA), 11-8. A key sequence in the match initially gave four points only to McEnelly. After a review, it was deemed that Sasso should get a pair of points for exposure, while McEnelly added another for exposure. Sasso pushed the pace, but couldn't close the gap and had to settle for second place. Minnesota's second title came at 132 lbs, where Zach Hanson won a battle of attrition with Christopher Coates (MO), 2-1. All three points in the match were awarded via shot clock violations. After the freestyle competition, two 16U wrestlers were still in the running for the Triple Crown, Mack Mauger (ID) and Koy Hopke (WI). Mauger jumped out to an 8-0 lead over Cadell Lee (VA) in the first round and was held in check during the second period. Four out of Hopke's five bouts ended via technical superiority or fall. He needed only 1:28 to dispatch Jake Walker (IA) in the finals. One USAW Folkstyle National champion, Pierson Manville (PA), was prevented from continuing towards the Triple Crown. He was beaten 4-2 by Connecticut's William Henckel in the championship bout. The last time Connecticut had a 16U national champion (Anthony Valles - 2005) was before Henckel was born. The only top-ranked wrestler in the field, Gabe Arnold (GA), lived up to his billing and captured a national title. He was pushed by #13 Cody Merrill (CA) and battled to a 3-1 victory. One of the most exciting bouts of the finals took place at 138 lbs as Joel Adams (NE) needed exposure points in the closing seconds to claim an 8-7 win over Tyler Kasak (PA). Kasak got in on an attack against Adams as the clock expired, but it was ultimately too late. Two matches later, Zack Ryder (NY) and KJ Evans (OK) put 19 points on the board in a contest that would go in favor of Ryder. Despite Evans putting seven points up in the second, it was Ryder who held on. Two of the most dominating tournaments were put together by Seth Mendoza (IL) at 100 lbs and Navarro Schunke (SD) at 285 lbs. Mendoza won 7-0 in the finals and rolled to four techs throughout the tournament. Schunke also had four. He became just the third South Dakota native to win a 16U national title in freestyle. Full Finals Results Below: 88 lbs - Javaan Yarbrough (OH) over Haakon Peterson (WI) 10-4 94 lbs - Mack Mauger (ID) over Cadell (Lee (VA) 8-3 100 lbs - Seth Mendoza (IL) over Christian Castillo (AZ) 7-0 106 lbs - Anthony Knox (NJ) over Sam Herring (PA) 18-6 113 lbs - Leo Deluca (NJ) over Brock Mantanona (CA) 10-0 120 lbs - Adrian Meza (AZ) over Aden Valencia (CA) 3-0 126 lbs - Kyler Larkin (AZ) over Landon Robideau (MN) 3-1 132 lbs - Zach Hanson (MN) over Christopher Coates (MO) 2-1 138 lbs - Joel Adams (NE) over Tyler Kasak (PA) 7-6 145 lbs - William Henckel (CT) over Pierson Manville (PA) 4-2 152 lbs - Zack Ryder (NY) over KJ Evans (OK) 10-9 160 lbs - Lou Cerchio (NJ) over Daschle Lamer (OR) 8-4 170 lbs - Gabe Arnold (GA) over Cody Merrill (CA) 3-1 182 lbs - Camden McDanel (OH) over Luke Vanadia (OH) 9-6 195 lbs - Max McEnelly (MN) over Sonny Sasso (PA) 11-8 220 lbs - Koy Hopke (WI) over Jacob Walker (IA) 10-0 285 lbs - Navarro Schunke (SD) over Will Sather (MN) 11-0

Luke Lilledahl at the Cadet World Team Trials(Photo courtesy of Josh Conklin; JoshConklinPhotos.com) 48 kg - Luke Lilledahl (USA) (W) vs. Akhmad Musakhadzhiev (Russia) 9-9 (W) vs. Azim Abdykalykov (Kyrgyystan) 8-1 (W) vs. Nurdanat Aitanov (Kazakhstan) 4-3 Finals Opponent - Aman (India) 55 kg - Spencer Moore (USA) (L) vs. Andranik Avetisyan (Armenia) 6-0 65 kg - Meyer Shapiro (USA) (W) vs. Tymur Yusov (Ukraine) Fall (W) vs. Khabib Zavurbekov (Russia) 8-6 (W) vs. Aghanazar Novruzov (Azerbaijan) 10-0 Finals Opponent - Giorgi Gogritchiani (Georgia) 80 kg - James Rowley (USA) (W) vs. Mustafagazhi Malachdibirov (Russia) 10-6 (W) vs. Oleksandr Mamrosh (Ukraine) 8-6 (W) vs. Gabriele Niccolini (Italy) 12-2 Finals Opponent - Sagar Jaglan (India) 110 kg - James Mullen (USA) (W) vs. Sahil (India) 8-8 (W) vs. Milan Gellen (Hungary) 6-1 (W) vs. Alikhan Kussainov (Kazakhstan) 7-1 Finals Opponent - Amirreza Masoumi Valadi (Iran)

Kyler Larkin after his semifinal win(Photo courtesy of Josh Conklin) 16U Men's Freestyle Finals Matchups (Rankings courtesy of MatScouts) 88 lbs - Javaan Yarbrough (OH) vs. Haakon Peterson (WI) 94 lbs - #17 (106) Mack Mauger (ID) vs. Cadell Lee (VA) 100 lbs - Seth Mendoza (IL) vs. #14 (106) Christian Castillo (AZ) 106 lbs - #9 (113) Anthony Knox (NJ) vs. Sam Herring (PA) 113 lbs - #12 Beau Mantanona (CA) vs. Leo Deluca (NJ) 120 lbs - #7 (113) Aden Valencia (CA) vs. #19 Adrian Meza (AZ) 126 lbs - #25 Landon Robideau (MN) vs. Kyler Larkin (AZ) 132 lbs - #12 Christopher Coates (MO) vs. Zach Hanson (MN) 138 lbs - #9 Tyler Kasak (PA) vs. #14 Joel Adams (NE) 145 lbs - William Henckel (CT) vs. #20 Pierson Manville (PA) 152 lbs - #7 Zack Ryder (NY) vs. KJ Evans (OK) 160 lbs - Lou Cerchio (NJ) vs. Daschle Lamer (OR) 170 lbs - #1 Gabe Arnold (GA) vs. #13 Cody Merrill (CA) 182 lbs - #24 Luke Vanadia (OH) vs. Connor McDanel (OH) 195 lbs - #11 Max McEnelly (MN) vs. #16 Sonny Sasso (PA) 220 lbs - #8 Koy Hopke (WI) vs. #21 Jake Walker (IA) 285 lbs - #6 Navarro Schunke (SD) vs. Will Sather (MN) 16U Men's Freestyle Finals by State (19 States Represented) Pennsylvania - 4 Minnesota - 4 Arizona - 3 California - 3 New Jersey - 3 Ohio - 3 Wisconsin - 2 Connecticut - 1 New York - 1 Georgia - 1 Idaho - 1 Illinois - 1 Iowa - 1 Missouri - 1 Nebraska - 1 Oklahoma - 1 Oregon - 1 South Dakota - 1 Virginia - 1 U16 Men's Freestyle All-American's by Home State (32 states represented) Pennsylvania - 21 Minnesota - 11 Ohio - 10 Wisconsin - 10 New Jersey - 9 California - 7 Iowa - 6 Georgia - 5 Florida - 5 Missouri - 5 Arizona - 4 Colorado - 4 Illinois - 4 Indiana - 4 Idaho - 3 Oklahoma - 3 Oregon - 3 Virginia - 3 Connecticut - 2 Kansas - 2 Michigan - 2 Nebraska - 2 Washington - 2 Delaware - 1 Louisiana - 1 Maryland - 1 New York - 1 North Carolina - 1 Rhode Island - 1 South Dakota - 1 Texas - 1 Utah - 1

16U Women's Freestyle OW Jasmine Robinson (Photo courtesy of Josh Conklin) The first of the six tournaments at the 16U and Junior National Championships wrapped up this afternoon as the 16U Women's National Championships concluded. The 2021 tournament ended the same way as the last eight championships did, with the California girls holding the trophy on the raised mat. Four California girls earned a place in the championship finals, with only 106 lber Paige Morales coming away victorious. She earned her stop sign by shutting out fellow California native Kiely Tabaldo, 4-0. A total of 13 wrestlers from California earned All-American honors. The state outdistanced second place Illinois by 48 points. Illinois had four wrestlers in the finals and saw Cadence Diduch win a title. Like California, Diduch faced a teammate in the championship bout and won by an identical 4-0 score. Despite the large margin of victory from California, parity was the theme of the finals, as 12 different states were represented by the 14 champions. 152 lber Jasmine Robinson earned Outstanding Wrestler honors after a dominating performance in the finals. Robinson did not surrender a point in any of her four matches. Only her finals opponent, Genesis Gilmore (TN), even lasted more than a minute. Even so, that bout ended via fall in 1:45. It was her second fall of the tournament. Despite her loss in the finals, Gilmore became the first Tennessee 16U women's freestyle All-American. More history was made in the previous bout as Nebi Tsarni beat the buzzer and got a winning takedown at 144 lbs to defeat Amarisa Manuel of Michigan. The win made Tsarni the first 16U women's freestyle national champion from Maryland. Minnesota also made some history as they crowned a pair of 16U national champions for the first time in the same year. Skylar Little Soldier and Ella Pagel both rolled to dominating wins. Aside from Minnesota, Michigan was the only school with multiple champions. Cecilia Williams (112) and Sabrina Nauss (180) both won their respective weight classes. The finals were kicked off by Valarie Solorio who broke a long champion-less drought. She became the first national champion from the state since Nadine Fiege in 2013. Makenzie Smith also stopped a long, dry-spell by becoming Indiana's first winner since 2020 Olympian Kayla Miracle in 2011. Two of the fourteen finals ended with falls by Smith and Pagel. Below are the final results from the 16U Women's Freestyle Finals. 94 lbs Championship - Valarie Solorio (FL) over Gabriella Gomez (IL) 6-3 100 lbs Championship - Makenzie Smith (IN) over Mikayla Garcia (CA) Fall 1:39 106 lbs Championship - Paige Morales (CA) over Kiely Tabaldo (CA) 4-0 112 lbs Championship - Cecilia Williams (MI) over Zao Estrada (SC) 4-2 117 lbs Championship - Cadence Diduch (IL) over Valerie Hamilton (IL) 4-0 122 lbs Championship - Shelby Moore (WA) over Julianna Morris (CT) 10-0 127 lbs Championship - Skylar Little Soldier (MN) over Taydem Khamjoi (CA) 13-4 132 lbs Championship - Cassia Zammit (OH) over Sydney Perry (IL) 8-2 138 lbs Championship - Alessandra Elliott (NY) over Lydia Roope (MI) 6-2 144 lbs Championship - Nebi Tsarni (MD) over Amarisa Manuel (MI) 3-2 152 lbs Championship - Jasmine Robinson (TX) over Genesis Gilmore (TN) 10-0 164 lbs Championship - Ella Pagel (MN) over Ali Haiser (MO) Fall 2:28 180 lbs Championship - Sabrina Nauss (MI) over Kiara Ganey (IL) 13-2 200 lbs Championship - Catherine Dutton (MO) over Mariyah Brumley (MO) 12-0

NC State recruit Matthew Singleton (Photo courtesy of SEWrestle.com) While the majority of the US wrestling world was focused on either Fargo or the Cadet World Championships, NC State made news by securing a commitment from the #11 overall recruit in the Class of 2022 Matthew Singleton (Woodward Academy, GA). Singleton is currently ranked seventh in the 182 lb weight class. Earlier this year, Singleton made the Junior World Team in Greco-Roman at 77 kg. He moved up to 79 kg for freestyle and took seventh place. Singleton is a three-time Georgia state champion that will be going for a fourth during his senior season. Though he isn't competing in Fargo, Singleton already has made his mark at the tournament. He was a runner-up in both styles at the 16U division in 2019 and was fourth in Greco the previous year. Singleton was also a finalist at the 2020 Super 32. The Georgia native will join a talented group of upperweights as returning 184 lb NCAA finalist Trent Hidlay still has three years of eligibility remaining. Incoming freshman, Joey Milano, also projected to compete at 184, was ranked #23 overall in the Class of 2021. Singleton joins an already-loaded recruiting class for Wolfpack head coach Pat Popolizio. They have commitments from #16 Chase Horne (GA), #29 Jackson Arrington (PA), #32 Dylan Fishback (OH), #60 Finn Solomon (PA). NC State continues to put together stacked recruiting classes. The 2021 class was ranked fifth in the nation.

Kael Lauridsen of Nebraska (Photo courtesy of Josh Conklin) After a nearly two year absence, the 16U and Junior National Championships returned to the FargoDome. Well, at least the 16U wrestlers were underway on Saturday. Wrestlers in both the 16U men's and women's division started their tournament. The men's division wrestled until the quarterfinals, while the women's finals were determined. Traditional powers led both divisions as Pennsylvania put 18 in the 16U men's quarterfinals and California was 17 points ahead of Illinois 16U women's freestyle. Below are the matchups set for tomorrow. Also, the Junior men's freestyle competition will start the day of competition. 16U Women's Freestyle Final Matchups 94 - Valarie Solorio (FL) vs. Gabriella Gomez (IL) 100 - Mikayla Garcia (CA) vs. Makenize Smith (IN) 106 - Kiely Tabaldo (CA) vs. Paige Morales (CA) 112 - Zao Estrada (SC) vs. Cecilia Williams (MI) 117 - Cadence Diduch (IL) vs. Valerie Hamilton (IL) 122 - Shelby Moore (WA) vs. Julianna Morris (CT) 127 - Taydem Khamjoi (CA) vs. Skylar Little Soldier (MN) 132 - Sydney Perry (IL) vs. Cassia Zammit (OH) 138 - Lydia Roope (MI) vs. Alessandra Elliott (NY) 144 - Nebi Tsarni (MD) vs. Amarisa Manuel (MI) 152 - Jasmine Robinson (Texas) vs. Genesis Gilmore (TN) 164 - Ella Pagel (MN) vs. Ali Haiser (MO) 180 - Sabrina Nauss (MI) vs. Kiara Ganey (IL) 200 - Catherine Dutton (MI) vs. Mariyah Brumley (MO) 16U Men's Freestyle Quarterfinal Matchups 88 lbs Javaan Yarbrough (OH) vs. Revin Dickman (IN) Griffin Rial (CO) vs. Cole Welte (NE) Lawson Eller (MN) vs. Aydan Thomas (TX) Kole Davidheiser (PA) vs. Haakon Peterson (WI) 94 lbs Mack Mauger (ID) vs. Lincoln Flayter (WI) Tyler Garvin (MD) vs. Ezekiel Witt (KS) Cadell Lee (VA) vs. Michael Olson (MN) Devon Harrison (MO) vs. Riley Rowan (OH) 100 lbs Dru Ayala (IA) vs. Seth Mendoza (IL) Dedrick Navarro (ID) vs. Chase Quenault (NJ) Blake Beissel (MN) vs. Carson Walsh (NJ) Christian Castillo (AZ) vs Layne Kleimann (UT) 106 lbs Nathan Desmond (PA) vs. Isaiah Quintero (CA) Anthony Knox (NJ) vs. Marcus Blaze (OH) Carter Nogle (MD) vs. Sam Herring (PA) Jackson Blum (MI) vs. Jack Nelson (MN) 113 lbs Jack Consiglio (PA) vs. Jax Forrest (NC) Nick Treaster (KS) vs. Leo Deluca (NJ) Drew Gorman (GA) vs. Brock Mantanona (CA) Draegen Orine (MO) vs. Vincent Kilkeary (PA) 120 lbs Kael Lauridsen (NE) vs. Luke Stanich (NJ) Adrian Meza (AZ) vs. Tyler Wells (MN) Casen Roark (TN) vs. Jacob Myers (CO) Tyson Charmoli (MN) vs. Aden Valencia (CA) 126 lbs Mason Gibson (PA) vs. Nick Gorman (PA) Kamdyn Williams (PA) vs. Kyler Larkin (AZ) Landon Robideau (MN) vs. Gunner Andrick (WV) Vince Bouzakis (PA) vs. Edmund Enright (IL) 132 lbs Christopher Coates (MO) vs. Jason Mara (ID) Travis Grace (CA) vs. Gabriel Bouyssou (RI) Zach Hanson (MN) vs. Anwar Alli (OH) Cross Wasilewski (NJ) vs. Casper Stewart (NY) 138 lbs Alessio Perentin (NJ) vs. Tyler Kasak (PA) Ethan Mojena (FL) vs. Jaydon Robinson (IL) August Hibler (NJ) vs. Nicholas Kunstek (PA) James Chance (OH) vs. Joel Adams (NE) 145 lbs Charlie Millard (WI) vs. Brodie Dominique (OH) Zane Licht (WI) vs. William Henckel (CT) Latrell Schafer (Georgia) vs. Brett Back (WI) Logan Swaw (IL) vs. Pierson Manville (PA) 152 lbs Nicholas Fox (IA) vs. Zachary Eliszewski (WI) Zack Ryder (NY) vs. Dominic Bambinelli (GA) Kj Evans (OK) vs. Lars Michaelson (WA) Griffin Lundeen (MN) vs. Macon Ayers (VA) 160 lbs Aeoden Sinclair (WI) vs. Travis Smith (MN) Talon Mccollom (OK) vs. Daschle Lamer (OR) Louie Cerchio (NJ) vs. Brent Slade (IA) Roman Garcia (FL) vs. Zeke Dubler (PA) 170 lbs Cody Merrill (CA) vs. Jared Schoppe (NJ) Keegan Sell (OH) vs.Toby Schoffstall (VA) Brian Burburija (FL) vs. Dalton Loyden (AZ) Oscar Williams (OK) vs. Gabriel Arnold (GA) 182 lbs Connor Mirasola (WI) vs. Dominic Thebeau (IL) Camden Mcdanel (OH) vs. Noah Blair (NE) Soren Herzog (MN) vs. Luke Vanadia (OH) Cole Mirasola (WI) vs. De'alcapon Veazy (IN) 195 lbs Mccrae Hagarty (IA) vs. Aiden Hight (PA) Sonny Sasso (PA) vs. Evan Franke (IA) Adam Haselius (MI) vs. Max Mcenelly (MN) Carter Neves (OH) vs. William Mccleary (UT) 220 lbs Koy Hopke (WI) vs. Austin Johnson (PA) Parker Ferrell (VA) vs. Samuel Murphy (MO) Nicholas Sahakian (CA) vs. Zachary Evans (PA) Vaun Halstead (OR) vs. Jacob Walker (IA) 285 lbs Will Sather (MN) vs. Cameron Groncki (NY) Spencer Lanosga (LA) vs.Sebastian Lopez (KS) Aiden Compton (PA) vs. Aidan Trujillo (CO) Aidan Fockler (OH) vs.Navarro Schunke (SD)

2019 16U double national champion Seth Shumate (Photo courtesy of John Sachs; Tech-Fall.com) Tomorrow the Junior freestyle tournament gets underway in Fargo. All week we have posted previews for the recruits who have already committed to DI schools. Here's the one place to find all of our previews. ACC Preview Big 12 Preview Big Ten Preview EIWA Preview MAC Preview Pac-12 Preview SoCon Preview

Ryan Deakin (Photo courtesy of Josh Conklin) Men's Freestyle 57 kg 1) Codi Russell (Blue Ridge RTC) 2) Jakason Burks (MWC) 3) Peter Del Gallo (Maine Trappers) 4) Dalton Henderson (Virginia) 61 kg 1) Carter Young (Cowboy WC) 2) Ryan Ripplinger (Bison WC) 3) Ryan Henningson (Bison WC) 4) Joe Pins (Burg Training Center) 65 kg 1) Dean Heil (Navy-Marine Corps RTC) 2) Dylan Droegemueller (Bison WC) 3) Kyler Rodriguez (New Jersey) 70 kg 1) Ryan Deakin (TMWC) 2) Christian Monserrat (NE RTC) 3) Collin Purinton (Nebraska RTC) 4) AC Headlee (Sunkist Kids WC) 74 kg 1) Jarrett Jacques (Tiger Style WC) 2) Austin Braun (Minnesota) 3) Tony Raupp (Minot MatRats) 79 kg 1) Quentin Perez (Navy-Marine Corps RTC) 2) Austin Brenner (Bison WC) 3) Jaison White (NE RTC) 4) Jesse Shearer (Bison WC) 86 kg 1) Andrew Morgan (Wrestling Prep) 2) Michael Nelson (Minnesota) 3) Riley Habisch (Bison WC) 4) Kyle Summers (Missouri) 92 kg 1) Miguel Baray (River Valley WC) 2) Michael Morgan (Legends of Gold) 97 kg 1) Morgan Smith (Ohio RTC) 2) Duncan Lee (Iowa) 3) Katrell Moss (Legends of Gold) 4) Erik Hinckley (Kansas) 125 kg 1) Demetrius Thomas (Pittsburgh WC) 2) Lucas Davison (Wildcat WC) 3) Shawn Streck (TMWC) 4) Mauro Correnti (NYAC) Men's Greco-Roman 55 kg 1) Billy Sullivan (Legends of Gold) 2) Cole Smith (Army WCAP) 60 kg 1) Thomas Hicks (Tennessee) 2) Camden Russell (MWC) 3) Johnny Masopust (Betterman Elite) 63 kg 1) Aidan Nutter (Wisconsin) 2) Farrokh Safaeinejad (SWAT) 3) Logan James (Iowa) 4) Van Schmidt (MWC) 67 kg 1) Robert Perez III (Sunkist Kids) 2) Logan Savvy (Rise RTC) 3) Ty Lydic (Westmoreland County WC) 4) Justin Kopet (Minnesota) 72 kg 1) Justus Scott (Legends of Gold) 2) Gabriel Lewis (Viking WC) 3) Zachary Revier (Minnesota) 4) Eric Goodman (Wisconsin) 77 kg 1) Quentin Perez (Navy-Marine Corps RTC) 2) Rashad Kennedy (Minnesota) 3) Jared Fekete (North Carolina) 4) Austin Farabaugh (Army WCAP) 82 kg 1) Tyler Cunningham (MWC) 2) Jordan Lara (505 WC) 3) James Burks (MWC) 87 kg 1) Tyler Hannah (Combat WC) 2) Lukas Poloncic (Minnesota Storm) 97 kg 1) MacAron Kukowski (Minnesota Storm) 2) Miguel Baray (River Valley WC) 3) Christian Rouleau (Minnesota Storm) 4) Duncan Lee (Iowa) 130 kg 1) Keaton Fanning (NMU) 2) Courtney Freeman (Marines) 3) Tom Foote (South Side WC) 4) Michael Rogers (Nittany Lion WC) Women's Freestyle 53 kg 1) Torieonna Buchanan (Team Green WC) 55 kg 1) Sophia Mirabella (Team Tornado WC) 57 kg 1) Makayla Welch (Team Tornado WC) 59 kg 1) Phoenix Dubose (Team Tornado WC) 62 kg 1) Esther Han (Utah) 65 kg 1) Kendall Bostelman (Foxfire WC) 72 kg 1) Lilliann Marie Restrepo (Umpqua WC) 76 kg 1) Hunter Robinson (Grand View WC) 2) Taryn Martin (Ohio)

Our Pac-12 correspondent Darius Levan joins us to talk about all of the recent coaching changes and transfers in the conference. He also discusses the current state of each of the teams in the league and more.

2019 16U double champion Jore Volk (Photo courtesy of John Sachs; Tech-Fall.com) We are just one day away from the first whistle blowing at the FargoDome as the Junior/16U National Championships will occur for the first time since 2019. Because of the cancelation of the 2020 tournament, the wrestlers have decided to show up in full force at Fargo. Early entries indicate that it will be the deepest in 10-15 years. Over the next couple of days, we'll go conference-by-conference to preview recruits from each school and their chances for success. We have only included recruits that have been tabbed to participate in one of the tournaments. We're wrapping up our previews with the Big 12. This huge conference was responsible for six of the top 19 recruiting classes in 2021. The Big 12 is only getting bigger and better as Missouri made the move back this offseason. Not only did mainstays like Oklahoma State, Iowa State, and Oklahoma earn places in the recruiting rankings, but so did North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, and South Dakota State. Here are the future stars of the Big 12 to watch in Fargo. Iowa State Ashton Barker (Iowa) - Class of 2021: 182 lbs Jack Gaukel (Iowa) - Class of 2021: 152 lbs Gabe Greenlee (Iowa) - Class of 2021: 285 lbs Paniro Johnson (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2021: 160 lbs Manuel Rojas (Michigan) - Class of 2022: 170 lbs Casey Swiderski (Michigan) - Class of 2022: 138 lbs We have two excellent classes combined for Iowa State as they have six recruits slated to compete in Fargo. The pair from the Class of 2022 could be the highest placers. Manuel Rojas has made the Cadet/16U freestyle finals on two occasions. He's looking to get over the hump this year. Rojas has to be considered one of the favorites at 170 lbs. Casey Swiderski has developed greatly over the last year and currently holds a number two ranking at the 138 lb weight class. Swiderski had an excellent summer dual series in 2020 and continued to impress after a fourth-place finish at the Super 32. Back in 2018, Swiderski was eighth in Cadet freestyle. He's on the shortlist of title contenders at 138. For the Cyclones incoming freshmen, Paniro Johnson has the longest list of credentials. He was third in both styles in 2019 while competing in the 16U division. Johnson was also third in Pennsylvania's AAA classification in each of his last two years of high school. Typically, Johnson finds a way to get onto the podium in big events, expect it to happen again here. The remainder of the Cyclones recruits are of the homegrown variety. Two-time state runner-up Gabe Greenlee is probably most likely to have a deep run. His 285 lb weight class has some studs, but is more manageable than Ashton Barker or Jack Gaukel's brackets. Missouri Ryan Boersma (Illinois) - Class of 2022: 285 lbs Zeke Seltzer (Indiana) - Class of 2022: 132 lbs Korbin Shepherd (Missouri) - Class of 2021: 132 lbs Clayton Whiting (Wisconsin) - Class of 2022: 182 lbs Missouri had a huge recruiting class in 2020 and dialed it back a bit in 2021. One of the headliners for the Tigers was in-state product Korbin Shepherd, a two-time Missouri state champion and four-time finalist. He, along with 2022 recruit Zeke Seltzer, will do battle in a deep 132 lb weight class. If he's on, Shepherd could contend for a place among the top-eight. Seltzer is a two-time Cadet/16U freestyle placewinner, taking sixth in 2018 and making the 120 lbs finals in 2019. He should be among those in the title hunt this time. The same can be said for Ryan Boersma, who comes into Fargo ranked eighth in the nation at 285 lbs. Boersma was fourth at the Super 32 and sixth at the Cadet World Team Trials. He'll try to keep the 285 lb Junior freestyle title in-state as Illinois natives have won it the last three years (Luke Luffman, Tony Cassioppi x2). Also in championship contention is Clayton Whiting of Wisconsin. Whiting was third in 16U freestyle in 2019 and earned the same placement at the 2020 Super 32. He's one of the key contenders at 182 lbs. North Dakota State Michael Caliendo (Illinois) - Class of 2021: 160 lbs Gavin Drexler (Wisconsin) - Class of 2022: 145 lbs Lathan Duda (Nebraska) - Class of 2021: 195 lbs Spencer Mooberry (Iowa) - Class of 2021: 195 lbs DeAnthony Parker (Illinois) - Class of 2021: 182 lbs Maxwell Petersen (Minnesota) - Class of 2022: 138 lbs Dominick Vacura (Minnesota) - Class of 2021: 220 lbs The North Dakota State Bison have the home-field advantage as the tournament will be held on their campus. Head Coach Roger Kish and staff did an incredible job on the recruiting front in 2021 as their crop of incoming freshmen was deemed to be 15th in the nation, the best in recent memory. Two of the Bison's top gets, Michael Caliendo and DeAnthony Parker, are late bloomers that have come into their own within the last year. Both finished the year among the top-100 on the Big Board despite missing the state finals as juniors. Parker showed at the Junior Duals that he's capable of competing with the best in the nation. Both weights are too deep to simply pencil Caliendo and Parker in for placements, but the odds are they will earn AA status. The remainder of the Class of 2021 that is set to compete in Fargo are upperweights, with Lathan Duda and Spencer Mooberry competing at 195, while Dominick Vacura is at 220. Mooberry was a Cadet Greco All-American in 2018 (8th), while Vacura took fifth in both styles the same year. Both weights have more high-caliber entries than normal, so they may have to notch an upset or two to get into the top-eight. The Class of 2022 is represented with Gavin Drexler and Maxwell Petersen. Drexler was a 16U Greco finalist in 2019. Expect him to have a very high placement in that portion of the tournament, while fighting for a place on the podium in freestyle. Petersen still has another year remaining in high school, but is already a four-time state finalist, winning a title as an eighth-grader. Northern Colorado Benjamin Alanis (Arizona) - Class of 2021: 138 lbs Xavier Doolin (Missouri) - Class of 2021: 285 lbs Brady Hankin (Colorado) - Class of 2022: 132 lbs Dyson Kunz (Nebraska) - Class of 2021: 138 lbs The Northern Colorado staff was able to get in early on a couple of Class of 2021 studs that broke out as seniors with Benjamin Alanis and Xavier Doolin. Alanis has placed at the NHSCA grade-level tournament twice and was fifth at the 2020 Super 32. He really went on a roll at the Ultimate Club Duals, dominating then-number one Shayne Van Ness (New Jersey) and others. If he is competing at that high of a level, Alanis can win it all. Xavier Doolin was an NHSCA Sophomore National runner-up and then was sixth at the Super 32 last fall. He has been active on the national scene and finished his high school career #89 on the Big Board. Doolin should have a deep run and has what it takes to make the podium. The other two recruits for the Bears actually have a history in Fargo. Dyson Kunz was eighth in Cadet freestyle way back in 2017 at 94 lbs. He's a two-time Nebraska state champion and three-time finalist. Brady Hankin was fifth in 16U freestyle in 2019. Later that year, he took eighth at the Super 32. Both are in extremely deep weights, but have a strong pedigree and could make a run at the podium. Northern Iowa Adam Ahrendsen (Iowa) - Class of 2021: 182 lbs Cael Rahnavardi (Iowa) - Class of 2021: 145 lbs Kalob Runyon (Iowa) - Class of 2021: 220 lbs Jared Simma (Kansas) - Class of 2021: 182 lbs Connor Thorpe (Wisconsin) - Class of 2021: 145 lbs RJ Weston (Georgia) - Class of 2021: 160 lbs The Northern Iowa staff has consistently recruited well in-state and 2021 was no different. Half of their six recruits slated to compete are homegrown, led by Adam Ahrendsen, who finished the year ranked #159 on the Big Board. Ahrendsen was a 16U Greco-Roman finalist in 2019 and appeared in three Iowa state finals, winning one. He'll contend for top honors in Greco and be in the hunt for the podium in freestyle. Kalob Runyon placed in the top-four twice in Iowa. Even so, he should advance deep here. Cael Rahnavardi made a pair of Iowa state finals and has proven to be adept in Greco. He'll have a good shot a the podium there. Leading the way for the out-of-state recruits is RJ Weston. Weston was a Greco-Roman national champion at the 16U level in 2019 and third in freestyle. He's among the top contenders in Greco and will be a podium threat in freestyle. The same can be said for Jared Simma, a two-time Kansas state champion, who is a past 16U finalist in Greco and a seventh-place finisher in freestyle. Connor Thorpe is a Wisconsin champion that trains with Askren Wrestling Academy. He'll be well-schooled and a quality competitor. Oklahoma Christian Forbes (Oklahoma) - Class of 2022: 106 lbs The lone Sooner recruit in Fargo, Christian Forbes, has a solid track record thus far. He was eighth in Cadet Greco-Roman in 2018, while competing at 88 lbs. The following year he was fourth in Junior Greco and sixth in 16U freestyle. The 106 lb weight class will not be a large as most others in the tournament and Forbes will be one of the most seasoned competitors in the field. That's a combination that will likely have Forbes placing very high, possibly winning titles in both disciplines. Oklahoma State Cooper Birdwell (Montana) - Class of 2021: 132 lbs Talmadge Carman (Utah) - Class of 2021: 182 lbs Luke Mechler (Wisconsin) - Class of 2021: 160 lbs Teague Travis (Oklahoma) - Class of 2021: 145 lbs A handful of future Oklahoma State Cowboys, all from the Class of 2021, has registered to compete. Teague Travis was third in Cadet freestyle in 2018, while living in Missouri. After committing to OSU, he moved out to Stillwater and now will represent Oklahoma. Travis will be among the long list of podium contenders at 145 lbs. Cooper Birdwell and Talmadge Carman are both past placers in Fargo. Carman was eighth in U16 freestyle in 2019, while Birdwell took seventh in Cadet Greco in 2018. Both are capable of grabbing multiple wins and could be a larger factor in Greco. Luke Mechler got on the Cadet podium in both styles in 2018, finishing as a runner-up in Greco and taking eighth in freestyle. Like Carman and Birdwell, he's highly capable, though in deep brackets. He'll have the best opportunity to shine in Greco. South Dakota State Derrick Cardinal (Minnesota) - Class of 2021: 132 lbs Luke Rasmussen (South Dakota) - Class of 2022: 195 lbs Cael Swensen (Minnesota) - Class of 2021: 152 lbs Two of the cornerstones of the South Dakota State 2021 recruiting class ranked 12th in the nation by Intermat will be in action. Cael Swensen and Derrick Cardinal were both top-75 recruits on the Big Board and skilled in both freestyle and Greco. Swensen has placed three times in Greco, highlighted by an appearance in the Junior finals in 2019. He'll be one of the favorites this time. In freestyle, he's capable of a high finish, too. Cardinal was fifth in 16U freestyle in 2019 and was a four-time Minnesota champion. He's one of the main contenders in both styles. Luke Rasmussen comes into Fargo ranked #25 in the nation after grabbing fifth-place at NHSCA Juniors. His weight class is littered with past All-Americans, so he'll need to shake things up to earn a place on the podium. Utah Valley Yusief Lillie (Washington) - Class of 2021: 120 lbs The most decorated wrestler coming into the Big 12 and still competing this year is Utah Valley signee Yusief Lillie. Lillie has earned All-American honors five times already, highlighted by a Cadet Greco-Roman title at 100 lbs in 2017. He also made the Cadet freestyle finals a year later. Most recently, he was fourth in Junior freestyle in 2019. Odds are, he'll add a couple more AAs next to his name, and possibly a title. West Virginia Garett Lautzenheiser (Ohio) - Class of 2021: 132 lbs Davin Rhoads (Ohio) - Class of 2021: 138 lbs Both of West Virginia's recruits in Fargo were teammates in high school and will be in Morgantown together. Davin Rhoads was a Cadet Greco-Roman champion in 2018, while Garett Lautzenheiser, who was eighth in Cadet freestyle the same year. Rhoads was a state champion this year, while Lautzenheiser was third. Both should be able to make deep runs this time and threaten for spots on the podium. Wyoming Quayin Short (Minnesota) - Class of 2021: 195 lbs Jore Volk (Minnesota) - Class of 2022: 126 lbs Wyoming has gotten a boost in recruiting of late and landed some highly decorated recruits from Minnesota. Two will be in attendance with Quayin Short and Jore Volk. Both are past Cadet/16U national champions in freestyle. Volk doubled up and won both styles during his most recent trip to the FargoDome. He'll likely add placements for a fifth and sixth time in Fargo to his resume. Short was finally able to climb to the top step in Minnesota as a senior. He was second on two previous occasions.

The FargoDome (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Rachel Gallardo is a Dietetic Intern at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Rachel will be graduating with her Master's in Nutrition in August and will sit for the Registered Dietitian exam following graduation. She has a background in sports and performance nutrition from working with Appalachian State's Performance Nutrition program and completing her Master's research project, NUTRITION AND BODY COMPOSITION CHANGES ACROSS A COMPETITIVE SEASON IN COLLEGIATE WRESTLERS. As you prepare to watch your wrestlers compete in Fargo, here are some tips to think about while planning their meals. Actually, use these all year, not just in Fargo! Make a game plan: plan out your grocery store trip by listing different snacks/meals you plan on having, then organize your list by different grocery store sections. Plan out the snacks/meals you intend to have. A good starting point would be 3-5 snacks and 3 meals per day. Snack ideas: one small package of fruit gummies (0.9 oz), one medium apple or banana with 1-2 Tablespoons peanut butter, one low-fat string cheese with one serving whole grain crackers, one serving beef or turkey jerky with one serving cheddar cheese, one serving pretzels with roasted red pepper hummus, trail mix - with nuts, seeds, and dried fruit Meal ideas: peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white or wheat bread, turkey or ham sandwich with cheese on white or wheat bread, veggie wrap - whole grain wrap with lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, and hummus (or any other veggies you like!) Drinks: use refillable water bottles instead of buying plastic bottled water, a great alternative to bottled sports drinks is to use powdered drink mixes such as Liquid IV, Drip Drop, Gatorade, and Pedialyte Sport. Plan a good recovery meal! Refueling for recovery refuels muscles with carbohydrates, repairs and rebuilds muscles with protein, and rehydrates with fluids and electrolytes. Recovery meals should be consumed within one hour post-competition. Recovery meal examples: 2 scrambled eggs with ¼ cup cheddar cheese on a whole wheat tortilla with ½ cup Greek yogurt and fruit Chicken fiesta bowl: 1 cup brown rice, ½ cup black beans, 3 oz chicken breast, salsa, lettuce, and shredded cheese Essentially, have your recovery meal contain around 20-30 grams of protein, plenty of fluids, and carbohydrates (calculate grams by dividing body weight by 2). Drink around 16-24 fluid oz. for every pound lost during exercise Share your Fargo foods on twitter with the hashtag #FuelingAtFargo!

2019 16U national champion Mykey Ramos (Photo courtesy of John Sachs; Tech-Fall.com) We are less than a week away from the first whistle blowing at the FargoDome as the Junior/16U National Championships will occur for the first time since 2019. Because of the cancelation of the 2020 tournament, the wrestlers have decided to show up in full force at Fargo. Early entries indicate that it will be the deepest in 10-15 years. Over the next couple of days, we'll go conference-by-conference to preview recruits from each school and their chances for success. We have only included recruits that have been tabbed to participate in one of the tournaments. Now we've moved on to the Pac-12! This conference features a traditional recruiting power in Arizona State and one that has recently developed in Oregon State. Notable by the omission is Stanford, which wasn't able to get any recruits because their program was on the chopping block for most of the last year. The remaining schools are all very creative in their own right when it comes to recruiting. With a renewed vote of confidence from the Pac-12, combined with each of these teams continuing to progress, the Pac-12 could be on the upswing. Here are some of the key recruits that could be a part of this resurgence and in action at the FargoDome. Arizona State Michael Kilic (Georgia) - Class of 2022: 152 lbs Kaleb Larkin (Arizona) - Class of 2022: 145 lbs Mykey Ramos (Arizona) - Class of 2021: 138 lbs Arizona State came away with an NCAA team trophy in 2021 and isn't slowing down soon, based on a #2 overall recruiting class. One of the key components of that group is Mykey Ramos. The last time in Fargo, Ramos was in the 16U finals in both tournaments. He would earn top honors in the Greco tournament. Could he do it again in 2021 at the Junior level? The 138 lb bracket has plenty of title threats, yet none that stands head and shoulders above the competition. Fellow Arizona native Kaleb Larkin was fourth in 16U Greco two summers ago. He is one of the many wrestlers capable of a top-eight run at 145 lbs. Up a weight is one of the stars of a great crop of Georgia seniors, Michael Kilic. Michael was also a 16U Greco-Roman national champion in 2019 and also was fourth in freestyle. He probably has another deep run in him in 2021. Cal Poly Joey Cape (Illinois) - Class of 2021: 138 lbs Abraham Hinrichsen (Illinois) - Class of 2021: 126 lbs Luka Wick (California) - Class of 2021: 152 lbs The Cal Poly staff went out of their normal recruiting radius and picked up a couple of studs from Illinois in Joey Cape and Abraham Hinrichsen. Both will be on display next week. Cape is particularly good in Greco. He was a Cadet finalist in 2018 and third in 2019. Even after jumping a few weight classes and aging into Juniors, Cape should be a Greco contender. Hinrichsen's best results have leaned towards Greco, but is accomplished in both. He was fourth in both styles as a Cadet in 2018, then took eighth in Greco in 2019. Like Cape, Hinrichsen's best results came at significantly lower weights, but the skills are there. The final piece for the Mustangs is Luka Wick. Way back in 2017, Wick was a Cadet freestyle All-American. Since then, he's placed at the Super 32 and won the Doc Buchanan. He's capable of a high placement in freestyle. CSU Bakersfield Cade Lucio (California) - Class of 2021: 145 lbs CSU Bakersfield typically recruits their local area well and has continued that trend by signing Bakersfield High School's Cade Lucio. Lucio was a 16U Greco-Roman national finalist in 2019. During the high school season, Lucio qualified for the state tournament on three occasions. Provided Lucio has been able to prepare appropriately, he should log another high finish in Greco and notch some wins on the freestyle side, as well. Little Rock Matthew Bianchi (Wisconsin) - Class of 2021: 145 lbs Warren Hoyt (Arkansas) - Class of 2021: 182 lbs Reid Nelson (Minnesota) - Class of 2021: 120 lbs During the 2021 season, Paul Bianchi made history for Little Rock by becoming the school's first national qualifier. Now, younger brother Matthew is ready to join the team and make it three Bianchi's with the Trojan program. Matthew is already the most accomplished of the bunch in high school competition, winning four Wisconsin state titles and placing in both styles in 2019. Bianchi was third in freestyle and fifth in Greco. While replicating such high finishes may be difficult, don't be surprised to see Bianchi on the podium in both. Getting back to the top-eight is something Reid Nelson is looking forward to doing. Nelson was fourth in Cadet freestyle in 2018 at 94 lbs. He'll have to contend with a boat-load of young talent at 120 in order to achieve AA status again. Keep an eye out for Arkansas product Warren Hoyt. Warren was seventh at NHSCA Freshman Nationals in 2018 and can hang with the best in the nation. He may be a dark horse at 182 lbs. Oregon State Jacob Barnes (Oregon) - Class of 2021: 285 lbs Chase DeBlaere (Minnesota) - Class of 2022: 138 lbs Hunter Eveland (Oregon) - Class of 2021: 138 lbs Graham Gambrall (Iowa) - Class of 2021: 160 lbs Asher Ruchti (Oregon) - Class of 2021: 182 lbs Gabe Whisenhunt (Oregon) - Class of 2022: 126 lbs The second-year staff at Oregon State has hit the recruiting trail hard over the last year-plus and the results have been evident with the number of signees by Chris Pendleton and staff. It's fitting that they lead the conference in the number of recruits competing in Fargo. Half of their recruits, Jacob Barnes, Gabe Whisenhunt, and Chase DeBlaere have also placed at Fargo before. Barnes was a 16U Greco national champion in 2019 and a fifth-place finisher in freestyle. It wouldn't be shocking to see similar results from him this year. Whisenhunt was top-five in both styles at the 16U level in 2019, also. His highwater mark was a runner-up finish in freestyle. DeBlaere was sixth at the Cadet World Team Trials in freestyle and has found the Fargo podium in Greco. Expect Whisenhunt and DeBlaere both to go deep into the tournament with a possible AA finish as a result. Iowa native Graham Gambrall was a four-time state placer and 2020 champion for Iowa City West High School. He doesn't have national-level credentials in either of the international styles, but could benefit from the rising level of in-state competition. Both Hunter Eveland and Asher Ruchti are Oregon kids that may have been overlooked by the rest of the nation. Ruchti finished the year on the senior Big Board, while Eveland was an honorable mention. Expect both to log some respectable wins at deep weights.

Three-time World/Olympic champion Taha Akgul (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) As of today, we under 50 days from the start of wrestling at the Olympic Games. Over the next 50 days, we'll bring you one profile per day of a decorated international contender. Make sure you get to know the wrestlers that Team USA will compete against in Tokyo. 7/13/21 - Artur Naifonov (Russia) 7/11/21 - Vazgen Tevanyan (Armenia) 7/10/21 - Khadzhimurad Ghadzhiev (Azerbaijan) 7/8/21 - Ali Shabanov (Belarus) 7/7/21 - Gadzhimurad Rashidov (Russia) 7/6/21 - Suleyman Karadeniz (Turkey) 7/5/21 - Frank Chamizo (Italy) 7/3/21 - Yui Susaki (Japan) 7/1/21 - Amir Zare (Iran) 6/28/21 - Zavur Uguev (Russia) 6/27/21 - Zhan Beleniuk (Ukraine) 6/26/21 - Sergey Kozyrev (Russia) 6/24/21 - Kenchiro Fumita (Japan) 6/23/21 - Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (Belarus) 6/22/21 - Erica Wiebe (Canada) 6/21/21 - Myles Amine (San Marino) 6/20/21 - Sofia Mattsson (Sweden) 6/19/21 - Hassan Yazdani Charati (Iran) 6/18/21 - Tamas Lorincz (Hungary) 6/17/21 - Takuro Otoguro (Japan) 6/16/21 - Elizbar Odikadze (Georgia) 6/15/21 - Koumba Larroque (France) 6/14/21 - Haji Aliyev (Azerbaijan) 6/13/21 - Ningning Rong (China) 6/12/21 - Bajrang Punia (India) 6/11/21 - Frank Staebler (Germany) 6/10/21 - Geno Petriashvili (Georgia) The leader of a new generation of high action, high offense heavyweights, Top-ranked heavyweight Taha Akgul of Turkey, put forth a spectacular run through 2014-2016, winning three straight World/Olympic titles. Still ever elite throughout 2016-2020, title number four has evaded Akgul with the emergence of #2 Geno Petriashvili of Georgia as a three-time world champion. But recovered and peaking, #1 Taha Akgul is a very real threat to win title number four in an absolutely loaded heavyweight field in Tokyo. Today's Olympic profile will look over the career of three-time World/Olympic champion #1 Taha Akgul of Turkey. The Stats #1 Taha Akgul (TUR)- 2013 world bronze medalist, 2x World champion (‘14 & ‘15), 2016 Olympic champion, 2x world runner-up (‘17,'19), 7x European champion (‘12,'13,'14,'17,'18,'19, ‘21), 2015 European Games champion, 6x Yasar Dogu champion (‘12, ‘13, ‘14, ‘15, ‘16, ‘19), 2012 Ziolkowski runner-up, 2010 Junior world runner-up, 2019 Yarygin runner-up. Key Wins: #2 Geno Petriashvili ( 2013 Yasar Dogu, 2013 Moscow lights tournament, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 European championships), Bilyal Makhov (2015 world championships), #4 Sergey Kozyrev (2021 European championships finals), #7 Nick Gwiazdowski (2017 world championships, 2019 Yasar Dogu finals), #10 Dzianis Khramiankov (2021 European championships), Khomeil Ghasemi (2014 world finals, 2016 Olympic finals), Khadzhimurat Gatsalov (2014 Yasar Dogu), Jamaladdin Magomedov (2013 European Championships, 2013 world championships repechage, 2011 Baku GGP, 2013 Yasar Dogu, 2015 world finals, 2017 European championships, 2018 European championships), Alan Zasieiev (2013 European championships), Levan Berianidze (2016 Olympics), Ibragim Saidov ( 2013 University World Games, 2016 Olympics), Bakhtiar Akhmedov (2012 European championships), Parviz Hadi (2012 University world championships, 2013 University World Games), Fatih Cakiroglu (2011 Baku Golden Grand Prix finals), Fardin Masoumi Valadi (2012 Yasar Dogu), Alexei Shemarov (2014 world championships, 2015 European Games), Tervel Dlagnev (2013 world championships bronze medal match, 2014 world championships quarterfinals), Anzor Khizriev (2019 European championships), Muradin Kushkov (2018 European championships), Zhiwei Deng (2013 University World Games, 2019 world championships), Khasanboy Rakhimov (UZB). Key Losses: #2 Geno Petriashvili (2016 European championships, 2017 world finals, 2019 world finals), Fatih Cakiroglu (2011 Yasar Dogu, 2010 Mediterranean championships), Tervel Dlagnev (2012 Ziolkowski finals), Alan Zasieiev (2013 world championships), Muradin Kushkov (2010 Junior world finals), #12 Anzor Khizriev (2019 Yarygin finals), Parviz Hadi (2018 world championships quarterfinals), Bilyal Makhov (2012 Olympics), Daniel Ligeti (2011 FILA test tournament). 2010-2013 Beginning his career at the 2010 Mediterranean championships, Akgul would finish as runner-up to European championships runner-up Fatih Cakiroglu. Only 20 years at the time, Akgul would take 5th at the Junior Championships and follow it up with a runner-up finish at the Junior World Championships with victories over Junior European champion Giorgi Sakandelidze (QAT) and Jeremy Johnson (USA) before a finals loss to Muradin Kushkov (UKR). Having now finished his Junior eligibility in 2011 at 21 years old, Akgul began his full-time Senior campaign with a bronze medal finish at the Yasar Dogu, again losing out to countryman Cakiroglu. The Baku Golden Grand Prix would be Akgul's first significant breakthrough at the Senior level, winning gold over the likes of 2009 96 KG Junior World runner-up Jamaladdin Magomedov (AZE) and finally beating Cakiroglu. Cakiroglu would be the one sent to the Senior World Championships instead of Akgul, so to finish 2011, he competed at the FILA test tournament where he took bronze behind European championships bronze medalist Daniel Ligeti (HUN). 2012 began with Akgul winning his first Yasar Dogu title over 2009 world runner-up Fardin Masoumi Valadi (IRI). Akgul really announced himself as a force with his first European title. Avenging his loss from 2011 to Ligeti, Akgul also beat 2008 Olympic champion, 2x Russian Nationals champion Bakhtiar Akhmedov (RUS) on his way to the finals. Akgul followed up his first European title by qualifying Turkey for the Olympics by making the finals of the European Olympic qualifier. A final warm-up at the Ziolkowski memorial tournament in Poland saw Akgul lose to 2009 world bronze medalist Tervel Dlagnev (USA). Akgul's Olympic run began with a victory over Oleksandr Khotsianivski of Ukraine, but in his next match, the European champion saw his title aspirations dashed when he was eliminated by three-time world champion Bilyal Makhov (RUS). Completing the year at the University World championships, Akgul won gold over Asian champion Parviz Hadi of Iran. 2013 would begin the dominance of Akgul as he won the Yasar Dogu over 2007 96 KG world bronze medalist Kurban Kurbanov (UZB), 2011 world bronze medalist Jamaladdin Magomedov (AZE), and #2 Geno Petriashvili (GEO). An undefeated run at the World Cup springboarded Akgul into a second European title with wins over Alan Zasieiev (UKR) and Magomedov. The University World Games would be Akgul's next conquest and gold came by way of victories over Oleksandr Khotsianivski (UKR), Ibragim Saidov (BLR), Hadi, and Zhiwei Deng (CHN). Going into his first world championships, Akgul was seen as a front runner for gold, but a loss to European runner-up Zasieiev in the second round knocked Akgul out of contention. With Zasieiev making the finals, Akgul was pulled back into repechage and after wins over Florian Temengil (PLW) and Magomedov qualified for the bronze medal match and revenge against Dlagnev. Winning world bronze over Dlagnev, Akgul concluded his year with a 4-0 run at the Moscow Lights tournament, avenging his loss from the World championships to Zasieiev and world bronze medalist #2 Geno Petriashvili of Georgia with a 10-1 win. 2014-2016 A third Yasar Dogu title would start off Akgul's 2014 campaign and a third European title, both coming by way over #8 Alan Khugaev of Russia put Akgul in position as the favorite for his first world title. Competing in Tashkent, Akgul's first major test of the World Championships would come in the quarterfinals against old rival Dlagnev of the United States. Two of the most athletic heavyweights in the world, with excellent low leg attacks and defense, Akgul and Dlagnev were the two best men in the bracket that day and it would be Akgul who'd repeat his triumph from the 2013 world bronze medal match for a 4-2 win and a spot in the semifinals. 2011 world champion Alexei Shemarov of Belarus was no match for Akgul as the Turk's crisp leg attacks dismantled the Belarusian 8-1 and punched Akgul through to the world finals. Against 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Khomeil Ghasemi of Iran, Akgul was against a mountain of a man who'd upset the returning world champion Khadzhimurat Gatsalov of Russia 5-4 to make the semis. Ghasemi, well known for his punishing heavy hands and granite hips, was a tall task for Akgul, but the Iranian lacked Akgul's offense and the Turk was able to pull off a tight 4-3 win for his first world title. After having been the contender for so long, a promise yet fulfilled, Akgul had done it and won the gold that he was destined for. Akgul's fourth Yasar Dogu title to start off 2015 would be his most impressive. Khadzhimurat Gatsalov of Russia was a returning world bronze medalist and six-time World/Olympic champion was one of the best upperweights of the 21st century and while his career was coming to an end, his 2013 heavyweight world title showed he was still very much a threat. Gatsalov's legacy was an afterthought, not even a thought to Akgul the way he rag-dolled the powerful North-Ossetian 10-0 in the opening round of the Yasar Dogu. Daulet Shahbanbay (KAZ) and #13 Aiaal Lazarev (KGZ) would fall 12-1 and 10-0 to Akgul as he outscored his competition 32-1 for gold. The European Games were another display of how far ahead Akgul had pulled himself from the rest of the field. 2011 world bronze medalist Magomedov was Akgul's closest match in the field, falling 5-2 to the Turk. Robert Baran (POL) and Russian Nationals bronze medalist Soslan Gagloev (SVK) would both be pinned by Akgul and 2011 world champion Alexei Shemarov (BLR) would be dismantled 6-0 for the Turkish giant's 5th European championships/games title. Taha Akgul's second world title was one defined by dominance. Akgul opened with a 10-0 tech fall of Jose Cuba of Spain, a 4-2 over 2010 world bronze medalist Levan Berianidze (ARM) and a 6-1 win over Daulet Shahbanbay (KAZ). 20-3 is good but Cuba, Berianidze, and Shahbanbay aren't the type of murderer's row of a bracket to beat that puts someone down in the history books. No, Akgul's next match would do that. Bilyal Makhov had been one of heavyweight's most imposing figures from 2008-2012, winning world gold in 2007, 2009, and 2010 along with world silver in 2011 and Olympic bronze in 2012. Makhov was an absolute giant with punishing underhooks and body locks, who broke heavyweight's elites and was a force to be reckoned with. Makhov was supposed to be it, the return to glory, Russia's real chance at taking it to Akgul. Akgul obliterated the imposing Russian in 54 seconds for a 10-0 tech fall and his second world final. Old rival Magomedov of Azerbaijan had upset #2 Geno Petriashvili (GEO) to make the finals, but Akgul was on a different level and showed it by tech falling Magomedov one minute and two seconds into the match. His two most significant tests of the whole tournament in Makhov and Magomedov, taken out in a combined one minute and fifty-seven seconds. Akgul was on another level. 2016 began as had the past four years had with another Yasar Dogu title, this time scoring gold over Tony Nelson of the United States with a 10-0 tech fall for Yasar Dogu title number five. Akgul would compete at the European championships and be matched up against two-time world bronze medalist #2 Geno Petriashvili (GEO) in the opening round. Akgul had already taken two wins over Petriashvili back from 2013, but the Georgian had made major strides since then. A strong opening period for Akgul put him up 4-0 at the end of the first, but Petriashvili roared back and, in a sign of their future rivalry, would take away an 8-8 criteria win over the reigning two-time world champion. Akgul defaulted out of the tournament while Petriashvili went on to win gold over Robert Baran of Poland. Slated to compete at the World Cup, Akgul forfeited all of his matches and questions regarding his readiness for his third World/Olympic title began to rise. A chance at redemption and ascension to the elite of the heavyweight class awaited Akgul at the Olympic Games in Rio. Akgul began his campaign for gold with back-to-back tech falls over Jargalsaikhan Chuluunbat (MGL) and Ibragim Saidov (BLR) before facing off against Levan Berianidze (ARM) in the semifinals, beating the Armenian 8-1 to make the finals. Instead of a chance at revenge from the European championships against #2 Geno Petriashvili of Georgia, Akgul would see an old foe in Khomeil Ghasemi (IRI) who'd upset Petriashvili and 2014 world bronze medalist Tervel Dlagnev (USA) to make the finals. The Iranian powerhouse Ghasemi stopped all of Akgul's takedowns in the finals, and it would be Akgul's gas tank and pressure would shine for him, banking on two shot-clock violations and a step out point to win Olympic gold 3-1. 2017-2021 Now a three-time World/Olympic champion, Taha Akgul had cemented himself as one of the all-time best heavyweights. Off the high of his incredible 2012-2016 quad, Akgul began 2017 looking for his fifth European championships title. Title number five was a victory lap for Akgul as he went 4-0 to capture gold and tech falled #2 Geno Petriashvili (GEO) 14-4 in the quarterfinals to avenge his loss from the 2016 European championships. 32-2 was the difference between Akgul and his first three opponents at the World Championships on his way to his fourth finals appearance. Zolboo Natsagsuren (MGL), Nam Koung-Jin (KOR) and #7 Nick Gwiazdowski (USA) all fell as Akgul made it clear this was his weight. The only man left in his way was his old rival Petriashvili. Petriashvili was Akgul's only loss in the past three years and wanted to prove definitively that the Georgian would not take his crown. Sure he'd beaten him in early season or end of the year tournaments, but the world championships were a totally different beast altogether, where legends are made and dreams crushed. The match that Akgul and Petriashvili put on in the world finals would be one for the ages. Akgul raced out to a 4-0 lead to end the first, taking over a slow-starting Petriashvili and looking well on his way to repeating his thrashing of the Georgian from the European championships. But the second period saw the tides start to turn and back-to-back takedowns from Petriashvili tied the score 4-4 with the Georgian leading on criteria. Akgul struck back, Petriashvili matched and the score was now tied 8-8, with Akgul leading now with less than 30 seconds left in the match. At the 10 second mark and diving in on a shot with victory all but secured for Akgul, Petriashvili would be able to muster an incredible final effort and expose Akgul for two and stop the Turk's quest for title number four with a 10-8 upset win. The beginning of 2018 saw Akgul compete at the Cerro Pellado memorial and win gold over Ben Durbin of the United States. The European Championships came for Akgul and he'd get his chance at revenge against Petriashvili and to win title number six as Petriashvili was on the side of the bracket. Making his way through the finals, Akgul beat 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Ibragim Saidov (BLR), 2015 world runner-up Magomedov and avenge his 2010 Junior world finals loss to Yarygin champion Muradin Kushkov (RUS) in the semifinals. Both men changed from their world finals match the year before; neither man was able to clearly pull away from the other it would be #1 Taha Akgul coming away with a 2-1 victory over the returning world champion Petriashvili for European title #6. As the favorite to reclaim his heavyweight throne and win his prestigious fourth World/Olympic title, Akgul made the world quarterfinals, beating Oleksandr Khotsianivski (UKR) and Nick Matuhin (GER) by a combined score of 16-0. Parviz Hadi of Iran was a contender but had two prior losses to Akgul and it was believed he'd be another stepping stone on Akgul's path to title number four. In the biggest upset of the world championships, it would be Hadi who'd walk away with the 3-2 win over Akgul. Akgul would not get any chance of redemption through repechage as Hadi would fall to returning world champion Petriashvili 13-6 in the semifinals. Beginning 2019 at the Yarygin, Akgul blew through the competition 31-1 with victories over returning world runner-up Zhiwei Deng (CHN), Yudenny Alpajon Estevez (CUB), and #5 Zelimkhan Khizriev (RUS). In the finals, Akgul faced off against #12 Anzor Khizriev (RUS), coming off his second consecutive fifth-place finish at the World Championships. In what was supposed to be a lay-up for Akgul, Khizriev proved himself one not to be doubted as he countered the Turk's shots throughout the match with masterful exposures to win 7-4. Coming off his loss at the Yarygin, Akgul was a man possessed at the European Championships. With title number seven on the line, Akgul wasn't given anyone any second chances and it showed. 26-2 was the difference between Akgul and his competition through the finals, and #12 Anzor Khizriev (RUS), who'd felled the Turkish giant, was knocked down 8-1. Now a two-time world champion, Petriashvili was now seen in position to challenge Akgul. Sure, Akgul had always beaten him in early or late season tournaments and beaten him the last two years at the European Championships, but the levels Petriashvili jumped in winning two back-to-back world titles would be sure to change things. The only thing that would change would be the score from the year prior's finals, this time a 7-0 throttling for Akgul over the Georgian. The final world championships of the 2016-2020 quad and the chance to win title number four and qualify for his third Olympics, there was a lot on the line for Akgul. Alexander Romanov (ROU), Khasanboy Rakhimov (UZB) and Deng all gave Akgul a strong fight and with only a 16-0 difference across three matches going into the finals, Akgul would have to turn it on if he wanted to beat Petriashvili and win title number four. With the world title on the line and title #3 for Petriashvili and #4 for Akgul, the two men went to war. Like their matches of the past, Akgul would race out to an early lead, but the pressure of Petriashvili would wear on and it would be the Georgian who would finish the 2016-2020 quad as three-time World champion with a 6-6 victory over Akgul. Akgul would be out of competition for the next year and a half due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with recovering from surgery for past injuries. In returning in 2021, Akgul made an immediate statement that he hadn't lost a step and, if anything, was better than he'd ever been. In the opening round, he avenged his 2019 world final loss to Petriashvili with a 6-1 win. Kamil Kosciolek (POL) and #10 Dzianis Khramiankov (BLR) and #4 Sergey Kozyrev (RUS) would all fall to Akgul as the powerful Turk won European title #8 and reclaimed his spot on top of the heavyweight rankings. The elusive fourth World/Olympic title evaded #1 Taha Akgul all of 2016-2020 and a loaded field in Tokyo will give him his greatest test of his career. Against the dangerous three-time world champion #2 Geno Petriashvili (GEO), who's proven time and time again to peak for the big show plus the emergence of young standouts #3 Amir Zare (IRI, #4 Sergey Kozyrev (RUS), and #6 Gable Steveson (USA) the path to number four will push Akgul more than ever. But healthier than ever and turning away the likes of Petriashvili and Kozyrev at the European championships has me confident that Akgul will be ready to win World/Olympic gold number four.

Tyrell Fortune at the 2015 US Open (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The UFC and Bellator will both host shows this weekend. Friday's Bellator show is loaded with former wrestlers, while there are a few names dotting the UFC show as well. Check out the fighters that wrestling fans will likely want to follow below. Bellator 262 takes place Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs live on Showtime at 9:00pm ET, while the undercard airs live on YouTube at 6:00pm ET. In the co-main event, Tyrell Fortune takes the biggest step up in his MMA career against Matt Mitrione. Fortune was a two-time NJCAA champion at Clackamas before transferring to Grand Canyon. There he won an NCAA Division II title and earned Division II “Wrestler of the Year” honors. He also excelled in the international styles. At the 2013 World University Games, he won a bronze medal in freestyle and finished fifth in Greco. After suffering his first professional MMA loss against fellow Division II veteran Tim Johnson in February 2020, Fortune has bounced back with wins over Said Sowma and Jack May. Another victory here could move him closer to the heavyweight title picture in Bellator. Also on the main card, Cee Jay Hamilton meets Brazilian Matheus Mattos. Hamilton was a two-time NCWA champion at Marion Military Institute before transferring to Anderson University to wrestle at the Division II level and earned All-American honors with a fifth-place finish in 2009. Hamilton lost his Bellator debut against Magomed Magomedov last April and is looking to get back on track. In the opening bout of the main card, former Missouri wrestler Johnny Eblen will look to push his professional record to 9-0 against Travis Davis. Eblen qualified for the NCAA tournament as a senior in 2015 before coming up short of All-American status. During that season, he scored victories over the likes of Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State), Pete Renda (NC State), Zac Brunson (Illinois), and Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State). On the preliminary card, Cody Law returns to action against the debuting Theodore Macuka. Law started his collegiate wrestling career at Penn State before transferring to Pitt-Johnstown before the 2016-2017 season. In his first year at the Division II school, he finished fourth at the NCAA tournament to become an All-American. He returned for his senior season and won the NCAA title at 157 pounds. Law made his professional MMA debut under the Bellator banner in 2020 and has so far built a 3-0 record. His last victory came last April when he took a decision over Nathan Ghareeb. 22-year-old Russian prospect Diana Avsaragova will be looking for her second win in Bellator as she faces off against Gabriella Gulfin. Avsaragova comes from a wrestling background and reportedly finished third at the 2015 Russian Cadet nationals . Nick Giulietti was a New Haven Register All-Area selection before going on to wrestle for both Anderson College and American International College. He will be making his Bellator debut against Charlie Campbell and holds a 2-1 record. UFC returns to action with yet another show from Las Vegas. Both of the wrestlers mentioned below will compete on the undercard, which airs live on ESPN and ESPN+ at 7:00pm ET. Montserrat Ruiz claims to be a seven-time Mexican national wrestling champion , but this does not appear to be verifiable. She won her UFC debut with basically nothing but a headlock, so it seems entirely possible that Ruiz comes from a wrestling background. She will likely need to show a little more technique this weekend against Amanda Lemos. Miles Johns was a Kansas state champion before attending Newman University. He spent one year on the wrestling squad before moving on. He made his professional MMA debut in 2014 and currently holds an 11-1 record. He will face Anderson dos Santos on Saturday.