InterMat Staff

FARGO, N.D. -- A year ago Illinois wrestler Kamal Bey was dominated in his Greco-Roman finals match in Fargo. This year it was Bey who dominated in the finals. Kamal Bey of Illinois celebrates after earning a 29-second fall over Andrew Berreyesa of Nevada in the finals at 170 (Photo/David Peterson)Bey used a body lock to pick up a 29-second fall over Andrew Berreyesa of Nevada on Tuesday to claim a Junior National Greco-Roman title at 170 pounds. "I like the crowd to get involved with the match … like excitement," said Bey. "That's my biggest thing." Earlier Tuesday, in the quarterfinals, Bey topped the wrestler who dominated him in the finals last year, Beau Breske of Wisconsin. "I wanted that rematch against Breske," said Bey. "He was up for it too. He wanted to win. I don't know … I guess it was just my time." Bey was one of four titlists for team champion Illinois. Also winning titles for the Land of Lincoln were Louie Hayes (106), Dack Punke (113) and Gabriel Townsell (126). Wisconsin finished runner-up, 14 points behind Illinois. Minnesota was third. Minnesota's Mitchell McKee upset defending champion Taylor LaMont of Utah at 132 (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Minnesota's Mitchell McKee claimed his fourth Fargo stop sign, and did so by upending returning Junior National Greco-Roman champion Taylor LaMont of Utah 4-2 at 132 pounds. McKee had never beaten Lamont at the Cadet or Junior level. Last month LaMont pinned McKee at the Junior National Duals. This time McKee changed his strategy, using more two-on-ones and drags. "This time I felt a lot more in control and being able to do my things," said McKee. "In the last couple times I feel like I had my position, but I didn't feel like I had the position to score from. This time I felt totally different." McKee, a University of Minnesota commit, earned a Junior folkstyle title this spring, and after winning the Junior Greco title on Tuesday sits a Junior freestyle title away from earning a Junior Triple Crown. "Since freshman year I put a list of things I want to accomplish by the end of high school, and one of those was to be a National Triple Crown," said McKee. "I've gotten close in years past, but this year would definitely be special for me to do it, especially with that match. That will just make it even better." It was back-to-back champions for Minnesota at 132 pounds and 138 pounds as McKee was followed by Ben Brancale, who topped fellow Minnesotan Ty Johnson 5-1 in the finals at 138 pounds. Pennsylvania's Hayden Hidlay knocked off multiple-time Fargo champion Mason Manville 6-3 in the finals at 152 pounds. Hidlay was named Outstanding Wrestler of the competition. "I think a lot of people expected me to be able hang in with him, but I don't think they wanted to categorize me at his level yet," said Hidlay. "I think by that win there I just wanted to show people that I'm here and I think I'm one of the best in the country regardless of weights." Also winning a title for Pennsylvania was Jaret Lane, who kicked off Tuesday's finals at 100 pounds by defeating Elijah Varona of Florida 8-3. Other Junior Greco-Roman champions included Dalton Duffield of Oklahoma (120), Andrew Webb of Georgia (145), Brett Bye of South Dakota (160), Nick Reenan of Texas (182), Wyatt Koelling of Utah (195), James Ford of Ohio (220) and Dante Jiovenetta of Florida (285). Finals Results: 100: Jaret Lane (Pennsylvania) dec. Elijah Varona (Florida), 8-3 106: Louie Hayes (Illinois) tech. fall Dylan Koontz (Wisconsin), 10-0 113: Dack Punke (Illinois) dec. Jordan Martinez (Colorado), 1-1 120: Dalton Duffield (Oklahoma) tech. fall Matthew Schmitt (Missouri), 11-0 126: Gabriel Townsell (Illinois) dec. James Pawelski (Illinois), 8-5 132: Mitchell McKee (Minnesota) dec. Taylor LaMont (Utah), 4-2 138: Ben Brancale (Minnesota) dec. Ty Johnson (Minnesota), 5-1 145: Andrew Webb (Georgia) dec. Austin O'Connor (Illinois), 17-14 152: Hayden Hidlay (Pennsylvania) dec. Mason Manville (Virginia), 6-3 160: Brett Bye (South Dakota) tech. fall Riley Jaramillo (Oregon), 10-0 170: Kamal Bey (Illinois) pinned Andrew Berreyesa (Nevada), 0:29 182: Nick Reenan (Texas) tech. fall Andrew Buckley (Missouri), 10-0 195: Wyatt Koelling (Utah) dec. Sam Shields-Colbray (Oregon), 8-5 220: James Ford (Ohio) dec. Jordan Wood (Pennsylvania), 6-3 285: Dante Jiovenetta (Florida) dec. Carter Isley (Iowa), 2-1

What many consider to be the pinnacle event of the scholastic-aged wrestling year starts on Thursday in Fargo, N.D. The Junior National freestyle championships commence with two sessions on that day, those start at 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. CT. The field will be pared down to the round of 16, which will be wrestled on Friday morning starting at 9 a.m. along with the quarterfinals. The semifinals and consolation All-American rounds are slated for Friday at 6 p.m. -- with championship finals and medal matches to be contested at 10 a.m. on Saturday. This year's field is slated to be absolutely stacked with almost one-half of the top 100 Class of 2016 (i.e. rising seniors) wrestlers registered. In addition, close to a quarter of the top 100 from the just graduated Class of 2015 are expected to be present, along with between 10 and 15 from the Class of 2017. The depth and breadth of each weight, especially when discounting 100 and 106, is staggering to consume. College coaches abound are present to evaluate these prospects. Below is a weight-by-weight analysis of the Junior freestyle field based on registered entrants as of Tuesday evening. 100: Jaret Lane (Pennsylvania) was the champion in Greco-Roman on Tuesday afternoon. The state placer and returning Cadet double All-American will seek to win double titles at the Junior level at week's end. Others to watch include returning Cadet freestyle All-American Ryan Chauvin (Colorado); state runners-up Trevor Giallamdardo (Michigan) and Jason Holmes (Arizona), Holmes also a returning Cadet double All-American; along with state placer returning Cadet double All-American Elijah Varona (Florida). 106: Louie Hayes (Illinois) was the champion in Greco-Roman on Tuesday afternoon. The state runner-up and returning Junior double third place finisher is a legitimate contender to win double titles this week. Others to watch will include state champions Wyatt Adams (Oklahoma), Arick Shankles (Alabama), and Joe Thomas (Maryland); state runners-up Liam Cronin (California), Brakan Mead (Ohio), and returning Junior double All-American Mason Naifeh (Oklahoma); as well as state placers Brady and Dylan Koontz (Wisconsin). 113: Odds on favorite in this weight class is Austin Gomez (Illinois), who is ranked No. 13 in the Class of 2017 and was a Cadet Nationals champion in both styles last year at this weight class. Two other grade level ranked wrestlers are among the other primary contenders: returning Junior double champion Danny Vega (Arizona) is ranked No. 33 in the Class of 2016, while UWW Cadet freestyle runner-up at 50 kilograms Drew Mattin (Ohio) is No. 48 in the Class of 2017. Three additional wrestlers are returning Junior freestyle All-Americans, 2014 Junior Triple Crown winner Randon Miranda (California), three-time state placer Drew Hildebrandt (Indiana) and two-time state placer Jonathan Tropea (New Jersey). Six additional wrestlers in this weight class are two-time state champions; Jaxon Cole (Utah), Tomas Gutierrez (Colorado), Dom Lajoie (Michigan), Sidney Oliver (Missouri), Joey Prata (Virginia), and Jack Wagner (Iowa). Two more in this weight class are three-time state placers: three-time FloNationals placer Gage Curry (Pennsylvania) and 2013 Junior freestyle All-American Tanner Rohweder (Iowa). Three more were state champions in 2014, but not this past year: Brendan Coughlin (Maryland), Max Johnson (Michigan), and Drew West (Iowa). Others to watch in this weight include a quartet of two-time state placers: two-time runner-up Jakob Allison (Iowa), returning Cadet freestyle All-American Josh Copeland (Oklahoma), Kelan McKenna (New York), and Paxton Rosen (Oklahoma); along with state runner-up Cole Manley (Pennsylvania) and Super 32 Challenge runner-up Thomas Cox (New York). 113: While there are six grade-level ranked wrestlers in this weight class, there is one who stands out above the rest, and that is Daton Fix (Oklahoma). The nation's top-ranked Class of 2017 wrestler won the UWW Junior National title at 55 kilograms and the UWW Cadet title at 54 kilograms in the month of May; the Junior title came with multiple victories over NCAA Division I qualifiers, while the Cadet final was a two-match sweep over returning world champion Spencer Lee. The other five are Class of 2016 members. Leading that list is No. 23 Jack Mueller (Texas), a returning Junior National freestyle champion; No. 77 Ian Parker (Michigan) is a three-time UWW Cadet freestyle All-American, and a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American in Fargo; No. 82 Dalton Duffield (Oklahoma) won the Greco-Roman title in this weight class on Tuesday; No. 89 Montorie Bridges (Oklahoma) is a state champion and returning Junior freestyle All-American; while No. 93 Noah Baughman (Wadsworth) was state champion in 2014. Others to watch include Logan Griffin (Michigan) and Toribio Navarro (Tennessee), who each have won three-plus state titles in high school; two-time state champions Paul Bianchi (Wisconsin), Sawyer Degen (Montana), Brock Jones (Minnesota), Matthew Schmitt (Missouri), and Jacob Schwarm (Iowa); state champions Arik Furseth (Wisconsin), Brock Hudkins (Indiana), Andrew Nieman (Oklahoma), Garrett Pepple (Indiana), Garrett Rowe (Oklahoma), and Bryce West (Iowa). Schmitt is a returning Junior freestyle runner-up, Nieman and Pepple are returning Junior freestyle All-Americans, Furseth a two-time Junior freestyle All-American, while West is a returning Cadet freestyle All-American. Additional notables in this weight class are two-time Cadet freestyle All-American Travis Piotrowski (Illinois), two-time National Prep runner-up Zach Sherman (New Jersey), Junior Greco-Roman champion Dack Punke (Illinois), and two-time state placer Dan Moran (Pennsylvania). 126: Defending Junior freestyle champion Austin Assad (Ohio), ranked No. 56 in the Class of 2015, is one of eight grade-level ranked wrestlers in this weight class. Five are from the Class of 2016: No. 45 Dylan Duncan (Illinois), last year a Cadet freestyle champion; No. 57 Brock Rathbun (Iowa), a two-time state champion; No. 58 Gabe Townsell (Illinois), champion in Greco-Roman on Tuesday; No. 73 Alex Mackall (Ohio), three-time state placer and 2014 state champion; and No. 90 Trent Olson (Wyoming), a two-time National Prep runner-up. From the 2017 class, it is No. 31 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma) and No. 39 Navonte Demison (California); Gfeller is a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American, while Demison won Junior folkstyle in April. Others to watch in this weight class include NHSCA Senior Nationals champion Ryan Friedman (Maryland); multi-time state champions Ted Rico (Arizona), Cameron Sykora (Minnesota), and Dalton Young (Washington); state champions Nolan Hellickson (Iowa) and Ryan Leisure (Iowa); state runners-up Nathan Cervantes (California), Cody Karstetter (Oklahoma), and Requir van der Merwe (New Jersey); two-time Cadet freestyle All-American Coltan Williams (Texas); as well as two-time state placers Nick Farro (New Jersey) and Colin Glorioso (Pennsylvania). 132: Mitch McKee (Minnesota), ranked No. 12 in the Class of 2016, made it a fourth straight year winning a Fargo championship with his Greco-Roman title on Tuesday afternoon in this weight class. He will seek to repeat as champion in Junior freestyle, though the road won't be easy five other grade-level ranked wrestlers among the competitors. Among that group is a pair of two-time Junior freestyle All-Americans ready to enroll at Oklahoma State, No. 23 in the Class of 2015 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma) and No. 62 Lincoln Olson (Michigan). Fellow ranked wrestlers in the Class of 2016 include No. 36 Taylor LaMont (Utah) and No. 42 Hunter Marko (Wisconsin). LaMont is a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American, and was runner-up to McKee in Greco-Roman; while Marko is a two-time Junior freestyle All-American, including his 2013 title at 106 pounds. Also carrying a grade-level ranking is Ben Freeman (Michigan), a two-time Cadet and three-time UWW Cadet freestyle All-American and ranked No. 20 in the Class of 2017. Others to watch in this weight class include returning Junior freestyle All-Americans Ryan Deakin (Colorado) and Jonathan Gabriel (Pennsylvania), Gabriel was also a state champion this past season; NHSCA Senior Nationals champion Chris Debien (Tennessee); returning Cadet freestyle All-Americans A.J. Jaffe (Illinois) and Corey Shie (Ohio), Shie also a three-time Fargo All-American in Greco-Roman; four-time state placer and 2013 Junior freestyle All-American Brandon James (Indiana); along with two-time state placer Sal Profaci (New Jersey). 138: Ten grade-level wrestlers make this one of the deepest weight classes of the whole tournament. Matthew Kolodzik (New Jersey), ranked No. 9 in the Class of 2015, is the favorite and after a second Fargo freestyle title having won as a Cadet in 2012. Four other ranked wrestlers from the graduated seniors are present as well: No. 18 Keegan Moore (Oklahoma), fourth in Junior freestyle last year; No. 38 Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma), a three-time state champion; No. 45 Cameron Kelly (Ohio), a two-time state champion and four-time finalist; and No. 70 Alex Rich (Oregon), also a four-time state champion. Another four come from the Class of 2016: No. 30 Carter Happel (Iowa), a three-time state champion and 2014 UWW Cadet freestyle champion; No. 43 Kanen Storr (Michigan), a two-time state champion and UWW Cadet freestyle runner-up this spring; No. 86 Jarrett Degen (Montana), a NHSCA Junior Nationals champion; along with No. 98 Michael Murphy (Tennessee), a three-time state champion. The other grade-level ranked wrestler is Quentin Hovis (Arizona), ranked No. 28 in the Class of 2017, who was a Cadet freestyle All-American in 2013. Others to watch include Ben Brancale (Minnesota), a returning Junior freestyle All-American and winner in Greco-Roman on Tuesday afternoon; two-time state champions Parker Filius (Montana) and Robert Lee (Wisconsin); New England champion Charles Kane (Connecticut); two-times National Prep placer Tyler Megonigal (Virginia) and Peter Tedesco (Massachusetts); along with four-time state finalist Tristan Moran (Oklahoma). 145: While there are seven grade-level ranked wrestlers present, it is a pair of graduated seniors from Iowa that stand from the pack. No. 15 Fredy Stroker is a three-time state champion and placed fourth last summer in Junior freestyle, while No. 14 Max Thomsen is a four-time state champion, though it should be noted that Stroker beat Thomsen in early June at the UWW Junior World Team Trials. Also nationally ranked among graduated seniors is No. 75 Patricio Lugo (Florida), a two-time state champion and NHSCA Senior Nationals runner-up. The pair of ranked wrestlers from the Class of 2016 is No. 46 Zander Wick (California) and No. 50 Kyle Bierdumpfel (New Jersey). Wick was a state runner-up this year, and runner-up to Thomsen in Junior folkstyle; while Bierdumpfel was state champion this year after two prior runner-up finishes, and is a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American. The pair from the Class of 2017 is No. 15 Eric Hong (Pennsylvania) and No. 43 Stephan Glasgow (New Jersey). Hong is a two-time National Prep champion and two-time Cadet freestyle All-American, while Glasgow was state runner-up this past season. At least five others in this weight class are multi-time state champions: Beau Guffey (Oklahoma), Logan Lacure (Ohio), Cole Martin (Wisconsin), Johnny O'Hearon (Utah), and Andrew Webb (Georgia); Webb was the Greco-Roman champion in this weight class on Tuesday afternoon. Also here are at least five additional state champions: Jeren Glosser (Iowa), Zachary Moore (Oklahoma), Shayne Oster (Illinois), Kyler Rea (Missouri), and Josh Wenger (Iowa); Oster was a Cadet freestyle runner-up last year. Other notables here are returning Junior freestyle All-American Hayden Pentz (Utah), two-time state placers Joshy Cortez (California) and Justin Demicco (Ohio), along with two-time state runner-up Aaron Meyer (Iowa). 152: There's also a crazy amount of talent in this weight class with nine grade-level ranked wrestlers. Tabbing a favorite here is fool's gold, but for the sake of this preview, it'll be No. 11 in the graduated senior class Michael Kemerer (Pennsylvania). The Iowa enrollee is a state champion and four-time state finalist with two Junior freestyle All-American finishes. Also ranked in the Class of 2015 is No. 42 Larry Early (Illinois), a three-time state finalist and 2014 state champion. Junior Greco-Roman champion Hayden Hidlay (Pennsylvania) is one of five top 50 Class of 2016 wrestlers in this weight class. The No. 20 overall rising senior was third at state, losing to Kemerer in the semifinal, and also finished second in Cadet freestyle in 2013. Defending Junior freestyle champion Mason Manville (Virginia) is ranked No. 7 in the Class of 2016, but was upset in Tuesday afternoon's Greco-Roman final by Hidlay. Three-time state champion Griffin Parriott (Minnesota) is ranked No. 22 in this class, and placed third at 66 kilograms in freestyle at the UWW Junior Nationals this past May. Two-time state champion Austin Kraisser (Maryland) is No. 35 in this class, and was runner-up to Manville in Cadet freestyle in 2013. Rounding it out is No. 49 Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma), a three-time state champion. Ranked in the Class of 2017 are No. 11 Austin O'Connor (Illinois) and No. 24 Luke Troy (California); O'Connor is a two-time state champion and returning Cadet double All-American, while was champion in Junior folkstyle with an early round victory over Parriott and placed third in Cadet freestyle last year. Others to watch include multi-time state champions Ryan Klemp (Idaho) and Jimmy Fate (Colorado); state champions Dan Kelly (Iowa), James Nereim (Florida), James Pleski (Minnesota), and Chase Straw (Iowa); mutli-time state placers Colton Clingenpeel (Iowa), Cole Erickson (Iowa), Kyle Kaminski (Ohio), and Evan Wick (California); along with state placres Austin Hiles (Ohio), Nick Monico (Pennsylvania), and Jimmy Saylor (Pennsylvania). Among this group, Klemp, Clingenpeel, and Hiles have earned Cadet freestyle All-American honors. 160: One of the shallower weights in this tournament with just four grade-level ranked wrestlers, led by obvious favorite Joe Smith (Oklahoma). Smith, a three-time state champion and two-time Junior freestyle All-American, is ranked No. 16 in the Class of 2015. The primary challenger would be Brandon Dallavia (New Jersey), ranked No. 24 in the Class of 2016, a National Prep runner-up and returning Cadet freestyle champion. The other two grade-level ranked wrestlers are No. 80 Trace Carello (Illinois) and No. 91 Canten Marriott (Missouri), both from the Class of 2016; Carello is a two-time state placer and 2013 Cadet freestyle runner-up, while Marriott is a state champion and three-time state placer. There are fifteen-plus additional wrestlers in this weight class whom have won a state championship at some point of their high school career. Notable among those are returning Cadet freestyle runner-up Johnny Blankenship (Missouri), three-time champion Colston DiBlasi (Missouri), Lucas Jeske (Minnesota), Blake Montrie (Michigan), Junior folkstyle champion Paden Moore (Minnesota), four-time state placer Taleb Rahmani (Ohio), and Jakob Restrepo (New York). Another wrestler to watch includes two-time state placer Jesse Porter (New York). 170: Similar to the immediately preceding weight, just four grade-level ranked wrestlers are present here. Leading the way here in three-time state champion and two-time FloNationals champion Xavier Montalvo (Illinois), ranked No. 34 in the Class of 2015. Primary challenger here is two-time Cadet Nationals double champion Beau Breske (Wisconsin), who is ranked No. 13 in the Class of 2016. Additional grade-level ranked wrestlers are Brett Bye (South Dakota) and Alex Herringshaw (New York); Bye won the Greco-Roman title on Tuesday afternoon down at 160 pounds, and is ranked No. 81 in the Class of 2015, while two-time state champion Alex Herringshaw (New York) is No. 94 in the Class of 2016. Two additional wrestlers in this weight class are returning Junior freestyle All-Americans: state champion Jordan Bushey (New York) and two-time state runner-up Hayden Hansen (Oklahoma). At least six additional wrestlers in this weight class are two-time state champions, among them are Weston Dobler (North Dakota), Dale Hilleman (Iowa), Jacob Holschag (Iowa), and returning Cadet freestyle All-American Gary Jantzer (Oregon). Furthermore, at least ten others have won a state title during their high school career, among those include: Junior Greco-Roman runner-up Andrew Berreyesa (Nevada), Regan Bye (South Dakota), Dylan Lydy (Indiana), Andrew McNally (Ohio), Carter Nielsen (Minnesota), Kevin Parker (New York), and Matthew Rundell (Illinois). An additional wrestler to watch is Jared Siegrist (Pennsylvania), a state placer and returning Cadet freestyle All-American. 182: Unlike the two weights classes before, this weight is heavy in talent at the top end with eight grade-level ranked wrestlers. The two favorites would have to be a pair of Class of 2016 stars, No. 9 Nick Reenan (Texas) and No. 11 Keegan Moore (Minnesota). Reenan won the Greco-Roman title on Tuesday afternoon, and was a 2013 Cadet Triple Crown winner; while Moore was a Cadet Triple Crown winner last year, and won a Junior folkstyle title this spring. Three others from the top 100 for the rising senior group are present here as well: No. 21 Nathan Traxler (Illinois), No. 25 Ben Darmstadt (Ohio), and No. 60 Owen Webster (Minnesota). State champion Traxler is a returning Junior freestyle All-American in this weight class, state champion Darmstadt was third in Cadet freestyle last summer, while 2014 state champion Webster upset Moore for the UWW Cadet freestyle world team spot at 85 kilograms in late May. Also grade-level ranked are a pair of multi-time state champions that are headed off to college in No. 79 Seth McLeod (Idaho) and No. 85 Dylan Wisman (Virginia); Wisman is also a two-time Junior freestyle All-American in this weight class. Rounding out the ranked group of eight is Max Lyon (Iowa), a two-time state placer who is ranked No. 46 in the Class of 2017. Others to watch include 2014 state champion Trevor Allard (New York); present year state champions Andrew Buckley (Missouri), Isaac Luellen (Kansas), and James Handwerk (Ohio); two-time state placer Garrett Hoffman (Pennsylvania); along with state placers Kyle Gentile (Pennsylvania) and Matt Wroblewski (Illinois). Buckley was runner-up in Junior Greco-Roman, Luellen and Handwerk were Cadet double All-Americans last year, Gentile went undefeated at Junior Duals in freestyle, Hoffman was undefeated at Disney, and Wroblewski is a returning Cadet freestyle All-American. 195: Another rather deep weight class with eight grade-level ranked wrestlers in its own right. Leading the way here are the Greco-Roman finalists, Samuel Colbray (Oregon) and Wyatt Koelling (Utah), No. 78 Koelling scored the upset over No. 10 Colbray in Tuesday afternoon's battle of Class of 2016 prospects. Colbray was also a Junior freestyle All-American last year in this weight class, while Koelling finished runner-up down at 182 as a Cadet. Two other ranked Class of 2016 are also present, No. 56 Kevin Mulligan (New Jersey) and No. 76 Jack Harris (Ohio); Mulligan was a Junior freestyle All-American last year and a state champion this scholastic season, while is a two-time state runner-up and 2013 Cadet freestyle runner-up. Three others appear in the back part of the Class of 2015 top 100, No. 90 Jacob Seely (Colorado), No. 92 Daniel Chadd (Wisconsin), and No. 100 Cash Wilcke (Iowa). Chadd and Wilcke have a pair of state titles, to the one for Seely; Seely and Wilcke were Junior freestyle All-Americans last summer, while Chadd earned All-American honors last year in Junior Greco-Roman. Rounding out the grade-level ranked group is Zane Black (Pennsylvania), No. 38 in the Class of 2017, a returning Cadet freestyle All-American and National Prep placer. Others to watch include returning Cadet freestyle All-Americans Christian Brunner (Illinois) and John Jakobsen (Pennsylvania), Brunner a two-time state placer and Jakobsen a state runner-up this year; state champions Jackson Striggow (Minnesota) and Joe Teague (Iowa); two-time state champion Jared Langley (Kansas), state runner-up Nick McShea (New York), and two-time state placer Donovan Doyle (Iowa). 220: Four top tier Class of 2016 wrestlers anchor this weight class, No. 6 Jordan Wood (Pennsylvania), No. 32 Ethan Andersen (Iowa), No. 41 Matt Stencel (Ohio), and No. 54 Matthew Correnti (New Jersey). Wood was a Cadet World silver medalist last year in this weight class, is a state champion and three-time state finalist; Andersen is a two-time state champion and the Junior folkstyle champion in this weight class; Stencel is a state champion and was a Cadet double champion last year; while Correnti is a three-time state placer, and has twice finished third in Cadet freestyle. Others to watch include state placer James Ford (Ohio), who upset Wood to win Junior Greco-Roman on Tuesday afternoon; state champions Brian Barnes (Oregon), Christian Colucci (New Jersey), Trevor Eicher (Washington), and Christian Lance (Missouri); state runner-up Eric Johnson (Illinois); multi-time state placers Kyler Childers (Oklahoma) and Rylee Streifel (Minnesota); state placers Darryl Aiello (California) and Evan Ellis (Indiana); along with Cadet freestyle All-Americans Christian Ayala (California) and Cole Nye (Pennsylvania). 285: Five grade-level ranked wrestlers lead the way in this weight class. Those include four-time state champion, returning Junior freestyle All-American, and NHSCA Senior Nationals champion Austin Myers (Kentucky). He is ranked No. 22 in the Class of 2015. Three top 100 Class of 2016 wrestlers are also in the field, No. 39 Osawaru Odighizuwa (Oregon), No. 51 Gannon Gremmel (Iowa), and No. 79 Carter Isley (Iowa); Odighizuwa is the returning Cadet freestyle champion, Gremmel was a Cadet freestyle champion as well last year, while Isley has finished second this year in both Junior folkstyle and Greco-Roman. Rounding out the ranked group is state champion Kevin Vough (Ohio), ranked No. 12 in the Class of 2017, and a Cadet freestyle runner-up last year. State champion Dante Jiovanetta (Florida) was the champion in Junior Greco-Roman on Tuesday afternoon. Two others in this weight class are returning Junior freestyle All-Americans, National Prep champion Michael Rogers (Pennsylvania) and two-time state champion Dan Stibral (South Dakota). Three more were Cadet double All-Americans last year: state champion Hunter Mullins (Washington), two-time state champion Brandon Metz (North Dakota), and state placer Andrew Piehl (Minnesota). Additional state champions include Sam Bouis (Virginia), Jarrod Hinrichs (Nebraska), and Alex Silberstein (Iowa); while others to watch include two-time state placer Jake Beistel (Pennsylvania), state champion Alex Silberstein (Iowa), and two-time state runner-up Korey Walker (Oklahoma).

BLACKSBURG -- If it weren't for bad luck, Austin Gabel swears he wouldn't have any luck at all. After a healthy first two years in Blacksburg - relatively speaking for a wrestler - Gabel suffered not one, not two, but three knee injuries last season in addition to a broken nose suffered in the first dual match of the season. In typical Gabel fashion, though, he pushed his body to the limits and wrestled injured before the knee finally broke down for good in a dual match against Duke on Feb. 14. These injuries during the 2014-15 season came after suffering a previous knee injury a year before that kept him off the mat for almost two months. “I tore the MCL in my right knee my redshirt sophomore year, but with the latest medicine, they don't do surgeries on MCLs like they did 15-20 years ago,” Gabel said. “The doctors hoped time, rest and rehab would heal it. I injured it in December and tried to come back, but ended up re-hurting it, which put me out until the week before the ACC Championships.” He returned late and still managed to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the second time, but that injury reared its ugly head this past season as that same knee just kept breaking down until Gabel couldn't go any more. Gabel re-injured the MCL in the quarterfinals of The Midlands in late December when he relaxed on the edge in the tiebreaker, and Old Dominion's Jack Dechow shot in on the knee for the takedown. Gabel would lose that match 3-1 in the tiebreaker and forfeit out of the tournament with the injury. “With the MCL never getting repaired, I think it wasn't quite as strong as we hoped,” Gabel said. “I stood up, and the knee buckled. In my head, it wasn't as bad as it really was and we thought I tore the scar tissue. But I knew there was something different about it. I'd be walking and my knee would give out.” Gabel would continue to wrestle, altering his training methods to be able to compete. The second injury came on Jan. 18 in a dual at Iowa State. “In the last period, my knee really gave out on me,” he said. “We thought it was the same injury, but the doctors checked me out and had me get an MRI. I got the results that day and it revealed an MCL and ACL tear in the knee.” Having been already wrestling for a month with the injury, the 184-pounder decided to continue to gut it out, wrestling basically on one leg. He changed his training methods and the way he wrestled and it worked as he continued to help out the team. But it all came to an end on Valentine's Day night at Cassell when he suffered the third injury to the knee. Leading 5-1 against Jacob Kasper, Gabel fell awkwardly on the knee when Kasper took him down, and he tore the meniscus. Gabel tried to go, but knew in his heart that his season was over. “I felt my knee completely give out on me and I rolled over in agony,” Gabel said. “I collected myself and tried to go, but the knee was locked up and there was no way I was finishing. Dresser told me I had been Superman all year and asked if I wanted to continue, but at that point I got pretty emotional because there was nothing that I could do about it.” Gabel had surgery on the knee on Feb. 24 and has spent all offseason rehabbing. The rising redshirt senior from Parker, Colorado, now has one last chance to make a run at the podium in March and is doing whatever he can to make sure he's healthy this fall. He's almost five months out from surgery and two weeks ago was cleared for hand fighting. “It's been nice to get hit in the face and get the shoes back on,” Gabel joked. Gabel knows there's a fine line between pushing himself too far, thus re-injuring himself, and coming back too slow if he wants to be ready for November wrestling. The coaches and training staff - along with Gabel - will continue to monitor everything and pull back the reins if necessary because this is the final run for Gabel being that he already redshirted. He admits that, while it would be nice to be out on the mat on Nov. 7 against Iowa State in Cassell Coliseum, it's the ACC and NCAA Championships that matter most to him and the team. “Austin is progressing very well after a pretty extensive knee surgery in February,” Tech head coach Kevin Dresser said. “He appears to be on schedule to be cleared for most of his final season. Austin did a good job competing for us last season considering the shape his knee was in for the last month of the season. He is a tough kid!” He's also prepping for life after wrestling with an internship this summer with a local financial advisor. As a business management and finance double major, Gabel is using this experience and opportunity to ready him for what lies ahead after next year when he graduates. “I'm working with Ron Gibbs, who works for Verity Asset Management, Inc. in Blacksburg and he works with a lot of coaches at Virginia Tech,” Gabel said. “He is a financial planner who works with a lot of retirement plans, 403Bs, 401Ks and even different educational programs like Virginia529. He's a great guy who works with my schedule and around wrestling, but I've gotten to sit in on meetings, do some paperwork and filings and learn the ropes of the business.” Gabel will enter his fifth and final season with 49 wins and two NCAA appearances, but wants to leave with a lot more. “You get to thinking about what your legacy will be and I don't want to be remembered as the guy who wrestled the top guys tough and close, but couldn't pull out the big wins,” he said. “I feel strong and hopefully I can get a full year of good health and make a run not just to the podium, but high up on that podium.”

Travis Lee, two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champ for Cornell University, is among eleven past Big Red sports stars to be welcomed into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame this fall, the wrestling program at the Ithaca, N.Y. school announced Monday. Travis Lee (Photo/Danielle Hobeika)Born in Honolulu, Travis Lee became only the second two-time NCAA wrestling champion in the long history of the sport at Cornell, and the first Hawaii native to win an NCAA mat title. In addition, Lee became the first Ivy League wrestler to earn NCAA All-American honors four times, winning national titles in 2003 and 2005 at 125 pounds and 133, respectively. In addition, Lee won Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) titles all four years and was named that tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler twice. He posted an unbeaten season en route to a national title at 125 pounds as a sophomore, and then recorded a 37-1 record as a senior, avenging his only loss of the year in the NCAA finals at 133 pounds to capture the 2005 title. Lee graduated with a bachelor's degree in biological and environmental engineering from Cornell in 2005, and gained a master's in engineering from his college alma mater in 2006. Since its founding in 1978, 31 Big Red wrestlers have been inducted into Cornell University Athletics Hall of Fame prior to this year. Among the past honorees: Dave Auble, Frank Bettuccci (who was welcomed into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame last month), Dave Dunlap, Steve Friedman, and Clint Wattenberg. In addition to Lee, other members of the Class of 2015 include fellow NCAA All-Americans Erica Holveck (women's lacrosse), and Lauren May (softball), along with Ka'Ron Barnes (men's basketball), Dick Blood (softball coach), Jessica Brown (women's track and field), Shonda Brown (women's track and field), Lou Duesing (women's track and field coach), Colin Farrell (men's lightweight rowing), Karen Force (women's basketball), and Pete Noyes (football coach). Lee and the other members of the Class of 2015 will be inducted in 38th annual ceremonies to be held Friday, Sept. 18 on the Cornell campus. In addition to the formal induction ceremonies on Friday evening, the honorees will be recognized at halftime of the Cornell-Bucknell football game the following afternoon. After this year's class is inducted, the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame will have 577 members.

Once the Greco-Roman competitions reach their conclusion, freestyle starts up, and even more of the scholastic-aged wrestling stars descend upon Fargo. Based on the list of registered participants as of Sunday evening, 41 ranked wrestlers from the Classes of 2017-2019 are in the field. Wrestlers born in 1999 and 2000 are eligible to compete at the Cadet level. Cadet freestyle wrestling starts on Wednesday with two sessions, those at 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. CT. Those sessions will whittle the field down to the quarterfinalists on the championship side of the draw. The competition continues on Thursday where the finalists and medal winners will be determined in two sessions, the quarterfinals are a part of the 9:30 a.m. session, with semifinals in the session commencing at 3:30 p.m. Medal matches will be wrestled at 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon. The following is a weight-by-weight overview of the Cadet freestyle field, entrants as of Sunday evening. 88: Entering as the favorite in this weight class is Cadet folkstyle champion Mosha Schwartz (Colorado), who was also runner-up at the UWW Cadet Nationals in freestyle in late May at 42 kilos. Others to watch in this weight class include Cadet regional double champions Logan Ashton (Georgia), Lucas Byrd (Ohio), Ridge Lovett (Idaho), and Chase Tebbets (Washington). 94: The favorite in this weight class is defending champion Malik Heinselman (Colorado), who is also the UWW Cadet freestyle world team representative at 42 kilos. Others to watch include Cadet folkstyle champion Steele Dias (Nevada); Jace Koelzer (Kansas), undefeated in both styles at the Cadet Duals last month; state runner-up Cody Phippen (Kansas), who was runner-up in Cadet folkstyle at 100 pounds; Kurt McHenry (Virginia), ranked No. 14 overall in the Class of 2019; and Gabriel Tagg (Ohio), who was one match from All-American honors at 46 kilos in freestyle at the UWW Cadet Nationals. 100: The favorite in this weight class is Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio), who is the UWW Cadet freestyle world team representative at 46 kilos. He is also ranked No. 5 overall in the Class of 2019, and was a Cadet freestyle runner-up last year at 94 pounds. Primary challengers include Cadet folkstyle champion Kyle Biscoglia (Iowa); a pair of nationally ranked Class of 2019 wrestlers, No. 10 Travis Ford-Melton (Illinois) and No. 18 Eric Faught (Iowa); state champion Rhett Golowenski (Oklahoma), who was a Cadet double All-American last year and finished second to D'Emilio at the UWW Cadet Nationals; along with returning Cadet National double All-Americans in Joey Melendez (Illinois), Patrick McKee (Minnesota), and Peter Ogunsanya (Illinois). 106: Three nationally ranked Class of 2019 wrestlers lead the field in this weight class, No. 8 Adam Busiello (New York), No. 19 Jordan Decatur (Ohio), and No. 22 Jaden Abas (California); Decatur and Abas both placed at 50 kilos in freestyle at the UWW Cadet Nationals this spring. Other notables in this weight class include Cadet folkstyle champion Aaron Cashman (Minnesota), Charles Faber (Illinois), state champion Malik Johnson (Missouri), Logan Macri (Pennsylvania), returning Cadet double All-American Izaak Olejnik (California), state champion and returning Cadet freestyle All-American Clayton Singh (Missouri), along with state champion Dallas Wilson (Kansas). 113: The favorite in this weight class is returning Cadet Nationals double champion Roman Bravo-Young (Arizona), who is ranked No. 17 in the Class of 2018. Two other wrestlers ranked in that grade are among the primary challengers: No. 37 Tommy Hoskins (Ohio) and No. 44 Roderick Mosley (Oklahoma). At least eight other wrestlers in this field were state champions in high school this year - Brock Bergelin (Wisconsin), A.J. Facundo (Michigan), Jonathan Gomez (New York), Michael Millage (Iowa), Peyton Robb (Minnesota), Brian Stuart (Maryland), Brody Teske (Iowa), and Logan Treaster (Kansas). Additional wrestlers meriting attention include returning Cadet freestyle All-American Matthew Parker (Pennsylvania) and Preseason Nationals champion Chase Zollman (California). 120: Things seem rather wide open in this weight class with four grade-level ranked wrestlers among the contenders. Nick Raimo (New Jersey) is ranked third overall in the Class of 2019, and was one match away from an All-American finish at 54 kilos in freestyle at the UWW Cadet Nationals this spring; two-time state champion Jacori Teemer (New York) is ranked No. 27 in the Class of 2018; state champion Alex Thomsen (Iowa) is ranked No. 45 in the Class of 2018; while two-time state runner-up Jason Renteria (Illinois) is ranked No. 21 in the Class of 2017, and was a Cadet folkstyle champion this spring at 120 pounds. Two other Cadet folkstyle champions are among the field, state runner-up Jake Gliva (Minnesota) and state fifth placer Zander Silva (California). Also among the primary contenders is state champion Max Murin (Pennsylvania), a returning Cadet freestyle runner-up who finished sixth at 54 kilos in freestyle at the UWW Cadet Nationals this spring. At least six other state champions appear in this weight class, including two-time champion Clay Quintanilla (Washington). Also meriting attention is two-time state placer Cameron Valdiviez (Missouri). 126: This weight class is also wide open, though not as talented as the weight class that immediate precedes. The lone grade-level ranked wrestler returning Cadet freestyle All-American Anthony Madrigal (Illinois), who is No. 42 overall in the Class of 2018. However, the favorite here is most likely two-time state finalist Kyran Hagan (Missouri), a state champion this past year. Others to watch include two-time state champion David Bertoni (Maryland); 2014 state champion Hunter Dusold (New York); Cadet folkstyle runner-up Lawrence Saenz (California); along with state placers Abdullah Assaf (Illinois), Tim Kane (Connecticut), Justin McCoy (Pennsylvania), Jaden van Maanen (Wisconsin), and Zach Villarreal (Illinois). 132: Six grade-level ranked wrestlers lead the way in this weight class, though the leading the way in that pack is Vitali Arujau (New York). The two-time state champion is ranked tenth overall in the Class of 2017, is a returning Cadet freestyle All-American, and finished runner-up in the 58 kilogram weight class at the UWW Cadet freestyle nationals this spring. The other five come from the Class of 2018: No. 14 Sammy Sasso (Pennsylvania), No. 19 Brock Hardy (Utah), No. 21 Alex Lloyd (Minnesota), No. 30 Brayton Lee (Indiana), and No. 39 Aaron Brooks (Maryland); Lloyd is a returning Cadet double All-American, while Sasso is already a two-time placer at the FloNationals. Others to watch in this weight class include two-time state champions Sam Eckhart (Idaho) and Dakota Galt (South Dakota), two-time state runner-up Alec Hagan (Missouri), state placer and Cadet folkstyle runner-up J.J. Figueroa (California), as well as notable incoming freshmen Carson Kharchla (Ohio) and Austin Kraisser (Maryland). 138: Three nationally ranked wrestlers in the Class of 2018 are among the primary contenders in this weight class, No. 15 Shane Griffith (New Jersey), No. 22 Joe Lee (Indiana), and No. 33 Phil Conigliaro (Massachusetts); Griffith was a state champion this past season, Lee a state runner-up, and Conigliaro placed fourth at National Preps. The other primary contender is returning Cadet freestyle runner-up Jamie Hernandez (Illinois), fourth in his state tournament this season. Additional wrestlers to watch include incoming freshman Brian Case (Michigan), state placers Jaxen Gilmore (Oklahoma) and Tyler Shilson (Minnesota), 2014 state champion Ryan Hansen (Utah), two-time state champion Eli King (Tennessee), Andrew Merola (New Jersey), and two-time state placer Mike Stuart (Pennsylvania). 145: Four wrestlers ranked in their grade level anchor the field here, led by UWW Cadet freestyle runner-up at 69 kilos David Carr (Ohio), who is ranked No. 7 in the Class of 2018. Additional grade-level ranked wrestlers are Anthony Artalona (Florida), No. 44 in the Class of 2017, though he is actually a Class of 2018 wrestler; Jaryn Curry (Oklahoma), No. 29 in the Class of 2018; and Anthony Jackson (Minnesota), ranked No. 7 in the Class of 2019. Two-time state champion Artalona was a UWW Cadet double All-American at 63 kilos, Curry placed third this season, while Jackson has already twice placed fourth at the state tournament. Also in this weight class are three Cadet folkstyle finalists, Kameron Bush (Michigan), Kameron Frame (Kansas), and Kendall Frame (Kansas); Kameron Frame won the title at 138, while Bush and Kendall were runners-up at 138 and 145 respectively. Two others were Preseason Nationals champions this past fall, state champion Braeden Redlin (Texas) and Emille Shannon (Illinois). Others to watch include state runner-up Logan McKoy (Maryland), NHSCA Sophomore Nationals runner-up Connor Melbourne (New York), and state champion Hunter Richard (New York). 152: Two ranked wrestlers from the Class of 2018 are in this field, No. 34 Robert Patrick (Pennsylvania) and No. 50 Ben Sarasin (Iowa). Patrick was a state runner-up this past season, while Sarasin went undefeated across styles at the Cadet Duals last month. However, joint favorites in this weight class would be Cadet folkstyle champion Jake Allar (Minnesota), a state runner-up this season; along with state placer Tervell Timmons (Illinois), who was third at 69 kilos in this spring's UWW Cadet freestyle Nationals. Others to watch here include 2014 state champion Max Wohlabaugh (Florida), Cadet folkstyle runner-up Logan Coyle (Indiana), along with a trio of state placers in Michael O'Malley (New Jersey), Kenny O'Neil (Minnesota), and Alex Ward (Iowa). 160: Three nationally ranked Class of 2018 wrestlers anchor this weight class, No. 13 Travis Wittlake (Oregon), No. 20 Nate Jimenez (Illinois), and No. 25 Ryan Karoly (New Jersey). Wittlake was Cadet folkstyle champion this spring after a high school state title, while Jimenez and Karoly were both behind a pair of excellent wrestlers in their high school lineups as freshmen; Jimenez won the Preseason Nationals, with Karoly winning a title at the NHSCA Freshman Nationals. Others to watch include state champions Marcus Coleman (Iowa) and Clay Lautt (Kansas), along with state placers Kyle Cochran (New Jersey) and David Carwford (Ohio). 170: A pair of Illinois natives ranked in their respective grade level leads the field at this weight class, Jack Jessen and Jacob Warner. Jessen is No. 12 in the Class of 2018, was third in both styles last summer in Fargo, a Cadet folkstyle champion this spring, and a state runner-up this past season; while Warner is No. 25 in the Class of 2017, double fifth at Cadet Nationals last summer, a state champion, and placed third at 76 kilos in freestyle at the UWW Cadet Nationals this spring. Others to watch include Anthony Sherry (Iowa), a returning Cadet double All-American, ranked No. 47 in the Class of 2018; Cadet folkstyle runner-up Jacob Gray (Indiana); returning Cadet freestyle All-American Jacob Woodley (Pennsylvania); state runners-up Anthony Falbo (Connecticut) and Robbie Bowers (Ohio); along with state placers Isaac Bartel (Iowa) and Dylan Servis (Kansas). 182: The prohibitive favorite in this weight class is its lone grade-level ranked wrestler Brandon Whitman (Michigan), the UWW Cadet freestyle third place finisher at 85 kilos who is ranked No. 6 overall in the Class of 2018. Others to watch include Blake Barrick (Pennsylvania), NHSCA Freshman Nationals champion; Cadet folkstyle champion Andrew Davison (Indiana), fourth place finisher at 85 kilos in UWW Cadet freestyle; two-time state placer Jacob Raschka (Wisconsin), a returning Cadet freestyle All-American; along with state placers Jared Florell (Minnesota), Riley Vanik (Illinois), and Anthony Walters (Pennsylvania). 195: Among the primary contenders in this weight class are a pair of nationally ranked Class of 2018 wrestlers, No. 41 Gavin Hoffman (Pennsylvania) and No. 46 Dan Baker (Oklahoma); Hoffman placed sixth at state this year, while Baker was undefeated across styles at last month's Cadet Duals. Others to watch include state champion Brady Daniel (Maryland), state placer and Cadet folkstyle champion Bryce Esmoil (Iowa), state runner-up Brandon Closson (Utah), as well as state placers Dylan Prince (Kansas) and Danny Salas (California). 220: Two superstars headline this weight class, one more of a star than the other. Gable Steveson (Minnesota) is ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2018, and is the UWW Cadet freestyle world team representative at this weight class; to earn the spot, he had to beat returning world silver medalist Jordan Wood in the semifinal. Also a star in this weight is Cohlton Schultz (Colorado), ranked No. 2 in the Class of 2019. Others to watch include state placers Max Darrah (Missouri) and Kayne Hutchison (Kansas), as well as Preseason Nationals champion Blake Zalapi (Illinois). 285: Leading the way in this weight class is Cadet folkstyle champion Zach Muller (Illinois). Others to watch include state champion Nicholas Boykin (Tennessee), Cadet folkstyle runner-up Chris Middlebrooks (Illinois), and state placer Gavin Nye (California).

FARGO, N.D. -- Arizona's Roman Bravo-Young came to Fargo as a returning Cadet National Greco-Roman champion, but had unfinished business. Roman Bravo-Young (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Last month Bravo-Young was beaten soundly by Minnesota's Peyton Robb at the Junior National Duals in Greco-Roman. Both were entered at 113 pounds and on a collision to meet in the finals. On Monday, Bravo-Young avenged that loss on the big stage. He topped Robb 8-6 to claim a Cadet National Greco-Roman title. "I was excited," said Bravo-Young, who is ranked No. 17 in the sophomore grade rankings by InterMat. "I was feeling good. I just wanted to win." Bravo-Young was the lone repeat champion in the Cadet National Greco-Roman competition. Three wrestlers remain alive for a Cadet Triple Crown. Those wrestlers include Colorado's Mosha Schwartz (88), Oregon's Travis Wittlake (160) and Indiana's Andrew Davison (182). Illinois won the team competition with 79 points. Kansas came in second with 53 points. Colorado (43), Minnesota (40) and Missouri (36) rounded out the top five. The 17 champions came from 12 states. Colorado opened the finals with back-to-back champions, Schwartz (88) and Malik Heinselman (94), and added another champion Cohlton Schultz (220). Colorado was the lone state with three champions. Illinois, New Jersey and Florida each had two champions. Finals Results: 88: Mosha Schwartz (Colorado) tech. fall Derek Ramos (Idaho), 13-2 94: Malik Heinselman (Colorado) tech. fall Jace Koelzer (Kansas), 10-0 100: Peter Ogunsanya (Illinois) dec. Benji Peak (Wisconsin), 8-1 106: Malik Johnson (Missouri) dec. Riley Gurr (Washington), 4-3 113: Roman Bravo-Young (Arizona) dec. Peyton Robb (Minnesota), 8-6 120: Nick Raimo (New Jersey) tech. fall Alston Nutter (Wisconsin), 10-0 126: Patrick Ramirez (California) dec. Kyran Hagan (Missouri), 7-3 132: Alex Lloyd (Minnesota) dec. Brock Hardy (Utah), 5-4 138: Andrew Merola (New Jersey) dec. Mason Hall (Minnesota), 6-5 145: Anthony Artalona (Florida) dec. Peyton Omanta (California), 13-10 152: Max Wohlabaugh (Florida) dec. Andrew Johnson (Kansas), 5-3 160: Travis Wittlake (Oregon) dec. Ryan Karoly (New Jersey), 6-0 170: Jacob Warner (Illinois) tech. fall Jack Jessen (Illinois), 11-0 182: Andrew Davison (Indiana) dec. Anthony Walters (Pennsylvania), 5-3 195: Brady Daniel (Maryland) dec. Jake Boyd (Missouri), 8-4 220: Cohlton Schultz (Colorado) tech. fall Kayne Hutchison (Kansas), 11-0 285: Nicholas Boykin (Tennessee) tech. fall Gavin Nye (California), 16-6

Wrestling on the first day of the Junior National Greco-Roman tournament took the championship bracket down to the quarterfinals. The third session of this event takes place on Tuesday morning starting at 9:00 a.m. Central Time, which is when the quarterfinals and semifinals will be wrestled, with consolation rounds through to the medal matches. Championship finals matches and the consolation medal round will be wrestled starting at 2:15 p.m. Illinois, which won the Cadet Greco-Roman team title, is dominating the Junior proceedings with 12 into the quarterfinal round. The Land of Lincoln has the most participants by far with 69 on the brackets. Wisconsin has the second most quarterfinalists with nine, Minnesota with eight, Ohio with seven, and Iowa with six round out the top five; five states have five each. Wrestlers in the quarterfinals need one win to earn All-American honors with a top eight finish, while those remaining in consolation need three wins. Below are the quarterfinal pairings in each weight class. 100: Tyler Cunningham (Nebraska) vs. Nathan Rankin (Texas), Trevor Giallambardo (Michigan) vs. Jaret Lane (Pennsylvania); Elijah Varona (Florida) vs. Ryan Chauvin (Colorado), Drew Schafer (New York) vs. Jason Holmes (Arizona) 106: Liam Cronin (California) vs. Hasan Krigger (Georgia), Dylan Koontz (Wisconsin) vs. Mason Naifeh (Oklahoma); Trey Keeley (Illionis) vs. Joe Thomas (Maryland), Davon Powell (South Carolina) vs. Louie Hayes (Illinois) 113: Randon Miranda (California) vs. Trae Vasquez (Montana), Drew West (Iowa) vs. Jordan Martinez (Colorado); Dack Punke (Illinois) vs. Dominic Lajoie (Michigan), Drew Mattin (Ohio) vs. Danny Vega (Arizona) 120: Tyler Lee (Wisconsin) vs. Toribio Navarro (Tennessee), Paul Bianchi (Wisconsin) vs. Matthew Schmitt (Missouri); Dalton Duffield (Oklahoma) vs. Cameron Kato (Hawaii), Brent Jones (Minnesota) vs. Tate Carney (Kansas) 126: Cody Karstetter (Oklahoma) vs. Wilson Smith (North Carolina), Gabe Townsell (Illinois) vs. Mike Stewart (Ohio); David Rivera-Kohr (Illinois) vs. Dalton Young (Washington), James Pawleski (Illinois) vs. Ryan Friedman (Maryland) 132: Taylor LaMont (Utah) vs. Ryan Deakin (Colorado), Ben Freeman (Michigan) vs. Nate Cervantes (California); Chris Debien (Tennessee) vs. Corey Shie (Ohio), Nelson Baker (Illinois) vs. Mitch McKee (Minnesota) 138: Ben Brancale (Minnesota) vs. Aaron Meyer (Iowa), Quention Hovis (Arizona) vs. Michael Murphy (Tennessee); Hunter Kelley (Georgia) vs. Joseph Dombrowski (Michigan), Brady O'Keefe (Nevada) vs. Ty Johnson (Minnesota) 145: Johnny O'Hearon (Utah) vs. Leonard Merkin (New York), Tommy Strassenberg (Washington) vs. Andrew Webb (Georgia); Ryder Punke (Illinois) vs. Austin O'Connor (Illinois), Jaron Jensen (Utah) vs. Paul Fitterer (Minnesota) 152: Mason Manville (Virginia) vs. Colton Clingenpeel (Iowa), Fritz Schierl (Wisconsin) vs. Austin Kraisser (Maryland); Chase Straw (Iowa) vs. Anthony Wokasch (Arizona), Dan Kelly (Iowa) vs. Hayden Hidlay (Pennsylvania) 160: Brett Bye (South Dakota) vs. Josh Anderson (Nebraska), Alex Miller (Virginia) vs. Blake Montrie (Michigan); Jesse Porter (New York) vs. Jeremiah Moody (Wisconsin), Paul Hutton (Maryland) vs. Riley Jaramillo (Oregon) 170: Carter Nielsen (Minnesota) vs. Regan Bye (South Dakota), Kamal Bey (Illinois) vs. Beau Breske (Wisconsin); Andrew Berreyesa (Nevada) vs. Weston Dobler (North Dakota), Jordan Bushey (New York) vs. Matthew Rundell (Illinois) 182: Timothy Young (Illinois) vs. Andrew Buckley (Missouri), Isaac Luellen (Kansas) vs. James Handwerk (Ohio); Mason Reinhardt (Wisconsin) vs. Jonah Lange (Minnesota), Troy Allen (Virginia) vs. Nick Reenan (Texas) 195: Samuel Colbray (Oregon) vs. Abraham Correa-Medina (Alaska), Roderick Davis (Georgia) vs. Davit Stepanyan (California); Dean Drugac (New Jersey) vs. Zane Black (Pennsylvania), Dalton Hahn (Wisconsin) vs. Wyatt Koelling (Utah) 220: G'Angelo Hancock (Colorado) vs. Kyler Childers (Oklahoma), Matt Stencel (Ohio) vs. Jordan Wood (Pennsylvania); James Ford (Ohio) vs. Ian Ruble (Wisconsin), Christian Ayala (California) vs. Michael Rogers (Pennsylvania) 285: Kevin Vough (Ohio) vs. Cortez Rodelo (Oregon), Dante Jiovanetta (Florida) vs. Dan Stibral (South Dakota); Bryson McGowan (Oklahoma) vs. Carter Isley (Iowa), Wyatt Fitterer (Minnesota) vs. Brandon Metz (North Dakota)

Two-time state champion Rudy Yates (Carl Sandburg, Ill.), who is also a three-time state placer, verbally committed to the University of Northern Iowa on Monday evening. The nation's No. 16 overall Class of 2016 wrestler projects as a 133 pound wrestler in college. He is the first commit in this class for the Panthers, after an excellent 2015 group in which they signed three of the nation's top 30 overall wrestlers.

Tim Krieger, two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champ at Iowa State, will be inducted into the Mason City High School Athletic Hall of Fame this fall, the Mason City Globe-Gazette reported Sunday. Tim KriegerKrieger was a three-time Iowa state wrestling champion at Mason City High in the early 1980s, compiling a career record of 103-6-2. However, Krieger gained attention beyond the state of Iowa because of his mat success at Iowa State, where he was a four-time NCAA All-American, winning national titles twice. As a Cyclone, Krieger went 116-3-2 in college. Over his prep and collegiate careers, Krieger's win percentage was an impressive 94.4 percent (219-9-4). For these reasons, the Globe-Gazette named Krieger its Athlete of the Century in 2000. Krieger won three consecutive state titles in 1982-84, winning 83 of his last 84 matches as a Mason City Mohawk mat star. As his hometown newspaper pointed out, Krieger dominated in his finals matches at the Iowa high school state championships, earning a 16-9 decision in the title bout as a sophomore, a 25-7 victory as a junior, and, pinning his way through the tournament as a senior, including a fall in the finals. "Without question, he's the greatest wrestler I have or ever will coach," Mason City High head wrestling coach Jerry Ray said after the 1984 state meet. "And he's probably the top high school wrestler I've ever seen." After graduating from Mason City High in 1984, Krieger headed south on I-35 to Ames, to wrestle at Iowa State. As a Cyclone, Krieger was a four-time Big Eight Conference champion, and the top seed for the NCAAs four consecutive years, the first college wrestler to earn that distinction, according to the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame. Krieger earned All-American honors each of those four years. He placed fifth as a freshman in 1986, was runner-up in 1988, and won the 150-pound title at the NCAAs in 1987 and 1989. At the 1989 NCAAs, Krieger was named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler. No less than an authority on wrestling in the state of Iowa than Dan Gable weighed in on Tim Krieger's greatness, citing his technical abilities. "He had a style that was very hard to beat, very solid style in each position, especially he knew how to control athletes," said Gable, himself a three-time Iowa prep champ, Iowa State superstar, Olympic gold medalist, and dynasty-making head coach at University of Iowa. "I came up on the losing end when I was coaching anybody to be able to win against Tim." Prior to being welcomed into the Mason City High School Athletics Hall of Fame this fall, Tim Krieger was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame (a facility in Cresco, Iowa to honor amateur wrestlers and coaches born in the state of Iowa) in 2002.

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Former NCAA All-American Travis Rutt has joined the University of Iowa wrestling staff as interim strength and conditioning coach, it was announced Monday by UI head coach Tom Brands. “I am excited for the opportunity coach Brands has given me,” said Rutt. “I am eager to begin working with the program and do everything I can to bring another national championship to Iowa City.” Rutt was an All-American at Wisconsin in 2011. He took an Olympic redshirt in 2012 and sat out the 2013 season after transferring to Oklahoma. In 2014, he was Big 12 runner-up at 197 pounds, qualified for the NCAA Championships for the third time in his career, and earned a master of science degree from OU. “It is a privilege to work with great athletes and become part of such a successful program,” said Rutt. “I know my experience wrestling in the Big Ten and Big 12 is going to be an asset to this team. Coach Brands and the entire program have been very welcoming and I am excited for the season to begin.” Prior to joining the UI staff, Rutt served as the director of strength and fitness at Pinnacle Strong, a private business designed to improve sports performance through strength training for prep and college athletes. He worked in the strength and conditioning office and served as assistant wrestling coach at Augsburg College during the 2014-15 season, and previously served as the Greco-Roman/strength and conditioning coach for the Minnesota Storm Wrestling Club. As a college student-athlete, Rutt won the 184-pound title at the 2010 Midlands Championship. He was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week as a member of the Badgers, and in November 2013 he earned Big 12 Wrestler of the Month honors competing for the Sooners. He was team captain his senior season at OU, and was named to the NWCA All-Academic Team. Rutt replaces Luke Lofthouse on the UI staff. Lofthouse accepted an assistant coaching position at Utah Valley in May.

FARGO, N.D. -- The Cadet National Greco-Roman finals are set in Fargo. Four wrestlers remain alive in quest for a Cadet Triple Crown. Those wrestlers include Mosha Schwartz of Colorado (88), Travis Wittlake of Oregon (160), Jack Jessen of Illinois (170) and Andrew Davison of Indiana (182). Returning Cadet Greco-Roman champion Roman Bravo-Young of Arizona cruised to the finals with an 8-2 victory over Brock Bergelin of Wisconsin at 113 pounds. Seven states -- California, Illinois, New Jersey, Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri and Colorado -- have three finalists. The finals are scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. Finals Matchups: 88: Mosha Schwartz (Colorado) vs. Derek Ramos (Idaho) 94: Jace Koelzer (Kansas) vs. Malik Heinselman (Colorado) 100: Benji Peak (Wisconsin) vs. Peter Ogunsanya (Illinois) 106: Riley Gurr (Washington) vs. Malik Johnson (Missouri) 113: Roman Bravo-Young (Arizona) vs. Peyton Robb (Minnesota) 120: Alston Nutter (Wisconsin) vs. Nick Raimo (New Jersey) 126: Patrick Ramirez (California) vs. Kyran Hagan (Missouri) 132: Alex Lloyd (Minnesota) vs. Brock Hardy (Utah) 138: Andrew Merola (New Jersey) vs. Mason Hall (Minnesota) 145: Peyton Omania (California) vs. Anthony Artalona (Florida) 152: Andrew Johnson (Kansas) vs. Max Wohlabaugh (Florida) 160: Ryan Karoly (New Jersey) vs. Travis Wittlake (Oregon) 170: Jack Jessen (Illinois) vs. Jacob Warner (Illinois) 182: Anthony Walters (Pennsylvania) vs. Andrew Davison (Indiana) 195: Jake Boyd (Missouri) vs. Brady Daniel (Maryland) 220: Cohlton Schultz (Colorado) vs. Kayne Hutchison (Kansas) 285: Gavin Nye (California) vs. Nicholas Boykin (Tennessee)

PHILADELPHIA -- The University of Pennsylvania's Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation, Dr. M. Grace Calhoun, has announced the addition of three new staff members to her senior administration. A name familiar to longtime Penn Athletics and Penn wrestling fans, Roger Reina, has been named to the new position of senior associate athletic director for External Affairs. In this position, Reina will be responsible for growing and creating new revenue streams for the Division; supervise the athletic communications, marketing and new media and ticketing offices; serve as liaison to the Division's third-party marketing and media rights partner; and develop and implement the business model for the Penn Corporate Partner initiative. Roger ReinaRoger Reina is a 1984 University of Pennsylvania alum and arguably one of the most successful coaches in Penn Athletics history. He is held in such high regard that the head wrestling coach position at Penn is named after him -- second-year coach Alex Tirapelle's official title is Roger Reina Head Coach of Wrestling. Reina was himself the head coach for 19 seasons, from 1986-87 to 2004-05, leading the Quakers to eight Ivy League championships and four EIWA team titles. During his tenure, Penn wrestlers won an Olympic gold medal (Brandon Slay) and an NCAA individual title (Brett Matter). Reina was a three-time EIWA Coach of the Year, a four-time nominee for National Coach of the Year, and a recipient of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Meritorious Service Award. In May 2008, Reina was inducted into the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame as a member of Class VI. Reina left the Penn wrestling program following the 2004-05 season and moved over to Penn Medicine where he started as a Major Gifts Officer and moved to Director of Development. Reina has a proficiency in leading start-up companies, and has served the last 10 years with TicketLeap, Inc.; LifeShield, Inc.; and Interactive Fitness Holdings. Since August 2014, Reina has been President and Chairman of the Board for the Pennsylvania RTC, creating and establishing an Olympic Regional Training Center as designated by USA Wrestling. In addition to his undergraduate degree, Reina studied at the Wharton Program for Working Professionals (Management & Entrepreneurship) and was an Executive Fellow with the Wharton Leadership Ventures Program.

Andrew Long, NCAA All-American wrestler at Iowa State and Penn State who had numerous run-ins with the law -- and spent a year in jail for a 2011 sexual assault in State College, Pa. -- will be resuming his college wrestling career at Grand View University, the Des Moines Register reported Saturday. Andrew Long placed third at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in 2011 (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)"After an extensive series of meetings and interviews with multiple Grand View school administrators and counselors, (head wrestling coach Nick) Mitchell and the Vikings are ready to give the two-time NCAA All-American another opportunity to revive his college wrestling career," according to wrestling writer Andy Hamilton. Mitchell, who coaches the program that has won four straight team titles at the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) Wrestling Championships, sought assurances from Long that he was remorseful for his past acts, had made lifestyle changes, and was willing to be held accountable. Beyond that, Mitchell wanted the former Cyclone/Nittany Lion wrestler to sign a contract that spelled out guidelines that Long must follow as a student-athlete at the Des Moines-based school, complying with all requirements of his five-year probation (including no alcohol) which was part of his sentence after being convicted in Pennsylvania. Long, who still has two years of eligibility left at the NAIA level, signed his contract with Grand View on Thursday. Nick Mitchell"I met with him a few times before I even brought it up (with school administrators) because I wanted to gauge it myself and make sure I felt comfortable ... and felt Andrew made some lifestyle changes and is ready to take this step," Mitchell told Hamilton. "He's made some serious life changes and he's ready to move forward, and he feels at Grand View there's some support." "I think that's part of why, as a school, we felt more comfortable about it because Grand View is a faith-based institution," continued Mitchell, who has been at the helm of the Vikings mat program since launching the program in 2008. "Hearing him come in and talk about (how) his faith is really leading him now and he's trying to use it as his guide, that's something for me, personally, that makes me feel a lot more comfortable with his situation." Long's life on and off the mat was one of extreme contrasts. On the mat, the Creston, Iowa native crafted a career of impressive accomplishments, including being a three-time Iowa high school state champ. Long launched his collegiate career at Iowa State, where he made it to the 125-pound finals at the 2010 NCAA Division I championships, losing to Iowa's Matt McDonough. Later that summer, after a couple run-ins with Ames, Iowa police, Long was dismissed from the Cyclone wrestling program, and enrolled at Penn State. As a Nittany Lion wrestling for head coach Cael Sanderson, Long won the 133-pound crown at the 2011 Big Ten conference championships, then, two weeks later, placed third in that weight class at the 2011 NCAAs. However, in late August of that year, the 55-year-old mother of a fellow Penn State student awoke in her son's apartment with Long's hand on her crotch, and her panties at her ankles; she nor her son knew the wrestler. One year after that incident -- just before a Pennsylvania jury was to be seated for his trial -- Long agreed to a plea of aggravated indecent assault; the state then withdrew the most serious charge of attempted rape. Long was sentenced to 1-2 years in the local county jail (rather than at a state penitentiary, at the insistence of the victim), five years' probation (including seven years of no alcohol consumption), and was required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. In the time span between the incident with the student's mother and sentencing, Long traveled back to Iowa where he was involved in a Feb. 2012 incident in an Ames bar. Long was found guilty of assaulting a city police officer; he served 10 days in jail, and was on a year's probation.

FARGO, N.D. -- Wrestling on Day 1 of the Cadet National Greco-Roman tournament set up the championship semifinals, which are slated to commence at 9 a.m. CT on Monday. Medal matches are scheduled for 2 p.m. Below are the semifinal pairings in each weight class. 88: Mosha Schwartz (Colorado) vs. Ridge Lovett (Idaho) Chase Tebbets (Washington) vs. Derek Ramos (Idaho) 94: Jace Koelzer (Kansas) vs. Cevion Severado (Missouri) Malik Heinselman (Colorado) vs. Cody Phippen (Kansas) 100: Benji Peak (Wisconsin) vs. Joey Melendez (Illinois) Peter Ogunsanya (Illinois) vs. Patrick McKee (Minnesota) 106: Riley Gurr (Washington) vs. Charles Faber (Illinois) Izzak Olejnik (California) vs. Malik Johnson (Missouri) 113: Roman Bravo-Young (Arizona) vs. Brock Bergelin (Wisconsin) Brandon Lucas (Ohio) vs. Peyton Robb (Minnesota) 120: Alston Nutter (Wisconsin) vs. Colin Valdiviez (Missouri) Nick Raimo (New Jersey) vs. Clay Quintanilla (Washington) 126: Jason Renteria (Illinois) vs. Patrick Ramirez (California) Blaine Martinez (Texas) vs. Kyran Hagan (Missouri) 132: Alex Lloyd (Minnesota) vs. Wes Rachal (Illinois) Alec Hagan (Missouri) vs. Brock Hardy (Utah) 138: Jose Acosta (Wisconsin) vs. Andrew Merola (New Jersey) Sergio Chavez (Colorado) vs. Mason Hall (Minnesota) 145: Peyton Omania (California) vs. Jake Hendricks (Pennsylvania) Aidan Monteverdi (New Jersey) vs. Anthony Artalona (Florida) 152: Andrew Johnson (Kansas) vs. Dale Tiongson (Maryland) Michael O'Malley (New Jersey) vs. Max Wohlabaugh (Florida) 160: Ryan Karoly (New Jersey) vs. Victor Marcelli (Ohio) Cameron Caffey (Illinois) vs. Travis Wittlake (Oregon) 170: Jack Jessen (Illinois) vs. Jacob Gray (Indiana) Jacob Warner (Illinois) vs. Dylan Servis (Kansas) 182: Jared Florell (Minnesota) vs. Anthony Walters (Pennsylvania) Brandon Whitman (Michigan) vs. Andrew Davison (Indiana) 195: Jake Boyd (Missouri) vs. Dan Baker (Oklahoma) Bonifaci Escobar (California) vs. Brady Daniel (Maryland) 220: Cohlton Schultz (Colorado) vs. Ricardo Aguirre (Georgia) Colin Lawler (Texas) vs. Kayne Hutchison (Kansas) 285: Zach Muller (Illinois) vs. Gavin Nye (California) Sammy De Sereire (Colorado) vs. Nicholas Boykin (Tennessee)

Just over three months after having losing a leg after a one-car accident on Easter Sunday, University of Wyoming wrestling recruit Doyle Trout is working hard to get back to the mat by participating in five-day-a-week physical therapy, according to two recent news reports. Doyle TroutTrout, a four-time Nebraska high school state wrestling champ at Centennial High School near Lincoln, was seriously injured after losing control of his car, swerving off the gravel road into a ditch, hitting a utility pole. It took rescue workers 30-45 minutes to remove Trout, who was trapped under the car's dashboard. He was then flown by medical helicopter to a hospital in the Lincoln area. It was at the hospital where Trout's left leg was amputated below the knee. Days after the accident, Wyoming head wrestling coach Mark Branch visited Trout in the hospital, assuring the future Cowboy that the school would continue to honor its wrestling scholarship offered to the four-time state champ prior to the accident. In the months since the accident, Trout has been diligently working on physical therapy and rehabilitation at Madonna Proactive Health and Fitness in Lincoln. He spends two days a week in land-based therapy, and three days per week in aquatic therapy. His therapist, Melissa Glinsmann, told 1110now.com that aquatic therapy was the best option for Trout. Thanks to water workouts, Trout has been able to regain strength in both his core muscles as well as in his stump and leg. "Once he gets his prosthesis, he should have no problems walking and getting used to that," said Glinsmann. "I have to sit back sometimes and say 'Ok, it's only been three months. You can live a perfectly fine life, you just have to dedicate yourself for a year or two. Get yourself healthy,'" Trout told KLLN-TV in Lincoln. Trout has some powerful allies in his corner. Jordan Burroughs, 2012 Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA champ and assistant coach at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, dropped in on Trout's high school graduation party. Anthony Robles, Arizona State NCAA champ who was born without his right leg, shared advice with Trout soon after the future Cowboy's injury. The wrestling community at large has also been demonstrating its support for Doyle Trout, with a Facebook page for those who want to post messages of encouragement, and a Go Fund Me account to help the Trout family with expenses associated with the accident and his future medical needs. As of Saturday, just over 300 individuals had donated a total of $28,753, with a goal of $100,000. "Losing a leg is a lot worse than losing a wrestling match," said Trout. "But I'm still going to have my family. I still have my friends. I still have my scholarship to go to Wyoming. I'm still going to get an education." "Things are different for me right now, but if I dedicate myself to working hard and get myself better, in a year or two, I'll be perfectly fine," Trout told 1011now.com. "For me it's about the journey now. If I'm not successful, I'm not going to be down on myself. I'm just going to give it all I have."

Josh Koscheck, NCAA Division I wrestling champ for Edinboro University and mixed martial arts veteran, is slated to have his first appearance in Bellator MMA in December after signing a multi-year deal with the organization last month, Sherdog.com reported Saturday. Josh KoscheckDuring the Bellator 140 broadcast Friday night (featuring fellow former Fighting Scot wrestler Chris Honeycutt) Koscheck revealed that he will make his Bellator debut. No date has been set, nor an opponent named for the long-time UFC fighter, but speculation centers on a rematch vs. Paul Daley, who Koscheck defeated by unanimous decision at UFC 113. However, it's what happened after the match that has fight fans salivating over the idea of Kos-Daley II. "He hit me after the bell and got booted from the UFC," is how Koscheck described the incident in a recent interview with Sherdog.com. "Ever since then I've wanted to fight him." Daley fought at Bellator 140, scoring a technical knockout in the second round on Dennis Olson. According to Sherdog.com, Daley is scheduled to appear at Bellator Dynamite in a kickboxing bout, with an opponent yet to be named. Koscheck had long been a fixture within Ultimate Fighting Championships until this past March, when he lost to Erick Silva at UFC Fight Night "Maia vs. LaFlare," his fifth consecutive defeat within the organization. According to Koscheck, he spoke to the UFC about a new contract, but he found their offer to be less than satisfactory. The 37-year-old Koscheck launched his MMA career in 2004. His career took off when he was a contestant on the reality TV series The Ultimate Fighter in 2005, participating in 25 UFC events over the decade. His overall MMA record is now 27-10. Prior to entering MMA, Koscheck made a name for himself on the wrestling mat. A native of Waynesburg, Pa., Koscheck was a runner-up at the Pennsylvania state wrestling championships in 1997. He then wrestled at Edinboro in west-central Pennsylvania, where he was a four-time NCAA All-American at 174 pounds from 1999-2002, winning the national title at the 2001 NCAAs. In addition, Koscheck was twice named Eastern Wrestling League Wrestler of the Year.

An independent arbitrator has decided that a World Team Trials best-of-three finals series will be held between 2015 U.S. Open champion Nick Marable (Morgantown, W.Va./Sunkist Kids) and 2015 U.S. World Team Trials champion James Green (Lincoln, Neb./Titan Mercury WC) for the U.S. World Team men's freestyle spot at 70 kilos/154 pounds. The series will be held on Saturday, July 25 in Fargo, N.D. at the FARGODOME on the campus of North Dakota State University, with the first match held at 10 a.m. and the second match at 11 a.m. If necessary, a third match will be held within an hour after bout two. It will be held alongside the ASICS/Vaughan Junior freestyle finals. Nick Marable won the U.S. Open this year at 70 kilos in Las Vegas (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Based upon the 2015 World Team Trials Procedures, Marable, as the U.S. Open champion at 70 kilos, earned an automatic berth into the Final Wrestle-off of the U.S. World Team Trials in Madison, Wisconsin. However, Marable did not attend weigh-ins for the 70 kilos weight class on Friday, June 12 due to reported injury and, pursuant to the 2015 World Team Trials Procedures, Marable made the request for delay of the Final Wrestle-off within 18 hours of the weigh-in. This process is included in the 2015 World Team Trials Procedures, under IV. Delays or Replacement Due to Injury or Illness. Click below for complete 2015 World Team Trials Procedures document: http://content.themat.com/forms/2015WTTProcedures.pdf On June 18, USA Wrestling announced that its Freestyle Sport Committee denied a request by Marable for a delay of competition for the Final Wrestle-off at 70 kilos/154 pounds in men's freestyle wrestling for the 2015 U.S. World Championships Team. Marable, following procedures in USA Wrestling's bylaws and in the Ted Stevens Amateur Sports Act, filed a USOC Bylaws Section 9 complaint. As part of this process, Arbitrator Maidie E. Oliveau listened to the facts of the case and determined that a delayed World Team Trials series was warranted. USA Wrestling fully supports the procedures established by the Ted Stevens Amateur Sports Act, which gives athletes a voice in the team selection process and provides them the opportunity to present their case when there is a dispute about how the process is implemented.

Jerzie Estrada of Colorado was named OW at the Cadet Women's Nationals in Fargo (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)FARGO, N.D. -- It was a rough night for returning champions, as only one of four were able to win again at the Cadet Women's Nationals, the first tournament in Fargo again this year. Colorado's Ashlyn Ortega was the only repeat champion, winning her second straight at 132 pounds. Ortega had a strong first period, jumping to an 8-0 lead, before finishing off a technical fall in the second period over Cassandra Olive of California. Ortega was also a UWW Cadet Nationals champion earlier this year. Colorado also featured the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler, Jerzie Estrada at 124 pounds. Estrada, a first-year Cadet, scored a key second-period four-point hip toss to win the criteria in a 6-6 match against Teniya Alo of Hawaii. Alo scored a two takedown on the buzzer in a flurry to tie it at 6-6, but was not awarded additional backpoints when the exchange was reviewed by officials. Read complete story ...

Jordan Burroughs claimed a gold medal at 74 kilos on the final day of the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)TORONTO, Canada -- All they see is gold. Jordan Burroughs, Kyle Snyder and Zack Rey joined teammate Brent Metcalf as gold medalists to cap a superb Pan American Games for the U.S. men's freestyle team. Americans Jake Herbert and Angel Escobedo added silver medals for the powerful American team. The United States captured first place in the Pan Am Games medal count in freestyle along with winning the overall medal count in wrestling. The U.S. medaled in 15 of the 16 weight classes it competed in here in men's and women's freestyle, and Greco-Roman. American wrestlers won eight gold medals overall. The Greco team also won the medal count here. Burroughs repeated as Pan American Games champion on Saturday night at the Hershey Center while Snyder and Rey also won titles with Herbert earning his silver. Read complete story ... Team USA Results (Saturday): Men's freestyle 74 kilos: Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids) -- GOLD WIN Livan Lopez (Cuba), tech. fall 13-3 WIN Jevon Balfour (Canada), tech. fall 11-0 WIN Yoan Blanco (Ecuador), 11-0 86 kilos: Jake Herbert, Ann Arbor, Mich. (New York AC) -- SILVER WIN Ricardo Baez (Argentina), tech. fall 11-0 WIN Jaime Espinal (Puerto Rico), tech. fall 10-0 LOSS Reineris Salas (Cuba), 12-7 97 kilos: Kyle Snyder, Woodbine, Md. (Titan Mercury WC) -- GOLD WIN Yuri Maier (Argentina), tech. fall 11-1 WIN Jose Diaz (Venezuela), tech. fall 10-0 WIN Arjun Gill (Canada), 10-0 125 kilos: Zack Rey, Bethlehem, N.J. (Lehigh Valley WC) -- GOLD WIN Rene Silva Rios (Nicaragua), fall 1:41 WIN Andres Ramos (Cuba), 2-0 WIN Korey Jarvis (Canada), 3-0

It proved to be a frustrating night for former college wrestlers Chris Honeycutt, Paul Bradley and Waylon Lowe at Bellator 140 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Friday night, with the match featuring NCAA Division I All-Americans Honeycutt and Bradley ending in a no-contest after the two unintentionally butted heads ... while NCAA Division II champ Lowe was submitted in the second round of his fight. The one bright spot: NCAA Division III All-American wrestler Brennan Ward, who scored a first-round knockout in his fight. "An inadvertent clash of heads resulted in a no-contest between Chris Honeycutt and Paul Bradley in the second round of their featured tilt at 170 pounds," is how Sherdog.com described the match between the former collegiate mat stars which was shown on Spike TV. "The impact opened a lightning-bolt gash near Bradley's hairline, leading the cageside physician to call for the stoppage 2:47 into round two." Chris Honeycutt and Paul Bradley have a staredown at weigh-ins before Bellator 140 (Photo/Bellator)In its play-by-play coverage of the welterweight match, Sherdog.com's trio of writers unanimously scored the first round in favor of Honeycutt, twice an NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania. In the second round, the former Fighting Scot now known as "the Cutt" caught a finger to the eye. After a stoppage of 20 seconds, Honeycutt bloodied Bradley's nose. In a follow-up exchange, the two fighters clashed heads, with Bradley receiving a gash on his forehead. The cageside doctor examined the two-time All-American from University of Iowa, telling referee John McCarthy that Bradley's cut was deep, and the fight was called a no-contest because of the accidental clash of heads. "Thank everyone for watching and showing support," Honeycutt wrote on his Facebook page Saturday morning. "Sucks when you know you're going to win and something like that happens." Bradley posted this message on his Facebook page after the fight, providing an update on his injury: "Sorry for the slow start everyone was finishing strong till the headbutt. 9 stitches. Thx everyone." Honeycutt, 26, a two-time EWL (Eastern Wrestling League) champ who announced his intentions of entering mixed martial arts the night before his last college bout (the 197-pound title bout at the 2012 NCAAs), remains 6-0 in his MMA career, and is 2-0 since joining Bellator in 2014. The 32-year-old Bradley, who has been competing professionally in MMA since 2006, maintains his career record of 22-6, and is 2-1 at Bellator events. In the match immediately preceding Honeycutt vs. Bradley, Brennan Ward – a 2010 NCAA Div. III finalist for Johnson & Wales University – KO'd Roger Carroll with what Sherdog.com described as “a clean straight right hand” at 2:06 of the first round of their welterweight matchup, saying, “Ward planted his fist on Carroll's jaw, sending him to the mat stiff and unconscious.” With the win, Ward improves to 11-3 overall, and 7-3 in Bellator, while, thanks to his third straight loss, Carroll drops to 16-12 in his MMA career, and 0-2 in Bellator. In a preliminary bout added to the card July 1, Ryan Quinn submitted Waylon Lowe with a guillotine choke at 2:47 of the second round of the 160-pound catchweight match which was shown on MMAJunkie.com. In Sherdog.com's play-by-play coverage of the fight, the MMA website's three writers scored the first round in favor of Lowe, a three-time NCAA Division II champ at University of Findlay in Ohio. However, the tide turned against the former college mat champ in Round Two. "Lowe drops levels to try a double-leg, and Quinn pulls guard with a tight, arm-in guillotine," Sherdog.com reported in its play-by-play. "Seconds after completing the takedown, Lowe realizes he's caught and taps out." With the loss, Lowe is now 15-7 overall, and 1-1 in Bellator matches ... while Quinn moves up to 11-5-1 in his MMA career, and is now a perfect 7-0 in Bellator.

Kicking off on Monday is the Junior National Greco-Roman tournament. The two sessions on the opening day of that event will take action down to the quarterfinals in the championship bracket; the morning session starts at 9 a.m. CT, with the evening session at 6 p.m. after the Cadet finals take place in the afternoon. Tuesday morning wrestling kicks off again at 9:00 a.m. with the medal matches taking place at 2:15 p.m. Junior eligible wrestlers are any that competed in high school during the 2014-15 school year (i.e. were in grades nine through twelve). One bracket format change for this year is with the separation criteria. Instead of there being three tiers, this year there are ten. The intention of the change is to help create more balance within the brackets in terms of credentialed wrestlers being "properly separated". Below is a weight-by-weight breakdown of the Junior Greco-Roman competition, based on entrants listed in Track Wrestling as of Friday evening. 100: Three Cadet double All-Americans from last year's event lead the way in this weight class. Jason Holmes (Arizona), a state runner-up this year in high school placed third in Greco-Roman at 88 pounds; Jaret Lane (Pennsylvania), fifth at state placed eighth in Greco-Roman at 88 pounds; while state sixth place wrestler Elijah Varona (Florida) placed sixth in Greco-Roman at 94 pounds. Others to watch include UWW Cadet champion in Greco-Roman at 46 kilograms Brady Koontz (Wisconsin), returning Cadet freestyle All-American Ryan Chauvin (Colorado), and state runner-up Trevor Giallambardo (Michigan). 106: Three returning All-Americans from the Junior Greco-Roman tournament last summer lead the way in this weight class. Liam Cronin (California) placed seventh at 106 pounds, and was a high school state runner-up this season; Dylan Koontz (Wisconsin) placed third at 100 pounds, and placed fifth at state this year; while Mason Nafieh (Oklahoma) placed seventh at 100 pounds, and was a state runner-up. Others to watch include Cadet Greco-Roman champion Trey Keeley (Illinois), state champions Wyatt Adams (Oklahoma) and Joe Thomas (Maryland), as well as state runner-up Brakan Mead (Ohio). 113: Leading the way in this weight class is a pair of returning Junior Triple Crown winners, each of whom has already won the first leg of the Triple Crown this year with their respective folkstyle titles at 106 and 113 in April. Randon Miranda (California) won it at 100 pounds last year, and placed fourth at state this year; while Danny Vegas (Arizona) earned Triple Crown honors at 106 last year, is a two-time state champion, and is ranked No. 33 overall in the Class of 2016. Another formidable pair of wrestlers here are two top 50 wrestlers in the Class of 2017, No. 47 Ian Timmins (Nevada) and No. 48 Drew Mattin (Ohio); each was a Cadet double All-American last year, with Timmins winning a Greco-Roman title at 106 pounds. Nine other Greco-Roman All-Americans from last summer populate this weight class, five from Cadets and four from Juniors; most notable among those in my opinion is Drew West (Iowa), the 2014 UWW Cadet representative at 46 kilos in Greco-Roman. 120: The lone grade-level ranked wrestler in this weight class is three-time state placer Dalton Duffield (Oklahoma), who is ranked No. 82 in the Class of 2016. This field also includes a pair of UWW Cadet Greco-Roman world team members, Paul Bianchi (Wisconsin) and Dack Punke (Illinois); Bianchi is a two-time state champion, and was a Junior Greco All-American in 2013, while Punke was a Junior Greco All-American last summer. The next two contenders on the ladder would be returning Junior freestyle runner-up Matthew Schmitt (Missouri) and returning Cadet Greco-Roman runner-up Bryce West (Iowa). Four others in this field are also past All-Americans in Junior Greco-Roman, including last year's runner-up at 100 pounds Todd Small (Georgia). Other notables include two-time state champions Sawyer Degen (Montana) and Brent Jones (Minnesota), state placer Donovin Guerrero (California), and three-time state champion Toribio Navarro (Tennessee). 126: Oak Park River Forest, Ill. teammates Alex Madrigal and Gabe Townsell are the lone grade-level ranked wrestlers in the field; two-time state placer Madrigal finished as the No. 99 wrestler in the Class of 2015, while two-time state placer and 2013 Cadet Greco-Roman champion Townsell is ranked No. 58 in the Class of 2016. Primary challengers to the OPRF duo include returning Cadet Greco-Roman champion Coltan Williams (Texas); Ryan Friedman (Maryland), a two-time All-American in Junior Greco-Roman and NHSCA Senior Nationals champion; returning Junior Greco All-American Cody Karstetter (Oklahoma); and state runner-up Nathan Cervantes (California). Others to watch include two-time state champions from Utah, Tanner Cox and Cameron Hunsaker; three-time New England placer Peter Del Gallo (Maine); state champion Ryan Leisure (Iowa); returning Junior Greco All-Americans in Chris Poland (Michigan) and Ted Rico (Arizona); state champion and Cadet Greco-Roman runner-up Wilson Smith (North Carolina); along with two-time state champion and two-time Cadet Greco All-American Dalton Young (Washington). 132: With four grade-level ranked wrestlers, and plenty of other juicy talent, this is one weight class that for sure merits watching. At the top of the field is Mitchell McKee (Minnesota), who is ranked No. 12 overall in the Class of 2016, and seeks a fourth Fargo title in as many years (Cadet Greco in 2012 and 2013, Junior freestyle last year) as well as a possible Junior Triple Crown. However, there is one direct challenger who beat him in this style at the Junior Duals, Taylor LaMont (Utah). He is ranked No. 36 in the Class of 2016, is a defending Junior Greco-Roman champion, and has also been the UWW Cadet Greco-Roman world team representative the last two years at 58 kilograms. The other two grade-level ranked wrestlers are Dylan Duncan (Illinois), ranked No. 45 in the Class of 2016; and Ben Freeman (Michigan), ranked No. 20 in the Class of 2017. Duncan was champion in Cadet freestyle last year, after a Cadet Greco-Roman runner-up finish in 2013; while Freeman was a double Cadet All-American last year, third in Greco-Roman. Both wrestlers are two-time state champions. Additional notables in this field include two-time state champion Josh Bird (Wisconsin), a 2013 Cadet Greco-Roman champion; returning Junior double All-American Ryan Deakin (Colorado); NHSCA Senior Nationals champion Chris Debien (Tennessee); along with returning Cadet double fourth place finisher Corey Shie (Ohio), also a two-time UWW Cadet Greco All-American. 138: Three grade-level ranked wrestlers are among the primary contenders in this weight class, including a pair of rising seniors in No. 86 Jarrett Degen (Montana) and No. 98 Michael Murphy (Tennessee); each is a three-time state champion, while Murphy is a two-time Cadet Greco All-American. Also grade-level ranked is Quentin Hovis (Arizona), a two-time Cadet Greco All-American, and currently No. 28 overall in the Class of 2017. Other primary contenders returning Junior freestyle All-American Ben Brancale (Minnesota), New England champion Charles Kane (Connecticut), and returning Junior Greco-Roman runner-up William Kui (New Jersey). Additional wrestlers to watch are Hayden Bates (Oregon), a two-time Cadet Greco All-American; a pair of two-time state runners-up in Brik Filippo (Oklahoma) and Aaron Meyer (Iowa); 2012 Cadet Greco runner-up Brady O'Keefe (Nevada); and state runner-up Ben Hornickle (Wisconsin). 145: Compared to the weights immediately preceding, this class is rather weak, as it's without a grade-level ranked wrestler. Anchoring the field though are five returning Junior Greco All-Americans, which are headlined by two-time state champion Johnny O'Hearon (Utah), who placed third last year in Fargo. Others in that pool are two-time state champion Andrew Webb (Georgia), state champion Paul Fitterer (Minnesota), National Prep placer Leonard Merkin (New York), and Kenan Carter (Illinois). Additional wrestlers meriting attention are state runner-up Anthony Cheloni (Illinois), two-time state placer Joshy Cortez (California), state champion Jaron Jensen (Utah), and two-time state runner-up Keegan Shaw (Iowa). 152: Three grade-level ranked rising seniors, as well as a top Class of 2017 wrestler, anchor this weight class. Leading the way here is returning Junior freestyle champion Mason Manville (Virginia), who is ranked No. 7 in the Class of 2016; he is also a two-time Cadet Greco-Roman champion and a UWW Cadet world team member in both styles last summer, who won gold in freestyle. Also here are No. 20 Hayden Hidlay (Pennsylvania) and No. 35 Austin Kraisser (Maryland); Hidlay was fifth in Junior Greco-Roman last summer, and each placed in a major national folkstyle tournament during 2014-15 (Hidlay at the Super 32, Kraisser at Flo Nationals). Rounding out that quartet of grade-level ranked wrestlers is Austin O'Connor (Illinois), ranked No. 11 in the Class of 2017, a two-time state champion and returning Cadet double All-American. Others to watch in this field include two-time state champion Jimmy Fate (Colorado); state champion Liam Corbett (Hawaii), a two-time Cadet Greco All-American; state runner-up Tristan Johnson (Iowa), a Cadet Greco All-American; state champion Chase Straw (Iowa), a returning Junior Greco All-American; as well as state runner-up Dan Kelly (Iowa) and state champion James Nereim (Florida). 160: Got another "core weight" here at the Junior level that is surprisingly bereft a grade-level ranked wrestler. The most notable credential here is from Jesse Porter (New York), a two-time state placer, returning Junior Greco All-American, and Cadet double All-American in 2013 (Greco runner-up). Next on the ladder would have to be three-time state champion Colston DiBlasi (Missouri). Others to note include returning Cadet Greco-Roman champion Riley Jaramillo (Oregon), as well as state champions in John Anderson (Missouri), Blake Montrie (Michigan), Matt Njos (Minnesota), Taylor Owens (Idaho), and Matt Waddell (Georgia). Also meriting attention is state placer and returning Cadet double All-American Jeremiah Moody (Wisconsin). 170: On the other hand, the talent level in this weight class is all kinds of ridiculous. It is the reverse of the weight class before. Leading the way here are a pair of elite Class of 2016 wrestlers, No. 13 Beau Breske (Wisconsin) and No. 14 Kamal Bey (Illinois). Last year as Cadet in Fargo, Breske beat Bey in both the Greco-Roman and freestyle finals on the way to a repeat Cadet Nationals double title; while for Bey in Fargo, his four career losses have come in pairs to Breske and Mark Hall. Next on the ladder are a trio of Junior National All-Americans. Brett Bye (South Dakota) was a double All-American last summer, Carter Nielsen (Minnesota) was fifth in Greco-Roman, and Jordan Bushey (New York) placed eight in freestyle; each was also an in-season state champion. Another pair of wrestlers were state champions this past year and Cadet double All-Americans last summer, Andrew Berreyesa (Nevada) and James Handwerk (Ohio). Three two-time state champions to track in this weight class are Sergio Chavez (Arizona), Dale Hilleman (Iowa), and Gary Jantzer (Oregon). Another trio to watch are state champions Regan Bye (South Dakota), Kevin Parker (New York), and Matthew Rundell (Illinois). Also meriting attention are a pair of state runners-up in Jared Bird (Idaho) and Jason Hoffman (New York). 182: Three grade-level ranked wrestlers lead the way in this weight class, a pair of Class of 2016 competitors in No. 9 Nick Reenan (Texas) and No. 60 Owen Webster (Minnesota), while Mason Reinhardt (Wisconsin) finished as the No. 37 wrestler in the Class of 2015. National Prep champion this year, Reenan was a 2013 Cadet Triple Crown winner; Webster finished as state champion in 2014, won Cadet Greco-Roman last summer, and is the UWW Cadet freestyle world team representative at 85 kilograms; while Reinhardt upset Breske to win his first state title, and placed seventh in Junior Greco last summer. Others to watch include three returning Cadet double All-Americans: Troy Allen (Virginia), Luke Drugac (New Jersey), and Isaac Luellen (Kansas); Allen and Luellen were state champions this past year. Additional medal contenders include UWW Cadet Greco runner-up Andrew Buckley (Missouri), state champions Cade Brownlee (Nebraska) and Trevor Nichelson (Nebraska), state placer Aaron Paddock (New York), along with two-time state runners-up in Antonio Agee (Virginia) and Guy Patron (Louisiana). 195: Samuel Colbray (Oregon) has won Greco-Roman titles in Fargo each of the previous three summers, including at the Junior level in this weight class last summer. The three-time state champion and three-time double All-American is ranked No. 10 in the Class of 2016. Joining Colbray in this weight class are two other grade level ranked competitors, Wyatt Koelling (Utah) and Zane Black (Pennsylvania). Koelling finished as runner-up to Keegan Moore in all three Cadet Triple Crown competitions last year, and is ranked No. 78 in the Class of 2016; while National Prep place Black is a returning Cadet freestyle All-American, and ranks No. 38 in the Class of 2017. Other contenders include state champion Timothy Young (Illinois), who upset Colbray to earn the UWW Cadet Greco-Roman world team spot at 85 kilograms in 2014; two-time state champion Jared Langley (Kansas); returning Cadet Greco All-Americans Jeffrey Allen (Virginia) and George Bessette (Illinois); two-time Cadet Greco All-American Dean Drugac (New Jersey); state placer Jake Buell (New York); and two-time state placer Donovan Doyle (Iowa). 220: A pair of elite Class of 2016 prospects anchor this weight class, No. 6 Jordan Wood (Pennsylvania) and No. 41 Matt Stencel (Ohio). Wood will be the UWW Cadet world team representative in Greco-Roman next month at 100 kilograms after winning a silver medal last summer in freestyle at the world championships; while Stencel was a Cadet National double champion last summer at 195 pounds. Each wrestler won their first state title this past season. Others to watch in this weight class include state champion Christian Colucci (New Jersey), a pair of returning Junior Greco All-Americans in G'Angelo Hancock (Colorado) and Jacob Godinez (Illinois); two-time state champion Trevor Eicher (Washington); along with state placers Darryl Aiello (California), Kyler Childers (Oklahoma), Eric Johnson (Illinois), and James Ford (Ohio). 285: Last year's contestants in both Cadet finals at this weight class have moved up to the Junior level, and anchor the field here. Kevin Vough (Ohio) won the Greco-Roman title, and is ranked No. 12 overall in the Class of 2017; while UCLA defensive line recruit Osawaru Odighizuwa (Oregon) won the freestyle title, and is ranked No. 39 in the Class of 2016. A third grade-level raked recruit joins the weight class in Carter Isley (Iowa), who is ranked No. 79 in the Class of 2016; Isley is a three-time state placer, who won his initial state title this year and was a Junior folkstyle runner-up down at 220. A whole slew of other wrestlers are present in this weight class and will battle it out for All-American honors in what is a deep field. The best of the group is probably National Prep champion Michael Rogers (Pennsylvania), an All-American in both styles at Junior Nationals last summer. Others to note include Dante Jiovanetta (Florida), a returning Junior Greco All-American; Hunter Mullins (Washington), a state champion and returning Cadet double All-American; Junior freestyle All-American Dan Stibral (South Dakota); Preseason Nationals champion Frank Tomaskovic (Illinois); state champions Sam Bouis (Virginia), Jarrod Hinrichs (Nebaska), and Alex Silberstein (Iowa); two-time state runner-up Korey Walker (Oklahoma); Cadet double All-American Andrew Piehl (Minnesota); along with state placres Trenton Lieurance (Oklahoma) and Jacob Lill (Georgia).

TORONTO, Canada -- There was plenty of drama and electricity during an exciting night of medal matches at the Pan American Games. Americans Adeline Gray and Brent Metcalf turned in impressive performances to capture Pan Am gold on Friday night at the Hershey Centre. The U.S. captured four wrestling medals Friday with Angel Escobedo earning a silver medal and Erin Clodgo capturing a bronze medal. Gold medalist Adeline Gray poses with the other medalists at 75 kilos (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Gray delivered the most dramatic win, scoring with one second left to earn a thrilling 9-6 win over Canada's Justina DiStasio in the women's freestyle finals at 75 kilos/165 pounds. Tied 6-6 late in the bout and needing points to win, Gray lifted DiStasio off the mat and exposed her opponent's back to the mat for two points to earn the victory. Canada challenged the call, but it was upheld. A smiling Gray ran out on the mat with an American flag raised about her head in celebration. Gray was very close to recording a pin midway through the second period before the wrestlers went out of bounds. Read complete story ... Team USA Results (Friday): Women's freestyle: 63 kilos: Erin Clodgo, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids) -- BRONZE LOSS Katerina Vidiaux (Cuba), 11-7 WIN Dennisse Antes (Ecuador), medical forfeit 75 kilos: Adeline Gray, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC) -- GOLD WIN Aline da Silva (Brazil), tech fall 10-0 WIN Ana Gonzalez (Puerto Rico) WIN Justina DiStasio (Canada), 9-6 Men's freestyle: 57 kilos: Angel Escobedo, Ames, Iowa (New York AC) -- SILVER WIN Emir Hernandez (Colombia), tech fall 10-0 WIN Pablo Benites (Peru), fall 2:01 LOSS Yowlys Bonne (Cuba), tech fall 10-0 65 kilos: Brent Metcalf, Iowa City, Iowa (New York AC) -- GOLD WIN Marbin Miranda Casasola (Guatemala), 10-0 WIN Franklin Gomez (Puerto Rico), 10-8 WIN Franklin Maren (Cuba), 8-2

While the 2015 edition of the ASICS/Vaughan Junior and Cadet Nationals kick off from Fargo, N.D. today with the Cadet women's freestyle competition, competition for the males kicks off tomorrow with the opening day of Cadet Greco-Roman. Sessions at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. CT on Sunday will whittle the field down to the semifinals of the championship bracket. That semifinal round takes place during a Monday session starting at 9 a.m. -- with the medal matches slated for 2 p.m. The Cadet level of competition this year features wrestlers born in either 1999 or 2000. As always, it will prove to be an excellent proving ground for some of the already established young stars of scholastic wrestling, and a platform for emerging and unknown athletes to become more known to the wrestling community. The following is a weight-by-weight analysis of the Cadet Greco-Roman field based on entrants registered as of Friday evening. 88: Incoming freshman Mosha Schwartz (Colorado) won the first leg of the Cadet Triple Crown when he took home the folkstyle title in this weight class this past April in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Coming off of a double All-American finish at the UWW Cadet Nationals at 42 kilos in late May, Schwartz enters this event as favorite to take home leg two of the Triple Crown. Others to watch here include Lucas Byrd (Ohio), Logan Ashton (Georgia), Ernest del Rio (Arizona), Christian Goin (Illinois), and Daniel Kimball (Iowa); Byrd and Ashton were double champions at Cadet regional tournaments, while Byrd went undefeated across both styles at the Cadet Duals last month. 94: Steele Dias (Nevada) seeks the second leg of the Cadet Triple Crown in this weight class after winning the Cadet folkstyle title in April. Dias was a double All-American at the UWW Cadet Nationals in Akron at 42 kilos. However, the likely favorite in this weight class is Cody Phippen (Kansas), an All-American in Greco-Roman last summer in Fargo and runner-up in Cadet folkstyle at 100 pounds this spring. Others to watch include UWW Cadet Greco-Roman champion Eric Barnett (Wisconsin), runner-up Cevion Severado (Missouri), Connor Kievman (Pennsylvania), and Conrad Braswell (Iowa). 100: Returning Cadet National double All-American Peter Ogunsanya (Illinois), who placed third in both styles last year at 94 pounds, enters this weight class as the pre-tournament favorite. Others to watch include state placer Gable Fox (Iowa), Patrick McKee (Minnesota), Joey Melendez (Illinois), and Benji Peak (Wisconsin); McKee and Melendez were both double All-Americans last year in Fargo, with McKee placing second in Greco-Roman at 88 pounds. 106: Things seem rather open in this weight class, though a primary contender is going to be Charles Faber (Illinois); he was undefeated at the Cadet Duals in Greco-Roman and had just one loss in the freestyle competition at this weight class. Others to watch include a pair of Missouri state champions in Malik Johnson and Clayton Singh; state champions Antonio Saldate (Nevada), Bjorn Schroder (Montana), and Dallas Wilson (Kansas); state runner-up Riley Gurr (Washington); returning double All-American Izzak Olejnik (California); and Curtis Lemair (Minnesota). 113: The favorite in this weight class is Roman Bravo-Young (Arizona), who last year was a Cadet double champion at 100 pounds, and is currently ranked No. 17 overall in the Class of 2018. Seven state champions are among the other contenders in this weight -- Brock Bergelin (Wisconsin), who also was runner-up at 50 kilos at the UWW Cadet Nationals in Greco-Roman; Michael Millage (Iowa); Peyton Robb (Minnesota), runner-up in Cadet folkstyle; Brian Stuart (Maryland); Jet Taylor (Oklahoma); Logan Treaster (Kansas); and Trent Baun (Washington), a returning All-American in Cadet Greco-Roman. Others to watch include two-time UWW Cadet All-American P.J. Gohn (New Jersey) and Preseason Nationals champion Chase Zollmann (California). 120: The most talented wrestler in this weight class is two-time state runner-up Jason Renteria (Illinois), who is ranked No. 21 in the Class of 2017 and seeking the second leg of the Cadet Triple Crown in this event after winning the folkstyle title in April. Three other grade level ranked wrestlers are present in this field -- Nick Raimo (New Jersey), who is ranked No. 3 in the Class of 2019, along with a pair of nationally ranked Class of 2018 wrestlers in No. 45 Alex Thomsen (Iowa) and No. 48 Jarrett Trombley (Michigan). Two other contenders are state placers and returning All-Americans in Cadet Greco-Roman, Parker Huss (Minnesota) and Brandon Lucas (Ohio). Others to note include state runner-up Tyler Eischens (Minnesota), state champion and UWW Cadet runner-up Alston Nutter (Wisconsin), state champion Clay Quintanilla (Washington), and two-time state placer Cameron Valdvidez (Missouri). 126: Leading the way in what looks to be an open weight class are state champion Kyran Hagan (Missouri) and New England third place finisher Timmy Kane (Conncticut). Others to watch include two-time state champion Danny Bertoni (Maryland), UWW Cadet All-American Taylor Brown (Missouri), former state champion Hunter Dusold (New York), Cadet folkstyle runner-up Lawrence Saenz (California), along with state placers Keaton Geerts (Iowa) and Zach Villarreal (Illinois). 132: Two nationally ranked Class of 2018 wrestlers stand at the head of this field, No. 19 Brock Hardy (Utah) and No. 21 Alex Lloyd (Minnesota). Hardy was a state champ this past year and placed third in Cadet folkstyle, while Lloyd is a returning Cadet double All-American and was runner-up in Junior folkstyle this spring. Others to watch here include state champion Brevin Balmeceda (Florida), two-time state champion Sam Eckhart (Idaho) and Dakota Galt (South Dakota), two-time state runner-up Alec Hagan (Missouri), and state runner-up Cal Hansen (Wisconsin). 138: Two nationally ranked Class of 2018 wrestlers lead the notables in this field, No. 22 Joe Lee (Indiana) and No. 39 Aaron Brooks (Maryland); Lee was a state runner-up this past season in high school, while Brooks was a state champion. Others to watch here include Kansas state champions and Cadet folkstyle finalists in this weight class, Kameron and Kendall Frame, returning Cadet All-American Jose Acosta (Wisconsin), 2014 state champion Ryan Hansen (Utah), Andrew Merola (New Jersey), and state placer Tyler Shilson (Minnesota). 145: Leading the way in this weight class is two-time state champion Anthony Artalona (Florida), who earned All-American honors in both styles at the UWW Cadet Nationals; he is also ranked No. 44 in the Class of 2017, though he is actually in the Class of 2018. Primary challengers include Jaryn Curry (Oklahoma), ranked No. 29 in the Class of 2018; two-time state champion Eli King (Tennessee); state champion and returning Cadet All-American Braeden Redlin (Texas); state champion Hunter Richard (New York); and Preseason Nationals champion Emille Shannon (Illinois). Others to watch include returning All-American Aidan Monteverdi (New Jersey), along with state placers Sammy Cokeley (Kansas) and Logan McKoy (Maryland). 152: Jake Allar (Minnesota) won a Cadet National title last year in Greco-Roman at 132 pounds, and was the UWW Cadet champion in this weight class almost two months ago. He is favored in this weight class, as he seeks the second leg of the Cadet Triple Crown after winning the 145 pound weight class at the folkstyle nationals in early April. Others to watch include state placers Michael O'Malley (New Jersey) and Kenny O'Neil (Minnesota), 2014 state champion Max Wohlabaugh (Florida), and returning Cadet All-American Andrew Johnson (Kansas). 160: Three nationally ranked Class of 2018 wrestlers headline this weight class, No. 13 Travis Wittlake (Oregon), No. 25 Ryan Karoly (New Jersey), and No. 47 Anthony Sherry (Iowa). Wittlake, the favorite in this weight class, won the Cadet folkstyle title down at 152 pounds in early April and was a state champion this high school season; Karoly was a NHSCA Freshman Nationals champion after being closed out of the Blair Academy lineup; while Sherry was fourth at state after being a Cadet double All-American last summer, including runner-up in Greco-Roman. Others to watch include state champion Clay Lautt (Kansas) along with state placer Kyle Cochran (New Jersey). 170: A pair of elite wrestlers from Illinois leads the way in this weight class, Jacob Warner and Jack Jessen. Warner is ranked No. 25 overall in the Class of 2017, a state champion, and was fifth in both styles at Cadet Nationals last summer; while Jessen is No. 12 in the Class of 2018, a Cadet folkstyle champion, and placed third in both styles at Cadet Nationals last summer. Primary challengers include New England runner-up Anthony Falbo (Connecticut), returning Cadet All-Americans in Richard Gonzalez (California) and Dylan Servis (Kansas), along with Cadet folkstyle runner-up Jacob Gray (Indiana). Others to watch include state placers David Crawford (Ohio) and Mason Rutt (Minnesota). 182: Cadet folkstyle champion Andrew Davison (Indiana) seeks the second leg of the Triple Crown, and is the favorite in this weight class; he also placed fifth at state this past year, and was a UWW Cadet All-American in freestyle at 85 kilos. Others to watch include state placer and returning Cadet All-American Jared Florell (Minnesota), along with another trio of state placers in Riley Vanik (Illinois), Tage McNutt (Missouri), and Anthony Walters (Pennsylvania). 195: The top five finishers from Cadet folkstyle in this weight class all are in this Fargo Greco-Roman field at present. The weight class champion in folkstyle was Bryce Esmoil (Iowa), who placed seventh at state as a freshman; finishing second was Lucius Rinehart (Wisconsin), state fifth as a sophomore; third went to Dylan Prince (Kansas), state third as a sophomore and a returning All-American in Cadet Greco-Roman. Others who could contend for the title in this weight class include Dan Baker (Oklahoma), who went undefeated in both styles at Cadet Duals and is ranked No. 46 in the Class of 2018; state champion Brady Daniel (Maryland), a Cadet freestyle All-American last year; and state placer Danny Salas (California). 220: Two absurdly talented wrestlers for their grade level anchor this weight class, Gable Steveson (Minnesota) and Cohlton Schultz (Colorado). Steveson is the nation's top-ranked Class of 2018 wrestlers, and the prohibitive favorite in this weight class after winning the UWW Cadet freestyle title with a victory over the returning World silver medalist. The other star is Schultz, ranked second in the Class of 2019, and already placing third in the high school division of the Flo Nationals at this weight class. Others to watch include state placers Max Darrah (Missouri) and Kayne Hutchison (Kansas), along with Preseason Nationals champion Blake Zalapi (Illinois), a returning Cadet All-American. 285: Leading the way in this weight class is Cadet folkstyle champion Zach Muller (Illinois), who was also undefeated across both styles at the Cadet Duals last month. Others to watch include state champion Nicholas Boykin (Tennessee) and state placer Gavin Nye (California).