Fargo Greco-Roman division state highlights, with firsts, records and notable achievements

Fargo, North Dakota – The Classic Style of Greco-Roman first kicked off at the Junior Nationals in Iowa City in 1972, one year after its men’s freestyle counterpart did. When looking at success of states overall, some regions have tended to thrive in the style. Sometimes, the states that are not more prominent on the folkstyle and freestyle side will show out in Greco, making the traditional powers take notice.

Last year, Idaho dethroned Illinois to win Junior Greco. This year, Iowa won just its second 16U Greco title. With Greco now second in the ordering of the tournaments, we see some champions speak of the desire to come back and get that stop sign they feel like they should have won earlier in the week. Regardless of the motivations and systems in place, 2024 provided state associations with an opportunity to add to their respective medal hauls. What were some of the things that stood out from a state-by-state situation? Let’s give it a look.

Alabama: With three Junior Greco-Roman placers, Alabama tied its state record for most All-Americans in the division set back in 2009. Jameson Thomas (100) and William Anderson (138) both placed fourth in the Junior division for the highest placements of any of the state’s athletes.

Alaska: Brian Grabner finished fifth at 132 pounds in Juniors, earning the only medal for Alaska. Grabner was a state runner-up for Interior Grappling Academy’s Student Wrestler Development Program this past season. Junior Greco has been the most successful division for wrestlers from Alaska on the men’s side, with the state earning an All-American in every tournament since 2018.

Arizona: Marcus Killgore was the state’s only All-American in the style. Killgore finished fourth at 138 pounds.

California: Four of the five individual champions in Greco were at the 16U age group. Brothers Arseni and Aliaksandr Kikinou continued the family tradition in the style. Arseni won the 16U title at 120 pounds while older brother Aliaksandr won his second title overall and first Junior crown. Another Poway wrestler, Matty Orbeta, was the champion in 16U at 126 pounds. As a team, California’s 16U team finished second.

Colorado: The state crowned three individual champions across both age groups and finished fourth in Junior Greco, the fifth straight Top 10 finish. Junior runner-up Garrett Reece placed for the fifth time in his career, while 16U champion Austin Collins placed for the third time. Brandon Dean, who beat Reece in the finals at 150 pounds, placed for the fourth time after doubling up last year for New Jersey. Dean was eighth in men’s freestyle. Landon Drury repeated as Junior champion.

Connecticut: The state had two All-Americans in Greco for the first time since 2014. Junior runner-up Jackson Heslin finished second at 126 pounds, the first finals appearance since Zack Murillo. Chris Kastner was third at 16U at 106 pounds. From a state perspective, it’s the first time the state’s had multiple wrestlers place third or better in Greco-Roman in the same year.

Florida: The only finalist in Greco for Florida was 138-pounder Jovani Solis in 16U. He was fourth in men’s freestyle to double up. The top finisher in the Junior division was Roderick Brown who finished fifth at 106 pounds.

Georgia: Ariah Mills bumped up to 94 pounds after winning the 16U men’s freestyle title at 88 pounds. Mills became just the second wrestler to double up and win titles in both styles the same year and the first since Sean Hage in 1995. Hage accomplished the feat four times from 1992-1995.

Idaho: Another solid performance from Idaho as the state combined for 10 All-Americans across both age groups, hitting double figures for the fourth straight year and the fifth time ever. The Junior team finished sixth, the fourth straight Top 10 finish. The state had a champion in each age group, with 157-pounder Ivan Ivanov claiming gold and the Outstanding Wrestler Award in 16U and heavyweight Shilo Jones taking gold in a high-scoring finale against South Dakota’s Micah Hach. Hudson Rogers and Jones each came away from Fargo with their fourth career medals.

Illinois: The state won its 15^th Junior Greco-Roman title in the last 16 years putting 10 wrestlers on the podium. The 16U squad also put up 10 All-Americans, but finished third. Aaron Stewart was a 16U Triple Crown winner, taking both styles in addition to a folkstyle title won earlier this year. Stewart also become the 17^th wrestler in history to win double 16U titles twice and the first since Carson Manville completed the feat for Pennsylvania and Minnesota in 2018. Stewart was joined by heavyweight Jonathan Rulo as a Triple Crown Winner as well, giving the state the only two Triple Crown recipients on the boys side of competition this year. Another double championship was registered by Michael Rundell in Juniors at 100 pounds, while Anthony Ruzic won his third career Greco-Roman title. He won 16U in 2021 and Juniors in 2022 before finished seventh last year.

Indiana: The Hoosier State drove its medal count up to its highest level in over 20 years, hitting double figures for the first time since 2004. The seven All-Americans in 16U tied the state record set in 2003. The sixth place finish in 16U was the highest for the state in the division since the state unofficially finished fifth in 1989. Brady Byrd won his fourth all-time medal by finishing fourth at 106 pounds in the Junior division, while Lucas Boe followed up his men’s freestyle championship with a runner-up finish after bumping up a weight class for Greco. Waylon Cressell took third at 175 pounds, the top individual finish among the Juniors.

Iowa: Historically, Iowa’s Fargo performances have been dominated by the freestylers, but for the second time in state history and for the first time since 2006, Iowa took home the 16U team championship. The 16U squad set a state record with 17 medals, besting last year’s previous high of 15. Hayden Schwab and Alexander Pierce won back-to-back weights at 106 and 113. Schwab won his second title of the weekend and won Greco for the second year in a row. On the Junior side of things, Maximus Riggins took fifth at 120 pounds, collecting his fourth career medal in Fargo. 190-pounder Brenden Heying was the top Junior finisher, taking fourth.

Kansas: Despite being cautioned out of his finals match at 113 pounds, Ezekiel Witt collected his fourth all-time Fargo medal and was the highest finisher across both age groups.

Kentucky: The lone Greco-Roman All-American was Lucas Ricketts, who finished seventh at 175 pounds. It’s the third straight year a wrestler from Kentucky has placed in Junior Greco-Roman. All the state’s Junior placers in Greco have come since 2014. Last year, Ricketts’ brother Gavin finished seventh in Junior Greco.

Maryland: Tyler Verceles and Salah Tsarni were the only Greco-Roman placers and both were in the 16U age group. Both wrestlers placed in both styles, with Verceles taking third in Greco after earning the silver in men’s freestyle. Tsarni was third in men’s freestyle and fifth in Greco-Roman.

Massachusetts: Musa Tamaradze finished fourth at 120 pounds and Alexander Bajoras took sixth at 285 pounds to give Massachusetts two Junior Greco-Roman All-Americans for the first time since 2014. It’s just the sixth time in state history Junior Greco has earned multiple medals at the championships. Tamaradze also placed last year, finishing third at 120.

Michigan: All six Greco-Roman All-Americans this year were first timers with the top performances coming from Dylan Nieuwenhuis at 94 pounds in 16U and Santana Ramon at 113 in Juniors. Both finished sixth.

Minnesota: Alex Braun came away from Fargo with his sixth career medal after finishing second in Juniors at 138 pounds. Lawson Eller took fifth at 126 pounds in Juniors, earning his fifth all-time Fargo medal. Minnesota’s lone champion, Zak McPhee at 190 pounds picked up a fall in his Junior division final. What’s interesting about McPhee’s career is he made headlines earlier this year after collecting a fall wrestling up a heavyweight, which gave McPhee a fall at every single weight class during his high school career. Seriously, read about it here.

Mississippi: Bear Bryant Siegal stepped to the mat for Mississippi after making the state’s Fargo debut in men’s freestyle. Siegal went 0-2 at 175 pounds but was part of the history-making push to develop freestyle and Greco-Roman programs in the last U.S. state to actively compete in the sport.

Missouri: A third of Missouri’s All-Americans in Greco-Roman were champions. Yes, there’s math. Missouri went three-for-three in the 16U finals with championships won by Miller Sipes (138), Chance Ruble (150) and Carter Temple (175). Eight of those All-Americans were also in the 16U division. Missouri’s lone Junior All-American was 157-pounder Will Scherer, who took eighth. As a team, Missouri’s 16U squad finished fifth, it’s highest finish since 2015.

Montana: Just one Greco-Roman All-American coming from Big Sky country this year and that was 113-pounder Kellen Downing in the 16U division. He was also the only medalist in men’s freestyle.

Nebraska: Another solid outing for Nebraska, which had seven total All-Americans and a state record-tying five in 16U. Nebraska’s had five in a year on two other occasions – 2017 and 2021. Zaiyahn Ornelas was the highest finisher across both age groups, taking second in 16U at 113 pounds. Riley Johnson finished sixth at 165 pounds, giving him a third all-time medal in Fargo at the 16U level. He was also sixth in men’s freestyle. Ornelas, Johnson, Cruzer Dominguez and Preston Wagner were all double All-Americans at the 16U level. Coach Zack Wilcox was also named USA Wrestling’s Greco-Roman Developmental Coach of the Year.

Nevada: The 16U squad tied a state record, collecting four medals, led by third-place finisher Anthony Delgado at 138 pounds. The only other time Nevada’s hit four 16U Greco All-Americans came in 2016. The lone Junior Greco All-American was Manuel Saldate, who finished third at 132 pounds. Saldate collected his fifth all-time medal in Fargo and doubled up with an eighth-place finish in men’s freestyle earlier in the week.

New Jersey: The Garden State only picked up a pair of medals in Greco-Roman, one in each age group. William Webb was eighth at 100 pounds in 16U, while Greco specialist Aidan Squier was the runner-up at 175 pounds in the Junior division. It was Squier’s third career Fargo medal.

New Mexico: An eighth-place finish by Maddox Martinez at 106 pounds and a third-place finish by Roman Luttrell at 113 pounds gave New Mexico multiple Junior Greco-Roman All-Americans for just the second time. The only other time more than one wrestler hit the podium in the same year in the division was back in 1983.

New York: Much like their neighbors to the southeast, New York only picked up two Greco-Roman medals – one in each age group. Ryan Ferrara was sixth at 132 pounds in 16U, while men’s freestyle champion Dunia Sibomana finished fifth at 113 pounds in Juniors.

North Dakota: Nicholas Enzminger became the first Junior Greco-Roman champion from North Dakota since Brandon Metz claimed the gold in 2016. Enzminger was one of two Junior All-Americans – the other was 190-pounder William Ward, who finished fifth. Ward goes to Fargo North High School, two blocks from the Fargodome.

Ohio: Ohio registered a fourth-place finish in the 16U division for the second straight year as Loc Webber and Alex Taylor won 16U titles. Webber repeated as a Greco champion, while Taylor doubled up with his second title of the week after taking the men’s freestyle title. The state’s earned at least six Greco-Roman medals in the 16U division each time out since 2018. Combined with the four Junior medals, Ohio put 12 on the podium for the second year in a row. Ukrainian brothers Dmytro and Maksym Chubenko both finished third in Juniors. Dmytro wrestled 138, while Maksym was at 144. They fled their native Ukraine to avoid the invasion by Russia.

Oklahoma: Prior to 2024, Oklahoma had never had more than a single champion in a given year in Junior Greco-Roman. That isn’t the case anymore as Oklahoma had three individual champs for the first time ever and upped its all-time Junior champion total to 13. The seven medals also tied its best medal output in the Junior division, and finished with its highest team placement in history, in second behind champion Illinois. Oklahoma put seven on the podium last year and in 2002, but the previous high finish was fifth on three occasions. Cason Craft (106), Rhett Peak (132) and Jude Randall (157) all took home the big stop sign. It was Craft’s fifth medal all-time in Fargo.

Oregon: Gage Singleton picked up his fifth all-time medal after finishing third at 120 pounds, the highest finish across both age divisions. Jeremiah Wachsmuth picked up a second career Fargo medal and also did it at 120 pounds. He finished eighth.

Pennsylvania: Pierson Manville wrapped up his impressive Fargo career with a second career championship across both age groups and styles and collected his eighth all-time medal. Manville won the 144-pound title to go with his 16U Greco title won back in 2021. Manville never finished lower than fourth in Fargo. Adam Waters won the 175-pound championship. He was third in men’s freestyle and has six all-time medals in Fargo, none lower than third. Waters was also voted the tournament’s Junior Outstanding Wrestler. The fifth place finish in Junior Greco was the Keystone State’s best finish in the division since they were fourth in 2019.

Puerto Rico: Rafael Garcia Morales is just the second wrestler to earn a medal in Greco-Roman and first since Franklin Gomez won the Junior championship in 2005. Gomez placed twice. Morales finished seventh at 150 pounds.

South Carolina: Don’t let the team score fool you – South Carolina had a good year in Fargo. The Palmetto State had three Junior Greco All-Americans, the most in state history and tied its 16U record with a pair of medalists. Montero Royal was the runner-up at 106 pounds in the 16U division. He was the first 16U finalist since 1986. On the Junior side, Cason Howle’s fourth-place finish at 215 pounds was the top finish since Jordan Wigger finished third at 113 pounds back in 2012. William Jakeway finished eighth at 113 pounds, earning his second Fargo medal.

South Dakota: The lone All-American wrestled in the tournament’s final match as Micah Hach finished second in Junior Greco at 285 pounds. Hach, a South Dakota State commit for both football and wrestling, was a double All-American last year in 16U.

Tennessee: It was another solid outing across both age groups in Greco-Roman for Tennessee as the state combined for seven All-Americans. It’s the third straight year the state’s earned at least six medals. Leading the way in Greco were 16U runner-up Hudson Chittum at 88 pounds and Junior runner-up Jose Cordero at 100 pounds. Chittum, Cordero and 165-pound Junior Maximus Norman each picked up their fourth Fargo medals, while Appalachian State commit Jarvis Little finally broke through, hitting the podium at 132 pounds with a seventh-place finish.

Texas: The Lone Star State put two wrestlers – one in each age group – on top of the podium in Greco-Roman. Dominic Wilson overcame the disappointment of a runner-up finish in men’s freestyle to claim the Greco-Roman title in the 16U division at 144 pounds and did it on his 16^th birthday. Kody Tanimoto won the 120-pound title, while Dylan Ota finished second at 106 pounds. We’ve had familiar names hitting the Greco podium like Schwab, Kikinou and Ivanov, but we can add a Sieracki to the list as Keagan Sieracki finished eighth at 132 pounds. Keagan is the son of past U.S. Greco-Roman world teamer Keith Sieracki.

Utah: Utah’s Juniors earned eight medals and finished in 10^th place, the best finish in Junior Greco for the state since 2015. Tucker Roybal led all Juniors with a third-place finish at 157 pounds. Noah Bull, who won men’s freestyle earlier in the week, finished third at 144 pounds. Layne Kleimann finished seventh at 138 pounds in Juniors, giving him six career medals in Fargo with another year of Junior eligibility left. 

Virginia: Soren Pirhoun became the state’s first Junior Greco champion since 1986. Pirhoun was sixth at 285 last year and dropped to 215. Pirhoun’s also only the third champ in Junior Greco, joining those 1986 champions Sammy Dollyhigh and Scott Brown.

Washington: Four was the number for Washington as the state had four total All-Americans across both age groups and all three of the 16U medalists finished fourth. Hunter Shirley was fourth at 88 pounds, Lazarus McEwen fourth at 94 and Brycen Dawley was fourth at 106. Tre Haines, the lone Junior medalist, was sixth at 150 pounds.

West Virginia: Dominic Way was the only All-American in Greco-Roman from West Virginia. Way, from Parkersburg, took eighth at 126 pounds.

Wisconsin: Six of the eight Greco-Roman All-Americans from Wisconsin were in the Junior division, led by 157-pound runner-up Brett Back, who came away with a fourth Fargo medal. The top individual finisher at 16U was 215-pounder Preston Krueger, who was third. Brayten Casey was seventh at 120 pounds and Amryn Nutter was sixth at 138 pounds. Each picked up their third all-time medals in the event.