California Blue, 2024 Air Force Special Warfare Junior Nationals Duals Men’s Greco-Roman Champions.
TULSA, Okla. – The California Blue crew emerged as men’s Greco-Roman champions at the 2024 Air Force Special Warfare Junior National Duals with a back-and-forth, 32-30, win over No. 1 overall seed Pennsylvania.
California Blue trailed by six points entering the final two bouts of the dual against a name brand Pennsylvania team. Enter Thomas Sandoval and Angelo Posada, who catapulted California to the championship with back-to-back shutout technical falls.
Also earning wins for California Blue during the championship match were Nicholas Sahakian at 285 pounds, Gabriel Dela Rosa at 113 pounds, Isaiah Cortez at 132 pounds, Elijah Cortez at 138 pounds and Noah Daniels at 165 pounds. Dela Rosa and Daniels secured pins, and Sahakian a technical fall.
Pennsylvania had an explosive stretch during the back half of the dual meet, led by a trio of technical falls from Pierson Manville at 144 pounds, Luis Alberto-Desilva at 150 pounds and Vince Bouzakis at 157 pounds, followed by a pin at 175 pounds from Adam Waters.
California Blue finished with a 7-0 record on its way to first place. It had four wrestlers in its finals lineup go undefeated throughout the event—I. Cortez (5-0), Sandoval (4-0), Posada (5-0) and Sahakian (7-0).
Finishing in third place was Illinois, who defeated Idaho, 40-27, in its placement dual. Caleb Noble picked up a fall in the 106-pound bout, and five other Illinois athletes earned technical falls, to solidify the dual.
Minnesota Blue edged the home-state team, Oklahoma Blue, by two points in the fifth place dual. 14-of-15 matches in the dual were bonus-point victories—Minnesota captured seven technical falls and a forfeit, while the Okies earned two pins and four technical falls. Minnesota reeled off six wins in the last seven matches, which was iced with an 8-0 Ben Schultz technical fall at 215 pounds, to bag the come-from-behind win.
Rounding out the Gold/Silver bracket results are Iowa and Colorado, who finished in seventh and eighth place overall. The two states battled to a one-point finish in the seventh place dual, 34-33. Brody Sampson ended up the hero for Iowa, scoring a 10-0 win at 190 pounds to put Iowa ahead for good.
30 more teams are battling it out for bragging rights in the Bronze/Copper, Red/Blue, Yellow/Green and Purple brackets on Thursday, with the remaining duals wrapping up at the Cox Business Convention Center. USA Wrestling will announce the Men’s Greco-Roman All-Tournament Team, athletes who went undefeated with a minimum of five wins, at the conclusion of the event.
The Air Force Special Warfare Junior National Duals is streaming live and on-demand at FloWrestling.com. Multiple subscription options are available to watch. Updated brackets and match-by-match results are available at Trackwrestling.com.
The men’s tournament continues Friday at 8:30 a.m. (CT) with the start of the men’s freestyle preliminary pools. A complete schedule of events for this weekend’s tournament in Tulsa is available at usawrestlingevents.com.
Air Force Special Warfare Junior National Duals | June 19-22, Tulsa, Okla.
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Men’s Greco-Roman Gold/Silver Results
1st Place – California Blue
2nd Place – Pennsylvania
3rd Place – Illinois
4th Place – Idaho
5th Place – Minnesota Blue
6th Place – Oklahoma Blue
7th Place – Iowa
8th Place – Colorado
1st Place Match – California Blue defeated Pennsylvania, 32-30
285 – Nicholas Sahakian (California Blue) tech. fall Mark Effendian (Pennsylvania), 9-0
100 – Niko Selianitis (California Blue) dec. Grady Moore (Pennsylvania), 13-8
106 – Kole Davidheiser (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Jayren Chan (California Blue), 8-0
113 – Gabriel Dela Rosa (California Blue) fall Max Tancini (Pennsylvania)
120 – Kavin Muyleart (Pennsylvania) dec. Elijah Almarinez (California Blue), 11-7
126 – Lincoln Sledzianowski (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Edwin Sierra (California Blue), 9-0
132 – Isaiah Cortez (California Blue) dec. Aaron Seidel (Pennsylvania), 4-0
138 – Elijah Cortez (California Blue) dec. Sam Herring (Pennsylvania), 8-6
144 – Pierson Manville (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Daniel Zepeda (California Blue), 9-0
150 – Luis Alberto-Desilva (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Jagger French (California Blue), 8-0
157 – Vince Bouzakis (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Tigran Greyan (California Blue), 10-0
165 – Noah Daniels (California Blue) fall Greyson Catlow-Sidler (Pennsylvania), 1:37
175 – Adam Waters (Pennsylvania) fall Dylan Pile (California Blue), 1:16
190 – Thomas Sandoval (California Blue) tech. fall Mason Hartung (Pennsylvania), 9-0
215 – Angelo Posada (California Blue) tech. fall Jason Singer (Pennsylvania), 8-0
3rd Place Match – Illinois defeated Idaho, 40-27
285 – Shilo Jones (Idaho) tech. fall Wyatt Schmitt (Illinois), 8-0
100 – Michael Rundell (Illinois) tech. fall Brand`n Edstrom (Idaho), 15-6
106 – Caden Correll (Illinois) tech. fall Ryan Hirchert (Idaho), 8-0
113 – Caleb Noble (Illinois) fall Hunter Anderson (Idaho)
120 – Inocencio Garcia (Illinois) tech. fall Dylan Frothinger (Idaho), 12-4
126 – Boden Banta (Idaho) dec. Noah Woods (Illinois), 5-5
132 – Hoyt Hvass (Idaho) dec. Gauge Shipp (Illinois), 8-5
138 – Joseph Knackstedt (Illinois) tech. fall Nathan Gugelman II (Idaho), 8-0
144 – Andres Santiago Chaparro Urrego (Illinois) dec. DJ Neider (Idaho), 7-2
150 – Matthew Martino (Idaho) tech. fall Evan Gosz (Illinois), 9-0
157 – Carlos Valdez (Idaho) tech. fall Julian Slaastad (Illinois), 16-6
165 – Cael Miller (Illinois) tech. fall Xander Zollinger (Idaho), 11-0
175 – Jimmy Mastny (Illinois) forfeit
190 – Hudson Rogers (Idaho) dq. Alihan Bereket (Illinois)
215 – Kaiden Morris (Illinois) tech. fall Carson Gooley (Idaho), 13-3
5th Place Match – Minnesota Blue defeated Oklahoma Blue, 34-32
285 – Mason Harris (Oklahoma Blue) fall Logan Bender (Minnesota Blue), 1:25
100 – Landon Thoennes (Minnesota Blue) tech. fall Bobby Lima (Oklahoma Blue), 12-1
106 – Zebediah Tibbles (Oklahoma Blue) tech. fall Jacob Kranz (Minnesota Blue), 8-0
113 – Eric Casula (Oklahoma Blue) dec. Eli Schultz (Minnesota Blue), 3-1
120 – Titan Friederichs (Minnesota Blue) tech. fall Colt Collett (Oklahoma Blue), 10-0
126 – Isaiah Jones (Oklahoma Blue) fall Lawson Eller (Minnesota Blue), 0:30
132 – Hudson Hackbarth (Oklahoma Blue) tech. fall Aiden Graner (Minnesota Blue), 8-0
138 – Garrett Salt (Oklahoma Blue) tech. fall Trey Gunderson (Minnesota Blue), 8-0
144 – Alex Braun (Minnesota Blue) forfeit
150 – Nolan Ambrose (Minnesota Blue) tech. fall Preston Reyna (Oklahoma Blue), 14-6
157 – Conlan Carlson (Minnesota Blue) tech. fall Tharyn Hausler (Oklahoma Blue), 9-0
165 – Griffin Lundeen (Minnesota Blue) tech. fall Daegan Reyes (Oklahoma Blue), 8-0
175 – Jed Wester (Minnesota Blue) tech. fall Deontre Buttram (Oklahoma Blue), 12-4
190 – Peyton Callis (Oklahoma Blue) tech. fall Shane Carlson (Minnesota Blue), 8-0
215 – Ben Schultz (Minnesota Blue) tech. fall Samuel Pritz (Oklahoma Blue), 8-0
7th Place Match – Iowa defeated Colorado, 34-33
285 – Trent Warner (Iowa) forfeit
100 – Coy Mehlert (Iowa) forfeit
106 – Urijah Courter (Iowa) dq. Daniel Jordan (Colorado)
113 – Everest Sutton (Colorado) tech. fall Cooper Hinz (Iowa), 8-0
120 – Dustin John Snider (Colorado) tech. fall Tyler Harper (Iowa), 9-0
126 – Jesse Lewis (Iowa) tech. fall Enrique Soto (Colorado), 11-0
132 – Timothy Koester (Iowa) tech. fall Nick Dardanes (Colorado), 12-1
138 – Chancellor Mathews (Colorado) tech. fall Jordan Schmidt (Iowa), 9-0
144 – Otto Black (Colorado) tech. fall Jabari Hinson (Iowa), 14-4
150 – Benjamin Hansen (Iowa) dec. DJ Wince (Colorado), 5-1
157 – Garrett Reece (Colorado) dec. Kyler Knaack (Iowa), 12-7
165 – Brandon Dean (Colorado) fall Lincoln Jipp (Iowa), 2:40
175 – Leister Bowling IV (Colorado) tech. fall Daniel Magayna (Iowa), 12-2
190 – Brody Sampson (Iowa) tech. fall Ira Sittner (Colorado), 10-0
215 – Quinn Funk (Colorado) dec. Henry Christensen (Iowa) Dec 6-3
Men’s Greco-Roman Bronze/Copper Results
1st Place – Ohio Red
2nd Place – Washington
3rd Place – Texas Blue
4th Place – Michigan
5th Place – Minnesota Red
6th Place – Indiana
7th Place – Nebraska
8th Place – Kansas Blue
1st Place Match – Ohio Red defeated Washington, 41-25
3rd Place Match – Texas Blue defeated Michigan, 44-23
5th Place Match – Minnesota Red defeated Indiana, 39-29
7th Place Match – Nebraska defeated Kansas Blue, 33-32
Men’s Greco-Roman Red/Blue Results
1st Place – Wisconsin
2nd Place – Florida
3rd Place – Oregon
4th Place – Utah
5th Place – California Red
6th Place – North Dakota
7th Place – Virginia Blue
8th Place – Oklahoma Red
1st Place Match – Wisconsin defeated Florida, 35-29
3rd Place Match – Oregon defeated Utah, 43-25
5th Place Match – California Red defeated North Dakota, 37-33
7th Place Match – Virginia Blue defeated Oklahoma Red, 36-33
Men’s Greco-Roman Yellow/Green Results
1st Place – Ohio Blue
2nd Place – Alabama
3rd Place – Tennessee
4th Place – Georgia
5th Place – Louisiana Red
6th Place – Texas Red
7th Place – Louisiana Blue
8th Place – Arkansas Blue
1st Place Match – Ohio Blue defeated Alabama 47-19.
3rd Place Match – Tennessee defeated Georgia 40-26.
5th Place Match – Louisiana Red defeated Texas Red 41-27.
7th Place Match – Louisiana Blue defeated Arkansas Blue 27-17.
Men’s Greco-Roman Purple Results
1st Place – Missouri
2nd Place – South Carolina
3rd Place – Kansas Red
4th Place – North Carolina
5th Place – Virginia Red
6th Place – Arkansas Red