Day 7 preview: Junior Greco-Roman and 16U Greco-Roman start up in final tournaments of the week

Joel Adams (USA) hits a big throw at the 2022 U17 World Championships. Adams is among the top stars in the Greco-Roman portion of #Fargo2023. Photo by Kadir Caliskan, United World Wrestling.

#Fargo2023 concludes with two final national tournaments, the USMC Junior Greco-Roman Nationals and the USMC 16U Greco-Roman Nationals.

Greco-Roman in Fargo is very interesting for many reasons. By these ages, there are already many athletes who consider themselves Greco-Roman specialists, having shown great skills and success in the classic style and often having excellent coaches and mentors in this specialized craft.

However, also in Fargo, there are numerous highly talented athletes who excel at all styles of wrestling, and are unafraid to compete in Greco-Roman. They enter Fargo to find as much high-level competition as they can, and seek national titles and All-American honors. Some of these folks may not wrestle Greco-Roman during college or afterwards, but still enjoy the sport and the challenge that competing in Fargo presents to them

There are often some unexpected results in the Fargo Greco-Roman competition, which is why it is a great idea to follow these last two days of action and enjoy the great wrestling.

There are two athletes who deserve special note, due to their recent World medals in Greco-Roman. Aden Attao of Idaho won a U20 World bronze medal last summer, while Joel Adams of Nebraska won a U17 World gold medal last summer. These guys are deservedly considered Greco-Roman masters, although they are also excellent in freestyle and folkstyle.

There is just one person eligible for the Junior Triple Crown, Koy Hopke of Wisconsin, but he is not currently entered in Greco-Roman. On the 16U level, there are two in the Triple Crown quest, Kyler Knaack of Iowa (152) and Dreshaun Ross of Iowa (195).

JUNIOR GRECO-ROMAN

Returning Junior Greco-Roman champions
Mack Mauger of Idaho (106, now at 113)
Anthony Ruzic of Illinois (113, now at 120)
Otto Black of Colorado (126, now at 132)
Kannon Webster of Illinois (132, now at 145)
Aden Attao of Idaho (285).

Returning Junior Greco-Roman runners-up
Isaac Stewart of Montana (100, now at 106)
Brayton Casey of Wisconsin (106, now at 113)
Carter Nogle of Maryland (113, now at 132)
Massey Odiotti of Illinois (120, now at 126)
Derek Guanajuato of Arizona (126, now at 138)
Jadon Skellenger of Idaho (160, now at 152)

2023 Junior Nationals freestyle champion entered in Greco-Roman
106 - Haakon Peterson (Wisconsin)
145 - Kannon Webster (Illinois)
182 -Tate Naaktgeboren (Iowa)
220 - Cody Merrill (California)

2022 16U National champions moving up into Juniors
Haakon Peterson of Wisconsin (88)
Gabriel Bouyssou of Rhode Island (145)
Aliaksandr Kikiniou of California (152)
Tristin Greene of Ohio (160)
Coby Merrill of California (220)
Brennan Carey of Missouri (220)

Triple Crown eligible:
Koy Hopke of Wisconsin (285) – not registered

Teams with the most separated athletes: California (20), Colorado (16), Illinois (16), Idaho (15), Iowa (15), Wisconsin (15)

Top 10 in Junior Greco-Roman PIN:
1. Pierson Manville of Pennsylvania (145 lbs., 1,422 PIN)
2. Joel Adams of Nebraska (152 lbs., 1,360 PIN)
3. Jadon Skellenger of Idaho (152 lbs., 1,330 PIN)
4. Sawyer Bartelt of Florida (220 lbs., 1,322 PIN)
5. Kannon Webster of Illinois (145 lbs., 1,289 PIN)
6. Zan Fugitt of Missouri (132 lbs., 1,287 PIN)
7. Alex Braun of Minnesota (145 lbs., 1,285 PIN)
8. Mack Mauger of Idaho (113 lbs., 1,284 PIN)
9. Aden Attao of Idaho (285 lbs., 1,262 PIN)
10. Brett Back of Wisconsin (160 lbs., 1,260 PIN)

2022 Top 5 teams in Junior Greco-Roman: Illinois, Wisconsin, Idaho, Florida, Iowa.

16U MEN’S NATIONALS

Returning 16U Greco-Roman champions
Caleb Noble of Illinois (88, now at 100)
Jayden Raney of Kentucky (112, now at 120)
Thomas Verrette of Colorado (126, now at 138)

Returning 16U Greco-Roman runners-up
Michael Mocco of Florida (195, now at 220)

2023 16U Nationals freestyle champion entered in Greco-Roman
94 - Jarrett Smith (Michigan)
100 - Shamus Regan (Tennessee)
120 - Jayden Raney (Kentucky)
126 - Leo Maestas (California
138 - Blue Stiffler (Georgia)
145 - Melvin Miller (Pennsylvania)
152 - Kyler Knaack (Iowa)
160 - Aaron Stewart (Illinois)
195 - Dreshaun Ross (Iowa)
220 - Michael Mocco (Florida)

2022 14U National champions moving up into 16U Nationals:
Liam Collins of Minnesota (100)
Will Detar of Pennsylvania (113)
Bruno Cassioppi of Illinois (106)
Matthew Orbeta of California (126)
Austin Collins of Colorado (120)
Travis Cardenas of Arizona (132)
Aaron Stewart of Illinois (160)
Evan Perez of Colorado (182)
David Calkins of California (195)
Denarii Mickel of Pennsylvania (195)

Triple Crown eligible (and registered to compete):
Kyler Knaack of Iowa (152)
Dreshaun Ross of Iowa (195)

Teams with the most separated athletes: Iowa (20), Illinois (17), Pennsylvania (15), California (12), Utah (12), Minnesota (11), Ohio (10), Oklahoma (10), Wisconsin (10), Colorado (9)

Top 10 in 16U Greco-Roman PIN:
1. Thomas Verrette of Colorado (138 lbs., 1,329 PIN)
2. Terrell McFarland of Pennsylvania (170 lbs., 1,320 PIN)
3. Dreshaun Ross of Iowa (195 lbs., 1,276 PIN)
4. Aaron Stewart of Illinois (160 lbs., 1,250 PIN)
5. Caleb Noble of Illinois (100 lbs., 1,249 PIN)
6. Liam Collins of Minnesota (100 lbs., 1,245 PIN)
7. Declan Koch of Wisconsin (132 lbs., 1,245 PIN)
8. Derek Barrows of Colorado (138 lbs., 1,235 PIN)
9. Will Detar of Pennsylvania (113 lbs., 1,234 PIN)
10. Bruno Cassioppi of Illinois (106 lbs., 1,225 PIN)

2022 Top 5 teams in 16U Greco-Roman: 1. California, 2. Wisconsin, 3. Florida, 4. Pennsylvania, 5. Iowa.

Friday, July 21st schedule

9:00 AM to 1:00 PM - Session XIII -
16U Men/Junior Men Greco-Roman: Championship (2 rounds) and Consolation (1 or 2 rounds)

3:00 PM to 7:30 PM - Session XIV –
16U Men/Junior Men Greco-Roman: Championship (2 rounds) and Consolation (2 rounds)