FARGO, ND – Although it wasn’t how Team Pennsylvania wanted to end their Fargo Junior National Freestyle Championship there is much to be celebrated for the Keystone State. Overall eight Team Pennsylvania Junior wrestlers came away with hardware including two runner-ups.

At 113 lbs. Pottsville Area wrestler Nick Onea, who in 2017 was a PIAA State Qualifier, finished the tournament in eighth place – a significant improvement from a year ago when he went (1-2) at the Cadet Nationals. In 2016, competing in the Cadet Division, Pequea Valley wrestler Gabe Miller compiled a (4-2) tournament record in Fargo. Moving up to Juniors didn’t intimidate the 2017 PIAA State third place medalist. Miller turned heads when he pounded out win after win in Fargo. In the consolation round Gabe took out Colorado’s Andrew Alirez who came into the week ranked #7 in the Nation by Flowrestling in a wild (17-10) match.

Wyoming Seminary wrestler Jack Davis was able to battle his way to a seventh place finish at 138 lbs. after falling (8-5) to eventual runner-up Jeremy Schoenherr (Wisconsin) in the quarterfinals. In the seventh place match Davis, a 2016 National Prep Champion, upended Maryland’s Jason Kraisser by tech-fall (10-0) in (1:22).

Unfortunately for Team Pennsylvania two of their top 145 lbs. wrestlers ended up going head-to-head in the fifth place bout. Sammy Sasso and Justin McCoy, both 2017 PIAA State Champions, ended up meeting for fifth place with Sasso coming out on top of a (7-4) match that concluded with both wrestlers appearing to be physically drained of all energy.

Sasso was a 2016 Fargo Cadet National Champion and last season was a Cadet runner-up. Moving up to juniors in 2017 Sasso fell in the semifinals to returning Fargo Junior National Champion Anthony Artalona (Florida) in a (10-10) match that had the attention of the entire Fargodome. Pennsylvania wrestling fans may remember the name Anthony Artalona as he defeated Jarod Verkleeren (Hempfield Area) last year in the Fargo Junior National finals at 145 lbs.

It was a short turn around from his defeat in the semifinals to the consolation semifinals against Brayton Lee of Indiana – a match Sasso dropped (7-2).

Sasso made no excuses.

“It’s tough. It’s the sport we’re in. You’ve got to get your mind straight, get ready and come back to wrestle that next match. That’s what happens. That’s wrestling. You lose a barn-burner, you’ve got to come back ready to wrestle.”

For Justin McCoy (Chestnut Ridge) he added a Fargo Junior National stop sign to an already large trophy case. In 2016 McCoy was a Fargo Cadet All-American placing fifth. 

Despite dominating the field prior to the Championship finals Pennsylvania stud Trent Hidlay was unable to close out his run at 170 lbs. falling to Maryland’s Aaron Brooks. The match didn’t begin well for Hidlay who gave up a push-out point early and appeared to have been poked in the eye causing him to take injury time.  On the restart Hidlay went for his patented underhook and pressed hard into Brooks, literally running him towards the edge of the mat, when Brooks used the momentum to his advantage and launched Hidlay for four points. 

A dazed Hidlay returned to the center and was able to earn a push-out point to get on the board. With 30 seconds left in the first period Hidlay connected near the edge of the mat for two points bringing the score to (5-3) in favor of Brooks. Then things seemed to go down hill as Brooks hit a duck under and, with a tight collar tie, continued into a single leg which Hidlay attempted to fight off. As the pair were going out of bounds Brooks landed Trent on his back to pick up another four points and end the first period ahead (9-3). 

In the second period Hidlay needed to get out of a six point hole to Brooks but found himself in trouble yet again. Brooks attempted a double leg and when Hidlay fought it off the two ended up chest-to-chest and, as they were falling out of bounds, Brooks again landed Trent on his back to end the match by tech-fall (13-3). Despite being visibly disappointed with his finish it was five spots higher on the Junior National podium than Trent finished in 2016 when he took seventh.

After the finals Trent stated he is moving forward. “It’s just something you’ve got to do. The best people in this sport have lost, even on the big stage at Fargo. This isn’t going to be my final chapter. I’ve got a lot more wrestling to do, a lot more people to prove wrong.”

The second National finalist for Pennsylvania was Miles Lee (South Philadelphia) at 195 lbs. The PIAA State Medalist was sixth last year in Fargo competing at 195 lbs. in the Junior Division. In the finals he met 2016 UWW Cadet World Bronze Medalist Jake Warner (Illinois) who ended his senior season ranked #1 in the Nation by Flowrestling. Warner, who will be attending Iowa, dominated in the finals much like he did the entire tournament as he rolled to a (11-0) tech-fall over Miles. Warner secured a takedown and three gut-wrenches to close out the match in (3:32). 2-time PIAA State Champion Jake Woodley, who was a victim of Warner’s in the semifinals (10-0), advanced into the third place bout where he had a rematch with Brandon Whitman of Michigan. In the championship quarterfinals Woodley used a late takedown to get by Whitman (5-3) with just nine seconds left in the match. This time around, however, it was Whitman who came out on top to finish in third place. It was Jake’s best finish at Fargo in the Junior Division and his fourth straight All-American honors. 

Also earning his second straight Junior Freestyle All-American finish was Pennsylvania native Francis Duggan (Lemoyne, PA). Although competing for Team Iowa where he will be attending his senior season the 3-time PIAA State Medalist repeated his performance from 2016 by placing third at 220 lbs. in Fargo.

Below is a complete look at all the results plus much more.

 

USAW Freestyle Junior National Results

 

100 LBS

1st Wil Guida Rockaway, NJ (New Jersey) VFA Jackson Cockrell Broken Arrow, OK (Oklahoma), 2-1 2:13

3rd Jacob Rundell Oak Park, IL (Illinois) VPO1 Jacob Moran Portage, IN (Indiana), 6-3

5th Daniel Kimball Buckingham, IA (Iowa) VIN Timothy Levine Huntington Beach, CA (California), 0-0 0:00

7th Christian Goin Washington, IL (Illinois) VSU Preston Blotter Heber City, UT (Utah), 10-0 0:47

 

106 LBS

1st Samuel Latona Alabaster, AL (Alabama) VSU1 Christopher Trelli Bristol, CT (Connecticut), 12-2 5:07

3rd Brendon Garcia Pueblo, CO (Colorado) VSU1 Anthony Talamonti Manteno, IL (Illinois), 14-4 2:13

5th Steele Dias Henderson, NV (Nevada) VSU Reese Fry Manchester, MI (Michigan), 10-0 1:41

7th Justin Cardani Champaign, IL (Illinois) VPO1 Blake Fredrickson Clearlake, CA (California), 11-8

 

113 LBS

1st Ty Smith Bunkerville, NV (Nevada) VSU1 Brandon Kaylor Puyallup, WA (Washington), 17-6 3:19

3rd Cody Phippen Platte City, MO (Missouri) VSU Jace Koelzer Olathe, KS (Kansas), 10-0 1:19

5th Aden Reeves Albia, IA (Iowa) VSU1 Andres Lucero Pueblo, CO (Colorado), 12-2 1:33

7th Benyamin Kamali Lansing, MI (Michigan) VSU Nick Onea Nesquehoning, PA (Pennsylvania), 10-0 1:38

 

120 LBS

1st Patrick McKee Hanover, MN (Minnesota) VFA Joey Melendez Harwood Heights, IL (Illinois), 8-4 3:59

3rd Patrick Glory Randolph, NJ (New Jersey) VSU1 Michael Colaiocco Sparta Township, NJ (New Jersey), 14-3 1:48

5th Ridge Lovett Post Falls, ID (Idaho) VPO1 Rayvon Foley Ann Arbor, MI (Michigan), 11-9

7th Tommy Hoskins Jamestown, OH (Ohio) VSU Rhett Golowenski Edmond, OK (Oklahoma), 10-0 1:07

 

126 LBS

1st Drew Mattin Delta, OH (Ohio) VPO1 Paul Konrath Mount Vernon, IN (Indiana), 8-1

3rd Jakob Camacho Danbury, CT (Connecticut) VPO1 Jared Van vleet Rockford, IL (Illinois), 13-4

5th Alex Thomsen Neola, IA (Iowa) VSU Aaron Schulist Eagle, WI (Wisconsin), 11-0 1:27

7th Austin Macias Burlington, IL (Illinois) VSU1 Jack Karstetter (Oklahoma), 19-9 5:12

 

132 LBS

1st Atilano Escobar Peoria, AZ (Arizona) VSU Alexander Cruz Puyallup, WA (Washington), 10-0 1:40

3rd Brent Jones Shakopee, MN (Minnesota) VFA Tyler Deen Clovis, CA (California), 5-0 1:13

5th Chase Zollmann Poway, CA (California) VPO1 Gabe Miller Gap, PA (Pennsylvania), 10-5

7th Andrew Alirez Greeley, CO (Colorado) VSU Zach Price Johnston, IA (Iowa), 10-0 1:59

 

138 LBS

1st Ben Freeman Walled Lake, MI (Michigan) VSU Jeremy Schoenherr Stratford, WI (Wisconsin), 10-0 4:30

3rd Parker Filius Havre, MT (Montana) VPO1 Jakob Bergeland Hugo, MN (Minnesota), 18-17

5th Jaden Enriquez Tulare, CA (California) VSU1 Michael Millage Cresco, IA (Iowa), 13-2 5:13

7th Jack Davis Wilkes-Barre, PA (Pennsylvania) VSU Jason Kraisser Ellicott City, MD (Maryland), 10-0 1:22

 

145 LBS

1st Anthony Artalona Seffner, FL (Florida) VPO1 Kaden Gfeller Edmond, OK (Oklahoma), 6-4

3rd Brayton Lee Brownsburg, IN (Indiana) VPO1 Alexander Lloyd Shakopee, MN (Minnesota), 4-3

5th Sam Sasso Nazareth, PA (Pennsylvania) VPO1 Justin McCoy New Paris, PA (Pennsylvania), 7-4

7th Brock Hardy Brigham City, UT (Utah) VSU1 Logan Meek Central Point, OR (Oregon), 12-2 1:24

 

152 LBS

1st Will Lewan Chicago, IL (Illinois) VPO1 Jared Franek Harwood, ND (North Dakota), 6-2

3rd Peyton Robb Medford, MN (Minnesota) VSU Justin Ruffin McDonough, GA (Georgia), 10-0 0:59

5th Joshua Kim Corona, CA (California) VPO1 Markus Hartman Barrington, IL (Illinois), 6-2

7th Isaac Wilcox Salt Lake City, UT (Utah) VSU1 Tyler Eischens Andover, MN (Minnesota), 14-2 4:18

 

160 LBS

1st David Carr Massillon, OH (Ohio) VSU1 Tyler Dow Stoughton, WI (Wisconsin), 13-3 3:40

3rd Joe Lee Evansville, IN (Indiana) VIN Carson Kharchla Powell, OH (Ohio)

5th Andrew Merola East Hanover, NJ (New Jersey) VIN Jake Allar MN (Minnesota), 0-0 0:00

7th Jaron Chavez Boise, ID (Idaho) VPO1 Jalin Harper Manhattan, KS (Kansas), 6-4

 

170 LBS

1st Aaron Brooks Hagerstown, MD (Maryland) VSU1 Trent Hidlay Lewistown, PA (Pennsylvania), 13-3 3:36

3rd Max Wohlabaugh Winter Springs, FL (Florida) VSU Zachary Braunagel O’Fallon, IL (Illinois), 11-0 3:56

5th Jeremiah Kent Columbia, MO (Missouri) VPO1 Andrew Berreyesa Reno, NV (Nevada), 7-6

7th Leonardo Tarantino Tarpon Springs, FL (New Jersey) VPO1 Josh Ramirez Destrehan, LA (Louisiana), 3-3

 

182 LBS

1st Max Lyon Dyersville, IA (Iowa) VPO1 Jack Jessen Villa Park, IL (Illinois), 10-3

3rd Lucas Davison Chesterton, IN (Indiana) VSU1 Cameron Caffey Carbondale, IL (Illinois), 21-11 5:12

5th Christian Knop Alexandria, AL (Alabama) VSU1 Myles Wilson New Castle, CO (Colorado), 20-9 5:55

7th Victor Marcelli Massillon, OH (Ohio) VSU1 Austin Harris Roseburg, OR (Oregon), 15-4 4:54

 

195 LBS

1st Jacob Warner Washington, IL (Illinois) VSU Miles Lee Philadelphia, PA (Pennsylvania), 11-0 3:32

3rd Brandon Whitman Dundee, MI (Michigan) VPO1 Jakob Woodley Pittsburgh, PA (Pennsylvania), 4-2

5th Dakota Howard Berea, OH (Ohio) VSU1 Matthew Waddell Ellijay, GA (Georgia), 20-10 4:05

7th Joel Shapiro West Des Moines, IA (Iowa) VFA Collin Mccoy McKinney, TX (Texas), 6-0 1:37

 

220 LBS

1st Zach Elam Kansas City, MO (Missouri) VSU1 Haydn Maley Roseburg, OR (Oregon), 14-4 5:03

3rd Francis Duggan Lemoyne, PA (Iowa) VSU Antonio Mccloud Cincinnati, OH (Ohio), 11-0 3:37

5th Tyrell Gordon Waterloo, IA (Iowa) VFO Jace Punke Eureka, IL (Illinois)

7th Tyler Curd Oak Grove, MO (Missouri) VSU1 Max Darrah Foristell, MO (Missouri), 14-4 4:37

 

285 LBS

1st Anthony Cassioppi Roscoe, IL (Illinois) VPO1 Brandon Metz West Fargo, ND (North Dakota), 4-1

3rd Zach Muller Woodridge, IL (Illinois) VPO1 Samson Evans Alcoa, TN (Tennessee), 7-2

5th Austin Emerson Temperance, MI (Michigan) VPO1 Jon Spaulding Middletown, OH (Ohio), 5-1

7th Brandon Reed Louisville, KY (Kentucky) VSU Paul Robinson Bremen, GA (Georgia), 10-0 0:27

 

Complete Team PA Junior Freestyle Results

 

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