Fargo…..
Maybe you didn’t know this but one of the biggest high school wrestling tournaments is happening in the city of Fargo starting Saturday, July 17th. The Schedule link is down below.
If you do not know what happens in Fargo wrestling is split up into 2 different age groups for both men’s and women’s wrestling. There is 16U which is wrestlers born between 2005-2006 at least for this year. Then there is the Junior age division which is anyone born September 1, 2001 and after as long as the wrestler is currently enrolled in grades 9-12 per USA Wrestling. Two styles of wrestling will compete here and they are Freestyle for both men and women and Greco-Roman and that is just for the men’s side for this event.
Ok now to a little bit of a preview. I won’t go through every weight but will highlight some key wrestlers from the state of Pennsylvania competing at Fargo this weekend.
Who to Watch Out For: 16U Men’s
I believe the most exciting wrestler to watch out for is Bishop McCort’s Mason Gibson at 120 lbs. He is the guy who won at Super 32’s as an 8th grader and looks to make a national statement come Saturday. Gibson is a PIAA runner-up as a freshman. He will compete in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman.
Let’s move a weight lower to Vincent Kilkeary from Latrobe at 113 lbs. Kilkeary is an exciting wrestler himself as a PIAA State Champion and two-time state placer. Kilkeary is only competing in Freestyle.
Now to 126 lbs. with Vince Bouzakis who is brother to Wyoming Seminary’s Nic Bouzakis.
This is a non-PIAA guy originally from Florida but he is in PA now and on the PA team. Vince has had great national success in U15 tournaments across the Nation and looks to make a name for himself in Fargo. Bouzakis is another guy competing in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle.
To 145 lbs. we go with Pierson Manville out of State College. Manville only placed 3rd in his region last year but missed out on a trip to the AAA West Super Regional since the Northwest region only got 2 spots. He will be wrestling in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman.
Now at 195 lbs. we see Sonny Sasso from Nazareth who is of course the brother of Ohio State’s Sammy Sasso. Sonny hasn’t lived up to his brother’s high school performance, it’s very hard to do that but Sonny is a State placer as he got 7th in this year’s State tournament. Sasso will be competing in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman.
Who to Watch Out For: Junior Men’s
Let’s start at 120 lbs. where there are 3 state placers at this weight but were all at 113 lbs. last season. Jaden Pepe from Wyoming Area is the first guy who won a State Championship last year. He has been rising as of late in the State and will compete just in Freestyle. The guy who Pepe beat in the state final is also going to be in Fargo and that is Gavin Bradley from Athens. Bradley will compete only in Freestyle. Finally at this weight is last year’s state placer Robert Gardner from South Williamsport. Gardner lost to Pepe in last year’s Semi-Finals 1-0 and ended up taking 6th. He will compete in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman. PA’s Northeast region is well-represented at this weight.
Waynesburg’s Mac Church highlights 126 lbs. Church is a two-time PIAA State placer and is coming off of a state title at 120 lbs. last season. Church will wrestle only Freestyle at Fargo.
At 145 lbs. Forrest Hills’ Jackson Arrington who is a PIAA State Champion. Arrington is an NC State commit. He will be wrestling Freestyle only. There are 2 other State placers at 145 lbs. in Williamsport’s Riley Bower and WC Henderson’s Sam McMonagle. Bower and McMonagle will both be wrestling Freestyle and Greco-Roman.
At 152 lbs. Bishop McCort’s Erik Gibson brother of Mason Gibson who is a two-time PIAA state placer. He did not compete in the state tournament due to being ruled ineligible by the PIAA. Gibson will be competing in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle.
At 160 lbs. there is Paniro Johnson from Cathedral Prep who is a four-time state placer with his highest finish being 3rd. Johnson will compete in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman.
Jumping now to 195 lbs. there are two Prep wrestlers first with Malvern Prep’s Caden Rogers. Rogers won last year’s National Prep Open at 195. He also boasts wins over PIAA Champion Cael Crebs and PIAA State placer Mac Stout. He will wrestle in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle. Then there is Kolby Franklin who is a former Fargo champ and former PIAA State finalist before transferring to Wyoming Seminary. Franklin as well will wrestle I’m Greco-Roman and Freestyle.
Who to Watch Out For: 16U and Junior Women’s
I want to highlight Lake Lehman’s Lexia Schechterly who is wrestling at 112 lbs. in both age divisions. Schechterly some might know wrestled in last year’s boys wrestling season for Lake Lehman and took 2nd at the District 2 AA tournament but DNP at the regional.
Also wrestling at 112 lbs. only in the Junior age division is Ava Bayless from Wyoming Seminary. Before her time at Wyoming Seminary she wrestled at Reynolds on the Junior high team where she won a PA Junior state championship which included boys.
Full PA Roster: https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2021/July/09/Fargo-rosters-AK-AR-IN-PA
Bracket Link: https://arena.flowrestling.org/event/91dfe75a-7549-6f96-7add-66fda2af2430