2010 Fargo Preview - Michigan's best ready to head west
7/15 - The Cadet and Junior
National Championships in Fargo,
ND is arguably the most important
week of high school wrestling as
the FargoDome attracts the largest
mass of top tier prep talent from
across the country to prove
themselves in front of hundreds of
college coaches in attendance and
the spotlight of the national media.
The state of Michigan has been a
staple in Fargo the past few years
and this year should be no different
as many of the big names from
Michigan will be in attendance. As
a state, Michigan fared well at the
Cadet and Junior Duals, placing Top 6 in both styles at both events. They will now look to turn that into Fargo success.
The madness will begin this Sunday when Cadet Greco-Roman action begins and the week that follows will make, break, and solidify the careers of many of the nation's best grapplers. Fargo has traditionally been the jump-off point for a large number of our country's top collegiate and senior level athletes for decades and this year will be no different. The brackets will be huge and the competetion will be tougher than any other event.
This year's Michigan squads in attendance are as tough as ever as the Great Lakes State looks to continue building a reputation as one of the premier wrestling states in the country. Read below for everything you need to know heading into this year's Cadet & Junior National Championships.
A look back at Last Year
Last year was the year of the Cadets in Fargo for the State
of Michigan as we finished 5th in Greco and 6th in Freestyle
for the Cadet Division.
A strong contingent of St Johns wrestlers lead the way in
the cadet division as Taylor Massa continued his Fargo
dominance, winning his second straight double title, giving
him four Fargo titles in two years. His St. Johns teammate
Jordan Wohlfert also won a stop sign as he broke onto the
national scene with a Cadet Freestyle National title. Also
winning a national title in Cadet Freestyle for Team Michigan
was then-8th grade phenom Ben Whitford, who won a
classic battle with Mark Grey in the 112lb finals. Whitford
also finished runner-up in Greco-Roman. Another
incoming St Johns Red Wing, Jacob Schmitt, who was
a highly touted incoming freshman this time last year, made
a name for himself earning all-american status in both styles
Alex Calandrino of Howell, Anthony Abro of Canton, and Devin Pommerenke of Rogers City also earned All-American status in Cadet Greco-Roman, while Alec Mooradian of DCC and Jordan Thomas of Greenville made the podium in Cadet Freestyle.
It will be interesting to see how Michigan fares in the Cadet division this year as Jacob Schmitt is the only Cadet All-American from last year who will be returning to the Cadet Division. Ben Whitford is still a cadet, but he will be wrestling for Team Illinois, and the others will all be competing in the Junior Division this time around.
The Junior Division didn't fare quite so well last year, placing 29th in Greco and 16th in Freestyle. Only three wrestlers earned All-American status in the Junior Division last year, and none of them will be back this year. The biggest breakout of last year's Fargo may have been the performance of Ryen Nieman, who established himself as a top recruit by finishing 3rd in the Junior Freestyle Division.
Following his Fargo performance, he was one of the most highly ranked wrestlers in the country, and he signed with Indiana University a few months later. Nieman will not be competing this year, and the other two all-americans, Brenan Lyon and Dan Osterman, are now out of high school and both started this year as freshman for Michigan State.
This Year's Outlook
JUNIORS
Wtih 7 Cadet All-Americans moving up to the Junior Division
this year, there is no doubt that Michigan's Junior performance
should improve greatly this year.
The Junior Team will be headlined by Fargo veterans Taylor
Massa and Freddie Rodriguez, who are favorites to contend
for titles in both divisions.
Massa, wrestling in his first year as a Junior, will be one of the
big national storylines to watch as he could be on pace to
make Fargo history if he can win both styles again this year.
Rodriguez, who went 19-1 overall at the Junior Duals and won
a Double Title at the FILA Cadets this spring, is the odds-on
favorite to win both styles at 105lbs next week. Massa,
meanwhile, could see himself as an underdog for the first
time in a while with a handful of big-name upperclassmen
likely to be featured in his 152lb weight class.
Other top name sophomores who will be only be competing in freestyle include returning Cadet Freestyle Champ Jordan Wohlfert at 145lbs, and returning all-americans Jordan Thomas (160lbs) and Alec Mooradian (125lbs). We have also received word that returning Greco All-American Devin Pommerenke (285lbs) will be competing in both styles and should be a top contender to place high in both styles.
Conor Youtsey, Alex Calandrino, and Mike Curby headline the rest of the fleet of very talented juniors who have also proved capable of contending next week in Fargo. Calandrino and Curby are former Greco All-Americans who should be in the hunt in both styles and Youtsey made a statement for himself as a contender by going 10-1 in freestyle at the Junior Duals, including wins over four former Fargo All-Americans.
CADETS
The Michigan Cadet team will be led by the top two ranked freshman in the
state, Adam Coon and Jacob Schmitt.
Schmitt, a returning double all-american, will be a top contender to make
the finals in both styles after finishing runner-up at the FILA Cadet Freestyle
Nationals and going undefeated at the Cadet Freestyle Duals. Schmitt also
went 9-1 at the Cadet Greco Duals.
Adam Coon of Fowlerville matched Schmitt at the Cadet Duals, going
undefeated in Freestyle and losing only once in Greco. Coon also earned
FILA Cadet All-American status this year and went undefeated in freestyle
wrestling up a division at the Junior Duals. Look for Coon and Schmitt to
contend for titles in both styles at 105lbs and 215lbs.
A pair of highly touted 8th graders will look to earn All-American status in
their first trip to Fargo as Zac Hall and Martin Rodriguez come in with a
wealth of freestyle and greco expierence and success. Hall went a total of
17-3 in both styles at the Cadet Duals and should be contend to place high
in both styles at 98lbs. Rodriguez did not compete at the Cadet Duals, but
did earn Greco All-American status at the FILA Cadet Nationals. With both
of these guys competing at 98lbs, we could very well have two Michiganders
placing in the same weight next week.
A few talented 2nd year Cadets to keep an eye on include Josh Pennell, Brant Schafer, Payne Hayden, and Travis Curley. Pennell and Schafer looked strong at the Cadet Duals, posting 15-5 overall records each while Curley, Hayden, and another promising 8th grader, Logan Marcicki, all fared well at the Cadet Greco Duals. Hayden was also 4-2 at the FILA Cadet Freestyle Nationals and Curley won three matches in Fargo last year in Freestyle.
Michigan's Best Bets in Fargo
With all the talented wrestlers headed to Fargo next week, here is a short list of the best bets to place high and or challenge for National titles.
1. Freddie Rodriguez (Junior 105lbs) - There are a few Michiganders who go into Fargo widely considered by most as contenders to win a national title, but Rodriguez's recent dominance amongst the nation's top 103lbers makes him stand out. Since winning a state title up at 112lbs he has won the FloNationals, USA Folkstyle Nationals, FILA Cadet Nationals in both styles, went undefeated at the America's Cup in California and went 19-1 at the Junior Duals. His only loss this Spring was in Greco at the Duals in a very, very controversial match to Phillip Laux of Iowa and it is highly unlikely to see that happening again. He has soundly beaten just about every top lightweight in the country over the past few months and if he is on the top of his game, he is capable of not only winning a double title, but doing so in dominant fashion.
2. Taylor Massa (Junior 152lbs) - Over the past two years Massa has been the King of Fargo, first breaking onto the scene two years ago with a double title at 140lbs as an 8th grade phenom, he then repeated last year with a dominant double title at 152lbs in which he did not lose a single period in either style. All in all, Massa has never lost in Fargo, and he has not lost a whole lot in the past couple years. He did lose a match in Greco at the Junior Duals, although he was up a weight wrestling 160. Next week there is a chance that some big name upperclassmen could be in his weight including reigning Junior National Champ Dylan Alton of PA, Destin McCauley of Minnesota who beat Massa at the Junior Western Regional in freestyle last year, and Junior National finalist Joey Cozart of Florida, among others. Therefore, this year's Fargo outing will likely be the biggest test of Massa's young career. If he manages to slay the other giants in his weight and win both styles again, he will have 6 Fargo titles to his name and he could be on pace to go down in the recordbooks as the winningiest wrestler in Fargo history.
3. Jacob Schmitt (Cadet 105lbs) - Last year was Schmitt's introduction to the national stage as he finished Top 4 in both styles at 91lbs. This year he has grown into a full 105lber and should be considered a serious threat to win both styles at that weight. He finished runner-up at the FILA Cadet Freestyle Nationals, losing a very close match to Nathan Tomasello of Ohio in the finals. At the FILA Cadets, Schmitt downed Brad Perkins of Missouri, who won Fargo in freestyle for his weight last year, which shows his capability to win it this year. Schmit continued to look good as he was dominant at the Cadet Duals, losing only one match in Greco and going undefeated in freestyle. His one loss in greco came via second period fall after winning handily in the first period and in freestyle he scored some big wins including a win over #3 nationally ranked Anthony Ashnault of New Jersey.
4. Adam Coon (Cadet 215lbs) - Coon fell just short of placing in both styles last year, however, he is back this year at 215lbs and is a monster of a cadet for this weight class. He has been very busy since winning a state title this year, including a 3rd place finish at the FILA Cadets in Greco, undefeated performances in freestyle at the Cadet and Junior Duals, one loss in greco at the Cadet Duals, and two losses in Greco at the Junior Duals. His wealth of experience this year in Freestyle and Greco should come into play next week as he should primed for a deep run at 215lbs in both styles.
5. Conor Youtsey (Junior 119lbs) - After sitting out of Fargo last year with an injury, Youtsey could be primed for his first All-American showing this summer. He scored as many big-time wins as anyone at the Junior Duals, including former Fargo Freestlye Runner-Up Robert Deutsch of NJ, Bricker Dixon of Missouri who was 6th in freestyle last year at Junior 112, and Top 5 Nationally Ranked Jerome Robinson of Ohio. In addition to these notable wins, Youtsey also scored a three-period win over 3x Fargo National Champ Mark Grey of New Jersey at the FILA Junior Freestyle Nationals. Youtsey is tough to score on and his grinder style should help him as he tries to navigate through what should be a deep 119lb
bracket.
6. Devin Pommerenke (Junior 285lbs) - At first we had heard that D-Pomm would not be
returning to Fargo, however, we have now received word that the Rogers City big man will be
there, and he should be considered a favorite to place high in both styles. Pommerenke has
been on fire this spring, winning the FloNationals in dominant fashion and scoring two big
wins at the Northeast Freestyle Regionals. He was 4th in greco last year in Fargo but did not
place in freestyle, he will likely be ready to get to the podium in both styles this time around.
7. Jordan Thomas (Junior 160lbs) - Thomas has earn all-american status in his first two
trips to Fargo and this year should he should be primed for another deep run. He will be
wrestling his first year as a junior, which will provide a little more of a challenge for the highly
touted sophomore, however, he has proven capable of competing with top tier upperclassmen. He lost a few matches at the Junior Duals while wrestling up at 171lbs, however, he scored a big win over Top 10 nationally ranked Nick Visicaro of New Jersey. Thomas is tough to score on and he has good freestyle mat sense, so it is inevitable that he will go deep into this tournament and if he puts
some big wins together he could place very high.again.
8. Alec Mooradian (Junior 125lbs) - Like Massa, Thomas, Wohflfert, and
Pommerenke, 2x state champ Mooradian will be looking to repeat his all-american
performance from a year ago wrestling his first year as a Junior. It seems like no
matter how tough of a chart Mooradian gets placed into he finds a way to win close
matches and go deep into the tournament, so there is no reason to believe this
weekend will be any different. He has all-americaned at the FILA Cadet Freestyle
Nationals the past two years as well as in Fargo last year so he should have no
problems with dealing with Fargo butterflies or the level of competetion.
9. Mike Curby (Junior 171lbs) - Curby may be the best greco wrestler in Michigan in
terms of technique and match strategy. He is one of the only seniors from the State
of Michigan competing this year and past Michigan seniors who have chose to
compete after graduating have fared well (Ben Bennett-Freestyle Champ, Dan
Osterman-Double All-American), so we will see if Curby can do the same. He has all-americaned in Fargo a couple times before in Greco, this year he could step up to double all-american status with a strong showing.
10. Jordan Wohlfert (Junior 145lbs) - Wohlfert was one of the big stories of Fargo last year as he bounced back from an early round loss to win the rest of his matches including big wins over a couple nationally ranked wrestlers en route to the Cadet Freestyle National Title. This year as a first year junior, he will need get his mojo going again if he wants to get back to the medal rounds. Wohlfert lost a bunch of close matches at the Junior Duals wrestling up at 152, however, dont every count him out. His gritty style makes him the perfect kind of guy to go deep into the bracket at Fargo and he has the experience and confidence to win matches against top-tier guys.
11. Zac Hall (Cadet 98lbs) - Next week will be Hall's introduction to the big time before hitting the high school scene in Michigan next year. He went a total of 17-3 at the Cadet Duals including a few big wins. He is widely expected by many to be a state title contender next year as a freshman at 103 for what ever high school he ends up competing for and that will likely happen regardless of his Fargo showing, however, he has an opportunity to
propel himself into the national spotlight with a strong performance. It is always
interesting to see how first timers fare in Fargo, however, highly touted 8th graders of
the past (Schmitt, Massa, Rodriguez, Thomas, Whitford, etc) have lived up to the hype,
we will see if Hall does the same.
12. Alex Calandrino (Junior 112lbs) - Calandrino was one of the more consistent
wrestlers at the Junior Duals, going 8-2 in Freestyle and 7-3 in Greco. He is also a
returning greco all-american and having the past experience of making it to the
medal rounds before should help him this year and he has proven to be competetive
with the best guys in this weight in both styles.
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The state of Michigan made a splash last year in Cadet Freestyle, crowing three champs (left to right): Massa, Whitford, and Wohlfert
Top Dogs: Rodriguez (left) and Massa (right) are two of the most nationally recognized prep wrestlers from Michigan and they will both have targets on their backs as favorites to win both styles this weekend
Returning Double All-American Jacob Schmitt will be a favorite to make the finals in both styles this time around
Pommerenke
Mooradian
Calandrino
