Cadet & Junior Duals Recap
If you use the Cadet and Junior Duals as an indicator of how Michigan will perform in Fargo then things are looking a little rough. HOWEVER.....you have to keep in mind that the Disney Duals took a toll on our freestyle and greco duals performance and many of the top freestyle/greco guys were not on the duals teams. Some of our best freestyle and greco stars such as Mark Weber, Marcel Dubose, Jarod Trice, and Cam Simaz, among others, opted to goto Disney instead of Oklahoma.
With that being said, there were still some bright spots from the Junior and Cadet Duals. In the cadet duals Brenan Lyon showed why he is one of the top contenders for national titles in greco and freestyle at 84lbs. Lyon went undefeated in both greco and freestyle at the Cadet Duals, making the all-tournament team in both styles. A couple other cadets who showed potential to make some noise in Fargo were Dillon Kern and Jake Walters.
While the Junior team struggled to win a couple duals in Oklahoma, there were a few individuals who put together great performances. Cody Marcicki lost only one match in freestyle and it came when he was winning and had to injury default. Jacob Burge had only one loss at 160 in freestyle, which came to a returning junior all-american from North Carolina. Josh Dormer had a good showing in freestyle as well, finishing 7-2 with one of his losses coming to Iowa superstud Nate Moore. Along the way Dormer knocked off top sophomore Riley Adamson of Texas.
Who might NOT be at Fargo...
Team Michigan's team score might be a little hampered in Fargo as some of our top All American contenders might not be in attendance. There looks to be a handful of Michigan's most accomplished freestyle and greco wrestlers staying home next week and opting out of Fargo. For starters, senior's Cam Simaz, Pat Wright, & Erich Smith all appear to plan on not attending Fargo. Simaz has alot of freestyle expeirence, including a runner up finish this year at the Western Regional in Las Vegas. Wright is a former Cadet national champ and FILA cadet all-american; Smith placed 3rd at the Western Regional. Other top Michiganders who might be missing the bus to Fargo include Dan Craig, Alex Gorton, and Joe Rizgallah, among others.
CORRECTION! - We had previously reported that Highland Park's former Fargo All-Americans Jarod Trice (285) and Marcel Dubose (215) were not going to be wrestling in Fargo this year. However, our information was incorrect as Jamar Whitfield, the coach of Trice, Dubose, and The Silverback Wrestling Academy, contacted us and assured that the dynamic duo WILL in fact be wrestling next week. "They have been training like real Silverback's and are ready to finally win it all at Fargo," said Whitfield. In addition, Flint Kearsley state champ Travis Pettengill will be wrestling both styles in Fargo as well.
Who will be in Fargo
CADETS - As mentioned above, returning all-american Brenan Lyon will be back at 84lbs and looks like Michigan's best shot for a national title. Also, Jacob Walters and Dillon Kern had good showings at the Cadet duals. Walters won a few matches last year in Fargo and his expeireince might help him go deep into the tournament this year at 112. A couple others who werent at the Junior duals are Joey Rendina who will be at 105lbs and Tyler Kesselring who should be at 112. Rendina showed that he can compete with the top guys with his upset win over Kyle Waldo, who is the 8th ranked sophomore at 103lbs, however, he is new to the grind that is Fargo. Kesselring was very dominant this year at 103lbs en route to a state championship and could make some noise in Fargo. In general the cadet team is very inexpierenced in freestyle/greco and anyone other than Lyon would be a surprise to all-american.
Fargo he will have a good shot at placing as he has all-americaned before in Fargo and looked good at the Junior Duals. Jacob Burge had a good showing at the Junior Duals beating alot of top guys, however his freestyle expierence is slim. Also, Frank Sade of Clarkston has alot of greco and freestyle expeirence and has all-americaned before in Fargo. LJ Helbig is fresh off his NHSCA National Title and the state runner up from Mason has the tools to surprise some people. The Michigan Junior teams have alot of firepower with many former all-americans and a good amount of depth, therefore, Team Michigan could make a seriouds run at a Top 5 team finish.
WOMENS - Its the sister act this year for Michigan's Women's national team with C.C. Weber, the sister of top junior Mark, who is a returning Women's freestyle national champ. in addition, Paige Rife, the sister of Howell 103lber Travis Rife, is also a returning Fargo finalist as she finished runner up last year at 148lbs. Our Women's squad carries the best shot for a high place winning in Fargo as they finished 5th in the team standings last year and return a handful of all-americans headlined by Weber and Rife. Erin Clogdo, who currently resides in Marquette, was a Fila Cadet National champ this year, Fargo national champ last year (beating Rife in the finals), and is currently ranked #1 by the USGWA. However, she is not originally from Michigan and she competed for Conneticut last year at Fargo, so we are unsure whether or not she will be representing MI at Fargo. Michigan has always been one of the top states for Womens wrestling, and hopefully that will continue this year as the Women's team bolsters some of our top national title contenders and best hopes for a high team placing.
Michigan's Top 10 Best Bets
Among the grapplers expected to be in Fargo, here is our list of those with the best shot at being an All-American:
2) Brenan Lyon (Cadet 84) - Lyon is a returning double cadet all-american from last year, placing 6th in both greco and freestyle. He is returning at 84lbs and already showed that he is one of the guys to beat as he went undefeated in both styles of the Cadet Duals earlier this summer. The 84lb class is historically much smaller than other classes, therefore, with Lyon's past sucess he is a near lock for all-american honors. If Brenan shows up, he could very well be Michigan's 1st National Champ of the tournament.
3) Jarod Trice (Junior 285) - Trice showed the wrestling world that he is one of the top big men in the country when he won the Senior National Championship earlier this year. Doughboy is very strong in greco and freestyle as he was 3rd in Cadet Greco two summers ago and he was a FILA Cadet National champ last year. Trice has not lost a match in a while as he dominated the heavyweight division in Michigan this year, finishing his senior season undefeated en route to his 2nd 285lb state title. Since then he has merely won the Sr National title and went undefeated at the Disney Duals. Trice is on a roll heading into Fargo and he is one of Michigan's best bets for a national title in Junior freestyle and greco.
4) Marcel Dubose (Junior 215) - Marcel is a big, strong, athletic 215lber who can wrestle with all the best guys in the country. He is a reigning 2x Fargo Greco all-american, finishing 2nd two years ago in Cadets and 7th last year in Juniors. Marcel also went undefeated earlier this summer at the Disney Duals and he is a 2x Michigan high school state champ. Marcel is an exciting guy to watch in greco/freestyle and he should be be in the hunt when the medal rounds come around.
5) Mark Weber (Junior 130) - Mark has competed and had sucess in most of the top freestyle tournaments over the past few years. He was a Cadet national runner up two summers ago in Fargo and he took 4th last spring at the Fila Cadet nationals. He also took 2nd at the Western Regional, losing two 1pt periods to Iowa star Nate Moore. Weber has tangled with all the top dogs in his weight and has shown that he can compete on the national scene. He made it deep into the tournament last year in his 1st season as a Junior, ending just a couple rounds shy of being an all-american. Weber, who will be gunning for his 4th high school state title next year, recently had a good showing at Disney as well, ending with just one loss. If Mark wrestles as he has in the past, he should still be in the hunt on the final day in Fargo, and he is Michigan's best bet in the Junior division.
6) Ben Bennett (Junior 171) - Bennett, arguably Michigan's best all-around grappler, has proven himself as one of the nation's best folkstyle wrestlers. He dominated the best competetion Michigan has to offer this high school season, scoring wins over state champs Jacob Burge, Cam Simaz, and Jordan Richardson. Ben also showed that he can compete on the national scene by placing at the very tough Super 32 tournament last fall. He has spent the last month training with the US's best freestyle wrestlers and coaches at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to work on his freestyle game and it will be interesting to see how much he has improved. Ben might be Michigan's most talented athlete competing in Fargo, and with his recent training he is a strong threat to turn some heads at Fargo.
8) Travis Pettengill (Junior 215) - Travis exploded onto the scene in Michigan this year as he went undefeated throughout the high school season, defeating Dubose twice during the regular season. He then knocked off 2x state champ Dan Craig of Allegan in the D2 state finals. Pettengill is a talented freestyle/greco wrestler as he was a cadet all-american last summer in Fargo. He had only one loss at the Disney Duals, which came in a close match to a nationally ranked wrestler from Ohio. Pettengill also recently placed at 215lbs at the Northeast Regional in freestyle. If Pettengill's sucess continues, we may have 2 all-americans at 215 with him and Dubose.
9) Cody Marcicki (Junior 135) - We are not for certain as to whether or not Cody will be wrestling in Fargo, but if he does he will have a great shot at making the podium. He has a good amount of Fargo expeirence, placing 3rd two years ago as a Cadet. He was also 2nd at Fila Cadet nationals two summers ago. Cody, who is headed for Minnesota next fall, also had a good showing at the Junior duals, losing only one bout where he had to default due to injury, leading prior to his default.
10) Jacob Burge (Junior 160) - Burge won his first high school title this year in dominant fashion and has been on a tear since. He won the Brute Adidas Nationals, claiming outstanding wrestler along the way, won the Ohio Tournament of Champions, took 2nd at freestyle states, losing a close battle to Bennett, and recently went 6-1 at the Junior Duals. His lone loss at the duals came to returning Junior All-American Justin Pullin of North Carolina,
Regional. Although Johnson does not have a great deal of freestyle expierence, he does have a ton of national expierence and sucess. His style fits well with the new FILA rules because he holds position well, controls the mat, and goes hard for three periods. David will be competing in one of the tougher weight classes of the tournament, however, he knows how to wrestle at the highest levels and could easliy last deep into the tournament.
13) Dan Osterman (Junior 119) - Osterman is flying a little under the national radar heading into Fargo, however, he is a very talented wrestler and had some success last year as a cadet, winning 5 matches and ending one round away from being an all-american. He has been sidelined much of the summer with a wrist injury but Danny is usally well trained and he should be ready to rock.
