Insider - Fargo 'Stock Up' Report

Jul 23, 2013 by Willie Saylor

Insider - Fargo Stock Up Report

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Insider - Fargo Stock Up Report
Willie Saylor, Editor

Every year Fargo features breakout performances and Cinderella stories that put previous unknown or under-appreciated talent on the path to stardom. This is why kids flock here: for a chance to compete against the best, to be put on full display in front of college coaches, for rankings and recognition, and to get a college scholarship.

And the best feel-good story of the week was Kyle Gliva (MN), who braved one of the deepest brackets and shocked us all by reaching the finals. But as he’s signed with North Dakota State, he’s off the market. I also thought Zach Kelly (PA) wrestled an amazing tournament. But he’s committed to Bucknell. And who could forget Markus Scheidel, who was low ranked throughout his senior season, willing his way to a title with a second period comeback. Columbia got a good one in him.

I’ll limit the list of ‘stock up’ guys to unsigned wrestlers that really had breakout performances. You won’t see, for instance, Jered Cortez or Aaron Pico. We all knew how good these guys were already.

Unsigned Graduates
Ali Nasser, CA - 5th at 138: This kid looked great at JR Duals, and backed it up with another sterling performance in Fargo. He lost in the first round, 10-6 to Jo Jo Smith (OK), and then reeled off 7 straight wins including one over PA Champ Tyler Smith. His only other loss was a close one (6-2) to Joey McKenna (NJ).

Blayne Briceno, CA - Runner-Up at 145: Briceno hit a personal high this summer. He first won both styles at Western JR’s. Then he reached both finals in Fargo, beating highly ranked guys such as Mitch Bengston (MN) and Grant Leeth (MO). He’s a real scrapper. I like his college potential.

College coaches should be on the phone with these guys yesterday.

Class of 2014
Ryan Blees, ND - Champ at 152: Blees absolutely set the Fargodome on fire. In the tournaments deepest weight class, Blees used his grit and non-stop motor to fuel him through a grueling bracket. In my preview, I picked Blees to win it. So it wasn’t entirely a surprise. But it was a confirmation of how far he’s come. And the individual bouts and details are more telling than just the title itself. Blees’ last five opponents were all ranked in the Top 10 nationally.

Brian Rossi, IL - Runner-Up at 113: Rossi had two losses in FS; one in the finals and another (6-4) to #1-Fleetwood. At times, including in the finals, Rossi was hitting high level stuff and putting moves on top of moves.

Josh Terao, HI - 7th at 120: After beating returning AA Assad (OH) and Two-time Champ Tommy Thorn (MN) back-to-back, Terao was in the driver’s seat to reach the finals. He would lose his next to (to Brock (OK)and Bresser (OR)) and fall to the 7th place bout. But who could blame him? Those were his 15th and 16th matches of the week after winning Greco. Get on this kid. He’s legit.

Kyle Akins, IL - 3rd at 120: Akins lost just one bout: to Nathan Tomasello (OH). In the match for 3rd, he beat the same opponent (Tommy Pawleski) he beat in state finals. This kid’s on the way up.

PT Garcia, CO - Runner-Up at 126: As was the case in Fargo (he lost in the 2nd round to Cody Karstetter), Garcia’s results are a little uneven. But he won three matches in a row against ranked opponents (Pengilly (CA), Fausz (KY), and Shearer (ND)), to reach the title match against Cortez. Keep an eye on him going forward.

Gary Wayne Harding, OK - 3rd at 132: Coming in to high school with a multitude of youth titles, Harding was pegged as the next big thing. And that looked to be the case when he reached the Fargo finals opposite Aaron Pico (CA) in 2011. Two inconsistent years in which he took losses to little-regarded talent, Harding’s stock dropped. But, with full mullet, he’s back. He teched two ranked foes at National Duals and went 9-1 in the dome with wins over Zac Hall (MI) and Fredy Stroker (IA).

Vinny Corsaro, IN - 6th at 152: A two-time state runner-up that’s been in the national rankings for a while now, Corsaro turned in an impressive performance. He opened with a first round win over Keilen Torres (OK) and later beat both Jon Jay Chavez (ID) and Darick Lapaglia (MO).

Xavier Montalvo, IL - DNP at 160: Montalvo actually gave Scheidel (OH), who went on to win the title, his only loss. I thought Montalvo looked solid, especially considering he was just a bout away from placing and captured runner-up honors in Greco as well.

Christian Stackhouse, NJ - 3rd at 160: Here’s a kid who didn’t even qualify for the state tournament. Stackhouse went undefeated at National Duals with a win over nationally ranked Ryan Preisch (PA) . He dropped his first round match to a solid Booby Reece (WA), then rallied to climb all the way back to 3rd with wins over Kimball Bastian (UT), Seth Leigel (WI), and Logan Marcicki (MI). This after wrestling GR as well. Frankly, I don’t know what his ceiling is, but I’m going to find out. College coaches should too.

The Dixon Brothers, OK - Andrew was the only one of the triplets to place last year. This year, Joel and Lance did. While they’ve always been highly regarded, they haven’t had a whole lot of national competition to from which to gauge their ability. And nothing quite confirms your arrival like a Fargo medal.
Lance (170) took 6th with a win over Top 3 Nick Wanzek (MN). Joel (195) beat four ranked wrestlers with a runner-up finish to Mitch Sliga (IN).
Andrew went 4-2 with the misfortune of running in to the eventual champ (Pixely, MO) and 3rd place finisher (Lehmann, ND) before he could reach the round robin.

Derek White, OK - 3rd at 195: The Dixon Brothers teammate at Edmond North, White has been on a tear. He upset nationally ranked Nathan Marek in the state finals. In Fargo, White beat three ranked opponents, another returning placer, and lost to just Sliga (IN) in a 3rd place finish. Better yet, go watch his gritty match with McClure (GA).

Marcus Harrington, IA - 6th at 195: A State Champion last year, Harrington beat both Cali Champ, Jeramy Sweany, and Chance McClure (GA), who has been on a roll.

Chance McClure, GA - 7th at 195: Perhaps no wrestler has had a better, full breakout summer than McClure, who bumped up to beat Cali Champ, and FloNationals Champ Derrick Jones in an undefeated National Duals run. Then he won Fargo GR. In FS, he had a big win over Maryland’s Dan Hawkins before dropping matches to Harrington and White and settling for 7th.

Underclassmen Junior FS
Elijah Oliver, TN - Champ at 113: Oliver just got in to the national rankings in the last edition before Fargo. Other than that, most people outside of Tennessee had never heard of him. And although Cinderella stories are a norm in Fargo, it’s a rarity that someone this unknown wins a JR FS crown.
Both on the results page and on the mat, Oliver impressed. He beat four ranked kids in a row and looked great doing it, using athleticism and technique to get the job done. Big future for this Jr.-to-be.

Kaid Brock, OK - Runner-Up at 120: I’ve always been high on Brock, but he was amazing in Fargo. The embodiment of the OK State, slickish low-single style, Brock is a jitterbug from space. Outside of the final in which he lost to Tomasello (OH), he was entirely in control in matches he won against Sean Cannon (NV), Josh Terao (HI), and Tommy Pawleski (IL).

Vincenzo Joseph, PA - 7th at 138: Gotta give a shout out to this kid. What a warrior. He placed in Fargo last year at 106. Comes back a year later up 32 lbs and, outside of his match with Pico, was right in the think of things, including wins over last year’s 3rd placer Ronnie Gentile (NJ) and PA State Champ Tyler Smith.

Underclassmen Cadet FS
Brent Jones, MN - 3rd at 94: While everyone knew that Gfeller and Gomez are the ‘next big things,’ Jones has consistently proven he belongs in that conversation. He went 3rd in both styles to back up a double 3rd at FILA’s.

Danny Vega, AZ - Champ at 100: Vega looked brilliant in reaching the finals of both styles. The kid is the real deal. Look for him to be a staple in the rankings in due time.

Taylor LaMont, UT - Champ at 120: Lamont keeps getting better and better. Leg attacks, handfighting, winning positions, Lamont dominated the pace and the action. Big things for this ahead for this kid.

Gabe Townsell, IL - Runner-Up at 120: Townsell dropped three matches on the week, but he hit primetime with a double finals performance. He has both the athleticism and the grit to be among the country’s best going forward.

Hayden Hidlay, PA - Runner-Up at 126: Although he’s been known as an up-and-comer in his home state, Hidlay didn’t have much of a national resume. He does now after reaching finals in both styles only to lose to Valencia in each.

Beau Breske, WI - Champ at 170: Most insiders knew this kid was good. But what he did was put on a display everyone was talking about. With double titles, Breske gave up just 1 point across both styles. Currently ranked #23 on the Sophomore Class Big Board, he’ll certainly be moving up, up, up.

Jake Marnin, IA - Champ at HWT: Marnin won the Cadet Triple Crown. And get this: he’s J.V. on his high school team! There couldn’t have been a better way to get college recruiters to notice him.