The 145 Junior Freestyle Fargo Bracket Is Going To Be Electric

The 145 Junior Freestyle Fargo Bracket Is Going To Be Electric

The 145 pounds junior freestyle weight class may be the most electric bracket at Fargo this year. We dig into who's registered so far and highlight all the hammers.

Jul 10, 2017 by Andrew Spey
The 145 Junior Freestyle Fargo Bracket Is Going To Be Electric
Only about half the total competitors have officially registered for Fargo, but already a shedload of hammers have signed up. Even with but a fraction of the states' rosters made public, the 145 pound weight class of the junior freestyle division looks to be one of the most electric brackets in the tournament. 

Between the wrestlers listed on FLOARENA and the rosters released by Pennsylvania and Illinois, there are over 50 competitors accounted for, including six top 20 wrestlers according to the 2017-17 Flo National High School Rankings

That number should double, at least in total wrestlers. In the meantime, let's check out who we know we can expect in this loaded weight class. 

null
WATCH FARGO LIVE! | SCHEDULE

No. 1 Sammy Sasso, Pennsylvania 

The Nazareth native placed in both the freestyle and greco cadet tournaments at last year's Fargo. Between now and then he's also won a Pennsylvania state championship, the prestigious Walsh Ironman, and a FloNationals belt.

​You can watch Sasso win his 2017 FloNationals title over Brock Wilson in the video below.

No. 2 Brayton Lee, Indiana

The two-time Indiana state champion will be looking to run the gauntlet and take the No. 1 ranking in the country. Not only is Lee one of the best 145-pounders in the country, but he also sits at No. 16 on the Senior Big Board. All eyes will also be on Lee because he is currently uncommitted. However, in recent days the Fargo All-American has received visits from Nebraska, Oklahoma State, and Minnesota. 

No. 4 Alex Lloyd, Minnesota

South Dakota State commit Alex Lloyd will be looking to pick up his first Fargo freestyle national title next week. The two-time Minnesota state champion already has a Fargo Cadet Greco national title under his belt, but he will need to navigate his way through a loaded bracket if he hopes to raise a stop sign this year. 


No. 4 (152) Anthony Artalona, Florida

A Florida state champ at 152 (hence the ranking at 152), Artalona will be dropping back down to 145 to defend his junior freestyle Fargo crown he won in 2016. Artalona also took third in the greco tournament that year. 

You can watch Artalona beat fellow Fargo entrant, Justin McCoy at the NHSCA Junior Nationals in the video below. Artalona would later win the finals match against Kasper McIntosh of Indiana. 


No. 5 Brock Mauller, Missouri 

A state champ from Columbia, Missouri, Mauller trained with the same club that produced Missouri superstar J'Den Cox, among other studs. The No. 5 ranked high schooler will be a contender to take home a title in Fargo. 

​Watch Mauller beat Cole Martin of the University of Wisconsin at the UWW Junior World Team Trials held last June in the video below.


No. 6 Brock Hardy, Utah

Hot on the heels of Mauller in the rankings is another Brock, this time of the Utah Hardy variety. Hardy won the cadet freestyle tournament at Fargo at 138 pounds last year, and was runner-up in the greco-roman division at the same weight. 

No. 9 (152) Justin McCoy, Pennsylvania

McCoy is 2017 PA state champ who finished fifth in freestyle at the cadet level during his last visit to the Fargodome. McCoy's ranked in the top 10 up at 152, but if he don't have any trouble making 145, he will be a major problem for the rest of the bracket.

No. 12 (152) Cameron Amine, Michigan

One of many wrestling Amines from Michigan, Cameron is also ranked up at 152. He, like McCoy, will be a handful down at 145. In Fargo in 2016 Amine placed 7th in freestyle and 4th in greco-roman, both at 138 pounds.

No. 14 (138) Tony Mendoza, California

Wrestling out of Selma, CA, Mendoza is a proven veteran of the renowned Central Valley area of California. A state placer in the one-class California State Championships, Mendoza will be making his Fargo debut. 

Honorable Mention

Whether they're on the bubble, dark horses, or under the radar, the following wrestlers have all proven themselves to be dangerous competitors who could cause some major disruptions in the bracket. Don't be surprised if any of them find their way onto the podium at the end of the third day of junior freestyle competition.

Andrew Garr, Ohio
Ethan Krause, Maryland
Isaiah Mora, California
Jake Hart, South Carolina
Kendall Coleman, Illinois
Logan Jensen, Utah
Logan Meek, Utah
Peter Enos, Nevada
Ryan Leisure, Iowa
Tristan Zamilpa, California
William Kaldes, Pennsylvania
Zachary Barnes, Iowa


Get all of the hottest FloWrestling content!

Sign up for the FloWrestling newsletter for instant access to: breaking news, live events, results, rankings, archived matches and more!