2023 US Marine Corps USAW 16U Junior National Championships

2023 Who's Number One Golden Ticket Tracker

See the wrestlers at Fargo who received a Golden Ticket to 2023 Who's Number One.

Jul 20, 2023 by Jon Kozak

2023 Who's Number One Golden Ticket Tracker

Fargo is one of the biggest stages in all of high school wrestling featuring incredibly deep brackets filled with the best wrestlers in the country. On top wrestlers battling for a national title, a few of the “best of the best” are in the hunt for a “Golden Ticket” to Who’s Number One. This event, held in September, will feature the top two wrestlers at every weight competing for the top spot in the country. As the action unfolds in Fargo, we’ll update you in this article on all of the wrestlers who earned an invitation to wrestle at this year’s Who’s Number One event.

Live Now · Jul 15-22, 2023, 3:00 PM UTC

2023 US Marine Corps USAW 16U Junior National Championships

Leo DeLuca, 120 lbs

There were 11 ranked wrestlers registered in this absolutely loaded bracket and Leo DeLuca left no doubt winning a Fargo title! DeLuca was ultra-impressive defeating 4-straight ranked wrestlers to bring home his stop sign - Jackson Blum (10-1), JJ Peace (10-0), Ethan Rivera (10-0), and Beric Jordan (12-0). This will be DeLuca's second appearance at Who's Number One - he wrestled at the event in 2021 where he lost 15-7 bout to Braeden Davis. Wrestling better than ever, DeLuca will look for redemption at this year's Who's Number One.

Leo DeLuca's win over Beric Jordan in the Fargo finals:

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Jax Forrest, 126 lbs

Up until the finals, it appeared Jax Forrest was going to cruise to Who's Number One. Forrest had put together 6 straight tech falls to make the finals but met a game opponent in JJ McComas-Rogers. McComas-Rogers got out to a 4-0 lead early in the first until Forrest was able to get his offense going. In the closing 4 minutes of the match, Forrest scored 7 unanswered points to win 7-4. For his Fargo title, Forrest earns another his second straight trip to Who's Number One!

Jax Forrest's win over Nate Jesuroga at last year's Who's Number One event:

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Connor Mirasola, 195 lbs

#1 Connor Mirasola earned his Golden Ticket with maybe the most dominant performance of any wrestler in the tournament. Mirasola went 7-0 on his way to a title with 7 techs and outscored his opponents by a combined score of 71-0. In the finals, Mirasola put an exclamation point on his tournament by defeating #10 Jersey Robb, 10-0.

Mirasola's win over Jersey Robb in the Fargo finals:

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Cody Merrill, 220 lbs

Cody Merrill won his second-straight title Fargo title by going 6-0 with 6 techs and outscored his opponents by a combined score of 67-0. Merrill had been out of commission for most of the year due to injuries but is back and better than ever. After his dominance in Fargo, Merrill's debut at Who's Number One will be highly anticipated.

Merrill's win over Cole Mirasola in the Fargo finals:

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Morgan Turner, 94 lbs

Morgan Turner will be representing Team USA at the U17 World Championships in just 2 weeks, however, that didn’t stop her from competing at Fargo this week. In fact, Turner met fellow world team member Jaclyn Bouzakis in the finals of the 16U 94-pound bracket. In their finals match, Turner came out on top in a tight, 2-2 decision. With that win, Turner earned her Golden Ticket and created higher expectations for both her and Bouzakis at worlds in just a few weeks.

Turner’s win over Bouzakis in the Fargo finals:

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Clare Booe, 112 lbs

Clare Booe earned her Golden Ticket in dominant fashion winning the Junior 112-pound bracket while going 6-0 with 2 pins, 4 techs, and outscoring her opponents by a combined 63-7. On top of the dominance, Booe defeated 3 different ranked wrestlers - #5 Zao Estrada (by pin), #8 Gigi Bragg (10-0), and #23 Riley Rayome (12-1). Booe showed herself as a force to be reckoned with this week in Fargo and will be exciting to watch at Who’s Number One.

Booe’s win over Estrada in the Fargo finals:

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Cadence Diduch, 132 lbs

Cadence Diduch is a Fargo veteran and brought home her third stop-sign this week after winning the junior 132-pound bracket. In her 6 matches, Diduch outscored her opponents by a combined score of 52-2 while ending 4 matches by tech. Along with being a Fargo vet, this will be Diduch’s third appearance at Who’s Number One. She defeated Zao Estrada in 2021 by fall but fell to Everest Leydecker in a high scoring, 8-8 match last year.

Hear from Cadence Diduch after her Fargo title:

Eduarda Rodrigues, 152 lbs

Eduarda Rodrigues defeated three nationally ranked wrestlers on her way to winning a loading 152-pound junior bracket. In subsequent matches, Rodrigues defeated #26 Rebecca Strong (10-0) in the quarters, #4 Mishell Rebisch (By fall) in the semis, and #7 Stella Steigler (13-8) in the finals. With the Golden Ticket, Rodrigues will now likely face off against U17 world team member Jasmine Robinson at this year’s Who’s Number One.

Rodrigues' win in the Fargo finals over Steigler: