Cadet World Team Trials is going to be extra spicy.

This year’s team is guaranteed to be tough with the amount of talent spread throughout the weight classes. Like any other year, there are a good deal of matches we can’t wait to see for the first time and others we can’t wait to witness once again this weekend in Akron, Ohio. 

Watch Cadet World Team Trials Live

June 1-3 | Akron, Ohio

55kg: Take your pick 

Have you seen the list of contenders at this weight?! We can randomly select just about any matchup in this division and come out with nothing but ashes left from the amount of flames it produced. When I look at this weight, I see returning world team member Robert Howard as a favorite over the field but not by a lot.

Here is the list of contenders. Any combination of these guys meeting on the mat will be a must-watch.

Caden McCrary, GA

Caleb Henson, GA

Caleb Rathjen, IA 

Dominick Serrano, CO 

Evan Buchanan, VA

Gavin Brown, OH 

Jesse Mendez, IN 

Joey Cruz, CA 

Julian Tagg, OH

Maximo Renteria, CA

Noah Surtin, IL 

Robert Howard, NJ

Ryan Crookham, PA

Teague Travis, MO

Trevor Mastrogiovanni, NJ

Vincent Zerban, MO

Aaron Nagao, CA

Nick Masters, GA

92kg: Aj Ferrari vs. Braxton Amos

Oh my damn, grab that popcorn. Extra butter. This match has the potential to be the best one of the entire tournament. For each one of these guys, the word “flawless” applies to their recent records. Both won Ironman last season, both have Fargo stop signs in their trophy cases, and both have proven to be pretty unbeatable. 

The X-factor here is that Amos is coming down in weight. Will his conditioning be the same after the weight cut? Ferrari completely embodies the name. Like the car, he is high paced and will go from zero to 100, real quick. It’s a lot to keep up with for any opponent. 

Amos, who is coming down from wrestling 220lb, could certainly use that to his advantage. He will certainly be the bigger of the two and has shown off his offense, which features big throws, in the past. 

This will be a huge match, and should they meet in the finals, we will get to see it twice.

Full Cadet WTT Preview

60kg: Josh Saunders vs. Ryan Franco

This will be a rematch of the Fargo finals from last year. Saunders controlled the match from start to finish, forcing Franco to get desperate in the last few seconds before Saunders won 8-0. The Missouri state champ has shown tremendous growth as of late. He placed third among college competition at the U.S. Open and in my mind has the edge over the field here. Franco will certainly be revenge-minded and bring a different tactic to the match this time should they meet up.

65kg: Kevon Davenport vs. Carson Manville, Victor Voinovich, or Bryce Andonian

This weight class has some absolute hitters too. Let’s start with the first matchup listed. Davenport vs. Manville is intriguing to me because of the style clash. Manville is a stand-and-bang, hand-fight type of kid who stays in great position and is tough to score on. 

Davenport is basically the complete opposite. He’s got movement for days and will go ghost hand and gone on a guy faster than most guys can react to it. 

Now let’s throw the other two in there. Andonian took a 10-6 loss to Manville last year so seeing that again could be competitive. Voinovich is a tough young guy. He had a pretty solid season last year with a second-place finish at the Beast of the East. I'm looking forward to seeing him in the mix.

Watch Saunders vs. Franco in last year's Fargo finals:

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80kg: Julian Ramirez vs. Carter Starocci or Gerrit Nijenhuis

There could be some tussling here. Ramirez could be the guy to take this spot after battling with Travis Wittlake here last year and nearly making the finals. Starocci is the real deal and has taken out plenty of top-level competition so far in his career. He won Fargo titles in both freestyle and Greco last year and is going to be tough for Ramirez to handle. 

Although I’d love to see Starocci vs. Ramirez, I kind of want to see what happens in a Pennsylvania state semifinal rematch between Starocci and Nijenuis. There was plenty of controversy in that match last year at states where Nijenhuis nearly pulled off the upset. Be on the lookout for these guys to mix it up. 

P.S. Patrick Kennedy, we know you’re at this weigh too, and in no way should he be taken lightly.

51kg: Carter Young vs. Matt Ramos

This could be a potential final. Both guys were runners-up in Fargo last year. As Willie noted in his preview, these guys are the front-runners to claim the spot. Young has certainly made gains that will make it tough for anyone to defeat him. Look for a high-paced match with plenty of scoring if they meet up.