Here we go. The Kickoff to Fargo Week for the second year is Cadet Freestyle.

Listed before each weight are the Cadet Champs from five years ago. Just check out those names!

It tells you what kind of talent the Cadet Nationals attract, and what they go on to become.

See, for instance, the finals at 126, where Zahid beat Hayden Hidlay. Just five years later, both are already NCAA finalists.

Or the finals at 160, where Mark Hall beat Kamal Bey. Both went on to win Junior WORLD titles. Hall in FS, Bey in GR.

With the field being composed mostly of incoming FR and SO, you might not know all the contenders, but rest assured you will in time. For many, the path to stardom starts here.

88lbs. - 2013 Final: Gavin Teasdale, PA tf. Zach Murillo, CT, 14-4

Top Contenders:

Khlyer Carstarphen, IA - Iowa FS 3rd

Shane Corrigan, WI - WI FS State Cahmp

Caden Dobbins, PA - PA FS 8th

Mason Gehloff, MN - Northern Plains Champ

Jordan Habben, KS

Troy Hohman, PA - PA FS 5th

Andrew Martin, WI - WI FS 3rd

Brandon O'Brien, IA - Returning 6th

Camron Phetxoumphone, IA - Iowa FS 2nd

Sam Smith, OK

Logan Valledor, CA - CA FS Champ

Jacob Van Dee, PA - PA FS 3rd

Jore Volk, MN - Northern Plains 3rd

Marlon Yarbrough, OH

Commentary: Valledor teched Corrigan at Duals. O'Brien teched Iowa's other two entries at FS states. Neither PA FS finalist is registered. Van Dee (3rd), Hohman (5th), and Dobbins (8th) placed in that bracket. 

Gehloff teched Van Dee at Duals. 

Willie's Picks: 1. Gehloff   2. Volk   3. O'Brien   4. Valledor

94lbs. - 2013 Final: Kaden Gfeller, OK tf. Austin Gomez, IL, 10-0

Top Contenders:

Oscar Alvarez, WA

Ben Aranda, IL - Central Regional Champ

Noah Clawson, PA - State FS Champ

Carter Fousek, IA - Northern Plains Champ

Lucas Johnson, WI - Central Regionals 2nd

Tryon Kaess, WA - State FS Champ

Joseph Kosenko, CA - State FS 3rd

Maxximus Martinez, CA - Cadet Trials Runner-Up

Zack Mattin, OH - Western Regional Champ

Kai Owen, FL - Southeast Regional Champ

Gavin Owens, OH - State FS Champ

Jace Rhodes, IA - State FS 2nd

Commentary: Maxximus Martinez was a revelation in Akron. He reached the finals with a good win over Drake Ayala. He and Fousek, who went undefeated at Duals, should be considered the favorites. 

Kaess beat Alvarez at FS States. Alvarez was undefeated at Duals. 

Mattin was 2-0 vs. Morris at Junior Duals. Both he and Johnson went 2-2 in Akron. 

Willie's Picks:  1. Fousek   2. Martinez   3. Aranda   4. Mattin

100lbs. - 2013 Final: Danny Vega, AZ fall. Matt Schmitt, MO, 1:48

Top Contenders:

Cale Anderson, WI - Northern Plains Champ

Jackson Arrington, PA - State FS Runner-Up

Alex Almeyda, NJ - Cadet Trials 4th

Blaine Brenner, WI - Northern Plains Runner-Up

Lane Cowell, IA - State FS Champ

Kenny Crosby, CO - Western Regional Champ

Carter Dibert, PA - NE Regional Runner-Up

Jager Eisch, WI - State FS Champ

Richard Fedalen, MD - Northeast Regional Champ

Peyton Fenton, OH 

Kenndyl Mobley, WA - Western Regional 3rd

Stevo Poulin, NY - Cadet Trials 3rd

Zeth Romney, CA - State FS Champ

Kyle Rowan, OH - Cadet Trials Runner-Up

Robert Sagaris, OH - Central Regional 2nd

Sean Seefeldt, OH - Central Regional Champ

Cade Siebrecht, IA - State FS Runner-Up

Casey Swiderski, MI - Cadet Trials 6th

Rocco Welsh, PA - State FS Champ

Blake West, MN - Northern Plains 3rd

Jordan Williams, OK - Cadet Trials 5th

Commentary: Rowan was a runner-up in Akron to national #1 Richie Figueroa. He's the favorite here and leads a strong Ohio contingent at the weight.

Almeyda lost some matches that I think he shouldn't have in Akron, and I think he makes adjustments. It was his first time on a major stage.

Anderson has a quick turn around as was our Greco World Team Member competing in Croatia last week. He beat Brenner in NP Regional finals. Eisch beat Brenner in FS State finals.

Crosby beat Mobley in Western finals. 

Seefeldt beat Sagaris in Central finals and Fenton at a state qualifier.

Welsh beat Arrington in state freestyle finals and was undefeated in Duals.

Willie's Picks:  1. Welsh   2. Almeyda   3. Rowan   4. Poulin

106lbs. - 2013 Final: Jack Mueller, TX tf. Andrew Nieman, OK, 10-0

Top Contenders:

Drake Ayala, IA - Returning Champ

Stevie Ray Barnes, IA - Northern Plains 3rd

Dylan Chappell, PA - State FS Runner-Up

Tommy Curran, IL - Cadet Trials 6th

Gavin Drexler, WI - State FS Champ

Paul Garcia, NE - Western Regional Champ

Josh Koderhandt, IL - State FS Champ

James Latona, AL - SE Regional Champ

Yusief Lillie, WA - Returning 4th

Jacob Mann, MO - Cadet Trials 4th

Isaiah Medina, CA - State FS Champ

Nicolar Rivera, WI - State FS Champ

Danny Wask, NJ

Commentary: Ayala and Lillie should be considered the favorites. But there is some great young talent here and I think the bracket gets all kinds of busted up.

At Duals, Drexler beat Medina, Medina beat Wask, and Wask beat Drexler. Garcia beat Guida, and his only loss was Creese. Mann was undefeated with wins over Barnes, Wask, and Mobley.

Koderhandt teched his way through FS States including Akron placer Curran in the finals. 

I think Chappell will be the big surprise here. And pay attention to the unorthodox Nicolar Rivera.

Willie's Picks:  1. Lillie   2. Garcia   3. Ayala   4. Chappell

113lbs. - 2013 Final: Daton Fix, OK dec. Mitch McKee, MN, 12-9

Top Contenders:

Oscar Aranda, CA - State FS Runner-Up

Caden Auch, MO

Nick Babin, NJ 

Jakason Burks, NE - Returning 8th

Daniel Cardenas, CO - Western Regional 3rd

Cooper Flynn, TN - Returning 5th

Hunter Garvin, IA - State FS Champ

Alejandro Herrera, PA - State FS Champ

Nick Kayal, NJ - NE Regional Runner-Up

Garett Lautzenheiser, OH

Mitchell Mesenbrink, WI

Nico Nardone, NJ 

Kurtis Phipps, PA - State FS Champ

Chase Randall, WA - Western Regional Champ

Koa Ruiz, CA - State FS Champ

Sheldon Seymour, PA - Returning 3rd

Gary Steen, PA - Pan Am Trials 3rd

Hayden Taylor, IA - State FS Runner-Up

Nain Vasquez, IL - State FS Champ

Cael Woods, OH - State FS Champ

Carter Young, OK - Returning Runner-Up

Commentary: Flynn beat Young on the backside of Akron 51kg bracket.

Two PA 106 hammers - Herrera and Seymour, have moved up to 113. Herrera was my no-brainer pick at 106, but I'm not sure how he'll do up. Seymour's only loss in Akron was to Rowan, 4-4. Phipps and Steen give PA a great contingent at the weight.

I really like Burks here. Along with Young and Flynn, he's the most proven up at 113.

Randall beat Cardenas at Westerns but had just a so-so duals.

I think the legitimate title threat that most will overlook is Vasquez.

Willie's Picks:   1. Burks   2. Flynn   3. Young   4. Herrera

120lbs. - 2013 Final: Taylor LaMont, UT dec. Gabe Townsell, IL, 11-7

Top Contenders:

Dom Baker, VA

Matt Bianchi, WI - State FS Champ

Nico Bolivar, IL - State FS Champ

Gavin Brown, OH - Central Regional Champ

Christian Cabuag, CA - State FS Champ

Ryan Crookham, PA - Cadet Trials 4th

Noah Horst, TN - SE Regional 3rd

Peyten Keller, OH - State FS Runner-Up

Conor Knopick, NE - Northern Plains 3rd

Caleb Lemmons, FL - Southeast Regional Champ

Luke Lucerne, PA - State FS Champ

Brock McMillen, PA - NE Regional Champ

Caleb Rathjen, IA - Returning 7th

Maximo Renteria, CA - Cadet Trials 7th

Teague Travis, MO - Cadet Trials 5th

Jesse Ybarra, AZ - Pan Am Trials Champ

Commentary: Great group here with #4-Crookham leading the way. His two losses in Akron were to Mastrogiovanni and Tagg, both Juniors. He beat Travis Teague 7-3.

Travis turned heads in Akron when he beat two Fargo Champs (Zeke Escalera, Dylan Ragusin) and a FloNationals Champ (Dom Serrano). Though he did just take a a couple losses at Duals. 

I'm super high on Maximo Renteria and he had outstanding Akron, beating Fargo Champs Ragusin and Surtin as well as Ybarra, with losses to just Crookham (7-2), and Serrano.

McMillen is also a strong contender as a PA state runner-up and FloNats Champ.

Lemmons beat Horst at SE Regional. Rathjen beat Knopick and Burks at Northern Plains.

Willie's Picks:  1. Crookham   2. Renteria   3. McMillen   4. Rathjen

126lbs. - 2013 Final: Zahid Valencia, CA tf. Hayden Hidlay, PA, 12-1

Top Contenders:

Robert Avila, IA - State FS Runner-Up

Reid Ballantyne, MN

Mick Burnett, OH - Returning 6th

Roman Carrillo, CA - State FS Champ

Josh Cherba, WI - Central Regional Runner-Up

Cody Chittum, TN - NE Regional Champ

Ryan Dolezal, WI - Northern Plains 3rd

Julian Farber, GA

Jack Ganos, WI

Caleb Henson, GA

Wyatt Henson, PA - State FS Champ

Jesse Mendez, IN

Luke Odom, IL

Joey Olivieri, NJ

Logan Ours, OH - NE Regional 3rd 

Scott Robertson, UT - State FS Champ

Isaac Salas, CA - Western Region Runner-Up

Dominick Serrano, CO - Cadet Trials 6th

Chanz Shearer, PA 

Matt Singleton, GA

Vance VomBaur, CO

Zack Witmer, PA

Vinny Zerban, IL - Returning 5th

Commentary: A really young, unproven weight. One of my personal favorites of the Sophomore class is Vinny Zerban. He's taken a few losses recently, but I look for a bounce back here. He beat Salas in Western Regional finals.

Serrano was a runner-up last year to Ryan Sokol (injured) at 120. 

Mendez, an incoming freshman, is also a solid choice. But he too has had (as to be expected from a youngster) some blips in consistency. 

Joey Olivieri was a Jersey state champ. He's darn good, but with limited FS experience and up from 106 last season.

Avila beat Teague Travis at Duals. Witmer beat Avila 

Chittum beat NJ state champ Olivieri and Ours to win NE Regional. 

Simma and VomBaur split matches at SE Regional.

Willie's Picks:  1. Serrano   2. Zerban   3. Burnett   4. Mendez

132lbs. - 2013 Final: Carter Happel, IA tf. Jon Ross, PA, 10-0

Top Contenders:

Josh Edmond, MI - Returning 8th

Ryan Franco, CA - Returning Runner-Up

Tristan Farnsworth, UT - State FS Champ

Derek Fields, OH - Central Regional Runner-Up

Jake Gaukel, IA - Southern Plains Champ

Fabian Lopez, IL - Central Regional Champ

Cade Lucio, CA - State FS Champ

Ben Monroe, IA - State FS Champ

Luke Odom, IL - State FS Champ

Trent Ragland, VA

Alex Ramirez, CA - Western Regional Champ

Isaiah Ramirez, CA - State FS Champ

Cole Ramos, WI - State FS Champ

Jaxon Smith, GA

Jared Simma, KS

Jack Thomsen, IA - Northern Plains 3rd

Charlie Treston, NJ - State FS Champ

Nick Vafiadis, VA

Robby Vaughn, WA

Commentary: Lopez dnp'd last year losing to Saunders and then Charlie Pickell in the blood round. I promise he won't dnp again. Dude's a hammer. In fact, with this field I think it's a two horse race with him and returning runner-up Franco.

Odom is wrestling really well - undefeated at Duals with all techs/pins. 

Keep an eye on Ramirez, a good Soph who missed weight at the Cali state tournament his FR year. Very intrigued by him.

Vafiadis is one of the top incoming freshmen. 

Willie's Picks:  1. Lopez   2. Franco   3. Edmond  4. Odom

138lbs. - 2013 Final: Isaiah White, IL dec. Chase Lemons, ID, 8-5

Top Contenders:

Jagger Condomitti, PA - NE Regional 3rd

Jackson Dean, DE - NE Regional Champ

Luke Geog, OH - State FS Champ

Marshall Hauk, NV

JT Hogan, PA

Damien Lopez, IL

Travis Mastrogiovanni, NJ - Returning 3rd

Marques McClorin, PA - NE Regional Runner-Up

Luke Mechler, WI - Northern Plains Champ

Jake Niffenegger, OH - Western Regional 3rd

Trey Schuck, IA - State FS Champ

Noah Villareal, IL

Commentary: Super young weight. Dean gave Condomitti his only loss at NE Regional, where Condimitti beat Blair's Shayne Van Ness twice. Dean beat McClorin in the finals of that bracket.

Mastro's only last last year came to Gabe Hixenbaugh in a bracket won by Josh Saunders.

I'm zoning in on Luke Geog. My early reaction to him is he could be the next big thing. So ya know, some expectations.

Willie's Picks:  1. Dean   2. Mastrogiovanni   3. Condomitti   4. Geog

145lbs. - 2013 Final: Mason Manville, NJ tf. Austin Kraisser, MD, 10-0

Top Contenders:

Reed Abbas, IA - State FS Champ

Cougar Anderson, OK

John Martin Best, WV - Pan Am Trials Runner-Up

Dylan Fishback, OH

Bryce Hepner, OH

Hassan Khan, CA - Northwest Regional Champ

Carson Manville, PA - Returning Champ

Tyler Okada, CA - State FS Runner-Up

Robert Paul Perez, CA - Western Regional Champ

Matthew Rodiguez, CA - State FS Runner-Up

Caden Rogers, PA - State FS Champ

Rylan Rogers, WA

Daniel Segura, OH - State FS Champ

Alex Strashinksy, NJ - NE Regional Runner-Up

Brant Whitaker, MO - Northern Plains Champ

Clayton Whiting, WI - Northern Plains 3rd

Joey Zargo, NJ - NE Regional Champ

Commentary: Returning Champ Carson Manville is back and barring something insane, will repeat.

Robert Paul Perez is the next big thing. Book it. Write it down. Tell ya momma. He's still in 8th grade, so the question is, is his time here yet? 

Zargo was undefeated in duals and is one of the best up-and-comers in New Jersey. He had a solid, yet not spectacular Akron, and I think we'll see him jump levels here. Whitaker gave Whiting his only loss at NP. 

Willie's Picks:  1. Manville   2. Perez   3. Zargo   4. Best

152lbs. - 2013 Final: Nick Reenan, TX dec. Trace Carello, IL, 4-0

Top Contenders:

Matt Arciuolo, PA

Tyler Badgett, CA - Western Regional Champ

Haydn Danals, OH - State FS Runner-Up

Charlie Darracott, GA

Brock Ellis, IN

Noah Ewen, OH - Central Regional Runner-Up

Caden Green, MO - State FS Champ

Tate Picklo, OK - Southern Plains Champ

Gavin Quiocho, WV - Central Regional Champ

Kaden Reetz, WI - Northern Plains Champ

Riley Van Scoy, WA - Northwest Regional Champ

Ethan Vetterick, IA - State FS Champ

Aiden Warren, IN

Commentary: Arciuolo beat Vetterick at Cadet Duals, in the process of going undefeated with all techs and pins. Quiocho beat Ewen in Central finals. 

Warren was 4-1 at Duals up at 160.

Willie's Picks:  1. Arciuolo   2. Badgett    3. Quiocho   4. Picklo

160lbs. - 2013 Final: Mark Hall, CO tf. Kamal Bey, IL, 10-0

Top Contenders:

Coy Cohenour, MT - Western Regional Champ

Jack Darrah, MO - Northern Plains Runner-Up

Andrew Donahue, OH

Evan Mortimer, PA - NE Regional 3rd

Anthony Morton, OH - State FS Champ

Connor O'Neill, NJ - NE Regional Champ

Isaiah Reinert, PA - State FS Runner-Up

Quayin Short, MN

Brady Spaeth, WI - Northern Plains 3rd

Clayton Ulrey, PA - State FS Champ

Duwayne Villalpando, KS - Southern Plains Champ

Max Wilner, CA - State FS Champ

Commentary: Perhaps the deepest Cadet weight in terms of legitimate title threats.

Cohenhour beat Darrah in Western Regional semi's. Short also beat Darrah in his undefeated run at Duals.

Villalpando's only loss at duals was to Penner up at 170.

Donahue is one of the best incoming freshmen in the country. 

Willie's Picks:  1. Ulrey   2. Villalpando   3. Cohenour   4. Short

170lbs. - 2013 Final: Beau Breske, WI tf. Bridger Barker, AZ, 10-0

Top Contenders:

Adrien Cramer, IL - Central Regional 3rd

Jake Evans, OH - FS State Champ 

Colton Hawks, MO - Folk Nats Champ

Alex Hernandez, CA - Western Regional Runner-Up

Greyden Penner, MO - Northern Plains Runner-Up

Seth Shumate, OH - State FS 3rd

Sam Skillings, WI - Northern Plains Runner-Up

Kodiak Stephens, CA - State FS Runner-Up

Luke Stout, PA

Ben Vandalia, OH - State FS Runner-Up

Sage Walker, IA - Northern Plains Champ

Commentary: Although he didn't place, Penner turned some heads in Akron with a tech of Top 5 Chris Foca. Hernandez beat Stephens in FS State finals. Hawks beat Skillings in the semi's of Folk Nats. Penner beat Hawks at FS States.

Sage Walker has been tearing everything up lately. Really anxious to get a look at him. I think he keeps it rolling.

I really like incoming FR Jake Evans. He beat Cramer at Central Regionals.

Willie's Picks:  1. Penner   2. Stout   3. Walker   4. Evans

182lbs. - 2013 Final: Justin Rivera, GA fall. Jack Harris, OH, 2:39

Top Contenders:

Justin Brindley, IA - Southern Plains Runner-Up

Rocky Elam, MO - Returning 6th 

Kyle Haas, KS - Returning 8th

Nathan Haas, CA - State FS Champ

Ethan Hatcher, OH - Cadet Trials 6th

Trett Joles, WI - State FS Champ

Chase Mielnik, PA - State FS Champ

Elliott Park, PA - NE Regional Runner-Up

John Poznanski, NJ

Evan Rosonke, IA - State FS Champ

Hunter Suter, NJ

Michael Tal-Shahar

Commentary: Elam won both the Northern Plains and Western Regionals. Suter's only loss at Duals came to Elam. Joles was 7-1 at Duals losing only to Adrien Cramer. Rosonke was 4-2 at Duals with a win over Mielnik. 

Kyle Haas didn't have a great Akron, but expect a bounce back here. He went on to go 7-0 at Cadet Duals with a win over IL FS State Champ LaBarbera and then 6-2 at Junior Duals. 

Hatcher had a great Akron, beating two Fargo AA's including last year's runner-up at 182, Jacob Logan.

Poznanski doesn't have much history in FS, but he was 3rd in NJ's state high school tournament.

Willie's Picks:  1. Elam   2. K. Haas   3. Poznanski   4. Hatcher

195lbs. - 2013 Final: Tyler Johnson, IL fall. Sammy Colbray, OR, 1:08

Top Contenders:

Gavin Carter, KS

Dorian Crosby, PA - NE Regional Champ

Kolby Franklin, PA  - Pan Am Trials 3rd

Kasten Grape, NE - Northern Plains Champ

David Harper, GA - Southeast Regional Champ

Shane Hansen, CA - State FS Champ

Brandon Hoselton, IL - State FS Champ

Peter Ming, CA - State FS Runner-Up

Brent Paulus, OH - State FS Champ

Noah Pettigrew, GA - Southeast Regional Champ

Colt Post, MO - State FS Champ

Commentary: Carter was on fire at duals, going undefeated and teching Pettigrew, Hoselton, and Striggow. For Pettigrew, it was his only loss as he also beat Hoselton, 14-12.

Franklin, an incoming freshman, went 2-2 in Akron and beat nationally ranked Jake Kaminski at Pan Am Trials.

Crosby beat Franklin 9-8 in State FS action and beat Hoselton at Duals.

It's really a great weight; there's a ton of talent for an upperweight of youngsters, including David Harper, who's one of my favorite incoming Freshmen. It was tough to decide on Top 4. I think Grape will clearly be in the mix as well. 

Willie's Picks:  1. Carter   2. Crosby   3. Franklin   4. Harper

220lbs. - 2013 Final: Lance Benick, MN tf. Michael Smith, MD, 12-0

Top Contenders:

Hunter Catka, PA - Cadet Trials Runner-Up

Justin Darter, CA - State FS Champ

Nathan Deasey, AZ

Caspian Grabowski, CA - Northwest Regional 3rd

Brencik Hoppe, IA - Northern Plains Runner-Up

Chase Horne, GA - Southeast Regional Runner-Up

Ryan Howard, PA - State FS Runner-Up

Chris Island, CA - Western Region Runner-Up

Braxton Mikesell, WA - Western Regional Champ

Daniel Striggow, MN

Riley Ucker, OH - State FS Champ

Commentary: Catka was the runner-up in Akron to Kerkvliet and a returning AA. He's the odds-on favorite though I really like Mikesell and Striggow as well. 

Catka teched Mikesell in Akron. Mikesell was 5-1 at Duals and beat Island in Western finals.

Island beat Deasey in Folk Nats finals. Darter and Island split matches this year.

Striggow went 5-1 at 195 at Duals, losing to Carter and beating Crosby. 

Horne was undefeated at Duals 

Willie's Picks:  1. Catka   2. Striggow   3. Mikesell   4. Island

285lbs. - 2013 Final: Jacob Marnin, IA fall. Tate Orndorff, WA, 3:23

Top Contenders:

Jacob Barnes, OR - Western Region Runner-Up

Alex Coleman, OH - Central Regional Champ

Lucas Cook, CA - State FS Runner-Up

Hayden Copass, IL - Cadet Trials 3rd

Josiah Hill, CA - State FS Champ

Gavin Layton, MN - Northern Plains Champ

Jerrod Osterkamp, WI - Northern Plains Runner-Up

Edgar Vasquez, IL

Colby Whitehill, PA - Returning 8th

Nate Williams, PA - NE Regional Runner-Up

Commentary: Copass teched last year's Cadet Fargo Runner-Up, Louden Haga, in Akron. 

Whitehill won the NE Region the last two years. He, Barnes, Hill, and Copass were all undefeated at Duals.

Vasquez reached the blood round here last year. 

Willie's Picks:  1. Copass   2. Whitehill   3. Coleman   4. Hill