Marines Cadet & Junior National Championships

The Toughest Junior Men's Freestyle Weight At Fargo

The Toughest Junior Men's Freestyle Weight At Fargo

Which junior men's freestyle weight class will be the toughest at Fargo 2018? We investigate.

Jul 12, 2018 by Andrew Spey
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There are no easy weights at Fargo, and that is especially true for the junior men's freestyle division. Each one is a bone-crushing, meatgrinder of a tournament featuring a host of America's toughest young wrestlers. Yet some weight classes may be slightly more bone-crushing and meatgrindery than others. 

Without the benefit of hindsight, we can only but speculate. But armed with registration info, we can hazard an educated guess as to which weight class will be the most brutal at Fargo.

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152 Pounds

Not only does 152 pounds have the most top 20 high school wrestlers registered (13, tied with 132 pounds), but the insane list of graduates makes it hard to argue against this being the toughest weight. Headlining the division is Penn commit Anthony Artalona, who's attempting to earn a rare fourth stop sign. 

If Artalona does fourpeat, he will have earned it. Joining him as high school graduates in the bracket are Brayton Lee and Alex Lloyd. Lloyd and Lee have placed highly in just about every major tournament you can name. Lee is part of a powerhouse Minnesota recruiting class while Lloyd will be matriculating at South Dakota State. 

The high schoolers at 152 will also be a handful. Connor Brady is ranked #2 at 160 pounds but has registered for Fargo at 152. Iowa's Lance Runyon is also expected to be down at 152, adding even more depth to an already crowded field. 

Notable Graduates:

Anthony Artalona, FL

Brayton Lee, IN

Alex Lloyd, MN

Tyler Eischens, MN

Kolby Ho, PA

Jacob Greenwood, CO

Peter Enos, MO

Ranked High Schoolers:

#2 Connor Brady, OH 

#2 Isaac Wilcox, UT 

#3 Jake Stiles, IL 

#4 Jace Luchau, CA 

#7 Colton Yapoujian, CO 

#10, Cameron Amine, MI 

#11, Bubba Wilson. KS 

#12 Joshua Otto, WI 

#13 Sonny Santiago, CA 

#14 James Burks, NE

#15 Lance Runyon, IA 

#15 Hunter Jump, OK 

#16 Aaron Gandara, AZ


132 Pounds

Giving 152 a run for its money is the 132-pound bracket. Though not as stacked in the graduate department, it is absolutely loaded with ranked high schoolers, including the top 5 ranked wrestlers in the weight. A couple ranked 138-pounders are also registered down a weight. Mosha Schwartz and Malyke Hines are both expected to be down at 132, making for a monstrous weight. 

Notable Graduates:

Drew Bennett, IA

Jake Gliva, MN

Ranked High Schoolers:

#1 Beau Bartlett, PA

#2 Jordan Decatur, OH

#3 Connor McGonagle, PA

#4 Dylan D'Emilio, OH

#5 Gabriel Tagg, OH

#8 Mosha Schwartz, PA

#8 Keegan O'Toole, WI

#12 Malyke Hines, FL

#12 Eddie Bolivar, IL

#14 Colton Camacho, PA

#18 Gabe Hixenbaugh, AL

#19 Joshua Jones, PA

#20 Ryan Ripplinger, ND


285 Pounds

It's hard to think of a better Fargo heavyweight bracket than the one we are expecting for 2018. Future Hawkeye Anthony Cassioppi and Michigan recruit Mason Parris represent a mouth-watering potential matchup. Coveted blue-chip recruit Nash Hutmacher, last year's cadet champ, will also be in the mix. Fans of quality heavyweight action are in for a treat.

Notable Graduates:

Anthony Cassioppi, IL

Mason Parris, IN

John McConkey, IA

Austin Emerson, MI 

Keaton Kleuver, WI

Kyle Lightner, NJ

Mason Lancaster, OK

Kaleb Reeves, IA

Lee Harrington, NE

Ranked High Schoolers:

#2 Nash Hutmacher, SD

#4 Brooks Baker, MO

#7 Jack DelGarbino, OH

#8 Jace Punke, IL

#8 Montana Phillips, OK

#9 Spencer Trenary, IA

#11Jorden Pryor, MD

#13 Craig Orlando, MN

#14 Joey Slackman, NY

#17 Andy Garcia, CO


195 Pounds

While not quite as ridiculous as the previously mentioned weights, 195 deserves a shout-out, too. With a strong graduate contingent, led by Northwestern commit Lucas Davison, and over half of the current top 20, this will be a formidable weight class indeed. 

Notable Graduates:

Lucas Davison, IN

Nick Casperson, SD

Beau Yineman, WI

Tyrell Gordon, IA

Sergio Villalobos, IL

Hunter DeJong, IA

Ranked High Schoolers:

#4 Cole Urbas, PA

#5  Austin Cooley, MA

#6 Konner Doucet, OK

#7 Peter Christensen, IL

#10 Wyatt Hendrickson, KS

#11 Santos Cantu, OR

#12 Julian Gorring, PA

#13 Christian Knop, AL

#14 Avery Jaramillo, OR

#18 Blah Dahnweih, IL

#19 Nick Stemmet, IL

#20 Matthew Cover, OH