The path to making the Junior World Team starts this weekend at the US Open where the Freestyle portion closes the show. 

That's right, the last set of finals in Las Vegas will be Junior Freestyle; and what a talented bunch they are. Registration is still open, but as of the time of this writing, 33 wrestlers in the field have made a World Team or reached a Fargo or Akron final.

In short - we're pretty pumped about the field. Our Junior Worlds' team has been a force over the past five years, winning a team medal three times. We haven't been lower than 5th as a team in FS since 2012. 

A preview is forthcoming. And seeds will not be finalized until registration is closed and the seeding meeting wraps up at 9AM Friday. 

But until then, here's a breakdown of entries and their credentials to whet your palate.

I used results from Freestyle majors from the past two years to project seeds. However each weight has some curveballs - wrestlers of obvious talent and ability (like JoJo Aragona or Quincy Monday) that have very little FS experience. And then, of course, there is the talent that's not yet registered. Anyway - here we go.

Junior Freestyle Schedule at The US Open

Today: Seed Projections

Wednesday: FloWrestling Preview

Friday: 8am-9AM - Seed Meeting

Friday: 3PM-8PM - Preliminaries

Saturday: 9AM-1PM - thru Quarterfinals

Saturday: 5PM-8PM - Semifinals, Finals, and Medal Bouts

Willie's Junior Freestyle Seed Projections

57KG

Rationale: Reaching the finals of both the JR Open and the JR Team Trials, Heinselman should be the #1 seed. He also had a head to head over Foley. Foley reached the U23 finals last year (vs. Mueller) and gave Glory his only loss in Fargo in 2017. 

X-Factors: A lot can depend on how much consideration the committee gives to weight classes. For instance, Matt Ramos won a Cadet World title, but that was at 112lbs. 

61KG

Rationale: The top 3 seeds all have the common loss to last year's U23 Champ, Vitali Arujau. Decatur outplaced Saunders at the Open and at the Trials, but they didn't hit. Saunders lost to Nick Farro at the trials, making him, in my opinion, the clear #3. 

X-Factor: I think this is one of the most cut-and-dry pictures. It's difficult to think of ALL the stud Juniors that are eligible to enter but who haven't yet. But we know Arujau is wrestling Seniors. There are some talented guys (Job Greenwood, Tyler Hunt, Caden McCrary) that can be a factor, but they aren't seedable. So this is one weight where we probably have a very clear picture early.

65KG

Rationale: With Alirez' credentials and wins, he's your clear #1. After that...big questions. Alirez and Aragona were both undisputed #1's to end the high school season. 

X-Factor: Aragona is a problem. He has absolutely no FS credentials, but ignoring him would be silly. He'd just bust the bracket up somewhere. I typically advocate for seeds based heavily on style-specific results. I don't think that should be applied in this instance. 

Also to note - I have Schoenherr so low because, depsite making the Fargo finals in 2017, he went 0-2 there last year.

70KG

Rationale: Pretty clear at the top. Teemer beat Carr in Vegas last year, but Carr returned the favor at the Trials. Teemer beat Sasso in Cadet Trials finals two years ago. Last year, Teemer was 3rd at JR Trials at this weight while Sasso was 4th at 65kg.

X-Factor: Monday is really hard to seed. You can make a case that he shouldn't be seeded at all. But that is probably disingenuous. I think he ultimately ends up somewhere from 8 to 10. 

Another curveball is Mastrogiovanni. Fargo Champ, but at the Cadet level. How heavily will that be weighted for the HS Soph who is in a sea of college redshirts?

74KG

Rationale: Barring any late entries, you can pretty much lock in the top 9-ish seeds here. Nothing really to debate.

X-Factor: Not only X-Factors in seeding, but X-Factors on the mat. Everyone from 10 through 15 is talented and capable of a run. 

79KG

Rationale: Brooks is your clear #1. Plott and Keckeisen were 2 and 3 at Fargo in the best bracket of the year. They didn't hit. Plott was runner-up here last year at 74KG.

X-Factor: It doesn't really pertain to seeds, but Krattiger is tough, and down a weight. Interested to see how he does here.

86KG

Rationale: Norfleet is the clear #1 as he was the runner-up (to Deprez) at he trials. He beat Hoffman here last year.

X-Factor: Hidlay is making a big jump in weight. Credentials should get him the #2, but I could see a scenario in which #2 thru #5 get discussed.

92KG

Rationale: Woodley is the highest returning placer. And he went on to reach the Trials Challenge finals. Beard placed at 86 last year; Davison at this weight.

X-Factor: Cardenas' Akron result was his only FS major ever. While 5th doesn't jump off the page at you, his losses were to Ferrari and Amos, who he also beat. 

97KG

Rationale: Boyd defaulted to Dejong in the 5/6 match here last year but outperformed him at the Trials.

X-Factor: What the heck do you do with Sloan? The guy has no FS creds but beat the breaks off last year's champ (and World medalist) Jacob Warner at Midlands this year.

125KG

Rationale: Very deep crop of heavies. Two trials runners-up, but Cassioppi was at this weight whereas Borst was at 92kg. 

X-Factor: Pretty straight forward.