Fargo, the annual Mecca of high school wrestling, is upon us. The 16U and Junior Nationals begin Saturday at the FargoDome.

While last year's historic showing will not be easy to duplicate, Team Michigan still brings plenty of firepower to Fargo.

After taking the freestyle 16U National Dual title and finishing as the runner-up in the Junior National Duals, Team Ohio is looking to improve on their finishes from last year in Fargo. Ohio is bringing a solid squad in both the 16U and Junior Divisions with nearly 15 ranked wrestlers as well as several just outside of the national rankings.

The group from the Golden State is headed to Fargo with gold medals in mind after putting three in the finals in 2021 and crowning three champs in 2019. Team California is led by a number of standouts from some of the nation’s best high school programs like Buchanan, Clovis, Gilroy and more.

Wisconsin has been trending upward in recent years — perhaps on a steeper trajectory than any other state when it comes to Fargo freestyle statistics. Wisconsin was one of two states to finish among the top five last year in the team race in both the 16U and Junior divisions. From 2011 through 2019, Wisconsin averaged 8.44 All-Americans per year in the men’s freestyle divisions. Last year, it produced 20, including individual champions Koy Hopke and Ben Kawczynski.

Minnesota has been one of the nation’s top forces in Fargo during the past decade, collecting 28 individual freestyle titles since 2011 and 29 more in Greco. It’s a state that values year-round wrestling and emphasizes the Olympic disciplines. As a result, Minnesota produced 17 freestyle All-Americans last summer in Fargo, including 11 on the runner-up 16U team, many of whom are on this year's roster.

New Jersey has long been known to produce some of the nation’s best wrestlers, but that hasn’t always resulted in the greatest Fargo finishes. But this is one of the more loaded squads that Jersey has sent in years. It’s a group that includes five state champions, two National Prep champs, and seven returning All-Americans, so make sure you’re on the lookout for some of that classic Jersey dirt out in Fargo this year.

Pennsylvania had a strong showing in Fargo in 2021 by dominating en route to the 16U title and finishing second to Illinois in the Junior Division in a close team race. Pennsylvania recently finished in third place at the 16U National Duals after dropping a tight dual to Wisconsin in the semifinals. PA will be bringing plenty of established studs along with some young hammers to Fargo this year, with nearly a dozen nationally ranked wrestlers and many honorable mention guys. Check out all of Pennsylvania’s Fargo freestyle All Americans from last year and the top guys out of Pennsylvania to keep an eye on throughout the week in North Dakota.

Oklahoma finds itself in somewhat of a revolving door situation with its roster heading into Fargo this year. While 2019 16U freestyle champ Cael Hughes is back and expected to be a force at 132 pounds after missing last year due to injury, three-time Fargo champ Jordan Williams isn’t on the entry list for a run at a fourth title. Similarly, several more of the state’s top standouts are absent from the Fargo list, but Team Oklahoma is still headed north with a squad that figures to collect plenty of individual hardware, including 2021 All-Americans Zane Donley, K.J. Evans and Talon McCollom and a mix of new hammers.

In 2021, the delayed high school season in Illinois overlapped with the freestyle season and forced several of the state’s elite wrestlers to choose between the two. Coming off a pair of gold pool finishes at the 16U and Junior Duals this year, Illinois will be back at full strength and boast several nationally ranked wrestlers in both divisions in Fargo. Here are the established standouts who are on the Fargo roster and a few who are under the radar for now but looking to break out later this month.

Fresh off sweeping both titles at the Junior National Duals, Iowa is looking to continue reestablishing itself as a national power. The state has taken big steps in recent years with high-level performances from individual stars such as Drake Ayala, Nate Jesuroga, Hunter Garvin and Ben Kueter, and Iowa’s talent pool is getting deeper, evidenced by the roster the state has assembled for Fargo.

USA Wrestling's 16U National Duals provides a platform for up-and-coming high school stars to showcase their skills, pop onto recruiting radars and strengthen their resumes.

Not many outside of Texas knew who Jasmine Robinson was. They know now. The soon-to-be-sophomore doubled up at Fargo this year, winning both the 16U and Junior divisions, adding the OW in both divisions to boot.“I worked hard every day,” the rising star said. “Just keep pushing, keep going. I wanted this when I started wrestling three years ago.”

Junior Greco-Roman at the 2021 Fargo Nationals is, like all of the other age-group domestic tournaments this year — a little different. The energy will be the same, the presumed stakes involved will not change, and those wrestlers who know how to dial launch codes but seldom get the chance will make highlight reels.

The Fargodome is a trajectory-changing arena. It’s where wrestling stocks surge and sink, where prospects capture the attention of college coaches and become household names.