2016 Cadet Worlds USA Men’s Freestyle Preview
Our men's freestyle team won't compete until Saturday the 17th. Both days start at 1:00 a.m. CDT and will feature five weights each. Let's take a peek at who will be following in the footsteps of past Cadet world champs like Adam Coon, Zain Retherford and Aaron Pico.
42kg - Kurt McHenry, Virginia
The greatest liability for Kurt McHenry during folkstyle season was his size. That’s not an issue in freestyle, and the evidence is clear that McHenry is one of the best 42kg wrestlers in the world. When wrestling guys similar to himself in build, he is able to focus on technique and speed.
He has a variety of attacks from neutral, going from a swing single to an arm drag, from duck under to a boot scoot, from a re-direct to a go-behind counter. The National Prep All American showed off all of those in Akron, where he teched guys who would go on to win the top three spots in Fargo at cadet 94 pounds, as well as the 88 pound champ. At cadet duals, McHenry wrestled seven matches at 100 pounds and won all of them by tech.
McHenry techs Fargo champ in under a minute
46kg - Malik Heinselman, Colorado
Malik Heinselman is making his second straight Cadet worlds appearance. He will be eager to make a better showing after getting teched by a solid Azeri in the first round last year. An issue he and the coaches will need to address is his tendency to fall behind.
50kg - Aaron Cashman, Minnesota
Under the tutelage of Jared Lawrence and Brandon Paulson, Aaron Cashman has developed a style which makes him very difficult to score on. The question in Tbilisi is how quickly he’ll be able to generate his own offense.
54kg - Roman Bravo-Young, Arizona
Roman Bravo-Young finally broke through this year to make his first world team. He won Fargo four times, but could never quite get over the hump in Akron.
However, it also took Mark Hall three tries to make the Cadet team and he won worlds in his only try. Bravo-Young has spent many summers at the OTC or travelling for training camps, so if anyone is ready to strike this year it is him.
58kg - Vitali Arujau, New York
The issue with Vito has never been his wrestling ability or level of preparedness against foreigners. He has spent years training overseas, in training camps across various parts of Russia and Europe in general. As the son of an Olympic medalist, he has the pedigree you want in a world teamer. Vito is very savvy in flurries and has a tendency to produce points off non-controlled exposures.
63kg - Yianni Diakomihalis, New York
There are two defending world champs in this men’s freestyle field, and Diakomihalis is one of them. He has left the competition behind in America, going unscored upon in seven matches in Akron, averaging almost a tech. One of his greatest strengths is that he continues to wrestle. It is not simply a cliche for him, Yianni never pauses, always looking to improve position and score points.
It's hard to say what Yianni's best move is, he has perhaps the most diverse bag of tricks of anyone on the team. Freestyle is well suited to Yianni's strengths in that he wrestles smart and always tries to improve positions. American fans will be in for a treat as he tries to defend his world title.
69kg - David Carr, Ohio
Of any wrestler in Akron, David Carr scored on perhaps the most different techniques and scrambles. The concern is that his willingness to get into scrambles will create non-controlled exposure points for the international competition.
Carr showed off a leg lace, trap arm and traditional gut wrench. In a four minute match, the ability to create flurries and par terre points can carry you through to the finals. Having a senior level brother to work out with every day should give American fans confidence.
76kg - Travis Wittlake, Oregon
Travis Wittlake has some of the heaviest hands on Team USA, and we will soon find out how heavy they are in comparison to the rest of the world. He has been a star on the age level circuit in America for many years, and won his fifth Triple Crown in Fargo.
On home soil, Wittlake is supposed to win. He's more polished and physically gifted than just about anyone he wrestles stateside. But will he have those same advantages overseas? We will find out soon enough how elite Wittlake's leg attack is and if he can truly take anyone down.
85kg - Jacob Warner, Illinois
Warner had the enviable task of having to choose which Cadet team he wanted to wrestle for, and decided on men's freestyle. The strong Greco background should hopefully keep him in solid position against high level foreigners. Warner is still very raw in freestyle, but has a sharp learning curve. It is both a positive and a negative that he is frequently taken down in matches, so the American coaches are banking on the resiliency showing through in Georgia instead of the danger of falling behind. The majority of Warner's points will likely be scored through a spin-behind counter and his gut wrench.
100kg - Gable Steveson, Minnesota
Along with Diakomihalis, one of only two defending world champs in this men's freestyle field. The No. 1 ranked junior in the country, Steveson moves better than almost any big man you will see. He showed tremendous mat IQ last year when he made adjustments both during and between matches to improve his trusty snap-down to go-behind.