Over the last several days, many wrestlers from all over the state represented Team Ohio in the U.S. Marine Corps Junior and 16U Nationals held in Fargo.
This tournament is the pinnacle of middle school and high school wrestling here in the United States. It is often touted as the largest Freestyle and Greco roman style tournament in the world.
Success in Fargo has historically been one of the strongest indicators of future success in wrestling. Many of the past wrestlers earning All-American status in Fargo went on to achieve success at the NCAA level, then later at the Senior and Olympic levels.
Per Flo Wrestling, over the last ten years, 82.3% of the eligible NCAA All Americans have competed in Fargo.
Cadet Freestyle Team (16U):
Team Ohio’s freestyle Cadet Team finished the tournament in third place, only one point behind the second place team.
The following wrestlers achieved All-American status (meaning they placed in the top 8, making the podium): Ryan Elrod(c/o 2022), a 285 pounder from St. John High School in Ashtabula finished in 8th place; Gavin Brown(c/o 2022), a 138 pounder from Legacy Christian in Lebanon finished in 5th place; Riley Ucker(c/o 2022), a 220 pounder from Dublin Coffman High School finished in 5th place; Codie Cuerbo(c/o 2022), a 94 pounder from Aurora High School finished in 4th place; Kyren Butler(c/o 2022), a 126 pounder from Copley High School finished in 4th place; Sean Seefeldt(c/0 2021), a 106 pounder from St. Edward High School finished in 4th place; Tyler Lilliard(c/o 2022), a 152 pounder from St. Edward High school finished in 4th place; Ismael Ayoub(c/o 2022), a 138 pounder from Dublin Coffman High School finished in 3rd place; Dillon Campbell(c/o 2024), a 94 pounder from Legacy Christian Academy in Hillsboro finished in 2nd place; and Seth Shumate(c/o 2022), a 195 pounder from Dublin Coffman High School was crowned National Freestyle Champion.
Junior Freestyle Team:
Team Ohio’s Junior team finished the tournament as National Runner-Up, 9 team points behind National Champion Illinois.
The following wrestlers achieved All-American status: Michael Baker(c/o 2020), a 220 pounder from Beaver Creek competes for Lasalle High School finished in 8th place; Matthew Cover(c/o 2019), a 195 pounder from Bay High School finished in 6th place; Ethan Hatcher(c/o 2020), a 220 pounder from Brecksville High School finished in 3rd place; Manzona Bryant(c/o 2020), a 145 pounder from Columbus wrestles for Western Reserve Academy finished in 3rd place; Nevan Snodgrass(c/o 2020), a 170 pounder from Kettering Fairmont High School finished in 3rd place; Michael Burnett(c/o 2021), a 132 pounder from Elyria High School finished in 2nd place; Victor Voinovich(c/o 2021), a 145 pounder from Brecksville High School finished in 2nd place; Angelo Rini(c/0 2019), a 132 pounder from St. Edward High School was crowned National Freestyle Champion; and Padraic Gallagher(c/o 2021), a 160 pounder from St. Edward High School was crowned National Freestyle Champion.
In review, with thousands of fans descending on the Fargo Dome and thousands more watching from home, it appears wrestling continues to grow.
All the young men that competed over the last several days in Fargo should be proud. It takes great effort and sacrifice to compete at such a high level.
[You can follow Brandon @RecruitingBucks. | Header photo courtesy TeamUSA.org]
