California is coming off one of the most impressive Fargo performances in recent memory. In 2022, the Golden State finished third or better in five out of the six divisions, including team titles in both Junior Women’s freestyle and 16U Greco-Roman. California came away with 72 total All-American finishes. 

California is bringing 19 nationally-ranked competitors to the FargoDome and will be looking to repeat its success from a year ago in each division. Despite not returning all of its hammers this year to Fargo, California is known to have many wrestlers have breakout performances at this tournament and they will need it if they want to push for team titles. 

Before we get to the California breakdown, here are some additional links to prepare you for Fargo: 

2023 Fargo User Guide

Every Wrestler Registered For Fargo 

All The Ranked Wrestlers Competing in Fargo

Every State's Most Decorated Fargo Champion

2022 California Team Finishes

Junior men’s freestyle — third

16U men’s freestyle — second

Junior women’s freestyle — first

16U women’s freestyle — third

Junior Greco-Roman — 17th

16U Greco-Roman — first

2022 Fargo All-Americans

Junior Men’s Freestyle

Grigor Cholakyan — third at 132

Abram Cline — seventh at 106

Lucas Condon — fourth at 170

Beau Mantanona — second at 145

Timothy Mcdonnell — fifth at 182

Cody Merrill — first at 195

Nicco Ruiz — second at 160

Aden Valencia — sixth at 126

Ethan Ward — eighth at 106 

16U Men’s Freestyle

Nathan Carrillo — fourth at 113

Kayden Cartee — eighth at 195

Elijah Cortez — third at 113

Isaiah Cortez — third at 106

Adam Farha — second at 220

Travis Grace — second at 160

Slater Hicks — fourth at 100

Brock Mantanona — champion at 132

Moses Mendoza — second at 113

Coby Merrill — seventh at 182

Elias Navida — fourth at 126

Beau Priest — seventh at 145

Adrien Reyes — fourth at 170

Michael Romero — champion at 100

Edwin Sierra — sixth at 113

Sean Wilcox — seventh at 94 

Junior Women’s Freestyle

Arieana Arias — sixth at 117

Sam Calkins — second at 200

Maliya Castillo — fifth at 180

Gianna Dibenedetto — eighth at 138

Delise e Villa — eighth at 152

Johanna Forman — fourth at 152

Janida Garcia — champion at 132

Mikayla Garcia — fifth at 106

Savannah Gomez — eighth at 144

Diana Gonzalez — eighth at 112

Isabella Marie Gonzales — fifth at 117

Ella Jauregui — fourth at 127

Tayden Khamjoi — sixth at 132

Avy Perez — sixth at 100

Alysse Phillips — fifth at 225

Eduarda Rodrigues — third at 152

Kiely Tabaldo — fifth at 112

Alejandra Valdiviezo — sixth at 122 

16U Women’s Freestyle

Gianna Dibenedetto — fourth at 138

Kayla Edwards — fourth at 127

Mikayla Garcia — sixth at 106

Madison Heinzer — sixth at 100

Isabella Marie Gonzales — second at 117

Bk Martinez — eighth at 112

Lauren Nguyen — fourth at 100

Avy Perez — eighth at 100

Alejandra Valdiviezo — fourth at 122 

Junior Greco-Roman

Ryan Arrington — eighth at 220

Lucas Condon — seventh at 170

Bobby Cuevas Jr. — sixth at 126

Nathaniel Granados — sixth at 100

Jeremy Oani — fifth at 106

Daniel Zepeda — eighth at 132 

16U Greco-Roman

Elijah Cortez — fifth at 120

Isaiah Cortez — third at 113

Aliaksandr Kikiniou — champion at 145

Mark Marin III — eighth at 195

Moses Mendoza — seventh at 113

Coby Merrill — first at 182

Elias Navida — second at 126

Angelo Posada — second at 160

Nicholas Sahakian — champion at 220

Edwin Sierra — fifth at 113

Tas Storer — seventh at 100

Jayden Tadeo-gosal — eighth at 220 

Billy Townson — fourth at 120 

Ryden Yoshitake — fifth at 145 

Men’s Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers

#20 at 106 — Siraj Sidhu

#1 at 120 — Isaiah Cortez

#16 at 120 — Edwin Sierra

#11 at 126 — Elijah Cortez

#10 at 138 — Daniel Zepeda

#20 at 138 — Paul Kelly

#16 at 145 — Grigor Cholakyan

#11 at 152 — Laird Root

#16 at 160 — Collin Guffey 

Women’s Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers

#8 at 106 — Diana Gonzalez

#28 at 106 — Avy Perez

#3 at 117 — Isabella Marie Gonzales

#10 at 122 — Alejandra Valdiviezo

#14 at 122 — Samantha Sachs

#21 at 138 — Gianna DiBenedetto

#3 at 152 — Eduarda Rodrigues

#22 at 152 — Kaiulani Garcia

#26 at 180 — Kathryn Hingano

#4 at 225 — Alysse Phillips 

Wrestlers To Watch

#16 Grigor Cholakyan (Junior MFS, 152) — Currently sitting at #46 on the 2024 Big Board, Cholakyan is coming off an impressive performance last year when he placed third in the Junior division at 132 pounds. The Stanford commit will be thrown into a loaded 152-pound field that currently has 10 top-20 ranked guys in the country entered.  

#11 Elijah Cortez (Junior MFS, 126) — Cortez doubled up on All-American finishes a year ago as he finished third in freestyle in the 16U division and fifth in Greco-Roman. Since then, Cortez won a California high school state championship. He will be making the move up to the Junior division and could be expecting a matchup with #4 Jax Forrest. Cortez picked up a win this spring over Forrest’s teammate, Bo Bassett, at the U17 World Team Trials on his way to a fifth-place finish. 

#1 Isaiah Cortez (Junior MFS, 120) — Much like his twin brother Elijah, Isaiah Cortez was a double All-American in Fargo a year ago, placing third in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. Along with winning a high school state championship this season, Cortez finished third at the U17 World Team Trials with wins over Edwin Sierra, Gauge Botero and Bo Bassett that launched him to #1 in the country at 120 pounds. Cortez will not go untested in Fargo, as there are currently 11 ranked competitors registered at 120 pounds in the Junior division, including six in the top 10. The most highly-anticipated matchup that could end up being the final at 120 pounds will be Cortez vs #3 and 2021 Fargo champion Leo DeLuca. 

#8 Diana Gonzalez (Junior WFS, 112) — Gonzalez is no stranger to the FargoDome, as she finished as an All-American last year with an eighth-place finish at 112 pounds in the Junior division. She will be competing in the same weight class this year and it is one of the deepest in all of the Junior Women’s tournament, with 17 competitors ranked in the top 30 in the country currently. 

#3 Isabella Marie Gonzales (16U WFS, 117) — Gonzales is one of the most accomplished wrestlers in the country. A year ago, she was a double All-American with a second-place finish in the 16U division and a fifth-place finish in the Junior division. Since then, Gonzales has won a California high school state championship along with making a U17 World Team. Gonzales will only be competing in the 16U division this year and will be a favorite to improve on her performance from a year ago and win a stop sign at 117 pounds. 

#4 Alysse Phillips (Junior WFS, 225) — Alysse Phillips is coming off a fifth-place finish at Fargo from a year ago. Ranked #4 in the country, she will be favored to win a stop sign this year at 225 pounds in the Junior division. 

#3 Eduarda Rodrigues (Junior WFS, 152) — Rodrigues is a bit of a newcomer to the sport of wrestling, as she has only been competing for a little over a year. That has not slowed her down one bit, though, as she was third at Fargo a year ago and has dominated her way through tournaments like the USA Wrestling Preseason Nationals and the Girl’s Recruiting Showcase back in April to rise to #3 in the country at 152 pounds. Rodrigues will be back to compete in her second Junior Nationals and will be the favorite to win a stop sign this year at 152 pounds in the Junior division.