The brackets for UWW Juniors have been released. With a few late scratches and entries the trials will have some phenomenal early round match ups. Action gets going tomorrow morning at 9 AM CT.
Read our reactions to how the brackets were drawn and the early round best bets below.
50KG
Just a small bracket here. Spencer Lee on the bottom side will face Liam Cronin first, then await the winner of Jabari Moody, last years World Team Rep for 50KG and Brandon Courtney. Winner of the mini-tournament gets Danny Vega. Of note, Spencer’s teammate Devin Brown did not enter the field.
55KG
The top side seems to be pretty clear for a Micic v. Bresser match up in that semi. Both guys are talented college 25 pounders with entertaining styles. Petry and Cruz will hit early. Petry has been tough before in Freestyle having knocked off Daton Fix last year at JR duals. Cruz will still be a big favorite in this match up. Fargo Champ Jack Mueller will have Barlow McGhee. These two had a 10-8 match at Vegas. The winner will face the Cruz/Petry winner. Cruz looked excellent in Akron a few weeks ago. He and Micic may be on a collision course for the finals and a shot at Daton Fix.
60KG
Top side early match up between Mckee and Alber is of note since both guys are excellent, but McKee won 11-0 in Vegas. Meanwhile we see Erneste v. Brock once again. Erneste downed Brock at the Kansas City Stampede 2 years ago. We could see a McKee/Brock semi once again. Who could forget their unreal Fargo semi last summer? On the bottom side Brock Zacherl seems poised to make a run to the semi’s where he’ll be taking on the winner of McCrystal and Giraldo. Winner of the mini-tournament gets Gary Wayne Harding.
66KG
This one is just filthy right out of the gate! We’ve got Anthony Ashnault v. Vincenzo Joseph in round 1! Best round 1 match of the day, no doubt. That’s tasty as is Retherford v. Thomsen. Retherford’s a tremendous favorite, but Thomsen is still a talent. Then Retherford likely would face Matthew Kolodzik. Sam Crane will be taking on Fredy Stroker. Though Stroker perhaps is the more known commodity, Crane was in the finals at Vegas only losing to Tommy Thorn. The bottom of this bracket is nasty Kevin Jack was a True Freshman All American matched up with a much more experienced Freestyler in Geo Martinez. The winner will likely face Nicholas Villareal. Ashnault looks to be a favorite here, but this is a brutal half of the bracket. The of the mini-tournament gets Aaron Pico.
74KG
Another saucy one here. Nolf sits apart on the top. Fox Baldwin, Logan Massa and Joe Joe Smith are the other big names to watch out for. On the bottom side Mason Manville is opposite Chance Marsteller and Nick Reenan. Reenan and Marsteller would make for an incredibly entertaining second round match up. Reenan will throw the kitchen sink for sure.
84KG
Chandler Rogers is sitting as the big dog in the top bracket. He’ll face NC State’s Renda early. On the bottom side Ricky Robertson, who won FILA JRs last year before falling to Gabe Dean in the JR trials. EIWA champ Jaden Bernstein will be at the bottom side. Rogers may be undersized but he could be the most talented guy.
96KG
Former Fargo Champ Marcus Harrington is the big favorite in the challenge bracket which will likely set up a rematch with Anthony Cassar in the finals. Seely and Ness could present challenges to Harrington.
120KG
Garrett Ryan looks like the most credentialed guy in the challenge bracket. He sits at the top side and would most likely face Sweany in the semi’s.
