Fargo Thoughts

Every year the wrestling festival known simply by its host's name, dazzles us for an entire week and gives us things to digest for much longer.

By now, you've delved into the results and watched many of the matches from Fargo - the largest wrestling tournament in the United States. So we'll spare you the recap. What follows below are some nuggets that aren't necessarily obvious from looking at the brackets.

Before we get into our Top 10, let's look at (and applaud) the participation numbers.

Entries By Style   
1140 Junior FS   
1084 Cadet FS    
895 Junior GR
913 Cadet GR
306 Junior WM
164 Cadet WM
= 4502 Total


This represents a notable increase in participation. All divisions were up from last year with Cadet Greco up over 100 entries. The entire field experienced an increase of 13% above 2010 numbers.

Largest Brackets    
JR FS - 122 wrestlers at 138lbs.    
CD FS - 106 wrestlers at 120lbs. 
JR GR - 96 wrestlers at 138lbs. 
CD GR - 83 wrestlers at 120 lbs.
JR WM - 35 wrestlers at 117lbs. 
CD WM - 25 wrestlers at 124lbs.


10. Separation System Still Getting Tweaked
2015 was the second year of line bracketing. It was apparent that in going from vertical pairing to line bracketing, that separation (in lieu of seeding) takes on greater importance. With vertical pairing, you could lose and still come back to win the entire tournament. In line bracketing, you lose and your journey to even place is insane. So getting a new, effective separation system was imperative.

If you look at last year's brackets, you'll see Levels 1, 2, and 3. This year, it was greatly (although not wholly effectively) expanded to 10 "levels." It's good that USAWrestling identified the need for greater scrutiny in separation, but the 10-level system doesn't exactly run smooth. The most glaring example came at 145lbs where Jayden Pentz (UT) was listed as a Level 5 and, somehow (I can find no record of him being a FILA JR Placer in FS, or JR National Champ in GR), got the #3 seed ahead of a dozen guys that you'd think should be seeded ahead of him. Pentz went 2-2.


9. Bracket Building Still Needs a Human Element
I'm not coming down on USAW for their process. They continue to try to improve it. The problem is, they want it to be wholly objective, and that's just not possible. 
You know why every sporting event that uses a bracket seeds their constituents? Because it's fair and because it helps the presentation build to a climax.

You'll never get the best brackets with a completely objective, hands-off, separation system. Everyone knew Patrick Lugo (who had no criteria) was one of the best in the 145lb bracket and that others who had separation criteria were sketchy at best.

And look at 170 Junior Greco where we got a Bey-Breske quarterfinal when 1) they were the returning finalists and 2) everyone on earth knew they were the two best in the bracket. Not only did trackwrestling pull the wrong data/criteria for Breske, but the state coaches signed off on it, and USAW never caught it.

Before the brackets go public, USAWrestling needs a person, say, me for example, with a deep understanding of the high school wrestling landscape who remembers results, to fact check and give their stamp of approval.

I've been a part of several seeding committees that had a point system or some seeding criteria, and on every one of them, common sense prevailed when it came time to set the final bracket.

Yes, I know it's a little different with Fargo and USAW; they want to maintain objectivity, but some system of fact checking seems needed at the very least.


8. Another Kamal Bey Bummer
In addition to Bey and Breske less-ceremoniously hitting in Greco quarters, Bey was part of another unfortunate situation. 

Bey didn't qualify for the Illinois Fargo Team like most wrestlers do, by placing at the state FS/GR tournament or in Akron or Las Vegas or at a Regional. He was added as an extra in Greco. But when it came time for Freestyle, Illinois was already at their maximum entries per weight, as designated by USAW here. Because Illinois already had four entries at 160, 170, and 182, Bey couldn't stay put, move up, or move down, and thus couldn't wrestle FS.


7. Other Cities Aren't Going to Work
Every few years, particularly when the city's contract is up, you'll hear chatter about Cadet & Junior Nationals going here or there. The problem is, logistically, what other city fits?
Sure Fargo, N.D. isn't exactly the easiest place to fly in or out of, but name another city with the facilities that's easier and safer to navigate in once you're there. 

Here's the checklist - you need a big enough facility for 24 mats, plus administrative and production stages, another facility for warm ups and work outs, massive numbers of dorm rooms (or the exponentially more expensive hotel rooms), and it all has to fit in a city where commuting is safe and quick. Good luck with that. Why reinvent the wheel?


6. There’s Nothing Like Being There

I say this about several events. But the more wrestling there is, the more important it is to be there first hand. And there isn't any more wrestling than what goes on in Fargo for a week each summer. First of all, there are amazing match-ups going on all over the place. You could stumble across two studs wrestling by accident. Secondly, the atmosphere. Fargo has its own special vibe. And then there are the celebrities - the who's who of wrestling everywhere you look.

The NCAA's, Super 32, maybe certain state tournaments...add Fargo to the list of wrestling events that are more about the experience than just the results.


5. USAW Must Have a Problem in California
In both quantity and quality, California participation at Fargo is underwhelming. I've heard that there is a chasm in the Golden State with competing organizations. They currently have 23 ranked wrestlers and just five of those competed in Fargo. And that's not mentioning the legions of spectacular 2015 graduates. California brought 38 for Junior FS and 52 for Cadet FS. Those numbers seem reasonable, but consider that they have 27,000 high school wrestlers, the most, by far, of any state.


4. Legacies

We're starting to see a great number of relatives of wrestling lore: Kennedy (Kendall) Cross, Quincy (Kenny) Monday, Nelson (Terry) Brands, Jaden (Gerry) Abas, Joe (John) Smith, Jackson (Sammy) Henson, Wyatt (Mike) Sheets, Roderick (official Stacy) Davis, Andrew (Keith) Davidson, Gabe (David?) Kjeldgaard, Luke (Joe?) Macfarland, and Kelvin (Johnny?) Eblen. 


3. Graduates Need to be Good When It Matters Most
For all that Fargo is (the best high school wrestling tournament in the country), imagine what it could be with greater graduate participation.

Over the course of the past decade or so, and perhaps I'm responsible as well, Fargo has become this emblem of a recruiting proving ground. That, in conjunction with earlier and earlier recruiting commitments, might mean wrestlers see it as the place to go to earn a scholarship rather than to simply compete.

It was thoroughly encouraging to see graduates Austin Assad, Matt Kolodzik, Fredy Stroker, Larry Early, Joe Smith, and Jacob Seely puncuate their careers with stop signs. Keegan Moore, Patrick Lugo, Xavier Montalvo, Dylan Wisman, and Rylee Striefel were all runners-up.

But what gets lost in "winning" and "participation" in Fargo with graduates is what they're doing in the process. They're preparing for their most important year in college. There is no more crucial time in a wrestler's career than that of the transition from high school to college. And the graduates that were in Fargo were not only competing, but training to be the best when it mattered most.


2. The Balancing Act of Early/Late Recruiting.
Fargo often illuminates just how tricky recruiting is, and how it has become even more nerve-wracking with the development of earlier and earlier commitments. 

So, you want to lock guys in early 1) to get them 2) so others don't. But what happens when a guy you signed with two years of high school left doesn't continue to develop as you'd hoped? Or what if the guy you passed on, or under bid on, becomes an absolute beast? 
Would you now pay a little more for Austin Assad? Jacob Seely? Patrick Lugo? Did you overspend on wrestler X, Y, or Z who didn't perform well? Did you sign THIS guy, but now would rather have THAT guy?

Wrestling is the most individual sport in the world, and recruiting wrestlers is an inexact science. With the trend going to early commitments, it's only making the the process for coaches more difficult. Try projecting how good a kid is going to be in college when he's a high school sophomore? Good luck with that, too.


1. Who Arrived?

The most intriguing thing about Fargo, at least to me, is who will emerge as the "next big things." For the most part, this occurs in Cadets. Sure there are guys that outperform, or at least give us the confirmation we were looking for. In Juniors - guys like Kaden Gfeller and Beau Breske, who didn't do so much surprising as they did reckoning. The only real "surprises" in Juniors came with the Wick Brothers.

Prior to Fargo, I wrote an article identifying wrestlers whose tournament was going to be uber important in regard to their recruitment, ranking, and national stature. The Wicks were a part of that and came through with flying colors as Evan (2nd) and Zander (4th) turned in awesome performances.

But let's focus on the Cadets where wrestlers with less exposure planted a flag in the ground:

Jordan Decatur, OH - he turned heads in Akron and then backed it up with a Fargo title. The kid is a jitterbug.

Nick Raimo, NJ - Ranked near the top of the Junior High Big Board, and with encouraging performances at FloNationals and Akron, Raimo was a guy who showed signs of future stardom. After doubling up last week, that time came sooner than later. Flat out stud.

Anthony Artalona, FL - Artalona looked good in taking 3rd and 4th in Akron. He looked downright otherworldly when he doubled up in Fargo. He's here to stay; the kid's a prodigy.

Travis Wittlake, OR - Those who follow youth wrestling were anxiously awaiting Wittlake in Fargo. One of the most decorated schoolboys ever, Wittlake showed he can get it down on the HS level too, winning GR and taking 3rd in FS.

Andrew Davison, IN - 5th as a Sophomore in single class Indiana, the son of 2x NCAA All American Keith Davidson, won GR and took 3rd in FS. I love his frame and his overall game. He'll be a staple in the rankings for a long time.