92kg Might Be The Best Weight At FloNationals
92kg Might Be The Best Weight At FloNationals
The best weight at FloNationals might be 92kg in the first year of switching to freestyle.
Unlock this article, live events, and more with a subscription!
Already a subscriber? Log In
FloNationals week has arrived, and we've spent a lot of time debating our favorite weights. For me, 92kg is absolutely loaded.
Watch FloNationals 2019 Live on Flo
April 18-20 | 9:00 AM ET
This is the first year the event is switching from folkstyle to Greco and freestyle, as it is now the trials to determine the Cadet Pan American team.
92kg Contenders
Nathan Haas, CA
Dorian Crosby, PA
Silas Allred, IN
Kolby Franklin, PA
John Poznanski, NJ
Samuel Fisher, VA
Brent Paulus, OH
Michael Misita, NJ
Maybe the best bracket of the whole event, and six of the eight contenders will also be doing Greco, making for a fierce competition to represent Team USA in June. But we’ll start with the two who are only wrestling freestyle.
About five or six years ago, the Monster Garage produced some of the best talent in the country, including two-time NCAA champ Zahid Valencia and Bellator star Aaron Pico. Now paired up with Sunkist Kids, the Monster Garage is once again one of the highest level freestyle clubs in America. A two-time California state champ for St. John Bosco, Nathan Haas is an uncommitted junior who made the Fargo finals last year.
FloNationals entries in FloArena
The other contender only wrestling freestyle is Rutgers commit John Poznanski, a junior for Colonia high school in New Jersey. The state runner-up was fourth in the same Fargo bracket as Haas. He was second at NHSCA sophomore nationals last year, but has not done much freestyle in high school outside of Fargo last July.
Now, onto those wrestling Greco. A pair of Pennsylvania boys could meet in the finals in Dorian Crosby and Kolby Franklin. Their only meeting came in last year’s PAWF semis, won 9-8 by Crosby. A two-time state placer for Erie Cathedral Prep, he’ll represent Bad Karma this weekend. Franklin outplaced Crosby in both styles in Fargo, getting second in freestyle and winning Greco, but they did not wrestle in either style. A state runner-up for St. Joseph’s Academy this year as a freshman, Franklin was third in last year’s Pan Am trials in freestyle.
The highest ranked athlete in this field, both in his weight class and on the Junior Big Board is Silas Allred of Indiana. A Nebraska commit, he won his high school’s first state title this past season. Allred was third this past October at Super 32, but hasn’t wrestled freestyle since the summer prior. In 2017, he went 1-2 in Fargo but did place fourth in Greco that year.
Sam Fisher had a breakout season, placing at Super 32, Ironman, and Beast to back up his Fargo All-American showing. The Virginia Tech commit may be a bit undersized for this weight and also brings into question where exactly the Hokies plan on him wrestling for them.
Brent Paulus placed fourth this year in Ohio and was a Fargo All-American last year. Michael Misita placed in New Jersey this past season as a sophomore.
This weight, like all the others, is an age level based competition, so there will be guys wrestling who are just entering high school, as well as freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. Big men are always prized possessions in college wrestling, and a good performance here will shoot you up the Big Board and more importantly, get you on the radar of the college coaches in attendance.