The Full 16U Duals Recap
The Full 16U Duals Recap
Look back on all the top storylines, stars and must-watch matches from last week's 16U National Duals.
USA Wrestling's 16U National Duals provides a platform for up-and-coming high school stars to showcase their skills, pop onto recruiting radars and strengthen their resumes.
This year's tournament, which went down last week in Loves Park, Illinois, was filled with star performances and must-watch matches. Here's a look at some of the highlights:
16U Freestyle National Duals Recap
The freestyle duals turned out to be a little more unpredictable than the Greco-Roman tournament. Many expected a rematch of the Greco championship between Pennsylvania Blue and California in the finals, but Wisconsin Red and Ohio stopped that from happening.
Pennsylvania Blue marched through Pool A by defeating Illinois by a score of 48-29 in the finals to move into the Gold/Silver pools. California had its hands full with a strong Florida squad in the Pool B finals. California trailed 35-33 heading into the final bout when 160-pounder Angelo Posada closed it out for California by picking up a 10-0 tech fall to win the dual 37-35. Ohio came out of Pool C as the underdogs by taking out Iowa in the finals 41-30. Wisconsin Red beat Minnesota Blue 42-39 in the Pool D finals.
The final round of pool play in the Gold/Silver bracket brought on showdowns between Pennsylvania Blue and Wisconsin Red and California and Ohio to decide who will wrestle for the freestyle title. After taking out Iowa and Florida earlier in the day, Wisconsin Red got out to a hot start against Pennsylvania Blue, taking a 14-1 lead after the first four bouts. Pennsylvania Blue got back into the dual by winning six of the next seven bouts to take a 27-19 lead heading into 152 pounds. Wisconsin Red closed out the dual by winning five of the last six bouts to pull off the 37-34 upset to move on to the finals.
Following dominant wins over Oklahoma Blue and Illinois, Ohio was on fire heading into their dual against California. The back-and-forth dual came down to 182 pounds, where Matthew Kowalski clinched the 39-33 victory for Ohio, rallying back from a 6-0 deficit to beat Isaac Fernandez 12-10.
The final between Wisconsin Red and Ohio was another back-and-forth battle with huge momentum swings for both teams. Wisconsin took a 33-28 lead heading into 220 pounds with two bouts remaining. A 12-2 tech fall by William Adkins of Ohio at 220 pounds put the title on the line at 285. Evan Gratz came out fast for Wisconsin and went up 8-0 after two four-point chest wraps off a leg attack by Ohio's Aaron Ries. The match and dual looked to be in hand for Wisconsin, but Ries picked up a four-pointer of his own to cut the deficit to 8-4 at the break. Ries added on a step out along with a caution on Gratz to make the score 8-6 with 46 seconds to go in the match. Ries pressured Gratz towards the edge with a body lock and picked up four points, along with an additional point following a lost challenge by Wisconsin to take an 11-8 lead with 33 seconds to go. From then on, Ries did his job and kept Gratz at bay to win the bout 11-8 and tie it at 35-35 and force the dual to come down to criteria. Of the 17 bouts contested, Ohio won nine and Wisconsin Red only won eight to make the difference in a 36-35 criteria victory for Ohio.
Freestyle Top Performers (undefeated with at least five matches)
88 pounds
Jarrett Smith - Team Michigan Blue - 9-0
Kaison Schreier - Team Missouri Red - 9-0
Caleb Noble - Wisconsin Red - 7-0
94 pounds
Devan Garcia - Team Michigan Red - 7-0
Ayden Dodd - Ohio Scarlet - 7-0
Haakon Peterson - Wisconsin Red - 7-0
100 pounds
Lincoln Sledzianowski - Florida - 7-0
Rylan Seacrist - Ohio Scarlet - 7-0
Alex Rozas - Louisiana - 6-0
106 pounds
Isaac Ekdahl - Nebraska- 7-0
Kody Tanimoto - Team Texas - 7-0
113 pounds
Colt Collett - Oklahoma Red - 8-0
Jayden Raney - Kentucky - 7-0
120 pounds
Brodie Christmas - Alabama - 8-0
Matthew Martino - Idaho - 8-0
Sam Herring - Pennsylvania - 8-0
Jordyn Raney - Kentucky - 7-0
Jackson Blum - Team Michigan Blue - 5-0
126 pounds
Benjamin Davino - Illinois - 9-0
132 pounds
Tyson Charmoli - Minnesota Blue - 8-0
Maddox Shaw - Pennsylvania - 8-0
138 pounds
Logan W. Paradice - Georgia Blue - 8-0
Trae Rios - Oklahoma Red - 8-0
Vince Bouzakis - Pennsylvania Blue - 8-0
Kyle Lew - Team Texas - 7-0
Alex Braun - Minnesota Blue - 5-0
145 pounds
Beau Hickman - Oklahoma Blue - 9-0
Cameron Clark - Indiana Gold - 6-0
152 pounds
Maximus Norman - Tennessee - 9-0
Jake Stoffel - Wisconsin Blue - 9-0
Brodie Dominique - Ohio - 8-0
Claudio Torres - Florida - 7-0
Carson Thomas - Ohio Scarlet - 7-0
Kevin Farrell - Texas Blue - 5-0
160 pounds
Bronson Baxter - Team Texas - 7-0
Angelo Posada - California - 5-0
170 pounds
Brent Slade - Iowa - 8-0
Jarrel Miller Jr. - Ohio - 8-0
Robert Kucharczk - Virginia - 8-0
Aiden Peterson - Ohio Scarlet - 7-0
Isaac Sheeren - Texas Blue - 6-0
Cade Ziola - Nebraska - 5-0
182 pounds
De'Alcapon Veazy - Indiana Gold - 8-0
Rocco Dellagatta - New Jersey - 8-0
Karson Tompkins - Team Texas - 7-0
Aeoden Sinclair - Wisconsin Red - 7-0
195 pounds
Carson Gooley - Idaho - 8-0
Kruz Goff - Oklahoma Blue - 7-0
Aiden Cooley - Team Texas - 7-0
Chase Matthias - Wisconsin Red - 7-0
Jason Singer - Pennsylvania Blue - 5-0
220 pounds
Rylan Kuhn - Team Missouri Red - 9-0
Nicholas Sahakian - California - 8-0
Caleb Cunningham - Ohio Scarlet - 7-0
285 pounds
Sampson Stillwell - Team Missouri Red - 9-0
Willie Cox - Alabama - 8-0
Aaron Ries - Ohio - 8-0
Lee Smith - Illinois - 5-0
Best Matches of 16U Freestyle National Duals
113 pounds: Edwin Sierra, California vs. Sebastian Degennaro, Florida
132 pounds: Jayson Suetos, California vs. Cory Velasquez, Oklahoma Blue FS
138 pounds: Vince Bouzakis, Pennsylvania Blue vs. Elvis Solis, Florida
182 pounds: Adam Waters, Pennsylvania Blue vs. Aeoden Sinclair, Wisconsin Red
285 pounds: Evan Gratz, Wisconsin Red vs. Aaron Ries, Ohio
16U Greco National Duals Recap
Pennsylvania Blue was dominant on its way to winning Pool A on Wednesday. Pennsylvania Blue took out Texas Red, Georgia Blue, and Colorado by scores of 53-24, 60-16, and 52-23 respectively, to make its way into the Gold/Silver pool on Thursday.
California came out on top of Pool B, but it did not come without a scare. California took out North Carolina 70-8, and then Minnesota Red 56-20 on their way to the Pool B finals against Illinois. Illinois gave California everything it could handle in a dual that was heated from the start. The dual came down to the final bout. Angelo Posada closed it out for California with a 14-6 tech fall at 160 over Anthony Gutierrez to win Pool B over Illinois 41-35.
Pennsylvania made its way into the finals by taking out Illinois, Tennessee, and Oklahoma Red in a very tight 41-36 dual. California navigated through its pool by defeating Colorado, Minnesota Blue, and Iowa on its way to the finals.
The anticipated showdown in the finals between Pennsylvania Blue and California did not disappoint. Both teams traded wins through the first four weight classes, but California seemed to take the advantage after winning four straight bouts from 113-132 pounds. Pennsylvania was not going down without a fight however, as it picked off several bonus point wins on its way to a 36-29 lead heading into the final two bouts of the dual. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania's heavyweight was injured early on in the tournament forcing it to forfeit at 220 pounds to Nicholas Sahakian of California and bump Ean Winchester up to 285 pounds. The dual came down to the final bout at 285 pounds between Adam Farha and Winchester. Fahra came out on top of Winchester in a 6-3 decision to tie the dual at 37-37. California's nine match victories proved to be the difference.
Greco Top Performers (undefeated with at least five matches):
94 pounds
Saxton Scott - Idaho - 8-0
Wyatt Ulrey - Indiana Gold - 8-0
Noah Rankin - Virginia - 8-0
100 pounds
Anthony Ciotoli - Virginia - 8-0
Lincoln Sledzianowski - Florida - 7-0
106 pounds
Nicholas Owens - Georgia Red - 8-0
Kolter Burton - Idaho - 8-0
Aaron Seidel - Pennsylvania Blue - 7-0
113 pounds
Colt Collett - Oklahoma Blue - 8-0
Declan Koch - Wisconsin - 8-0
Timothy Koester - Iowa - 6-0
Edwin Sierra - California - 5-0
120 pounds
Brodie Christmas - Alabama - 8-0
Billy Townson - California - 6-0
126 pounds
Hoyt Hvass - Idaho - 8-0
132 pounds
Braeden Moore - Kansas Blue - 8-0
Tyson Charmoli - Minnesota Blue - 8-0
138 pounds
Alex Braun - Minnesota Blue - 7-0
Vince Bouzakis - Pennsylvania Blue - 7-0
145 pounds
David Burks - Virginia - 8-0
Beau Hickman - Oklahoma Red - 6-0
Jacob Goodwin - Kansas Blue - 5-0
152 pounds
Maximus Norman - Tennessee - 9-0
160 pounds
Tristan Steldt - Wisconsin - 5-0
170 pounds
Robert Kucharczk - Virginia - 8-0
Hudson Rogers - Idaho - 6-0
Brent Slade - Iowa - 6-0
Bryce Burkett - Minnesota Blue - 6-0
182 pounds
De'Alcapon Veazy - Indiana Gold - 8-0
Cittadino Tuttle - Minnesota Blue - 7-0
195 pounds
Brennan Carey - Missouri - 6-0
220 pounds
Nicholas Sahakian - California - 7-0
Rylan Kuhn - Missouri - 6-0
285 pounds
Willie Cox - Alabama - 8-0
Cooper Martinson - Iowa - 6-0
Sampson Stillwell - Missouri - 6-0
Lee Smith - Illinois - 5-0
Best Matches of 16U Greco National Duals
132 pounds: Brock Mantanona, California vs. Peyton Cox, Illinois
285 pounds: Ean Winchester, Pennsylvania Blue vs. Adam Farha, California
