ASICS Junior & Cadet Nationals Preview: 145-170

Editor’s Note: WIN’s high school columnist Rob Sherrill is continuing his weight-by-weight preview of the ASICS Junior/Cadet Nationals, which will be held July 13-20 in Fargo, N.D. In this week’s WIN eNews, Sherrill is focusing on the top wrestlers at both 126 and 132 pounds, based primarily on their performance at the four regional tournaments.

 By Rob Sherrill

Let’s move up the ladder with our Cadet and Junior Nationals preview. We spotlighted 138 in the first installment of this preview a few weeks back, so we’re skipping ahead to the middle weights – 145, 152, 160 and 170 pounds.

Here are a few of the standouts to date, regional by regional.

145 pounds

Double regional champions

Cadet – Austin Keller, Wentzville (Mo.) Emil E. Holt (Southern Plains); Austin Kraisser, Ellicott City (Md.) Centennial (Phil Portuese Northeast)

Junior – Hayden Tuma, Boise (Idaho) Centennial (Northwest)

Highlights – Tuma won three spring events for the second straight year. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that he wasn’t tested in any of his 12 matches. He went 5-0 in Greco-Roman and 7-0 in freestyle, scoring a pair of pins in each style and winning the rest by technical fall. He ended every period early and didn’t surrender a point.

152 pounds

Double regional champions

Cadet – Andrew Buckley, Kearney (Mo.) (Southern Plains); Trace Carello, Aurora (Ill.) Marmion Academy (Central); Davis Ison, Valdosta (Ga.) Lowndes County (Southeast); Mason Manville, Blairstown Township (N.J.) Blair Academy (Phil Portuese Northeast)

Junior – Logan Breitenbach, Severna (Md.) Archbishop Spalding (Southeast); Blayne Briceno, Encino (Calif.) Crespi Carmelite (West); Brandon Sorensen, Denver (Iowa) D.-Tripoli (Northern Plains)

Highlights – Manville, who went 10-0 with four wins in Greco-Roman and six in freestyle, actually earned a trifecta that weekend, also taking the Junior Greco-Roman title. Manville had four pins and five technical falls in his Cadet matches, not allowing a point. Briceno, 6-0 in each style, showed remarkable resilience in his final matches, rallying to win both in three periods after dropping the opening round. None of his pool matches went the distance, as he scored a pin and nine technical falls.

160 pounds

Double regional champions

Junior – Paden Moore, Jackson County Central (Minn.); Bobby Reece, Kingston (Wash.)

Highlights – Despite going 12-0 with seven freestyle wins, double All-American Reece also lived on the edge, losing two periods in Greco-Roman and another in freestyle. He did have a pin and four technical falls in freestyle.

170 pounds

Double regional champions

Cadet – Zane Black, Mechanicsburg (Pa.) Cumberland Valley (Phil Portuese Northeast); Mitchell Owens, Federal Way (Wash.) Todd Beamer (Northwest)

Junior – Jared Johnson, Easton (Kan.) Pleasant Ridge (Southern Plains); Dontae McGee, Brandon (Fla.) (Southeast); Jacob Morrissey, Oconto Falls (Wis.) (Northern Plains); Chandler Rogers, Spokane (Wash.) Mead (Northwest); Chris Weiler, Kingston (Pa.) Wyoming Seminary (Phil Portuese Northeast)

Highlights – Showing the dominance that his older brother, Jordan, often displayed during his high-school career, Chandler Rogers was untouchable in a 13-0 run that saw just one match go two full periods. He had two pins and four technical falls in each style — winning seven freestyle matches — and allowed just two points, both in freestyle. Morrissey had two three-period classics against Angus Arthur of St. Johns (Mich.), rallying to win both after dropping the first period. The first came in the Greco-Roman round robin and the second in the freestyle finals. Otherwise, Morrissey, 5-0 in Greco-Roman and 6-0 in freestyle, was virtually flawless, racking up four pins and five technical falls and surrendering just one point. He added a third regional title up a weight, taking the Central Region freestyle crown at 182.