Amos, Sharp among six Cadet Greco champs in Fargo
Photos: (Left) Braxton Amos was named OW after he defeated Luke Luffman for the 220-pound Greco-Roman Cadet National championship in Fargo, where 195-pound Ashton Sharp (right) became a Triple Crown winner by adding a Greco title to his earlier folkstyle and freestyle championships. (G. Wyatt Schultz photo)
July 21, 2017
FARGO, N.D. — Nearly a thousand Cadet-level wrestlers show up in the Fargodome hoping to capture at least one of the 34 individual championships that are held in either the freestyle of Greco-Roman titles.
And then there are those elite wrestlers who leave the campus of North Dakota State with titles in both styles … and on Friday afternoon, six wrestlers accomplished such a feat. That included Ashton Sharp of Kansas City, Mo., who blanked Peter Christensen, 4-0, to claim the 195-pound championship as well as the coveted Triple Crown this season. (That included a Folkstyle national championship earlier this year.)
“I think it has to do with your mindset going into the tournament and what you do the whole week to prepare like going to bed on time and knowing your body and what to do to succeed,” said Sharp, who will be a sophomore at Park Hill High School this fall … shortly after he represents the United States in the UWW Cadet World Championships in September.
The five other Cadet double winners after Friday’s Greco-Roman finals were:
- Dylan Ragusin of Elk Grove Village, Ill., who edged another Illinois wrestler, Matt Ramos of Lockport, 4-3 at 106 pounds, two days after he won the 100-pound freestyle championship.
“I wanted to come back and prove that I’m not a one-style guy,” said Ragusin, who also won a Greco title in 2016, but settled for third in freestyle.”
- 132-pound Carson Manville of Shakopee, Minn., who defeated a 2017 freestyle champion Joshua Saunders of St. Louis, Mo., by a 5-1 margin. After the bout, Manville — the younger brother of 2017 Senior World Team member Mason Manville, said claiming a double in Fargo was harder than winning both styles at the Cadet Pan Ams two weeks ago.
“What is satisfying is my older brother did amazing his first year as a Cadet but ended put up on the back and could not win a championship,” said Carson.
- Carter Starocci of Erie, Pa., who defeated Dalton Andrist at 160 pounds, after claiming the 152-pound freestyle title on Monday;
- 170-pound Abe Assad of Carol Stream, Ill., who edged Tyler Hannah of Genoa, Wisc., 2-1;
- Braxton Amos of Mineral Wells, W.Va., who needed just 47 seconds to win a 10-0 technical fall over Luke Luffman of Urbana, Ill. Amos, a junior at Parkersburg High, was named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.
Meanwhile, there were three Cadet who won championships at Greco after finishing second in the freestyle tournament:
- Chance Lamer of Oregon who pinned Nathan Rubino of Nebraska at 88 pounds. He is the son of former Senior World team member Chad Lamer, who served as his son’s coach;
- Oklahoma’s Carter Young, who blanked Danny Curran of Illinois, 10-0, in 50 seconds;
- Michael Weber of Forsyth, Mont., who defeated Franky Almaguer of Washington, 4-2, to claim the 145-pound championship.
“It was tough (losing in the freestyle final), but after the match was over, I said that’s over and time to move on,” said Weber, a junior and two-time Montana state champ from Forsyth High School. “Greco was part of my game plan and had to refocus. There was nothing I could do about freestyle.”
USMC/USAW Cadet Greco Championships
July 21 • Fargo, N.D.
Championship Matches
88 — Chance Lamer (Corvallis, Ore.) pinned Nathan Rubino (Omaha, Neb.), 10-0
94 — Carter Young (Bixby, Okla.) won by TF over Danny Curran (Warrenville, Ill.), 10-0 0:50
100 — Yusief Lillie (Bonney Lake, Wash.) dec. Andrew Chambal (Millington, Mich.), 4-1
106 — Dylan Ragusin (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) dec. Matthew Ramos (Lockport, IL (Ill.), 4-3
113 — Hunter Lewis (Stoughton, Wisc.) pinned Conor Knopick (Omaha, Neb.), 10-0 2:05
120 — Phillip Moomey (Kearney, Neb.) dec. Fabian Lopez (DeKalb, Ill.), 13-9
126 — Reece Witcraft (Coweta, Okla.) won by TF over Ryan Ripplinger (Bismarck, ND), 15-4 2:01
132 — Carson Manville (Shakopee, Minn.) dec. Joshua Saunders (St. Louis, Mo.), 5-1
138 — Kevon Davenport (Pontiac, Mich.) dec. Colby Njos (Anoka, Minn.), 6-3
145 — Michael Weber (Forsyth, Mont.) dec. Franky Almaguer (Granger, Wash.), 4-2
152 — Mckay Foy (Altamont, Utah) pinned Aaron Gandara (Somerton, Ariz.), 8-0 1:49
160 — Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa.) dec. Dalton Andrist Kasson, MN (Minnesota), 6-1
170 — Abe Assad (Carol Stream, Ill.) dec. Tyler Hannah (Genoa, Wisc.), 2-1
182 — Jonathon Fagen (Fruitland, Idaho) dec. Grant Parrish (Forest Lake, Minn.), 14-8
195 — Ashton Sharp (Kansas City, Mo.) dec. Peter Christensen (Harwood Heights, Ill.), 4-0
220 — Braxton Amos (Mineral Wells, WV) won by TF over Luke Luffman (Urbana, IL), 10-0 0:47
285 — Eli Pokorney (Chesterton, Ind.) dec. Logan Zschernitz (Spencer, Wash.), 14-7
Final Team Standings
PLACE | TEAM | POINTS |
1 | Illinois | 89 |
2 | Minnesota | 48 |
3 | Pennsylvania | 44 |
4 | Washington | 43 |
5 | California | 37 |
6 | Wisconsin | 35 |
7 | Nebraska | 30 |
8 | Michigan | 28 |
9 | Oklahoma | 25 |
10 | Arizona | 23 |
11 | Missouri | 22 |
12 | West Virginia | 18 |
13 | Idaho | 17 |
14 | Indiana | 14 |
15 | Iowa | 13 |
15 | Oregon | 13 |
15 | Utah | 13 |
18 | Colorado | 12 |
19 | Kansas | 11 |
19 | Maryland | 11 |
19 | Ohio | 11 |
22 | Montana | 8 |
22 | Texas | 8 |
24 | Georgia | 7 |
24 | North Dakota | 7 |
26 | South Dakota | 6 |
27 | Virginia | 5 |
28 | New York | 4 |
29 | Nevada | 3 |
29 | New Jersey | 3 |
31 | Florida | 2 |
31 | North Carolina | 2 |