Fargo father-son duos aplenty on the national stage

Photo: Kacen Jones of Utah (red) scored off a head pinch in the Fargo finals on his way to the 16U Greco title. Kacen is the son of four-time Fargo champion Cam Jones (1998-2001). Photo by Tony Rotundo.

Editor’s Note: This story appeared in WIN’s Volume 31 Issue 10, the Fargo/Final X Commemorative Edition. Click here or call 641-792-4436 to subscribe to WIN Magazine. Buy a Digital or Combo Subscription to get immediate digital access to the Fargo/Final X Commemorative Issue, or a Print Subscription to get WIN mailed to you (using Discount Code “Fargo”).

By Tristan Warner 

If one centralized theme emerged, especially from the 16U division, at the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D., it was that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Many of the names being announced on Wednesday night for the freestyle finals and again on Saturday night for the Greco-Roman finals sounded all-too familiar. And for good reason.

Many of the shining stars in Fargo this year were proudly carrying on the legacies of their famous wrestling fathers. Several just happened to emerge as champions from the 16U division.

On Wednesday, in freestyle action, California’s Thiago Silva emerged victorious at 106 pounds by tech-falling New York’s William Soto, 12-2 in 1:14.

Silva, the son of four-time Mexican Senior World Team member Israel Silva, who also served coaching stints at Fresno State, Oregon State, George Mason and Chattanooga, was happy to dominate a loaded bracket replete with six returning All-Americans.

“Since I was little, my dad’s been my coach,” Thiago said. “I grew up around it.

“Coming into the tournament, I thought I was the best,” he continued. “I was telling myself the whole time leading up to it that I was going to win it.”

Arizona’s Angel Cejudo Jr. captured the 16U 132-pound title in Fargo, adding a “stop sign” to the family bookshelf. Father Angel Cejudo Sr., who is also his son’s coach at Valiant Prep, won two Greco-Roman titles in Fargo in his day to go along with a 16U runner-up finish. And, of course, Angel Jr.’s uncle is none other than 2008 Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo, who became the youngest American wrestler to earn Olympic gold at the time.

The younger Cejudo grabbed a 16U freestyle accolade his father fell just short of acquiring, but he admitted his dad’s advice was to pay it no mind.

“My dad usually tells me it doesn’t matter,” the younger Cejudo said. “The pressure doesn’t matter; just wrestle how you wrestle. Pressure is a privilege.

“I was nervous, but I knew if I wrestled my best, then win, lose or draw, it didn’t matter. I just had fun.”

In Greco, 113-pound champion Kacen Jones of Utah made quick work of Arkansas’ Zachary Donalson, the first finalist ever for his state, by a 9-0 tech fall in 1:22. If the coach in his corner was recognizable, it was for good reason.

Jones is the son of prolific Fargo performer Cam Jones, who won a 16U (then Cadet) Greco-Roman title before rattling off three-straight Junior Greco national championships from 1998-2001. Cam went on to represent Team USA on multiple FILA Cadet and Junior World Teams while also competing at Utah Valley.

Kacen ascended the podium after finishing seventh in Greco and fourth in freestyle at the 2024 16U Nationals, crediting his improvement to match strategy.

“I’ve been working with my dad a lot,” the younger Jones stated. “I know I’ve got a good gut, so I’ve been a lot more patient, getting on top, and not going for those big throws.

“I just want to say thanks to my dad. It is all about being patient and having strategy in Greco. I could hear him getting a little emotional. I’ve been training with him a lot, and that means a lot to him. He knows what he’s talking about, and it is paying off.”

Ryder Owen of Washington, the son of former 16U Greco champion Brian Owen, also followed in dad’s footsteps with a title of his own in the 16U 120-pound class.

The younger Owen stifled Ohio’s Tommy Wurster, in search of a double title after winning the 16U freestyle title in comeback fashion just three days earlier, via an 11-0 tech fall at the 1:38 mark.

Owen, who trains alongside 94-pound double 16U champ Miro Parr-Coffin at his dad Brian’s Inland Northwest Training Center in Spokane, credited his training environment for helping him to carry on his dad’s storied Fargo relevance.

“Miro pushes me, and so do all of my teammates and coaches,” Ryder said. “This was my first time in Fargo, so this definitely boosts my confidence to know I am right there with the top guys.

“My coaches and I have put in so many hours, and it paid off.”

Two champion upper weights also bore internationally recognizable surnames, as Ivan Ivanov Jr. captured the 175-pound title in 16U Greco and subsequent Outstanding Wrestler honors (see more on page 39), while Peter Mocco, the son of the legendary Steve Mocco, won the 190-pound class in 16U Greco after a third-place finish in freestyle (see more on page 10).

“My dad’s really good,” the younger Mocco grinned. “He won this a few times, so he just helps me with a lot of technique.

“Him and my brother gave me some advice (about being in the finals). They said to control your emotions and stuff, which I tried at the end, but it was hard.”

With several of the 16U champs following in their father’s footsteps, a parallel can be drawn to relative Greco-Roman newcomer Michial Foy making the Senior Greco World Team at the CLAW U.S. Open in late April, following in the footsteps of his two-time Olympian father, also named Michial.

Regardless of style, the future looks bright with so many accomplished freestyle and Greco wrestlers-turned-fathers paving the way for the next generation of USA Wrestling Senior-level talent.