Five wrestlers who Fargo helped put on the map

Photo: Dallas Russell (blue) pictured in the Fargo finals in an all-Georgia matchup with Logan Paradice. 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. Digital subscribers receive immediate access to the latest and final high school rankings for the 2024-25 season. 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 Rob Sherrill 

Another Fargo extravaganza is in the books. By all accounts, it was the most popular age-group nationals ever, with record entry totals across the six events that were contested in the Fargodome earlier this month.

Although I wasn’t in attendance this year, I believe I have made some sense of eight days of madness.

Overall, the results confirmed not so much the way I do rankings, but the way I compile them. Years of doing this have reinforced this: even though wrestlers move up and down in weight with regularity during the second season that just concluded, state tournament weight class designations do not lie. That’s why, for the most part, hundreds, even thousands of matches contested in the Fargodome really didn’t change the overall rankings published in this issue very much.

Still, there were some movers. Using the Junior freestyle tournament as our compass, 38 wrestlers recorded three or more victories over opponents who were either ranked in the Top 25 at their weight class, or someone under serious consideration for a ranking.

The wrestler who, by my count, recorded the most quality wins at Fargo was the 120-pound champion, Rocklin Zinkin of California. The two-time state champion from Clovis powerhouse Buchanan racked up six victories over such opponents, the only wrestler in the tournament to do so. Four were ranked in the Top 25: Roman Luttrell of New Mexico, Ayden Dodd of Ohio, Joseph Uhorchuk of Tennessee and Cameron Sontz of New Jersey. Three of the four wins came by tech fall.

The 120-pound class was so loaded that it also produced the only other two wrestlers to record five quality wins: Paul Kenny of New Jersey and Cale Vandermark of Iowa. You’ll read more about Vandermark later in this column.

The weight classes with the depth by this measure were 113, 120 and 215. All three produced five wrestlers with at least three Junior freestyle quality wins. The only weight class that did not produce at least one was 106.

Wyatt Medlin of Illinois earned himself a special category. He was the only Junior wrestler at Fargo who earned three quality wins in both freestyle and Greco, for his own total of six.

But there were some big movers as a result of their performances in the Fargodome. Here are five who broke through to earn Top-25 spots.

Cale Vandermark, 120, Iowa

The junior, a state runner-up last season at Ankeny Centennial, had never been on our radar prior to his big move at Fargo.

All Vandermark did was wrestle a gauntlet of seven ranked opponents, winning five times, en route to finishing sixth. Tech falls over Nicolas Enzminger of North Dakota and Titan Friederichs of Minnesota were the highlights. Vandermark debuts at the No. 16 spot.

Dallas Russell, 157, Georgia

Russell had been on our radar but had never advanced to a Top 25 prior to making the Junior freestyle final at 150.

Not only did the junior, who will try to become a four-time state champion at Jefferson next season, beat top-five opponent Blake Cosby of Michigan on his way to the title match, but he beat the 157-pound champion, David Gleason of Missouri, in the Junior National Duals in June. He debuts at No. 19.

Gabriel Delgado, 157, Nevada

The Arizona State recruit, who finished his career at Henderson SLAM Academy as a three-time state champion, finally broke down the door to make our final 2024-25 cut in his final try.

All three of Delgado’s quality wins were over Top-25 opponents, Bas Diaz of Iowa, Zeno Moore of Florida and Carson Weber of Illinois, as he finished third in the freestyle tournament. Delgado, who finished eighth in Greco to earn double All-America honors, debuts at No. 21.

Lucas Ricketts, 175, Kentucky

After spending his career at Morganfield Union County in the shadow of more heralded teammates like Jayden and Jordyn Raney, Ricketts, who won a pair of 175-pound state titles in his Braves career, advanced to both Junior finals, winning the freestyle title with three quality wins, including a revenge win over Jimmy Mastny of Illinois. Ricketts debuts at No. 15.

Michael Boyle, 215, Ohio

Boyle, who as a sophomore won his second state title at Columbus Bishop Watterson, was the only one of the five honorees in the 215-pound class to claw his way to four quality wins.

The freestyle finalist got there with Top-25 wins over Devin Downes of New York, Alex Smith of Florida and Levi Bussey of California. He cemented his debut at No. 21 with a fifth-place Greco finish, earning double All-America honors.

Just a few of the many highlights under the bright lights of the Fargodome.

(A native of Chicago’s south suburbs, Rob Sherrill has been covering high school wrestling on the national level since 1978 and has served as WIN’s high school columnist since 1997.)