ASICS/Vaughan Junior Nationals set three participation records, including 2,320 total Junior competi

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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
07/30/2004


The 2004 ASICS/Vaughan Junior National Championships, held at the Fargodome on the campus of North Dakota State Univ. in Fargo, N.D., set three participation records this year.    The Junior Nationals tournament, which started on July 28 and will end July 31, set a new entry record of 2,320 participants, including all three divisions (boys Greco-Roman, boys freestyle and girls freestyle). The previous record was 2,271, set in 2002.    In addition, this year was the largest Junior National Greco-Roman tournament ever held, with 946 participants, breaking the previous record of 914 set in 2002.    The Junior National Girls Championships set a new record with 144 entries, breaking the previous mark of 111 participants set in 2003.    Juniors are high school athletes in grades 9-12.    The combined event held in Fargo, N.D. each year, which also features boys competition on the Cadet level (ages 15-16) in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, is the largest wrestling tournament held in the world.    This year's combined competition, including all five divisions, was the second largest wrestling tournament in history, with 4,471 participants this year. The record for the largest wrestling competition was set in the FargoDome in 2002, when 4,504 athletes participated in the five divisions.    USA Wrestling has held Junior National Championships for boys since 1971 and Cadet National Championships for boys since 1985. The girls freestyle division at the Junior Nationals was created in 2002.    "This is a testament to so many people," said Pete Isais, Director of National Events for USA Wrestling. "This is led by our State Chairpersons and state leaders, who organized the teams that come to compete. Special recognition should also go to the great staff at North Dakota State Univ. and the entire Fargo-Moorhead community for accommodating such large numbers of people."