Fargo Special Section

FARGO, N.D. - In a battle of returning Cadet National champions, Dylan Carew of Iowa defeated Mac Bailey of Missouri in the 125-pound finals at the Accelerade Cadet National Greco-Roman Championships at the FargoDome. They were the only returning champions in the field. 

In the first period, no takedowns were scored. Bailey scored first by defending against the reverse lift. Carew was also able to defend from the bottom, tying the period at 1-1 and winning it by scoring the last point.

In the second period, no points were scored on the feet. Carew hit a three-point throw from a front-headlock from the top position for a 3-0 lead, then was able to defend from the bottom for another point and a 4-0 final score. Carew was named Outstanding Wrestler in Greco-Roman for his efforts.

Carew was last year's champion at 112 pounds and Bailey won the title at 105-pound champion. 

Still alive in the quest for a Cadet Triple crown is Hayden Zillmer of Minnesota, the champion at 84 pounds.

The Triple Crown is awarded to any athlete who wins USA Wrestling titles in folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman the same year. Only two athletes have ever won the Cadet Triple Crown since it was created five years ago.

Zillmer's finals match against Jade Rauser of Montana went the full three periods.  Rauser won the first period 3-0, but Zillmer came back with two turns to win 5-0. In the deciding third period, Zillmer defended against the reverse lift for one point, then scored a gut wrench turn for two points to win the period, 3-0.

Two sets of twins were in the finals, but neither family was able to come home with both brothers winning the title.

One of the Rauser twins from Montana did win the title, as Valyen Rauser was the champion at 91 pounds. He pinned Carson Kuhn of Utah in the third period at 1:12, hitting a hip toss, holding for an additional point, then pressing him for the pin. Kuhn won the first period 4-2, but Rauser came back with a second period victory, 4-3.

The Alton twins of Pennsylvania, Dylan (130) and Andrew (135), also made the championship finals.

The victory at 130 pounds went to Derek Garcia of Washington, who needed three periods to defeat Dylan Alton, 0-6, 5-3, 2-1.

Dylan Alton won the first period by technical fall, scoring four early points, then hitting a gutwrench from the top position of the par terre start. In the second period, Garcia hit a three-point double-overhook throw and a two-point toss for a 5-3 win. In the final period, no takedowns were scored. Alton got a gutwrench for one point. From the top position, Garcia also scored a gutwrench, this time for two points, to win the period, 2-1.

Andrew Alton brought home the gold for the family, with a victory over Mike Nevinger of New York in two periods, 8-2, 3-1 at 135 pounds. 

Alton won the first period by hitting a five-point throw to instantly end the period. Alton was leading 3-2 when he hit the big toss to win 8-2. In the second period, neither wrestler scored from the feet, but Alton was able to win the par terre positions, 3-1.

Claiming the title at 98 pounds was Jesse Thielke of Wisconsin, who won a three-period battle against Zach Zimmer of California. Thielke won the first period 3-2, with Zimmer taking the second period, 4-3. In the deciding third period, Thielke jumped out to a 3-0 lead with a takedown and a gutwrench. Two times, Zimmer was penalized two points and a caution for false starts, giving Thielke a technical fall by a 7-1 margin.

Thielke was the Ultimate Dominator in 2007, as the highest point scorer of the ASICS Ultimate Challenge Series of Folkstyle Wrestling. 

Pennsylvania won the Wells Fargo Insurance Services Cup as the Cadet Greco-Roman Team Champions with 61 points, followed by second-place Wisconsin with 59 points. Placing third was Illinois with 50 points and Minnesota with 50 points, with California in fifth with 35 points.

"This was our Cadet Dual meet team, as every kid on that team came to compete here. We encouraged everybody there to train for Fargo, and that is what did it for us," said Van Plocus, USA Wrestling state chairperson in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania had four individual champions, Andrew Alton, plus Marshall Peppleman at 140 pounds, Dirw Cowburn at 145 pounds and Evan Craig at 285 pounds.

In an exciting match with many high amplitude throws, Peppleman emerged in a three-period war over Justin Gonzales of Colorado. Gonzales won the first period by technical fall, 6-0, with a key three-point lift and throw. In the second period, Peppelman got the 6-0 technical fall, with a two-point front headlock, a three-point lift and throw and an additional backpoint.  

The third period was a classic. Peppleman scored first on a takedown. Gonzales tied the score at 1-1 by defending from the bottom position. Gonzales hit a three point reverse lift throw to jump to a 4-1 lead. But with 17 seconds to go, Peppelman hit a three-point body lock throw to tie the match at 4-4. Peppelman won the match by scoring the last point.

Cowburn stopped Mark Stenberg of Illinois. Stenberg opened the match with a three-point throw, but Cowburn won the period with two high gut wrenches for a 4-3 first period victory. The second period went to Stenberg, 3-0, getting one point by defending from the par terre, and two more points on a late gut wrench.

The closing match ended with a pin when Craig planted Nikola Bogojevic of Wisconsin in the second period. Craig won the first period. In the second period, Bogojevic tried a throw on Craig, but Craig stepped over and landed on top, scoring the fall. 

At 171 pounds, Joel Bauman of Minnesota put on a throwing exhibition in a two-period technical fall over John Eblen of Missouri. Bauman ended the both periods instantly with a spectacular five-point throws both times.

Another match with some very good throws came at 215 pounds, when Kyle Caylor of Kansas scored a technical fall over Alex Polizzi of Wisconsin. Caylor won the first period instantly with a five-point throw, then scored a three-point lift and a two point throw for the win.

The finals at 105 pounds went to Alan Waters of Missouri, who stopped Efrain Aguilar of Washington, 5-3, 3-2 in a closely contested battle.

At 112 pounds, Dylan Ness of Minnesota defeated Luke Goettl of Arizona in two straight periods, 5-3, 6-2. Ness won the first period, 5-3, getting a three-point turn from the top position in the closing seconds of the bout. The second period to Ness 6-2, which included a three-point hip toss early in the period.

In a battle of top young stars at 119 pounds, Ellis Coleman of Illinois needed three periods to defeat Josh Kindig of Pennsylvania,

Kindig scored a 6-0 technical fall victory in the first period, with two points for stepouts and two gut wrenches. Coleman came back in the second period for a 3-0 win, including a gut wrench and a takedown. The third period Coleman used a pair of three-point throws, including an impressive toss from the reverse lift, to get score the 6-0 technical fall.

At 152 pounds, Kyle Detmer of Kansas won the gold-medal, beating Mike Curby of Michigan in two straight periods 1-1, 5-2. Detmer was able to get a throw with exposure in the final period.

At 160 pounds, Ethen Lofthouse of Utah defeated Stephen McPeek of Texas, 3-1, 4-4. Lofthouse won the first period with a takedown and a gutwrench. Trailing 4-3 in the second period, Lofthouse scored a takedown with about 10 seconds to go to tie the match and win on the criteria of scoring the last point.

In a battle of New Jersey athletes, Andrew Campalattano defeated Jonathan Becker in the finals at 189 pounds. Becker won the first period, but Campalattano won a tight second period, 2-1. In the deciding third period, Campalattano scored two gut wrenches and a takedown to win.