Michigan's Taylor Massa (right) battles Dylan Reel of Illinois in the finals. Photo by John Sachs/Tech-fall.com.

FARGO, N.D. - Taylor Massa was asked about who his wrestling heroes were while growing up in the state of Michigan.

Fellow Michigan native Brent Metcalf was the first name that came to mind.

Massa is starting to mirror the remarkable and dominant run Metcalf had on the Fargo mats a few years back. Massa continues to decimate the competition as he moves closer to winning a second straight Cadet Triple Crown.

The 16-year-old Massa, a Cadet champion at Folkstyle Nationals earlier this year, added a Cadet Nationals Greco-Roman title with a 6-0, 1-0 win over Dylan Reel of Illinois in the 152-pound finals on Monday night at the FargoDome.

Massa was named Outstanding Wrestler in Greco-Roman.

Massa is trying to become the first wrestler to win back-to-back Triple Crowns in the Cadet division. Massa, from St. Johns, Mich., won the prestigious USA Wrestling Triple Crown in Cadets in 2008.

"I just try and forget about last year - that's the past," Massa said. "I still have to come out and be ready, no matter who I'm facing. The pressure is there, but my coaches have said the bigger the match the better I seem to wrestle."

Massa will need to win the Cadet freestyle title on Friday to complete the Triple Crown again. Massa, who will be a high school sophomore, went 62-0 and won a Michigan state high school title as a freshman.

In the finals, Massa rattled off a succession of three straight gut wrenches to win first period 6-0. He then successfully defended from the down position in the final 30 seconds of the second period to win 1-0.

"Some people were talking to me about going up to Juniors this year," Massa said. "I gave it a little bit of thought, but that's for next year. I will still have three more years against the Juniors." 

Wisconsin won a tight team race with Minnesota a close second and Illinois third.

Oliver Pierce of Texas, a two-time USA Wrestling Kids Triple Crown winner, added another big title to his collection after rallying past Minnesota's Dan Dick in the 135 finals.

Pierce also moves within one step of winning a Cadet Nationals Triple Crown. Like Massa, he now owns titles in folkstyle and Greco-Roman this year with the freestyle competition coming up later this week.

Minnesota's Jake Waste also is two-thirds of the way to a Cadet Triple Crown after winning the Greco-Roman title at 160 on Monday. He beat Sam Brooks of Illinois in the Greco finals.
 
Wisconsin's Devin Peterson also has moved one title away from a Triple Crown after capturing the Cadet Nationals Greco-Roman title at 171. He swept Dwight Howes of Colorado 6-0, 6-0 in the finals Monday.

USA Wrestling has had only five Triple Crown Cadet winners in its history.

Pennsylvania's Nick Roberts (98 pounds), a Cadet Nationals double champion in 2008, moved a big step closer to repeating his feat from last year when he won a tough bout over Minnesota's Sam Brancale in the finals. Roberts came from behind to win the second period.

Brancale won a Triple Crown in the Schoolboy division in 2008.

Another Cadet National double champion from 2008, Mark Grey of New Jersey (112), is now halfway to repeating what he did last year. Grey downed Michigan's Ben Whitford in the finals.

Grey stepped over Whitford's gut-wrench attempt in the final 30 seconds of the third period to gain the fall.

"I knew he was a tough wrestler, but I knew I could stop him at the end," said Grey, younger brother of Cornell All-American Mike Grey. "It's real tough trying to do this again. There's a lot of pressure on me, but I just try to put that aside and wrestle the best I can."

Roberts and Grey now shift gears to trying to add another Cadet Nationals title in freestyle.

Tyler Fraley of New Jersey, a Junior Nationals champion in freestyle in 2008, won a Cadet Nationals Greco-Roman title on Monday. Fraley pinned Virginia's Joey Dance in the third period of their finals match at 105.

Nebraska's Kavon Jones had one of the best post-match celebrations after winning the title at 125 pounds. Jones did a cartwheel into a backflip after taking two straight periods from Maryland's Tyler Goodwin.

Wisconsin's Alex Dieringer executed a two-point gut wrench in the last 30 seconds to rally for a 0-2, 1-0, 2-0 win over Idaho's Casey George in the finals at 130.

CADET NATIONALS GRECO-ROMAN FINALS RESULTS

84 Pounds

Dylan Akers (Texas) dec. Darshawn Sharpe (Georgia), 6-1, 6-0

91 Pounds

Colton Howell (Missouri) dec. Bobby Nachreiner (Wisconsin), 1-0, 1-0

98 Pounds

Nick Roberts (Pennsylvania) dec. Sam Brancale (Minnesota), 4-0, 5-4

105 Pounds

Tyler Fraley (New Jersey) pinned Joey Dance (Virginia), 8-0, 0-3, 1:34

112 Pounds

Mark Grey (New Jersey) pinned Ben Whitford (Michigan), 1-0, 0-1, 1:51

119 Pounds

Kavon Jones (Nebraska) dec. Tyler Goodwin (Maryland), 3-2, 1-0

125 Pounds

Zane Richards (Illinois) dec. Kameron Hamley (North Dakota), 1-0, 1-0

130 Pounds

Alex Dieringer (Wisconsin) dec. Casey George (Idaho), 0-2, 1-0, 2-0

135 Pounds

Oliver Pierce (Texas) dec. Dan Dick (Minnesota), 0-1, 1-0, 2-0

140 Pounds

Zak Benitz (Wisconsin) dec. Zach Brunson (Oregon), 8-3, 0-5, 5-0

145 Pounds

Brad Dolezal (Wisconsin) dec. Justin Koethe (Iowa), 3-0, 2-0

152 Pounds

Taylor Massa (Michigan) dec. Dylan Reel (Illinois), 6-0, 1-0

160 Pounds

Jake Waste (Minnesota) dec. Sam Brooks (Illinois), 0-1, 1-0, 3-2

171 Pounds

Devin Peterson (Wisconsin) dec. Dwight Howes (Colorado), 6-0, 6-0

189 Pounds

Tanner Hall (Idaho) vs. Zack Rutt (Minnesota), 1-0, 0-2, 7-0

215 Pounds

Brooks Black (Pennsylvania) dec. Josh Marchok (Illinois), 0-1, 2-0, 1-0

285 Pounds

Orry Elor (California) dec. Caleb White (Iowa), 1-0, 4-0