California’s Tirso Lara (in green) advanced to the semifinals with a pair of wins in the Junior division at 100 pounds. G. Wyatt Schultz photo.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – California’s Tirso Lara knew all about the opponent he was facing.

2011 USA Wrestling Cadet Triple Crown winner Gannon Volk of Minnesota.

Lara had earned a win over Volk this past fall in Las Vegas, and he repeated it with an impressive 4-0 win over Volk in the first round of USA Wrestling's ASICS Folkstyle Nationals on Friday afternoon at the UNI-Dome. 

“Wrestling him before, it helped me a lot because I had beaten him before and I knew what to expect,” said Lara, who reached the semifinals on Friday. “I had to be real careful because he’s a real good wrestler. I had to be aware of his strength. I was a little surprised I drew him in the first round.”

Lara, who qualified for the California state high school tournament this year, led 4-0 in the 100-pound Junior match entering the final period. Volk tried valiantly to turn Lara in the final two minutes, but was unable to.

“That was pretty tough,” Lara said. “He has pretty long arms and he had a cradle locked up, but we were near the edge of the mat and I was able to get a fresh start.”

Lara is on a tough side of the bracket that also includes Jabari Moody of Illinois, a 2011 Cadet folkstyle and freestyle national champion. Lara will face Moody in the semifinals on Saturday morning.

2011 Junior Triple Crown winner Nkosi Moody of Illinois joined his brother in the semifinals. Nkosi Moody competes at 106.

Returning Junior folkstyle national champion Alex Meyer of Iowa earned a 7-2 quarterfinal win over Kyle Begin of Minnesota at 170 pounds. Meyer, a University of Iowa recruit, beat Begin in the finals of this event last year at 160.

Meyer outlasted 2011 Cadet freestyle national champion Ricky Roberston of Illinois 9-8 in two overtimes in the third round. Begin edged 2011 Cadet folkstyle and freestyle national champion Zachary Beard of Oklahoma 8-5 in the third round.

“I needed to make sure I got in on his legs, so he couldn’t get in on mine,” Meyer said of the match with Begin. “The match before I didn’t shoot enough. I needed to get to my offense. I’ve wrestled him in Greco, freestyle and folkstyle. He’s a basic, solid wrestler. I just had to go and hit my stuff.”

2011 Cadet World freestyle champion Adam Coon of Michigan rolled into the semifinal round at 285 pounds.

Minnesota’s Tommy Thorn and Oregon’s Ronnie Bresser, who both won Cadet titles at this event last year, have reached the Junior semifinals at 113. Thorn and Bresser are on opposite sides of the bracket. Thorn beat Bresser in the Cadet Nationals freestyle finals in 2011.

Nebraska’s Colton Adams, a Cadet champion in this event last year, advanced to the Junior semifinals at 126.

2011 FILA Cadet National freestyle champion Oliver Pierce of Texas reached the Junior semifinals at 152.

Returning Cadet folkstyle champion Bo Nickal of Texas advanced to the Cadet semifinals at 152.

The Folkstyle Nationals will resume at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, with the finals being held in Juniors and Cadets. The Bantam, Intermediate, Novice and Schoolboy divisions are scheduled to begin competition on Saturday.

The Final Olympic Trials Qualifier in freestyle will be held on Saturday at the UNI-Dome, with the Greco-Roman and women competitions scheduled for Sunday. The freestyle competition starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

The loaded freestyle field includes past World medalists Jake Herbert and Cary Kolat, along with past NCAA champions Darrion Caldwell, Chris Pendleton, Troy Nickerson, Max Askren and J.P. O’Connor.