Garrett Lowney of Appleton, Wis, capped off an incredible junior career by capturing his fifth straight Junior Nationals title at the 1998 ASICS TIGER Junior National Wrestling Championships in Fargo, N.D., July 25.Lowney, 18, closed out his junior career with a 10-0 technical fall over Brad Steele of St. James, Minn. at 220 pounds. Lowney, who will attend the University of Minnesota in the fall, is now tied with T.J. Hill of Missouri and Sean Hage of Georgia with five Junior National titles each.
Claiming double titles were Jason Powell of Choctaw, Okla. at 105.5 pounds and Eric Larkin of Vail, Ariz., at 132 pounds.
Powell, the 1998 Junior Greco-Roman National champion, scored a 10-3 decision over teammate Aaron Walston of Tulsa, Okla., for the double title at 105.5 pounds. Earlier in the week he registered a 9-2 decision over Davey Starks of Stoughton, Wis. Powell now has four Junior National titles after claiming a double title in 1997.
Larkin, the 1998 Junior Greco-Roman champion, scored a 5-3 decision over Ty Reynolds of Jamestown, N.C. at 132 pounds. Larkin, 18, moved up to the top level after placing second in the 1997 Junior Freestyle Nationals. He now has a National title in both Cadet and Junior after winning the 1995 Cadet Freestyle title.
1997 Junior freestyle champion Damion Hahn of Lakewood, N.J. successfully defended his title with a 5-3 decision over Scott Kaufman of Emmetsburg, Iowa at 178 pounds. In the strongest match of the evening, Hahn and Kaufman battled for every point with the lead changing three times. Hahn, 18, will be a senior in high school this year, while Kaufman will enter the University of Iowa in the fall. Hahn now has two Junior freestyle titles to go with his 1995 Cadet freestyle title.
Returning All-Americans claiming their first Junior National titles were Zach Roberson of Overland Park, Kan. at 114.5 pounds, Ryan Lewis of Vernal, Utah at 123 pounds, Pat Cadwallader of Anaheim, Calif., at 143 pounds, Matt Lackey of Moline, Ill. at 154 pounds, Rob Waller of Latrobe, Pa. at 165 pounds, Nik Fekete of Cranford, N.J. at 191.5 pounds and Boe Rushton of Hailey, Idaho at 275 pounds.
Roberson, who placed third in the 1997 Junior Freestyle Nationals, handed five-time Junior Nationals champion T.J. Hill of Farmington, Mo. his second straight defeat of the week in the championships. Roberson, 17, defeated Hill 8-5 in a very cautious match by both wrestlers. Roberson, using his height advantage, was able to control Hill's attacks and won the match on takedowns. Roberson was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.
Lewis, who placed fifth in the 1997 Junior Freestyle nationals, scored a 9-6 decision over Bo Maynes of Salina, Kan. to secure the title. Lewis, who will attend host North Dakota State University in the fall, broke open a 5-5 tie with a two-point gutwrench late in the match then added two more for the win.
Cadwallader, a 1996 Cadet Nationals double champion, earned his first junior title with a 7-2 decision over Branson Phillips of Broken Arrow, Okla. Cadwallader, 18, placed third in the 1998 Junior Greco-Roman competition earlier in the week.
Lackey, a 1996 Cadet freestyle Nationals champion, gained his first Junior title with a last second 7-6 decision over Grey Maynard of Lakewood, Ohio. Lackey, 17, scored a takedown with just two seconds left to win the match.
Waller, who placed sixth in the 1997 Junior Nationals in freestyle, scored a convincing 13-4 decision over 1998 Junior Greco-Roman champion Jacob Clark of St. Paul, Minn. Waller, 19, will attend the University of Oklahoma in the fall.
Fekete, a 1996 Cadet Nationals double champion, won a close 6-5 decision over Tommy Rowlands of Columbus, Ohio at 191.5 pounds. Fekete, 18, placed third in the 1997 Junior Greco-Roman Nationals and finished sixth in the 1997 Junior Freestyle World Team Trials.
Rushton, a 1996 Cadet Nationals double champion, scored a 9-4 decision over Andy Bowlby of Newberg, Ore. Rushton, 18, will attend Boise State University in the fall.
Also claiming his first title was Nick Simmons of Williamston, Mich. at 98 pounds.
Simmons, who placed fourth in the 1998 Cadet Freestyle World Team Trials, scored a 7-6 decision over Eric Hopkins of Broken Arrow, Okla. After Simmons built up a 4-0 lead Hopkins fought back to tie the match at 6-6. Simmons then scored the go ahead point with just 20 seconds left to gain the win. Hopkins, a 1997 Cadet Nationals freestyle champion, suffered a cut on his face early in the match and battled with the injury all match.
The 1998 HEALTHSOUTH Cadet Nationals and ASICS TIGER Junior Nationals tournament combined for a total of 3,559 wrestlers from 42 states competing in a total of 7,059 matches on 23 mats.
1998 ASICS TIGER Junior Freestyle National Wrestling Championships
Fargo, N.D., July 25
Final Results
98 lbs.
1st - Nick Simmons, Williamston, Mich. dec. Eric Hopkins, Broken Arrow, Okla., 7-6
3rd - Jamie Garza, Moses Lake, Wash. dec. Tyrone Hodge, Hillsbrough, N.C., 10-1
5th - Geoffrey Reisman, Upper Saddle River, N.J. dec. Adam Grillo, Albion, N.Y., 9-3
7th - Niko Vrettos, Columbus, N.J. won by tech. fall over Robert Garcia, Santee, Calif., 10-0
105.5 lbs.
1st - Jason Powell, Choctaw, Okla. dec. Aaron Walston, Tulsa, Okla., 10-3
3rd - Michael Robertson, Cary, N.C. dec. Chris Knox, Md., 5-2
5th - Joel Walsh, Ithaca, N.Y. dec. Terrence Clendenin, Toms River, N.J., 13-12
7th - Tyler Hubbard, Lake Tapiwingo, Mo. dec. P.J. Ybarra, Casa Grande, Ariz., 6-0
114.5 lbs.
1st - Zach Roberson, Overland Park, Kan. dec. T.J. Hill, Farmington, Mo., 8-5
3rd - Mike Akers, Poquoson, Va. won by tech. fall over Zach Allen, Shawnee, Kan., 18-6
5th - Dean Martinez, Mt. Prospect, Ill. dec. Joey Malia, Billings, Mont., 15-7
7th - Joey Guiler, Suwanee, Ga. dec. Evan Larkin, Vail, Ariz., 7-4
123 lbs.
1st - Ryan Lewis, Vernal, Utah dec. Bo Maynes, Salina, Kan., 9-6
3rd - Jeff Ratliff, Marion, Ohio pin Josh Moore, Franklin, Pa., 4:21
5th - Victor Jackson, Poqouson, Va. won by tech. fall over Kevin Rucci, Voorhees, N.J., 10-0
7th - Dylan Long, Creston, Iowa pin Brian Watson, Canby, Ore., 2:01
132 lbs.
1st - Eric Larkin, Vail, Ariz. dec. Ty Reynolds, Jamestown, N.C., 5-3
3rd - Jerod Sanders, El Reno, Okla. dec. John Giacche, Flemington, N.J., 5-3
5th - Coyte Cooper, Anacortes, Wash. dec. Steven Bradley, Beech Grove, Ind., 3-2
7th - Jeremy Spates, Norman, Okla. dec. Nate Parker, Chesapeake, Va., 9-1
143 lbs.
1st - Pat Cadwallader, Anaheim, Calif. dec. Branson Phillips, Broken Arrow, Okla., 7-2
3rd - Tyrone Lewis, El Reno, Okla. pin Mark Worthy, N.J., 4:18
5th - Mike Kulczycki, North Royalton, Ohio dec. Clark Forward, Archbold, Ohio, 10-3
7th - Ryan Berger, Mahomet, Ill. dec. Dan Cysewski, Vernon Hills, Ill., 4-2
154 lbs.
1st - Matt Lackey, Moline, Ill. dec. Grey Maynard, Lakewood, Ohio, 7-6
3rd - Nick Slack, Belle Plaine, Minn. won by tech. fall over Justin Giovinco, Norristown, Pa., 13-2
5th - Ryan Lewis, Waukesha, Wis. dec. Matt Bradshaw, Manhattan, Kan., 15-10
7th - Noel Thompson, Freeport, N.Y. dec. Graham Morin, Bellingham, Wash., 7-6
165 lbs.
1st - Rob Waller, Latrobe, Pa. dec. Jacob Clark, St. Paul, Minn., 13-4
3rd - Scott Owen, Carlsbad, N.M. dec. Mike Bundy, Lake Stevens, Wash., 5-1
5th - Josh Lambrecht, Brandon, Fla. won by tech. fall over Gerald Harris, Tulsa, Okla., 14-3
7th - Mark Becks, Concord, Ohio dec. Arsen Aleksayan, Calif., 8-7
178 lbs.
1st - Damion Hahn, Lakewood, N.J. dec. Scott Kaufman, Emmetsburg, Iowa, 5-3
3rd - Jake Newsham, St. Charles, Mo. pin Andy Hull, Flemington, Pa., 1:16
5th - Cristobal Gonzalez, Ventura, Calif. dec. Chris Luciano, Pa., 4-0
7th - Quint Swanberg, Tucson, Ariz. pin Scott Justus, Grundy, Va., 4:14
191.5 lbs.
1st - Nik Fekete, Cranford, N.J. dec. Tommy Rowlands, Columbus, Ohio, 6-5
3rd - Marcus Streicher, Las Vegas, Nev. dec. Kevin Herron, Imperial, Mo., 8-6, ot
5th - Andy Andrade, Del City, Okla. dec. Wa