Coyte Cooper of Anacortes, Wash. and Scott Wells of Brookville, Pa. successfully defended their national titles at the 1997 HEALTHSOUTH Cadet Greco-Roman National Wrestling Championships in Fargo, N.D., on Monday, July 21.The 13th annual HEALTHSOUTH Cadet Nationals, which featured the best 15-16 year old wrestlers in the nation, were held alongside the 27th annual John Vaughan/Asics Tiger Junior Nationals for the second straight year making it the largest amateur wrestling tournament in the world.
Cooper, who claimed the 1996 Cadet Greco-Roman national title at 121 pounds, defeated Jeremy Conner of Grants Pass, Ore. 6-3 in the 132 pound finals to claim his second straight national title.
Cooper also claimed a double title earlier this year at the 1997 Cadet World Team Trials and is a three-time U.S. Cadet World Team member.
Wells, the 1996 Cadet Greco-Roman national champion at 242 pounds, scored an 11-4 decision over Bill Stouffer of Lowell, Mich. to win his second national title.
1997 Cadet Greco-Roman World Champion Joshua Etu of Queensbury, N.Y. added a national title to his list of accomplishments with a 6-2 decision over Kevin Venne of Granite City, Ill. in the 209 pound finals. Etu, who placed third in the 1996 Cadet Greco-Roman Nationals at 209 pounds, won the Most Falls Award with seven pins in 3:52.
Joe Weber of Des Plaines, Ill. captured the national title at 143 pounds with a 10-7 decision over Brad Tupa of Dundas, Minn.
Weber, a 1996 and 1997 state double champion, was named the Outstanding Wrestler in the tournament.
Lewis Williams at 88 pounds and Brad Metzler at 112 pounds both of Omaha, Neb. claimed their first national titles.
Williams, a 1997 Northern Plains Region double champion, pinned Carson Bernard of Loveland, Colo. at 1:31 to claim the title.
Metzler, a three-time Greco-Roman and freestyle state champion, scored a 8-2 decision over Matt Nagel of Frazee, Minn. to win the title.
Other national champions included Mark Moos of Lorain, Ohio at 83.5 pounds, Nathan Piasecki of Minocqua, Wis. at 94.5 pounds, Chris Fleeger of Trout Run, Pa. at 103.5 pounds, Ben Martinez of Pixley, Calif. at 121 pounds, Josh McLay of Hastings, Minn. at 154 pounds, Tommy Rowlands of Columbus, Ohio at 167 pounds and Jareck Horton of Apple Valley, Minn at 182 pounds.
Moos, who is entering his freshman year in high school, pinned Zac Roth of Lake Crystal, Minn. in just 0:25 to win the 83.5 pound title. Moos is a five-time state champion in both freestyle and Greco-Roman.
Piasecki, a state Greco-Roman champion for the past five years, scored a pin over Jarred Berger of Gering, Neb. in 41 seconds to secure a national title at 94.5 pounds. He also placed third at the 1997 Cadet Greco-Roman World Team Trials.
Fleeger, a member of the 1997 Cadet Greco-Roman World Team, scored a 4-3 decision over Dustin Brewer of Kansas City, Mo. in the 103.5 pound finals. Fleeger claimed double titles in the 1997 Northeast Regionals and the 1997 East Coast Juniors Duals.
Martinez, the 1996 Cadet Greco-Roman Nationals runner-up at 112 pounds, scored a 14-3 technical fall victory in 3:56 over Mitch Hancock of Royal Oak, Mich. to the win the national title at 121 pounds. He finished second in the 1997 Cadet Greco-Roman World Team Trials and placed third in the freestyle World Team Trials.
McLay, who placed third in the 1997 Cadet Greco-Roman World Team Trials, defeated Ryan Hieber of Galion, Ohio 3-1 in the 154 pound finals.
Rowlands, who placed fourth at the 1997 Cadet Freestyle World Championships, pinned Adam Hermann of Champlin Park, Minn. at 1:53 to win the 167 pound national title.
Horton, a 1996 Cadet Greco-Roman Nationals runner-up at 182.5 pounds, scored 8-3 decision over Jon Trenge of Orefield, Pa. to win the 182.5 pound title.
Horton also placed third in both styles at the 1997 Cadet World Team Trials and claimed his fourth double title at the Northern Plains Regional earlier this year.
A total of 815 competitors took to the mats at the Cadet Greco-Roman Nationals.
The 1997 John Vaughan/Asics Tiger Junior Nationals continue on Tuesday, July 22 with preliminaries scheduled from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Medal matches (3rd, 5th, 7th) are scheduled from 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. with finals set for 6:00-8:00 p.m.
1997 HEALTHSOUTH Greco-Roman Cadet National Championships
Final Results
Monday, July 21 - Fargo, N.D.
83.5 lbs.
1st - Mark Moos, Lorain, Ohio pin Zac Roth, Lake Crystal, Minn., 0:25; 3rd - Adam Grillo, Albion, N.Y. won by tech. fall over Leo Bogaj, Hot Springs, Ark., 12-0; 5th - Mike Magnusson, Blaine, Wash. pin Sean Bolen, Ore., 2:32; 7th - Eric Anderson, Browerville, Minn. dec. Jordan Brock, Wasilla, Alaska, 7-4
88 lbs.
1st - Lewis Williams, Omaha, Neb. pin Carson Bernard, Loveland, Colo., 1:31; 3rd - Travis Weiler, Dorchester, Wis. pin Troy Forte, Pittsford, N.Y., 3:59; 5th - Matt Wright, Newport News, Va. dec. Thadeus Douglas, Taylorsville, Ind., 7-1; 7th - Mark Twardy, Litchfield, Minn. won by tech. fall over Brandon Morris, Warsaw, N.Y, 11-0
94.5 lbs.
1st - Nathan Piasecki, Wis. pin Jarred Berger, Gering, Neb., 0:41; 3rd - Jerad Karlen, McHenry, Ill. dec. Ben Cherrington, Granby, Colo., 10-1; 5th - Kelly Pederson, Becker, Minn. won by tech. fall over William Moyer, Osceola, Ind., 11-0; 7th - Nathan Schy, Hampton, Va. won by tech. fall over Mark Richardson, Indianapolis, Ind., 14-3
103.5 lbs.
1st - Chris Fleeger, Trout Run, Pa. dec. Dustin Brewer, Kansas City, Mo., 4-3; 3rd - Zach Allen, Shawnee, Kan. won by tech. fall over Israel Martinez, Aurora, Ill., 10-0, 1:23; 5th - Jesse Brock, Palmer, Alaska dec. Clint Wolfley, Blackfoot, Idaho, 11-6; 7th - Brian Hessenius, LeMars, Iowa pin Vern Malensky, Harrison, Idaho, 2:16
112 lbs.
1st - Brad Metzler, Omaha, Neb. dec. Matt Nagel, Frazee, Minn., 8-2; 3rd - Mike Akers, Poquoson, Va. pin Mark Jayne, Elyria, Ohio, 2:52; 5th - Paul Collum, Bolingbrook, Ill. won by tech. fall over Andrew Leggott, Kearney, Neb., 14-2; 7th - Robert Lynn, Portland, Ore. dec. Joe Espinosa, Stockton, Calif., 3-2, ot
121 lbs.
1st - Ben Martinez, Pixley, Calif. won by tech. fall over Mitch Hancock, Royal Oak, Mich., 14-3, 3:56; 3rd - Steve McGettrick, Olympia, Wash. dec. Bradley Russell, Delafield, Wis., 4-3; 5th - Pat Rial, Fort Dodge, Iowa won by tech. fall over Eddie Dahlen, Vancouver, Wash., 10-0; 7th - Jerrod Ambris, Union, Mich. pin Tony Peters, Boring, Ore., 3:25
132 lbs.
1st - Coyte Cooper, Anacortes, Wash. dec. Jeremy Conner, Grants Pass, Ore., 6-3; 3rd - Mitch Morgan, Midway, Utah dec. Chris Borchardt, Hartland, Wis., 7-6, 4:16 ot; 5th - Chris Harris, Las Vegas, Nev. pin Nick Fisher, Fargo, N.D., 1:14; 7th - James Medeiros, Fremont, Calif. dec. Kyle O'Neill, Tinley Park, Ill., 6-1
143 lbs.
1st - Joe Weber, Des Plaines, Ill. dec. Brad Tupa, Dundas, Minn., 10-7; 3rd - Adam Gilmore, Willard, Ohio pin Miah Campbell, Lake Crystal, Minn., 3:55; 5th - Steve Amy, Illinois City, Ill. won by inj. def. over Joe Streeter, Davison, Mich.; 7th - Paul Brookens, Boring, Ore. dec. Mike Wichman, Hutchinson, Minn., 7-6
154 lbs.
1st - Josh McLay, Hastings, Minn. dec. Ryan Hieber, Galion, Ohio, 3-1; 3rd - James Woodall, Duryea, Pa. dec. Chad Steldt, Blue River, Wis., 13-6; 5th - Kyle Fisher, Havre, Mont. pin Ryan Kane, Temecula, Calif., 1:37; 7th - Jeremy Dittmer, Lacona, Iowa pin Warren Barry, Mustang, Okla., 2:51
167 lbs.
1st - Tommy Rowlands, Columbus, Ohio pin Adam Hermann, Champlin Park, Minn., 1:53; 3rd - Jason Potter, St. Charles, Ill. pin Jake Hutchins, Rice, Minn., 2:02; 5th - Jordan Holm, Northfield, Minn. dec. Garrett Bontempo, DuBois, Pa., 3-1; 7th - Phil Hogan, Boulder, Colo. dec. Rob North, Spring Lake, Mich., 5-1
182.5 lbs.
1st - Jareck Horton, Apple Valley, Minn. dec. Jon Trenge, Orefield, Pa., 8-3; 3rd - George Kirgan, Granite City, Ill. pin Quint Swanberg, Ariz., 1:06; 5th - Joshua Naus, Bakersfield, Calif. won by inj. def. over Jamar Whitfield, Mich.; 7th - Josh Bryzki, Charlotte, Mich. won by tech. fall over Kevin Krall, San Jose, Calif., 13-3, 2: