Three double champions crowned at Advocare Cadet National Freestyle championships

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Jason Owens (USA Wrestling)
07/27/2001


The theme of tonight's Advocare Cadet Freestyle Championships was that of dominance; dominance from individuals as three wrestlers claimed double championships and dominance from teams as Illinois, Minnesota and New Jersey took seven of the 13 titles at the FargoDome in Fargo, N.D.    Dustin Schlatter of Westerville, Ohio claimed the first double championship of the tournament with little trouble, scoring an 8-0 victory in the 112-pound finals over Mark McKnight of Pittsburgh, Pa. His performance throughout the freestyle tournament earned him Outstanding Wrestler honors.        The 83.5-pound final was a rematch of the Greco-Roman championship between Brett Land of Porterville, Calif. and Mike Bizzle of Tahlequah, Okla. Land won the earlier bout, 5-1.     Bizzle built a 3-1 lead that stood until the end of round three. Land fought back with a two-point turn in the final seconds of regulation to send the bout into overtime tied at three. After battling through most of the overtime scoreless, Bizzle redeemed his Greco-Roman final loss and denied Land a double championship with a one point turn in the final seconds of overtime to claim gold.     The 88-pound bout was also a rematch of the Greco-Roman championship, with Nick Gallick of Tuscon, Ariz. wrestling for the double championship against Ryan Adams of Coon Rapids, Minn. There was no double championship here either, as Adams scored three points in the final round to overcome a 2-1 deficit and win the championship 4-2.     Jon May of Hutchinson, Minn. dominated in his 7-1 heavyweight title victory over Tony Johnson of West Chester, Ohio to claim Minnesota's second championship on the night.     Two Illinois teammates battled for the 132-pound title as the Cadet Greco-Roman Outstanding Wrestler, Eric Tannebaum of Naperville claimed a double championship with a 3-0 victory over Matt Collum of Romeoville.    In a battle between this year's Cadet FILA Greco-Roman champion, Michael Poeta of Highland Park, Ill., and this year's Cadet Greco-Roman National champion, Angel Cejudo of Phoenix, Ariz., Poeta proved to be the better wrestler. Poeta claimed a 9-4 victory for the 121-pound championship.      Though he allowed his first points of the tournament, Grant Miller of Roscoe, Ill. didn't disappoint as he claimed the 209-pound championship over Joe Dennis of Urbana, Ohio for the double championship and Illinois' third championship on the night.      Charlie Falck of Apple Valley, Minn was wrestling to claim his second straight freestyle Cadet title, but couldn't get past Bryan Nunziato in the 103.5-pound final. Nunziato opened a 5-0 lead that Falck couldn't overcome, as Nunziato pulled out the 8-5 win for the championship.    Matt Maciag of of Sussex, N.J. pulled off a 6-4 victory in overtime after crashing off the elevated mat twice during regulation, defeating Mike Maresh of Champlin Park, Minn for the 182.5-pound championship, New Jersey's second on the night.        The 94.5-bout saw a comeback in the last round, as Anthony Easter of Nitro, W. Va. overcame a 6-2 deficit by reversing a gut wrench and followed with a three point exposure to take the championship 9-6 to claim West Virginia's first Cadet freestyle championship.     Other champions crowned tonight were Ryan Davis of Crownsville, Md., who dominated Keith Gavin of Factoryville, Pa. with a 10-0 technical fall victory to win the 143-pound championship; Alex Pavlenko of Mesa, Ariz., who took an early lead and held on to claim a 9-2 victory over George Lynaugh of Inver Grove Heights, Minn. for the 154-pound championship; and Luke Hogle of Walterville who scored a 10-4 victory over Joshua Weitzel of Lincoln University, Pa for the 167-pound championship.    Saturday will be the final day of wrestling at the FargoDome as the Juniors battle for honor in the freestyle medal matches and finals.