Moore wins first Cadet Triple Crown; Cejudo, Nickerson, Dragon and Neal claim double titles at ASICS

<< Back to Articles
Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
07/25/2003


Taylor Moore of Missouri made history as the first Cadet Triple Crown winner, as he finished his amazing feat with a gold medal at 189 pounds at the ASICS/Vaughan Cadet National Freestyle Championships in Fargo, N.D., July 25.    The Triple Crown is awarded to an athlete who has won USA Wrestling titles in folkstyle, Greco-Roman and freestyle during the same year. It has been a popular program on the Kids level in USA Wrestling for many years. This year, for the first time, USA Wrestling hosted a Cadet Folkstyle National Championships, and provided a Triple Crown award at the Cadet level.    Moore controlled the entire match on the way to a 4-0 win over Nick Guida of Pennsylvania in the finals. Moore led 2-0 at the break and added two more points in the second period to clinch the win and make Cadet history.    Two athletes entered the finals with a chance at the Triple Crown: Moore and Louis Caputo of Missouri at 171 pounds. Only Moore emerged with the honor.     Hudson Taylor of New Jersey controlled the action to a 5-1 victory over Caputo in the finals. Taylor was third in the 2002 Cadet Nationals in freestyle. Caputo left as a champion in folkstyle and Greco-Roman and a silver medal in freestyle.    Winning double titles, winners of both the Cadet Greco-Roman and freestyle events here in Fargo, were Henry Cejudo of Arizona at 105 pounds, Troy Nickerson of New York at 112 pounds, Matt Dragon of Pennsylvania at 140 pounds and Justin Neal of Maryland at 275 pounds.    Cejudo won a competitive 7-4 match over John Mangini of New Jersey. Cejudo lead 5-3 at the break, but Mangini closed the gap to 5-4 midway into the final period. With 10 seconds left, Cejudo hit a double leg takedown to exposure for two points to close out the victory.    Nickerson ended his match quickly, defeating Mike Benefiel of Illinois by technical fall, 12-0 in 1:02. Nickerson scored a takedown, locked up a trapped arm gut wrench, then turned Benefiel repeatedly for backpoints. Nickerson did not allow a point the entire tournament, and was named Outstanding Wrestler of the competition.    The 140 pound finals featured a pair of Cadet National Greco-Roman champions from Pennsylvania. Dragon, who won the Greco-Roman title at 140 pounds, defeated 135-pound Greco-Roman champion Tim McGoldrick, 10-0 in just 40 seconds. Dragon secured the takedown, then turned McGoldrick repeatedly from the top position for the quick technical fall. McGoldrick decided to move up in weight after winning his Greco-Roman title, and was able to make the finals.    Neal led 2-0 at the end of regulation in his bout against Zach Covington of Iowa. In the overtime clinch, Covington scored his first point. Neal sealed the win with a takedown with 21 seconds left in overtime for the necessary three points and a 3-1 victory.    Five athletes entered the tournament as returning Cadet freestyle champions, but only one athlete was able to win for two straight years, Garrett Scott of Pennsylvania at 125 pounds. After securing a takedown, Scott locked up a trapped arm gut wrench, and rolled Willie Saxton of Ohio repeatedly. He scored a 10-0 technical fall in 1:27. Scott was second in the Cadet National Greco-Roman event on Monday night.    The 160-pound finals was a rematch of the Greco-Roman finals, and the result was reversed. David Craig of Florida scored early and often, and went on to a pin at 3:20 over Alton Lucas of New York. Craig had already secured a technical fall, leading 12-1 when the pin was called. Lucas has defeated Craig in the Greco-Roman finals, 4-1.    There was also a turnaround at 215 pounds, when Robby Smith of California defeated Erik Nye of California, 3-1 in overtime at 4:10. Smith won two clinch positions during the match, the margin of victory. Nye had defeated Smith in the Greco-Roman finals on Monday, 3-0 in overtime.    The 84-pound match ended quickly, with Connor McDonald of Delaware scoring a fast takedown and a rapid succession of tilts to score an 11-0 technical fall over Nick Shumate of Kansas in just 1:04.     It was an all-Pennsylvania finals at 91-pounds, where Matthew Kyler of Pennsylvania defeated returning champion Patrick McCaffrey of Pennsylvania in a 1-1 referee's decision. McCaffrey scored from a clinch to start the second period, and Kyler scored off the clinch to start the overtime. Kyler received the nod based upon criteria. It was the second silver medal for McCaffrey this week, after placing second in the Cadet Nationals in Greco-Roman.    At 98 pounds, Rollie Peterkin of Massachusetts defeated Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois in the finals, 10-4.  Peterkin scored the first five points of the match, but Kennedy closed the gap to 5-3 early in the second period. Then, Peterkin rallied with a takedown and a number of tilts to put the win away.    At 119 pounds, Michael Rowe of Maryland captured the gold medal with a solid 3-0 win over Jon Reader of Michigan. Rowe led 2-0 at the break, then scored a takedown with 22 seconds left in the match to score the necessary third point for the win.    At 130 pounds, Joseph Cornejo of Kansas defeated Brandon Sitch of Washington, 4-2. Sitch was leading 2-1 in the second period, when Cornejo forced a passivity call, then was able to turn Sitch to his back for the winning points.    Braden L'Amoreaux of Michigan won the 135-pound title, with a solid 3-0 shutout win over Chris Karsseboom of Oregon.    In a spirited match between stars from Southern states, Nick Marable of Tennessee defeated Ben Fiacco of Georgia at 145 pounds, 10-5. Leading 6-4 in the first period, Marable scored a high gut wrench turn and added an additional backpoint for a 9-4 lead at the break. Fiacco battled back but Marable was able to keep the edge in the second period for the win. It was the first national title for a Tennessee wrestler at the Cadet or Junior Nationals.    The 152-pound final ended in 1:44 as Neil Erisman of Kansas scored a few throws to exposure for a 10-0 technical fall over Jake Kerr of Iowa.