Four wrestlers win double titles at ASICS/Vaughan Junior National Freestyle Championships; Two retur

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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
07/26/2003


The finals action was tremendous at the 2003 ASICS/Vaughan Junior National Freestyle Championships, which completed on Saturday, July 26 in Fargo, N.D.     Four wrestlers won double titles this year, capturing both the freestyle and Greco-Roman golds. Double champions were Dustin Schlatter of Ohio at 135 pounds, Brent Metcalf of Michigan at 140 pounds, C.P. Schlatter at 152 pounds and J.D. Bergman of Ohio at 189 pounds.    In a highly anticipated battle of Ohio stars, Dustin Schlatter defeated returning champion Ryan Lang, 6-4. Schlatter jumped to a 5-1 lead, but Lang closed the gap to 5-4 with a turn and a takedown late in the first period. The only point in the second period was a Schlatter takedown. It is the second straight year that Schlatter was a double champion in Fargo, as last year, he won both style in the Cadet division. Based on his performance, Schlatter was named Outstanding Wrestler.    Metcalf was dominant in a 10-0 technical fall over Carter Downing of Wyoming in just 1:38. Metcalf was able to score a series of exposures from the top position to rack up the points for the quick technical fall.    C.P. Schlatter also faced a tremendous opponent in the finals, edging two-time Cadet National champion Mike Poeta of Illinois, 5-4. Schlatter used a three-point throw and a takedown for an early 4-0 lead, but Poeta closed the gap to 4-3 with a three-point throw with one second left in the first period. In the second period, Schlatter scored a takedown for a 5-3 lead, then went into a defensive mode. Poeta charged hard, and received a penalty point and caution on Schlatter with one second to go for his final score.    With Dustin's Outstanding Wrestler award, both Schlatter brothers captured the award this week, as C.P. was the Greco-Roman Outstanding Wrestler.    Bergman won his double title with a solid 7-1 finals win over 2002 Cadet National champion Patrick Bond of Virginia. Last year, Bergman won the Junior Nationals in Greco-Roman and was second in freestyle, making this his fourth straight Junior Nationals finals appearance.    Bergman had lost his first match of the tournament on Thursday to Kyle Massey of Minnesota. When Massey was beaten twice and did not make the round-robin, it gave Bergman a new chance for the gold. Bergman won his next nine matches to claim the title.    Returning champions who were able to win for the second straight year were Paul Donahoe of Michigan at 112 pounds and Eric Tannenbaum of Illinois at 145 pounds.    Donahoe defeated Kyle Turnbull of West Virginia in an active 10-6 bout for his second Junior freestyle title. Donahoe was a finalist in both styles this year, placing second in the Greco-Roman division on Tuesday.    The 145-pound title was a battle of returning champions, as Tannenbaum was the 140-pound champion last year and his opponent Craig Henning was the 145-pound champion. Tannenbaum emerged from a tactical match with a 4-1 victory. The key move was a two-point gut wrench turn in the second period.    Tim Kephart of Missouri put away Charlie Faulk of Minnesota with a pin in 34 seconds at 119 pounds. Kephart was a Junior National freestyle runnerup last year. He claimed his first Junior National title in his last competition prior to going to the Univ. of Missouri in the fall.    Each of the finals matches had its own drama, providing a full night of outstanding wrestling.    At 98 pounds, T.J. Sebolt of Iowa claimed the gold medal with a 12-3 win over Seth Metzler of Kansas. With Sebolt leading 3-2, he hit a three-point throw plus an additional back point in the second period to extend his lead to 7-2 and cruised the rest of the way.    In a match which saw the lead change numerous times, Tony Mustari of Colorado edged Matt Steintregger of Michigan, 6-5. Trailing 5-4 as time was running out, Mustari hit a powerful belly tilt for two points with just 17 seconds on the clock for the winning points. Mustari was a finalist in the Greco-Roman division, claiming the silver medal.    At  125 pounds, Coleman Scott of Pennsylvania captured the gold medal with an exciting 5-2 win over Angel Esobedo of Indiana. With the score tied at 2-2, Scott hit a funky counter attack for three points, with only 25 seconds left in the bout for the margin of victory.    At 130 pounds, Justin Porter of Oklahoma scored a number of moves with exposure to defeat Andrae Hernandez of Indiana, 8-3. A key three-point move in the first period gave Porter an edge he never surrendered.    Capturing the 160-pound title was Pennsylvania's Zac Fryling, who scored a takedown in overtime to defeat Steve Luke of Ohio, 3-1 at 6:03.    Scoring a gut wrench turn for two points with only 14 seconds on the clock, Rocco Caponi of Ohio edged Kurt Brenner of Pennsylvania, 5-4. Officials reviewed the video of a scoring move late in the period and readjusted the score to 4-3 in favor of Brenner when the clock had put Brenner up 7-2. Brenner won his second silver medal of the week, after also taking a silver in Greco-Roman. Brenner was also a Cadet National double champion a year ago. Caponi earned his first major USA Wrestling tournament win.    The 215-pound champion was Matt Koz of Ohio, who stopped Andy Patrick of Idaho, 7-0. Koz scored seven quick points, almost pinning Patrick early on, then shut down Patrick's attacks in the second period. Koz was fifth in last year's Junior Nationals.    The heavyweight champion was Iowa's Matt Fields, who used an attacking style to defeat Arturo Basulto of California by technical fall, 11-0, in 3:20. Fields has been active and successful during this spring's freestyle season, and captured his first major national title. It was Basulto's third straight year as a Junior freestyle All-American.