OKLAHOMA CITY – The hosts used a little home-mat advantage during the second day of freestyle at the 2008 Junior Duals.

They needed every bit of it in wins over California and Texas as they went 5-0 to claim top honors in Pool B.

Two pools – C and D – were all-but-determined during Thursday’s afternoon session.

Illinois, the Greco champions earlier this week and winners of the last two titles in freestyle, faced off against New Jersey, third in 2007 and runners-up in 2005 and ’06.

Jersey hung for awhile, but in the end it was Illinois rolling to a 42-16 victory and eventually finishing 5-0 in Pool C.

Kansas, the fourth seed, beat Minnesota in a 34-28 thriller and took first in Pool D.

Powerful Iowa was not challenged in five matches for top honors in Pool A.

Oklahoma took control of Pool B with a 31-28 win over California during the morning session. The hosts lost a team point during the 152-pound bout and trailed 21-18 entering 160.

All-American Dallas Bailey used a headlock for three in the third period to beat TJ Belton, and Joey Sheridan, a former Cadet champion, edged Dominic Borelli at 171 to give Oklahoma a 24-23 advantage.

Chris Perry, among the top-five recruits in the Class of 2009, dominated All-American Ian Gaube, picking up a technical fall at 189. Gaube nearly caught Perry on his back for a pin in the first period, but the Stillwater, Okla., native stormed back with a technical fall, 9-3, 6-0.

Tyson Yoder’s win at 215 clinched the dual victory. Dominic Pico, a big part of California’s success in Greco this week, was penalized twice in the decisive second period clinch as Yoder, a 2007 All-American, was awarded the win to put the Okies up by six with only one bout remaining.

Yoder, who will attend Oklahoma State, was put in the same situation against Texas a round later.

Tyler Eitel used a third-period neck-wrench for three and a win at 171 that gave the Texans a 27-22 advantage. It came one match after Johnny Koepp, another Oklahoma State signee, beat Bailey in a disputed match at 160.

Perry took care of business at 189, sending the match to Yoder with Oklahoma trailing, 27-25.

Yoder needed 1:44 to pin Courtland Harrison, and when Chaz Mattocks held off Keldrick Hall in the finale, Oklahoma had a 33-27 win and first in Pool B.

“I’ve been in that situation a lot,” admitted Yoder. “Texas has gotten a lot better over the last few years, so we knew it was going to be a tough dual.

“We got Missouri in the first round, so that really got us going.”

“I think we had the toughest pool here,” said Perry. “I think it was good having Missouri right off the bat. We wrestled well all day. California was in the Greco finals and Texas has tough team, so nothing was easy the first two days.

“(Against California) I knew I to beat a tough kid. I got caught early but I found a way to stay calm … come back and wrestle a solid match.”

Iowa, the top seed, moved to 3-0 in Pool A with a 42-24 win over Pennsylvania and was the only squad in that pool unbeaten by noon on Thursday. Pennsylvania rebounded from its loss to Iowa with a 33-29 victory against Wisconsin and finished second in the pool.

Illinois turned in another solid day of wrestling. New Jersey, South Dakota, Virginia and New York each won just three bouts against the third seed. Michigan won only two.

“It’s always fun to bring back a good group of guys to compete here,” said coach John Kading, a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. “I love the team aspect of it and our guys enjoy it as well.

“We encourage our best guys to wrestle here. It really is pretty easy for us to recruit the kids because everybody enjoys this tournament. For awhile Illinois was down … really down … but we’ve had some success the last few years and that is a credit to the way the guys are working.”

One of those soon-to-be college freshman, 160-pounder Conrad Polz, looks at the late summer schedule as a chance to keep training.

“It’s another training opportunity. A way to keep getting better,” said Polz, who beat 2007 Junior champion Scott Winston in the dual against New Jersey. “I think (freestyle) carries over a lot. (Beating Winston) was big, especially after the way I started. I was pretty tired in the third period, but I found a way to win the match. I was pretty happy about it.

“Our team is wrestling well right now, having some fun.”

“Oklahoma has one the better teams here, so we will have to be ready to go for that one,” Kading said.

In the Pool D decider, Minnesota tried to rally against the Kansans, getting a technical fall from Travis Rutt at 171, a three-period decision by Caleb Lines at 189 and another three-period win by Jake Kahnke over 2007 Cadet champion Kyle Caylor at 215.

But Steve Andrus shut out Jake Kettler at heavyweight to give Kansas the victory.

Aldon Isenberg and Brent Fisher had back-to-back pins for Kansas at 140 and 145, respectively.

Wrestling continues Friday morning at 9 a.m. (CST). The finals are scheduled for 3:30 p.m. All results can be found at www.trackwrestling.com.

Wednesday night notes

Freestyle hit the mats Wednesday night, and right off the bat Pool B saw a down-to-the wire affair between Oklahoma and Missouri.

Pins by Jonathan Mondragon at 98 and Drew Partain at 130 proved the difference. Missouri’s Clarence Neely beat Joey Sheridan at 171 to send the match to 189 with Oklahoma leading 26-24. Perry and Yoder recorded back-to-back shutouts for the Okies, who also beat Washington, 49-16, in the first session.

Iowa and Pennsylvania both opened with two wins in Pool A to set up their Thursday morning dual.

In Pool C, Illinois opened with a 57-10 victory against Michigan. New Jersey beat regional rival New York, 34-24, to open the tournament. NY led 19-17 after Zach Clemente’s 17-second pin at 145, but Jersey rolled off five straight victories started by Mario Mason and Winston’s back-to-back shutouts at 152 and 160, respectively.

The top eight

Iowa, Oklahoma, Illinois and Kansas will be joined by Pennsylvania, Missouri, New Jersey and Minnesota in the battle for top eight.

Oklahoma, with a nice contingent of fans, opens with Pennsylvania this morning, then gets a shot at Illinois a round later.

“The (Texas) dual was awesome, the crowd was great,” Perry said. “We’ve got a long ways to go and hopefully the atmosphere will be the same Friday.”

Priorities

An anticipated Thursday morning match between Pennsylvania’s Jordan Oliver and Iowa’s Matt McDonough never materialized. Oliver, the Dave Schultz Excellence Award recipient in his state and a freshman at Oklahoma State this fall, is not competing in the morning sessions because he is attending summer school in Stillwater.

2007 Junior champion Nate Moore did pick up a victory over 2007 Cadet champion Josh Kindig as Iowa took control of Pool A with a 42-24 victory.

Oliver had a technical fall against Kansas on Wednesday night but did not compete on Thursday due to a pair of classes at Oklahoma State.
He is expected to wrestle Friday.

Tough job

John Wilcox, who just completed his eligibility at Oklahoma City University, has had maybe the toughest job this week – in charge of security. With nine mats going and duals ending at different times, wrestlers always like to jump on those mats for a little extra workout or to watch on-going matches.

For Wilcox and his staff, keeping those mats clear has been a full-time gig.

A little history

Oregon won the first Junior Duals championship, in 1991, which had Greco-Roman only. A year later, freestyle was added and Oklahoma won the first of its nine titles.

Ohio (3), Illinoss (2), Iowa and North Dakota have also won freestyle championships.

98 pounds
Jake Bellis of Illinois went 7-0
Jacoby Bergeron of Minnesota 1 went 6-0

105 pounds
Brandon Nelson of Indiana went 6-0
Brian St. James of Georgia went 6-0
Max Nowry of Illinois went 6-0

112 pounds
Kent Williams of Illinois went 6-0

125 pounds
George Ivanov of Iowa went 6-0
Jimmy Chase of Illinois went 6-0

130 pounds
Ian Paddock of New York went 7-0
Justin Lavalle of Minnesota 1 went 6-0

135 pounds
NONE

140 pounds
Carson Fields of Georgia went 6-0

145 pounds
Bobby Barney of Texas went 7-0
Carson Fields of Georgia went 6-0

152 pounds
Kalvin York of Wisconsin went 8-0

160 pounds
NONE

171 pounds
Stephen McPeek of Texas went 7-0

189 pounds
Colin Warner of Indiana went 6-0

215 pounds
Dominic Pica of California 1 went 6-0

285 pounds
Elijah Madison of Missouri went 7-0

Fuel the Dream, USA Wrestling’s special fundraising program designed to provide direct support to each 2008 U.S. Wrestling Olympian competing in Beijing as well as USA Wrestling’s mission has reached its first milestone.

On June 21, at a special event at the Bernards Inn in Bernardsville, N.J., the Olympic Team members in attendance received an initial $1,500.00 check.

(Only Doug Schwab was unable to attend due to severe flooding in Iowa. USA Wrestling sent Schwab’s check as soon as possible after the NJ event).

The Fuel the Dream program will continue throughout the Olympic Games.

Larry Nugent, the Director of Development for USAW, said after each check was presented to the Olympians, “this amount will purchase airfare sufficient to get a family member three-fourths of the way across the Pacific Ocean. Wouldn’t it be great to raise enough to get them all the way there?”

USA Wrestling is a 501 (c) (3) and your contribution is tax deductible. Donors that contribute at least $25 will receive a unique Olympic Games pin!

Be a real part of our Olympic effort. It only happens once every four years. Do it now… go to WWW.FUELTHEDREAM.ORG and give as much as you can…

OKLAHOMA CITY – There was a lot of down-to-the-wire drama at the 2008 Junior Greco Duals inside Abe Lemons Arena on the campus of Oklahoma City University.

Illinois, however, was not part of it.

The 2007 champions turned in a performance for the ages in rolling to the 2008 title. Top-seeded Minnesota was no match, falling 40-22, in a Wednesday morning semifinal. A short break and Illinois ran away from upstart California, 45-18, in the championship match.

“I was almost thinking that my guys might have been over-confident (after beating second-seeded Missouri on Tuesday),” said Illinois coach Mike Powell. “I made it clear that we were coming here as the four seeds. Minnesota had almost double the seed points, so my guys kind of had that chip on their shoulder coming in.

“This is the best group of kids. When you’ve got guys taking two trains and a bus to come to practice you know you have a good group. I was wondering if they were having too much fun or are they just that good?”

Illinois advanced to the finals with a decisive 40-22 victory over Minnesota. The Storm won just four bouts and took a forfeit at 285 pounds.

Jake Bellis led off Illinois with a victory at 98 over Cadet champion Hayden Zilmer, and like the rest of the week, it was off to the races.

“I think we warmed up 100 times better than (Minnesota),” said Bellis. “We came in knowing we were going to win. After Missouri we knew we had the best team and we felt like we could beat everybody by 20 or 30 points.”

Jimmy Chase had a pin at 125 and Kent Williams, Ellis Coleman and Josh Castellano had technical falls as Illinois built a 32-5 lead through 145 pounds. Coleman dominated Dylan Ness at 135 pounds in a battle of Cadet champions.

“I knew I had a tough weight and I expected to wrestle all of them,” Coleman said. “Greco is my thing and I feel like I’m in better shape than anybody right now.

“I think we had the best team here. As the tournament was going along I noticed that we had the best guys in the lower weights and that we would be starting off all the matches up like 30-5 or something.”

The finals against the seventh-seeded Californians was more of the same as Illinois built a 29-3 lead after 140 pounds.

Williams used a front headlock for three straight turns in the third period to beat Cody Pack at 112; Lillashawn Coleman made quick work of Zach Zimmer at 119; Chase had a 23-second pin at 125 and Ellis Coleman had a technical fall against Cody Rodebaugh at 135.

By the time Dan Martin used a late third period turn to beat Tyler Sheridan at 152, the trophy was headed back to Illinois.

Ellis Coleman, who has his sights set on Northern Michigan and a future in Greco, wrestled five matches in a tough 135-pound weight class this week and recorded five technical falls.

“He’s the real deal,” said Powell, his high school coach. “He is the ultimate combination of talent and hard work. I’m not surprised by his results because I can’t find people to come and work out with him.

“He reminds me of T.C. Dantzler. He’s got that type of talent.”

A day after escaping Wisconsin, California decided to live dangerously once again in the semifinals against third-seeded Iowa.

Tied at 29 after 189 pounds, California’s Dominic Pica saved the day with a decisive third-period, 3-point throw for a 3-5, 3-1, 6-3, decision of Byron Tate. Kasey Cowan, whose dramatic win against Wisconsin closed out that dual, beat Blayne Beal to pull out a 35-31 victory.

Iowa picked up pins from Joe Colon and Andrew Long, a technical fall from George Ivanov, and a decision by Matt McDonough to take a 19-13 lead after 135 pounds.

Iowa led 23-22 after 152 when Trent Weatherman beat Sheridan in three periods. Officials debated a third-period point for Sheridan for some 20 minutes before Weatherman had his hand raised.

Dustin Reid responded with a first-period pin at 160 to put California up 27-23 before back-to-back victories by Iowa’s Tyler Kettman and Josh Ihnen sent the dual to 215.

“I was trying to stay calm (against Iowa),” said Pico, who had one of just three wins for California. “I was trying to keep my composure and find a way to win the match.

“(On Tuesday against Wisconsin) Coach came and talked to us from 160 through heavy and said we could do this. I don’t think people really took us seriously coming into the tournament and we showed what came happen when they don’t.

“It was a good tournament for us, but we didn’t really show up (against Illinois).”

After losing to California, Iowa, cashed it in against Minnesota, falling 52-13, in the third-place match. After Travis Rutt’s 17-second pin at 171, Iowa forfeited the final three weights. Among Minnesota’s victories was Justin Lavalle’s 3-0, 6-3, decision of Long at 130 pounds and Erick Yngsdal’s three-period win over Dylan Carew at 145.

The fifth-place match, with six forfeits, saw Kansas beat Michigan, 34-31. Missouri won the final three bouts, including a pin in the finale by Elijah Madison, in beating Wisconsin, 39-27, for seventh.

New York beat Texas in the consolation finals. Ken Altrac pinned Andy Harmony in the final bout to give NY a 33-30 victory.

For some, it’s time for a long trip home to start preparation for Fargo. For others, perhaps the crazy ones, weigh-in for freestyle is at 4 p.m. (CST).

Illinois pulled off the double in 2007, adding a freestyle title to the Greco trophy.

Freestyle hits the mats tonight with two rounds of competition. The finals are Friday.

Junior National Duals Greco-Roman All-Tournament Team

A contingent of 12 athletes and coaches will represent Team USA at the
women’s freestyle Cadet Pan American Championships July 11-13, 2008 in
San Salvador, El Salvador.

U.S. States Olympic Education Center (USOEC) assistant coach Tony
DeAnda will assist in leading the FILA Cadet Champions (ages 15-17) of
the 2008 Body Bar/FILA Cadet Nationals who qualified for this event.

The 2008 Cadet Pan American Championships women’s freestyle
qualification, repechage, and final rounds will be competed Saturday
July 12, 2008 in San Salvador, El Salvador.

USA Cadet Pan Am Championships Freestyle Team

38 kg / 83.75 lbs – Kaci Fullinwinder
40 kg / 88 lbs. – Emily Webster of Texas
43 kg / 94.75 lbs. – Erin Golston of Illinois
46 kg / 101.25 lbs – Briana Sparks of Michigan
49 kg / 108 lbs. – Samantha Lopez of California
52 kg / 114.5 lbs – Jenna Burkert of New York
56 kg / 123.25 lbs. – Kat Perez of California
60 kg / 132.25 lbs. – Ashley Mathews of California
65 kg / 143.25 lbs. – Jennifer Spitza of Michigan
70 kg / 154.25 lbs. – Anneliese DeAragon of Idaho
Coaches Tony DeAnda, TBA

You could safely call Jeff Funicello of the Sunkist Kids a veteran wrestler. When he competed in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in Greco-Roman wrestling in Las Vegas a few weeks ago at the age of 37, it was the fourth time he had wrestled in an Olympic Trials. This is a man who loves to compete.

“It is always a great feeling,” said Funicello about wrestling in the Olympic Trials. “It is always a rush and is very exciting. It was as exciting the fourth time as the first. It is an honor to be a part of it. The opportunity to attempt to be the guy at the Olympic Games is the pinnacle of your career. Knowing anything is possible is very exciting.”

You could also call Funicello a combat sports junkie. Name the style of competition, and Funicello has tried in. In many cases, he also teaches it.

Last September, Funicello reached a personal life goal when he won a medal fot the United States at the World Championships. In the sand of Antalya, Turkey, Funicello won a bronze medal in the Under 84 kg/185 lbs. division at the World Beach Wrestling Championships.

In true Funicello style, wrestling on the Beach was not his only competition of the weekend. Funicello also entered the Grappling World Championships and the Sombo World Championships, all which were part of the World Wrestling Games in Antalya.

“I competed in all three styles at the Worlds last year,” said Funicello. “Anytime you can compete under the flag of the United States is a great thing. To travel and be part of the USA team is an honor. I was also part of the first U.S. team competing in Grappling.”

He had one of his best athletic performances at the Beach Worlds last year, working through a field of tough competitors to earn the bronze medal.

“I had one of the only overtime matches over there, wrestling against the guy who won the gold medal,” said Funicello. “Wrestling in the sand takes more out of you than other styles. It slows you down and zaps you. There was some great competition there. Going home with a medal, after all the years training for the Olympics, was rewarding. It was great to compete at a World competition.”

The three styles Funicello did in Antalya aren’t the only ones he does. He has done all the styles of wrestling, including folkstyle, Greco-Roman and freestyle. When he was young, he competed in judo, boxing and did some competitive kick boxing. At his club in the Phoenix area called American Pankration, Funicello now helps train athletes in Mixed Martial Arts.

His core sport is wrestling. Funicello was a high school wrestler who did folkstyle, and went on to compete for Arizona State. He also did freestyle when he was younger. It wasn’t until late in college that he ever tried Greco-Roman. Yet, even while he was concentrating on wrestling, he already had an interest in other combat sports.

“When I was in college, I started with the Mixed Martial Arts,” said Funicello. “I started American Pankration in 1990, five years before the UFC. I was always involved with boxing and kick boxing. I started mixing it together. I did what the ancient Greeks did. Pankration was the highlight of the ancient Olympic Games. Now, with MMA, they re-invented the wheel and called it something else. I did it for cross-training for my wrestling. We were doing MMA way back then at our club.”

In addition to practicing all of these skills, Funicello also became an instructor.

“I started teaching it. I had a core of all of the disciplines. I brought all these guys together who had experience in all of them. When I was young, my dad got my brothers and I involved in different disciplines. At the club, I had good submission guys, a few boxers, a few kick boxers. I brought them in together,” said Funicello.

It does not surprise Funicello that wrestling has become a dominant force in today’s Mixed Martial Arts community.

“We run workouts like a wrestling practice. That is why MMA took off once the wrestlers got involved. A lot of the MMA programs today are run like a college wrestling practice or training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. They are using the same training practices now as wrestling does,” said Funicello.

It is Greco-Roman wrestling where Funicello has had his major impact on the national scene, prior to his success last year on the beach. In addition to competing in four Olympic Trials, Funicello has placed in a number of international Greco-Roman competitions around the world.

“I didn’t do any Greco until after college,” he said. “I ran into Coach Roman Wroclawski. He got me into it. It helped having a guy who knew Greco-Roman well out here in Phoenix,” said Funicello.

You can attend national wrestling competitions in all styles and you will see Funicello there, along his wife Jennifer. His passion for combat is shared.

“She always comes with me. She helps me relax and has been a big supporter of mine. She is a big confidence booster,” said Funicello. “She is a flight attendant. Often, she can hop on a plane to see me compete. We stick around and see the sites often. Like last year. Turkey isn’t always a first vacation destination. We get to see things we might not see otherwise.”

The Funicellos are excited about something new in their lives this year. They are expecting their first child in December.

Funicello has been active in many styles already this year. In addition to the Greco-Roman he did during the Olympic qualifying process and the Olympic Trials, he also entered an Olympic Regional in freestyle. He will be among the competitors at the Beach Nationals this weekend in Rochester, N.Y. Funicello will then go to Hawaii, to compete in one of the USA Wrestling Grappling Qualifying events. It is his goal to compete at both the Beach World Championshipa and the Grappling World Championships this year.

Funicello is not sure when he will stop competing, but knows he will never stay away from combat sports.

“Even if I just coach, I won’t just blow the whistle. I’ll mix it up with the guys,” said Funicello. “I lead by example. No matter how much longer I compete, I will still be active in training.”

However, right now, Funicello still has goals and dreams as an athlete. He is always looking for a good battle.

“I never made an Olympic team as a wrestler. That kept me going. I figured I’d do something. For me, it is all about getting out there in any of the combatives. I love one-on-one combat sports,” said Funicello.

BAKU, Azerbaijan – Four wrestlers took part in the Golden Grand Prix, June 27-29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, but failed to medal for the U.S.

Greco-Roman wrestler Joe Betterman at 60 kg/132 lbs., and woman freestyler Jessica Medina at 51 kg/112.25 lbs. each claimed one victory at the event.

Betterman scored a first round decision over Javid Abdullaev of Azerbaijan, 1-6, 2-0, 1-1. He finished the event in 9th place. Medina took her round robin match against Nadiya Gradnyuk of Azerbaijan, 6-0, 2-0. Medina came in fifth in her weight class.

Also competing for the U.S. were Michael Martinez, who was 11th at 55 kg/121 lbs. in men’s freestyle, and Cheney Haight, who came in 10th at 74 kg/163 lbs.

Golden Grand Prix
Baku, Azerbaijan
June 27-29, 2008

U.S. Performances

Men’s freestyle

55 kg/121 lbs. – Michael Martinez, Pagosa Springs, Colo. (Cowboy WC), 11th
LOSS Namik Sevdimov (Azerbaijan), 1-3, 0-3
LOSS Radoslav Velikov (Bulgaria), 0-3, 0-1

Greco-Roman

60 kg/132 lbs. – Joe Betterman, Chicago, Ill. (New York AC), 9th
WIN Javid Abdullaev (Azerbaijan), 1-6, 2-0, 1-1
LOSS Sakit Jalilov (Azerbaijan), 0-7, 1-3

74 kg/163 lbs. – Cheney Haight, Orem, Utah (New York AC), 10th
LOSS Rafiq Huseynov (Azerbaijan), 1-1, 1-7

Women’s freestyle

51 kg/112.25 lbs. – Jessica Medina, Pomona, Calif. (New York AC), 5th
LOSS Anna Trusova (Russia), 0-5, 0-3
LOSS Dilek Atakol (Turkey), 0-3, 0-5
WIN Nadiya Gradnyuk (Azerbaijan), 6-0, 2-0
LOSS Oleksandra Kohut (Ukraine), 0-7, 0-4

Jesse Thielke (Germantown, Wis./Team Wisconsin) has been named TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week for June 24-30.

Each week, TheMat.com will select an Athlete of the Week, based upon performance within wrestling for that week. The selection committee will consider any level of wrestling, from youth programs through the Senior level.

Thielke finished a combined 19-0 in Greco-Roman and freestyle at 119 pounds during the Cadet National Duals in Kansas City.

Thielke led Wisconsin to the Cadet National team title in Greco-Roman.

Thielke has won numerous USA Wrestling age-group national titles. He is a past winner of USA Wrestling’s Ultimate Dominator Award and a past Triple Crown winner.

Note: To nominate a wrestler for TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week, send the athlete´s name, accomplishments for the week and career accomplishments to Craig Sesker at csesker@usawrestling.org

This past weekend we had a great time helping to raise awareness for the flood ravaged museum in Waterloo. Pro Wrestling star Rowdy Roddy Piper quipped to museum founder Mike Chapman, "It´s a little rain, a little water Mike, Get over it." I wish it were that simple. They desperately need the help of the community. Please visit the Museum´s web site at http://www.wrestlingmuseum.org Many have turned out to help with muscle and some with donations. the museum and our sports heritage need you now!

Please help-
Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum 303 Jefferson St., Waterloo, IA 50701 319.233.0745 • fax 319.233.3477 info@wrestlingmuseum.org

We return this 4th of July weekend to our Brute Adidas studios for another great show. We´ll go back in time, just a little, take a look at some of the news from your sport and visit with some of America´s greatest athletes and coaches. Each Saturday from 9 AM to 11 AM CST we dive head first down to the mat with interesting interviews and conversation. Miss a show? Miss a lot! Listen to the archives at Takedownradio.com or subscribe to the TDR Pod Cast at no charge.

This week on TDR-

Dan Wirnsberger- Head Coach of the Bison of Bucknell.

Troy Steiner- Asst Head Coach of the Beavers of Oregon State.

Terry Brands- USA Wrestling Resident Freestyle Coach

Mitch Clark- Past NCAA champion for Ohio State

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 2008 edition of the Cadet National Dual Meet Championships will go down in history as being some of the most evenly contested matches in recent memory.

In the Greco-Roman finals on Friday, Wisconsin beat Minnesota Black by criteria. In the freestyle finals on Sunday, the championship was not decided until the heavyweight bout.

Earlier on Sunday, Oklahoma defeated Delaware, Wisconsin and Missouri to earn their ticket into the finals. Pennsylvania defeated Minnesota, Illinois and New Jersey to earn their way.

The finals was a classic in which neither team led by more than five-points. There were lead changes throughout. After the 189-pound bout the score was tied at 30-30.

Pennsylvania took the early lead after 84-pounder. Nick Roberts pinned his Oklahoma foe. The Keystone State team didn’t relinquish that lead until the 125-pound matchup when Oklahoma’s Kyle Ash defeated Jordan Rich to put Oklahoma ahead, 14-13.

The lead changed hands, and at the 152-pounds, the match score was Oklahoma 25, Pennsylvania 20. The 152-pound bout lived up to high anticipation. It featured Zachary Skates of Oklahoma pitted agains Mark Havers of Pennsylvania.

Earlier, Havers eliminated a very tough John Guzzo of New Jersey to swing the momentum in that dual. Both Havers and Skates were undefeated coming into this match. It would take three periods to decide it but Havers beat Skates, 2-0, 1-2, 1-0.

Equally as impressive was Oklahoma’s undefeated Ronnie Balfour’s win over previously undefeated Kenneth Courts of Pennsylvania at 160 pounds. That match went the full three periods, 3-8, 7-3, 4-3.

The critical matchup that changed momentum towards Oklahoma was the 215-pound bout. Max Adair of Oklahoma was spotting Brandon Clark of Pennsylvania over 30 pounds.

Adair had lost a few matches during his twodays of freestyle but he managed to win the first-period, 1-0. In the second-frame, Adair and Clark continued their battle. There was a lot on the line and the tension was intense. A scramble ensued … was it Adair? … was it Clark? … suddenly Adair put Clark on his back and earned the dramatic pin!

Pennsylvania won the heavyweight bout, when Brian Beattie beat B.J. Evans, 2-0, 2-0, but it was not enough. Team Oklahoma earned the National Championship title after the heavyweight bout, with the final score, Oklahoma 35, Pennsylvania 32.

New Jersey went on to defeat Missouri 48-25, to finish third.

CADET NATIONAL FREESTYLE DUALS
At Oklahoma City, Okla., June 28-29

Championship Results

1st Place – Oklahoma 1
2nd Place – Pennsylvania A
3rd Place – New Jersey
4th Place – Missouri 1
5th Place – Wisconsin
6th Place – Minnesota 1
7th Place – Illinois
8th Place – Delaware

1st Place Match – Oklahoma 1 defeated Pennsylvania A 35-33.

3rd Place Match – New Jersey defeated Missouri 1 48-25.

5th Place Match – Wisconsin defeated Minnesota 1 39-27.

7th Place Match – Illinois defeated Delaware 39-33.

Consolation Results
1st Place – Iowa
2nd Place – New York

Click here for Cadet National Duals All-Tournament Team

For complete results, visit TrackWrestling.com
www.TrackWrestling.com