IMPORTANT NOTE: Michigan Grappler’s annual Fargo rankings are not directly intended to order the top overall wrestlers Freestyle/Greco wrestler in the state of Michigan, but rather those who are best positioned for success relative to the projected level of competition in their respective weight classes.
In order to be eligible for rankings, wrestlers must have competed in the correlating style at this year’s MUSAW state tournament, FILA Cadet Nationals, USAW Central Regional, or Cadet National Duals.
#1 Ian Parker, St Johns (10) 113lbs
2014 USAW Junior Duals 4-0
2014 FILA Cadet Nationals 6th
2014 MUSAW Cadet Runner-Up
2013 USAW Cadet Nationals 5th
2013 USAW Junior Duals 5-0
2013 FILA Cadet Nationals 3rd
2013 MUSAW Cadet Champ
Parker is Michigan’s highest returning Cadet AA, and he has yet to lose a Freestyle match at 113lbs this cycle. He was terrific at the junior duals with a pair of dominant wins over NJ state champ Ty Agaisse, and in my eyes Parker has as good a case as anyone to be considered the favorite at this weight. However, while I have him picked as the eventual champ, this figures to be among the most star-studded charts in the cadet division with the likes of 2013 Cadet World Team member Austin Gomez of IL and our own Ben Freeman also likely to be in the thick of the title race.
#2 Ben Freeman, WL Central (9) 113lbs
2014 USAW Junior Duals 3-0
2014 USAW Cadet Duals 6-1
2014 FILA Cadet Runner-Up
2014 MUSAW Cadet Champ
2013 USAW Cadet Fargo 6th
2013 USAW Cadet Duals 8-0
2013 FILA Cadet 5th
2013 MUSAW Cadet Champ
Freeman continues to excel on the Freestyle scene, and is a serious threat to bring home a stop sign. This spring at FILA’s he had arguably his most impressive performance to date, losing only to PA’s Spencer Lee (#1 class of ’17), and beating a pair of defending Cadet National champions en route to a runner-up finish. His only other loss came at the cadet duals against IL’s Austin Gomez. However, Gomez was on the same chart as Freeman at FILA’s but stumbled to a 1-2 finish. Depending how the draws play out, there’s a very real chance that Freeman ends up meeting Ian Parker in all-Michigan final. This would be a rematch of last year’s 5th place bout at 100lbs where Parker won via an 8-2 decision.
#3 Kanen Storr, Leslie (10) 120lbs
2014 USAW Junior Duals 3-1
2014 USAW Cadet Duals 5-2
2014 MUSAW Cadet Champ
2013 USAW Cadet Fargo 5-2
2013 USAW Cadet Duals 6-2
2013 MUSAW Cadet Champ
Storr has had a ton of Freestyle success at the cadet level, but has not quite been able to capture All-American status up to this point. That should change next week when he will be in full contention to win a national title. So far this spring Storr has only lost to a pair of cadet wrestlers: OK’s Daton Fix who will likely miss Fargo due to the Cadet World Championships, and projected runner-up Austin O’Connor of IL. Personally, I think Storr is capable of reversing his previous outcome with O’Connor, and would not be overly surprised if he were to make a finals appearance and potentially win a stop sign.
#4 Luke Ready, Brighton (10) 220lbs
2014 USAW Cadet Duals 5-1
2014 MUSAW Cadet Champ
He can’t match the Freestyle credentials of anyone else in the top-5, but Ready is a rapidly emerging star who is going to make some serious noise in Fargo next week. He looked like a national championship contender at the cadet duals where he split a pair of matches against returning AA’s at this weight. Physical ability alone should land Ready in the top-8, and I could very realistically see him in the finals depending on how his Freestyle savvy and technique has progressed over the past month.
#5 Dom Lajoie, Gaylord (9) 100lbs
2014 USAW Junior Duals 6-0
2014 USAW Cadet Duals 2-5
2014 MUSAW Cadet Champ
2013 USAW Cadet Fargo 3-2
2013 USAW Cadet Duals 5-3
Lajoie will have a tough time making 100lbs for both styles, and I have a feeling he will bump up to 106lbs for Freestyle after making 100 for Greco. This will probably make him a borderline AA based on the talent present at 106 for the cadet duals where he lost 5 matches. However, should he make 100 without draining himself too badly I think Lajoie is a surefire AA at that weight with good odds of reaching the finals.
#6 Dresden Simon, Dansville (10) 126lbs
2014 USAW Cadet Duals 5-1
2014 MUSAW Cadet Champ
2013 MUSAW Cadet Runner-Up
The best performance of Simon’s high school career came on the final day of competition at last month’s cadet duals. In what was arguably the tournament’s most notable upset, Simon dominated 2X IN state champ Chad Red (#23 class of ’16) to the tune of a 10-0 TF. For an encore performance, Simon won an 8-7 bout over IL state champ Dylan Duncan in his following match. His lone loss of the tournament came on the day prior against Taylor Lamont of UT who will likely not be in Fargo due to the Cadet World Championships. At this point I see Simon finishing somewhere in the middle of the top-8, but his win over Red proves that he has the talent to knock off anyone he meets in the circle next week.
#7 Dan Perry, Lapeer East (10) 285lbs
2014 USAW Cadet Central Regional Runner-Up (285lbs)
2014 MUSAW Cadet Champ (285lbs)
Having not competed since May it’s unlikely that Perry wrestles in Fargo, but should he choose to do so he’ll be in great position for a high All-American finish. He has national Freestyle experience at the Schoolboy level, and I doubt there are any cadet heavyweights who can match Perry’s physical abilities. So far his only loss of this cycle came to projected champ Kevin Vough of OH (#8 class of ’17), and I think there is a good chance they could meet again in the finals should Perry compete in Fargo.
#8 Brandon Whitman, Dundee (8) 170lbs
2014 USAW Cadet Duals 2-0
2014 MUSAW Cadet Champ
2013 Schoolboy Duals 8-0
Unfortunately Whitman suffered an injury early on in Freestyle competition at the cadet duals that will likely keep him on the shelf for Fargo. Given the small sample size over this cycle it’s difficult to project where he’d fit in against the competition, but based on his past dominance at the schoolboy level I think a healthy Whitman would have been a near-lock to earn All-American honors.
#9 Kam Bush, Grandville (9) 145lbs
2014 USAW Cadet Duals 5-1 (152lbs)
2014 USAW Cadet Central Regional Champ (145lbs)
2013 USAW Schoolboy Duals 6-0 (144lbs)
Bush has had a terrific cycle as far as his Freestyle competition goes, and heads into Fargo with a lot of positive momentum. He performed very well at 152lbs for the cadet duals, but may return to 145lbs for Fargo. Either way I like his chances, but 145 looks extremely wide open at the moment and Bush could be a serious dark horse to win a stop sign should he make that weight.
#10 Wyatt Harden, Oxford (10) 195lbs
2014 USAW Cadet Duals 3-1 (195lbs)
2014 USAW Central Regional Champ (195lbs)
2014 MUSAW Cadet Champ (195lbs)
Harden finished the scholastic season on high note by qualifying for the state tournament, but he has taken his wrestling to a different level this offseason. He has a 9-1 Freestyle record over this cycle with all of his wins coming by pin or tech, and his only was a 7-6 bout against IN state placer and projected runner-up Kobe Woods. Altogether I really like Harden’s chances to place, and he has an outside shot of reaching the finals.
#11 Lucas McFarland, St Johns (9) 126lbs
2014 FILA Cadet Nationals 3-2
2014 MUSAW Cadet Champ
2013 USAW Schoolboy Duals 4-4
McFarland didn’t wrestle at the national duals, but had a great showing at FILA’s earlier this offseason. Most notably, he had a signature victory over TX state champ and 2013 AA Coltan Williams. Should McFarland once again perform at a level similar to that which he displayed at FILA’s he is likely to be right in the mix to claim one of the final AA spots at this weight.
#12 Cole Janes, Grand Ledge (9) 94lbs
2014 USAW Cadet Duals 4-2
2013 USAW Cadet Nationals 1-2
2013 USAW Cadet Duals 4-2
2013 MUSAW Cadet Champ
Janes returns to Fargo after a very consistent and productive 12 months of wrestling that have shaped him into a legitimate AA threat. His only losses at last month's cadet duals were to a pair of previous cadet AA’s, and the remainder of his matches were all won by TF.
#13 Anthony Riopelle, Carleton Airport (10) 182lbs
2014 USAW Junior Duals 1-0
2014 USAW Cadet Duals 5-0
2014 USAW Cadet Central Region 3rd
2014 MUSAW Cadet 3rd
2014 USAW Northeast Regional Champ
2013 USAW Cadet Duals 2-3
2013 MUSAW Cadet 3rd
Riopelle competes as much anyone on the FS/GR scen inlcuding 5 national tournaments over the past 2 months. He wrestled some of his best matches to date at the national duals, and has a dangerous arsenal of high risk/reward attacks that could make him a threat to sneak into the top 8 at what is a generally not a very deep weight class.
#14 Austin Franco, Stevensville Lakeshore (8) 100lbs
2014 MUSAW Cadet Champ
Franco’s only FS competition this spring came at the state tournament where he defeated AJ Facundo in the finals, so I highly doubt we’ll be seeing him in Fargo. So far throughout his career Folkstyle has been Franco’s primary focus, but he possesses enough all around wrestling ability to be very competitive should he choose to wrestle Freestyle on the national stage.
#15 AJ Facundo, Davison (8) 100lbs
2014 USAW Cadet Duals 5-2
2014 MUSAW Cadet Runner-Up
2013 USAW Schoolboy Duals 4-2
Facundo fell to Franco at the state tournament, butt followed up with an awesome showing at the cadet duals that included a fall over FILA Cadet AA Holden Heller of IL. The odds are against him placing at a weight as deep as 100lbs traditionally is, but at the very least I’m confident Facundo can hold his own and be highly competitive.
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