Junior Freestyle Begins Today

Congratulations again to two of UB's outstanding incoming freshman for reaching All-American status at Junior Greco Nationals in Fargo. Today, Blake Roulo and Jake Waste set out on their quest for championships in the Junior Freestyle division.

You can follow the entire event at trackwrestling.com. Click on 2011 USAW Junior FreestyleNationals. From there, click "Brackets" on the left side. Blake is competing at 145 and Jake is competing at 189. For updates after each of Jake & Blake's matches, follow us on twitter (@UBBullsWrestle).

Best of luck to the future Bulls!

Below is an excerpt from The Open Mat's Junior Freestyle Preview. Waste is predicted to place third in this analysis. The entire preview can be found here.

145
2010 Final: Alex Dierenger (WI) over Dylan Ness (MN)
Entrants: 88

The Skinny: When scanning the list of entries, the name that immediately jumps out is Brandon Kingsley. Not just because he’s one of the best young wrestlers in the country, but because he hasn’t popped up often on the Freestyle trail. His only significant results in the style came last year in Cadet Duals where he went undefeated. In his eight bouts there only one didn’t end up in a tech or pin, and that was a 6-0, 4-0 decision.

Kingsley will be my pick to make the finals, and though there are two other returning champions (Oliver Pierce and Brian Murphy) I won’t be picking them to meet Kingsley in the finals.

No. I have a hunch about Sueflohn. He’s a tough bird. He only took 7th here last year, but I see a dream match-up with him and Kingsley on the horizon.

Contenders:
Ryne Cokeley (KS)
*Dylan Cottrell (WV)
Jacob Crawford (VA)
Zach Dailey (OH)
Jake Elliot (CA)
Jacob Falk (UT)
Justin Hays (CO)
*Eric Hoffman (MD)
Brandon Kingsley (MN)
Jeremiah Lutz (GA)
*Jake Marlin (IA)
*Gabe Moreno (IA)
*Brian Murphy (IL)
*Oliver Pierce (TX)
Brian Realbuto (NY)
Jared Reis (ND)
*Blake Roulo (VA)
*Angelo Silvestro (IL)
*Jake Sueflohn (WI)
Reed Van Anrooy (OR)
Brady Turnbull (WY)

TOM Prediction: Sueflohn (WI) over Kingsley (MN). Crawford (VA) over Murphy (IL) for 3rd.

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189
2010 Final: Morgan McIntosh (CA) over Matt Riley (IA)
Entrants: 64

The Skinny: Two of these wrestlers, Jake Waste and Jahwon Akui, won this event in 2009 as Cadets. Actually, they were both double titlists that year. On Tuesday, Wast finished runner-up at this weight in GR, while Akui won the crown at 171. It’s going to be hard for anyone to stop them from meeting. There are ten other returning All-American’s here though. So anything can happen along the way. If someone can do it, it’s probably Peterson.

Contenders:
*Jahwon Akui (IL)
*John Bolich (PA)
*Sam Brooks (IL)
Nathan Burak (CO)
Tim Dudley (SC)
Devan Fors (OR)
*Scott Gibbons (LA)
*Payne Hayden (MI)
*Dwight Howes (CO)
Cody Johnston (MO)
*Preston Lehman (ND)
*Kevin Marvel (MD)
Frank Mattiace (NJ)
*Taylor McGiffen (IL)
Willie Miklus (IA)
*Mickey Pelfrey (IA)
*Devin Peterson (WI)
James Souza (WA)
James Suvak (OH)
*Jake Waste (MN)

TOM Prediction: Peterson (WI) over Akui (IL). Waste (MN) over Miklus (IA) for 3rd.

* Denotes Former Fargo Freestyle All American/Fila Placer