Milwaukee, Wis. — USA Wrestling’s series of National Duals tournaments came to a close on Saturday, with Wisconsin fielding two freestyle teams on home turf. Red powered to a 4th-place finish, while Blue delivered an impressive 11th out of 43 teams competing.
Wisconsin Red wrestled up from their No. 7 seed with a strong start on Friday, securing wins over Oregon (57-8) and Oklahoma (42-23). They then upset No. 2 seed Utah, 40-23, to claim the Pool B title, and carried that momentum into the Gold/Silver pool with a win over Ohio Gray (40-26) Friday evening.
Saturday’s opener was a brawl against Minnesota, with intensity building in front of a lively home crowd. Hay, Wolbert, Peterson, Herm, and Heiser picked up early wins, and after Minnesota responded with three straight, Vander Heiden broke their run. Techs by Dorshorst and Rugg were necessary for the 35-32 victory.
The next two matchups were gritty, physical battles. Red stayed close with eventual champions, but the result favored Pennsylvania at the end, 39-26.
“I think once we started getting deeper in the gold pool we had some of our really tough guys take losses, and it was really important for the other guys to rally around the team and make it up,” said Head Coach Pat Spray. “We wrestled really well as a team but just didn’t have enough firepower.”
In the 3rd-place match, Red came up short against No. 1 seed Illinois. “Competition-wise, I think we’ve got to make sure we’re staying on offense,” Spray said. “Those are the adjustments we need to make before going to Fargo.”
Both Red and Blue teams were stacked with great performances. “I think we’re dangerous, and we’re willing to go out there and wrestle with anyone in the country. Regardless of what the seeds are, we’re going to go out there and scrap, and we did that today,” Spray added.
Wisconsin Blue was put on everyone’s radar with an 11th place finish. On Friday, they wrestled through six duals—going 3-2 to for a 4th place finish in pool D to earn a spot in the Bronze/Copper pool. After a narrow loss to California Friday night, Blue dominated Saturday with wins over North Dakota (43-26), Colorado (37-29), and Oklahoma (46-20) to secure 3rd in the bracket.
“You saw the guys bond really well,” Coach Keaton Kluever said. “They were in the hunt and we saw right away they could compete with the best. They wrestled hard. We told them at the end of the day none of them really gave up—they fought hard and are on the right path to helping us win a title next year and put two teams in the gold pool.”
Five Wisconsin wrestlers were named to USA Wrestling’s All-Tournament Team, awarded to those who went undefeated with a minimum of five victories: Camden Rugg (6-0), Kellen Wolbert (6-0), Jacob Herm (5-0), Brady Collins (9-0), and Nash Banko (9-0). The team effort needed to make both squads everyone’s problem included strong showings from athletes expected to lead, and those that stepped up in big ways.
This marks the first of four consecutive years Wisconsin will host the Junior National Duals in Milwaukee. “This event doesn’t happen without a collective effort,” said State Chairperson Todd Schaaf. “It’s such a pleasure to watch our kids get to experience this event. I know if we weren’t hosting, we wouldn’t have been able to send two teams or have this kind of support in person.”
“As the host through 2028, we want to say thank you to the teams, officials, volunteers, WWF Board members, families, and every single person involved. This event would not be possible without the time and talent of everyone who ensures our athletes and the sport of wrestling thrive here in Wisconsin.”
Wisconsin’s Jolene Bonte was honored as the Outstanding Operations Official of the Junior Duals and was presented the Cherie Elvin Award by Jeff Jones on Saturday.
View the complete results: Wisconsin Red | Wisconsin Blue.
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