TLDR: Wisconsin places 13 All-Americans. Juniors finish 4th, 16U 12th in team race in Fargo. 

• Junior All-Americans: Kellen Wolbert - National Finalist (138), Sullivan Ramos - National Finalist (165),  Eli Leonard - 4th (175),  Haakon Peterson - 5th (144) ,  Brady Collins - 6th (126),  Declan Koch - 7th (167), Camden Rugg - 8th (113). 
• 16U All-Americans: Easton Kammerud 3rd (165), Tomm Heiser - 4th (175), Kade Splinter - 5th (215), Reed Falk - 7th (190),  Martez Sheard - 8th (120),  Alexander Penzkover - 8th (144) 

Fargo, N.D. – Men’s freestyle has wrapped up an intense and exciting three days of wrestling at Junior Nationals. Two are returning as national finalists among the 13 All-Americans. The team race saw Wisconsin finish 4th in the juniors division with 7 All-Americans and 12th in the 16U division with another 6.

National finalists Sullivan Ramos (165) and Kellen Wolbert (138) showcased a major year of growth.

“I really think it was just a mental game,” Ramos said of his development. “A lot of times when I’d go out against guys who were supposed to beat me, before this past year, I would think, ‘Oh, I’m not supposed to win this match.’” The result was that he’d bottle up and sometimes lose matches before even stepping on the mat. But that’s not true anymore. Ramos believes in himself, and the results speak for themselves.

His run to the finals was dominant: a win by fall, four techs, and a decision in the semifinals, leading up to an intense final pairing with Pennsylvania's No. 1 Melvin Miller. The final result favored Miller tonight, but the Parkside commit is just getting started.

“Going to South Shore with Wade really helped my mindset a lot. He would always tell me I’m the best in the country, and just instilling that into my mind really helped me go out there and wrestle like it."

And maybe that—his ability to believe in himself—will end up being a most important win in the long run. Ramos will be back in action Friday for Greco-Roman, and we’ll look to see that belief shine through once again as he aims to “put some kids on their head.”

Wolbert’s impressive run in the three-day event included five powerful wins by tech and then a win by decision in the semis.

The 138-pound final saw all eyes on the back-and-forth scramble with No. 1 Jordyn Raney of Kansas. There were 33 points scored between them, with Raney taking the win this time around. The soon-to-be senior at Oconomowoc has made huge strides since last year. “Consistency is probably the biggest thing,” Wolbert said about what helped him jump levels. “And really being focused each practice—working on little things every time, always improving not just showing up, but really being intentional with the time I spend on the mat.” Wolbert is now a two-time Junior All-American in addition to his 16U freestyle title.

Fargo veteran Haakon Peterson added a sixth All-American strip to his Fargo accolades today. At 144 pounds, he bookended the final day of competition with wins in the quarterfinals and All-American match to claim 5th overall.

Ten more claimed All-American status for the first time.

Eli Leonard said consistency was key in battling his way to a 4th place All-American finish in the junior division. “... from weight, nutrition, pre and post-match routines, staying consistent with everything throughout the whole tournament helped me progress” he shared. Leonard, who will be a senior at Mt. Horeb this year, said, “It wasn’t the ultimate goal, but it was definitely something I was striving for. I got close, but not quite there.”

The diligence Declan Koch has paid off as the Neenah wrestler placed 7th overall. “It feels really good,” he said. “I lost in the same round three years in a row, so it was nice to finally break through that.” The experience, though, helped him this week. “I think just being smarter about my matches… winning is winning. It doesn’t have to be pretty, you just have to get the job done.” As for what he’s enjoying most about wrestling right now, Koch said, “I’m just really loving the team atmosphere at club and my high school. It’s like a family, and I really like that.”

First-year Juniors Camden Rugg and Brady Collins made a successful jump from the 16U division in prior years. Collins, who placed 6th at 126 pounds, said his offense was working well early in the tournament, and he was able to keep the momentum going from there. “The biggest jump is the handfight and the strength of these guys,” Collins said. “Obviously, the weight cuts get a little bigger as you get older, so just focusing on staying in good position, where to put your hands, and the mental part of wrestling for sure.”

Rugg went 8-3 at 113 pounds to place 7th and said the result feels good. “I’ve lost a lot of times in the blood round, at the U.S. Open, Fargo, etc., so it’s good to finally get past that step in the tournament and keep climbing.”

There were six All-Americans in the 16U division. Coach Smercheck called out the team’s heart, and the way many turned results around or got better in match tactics just over the course of the summer.

Placing 3rd overall in the 16U division is Mount Horeb’s Easton Kammerud, who went 6-1. Tomm Heiser, who said he wants to have a better leg lace than his brother, put together a 6-2 performance to earn 4th place All-American at 175.  Kade Splinter (5th at 215) and Reed Falk (7th at 190) both earned wins in their All-American matches to close out their national tournament. Rounding out the All-Americans were Martez Sheard (120) and Alexander Penzkover (144) who placed 8th overall in Fargo.

While they’re often together with their own age group, they still get a lot of influence from the juniors. “I think they’re learning how to be professionals,” Smercheck said of their time around the juniors. “It gets easier and easier every year to run everything—practices, warmups, etc., and I think that’s just from seeing the wrestlers ahead of them, they’re learning to be able to do that for themselves.”

As Wisconsin wrapped up men’s freestyle, 16U Director Randy Ferrell reflected on the character of the National Team and inspiration drawn from a familiar voice:

“This team is made up of some amazing young people and some amazing coaches,” he said. “Obviously, this year, for many of them, we miss Ben Askren, who’s going through his own medical procedure and his own ups and downs in life. But as he’s getting better and tending to himself, he sent a video out to the world—talking to our athletes and talking to our wrestling community—saying, ‘Go out there and do your absolute best. Do those amazing things for yourself.’ And he said, when you go out of bounds and you come back in, look ‘em dead in the eye and say, ‘I’m here to fight. I’m here to scrap.’

I think a lot of our guys took that to heart today. When you see our finals matches with Kellen Wolbert and Sullivan Ramos, both of those young individuals were highlights of the finals. They continued to battle each and every minute. And so, with that in mind, I think it was very fitting that our guys go and battle to the very, very edge. And we say thank you for that, thank you to all of our athletes, our parents, and our coaches. What a wonderful trip this has been for our freestyle program, both 16U and Junior.”

Next: There will be a break in action tomorrow, and then wrestling resumes Friday and Saturday with Team Wisconsin’s Greco-Roman contingent getting their start. Once again, all of the action can be streamed live on FloWrestling.

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