Fargo, N.D. – As USA Wrestling put it, the classic style got its start today at Junior Nationals with Greco-Roman taking center stage. With 42 Wisconsin Juniors competing in the morning session and 43 from the 16U division taking the mat in the evening, Team Wisconsin made a strong showing on the first day of Greco taking us up to the round of 16.

There are 33 wrestlers advancing to the final day of competition on Saturday:

• Juniors champ round of 16: Will Christoper (138), Colton Weiler (150), Adam Whittier (150), Tristan North (150), Sullivan Ramos (165), Henry Vander Heiden (285), Hunter Vander Heiden (285), Preston Krueger (285),
• Juniors sub cons round of 16: Nehemiah Lendobeja (285), Landen Bogard (132), Michael Galloway (157), and Espyn Sweers (175).
• 16U champ round of 16: AJ Woerpel (100), Lincoln Swick (113), Martez Sheard (126), Braeden Hamill (132), Aspen Tritz (138), Josiah Beltran (144), Carson Neubert (144), Michael Daleiden (150), Reed Falk (190), Kade Splinter (215), Elliot Havlish (215), Aaron Dunigan Jr. (215).
• 16U cons. round: Eldon Roth (94), Isaac Weber (120), Max Schroeder (106), Hunter Kromrey (144), Alexander Penzkover (144), Isaac Dunnom (165), Logan Ellwanger (175), Treyton Altuve (190), and Nolan Kemp (190).

Juniors
Among the early standouts, Colton Weiler is back in Fargo after competing at the 2024 U17 World Championships last summer. He earned three technical falls on Friday, defeating opponents from Oklahoma, California, and Texas. Weiler was a 16U Greco national finalist in 2023.

Two more at 150 pounds, Adam Whittier and Tristan North are both into the round of 16, with Whittier also posting three techs and North recording two.

Freestyle national finalist Sullivan Ramos is making just as much noise in Greco. He’s out to put kids on their head and has delivered three techs of his own, including a couple of highlight-reel lifts at 165.

The heavyweight bracket saw big things from Henry and Hunter Vander Heiden who both advanced on the championship side. They’ve both been on the mat less than a minute in their matches. Hunter looks to improve on a 5th place finish in 2024. 16U All-American Preston Krueger also advanced to the championship round with two wins at 285 on Friday. Nehemia Lendobeja is 3-1 and has advanced to the consolation sub-round of 16.

16U All-American Will Christopher is having fun with Greco and is letting the wrestling take center stage and the results take care of themselves. “I’m here because I love wrestling,” he shared. “It’s a lot about staying disciplined and being patient," he added about the jump in age groups. "If you can do that and you can push them to get them out of their comfort zone, then you can find success, it doesn’t matter 16U or juniors, you’ll find it."

On the back side, Landen Bogard (132), Michael Galloway (157), and Espyn Sweers (175) are all 3-1 heading into the consolation sub-round of 16. Each battled through four matches on the day.

“Really the guys that are succeeding are the ones that are being aggressive, taking calculated risks, and having confidence in getting to where they want to be,” Pelot said. Tomorrow, he said, it’s going to be about controlling the matchups and a get-after-it mentality that will make all the difference. “We’ve been saying it since duals, even before that—they just need to be confident with what they do. They all are good wrestlers, and the guys that are doing really well are confident in getting after it.”

16U Session
These are just quick hits as the session is wrapping up, but with 12 advancing on the championship side and another 9 in the consolations, the 16U team is off to a great start.

AJ Woerpel at 100 pounds is the only weight to have reached the quarterfinals in today’s session. He found a way in the round of 16 to take the win 14-12 over Michigan’s Brody Compau in an all-out brawl. At 94 pounds, Elden Roth is in the cons. round of 16. Everyone else is ready to keep battling from the champ round of 16 or the cons. round of 16 (listed at the top).

Freestyle All-Americans Kade Splinter (215), Reed Falk (190), Martez Sheard (120) and Alexander Penzkover (144) have all advanced and are looking to double up their AA status in Greco on Saturday.

In one of the last bouts for Wisconsin, Isaac Weber hit a 4-point throw to advance with a 12-10 victory over his opponent from Idaho. That was one reminder at the end of a hard-fought day for Team Wisconsin to always stay in it and fight until the clock runs out.  

The final day of the event, which starts at 9 am Saturday for both divisions, will see a ton of wrestling, from the champ round of 16 all the way to the tournament’s conclusion. Once again, all of the action will be streamed live on Flowrestling, and the brackets and updated results are on USA Bracketing.

—
The Wisconsin Wrestling Federation, guided by USA Wrestling, provides quality opportunities for its members to achieve their full human and athletic potential. Wisconsin Wrestling Federation will strive to be USA Wrestling’s best state organization