Day 3 at Fargo was all about Greco Roman wrestling with the conclusion of the Cadet competition and the beginning of the Junior action.
At the end of the day, four Empire State wrestlers stood on the podium as Cadet Greco All-Americans. At 132 pounds, Jesse Porter of Ballston Lake took fourth after going 6-2 overall, while St. Anthony’s Sam Ward (6-2) grabbed seventh at the same weight after defeating Marshall Osborne of Missouri in his final bout.
Chris Cuccolo earned fifth in his third straight event in Fargo, this time at 94 pounds. In July of 2011, he was fifth in both Greco and Freestyle in the 84-pound class. The Pine Bush wrestler topped Tanner Cox of Utah 1-0, 4-0 in the fifth place match on Monday.
In the upperweights, Benjamin Honis ended his tournament in seventh position at 182 pounds after a 1-0, 2-0 victory over Minnesota’s Wyatt Richardson.
All four of the All-Americans are currently registered to compete in the Cadet Freestyle event, beginning on Wednesday.
Junior Greco Roman Begins
The Junior Greco Roman competition got underway and after the first day of action, a number of New York wrestlers remained unbeaten.
At 132 pounds, both Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer and Jessy Williams won all five of their bouts.
After going 8-0 at the Junior Duals a few weeks ago in Greco, Connor Sutton kept the momentum going with a 5-0 mark at 160 pounds. McZiggy Richards also had an unblemished performance, with five victories at 182.
Also remaining in the hunt from the Empire State are two-time state champion Kyle Kelly (106), Josh Antoine (113), Santo Curatolo (120), Brendan Goldup (152) and Chris Loew (182).
Junior Greco wrestling resumes on Tuesday, while the Junior Women’s Freestyle tournament will take place as well.
2012 New York All-Americans
Cadet
94 Pounds: Chris Cuccolo, Cadet Greco 5th
132 Pounds: Jesse Porter, Cadet Greco 4th
132 Pounds: Sam Ward, Cadet Greco 7th
182 Pounds: Benjamin Honis, Cadet Greco 7th
Women
143 Pounds: Alexis Porter, Cadet Freestyle Champion
143 Pounds: Kennedie Eddings, Cadet Freestyle 6th
172 Pounds: Yuneris Diaz, Cadet Freestyle 3rd