Courtesy photoApple Valley (Minn.) star Mark Hall won a Cadet national title over the weekend.
The 24th annual National Wrestling Championships in Virginia Beach, Va., drew a record 2,777 participants, according to Bobby Ferraro Jr., director for the sponsoring National High School Coaches Association.
Ferraro told MaxPreps, "We had virtually every college represented there and we did a lot of clinics. Unfortunately, I care more about the college coaches having to choose where to go (referring to two other major tournaments going on at the same time). We're trying to help kids get scholarships."
If there was a star in such a huge field, it had to be
B.j. Clagon from
Toms River South (N.J.). He defeated Justin Arthur of
Huntington (W. Va.) 10-6 to win the 145-pound title and become just the third four-time champion in the history of the event.
Named Most Outstanding Wrestler in the Junior event was 138-pound champion Renaldo Rodriguez of
Cheektowaga (N.Y.).
Corbin Allen, the 145-pound winner from Hanover, Va., was named MOW in the sophomore class, while freshman honors went to 113-pound champion Kyle Norstrem of Brandon, Fla.
Team champions were: Senior - New Jersey with 191 points; Junior - New York with 154.5 points; Sophomore - New Jersey with 136 points; and Freshman - New York with 208.5 points.
* The Cliff Keen/USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals were held in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Thirty-two individual champions were crowned in the Cadet and Junior Divisions, but no Most Outstanding Wrestler awards were made. The meet drew approximately 2,500 entries.
In the Junior Division, Clayton Ream and Adam Coon were the lone wrestlers who successfully defended their titles, according to Jason Bryant, editor of Amateur Wrestling News.
Coon, a four-time state champion from
Fowlerville (Mich.), uphleld his ranking as the nation's No. 1 heavyweight. Ream, who is from
Holt (Wentzville, Mo.), captured the title at 152 pounds.
Sensational freshman Aaron Pico from
St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) went 6-0 and picked up bonus points in every round to win the title at 138 pounds. He is ranked No. 1 in the country at 132 pounds.
Among the impressive winners in the Cadet Division was three-time state champion Mark Hall from
Apple Valley (Minn.), who captured the championship at 160 pounds.