The 2021 USA Wrestling Junior and 16U National Championships will be held at the FargoDome in Fargo, N.D., July 17-23, with competition in men’s freestyle, Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle. This summer will mark the 50th USA Wrestling Junior National Championships, a major national high-school competition which has had a tremendous impact on the sport in our nation for a half-century.

Team New York is sending a star-studded roster this year, headed by 2019 Double All-American Michael Altomer of Minisink Valley. Altomer took 4th in Freestyle and 7th in Greco in Cadet. This year he moves up to Junior but we expect to see the same results. His teammate, 2x NYS Champion Zack Ryder comes in red-hot and surely will cause some damage under the Fargo Dome. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ryder finish as an All-American. He is currently ranked in the top 15 nationally and his stock will continue to rise with a solid performance. 

Section 1 is sending a core group of grapplers. Fox Lane's Jake Hoffman and Arlington's Tim Bova are both NYS place winners. Hoffman's teammate Marc Berisha is one to keep an eye on.

Section 2 is well represented from schools like Shenendehowa, Ballston Spa, Shaker, Averill Park and Tamarac. Niskayuna's Peter Meshkov and Amsterdam's Renso Montalvo are two wrestlers that  can make deeps run and make the blocks in the end. 

Section 3 is only sending four wrestlers. Indian River's Alex Booth holds the deepest resume, with his 5th place finish at the J/Rudis NYS Championships. Fulton's Walter Crofoot has been putting in his time on the mat, will the dividends pay off? Carthage's young stud Brogan Felding will be competing in both styles as will JD/CBA's Nathan Finn.

Section 4's Logan Gumble was built for the international styles and I for one am nearly certain he leaves North Dakota with that elusive "AA" next to his name. Tioga is sending their big 5 including NYS Champion Gianni Silvestri and NYS place winners Donavan Smith, Mason Welch and Caden Bellis. 

The Rochester/Geneseo Region usually packs the heavy hitters. Newly removed from the Purple and White Carter Schubert, will still be representing Team New York. Hilton standout Rocco Camillaci has dropped a weight and is now at 138lbs. Casper Stewart of Attica-Batavia keep rising his stock. Brothers, Cael and Coy Raines, from Churchville Chili are slowly creeping up NYWN's big board. One of the smallest competitors from NYS is Kiernan Magee of Penfield. Magee continue to perform well taking 6th in NYS, runner-up at Freestyle states and was the Greco champion.

Western NY is sending two, only two, wrestlers this season, which leaves me a tad puzzled. Frontier's Travis Browning and Will North's Cam Catrabone, two hammers nonetheless. Browning can scrap with the best of them. He has added a 3rd place finish at states with a Freestyle Runner-Up and Greco Champion to his resume, bolstering him into the top 20 for the Class of 2022. Catrabone recently won an NHSCA title in the freshman division in Virginia Beach. He is not shy of scoring many points and even winning the close bouts. These two should be exciting to watch for sure.

Nassau County continues to produce outstanding individual performances on the national stage. Clarke's Jordan Soriano leads the green clad contingent. Cold Spring Harbor's Jackson Polo is now in the top 5 in NY for the Class of 2022. Teammate Christian Hansen looks to cap his career off with an All-American finish before he heads to Cornell in the fall. Manhasset's Jack Roszko has been on the rise for quite some time now with no signs of slowing down. Wantagh is sending a good core of wrestlers including 2x NYS place winner Benny Rogers. Massapequa's young guns Alex Guiliani and Anthony Digennaro looked to get their hands raised on multiple occasions as well.

The reigning Division 1 NYS Champion Minisink Valley sends 4. The aforementioned Altomer and Ryder, with Jaccob Gonzalez and Brian Lombardi. The Warrior program is at the top for a reason, iron sharpens iron. Finishing with a potential four All-Americans should easily make MV a top contender next season. 

Section 10 standouts Carter Baer and Vandavian Way represent the Wildcats of Gouverneur. Baer just recently committed to Binghamton University and ranked #2 on NYWN's C/O 2022 Big Board behind Princeton Commit Kole Mulhauser. Teammate Vandavian Way is entering his sophomore season. He has won 2 Section 10 titles so far and adding an All-American status will only propel him to higher peaks.

As expected, Section 11 has some big guns heading west. BBP's Max Gallagher continues to impress, holding down the #1 ranking for the C/O 2023 for 3 years straight now. Forks' Tyler Ferrara is gaining ground however. Fast rising Matt Marlow of Northport is not a secret any longer, the kid simply knows how to win.  Sean Campbell of Copiague and Nicholas Lamorte of Rocky Point join Gallagher in being ranked in the top 15. Lamorte is a Suffolk County Champion while Campbell finished 4th at states this past season. Don't count out Newfield's Patrick Ganter. I feel like the heavyweight lives on a wrestling mat. It seems as if he is wrestling every single weekend and is constantly noted in the results. Can Ganter get some heavyweight love?

Has anyone's stock risen higher than Jacob Levin's in the past year? I would argue no because he, like Patrick Ganter, is constantly wrestling year around. His 5th place finish at the NHSCA Junior Nationals was a real eye opener for many, my self included. He made the blocks (8th) at the J/Rudis NYS Championships which is a feat in itself. Fellow PSAL teammate Adrian Artsisheuskiy of Midwood excels at the international styles and should be in the running for All-American status. 

Below is the entire list of entries, both Cadet and Junior as well as the Women representatives. Be sure to follow their Facebook page for all updates as well. Check it out here. #GOGIRLS

Cadet Freestyle:
100 - Mora Peterson
106 - Cailan Drake
117 - Juliet Barnabee, Alyssa Reed
122 - Brooke Tarshis, Alexandra Viera
127 - Gabrielle Baker, Ragan Retell
132 - Taylor Aiello, Ellanora Bode
138 - Emily Frost, Alessandra Elliott
144 - Selina Moore
180 - Sophie Pollack

Junior Freestyle:
100 - Mora Peterson
106 - Cailan Drake
112 - Emily Frost, Madeline Ridge
122 - Alexandra Viera, Ally Fitzgerald
127 - Ragan Retell, Lara Schechter, Esther Levendusky, Sofia Macaluso
138 - Alessandra Elliott, Selina Moore
144 - Schyler Caringi
152 - Damiana Racciatti
164 - Jessica Kemgne
200 - Makansira Kieta, Kelsey Squires