From July 13-20, five wrestlers from Wellington traveled to Fargo, North Dakota, to compete in the United States Marine Corps/USA Wrestling 16U and Junior National Championships. This event, held at the Fargodome on the campus of North Dakota State University, is the world’s largest high school wrestling tournament. All 50 states, plus Guam and Puerto Rico, were represented.
The five wrestlers were Mac Andrews, 16; Nikolas Gray, 15; Liam Higgins, 17; Mark Bonfante, 17; and James Kosza, 16. All are students at Wellington High School.
At the meet in North Dakota, there were four separate competitive classifications. There were two age groups: Junior and 16U. There were also two wrestling styles: Freestyle and Greco-Roman, both of which are Olympic styles. The Junior age group is the older of the age-group classifications.
Of the five Wellington wrestlers, the highest finisher was Andrews, who was a single win away in the Greco-Roman division from earning Greco-Roman All-American status.
Andrews, a rising junior, competed in the 16U age group in both the Freestyle and Greco-Roman divisions in the 165-pound weight class. He was 3-2 in the Freestyle division and 2-2 in the Greco-Roman division. He plans on representing the U.S. at a wrestling tournament in Bahrain this October.
Gray competed at 144 pounds in the 16U age group. He was 2-2 in the Freestyle division and 0-2 in the Greco-Roman category. Gray will be a sophomore this fall.
Higgins competed in the Junior Heavyweight division, which goes as high as 285 pounds. Higgins, who has been wrestling for less than three years, enjoyed the competitive experience in North Dakota. “This was a tough tournament, and there were lots of state champs and high-level wrestlers,” Higgins recalled. “It was a great experience.”
Higgins, who will be a senior this fall, competed in both the Freestyle and Greco-Roman competition categories.
Bonfante, a rising senior, competed in the Junior age bracket at 120 pounds. Bonfante, who started wrestling in his sophomore year, said the tournament was an eye-opening experience.
“Fargo was a great experience with some tough competition, and I was proud that I got some wins,” he said.
Kosza competed in the Junior age group at the 144-pound division. He will be a junior this fall.
“A majority of wrestlers who competed in Fargo didn’t receive a single win, but they all had a great competitive experience,” said Marcus Andrews, the father of Mac Andrews, who attended the tournament in North Dakota. “To be eligible to compete at the event, each wrestler had to be in the top three in their state in their category. To make it to Fargo was quite an achievement for each wrestler in the tournament.”
