Oklahoma Dual Team places 7th at Greco-Roman Nationals

Incoming Charles Page High School freshman Carter Young (22-2 FS, 21-1 GR) competed on Team Oklahoma at the 2017 USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Cadet National Duals this week in York, Pennsylvania and was only one win shy of attaining All-American status.

While the team as a whole went 4-3 for seventh place in the nation, Young went 6-1 for the second-best record on Team Oklahoma. Young’s six wins were the most of any wrestler on the team, and Reece Witcraft was the only Okie to go undefeated at 4-0. Micah Lugafet (0-1), Gage Hockett (3-1), Talon Borror (4-1), Cabe Dickerson (5-1), and Josh Heindselman (4-1) were the other one-loss members of Team Oklahoma.

Twenty-four states participated in the National Championship with thirty total teams. Minnesota defended their National Championship from last year with a close 40-38 finals victory over Illinois, who placed third last year, but won it in 2015. Oklahoma slipped two spots from their previous performance when they placed fifth in 2016, but still made it to the Gold Pool for the second year in a row.

To qualify for the Cadet Dual Teams, wrestlers must be born in either 2001 or 2002. Selections are then based upon five levels of qualification. Young qualified as an Oklahoma USAW Freestyle State Champion and returning Dual Team member. He was a two-style All-American at the Schoolboy classification after going undefeated in last year’s Dual Nationals.

Oklahoma got off to a great start Thursday, going undefeated in the D Pool. They dominated Virginia 63-18 and Georgia Red 63-19, then topped Michigan Red 42-32 to earn their way to the Gold Pool on Friday.

On day one, Young defeated Georgia two-style State Champion Tucker Kinsaul via 12-0 technical fall, then topped Michigan Freestyle State Champion and U.S. Open Runner-Up Sam Freeman 12-2.

Day two was far tougher, however, as the Okies lost their opening dual 45-28 to Iowa Gold, who would go on to finish fourth. Young suffered his first defeat of the year to Cullan Schriever, an undefeated freshman State Champion from Mason City, who won the USAW National Titles in all three styles last year.

Oklahoma lost their next two duals as well, 41-33 to Ohio, who would place fifth, and 52-24 to Illinois.

Young rebounded from his loss and finished the day with three-straight wins, all by tech fall, and Oklahoma won a rematch with Michigan Red for seventh place.

The Cadet teams will return to action Friday for the Freestyle tournament. The event is being held at Memorial Hall on the York County Fairgrounds.

Illinois has won four-straight National Titles in freestyle and has made the finals every year since 2009. Team Oklahoma placed tenth last year and hasn’t won a Cadet Freestyle Title since 2008 when they defeated Pennsylvania 35-33.