Clayton Giddens places second at National Championship, Christian Forbes takes third

Two Sand Springs middle school wrestlers competed at the USA Wrestling Kids Freestyle Nationals last weekend in Atlanta, Georgia.

Held at the Georgia World Congress Center, the event attracted more than 600 competitors from forty states. No team scores were kept, but Florida led the way in total National Champions with six, followed by Nebraska with five. Oklahoma crowned two national champions in Mason Burnham (Intermediate) and Jordan Williams (Schoolboy).

Clayton Giddens (25-1) took second place in Novice at 65 pounds. He breezed his way through the early competition, defeating Cooper Hilton, Noah Kubala, and Christian Fretwell all by technical fall. After a finals loss to defending three-time National Champion Luke Lilledahl, he rebounded with a 10-0 tech of Nore Turner for second place.

Christian Forbes (23-5) took third place in Schoolboy at 77 pounds. He won a tough 9-8 decision over Coy Hammack, then received a forfeit before scoring a pair of 10-0 tech falls over Maddox Khalimsky and Cole Hunt. He met his match in Christopher Martino in the finals, then lost the second-place challenge match to Dylan Gilcher.

The USAW Cadet and Junior Nationals will be held next weekend at the FargoDome in Fargo, North Dakota.