North Carolina Scout Report

On Thursday, thirty-nine high school wrestlers will begin their journey to Fargo, North Dakota to participate in the USA Cadet and Junior Greco-Roman and Freestyle National Tournament.  The cadet division is for wrestlers 15 - 16 years of age.  The Junior division is for wrestlers 17 - 19 years of age that are high school wrestlers or have just graduated in 2007.  This tournament is the largest tournament in the world for high school age wrestlers.  The event will be held at North Dakota State University's indoor football stadium, the Fargo Dome.  It is the place to be for high school wrestlers wanting to catch the eye of college coaches.  The tournament will have college coaches from all across the country watching the top talent compete.  Some of those coaches will be helping coach their state's national teams, but most of the others will just be there to recruit.  Wrestlers that do well in the tournament could start receiving phone calls from college coaches as soon as they return home.  For wrestlers that place high or make it to the finals, their collegiate futures may very well be secured!  With the aspect of a college scholarship on the line, the competition is always fierce.  The best wrestlers from every state will be there, and most weight class brackets will have 100 plus wrestlers in it.  That is why making All-American by placing in the top eight of a weight class is so highly regarded by the collegiate coaches. 

The North Carolina team is relatively young and inexperienced this year.  Of the 39 wrestlers, only 13 have wrestled at Fargo before.  Of these only four are graduated seniors, but all four have already signed letters of intent to wrestle in college.  All four of these wrestlers could earn All-American honors at Fargo this year.  Phillip Goodwin (130lbs) is a four-time high school state place winner.  The South Point wrestler won high school state championships in 2006 and 2007.  This will be the fourth trip to the Fargo Nationals for Goodwin who has signed to wrestle at Gardner-Webb next fall.  This will also be Mikel McKee's fourth trip to Fargo.  McKee is a four-time high school state qualifier.  He placed third in 2006 and second in 2007.  In May, McKee placed third in both greco and freestyle at the USAW Central Regional in Jeffersonville, Indiana.  He will compete at Fargo at 189lbs.  McKee has signed with UNC Greensboro.  Austin Trotman competed at Fargo last summer and had some success, but he failed to make the medal stand.  Trotman (171lbs) is a two-time state champion from Mt Tabor and finished his senior season with a (46-0) record.  Last spring, Trotman made All-American at the senior national folk style tournament at Virginia Beach.  Trotman has signed with Appalachian State.  Chris Bullins (160lbs) is the most accomplished wrestler from North Carolina this year.  He was a four-time state champion from McMichael high school and finished his high school career with a (238-1) record.  Last summer, he earned All-American honors in both greco-roman (6th) and freestyle (7th) at Fargo.  Recently, Bullins went undefeated in greco at the National Junior Duals in Oklahoma.  Bullins will compete next fall for UNC Greensboro.  Although Johnny Watson (130lbs) is only a rising junior at Forsyth Country Day, he is considered a wrestler to watch at Fargo.  Watson is an Independent high school state champion and a prep national All-American.  This will be Watson's second trip to Fargo.

Nine of the wrestlers on the NCUSA National Team are from the Hickory/Uni-four area.  Most prominent among these is Watauga wrestler Jacob Earp.  This will be his third trip to Fargo.  Earp (140lbs) was an undefeated high school state champion in 2006, but a neck injury kept him from defending his title in 2007.  Earp had a busy spring and summer in 2007.  He was a FILA Cadet All-American at Chicago in April, and in June Earp competed on the US National FILA cadet team in Germany.  Earp is considered one of the top high school recruits in North Carolina for 2008.   Alexander Central will be represented by Blake Salyer (171lbs).  This will be his second trip to Fargo.  Salyer is a two-time high school state qualifier.  Joey Alfonzo (135lbs) will be making his first trip to Fargo.  The Hickory wrestler is a three-time high school state qualifier.  South Caldwell has four wrestlers on the team.  Dustin Potter (145lbs) is a three-time high school state qualifier.  Potter placed fourth in the high school state tournament in 2007.  This will be his second trip to Fargo.  Jesse Nelson (152lbs) also is making his second trip.  He was a high school state qualifier in 2007.  Last April, Nelson was a USAW runner-up in freestyle and the greco-roman champion in the Southeast Regional in New Orleans.  Chris Kirby (135lbs) and Justin Sander (135lbs) will compete in the cadet division.  Freedom high school has two cadet team members, Brett Boston (119lbs) and Dallas Winters (160lbs).  Boston is making his second trip to Fargo.  Last February, Boston placed third in the North Carolina high school state tournament while Winters placed sixth.

Former Bandys coach Ronnie Sigmon will be the Head Coach for the Juniors, and PJ Smith, former Head Coach at UNC Pembroke, will be the Head Coach for the Cadets.  There will be four Assistant Coaches:  Jon Bullins, Head Coach of McMichael high school; Jason Loukides, Head Coach of UNC Greensboro; John Mark Bentley, Assistant Coach at Appalachian State; and Norm Osteen, Head Coach of Strong and Courageous Wrestling Club.  The team will leave by charter bus from four pick up locations across North Carolina on Thursday:  Chapel Hill at 6:00am; Greensboro Koury Convention Center at 7:15am; Conover/ Rock Barn Road (exit 133) Wilco Travel Center at 9:10am; and  Asheville (exit 37) at 10:35am.  They will return home on July 27th. 

This year North Carolina will have two girls competing in the women's division, Elizabeth DeAngelo and Aerielle Freeman of the Carolina Wrestling Club.  The women competitors will compete on Monday and finish up the next day.   They will travel by air with their coach Randy DeAngelo.

More information about this event can be found at this link: http://themat.com/index.php?page=showarticle&ArticleID=16921

Juniors Division (21)

Cadets Division (18)

Womens Division (2)