The Fargodome was silent Friday, a strange phenomenon for D.J. Guerrero, director for the USA Wrestling Cadet and Junior national tournaments.
“It’s almost deafening, “he said. “But come Saturday, this place is going to roar.”
It will be roaring for the 13th straight year in Fargo, something that was unforeseen when Fargo was picked as the host site for the Junior Greco-Roman and freestyle tournaments in 1992.
The Cadet division was added to the mix in 1996 and the two have worked together since.
To be eligible for Junior competition, a wrestler must be born Sept. 1, 1985, or later and be enrolled in grades 9-12 during the 2005 spring semester. Only wrestlers born in 1989 or 1990 are eligible for the Cadet level.
“They don’t say ‘we’re going to nationals’ anymore, “Guerrero said. “They say ‘we’re going to Fargo.’ The city has gotten synonymous with the wrestling show.”
It’s controlled chaos.
Billed as the world’s largest wrestling tournament, the Fargodome will see about 3,500 kids wrestle about 8,500 matches over the next seven days.
Wrestlers from 49 states, including some of the top college recruits in the country, will vie for a national championship. It’s not easy – winning a bracket requires double-digit victories over the course of just 21/2 days.
Three Junior double champions – winners in both Greco-Roman and freestyle divisions – are eligible to return: Henry Cejudo of Arizona, Troy Nickerson of New York and Brent Metcalf of Michigan. Twelve other Junior champions are eligible to defend their titles.
“What you see out here is the future of America, “Guerrero said. “You see street kids. Farm kids. Small-town kids. They all like to come here.”
New to the event this year is the first Women’s National Dual Meet Championships on Thursday. Eight states have entered teams.
The 2005 U.S. World Freestyle Team will hold a one-week training camp at the Fargodome in preparation for the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in September.
“For somebody who’s interested in seeing a variety of wrestling things, this is the time and place, “USA Wrestling’s Gary Abbott said.
In the past, USA Wrestling has conducted Olympic team wrestle-offs at the dome.
The tournament is an organizational mesh between USA Wrestling and the local committee. North Dakota State, the host school, is responsible for volunteers, security, registration, credentialing, mat setup, practice venues, coordinating meeting rooms for the USA Wrestling national convention and on-campus transportation for athletes.
In return, Fargo gets an economic benefit – Guerrero said the tournament reserved about 2,300 hotel rooms – and NDSU gets the benefit of exposure.
Guerrero has been on the job daily since July 4 and mentally since the last day of last year’s tournament.
“We talk about this all year around, “he said.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Jeff Kolpack at (701) 241-5546
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