By Jason Bryant
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Omaha, Neb . “If the 103-pound freshman division bracket is a precursor of things to come in the near future, wrestling fans should definitely make plans to attend the Brute-Adidas Nationals.
The third annual event, now held at the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s Sapp Fieldhouse, drew a record turnover of over 800 athletes, with the vast majority of them fielding the freshman, sophomore and junior brackets.
At 103, three of the nation’s top guns have reached the semis: Texas’ Riley Adamson, Kansas’ Nathan Furches and Trent Cox.
A fourth, South Dakota’s Allan Hogg might be a mystery to some, but the eighth-place finisher in South Dakota’s B Division from Parker High School has been dominant in reaching the semifinals, scoring two falls and a major decision to reach his top bracket semifinal.
Awaiting is Adamson, one of the nation’s most accomplished age-group competitors on the USA Wrestling circuit.
Furches, a 6A state champion at Derby High will meet up with Cox, a 4A state champion from Andale High. The pair met four times this year, splitting the bouts.
Other brackets featuring high profile wrestlers are at freshman 119, where Kansas’ Tyler Caldwell has three falls en route to the semifinal. He’ll meet Missouri’s Matt Lester, while Nebraska’s Matt Katusin takes on Iowa’s Dillon Dalton in the other semifinal.
Georgia’s Kendall Albert has been impressive in the sophomore 135-pound division. The Georgia state champion had a tough nerve-wracking opening round match, getting past Wisconsin’s Dillon Bera before picking up a fall and a major decision to reach the semifinals where he’ll face Jared Beam of Missouri.
Marshalle Koethe of Iowa and Quintin Cotte of Nebraska reside in the bottom bracket semifinals.
In the Junior Division, Pennsylvania’s Nic Bedolyn is no stranger to the event, placing last year and he prevailed 8-4 over Missouri’s Jesse Knott to reach the semifinals at 112 pounds. Also reaching the semis at Junior 112 are Kansas’ Marcus Walker, Oklahoma’s Bryce Dicus and Kansas’ Paulie Hansen.
Junior 119 is solid as well, with Kansas’ Brett Bahe, Utah’s Shay Warren, Oklahoma’s Carson Powell and Missouri’s Cody Hogan hanging around in the semifinals.
Kansas’ Aaron Ely is the top dog at Junior 125, at least on paper, reaching the semis with three easy victories.
Two of the tournament’s most powerful names, in terms of credentials, come in at 140 pounds where Esai Dominguez of Nebraska and Todd Moen of Iowa sit in opposite brackets. Dominguez is from Iowa but attends Creighton Prep just across the border in Nebraska.
Dominguez has scored a major and a tech fall en route to the semifinals. Moen has matched with a major and opened his event with a fall over Kansas’ Daniel Meredith.
Both are state champions.
Three Iowa wrestlers control the semifinals at 145 pounds, with Brett Rosedale, Michael Finch and Andrew Sorenson all in the round. Nebraska’s Greg Garcia is the lone non-Iowan still in the championship bracket.
Illinios’ D.J. Bruce highlights the 215-pound class while Missouri’s Dom Bradley opened up with a 17-3 major decision over New Mexico state runner-up Payton Henderson.
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