FARGO, N.D. “Incoming Purdue wrestling freshman Kendrick Sanders won the U.S.A. Wrestling Junior Greco-Roman National Championship at 152 pounds on Tuesday in Fargo, N.D. The national title was the second for the Florida native, who joins the Boilermakers this fall.
Sanders posted a flawless 9-0 record over the four-day tournament, surrendering only two points throughout the week. He notched a pair of falls and three technical falls en route to the title, beating out some of the nation’s top high school talent along the way. He closed out the tournament in grand fashion, blanking Kalvin York of Wisconsin by technical fall, 6-0, 6-0, and earning most outstanding wrestler of the championship honors.
He was tabbed the No. 55 recruit in the nation and the No. 7 wrestler in the country at 145 pounds in 2009 by InterMat Wrestling, helping the Boilermakers’ to the No. 12 recruiting class in the nation this year. Sanders was a three-time Florida State Champion at South Dade High School near Miami, Fla., and competed in the prestigious Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic in March and was named an Asics All-America honorable mention in 2009. Sanders won his first national championship at the U.S.A. Wrestling Cadet Greco-Roman championships in 2007.
Sanders and several other future Boilermaker grapplers look to further their national honors later this week in the U.S.A. Wrestling Junior Freestyle National Championships.
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