Every Fargo All-American From New England

Fargo, formally known as the U.S. Marine Corps Nationals, wrapped up on July 20th, 2024 after a great week of wrestling. Considering how deep the field always is, Fargo, without a doubt, is the toughest Olympic-style event in the country—and maybe even the world.

The New England region came away with 17 All-Americans across the Freestyle and Greco-Roman tournaments. It’s 18 if you count New York’s Oumar Tounkara, who wrestles for New York Military Academy (Cornwall, NY), a school not far from the Connecticut border that competes in the New England Prep League.

Blood Round Finishers

The frustration of being so close, on the cusp of greatness, but just falling short! Here are the athletes that lost in the Consi of 8 #2 round—better known across the wrestling world as the Blood Round.

Jr. Women’s Freestyle

130lbs: (MA) Nora Quitt | Ashland

Jr. Men’s Freestyle

120lbs: (MA) Musa Tamaradze | New York Military Academy, NY

Jr. Men’s Greco-Roman

165lbs: (CT) Donell Young | Fairfield Ludlowe

175lbs: (CT) Xavier Giles | Greens Farms Academy

215lbs: (CT) Kingston Daniells-Silva | Greens Farms Academy

Women’s Freestyle

16u

88lbs: MA | Fern Jewett | General Brown (NY) | 6th

Wrestling for Team Massachusetts and in the lightest bracket of the tournament, Fern Jewett took sixth place. She had a bye to the quarterfinals and lost 10-6. She then bounced back with a fall over Anabelle Wessell (NY). Jewett would drop her next two matches.

112lbs: CT | Kayla Batres | Greens Farms Academy | 2nd

The GFA phenom does it again. Kayla Batres is 2-for-2 on Fargo finals appearances in her career. Although she came up short of her goal, her performance is beyond incredible. In her two years competing at Fargo thus far, Batres has outscored opponents 82-14 and holds a record of 10-2 at the elite tournament.

118lbs: MA | Sara McLaughlin | Choate (CT) | 8th

After a 1-2 performance at last year’s tournament, the Scituate, Massachusetts native truly outdid herself this year and found the podium. Sara McLaughlin won her first match and then ran into the one seed and eventual fourth-place finisher Mackenzie Carder (OH), losing 6-4. McLaughlin, however, fired off seven straight wins before the fire was quenched. That didn't matter, however, as she had secured a spot on the podium.

136lbs: MA | Corynne McNulty | Blair Academy (NJ) | 2nd

A wrestler for the prestigious Blair Academy, Corynne McNulty, a resident of Malden, Massachusetts, chose to stay with her roots and wrestle for her home state. McNulty had a phenomenal performance, outscoring her opponents 48-2 before losing 11-0 in the finals to one seed Taina Fernandez (MD).

Jr. Division 

95lbs: MA | Samantha Bertini | Ludlow | 1st

The only champion from the region comes at one of the lowest weights in the whole event. Samantha Bertini, who placed fourth at this tournament in 2023, reached a whole new level this year. She was dominant the whole way, not allowing a single point and only spending 4 minutes and 44 seconds on the mat.

105lbs: MA | Lily Runez | Choate (CT) | 8th

A native of Keene, New Hampshire wrestling for Team Massachusetts but set to go to school at Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut? That's Lily Runez. The 2024 Boys New England Qualifier won her first two matches before losing 9-5 to Joely Slyter (ID). Runez won another three matches, going 5-2 at the tournament and earning eighth place.

120lbs: CT | Calli Gilchrist | Choate (CT) | 3rd

Calli Gilchrist is on her way to being one of the most decorated in New England history. Now a 4x Fargo All-American—she took bronze in 2021, sixth in 2022, was the runner-up in 2023—Gilchrist added another bronze medal to her resume. The 2024 Prep National Champion lost in an electric semi-finals match that saw Savannah Witt (PA) outscore the Norwalk, Connecticut local 10-2, securing the win. Gilchrist would beat Shayna Ward (CA) 3-2 for the bronze medal.

145lbs: CT | Sarah Henckel | Blair Academy (NJ) | 2nd

One of the two nationally renowned Henckel wrestlers, Sarah Henckel (Blair Academy, NJ) fired off six straight wins outscoring opponents 39-9. Sarah Henckel, a 2022 Fargo finalist, while familiar to the spotlight, sadly lost 3-0 to Valerie Hamilton (IL). She still had reason to celebrate, adding another silver medal to her one from 2022 and her bronze medal from 2023.

Team Massachusetts

Men’s Freestyle

16u

190lbs: CT | Max Konopka | Simsbury | 2nd

This kid is special. The Simsbury Trojan, Max Konopka added to his long list of accolades with a second-place finish at Fargo. Konopka put up 51 points throughout his seven matches, with more than half of them coming in the quarterfinals or later. First place was out of reach, however, as he lost 8-2 to Elijah Brown (PA). Nevertheless, one would think this loss would only fire up the incoming sophomore even more.

Jr. Division 

113lbs: NY | Oumar Tounkara | New York Military Academy | 8th

Although not a New England resident or going to school in the New England region geographically, Oumar Tounkara is one to watch out for as he will be competing in the New England prep league. The 2024 NHSCA National Champion made it to the semi-finals before losing 10-0 to Nicholas Enzminger (ND). Tounkara would go on to finish eighth in the event.

132lbs: MA | Matt Botello | Wyoming Seminary (PA) | 4th

Ranked No. 8 in the country on FloWrestling, Matt Botello came into the tournament as the 13 seed. Botello rallied off five wins making it to the semi-finals where he ran into Jax Forrest (PA)—No. 2 in the country at 126lbs. Botello would go on to go 1-1 in the consolations to finish fourth.

144lbs: RI | Gabe Bouyssou | Scituate | 7th

FloWrestling called Gabe Bouyssou the most decorated Fargo wrestler from Rhode Island. And they certainly aren’t wrong. The Cornell-commit has now made his sixth Fargo podium across the two styles. Bouyssou closes out his high school career with another Fargo placement as he sets his eyes on college. And look out for him in the U.S Open Judo Championships when that rolls around!

165lbs: MA | Elliot Humphries | Northfield Mt. Hermon | 2nd

Truly the story of the tournament for New England. Elliot Humphries has always been on the cusp of breaking into FloWrestling and MatScout’s National rankings, at Fargo the incoming senior definitely made his mark. In his very first match, he upset Jordan Chapman (NJ) in a thrilling 20-19 match. Humphries would go on to win five more matches and successfully went from unseeded to national finalist, certainly putting himself on the map.

175lbs: CT | Will Henckel | Blair Academy | 2nd

Connecticut’s golden boy, Penn State commit and the second half of the Henckel duo, Will took second in this tournament for the second time. He was a 16u champion in 2021, runner-up in 2022, and fourth in 2023. Henckel went 5-1 at Fargo and scored 41 points in his first four matches.

Team Connecticut

Men’s Greco-Roman

16u

106lbs: CT | Chase Kastner | Southington | 3rd

Now a 2x Greco All-American, Chase Kastner made the semi-finals. Kastner made the semi finals in 2023 before injury defaulting to sixth place. This year he did it again but he lost a close 12-9 decision. Kastner, was able to bounce back with two wins and earn the bronze medal.

Jr. Division 

120lbs: MA | Musa Tamaradze | New York Military Academy | 4th

Now another 2x All-American, Musa Tamaradze made the bronze medal match for the second year in a row. Tamaradze, won his first three matches, outscoring opponents 35-2. He lost in the quarterfinals to Isaiah Jones (OK) but bounced back with three more wins, outscoring opponents 38-8. He went on to fall to Gabe Singleton (OR) in the third-place match.

126lbs: CT | Jackson Heslin | Greens Farms Academy | 2nd

His first time on the podium was a big one: Jackson Heslin  made it all the way to the finals. Heslin won six matches throughout the event with his signature arm throw working all day. He’d go on to lose to Anthony Ruzic (IL) in the finals by a score of 6-0.

285lbs: MA | Alex Bajoras | St. John’s Prep | 6th

Fargo All-American and heavyweight Alex Bajoras entered Fargo unseeded, but the incoming senior still managed multiple upsets on his way to the semi-finals. The biggest: a fall over one seed Hunter Vander-Heiden (WI). Bajoras would go on to drop his next two matches, the fifth-place match being were Vander-Heiden got his revenge in a 8-6 win over Bajoras.

Team Rhode Island enjoys lunch out