Fargo preview/thread (RECAP now included)
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Mocco gets it done with a late 4pt takedown - winning via 9-6 decision.
Didn’t seem real pleased with his performance there, but it was good to see him go and get it when he had to.
Didn’t seem real pleased with his performance there, but it was good to see him go and get it when he had to.
Nice to see dad wearing Hawk hat.
Congrads to these young men.
As an Iowa fan is this a note worthy result? Can these stats be compared with other rivals including Penn St, Okie St, UNI (present). and others? Would be interesting to see. Heck SDSU had a silver, almost gold. I suspect a disappointing comparasion for Iowa fans.
I wish Mac Crosson was coming to Iowa rather Nebby. I think he's going to be tough. He ended up 2nd losing 3-2 in the finals. He beat #1 seed Robideu in the semi's and beat Hakon Petersen at junior duals last month.
I‘ve only covered the last three editions of this event, but 2026 was by far Iowa’s best performance in recent memory.
In (small) part that was due to the volume of commits in action. But mostly the guys performed quite well - perhaps a reflection of the recent recruiting uptick (esp. the Class of 2027).
As for a comparison to other schools, here’s who had the most finalists among finalist in the Boys JR division:
3 - Iowa, Ohio State
2 - Nebraska, UNI, Virginia Tech
1 - Little Rock, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Penn, South Dakota State, Wisconsin
Keep in mind that there were plenty of top committed prospects who did not compete at Fargo - esp. from schools like Penn State and Oklahoma (and also Iowa).
Appears to be an influx of talent in Iowa in the U16 age group too.
With Bachmanns placement, is he injured or nursing an injury? I’m kinda shocked with his placement.
He's a much better folk prospect.
For a class that is supposed to be a reason the program can't risk moving off the current staff, the results feel disappointing.
Lost a couple of really close matches to the eventual 2nd/4th place finishers, so it’s not like he was terrible.
And while he may not be the most offensive guy, I wonder how much that can be attributed to his massive jump in weight classes over the past year.
He won a his 2025 PIAA state title at 127lbs, his 2026 title at 152 this March and then competed at 165 at Fargo. That’s a pretty drastic change over a short period of time.
You can attribute 0% to the jump in classes. It's who he is.
Just not an offensive dynamo.
I'd argue it's as much if not more of a reason than him just being a better folk style prospect. That reasoning has been overused forever... how many folkstyle studs have been duds in free over the past decade or two? The guys competing for and winning ncaa folk titles are the same guys at the top in free.
Yes there are definitely guys better at one vs the other but it's rarely very extreme.
152 to 165 is very significant in size and strength. Good for him for bumping up.
It's not like he's bad at Freestyle, lol.
I agree. Good recruit but not a Melvin miller. That Sammy Sanchez who whipped Schwab was nasty.
Fixed it for you.
Sanchez is really impressive, too. There are a lot of U17 world champs floating around those weights; it'll be interesting to see where they eventually end up weight-wise. Could make for some wild 125/133 brackets in coming years.
Same. Had many other good wrestlers in the lineup but him and Spencer leading off was THE show.
Dosent appear she did not sure why. Nora Akpan is in the finals her match is next up on Flo. Akpan wins Fargo title with a 11 5 victory in the finals
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If the Google machine and UWW profiles are accurate, Mills is already 20 while Kenny just turned 18. In addition to Kenny still having a year of HS left and Mills headed off to college in the fall, of course. Just found it interesting that there are apparently 2 years difference in ages at the current time.
Here’s my full recap of the week (plus) that was at the Fargodome:
www.on3.com
I’ve got notes/summaries/highlights on all eight Hawkeye commits in attendance - including seven All-Americans, four finalists and a pair of champions.
Michael Mocco, Nora Akpan win titles to lead Iowa recruits at Fargo
After more than a week of wrestling at the 2026 USMC Junior Nationals, we examine the results for Iowa recruits in action at the Fargodome.
I’ve got notes/summaries/highlights on all eight Hawkeye commits in attendance - including seven All-Americans, four finalists and a pair of champions.
Apologies for the lack of updates on Nora Akpan - Iowa’s lone women’s entry - last week.
I was actually at Fargo during that time doing some work on a TBA project.
Thankfully, the absence of my coverage didn’t seem to affect her performance one bit, as she completed her HS career as a back-to-back Fargo champ
The Hawkeye rolled to the semis with 3 pins + a technical fall. Once there, she knocked off 2x Fargo champ Violette Lasure - ranked two spots above Akpan in the national rankings FWIW - via 7-4 decision, and then won a controlled 11-5 match in the finals.
I was actually at Fargo during that time doing some work on a TBA project.
Thankfully, the absence of my coverage didn’t seem to affect her performance one bit, as she completed her HS career as a back-to-back Fargo champ
The Hawkeye rolled to the semis with 3 pins + a technical fall. Once there, she knocked off 2x Fargo champ Violette Lasure - ranked two spots above Akpan in the national rankings FWIW - via 7-4 decision, and then won a controlled 11-5 match in the finals.
The UWW profiles give the age that an athlete turns this calendar year - not necessarily what age they are at present.
Don’t quote me on this, but I could’ve sworn I saw somewhere that Mills’ birthday is in December - which, if true, would still make him ~ four months younger than a guy like Bo Bassett, FWIW.
As for Kenny, I can’t add anything other than that he has or will turn 18 at some point this year.
Thank you for the fact about UWW profiles. Makes sense from every angle.
Kenny turned 18 in February. Mills is 1 year-ish older which is in line with him being class of 2026 vs. Kenny in the Class of 2027.