Fargo Cinderellas

Indiana’s Rianne Murphy after winning the 16U national title at Fargo. Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo / WrestlersAreWarriors.com

by Derek Levendusky
Twitter: @AWWderek

Every year at Fargo, we get Cinderella runs and performances. Here’s our top 10 this year with some honorable mentions.

1. Makennah Craft (Ohio)
Placement: Junior National Runner-up at 100
Ohio freshman Makennah Craft came into Fargo ranked #21 at 100 pounds and beat an All-American and two national champions in the Junior division before reaching the final, where she fell in a competitive match 9-4 to Sterling Dias. In the Round of 16, she pinned 16U All-American Zoey Jewett, and then beat 16U national champs Katey Valdez 12-2 and Rianne Murphy 8-6 in the quarters and semis, respectively. That was quite a run.

2. Gigi Bragg (Michigan)
Placements: 3rd place 16U All-American at 100 & 3rd place Junior All-American at 100
To come into Fargo ranked #12 and walk away as a double All-American is a remarkable feat. In 16U, after falling to finalist Mary Manis 6-4 in the quarters, Bragg went on a 42-0 run on the backside to take 3rd place. In the Junior division, Bragg stormed her way to the semis and barely lost to eventual champ Sterling Dias 5-4. On the backside, she reached the 3rd place match and beat 16U champ Rianne Murphy by 10-0 tech fall. The freshman is only getting started. Makes you wonder if we’ll be talking about her this time next year.

3. Maddie Westerberg (New York)
Placement: 3rd place 16U All-American at 138
New York’s unranked Maddie Westerberg wasn’t just winning, she was dominating her matches, earning three technical falls to start her first Fargo before losing to #3 seed Faith Bartoszek in the quarters. Then she picked up where she left off and smashed her way through the backside to 3rd place, beating #11 Gianna DiBenedetto in the 3rd place match 13-2. Her hitlist also included a win over #17 ranked Amitria McNack, who made the final in the Junior division.

4. Everest Leydecker (Arizona)
Placement: 16U National Champion at 122
Not only was Leydecker unranked coming into the event, but wasn’t even on our ranking committee’s watchlist! The 8th grader (freshman this fall) from Phoenix, Arizona, earned a national title in the finals with an 8-4 win over Wisconsin’s #2 seed Carley Ceshker. She beat #9 ranked Hailey Jaffe (Pennsylvania) in the semifinals. Quite a day for the young Arizona hammer, who also has a lot of accolades in jiu-jitsu.

5. Molly Allen (Iowa)
Placement: 16U National Champion at 106
Ranked #12 at 106 coming into Fargo, Iowa freshman Molly Allen seemed to come from nowhere to win the title, but she had accolades previously to give us a clue—she was an Iowa state champ, took 4th in U15 Nationals in May, and won USA Wrestling’s Preseason Nationals last fall. Her first Fargo, she was ready for the competition, defeating #1 seed and returning champ Cecilia Williams in the semis, and then #3 seed Karlee Brooks by fall in the finals. Allen’s performance was also key to helping her Iowa state team win their first-ever Fargo team title.

6. Emily Sindoni (New York)
Placement: Junior National Runner-up at 122
The junior from New York, and member of D2 state champion Tioga boys’ program, was ranked #8 in FloWrestling’s June ranking. She blew through the bottom of the bracket, beating #11 Rose Kaplan, who had just upset the #2 seed the previous round, and then beat Pennsylvania’s #9 ranked Hailey Jaffe in the semis. It’s not just that Sindoni won, but it’s how she won, going fall, fall, tech, tech, tech before losing to Cadence Diduch in the finals. But what a performance for the Fargo first-timer.

7. Carina Giangeruso (New Jersey)
Placement: 16U National Champion at 132
#14 ranked Giangeruso made a huge splash at her first Fargo with the title, and there wasn’t much indication previously that she would do this. The New Jersey sophomore, who was at Wyoming Sem this year, DNP’ed at Super 32 last fall and went two-and-out at U17 Nationals in May. Perhaps her biggest accolade previous to this weekend was taking third at U15 Nationals last year. That’s why her national title is so remarkable, not to mention she’s New Jersey’s first-ever girls’ 16U Fargo champ.

8. Jordyn Fouse (Pennsylvania)
Placements: 5th place 16U All-American at 127 & Junior National Runner-up at 127
#23 ranked freshman Jordyn Fouse from Pennsylvania upset the #1 seed Jaclyn Dehney in the Junior semis with a convincing 10-0 tech fall. She lost in the finals to red hot Sarah Savidge, but it was a dominant run to the silver position, as she scored a whopping five straight tech falls before she reached the Junior final. Her hitlist included All-American Emily Frost from New York.

9. Amitria McNack (Missouri)
Placement: Junior National Runner-up at 138
#17 ranked Amitria McNack, a freshman from Missouri, didn’t even place in the 16U division, going out in “Consi of 8 #1”—the round before the blood round. But she turned it around and got all the way through the bottom side of the bracket to reach the final in the Junior division. Amazing turn around, especially considering her early exit in 16U.

10. Mary Manis (Florida)
Placement: 16U National Runner-up at 100
#10 ranked Mary Manis beat #2 seed Gigi Bragg 6-4 in the quarters, won her semi 8-4 over California’s Lauren Nguyen, and then lost in the finals by fall to Rianne Murphy. It was a Cinderella run for the Florida wrestler showing that her state, still developing their high school girls wrestling program, is competitive at the highest level.

Honorable Mention
Clarissa Agostini (Michigan): Junior Runner-up at 144 (ranked #12, lost final 13-12)
Aspen Blasko (Minnesota): Junior National Runner-up at 106 (ranked #16)
Rewa Chababo (Texas): 3rd place Junior All-American (ranked #12)
Alicen Dillard (Texas): 3rd place 16U All-American at 127 & 3rd place Junior All-American (ranked #14)
Isis France (Arizona): 3rd place 16U All-American at 132 (ranked #30)
Zoe Griffith (New York): 4th place Junior All-American at 132 (unranked, DNP 16U)
Brooklyn Hays (Utah): Junior National Champion at 164 (ranked #15
Sarah Henckel (Connecticut): 16U National Champion at 138 (ranked #13)
Aubre Krazer (Pennsylvania): 3rd place 16U All-American at 112, Junior Runner-up at 112 (ranked #16)
Skylur Lewis (Arkansas): 3rd place 16U All-American at 152 (unranked)
Alexis Montes (Texas): Junior National Runner-up at 117 (unranked)
Rianne Murphy (Indiana): 16U National Champion, 4th place Junior All-American at 100 (ranked #17)
Aurellia Ramos (Utah): 3rd place 16U All-American at 180 (unranked)
Eduarda Rodrigues (California): 3rd place Junior All-American at 152 (unranked)
Skylar Slade (Iowa): 16U National Runner-up at 144 (unranked)
Olivia Stean (Kansas): 3rd place 16U All-American at 164 (ranked #17)
Katey Valdez (Colorado): 16U National Champion at 94 (ranked #25)
Netavia Wickson (Illinois): 3rd place Junior All-American at 138 (ranked #13)