14U National Duals kicked off in Philadelphia today, with the Greco portion of the competition being Wednesday and Thursday, followed by Freestyle on Friday and Saturday. Team Michigan brought two squads to each style, with Michigan Blue earning the #1 seed in Greco.
Michigan Blue rattled off three consecutive tough wins to win Pool A and advance to the Gold Pool. In their first dual, Michigan and Pennsylvania Red were tied 26-26 before Chase VanPortfliet, Asher Procunier, Dominic Gorder, and Aden DiGiovanni picked up four consecutive wins to clinch the dual. Similarly, against Missouri, Michigan was down before picking up 19 straight points with Porter McCormick, Aden DiGiovanni, Rooney Olmedo, and Jaxson Boucher all picking up pins or techs to close that dual out. In the Pool A finals, Michigan closed out the victory in the finals matches for the third consecutive dual. Tied up with 4 matches remaining, Jaxson Boucher, Bentley Hawkins, and Murphy Rousse all picked up pins or techs to seal the deal, advancing Michigan to the Gold Pool.
The first round of the Gold Pool took place on Day 1, with Michigan dropping a tough dual to a loaded California squad. Michigan will now see Oklahoma Red and Minnesota Blue. A win in both of those duals would put them in the 3rd place match on Day 2.
Michigan Red had a tougher day, going 0-4 in a loaded pool. Entering the tournament unseeded, Michigan Red saw the A teams from Pennsylvania and New York before seeing tough teams from Georgia and Louisiana. Xavier Ruffin was a standout on Day 1, going 3-1 at 75lbs. Michigan Red will see Utah, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Tennessee in the Green Pool on Day 2.
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