Fargo - Stock Up Report

*Photo by Jose Juarez (Detroit News)

We had plenty of wrestlers shine this year in Fargo, including Kaili Manuel earning another Stop Sign, JayDen Williams doubling up to All American in both styles, Grayson Fuchs picking up a top-10 nationally ranked win, and Jarrett Smith impressing to a 3rd place finish in Junior Freestyle. However, the stock was already high for all of these wrestlers. They are already on the radars of D1 schools and in the national rankings. We want to take a look at a handful of Michigan Grapplers that entered the national chat for their performances in Fargo.

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1. Caden Krueger (Detroit Catholic Central) 16U 190lbs, Runner-Up - Krueger took 3rd in D1 this past season at 175lbs as a Sophomore, so he has been on the state's radar for a while, but this was Krueger's first time on a real national stage. The Shamrock battled through numerous tight matches, including the semis where he picked up a last-second takedown to advance to the finals. To put into perspective how impressive it is to make the 16U finals, we looked at other recent 16U 190lb finalists. Some recent finalists included NCAA qualifiers Shumate (Ohio State) and Bates (Northwestern), and current #1 in the country DreShaun Ross (Iowa). Even Wyatt Hendrickson, who just knocked off Gable Steveson in the NCAA finals, did not make the finals at 190lbs in 16U (he took 3rd in 2017). Krueger's finals appearance should get him on the Class of 2027 Big Board nationally and start to put him on college radars.
2. Layne Martin (Rockford) Jr 113lbs, 7th - Layne Martin has been in the national class rankings following his podium finish in 16U last year, but the Junior scene is another level. Martin had his work cut out for him, knocking off 3 top-20 ranked wrestlers en route to his podium finish. Other Michigan Grapplers that have recently wrestled for 7th/8th at Junior 113 include Ben Kamali (DCC), Drew Heethuis (DCC), and Caden Horwath (Davison). All three of those guys went on to get recruited to major D1 programs. If Martin wasn't already a name colleges were watching, it certainly is now.
3. Lillee Denson (St. Clair Shores) Jr 95lbs, 3rd - Denson's performance in Fargo has seen her skyrocket all the way to #6 in the country per Matscouts. Denson's path to the semis went through top-3 nationally ranked Breeden of Missouri. Denson picked up a massive 10-5 win to secure a top-6 finish and allow her to reach the top-10 in the national rankings.
4. Brody Compau (Rockford) 16U 100lbs, 7th - We are cheating a bit here and also including Compau's 15U and Pan Am golds from this year. This entire Freestyle circuit has been impressive for the incoming Freshman, really putting his name out there. We had him as a Best Bet going into Fargo because of his performance at 15U and Pan Ams earlier this Summer, although his 16U Duals results were not overwhelming. We liked his chances of adjusting after Duals and bouncing back with a solid performance, and he did exactly that.
5. Kanata Richardson (Bloomfield Hills) Jr 190lbs, Runner-Up - Like Krueger, Kanata Richardson made an unexpected run to the finals in Fargo this year. In-state, we have known how good she is after she captured her first MHSAA state championship in March. Richardson picked up two falls and won three more close matches en route to the finals, where she ultimately finished as national runner-up.

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