Only the few really know what "Fargo" is all about.
The best talent in high school wrestling gathered for the U.S. Marine Corps Junior and 16U Nationals, often referred to as "Fargo." The best of the best met on the mat and it did not disappoint.
The tournament was held at the Fargodome, July 10 - 19 on the campus of North Dakota State University. It included men’s freestyle, Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle. It is not an open event. All wrestlers who wish to participate must go through their respective state to qualify. There is a freestyle state meet in early May, where the top three wrestlers automatically make it in. There are other opportunities to place, through various tournaments.
A total of 7,300 high school wrestlers from around the country competed at "Fargo," which is the largest wrestling tournament in the world for high school-aged wrestlers. It's a force to be reckoned with - a real pressure cooker with a high level of intensity contained in a dome.
Two of those talented wrestlers are from Hartford and competed in freestyle. Parker Neu (150) and Lincoln Flayter (126) were there and seemed to embrace the pressure.
"Even though I wrestled there before, you still feel the nerves," Flayter admitted, regarding his fifth time at this prestigious tournament. "It's big and there are a lot of people. It amazes me every time I walk into that building. The one thing you know stepping in there, it's going to be a tough match. You are not going to get an easy match there. Everyone is the top in their state. They are way more physical than most of the people I wrestled during the high school season. It's a dog fight, you have to take it and give it."
Lincoln started wrestling in kindergarten and graduated from Hartford Union High School this year. He will be moving on to wrestle at UW Parkside. He told WTKM Sports how his "Fargo" experience helped him improve. It was a valuable experience and a chance to work on the mental side of wrestling.
The Pre-Fargo wrestling camp, which was held in River Falls, Wisconsin is organzied to prepare these athletes for the junior national tournament. Many states, like Wisconsin organize the mandatory team camps for those competing at Fargo with wrestle-off opportunities for athletes to earn spots.
It was the second time around for Neu, who discussed the importance of coaching throughout the entire experience and what a difference it made.
"Right away when you get to Fargo, it's a big arena and a lot of wrestlers. It's a mental shock, especially if it's your first or second year. Getting adjusted to that and having the coaching staff that works with us, keeping you in check, stressing to us that it's just another wrestling match at the end of the day. I really worked on staying calm, staying focused and staying in the match. The mental adjustments were huge."
The Hartford Union High School junior, who also started wrestling in kindergarten, finished 3-2 at Fargo. Those three wins were earned on the front side of the bracket.
Flayter wrapped up his impressive high school career, which included winning over 150 matches, with two matches at Fargo.
