Kendall Wagner goes 4-1 at Fargo National Tournament

By Joe Walker

FARGO, ND- Central Mountain Lady Wildcat wrestler Kendall Wagner is making her first trip to the Women’s 16U National Freestyle Tournament in the Fargodome a good one. The Bucktail sophomore posted a 4-1 record on the first day of competition, as she entered the tournament as the # 21 seed and is one win away from placing in the top eight of the 46 women field at 170 pounds. 

Wagner opened the tournament with a 10-0 win over Emiliana Mendoza of Colorado in the opening round of 64. The bout was stopped at the 1:46 mark due to the 10 point differential. In the round of 32, Wagner posted a solid 12-1 win over #12 seed Claudia Thomason of Oklahoma, as that bout was stopped in 1:30 of the second period due to the 10-point rule. 

Wagner tasted defeat in the round of 16, as she lost by fall to Emily Carvalho of California at the 2:33 mark. Carvalho was leading 12-3 at the time of the fall and she then went on to pin the #4 seeded Carli Vargas in the quarterfinals. 

Wagner bounced back with a fall over Kimura Segerson-Hutter of Wisconsin in the third round of consolations. Wagner was leading 9-2 before recording the fall at the 3:10 mark. In the fourth round of consolations, Wagner then recorded a dominant win over #13 seeded Zady Paige of Maine, as she pinned Paige with five seconds left in the bout. Wagnerwas leading 11-2 when she took Paige down and recorded the fall. 

Wagner will now face #3 seed Elizabeth Madison of Ohio in the 5th round of consolations, as a win will put her into the consolation quarterfinals and into the top eight at her 170 weight class and Fargo All-American status. 

Five Central Mountain Wildcat wrestlers are also in Fargo, as Gavin Heverly, Patrick Tarantella, Aiden Kunes, Griffin Walizer and Dalton Perry will all be trying to win All-American status in the men’s tournament.