PENNSYLVANIA WINS CADET GRECO TEAM TITLE

Pennsylvania traditionally sends out one of the tougher Cadet teams in both Greco-Roman and freestyle at the USA Wrestling Cadet & Junior Nationals in Fargo , N.D.

This year, the Keystone kids didn’t have the most medalist, but got more bang for the buck as six of the 11 Pennsylvania Al l-Americans reached the finals and four won titles.

Three of the titles came in a row as Andrew Al ton, Marshall Peppelman and Dirk Cowburn won 135, 140 and 145 consecutively. Heavyweight Evan Craig picked up his fifth fall of the tournament in a finals victory, giving the state it’s fourth title.

Statistically, Pennsylvania placed only 22 percent of their wrestlers (11 out of 34). Three wrestlers were in the top eight for total falls. Joining Craig on the list was Josh Kindig, the runner-up at 119 pounds. Kindig had four falls, as did 130-pound runner-up Dylan Al ton.

Pennsylvania had 36 pins, the most of any state, outdistancing second-place Wisconsin by 11. The state also picked up 537 classification points, an average of 15 points per wrestler. Illinois was second, picking up 488 points, but only averaging 9.9 points per wrestler.

In case you’re wondering, five classification points are awarded for a fall, forfeit or disqualification, while four are earned for a technical fall and three for a decision. Wrestlers can earn classification points in a loss if they score a point in a match and do not lose by fall.