FARGO, N.D. — Rochelle Township High School and the Forge Wrestling Club were well represented during the 2024 U.S. Marine Corps Junior and 16U National Championships at the FargoDome earlier this month. The annual freestyle and greco-roman wrestling tournaments bring together the most elite high school male and female wrestlers in the entire nation.

Six RTHS and Forge student-athletes competed alongside Team Illinois during the national championships, which ran from July 12-20 in Fargo, North Dakota. Among those participating student-athletes was Rochelle senior Kaiden Morris, who entered the Junior Greco-Roman Men’s Championship tournament in the 215-pound weight division. The No. 8 overall seed, Morris wrestled six total matches, finishing 4-2 with two victories coming via technical fall.

“It’s the biggest tournament in the country and I prepared all summer for it,” Morris said. “Even though I didn’t meet my goals, I have another year to get better and get ready for the folkstyle season. My confidence grew from my first year to my second year. I was really nervous my first year there and it was nerve racking to see kids from states that are halfway across the country. I came in this year and wrestled my match. Seeing this level of competition will help me a lot.”

Morris opened the tournament with three consecutive victories to reach the Round of 16. The Hub senior held off Minnesota’s Hank Meyer for an 8-5 decision before scoring a 12-3 technical fall over Oklahoma’s Kaden Stitt and a 9-2 decision against Illinois wrestler Asher Sheldon. 

Morris conceded a 12-4 technical fall to California’s Jayden Tadeo-Gosal in the Round of 16 to move into the consolation bracket. After notching a 12-0 technical fall against Alaska’s Hayden Martin, Morris fell just short against Nevada’s Melvin Whitehead, losing by tiebreaker 5-5. It was the second time competing at Fargo for Morris, who went 3-2 over five matches in 2023.

Also wrestling from Rochelle was RTHS junior Roman Villalobos, who competed in the 16U Greco-Roman Men’s Championship tournament and finished 3-2 over five matches. Villalobos reached the Round of 32 in the 190-pound weight division, edging Utah’s Joaquin Ruiz with a 4-1 decision before conceding a tough loss by 7-6 decision against Iowa’s Braylen Bieber.

The No. 15 seed in his division, Villalobos won two bouts in the consolation bracket, securing a hard-fought win over Oklahoma’s Aiden Bruce and cruising for a 10-0 technical fall against New York’s Antonio Landon. Villalobos’ tournament ended with a 9-4 loss to Wisconsin’s Reed Falk.

“It was a really exciting time and it was a lot of fun to be with my friends,” Villalobos said. “I thought I wrestled pretty well. There were some matches that didn’t go my way and there were a couple of matches I could’ve won. I’m grateful for the chance to compete at the national level and it gives me an edge because most high school wrestlers don’t do freestyle or greco.”

In addition to Villalobos, three other wrestlers from Rochelle battled in the 16U Greco-Roman Men’s Championship tournament. Junior Brenden Voight wrestled in the 157-pound weight division and finished 2-2 over four matches, collecting a 12-2 technical fall over California’s Thomas DeBoer and an 11-0 technical fall against Idaho’s Kalab Hammer as the No. 32 seed.

“It was a great experience,” Voight said. “I enjoyed being around great competitors and meeting new people who pushed me to excel. My favorite part was spending the week with my friends… I realized that having goals and achieving them opens up opportunities I wouldn’t otherwise have. This experience makes me want to work hard and set the bar higher for next season.”

Junior Keagan Albers wrestled in the 126-pound weight division, finishing 1-2 over three bouts with a 13-2 technical fall against South Dakota’s Garet Huston. Sophomore Joshua Lassiter grappled in the 144-pound weight division and also went 1-2 over three bouts, scoring a 10-4 decision against New Jersey’s Sullivan Hawkes.

“I had a great experience wrestling at Fargo,” Albers said. “What I enjoyed the most was the coaching and the competition. Going to Fargo only made me a better wrestler and the biggest thing I learned from wrestling at Fargo was how much your hard work pays off and what you put in is what you get. My goals for this upcoming season are to make it down to state and hopefully win some matches. My coaches are great and I think they’ll keep pushing me to be my best.”

“It was a great experience and I got to wrestle the top guys in the nation,” Lassiter said. “I had a good time with my friends and teammates. I learned where I’m at compared to other wrestlers and looking back on how I performed makes me excited for getting better and continuing to work. My main goal for next season is to qualify for the state meet. It’s going to be tough, but working during the offseason and staying focused will be what I need to do.”

Rounding out the Rochelle athletes in Fargo was senior Dempsey Atkinson, who wrestled two matches in the Junior Women’s Freestyle Championship tournament. Atkinson competed in the 145-pound weight division.

"I learned that I need to keep working hard so I can beat those girls from other states who are state placers and champions," Atkinson said. "This experience showed me that if I want to succeed at the national level, then I need to put more effort into getting better. My goal for the folkstyle season is to place higher than I did last season so I can show improvement. To achieve this goal, I need to put my all into practices and tournaments to get me prepared to go against the best in the state."