Six Sweet Home teens competed at the 16U Junior Wrestling National Championships held July 16-20 in Fargo, N.D.
Junior-to-be Kyle Sieminski had the best run, in the 113-pound division, going 3-2 in both freestyle and Greco.
“Kyle had a great tournament, winning multiple matches in both styles,” Coach Steve Thorpe said. “There were 128 wrestlers in his bracket.”
Also competing for the boys were junior-to-be Ryker Hartsook and freshman-to-be Tytus Hardee.
“For Tytus to take on this as an eighth-grader, coming into high school, is a challenge,” Thorpe said.
Hartsook suffered a broken arm in a match, so he was unable to finish the tournament, Thorpe said.
“Ryker is the kind of kid who takes advantage of every opportunity presented,” he said, noting that the injury came as a result of a “fluke accident.”
Competing for the girls were Paige Chafin, Kendra Jamison and Zoe Erevia.
“The girls got valuable experience and competed well,” Thorpe said, noting that the wrestlers trained at two camps before going to Fargo. “These kids got more than a national tournament. They got three weeks of extra wrestling, hours of other coaching and different techniques and different training methods. That’s invaluable. I’m very proud of them doing this.”