FARGO, N.D. – There’s no teacher in wrestling quite like Fargo.
Lessons of the past come rushing back in an instant. It’s what you do with the experiences that define you as an athlete.
Liston Seibert (120 pounds) never forgot that on Tuesday and now the Perry High School junior is an All-American and two wins away from a title in the 16U Freestyle National Championships.
Not bad for an individual, who lost in the blood round to place at Fargo last year.
“I came out ready,” he said. “It’s my up year (last year) in 16U, so I knew what to expect. That drove me to All-American. It was a great test of my abilities. I’m super excited, but I’m not finished yet.”
Liston Seibert's push to the Fargo 16U Freestyle semis is stuff of legend
Even if the returning state placer was finished, it would be a heck of a ride.
In the round of 16, the 12th-seeded Seibert beat Michigan 4A state champion and No. 5 seed Nicholas Sorrow to reach the quarterfinals.
There was a familiar foe standing in his way there in Weston Borgers of Dublin, who came in as a two-time Tulsa national champion and the fourth seed.
Seibert’s sick throw in the second period highlighted the victory over Borgers and he walked out of the FargoDome with a 12-2 technical fall win.
“With a year under my belt here, I’m a completely different wrestler than I was before,” Seibert said. “I’ve made massive jumps in my ability. I just look at it as just another tournament. If you win, you win. If you lose, you lose, but the goal is to come out and win every time.”
Oklahoma state runner-up Van Smith is up next in the semifinals and comes in as the 24th seed.
“I’ve been there before,” Seibert said. “It was just in a smaller venue at state. I’m feeling strong and I’m feeling good. The semis are just a match past the quarters.”
Trio of area wrestlers are one match away from being Fargo All-American
Highland’s Austin Bickerton (113) has been here before.
Last year when his brother, Brandon, won a national title, he was a match away from being an All-American.
The roles are a bit reversed this year with Brandon out of the tournament and Austin in the blood round.
He beat No. 4 seed Florida state champion Jovanni Tovar 9-6 in the round of 16 but fell 8-2 to South Dakota state placer Shea Richter.
It puts him back in the same position as 2023, but the Hornets sophomore knows he’ll be ready this time.
“Tomorrow morning is super important, especially because it’s the blood round,” Bickerton said. “I know I’ve got to get a little bit of weight off, refuel and rehydrate for tomorrow’s important match.”
The same can be said for Brennan Warwick, who joins teammate Caige Horak (165) in the blood round.
Warwick pushed his way to the quarters but top-seeded Brody Sendele of Illinois beat him 12-7.
Not a bad loss, considering Sendele is a national folkstyle champion and has competed on six national teams.
The key for Warwick is to remember his blood round loss at the state tournament to drive him forward.
“I think that’ll pay off big for him,” Perry coach Brent McBurney said. “It was a tough, controversial loss where emotions got high (in Columbus). I think he’ll be prepared. He’ll get a good night’s sleep and do things right.”
Brecksville’s Zack Aquila (157) is also a match away from placing.
Lincoln Rohr two wins away from All-America after successful protest
Perry's Lincoln Rohr (113) is still alive for a second All-America honor thanks to a successful protest by Team Ohio in the Junior Freestyle bracket.
Rohr was awarded two points in his match with Indiana's Peyton Schoettle, but the coaching staff threw a protest brick, saying the move should have been four points.
They won, but Team Indiana threw its protest brick, which is against the rules, but the referees took the two points back off the board to give Schoettle a 9-8 win.
Team Ohio protested to the head table in time and the second period of the match has to be re-wrestled.
Schoettle, who lost his next match, didn't show up after the tournament ended to wrestle the second period, leaving the 6-3 first period score where Rohr was ahead as the final score.
That means Rohr will wrestle New York's Oumar Tounkara for the right to move on even though it's one round behind where everyone else is.
"I just have to focus on the positives," Rohr said. "That's about it."
Ohio wrestlers still alive for a Fargo freestyle national title
Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival
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