Perry's Liston Seibert is Fargo runner-up, 3 other area wrestlers are All-Americans

FARGO, N.D. — The names flow off the tongue easily in Perry High School wrestling circles.

Jason Johnstone . Dustin Schlatter . David Carr . All three won Fargo titles in either freestyle or Greco-Roman.

There’s also Steve Luke and John Foster , who finished second at the biggest national wrestling tournament in the nation.

Fans can add another name to that mix with Liston Seibert (120 pounds) finishing second in the 16U Freestyle National Championships on Wednesday.

That’s not lost on the junior.

“It’s pretty cool because I look up to those guys,” Seibert said. “They’re the ones that everyone in Perry aspires to be. I got to do stuff this weekend that I haven’t been able to do yet. It’s a great opportunity to put myself in that place right now.”

Seibert navigated his way through a 133-man bracket to get to the raised stage to face Will Detar of Pennsylvania, who is a national Greco champion and U15 two-time finalist and one time champ.

Seibert took it to Detar but fell 11-8.

“The feeling was great just to be out there in general,” Seibert said. “I definitely proved to myself that I’m up there with the top guys in the country. I’m prepared to work even harder to get No. 1.”

Seibert knows that runner-up status is going to create a target on his back, and he’s prepared.

He already had one after a third-place finish at state. It’ll grow considerably larger once the high school season starts.

“I’ve been in that position before,” he said. “I’m preparing myself now. It seems like a long time away, but the season comes around the corner pretty fast.”

Three area stars join Seibert as 16U Freestyle Fargo All-Americans

Brennan Warwick (Perry, 157) and Austin Bickerton (Highland, 113) were the just-missed kids last season, with Bickerton falling in the blood round of Fargo and Warwick doing the same at state.

What a difference a tournament makes as Warwick finished seventh and Bickerton finished eighth.

The two joined Seibert and Brecksville’s Zack Aquila (157), who finished fourth.

For Warwick, it was the chance to define exactly who he is as a wrestler.

“I look at this as an opening for my career now,” Warwick said. “I came into state cocky, nervous and only sticking to one shot. I’ve trained hard so I never feel like that again. This is going to help me tremendously. Just knowing I can compete with the beat them by a lot, it’s just going to continue to make me better every tournament.”

For Bickerton, it was a top-eight finish in a weight class of 132 wrestlers. The showing erased the thoughts of the blood-round loss, but at the same time pushed the sophomore to excel.

“The weekend obviously meant a lot me to [become an] All-American,” Bickerton said.  “Obviously, my goal wasn’t eighth place, but it’s still a big deal to AA at a tournament like this. This will just help me grow as a wrestler and get back to work in the practice room. I know I have the best partners and coaches to help me reach the top of the podium.”

Lincoln Rohr misses placing after his protest to continue at Fargo goes through

The new life of Perry’s Lincoln Rohr unfortunately came to an end quickly after his successful protest on Tuesday.

The sophomore was the first match up and New York’s Omar Tounkara one round before the blood round.

Tounkara advanced with a 15-2 technical superiority victory and Rohr’s tournament ended.

16U/Junior Freestyle All-Americans from Ohio

• 16U Freestyle Tournament: First – Alex Taylor, Mount Vernon, 215; Second – Liston Seibert, Perry, 120; Fourth – Eli Esguerra, Dublin Coffman, 150; Zack Aquila, Brecksville, 157; Fifth – Loc Webber, Coffman, 100; Seventh – Jake Hughes, East Liverpool, 150; Brennan Warwick, Perry, 157; Eighth – Austin Bickerton, Highland, 113; Chandler Moore, Dayton Chaminade, 285
• Junior Freestyle Tournament: Second – Ayden Dodd, Perrysburg; Third – Ethan Powell, Genoa Area; 100; Carson Thomas, Cincinnati LaSalle, 190; Fourth – Gage Yackee, Toledo St. John’s Jesuit, 190

Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Perry's Liston Seibert is Fargo runner-up, 3 other area wrestlers are All-Americans