Led by four Hononegah All Americans, Rockford-area wrestlers return from Fargo nationals

There were 26 Rockford-area wrestlers that drove into Fargo, North Dakota, last week for the USA Wrestling Junior and 16U Nationals, and four of them came away as All-Americans.

Three of them are Cassioppis.

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"I wanted to get that first, of course. We all did," Hononegah's Bruno Cassioppi said after going 6-1 and taking second in both freestyle and Greco Roman at nationals. Last year he took second and eighth, respectively. "I'm pretty proud of the way I competed, and it was a great experience ― as always."

Bruno's twin Rocco, the NIC-10 MVP as a freshman last year, is ranked No. 7 nationally and was a double champ in freestyle and Greco Roman at the U15 Pan American Trials last summer. This past week he placed second in Greco Roman with a 6-1 mark, and fourth in freestyle at nationals with a 7-2 record.

"It was really bittersweet," Rocco Cassioppi said. "I wrestled well, but obviously there's a lot of room for improvement. I just don't think I fulfilled my potential."

Rocco Cassioppi placed fourth in freestyle and third in Greco Roman at nationals last year.

Angelina Cassioppi, who won her third straight IHSA state title last year and was ranked 12th in the nation at 120 for the girls headed into this year's nationals, took seventh place at Fargo last week with a 6-2 record. Their Hononegah teammate Brody Sendele took third in his freestyle division by going 7-1.

Other Hononegah wrestlers who advanced, made the trip, but did not place were: Kristian Declercq (who went 2-2 in freestyle and 0-2 in Greco Roman); Connor Diemel (3-2 in freestyle); Jackson Olson (2-2); TJ Silva (1-2); and Isaak Smith (1-2).

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Ty'Quavion Smart was the closest to the podium for any of the wrestlers from Rockford's Alpha Wrestling Club, going 3-2 in Greco Roman. Dana Wickson (1-2 in both); Karlondo Duboise (2-2); and Antonio Osorio (1-2) also bowed out without a podium spot.

"They all wrestled really well, and I'm glad they were able to go out there and compete with some of the toughest kids in the country," Alpha coach Alex Rodriguez said upon his return from Fargo. "We just can't wait for the high school season to start now."

From the Rochelle Forge Wrestling Club: Kaiden Morris (4-2); Roman Villalobos (3-2); Brenden Voight (2-2); Keagan Albers (1-2); Josh Lassiter (1-2); William Julian (1-2); and Dempsey Atkinson (0-2) all battled at Fargo. And from Alber Athletics: Dealya Collins (4-2); Brendan Nardin (4-2); Eli Larson (3-2); Oliver McPeek (2-2); Jeremiah Luke (2-2); and Cam Whitehead (1-2) all competed. As did Belvidere's Diego Martinez (0-2 in both disciplines).

Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @JayTaft . Sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com . Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star .

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Led by four Hononegah All Americans, Rockford-area wrestlers return from Fargo nationals