Two from here compete at Fargo Nationals

Nodaway Valley/O-M wrestling is just one of many local sports teams putting work in during the offseason so they’ll benefit in the regular season.

One of the things the Wolverines have done this summer is they took Ashton Honnold and Trent Warner to the 2023 Junior and 16U Nationals held at the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota July 15-22.

The two were some of the first from here to wrestle in the prestigous tournament, which features grapplers from all over the country. Honnold wrestled at 220 pounds and Warner at 285.

Both wrestled in freestyle and Greco-Roman style, which are different than folkstyle. In folkstyle and freestyle, a wrestler can do takedowns by shooting or throwing. In Greco-Roman, you can only do takedowns by attacking the opponent’s upper body, because leg attacks are prohibited. Scoring in the three styles is also slightly different.

Honnold and Warner were two of thousands of wrestlers competing in Fargo.

Honnold went 3-2 in freestyle, losing in the round right before placing. He lost in the round right before that in Greco.

“Wrestling in this tournament gives me a lot more confidence, feeling better about myself, learning what I need to work on even more, with my moves, before the preseason and season,” Honnold said.

Warner lost in the blood rounds in freestyle and went 3-2 in greco.

“This was the biggest tournament I’ve wrestled in, in terms of level of wrestlers. I wrestled a couple from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia, Kansas, Florida, California, and some came from Alaska and Hawaii,” Warner said. “A lot of this is about time on the mat, working on my craft, finding things that I can pick up. Even the matches I lost were eye-openers.”

NV/OM co-head coach Brad Honnold, also Ashton’s father, said after the Fargo Nationals tournament that victory requires payment in advance. He liked what he saw out of his son and Warner, who are both multi-sport athletes, while they were on the mat there.

“I have had the most rewarding yet eye-opening experience the last eight days watching two athletes that had a will and a desire lay it all on the mat,” he said. “We have learned what it takes to get to the next level but also come to understand we are right there with elite company. We have found that the following of our program is second to none and that the people in Iowa and around the nation that know about NV/OM wrestling are beyond some of the best followers and cheerleaders. We have set the bar for those back home that have similar goals to see what they need to do to achieve greatness and their goals!”

In other offseason action, the Wolverines attended a team camp at Luther College.

The SWAT Valkyries girls wrestling program has also had a busy summer. Recently they hosted a summer camp led by Iowa wrestler Real Woods. Just this weekend, they had Grace Britten competing at the Jr. Olympic Games in a freestyle wrestling event.