Junior men's freestyle update through 4 rounds

Rios wins a thriller to reach the quarterfinals

By AJ Traub

Julian Rios had the criteria to win his round of 16 match

As the last minute ticked away, Julian Rios made sure the lead he built was just enough.

The 113-pounder from Lowell scored a takedown, rolled Analu Woode (Hawaii) for more points, and built up an early lead.

Though he allowed two takedowns in the last minute to tie, Rios knew he had the criteria advantage, and held on with an 8-8 result. The rising senior at Phillips Andover will wrestle on the third day at Fargo for the first time.

“It feels amazing,” he said. “There are high nerves going into that match because I’ve never made it to the third day… I cleared my head through the match, got it done, put the points on the board, just kept working to my next move.

“There’s still a lot more to go, because I haven’t placed yet.”

Julian Rios put up stout defense to hold onto his advantage

Rios entered the Fargodome with the goal to reach the podium, and though he is the only Team Mass junior grappler still top side, Isaac Novod (126) and Elliott Humphries (175 pounds) are still standing.

In two days, Team Massachusetts junior men racked up 58 victories. Reese Spiro (190 pounds), Yandel Morales (138), and Shea Morris (144) led the eliminated group with five apiece.

“The fact that we were competitive, we competed hard, that’s where as a coaching staff, we want to see that,” said coach Matt Dehney. “I feel for the kids that didn’t reach their goals. We lost some close ones at the end that we could have won.”

Elliott Humphries is back into day three after reaching the finals last year

Junior men’s wrestling resumes with the quarterfinals at 10 a.m. central time tomorrow, and Rios knows he will need to be on the attack. His opponent scored as the match wound down, but he kept battling.

“You’re still fighting yourself through that moment, because your brain and your body want to tell you to keep that lead,” Rios said. “You have to keep wrestling as hard as possible. The kid will come back… this boosted mentality is telling him he needs to work harder.

“You have to keep pushing forward.”

Yandel Morales earned five wins in the Fargodome