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Pictured: The Fargodome on the campus of North Dakota State University (NDSU). Image courtesy of NDSU Sports Information. It's finally here. The high school wrestling community can breathe a sigh of relief as the 2021 USMC Junior and 16U Nationals begins July 17, and runs through July 23. All the action can be streamed live on FloWrestling. After a year hiatus in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the world's largest (and arguably the toughest) high school wrestling competition is back at the Fargodome on the campus of North Dakota State for the 28th consecutive year. The 6,200 projected participants expected to be in Fargo this week is the largest participant pool in event history (by a wide margin). The event will also showcase a 50th Anniversary celebration (originally slated to occur in 2020) if it was not canceled due to COVID-19. This week-long wrestling extravaganza will feature the nation's best young boys and girls wrestlers, some of whom are likely to be the faces of NCAA and Olympic wrestling in the years and Olympic cycles to come. As if the above justifications weren't reason enough to watch Fargo 2021, here are a few more reasons to tune in to one of the signature events of the wrestling calendar each year. The Team Race Should Be Close: According to USA Wrestling, there will be 48 State teams in attendance at Fargo 2021. This year though, the team races feel as if they could be closer than they have been in quite some time. Historically speaking, you have your blueblood states like Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey, Iowa, Ohio, California, and a few others, all of which will be in the running for team crowns once again. According to Jason Bryant of Mat Talk Online, since official team championships began being awarded in 2006 (14 Championships), Illinois has dominated both men's freestyle and men's Greco-Roman in the Junior division. Team Illinois has won eight out of the 14 freestyle team titles in men's freestyle, including the last three in a row from 2017 to 2019 and four straight from 2010 to 2013. On the Greco-Roman side, the last time Team Illinois wasn't the Junior Greco champions was in 2007. Since then, Illinois has left Fargo with gold every year. In totality, Illinois also leads the way in both styles, with 13 total men's freestyle crowns (Pennsylvania in second with 10) and 27 Greco golds (Pennsylvania in second with seven), according to Jason Bryant of Mat Talk Online. While it will be hard to bet against the longstanding success of Illinois, it will be interesting to see how the squads will perform in 2021, given that their high school (folkstyle) season was significantly delayed and recently ended a few weeks ago. Additionally, Team Iowa has serious momentum coming into Fargo after taking home the 2021 Junior Freestyle National Duals title earlier this summer (Iowa's first since 2005). Iowa will be hungry not to give up the top spot. As for team Pennsylvania, they're packing some serious heat. Nic Bouzakis, Jackson Arrington, Rocco Welsh, Caden Rogers, Kolby Franklin, and Tyler Lillard are just a few Team PA headliners on the Junior side. They are defiantly poised to make their first legitimate title run since 2017 in the Junior men's freestyle division. Similarly, the 16U squad for Team PA is equally lethal and will look to keep their title streak alive. Those three powerhouses aside, states like New Jersey, Ohio, and California can never be counted out. College Wrestling Fans Have a Recruit to Root for: As everyone reading this likely knows, Fargo 2021 will showcase freestyle and Greco instead of the folkstyle wrestling we see in college. That said, there is still plenty of reason to tune in if you're a college wrestling fan. The event will be chock-full of recruits signed and verbally committed to all seven Division I conferences. Whichever conference or team your NCAA wrestling allegiances align with, there's likely a recruit for you to watch (and root for) before they suit up for your favorite university soon. According to a series of InterMat articles by Earl Smith that profiled recruits from all seven conferences scheduled to appear in Fargo this week, the breakdown goes as follows: ACC: All six schools have recruits in action. MAC: Six schools have recruits in action. (Buffalo, Clarion, Cleveland State, Edinboro, Rider, SIU-Edwardsville). SoCon: Three schools have recruits in action. (App State, Campbell, Chattanooga). Big Ten: 12 schools have recruits in action. (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State Purdue, Rutgers, Wisconsin). EIWA: 11 schools have recruits in action. (American, Army-West Point, Binghamton, Brown, Bucknell, Columbia, Cornell, Lehigh, Navy, Penn, Princeton). Pac-12: Five schools have recruits in action. (Arizona State, Cal Poly, CSU Bakersfield, Little Rock, Oregon State). Big 12: 11 schools have recruits in action. (Iowa State, Missouri, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, South Dakota State, Utah Valley, West Virginia, Wyoming). In total, 54 different Division I schools have one or more recruits scheduled to compete this week. More Uncommitted Prospects Than Usual: If you're the college wrestling fan whose team isn't in the above bullet, don't worry. It's still possible that your team may snag an athlete from the Fargo 2021 field. Here's why: It is remarkable that many athletes were able to get some reparations for the uncertainty and craziness the coronavirus pandemic unleashed on college athletics and the world last year. That said, it has made college rosters more jam-packed than ever before. At roughly 9.9 full scholarships per team, this poses an apparent problem and ultimately a trickle-down situation for incoming recruiting classes, 2021 and 2022 especially. With that, athletes may have to explore other routes (a gap year, NAIA, D-II, D-III, or JuCo) and make their way back to Division I through the transfer portal. So, just because you don't have a recruit coming to "your" school now doesn't mean you won't have a Fargo 2021 athlete on "your" roster within the next year or two. Coaches will definitely be calling some uncommitted seniors by the end of the month. The "Bracket Buster" Factor: Yes, the growth of national wrestling media over the last decade or two has increased immensely. As a result, we know far more about teams and recruits heading into big tournaments such as these. That said, we don't know it all. There are bound to be numerous athletes that may have been relatively unknown before Fargo 2021 but will storm to an All-American finish with a shocking upset or two along the way. Simply put, a star (or multiple stars) will be born this week in Fargo. If that isn't reason enough to watch, what is? Additionally, due to the size of this event, we will inevitably be introduced to some rising freshmen studs that may be competing on the national or high school-aged stage for the first time. Watching these headlines unfold is sure to be fun. Continued Growth of Girl's Wrestling is on Full Display in Fargo: Again, to those that are reading this, it will not be breaking news to you that women's wrestling is the fastest growing sport at the high school level. In the context of this event, the women's Junior freestyle division, now in its 19th year, has grown in size and quality every season and promises to be extremely tough in 2021. Just as is the case on the men's side, some of the nation's best will surely be in action this week. Some marquee names eligible to return to the Fargodome include 2019 Junior National women's champions Sage Mortimer of Utah (100), Montana Delawder of Pennsylvania (112), Tiffany Baublitz of Pennsylvania (152), and Kennedy Blades of Illinois (164). Additionally, some 2019 runners-up eligible to return include Faith Cole of Missouri (106) and Jennifer Soto of California (117). However, just because they are eligible does not mean they are entered this year. We will wait and see. Ranked Wrestlers Galore: Unfortunately, some high-profile names, most notably a pair of No. 1-rated recruits at their respective weights, Nick Feldman (220 pounds/Class of 2022) Cody Chittum (145 pounds/Class of 2023), have withdrawn due to injury. Fear not because more than 500 nationally-rated recruits will be rolling around the mats of the Fargodome. Numerous Triple Crowns are at Stake: Per USA Wrestling, the USA Wrestling Triple Crown is given to any athlete who wins USA Wrestling Folkstyle, Greco-Roman and Freestyle national titles in the same year. This coveted award is available on the 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U and Junior levels. There are 15 Junior and 17 16U athletes who enter Fargo still eligible for the Triple Crown. Read here to learn more above those individuals looking to secure the final two legs of the Triple Crown this week in Fargo. Brackets for the various styles and ages can also be found on FloWrestling via the Flo Arena.

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