You Betcha: It's your 2025 Iowa wrestling Fargo preview

Welcome ladies and gentlemen, Iowa wrestling fans of all ages.

With Independence Day in our rearview mirror, the middle of July lies ahead of us. And that can only mean one thing:

It’s time for the USMC Junior Nationals.

Or in other words, it’s time for Fargo.

That’s right, the world’s largest wrestling competition has arrived once again, and thousands upon thousands of the top high school wrestlers from around the country will descend upon the Fargodome for a week of wall-to-wall action.

Among the mass of humanity will be plenty of prep stars worth monitoring – including several signees/commits to the Iowa men’s and women’s programs, plus a whole host of recruiting targets in the upcoming 2026 and 2027 classes.

I can’t watch every match/competitor for you, of course. But I can serve as a compass of sorts, so you’ll have a better idea of when/where to look.

So please, allow me to be your guide for this edition of this annual wrestling extravaganza.

And as such, let’s first look at the schedule for the week’s proceedings.

How to watch

A handy Fargo event schedule can be found at THIS LINK courtesy of FloWrestling – or if you prefer, RIGHT HERE in slightly greater detail thanks to USA Wrestling’s event page.

The quick and dirty of it, however, is as follows:

Junior/16U Girls Freestyle

• Saturday/Sunday (July 12-13)

Junior/16U Boys Freestyle

• Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday (July 14-16)

Junior/16U Boys Greco-Roman

• Friday/Saturday (July 18-19)

Finals will be held on the final day of each given timeframe, with action ongoing from 8:00/9:00 a.m. until the late afternoon/evening just about every day of the tournament.

Every single Fargo match will be livestreamed on FloWrestling, with all results/brackets/statistics/bout orders/etc. accessible through USA Bracketing (free profile required).

Now, with all the housekeeping out of the way, let’s get into the fun stuff.

Women’s signees

A quartet of (known) future Hawkeyes will toe the line in Fargo over the next eight days. And in keeping with the order in which they’ll compete, we’ll start with the women.

Two incoming freshmen from the 2025 class will officially conclude their prep careers this Saturday/Sunday – ideally with a freestyle national title in hand.

Harlee Hiller, IL – 115lbs (JR)

• #4 at 115lbs (#23 pound-for-pound)

Libby Dix, IA – 190lbs (JR)

• #5 at 190lbs

Hiller – who joined Iowa’s 2025 class back in early May – is a must-watch for any unfamiliar Hawkeye fans.

Her elite Judo background constantly shows up in her wrestling – where she’ll hit big throws from all angles.

The Evanston (IL) native – whose mom and dad are head/assistant coach of the powerhouse Northwestern women’s lacrosse program – is a three-time Fargo placer to date. Her best finish thus far was a runner up result in 2023.

If Hiller wants to nab a ‘Stop Sign’ (the moniker for an individual Fargo title) in her final opportunity, she’ll have to navigate a field at 115 pounds littered with 11 other ranked wrestlers. Tops among them is #3 Taylor Whiting (WI) – a returning Fargo champ and potential 2026 target for the Hawkeyes.

Meanwhile, Libby Dix will be making her Fargo debut just days after announcing her commitment to the Iowa program.

In fact, one of the best upper weight prospects in America was a complete freestyle novice until this summer. Now, the multi-sport prep star will see where she stacks up amongst the nation’s best in the unfamiliar discipline.

The field at 190 pounds includes 11 nationally ranked wrestlers – five of whom reside in the top 10 (including Dix).

Men’s commits

The other two Iowa pledges in the Fargo field are on the men’s side – both from the Class of 2026.

Each is entered in the Junior Men’s Freestyle division, set to be contested Monday-Wednesday (July 14-16).

Owen McMullen, PA – 150lbs (JR Freestyle)

• Unranked at 144/150lbs

Michael Mocco, FL – 285lbs (JR Freestyle)

• #3 at 285lbs (#15 overall in 2026)

For Owen McMullen – Iowa’s first 2026 commit as of last fall – Fargo is another step in a long, arduous return.

The Pennsylvania native missed his entire 2024-25 high school season due to injury and only recently returned to competition. And while he may not be nationally ranked due to that long absence, Fargo represents a prime opportunity to reestablish his standing within the prep hierarchy.

Of the nine ranked wrestlers in the field at 150 pounds, none sits higher than #10. It wouldn’t shock me in the least to see McMullen make a deep run and show he’s just as deserving of a number next to his name when the next Flo rankings are released.

On the flip side, it’s no secret what Michael Mocco is capable of, nor whom he’ll likely have to prove it against this week.

Iowa’s heavyweight of the future was a double Fargo champ (Freestyle/Greco) in the 16U division back in 2023. He took a break last summer to bring home a U17 World title instead.

But after falling just short of the 2025 World team, he’s heading back to the Fargodome to throw down amongst possibly the toughest field at the event.

#1 Dreshaun Ross (Oklahoma State), #2 Coby Merrill and #4 Dean Bechtold (Lehigh) all present huge challenges.

Mocco may well have to knock off two of the three to be crowned champion.

Class of 2026 women’s wrestlers to watch

I won’t get too deep in the weeds with the following prospects – each of whom I detailed much more in my 2026 women’s recruiting breakdown.

However, all will be worth watching as they (potentially) audition to be a part of what could be an extremely small 2026 recruiting class for Coach Chun.

Madison Nieuwenhuis, MI – 105lbs (JR)

• #5 at 100lbs

Taylor Whiting, WI – 115lbs (JR)

• #3 at 115lbs (#22 pound-for-pound)

Carley Ceshker, WI – 140lbs (JR)

• #3 at 135lbs

Faith Bane, NC – 145lbs (JR)

• #6 at 145lbs

Michigander Madison Nieuwenhuis has reached back-to-back 16U finals at 100 pounds – winning in 2023. She steps up to 105 in the Junior Division this year, where several hammers await – including McKendree commit Heather Crull.

Elsewhere, the aforementioned Whiting/Hiller matchup is one I’d very much like to see during Sunday evening’s 115-pound final, especially with Whiting looking to repeat as Fargo champ.

At 140, Carley Ceshker bumps up from her weight class of current ranking to join a field filled with top competition. In the process, the two-time 16U Fargo runner up (2022-23) may get a rematch of her 2025 Wisconsin High School state final loss against Riley Hanrahan.

And at 145, Faith Bane is one of my sleeper recruits to watch. She doesn’t have a plethora of high-end results just yet, but she’ll have every chance to earn some this week amidst a bracket filled with six other athletes ranked #12 or better in the country.

Keep an eye on the following in-state prospects as well:

Katie Biscoglia – 105lbs (JR)

• #24 at 105lbs

Greta Brus – 145lbs (JR)

• #12 at 140lbs

Skylar Slade – 145lbs (JR)

• Unranked at 145lbs

Anastasia Simon – 155lbs (16U)

• #25 at 145lbs

Autumn Elsbury – 170lbs (JR)

• #13 at 170lbs

Class of 2026 men’s wrestlers to watch

Similar to the women, I just broke down the 2026 recruiting landscape for the Iowa men’s program ten days ago.

And to no surprise, you’ll find many of the same names in the list to follow.

Rylan Seacrist, OH – 113lbs (JR Freestyle) *Arizona State commit

• #9 at 113lbs (#96 overall in 2026)

Jordyn Raney, KY – 138lbs (JR Freestyle + Greco) *Oklahoma State commit

• #4 at 138lbs (#5 overall in 2026)

Haakon Peterson, WI – 144lbs (JR Freestyle) *Michigan commit

• #18 at 150lbs (#24 overall in 2026)

Liam Crook, WI – 165lbs (JR Freestyle) *Virginia commit

• Unranked at 165/174lbs (#23 overall in 2026)

You’ll notice that all four of the wrestlers listed are currently committed to schools other than Iowa. And in indeed, that’s one of the major challenges as the Hawkeyes seek to salvage a once promising 2026 class.

The top 38 prospects in Flo’s rankings are either committed to Iowa, elsewhere, or are not on Iowa’s board for various reasons. And that leaves flipping current commits as the only viable option to reel in some top talent before this cycle ends.

Each member of the quartet above has either visited (Raney/Seacrist) or once planned to visit Iowa City (Crook/Peterson) before committing to their current school – which makes all of them sensible targets to rekindle their recruitment.

Or perhaps a lesser ranked, uncommitted prospect will make waves at Fargo this week and Iowa can pounce.

For now, we’ll have to wait and see.

Class of 2027 women’s wrestlers to watch

Once again, I’ll spare folks (and myself) an exhaustive breakdown of these 2027 prospects.

(I already went through that process a few weeks ago – which I’d highly encourage checking out if you missed it.)

But it’s safe to say there will be no shortage of potential Iowa targets from the soon-to-be women’s junior class present in Fargo this week. That’s because as many as 15 Hawkeyes could exhaust their eligibility following the 2026-27 season – and this will be the class stepping onto campus to fill their massive shoes.

(Yeah, no pressure.)

Here are some of the national names to keep an eye on:

Jaclyn Bouzakis, PA – 100lbs (JR)

• #1 at 100lbs (#4 pound-for-pound)

Kayla Batres, CT – 110lbs (JR)

• #7 at 110lbs

Emma Bacon, PA – 125lbs (JR)

• #1 at 125lbs (#12 pound-for-pound)

Taina Fernandez, MD – 135lbs (JR/16U)

• #1 at 135lbs (#2 pound-for-pound)

Riley Hanrahan, WI – 140lbs (JR)

• #2 at 140lbs (#20 pound-for-pound)

Violette Lasure, PA – 145lbs (JR)

• #1 at 145lbs (#10 pound-for-pound)

Ella Poalillo, NJ – 155lbs (JR)

• #1 at 155lbs (#14 pound-for-pound)

Janiya Johnson, TN – 155lbs (16U)

• #3 at 155lbs

Kaili Manuel, MI – 170lbs (16U)

• #5 at 155lbs

Brooke Huffman, WI – 190lbs (JR)

• #3 at 190lbs

And on the in-state front, keep tabs on these local prospects as well:

Violet Diaz – 105lbs (JR)

• #21 at 110lbs

Camille Schult – 120lbs (JR)

• Unranked at 120lbs

Isabella Miller – 130lbs (16U)

• #15 at 135lbs

Eve Skrocki – 145lbs (16U)

• #3 at 145lbs

Class of 2027 men’s wrestlers to watch

My comprehensive deep dive into 2027 recruiting for the Iowa men also went up on the site last month.

There, you’ll find detailed information on most of the prospects listed below – though there have been a few additions since.

Regardless, the Iowa coaching staff has reached out to each of these rising juniors since the recruiting contact period opened in mid-June. And they’ll all be in North Dakota this week to strut their stuff in front of the wrestling world.

We’ll start with the national recruits:

Shamus Regan, PA – 126lbs (JR Freestyle)

• #5 at 120lbs (#22 overall in 2027)

Joe Bachmann, PA – 138lbs (JR Freestyle)

• #10 at 138lbs (#3 overall in 2027)

Lucas Boe, FL – 157lbs (JR Freestyle + Greco)

• #15 at 157lbs (#10 overall in 2027)

Jimmy Mastny, IL – 190lbs (JR Freestyle + Greco)

• #5 at 190lbs (#6 overall in 2027)

And here are your local products who’ve jumped onto Iowa’s early recruiting radar for 2027:

Gage Spurgeon – 126lbs (JR Freestyle)

• Unranked at 126lbs

Dawson Youngblut – 138lbs (JR Freestyle)

• Unranked at 138lbs (#29 overall in 2027)

Maximus Dhabolt – 165lbs (JR Freestyle + Greco)

• Unranked at 165lbs (#49 overall in 2027)

Other names to watch (men/women)

Since we’ve all come this far, I figured I’d leave you with a few more names to watch just for fun.

Most are members of the 2028 class or beyond, and all have some sort of tie to Iowa wrestling.

Chase Karenbauer, PA – 113lbs (16U Boys Freestyle)

• Class of 2028
• #3 at 106lbs
• Has previously visited/camped at Iowa

Hadyn Strittmatter, PA – 132lbs (16U Boys Freestyle + Greco)

• Class of ???
• Unranked at 132lbs
• Possible relation to former Hawkeye Jody Strittmatter, who co-founded the prestigious Young Guns wrestling club – producing the likes of Spencer Lee, Max Murin, Kaleb Young and Michael Kemerer

Rocco Cassioppi, IL – 138lbs (JR Boys Freestyle + Greco)

• Class of 2027
• Unranked at 138lbs (#49 overall in 2027)
• Younger brother of former Hawkeye wrestlers Tony/Rose Cassioppi, twin brother to Bruno

Bruno Cassioppi, IL – 144lbs (JR Boys Freestyle + Greco)

• Class of 2027
• Unranked at 144lbs
• Younger brother of former Hawkeye wrestlers Tony/Rose Cassioppi, twin brother to Rocco

Mario Hutcherson, PA – 190lbs (16U Boys Freestyle)

• Class of 2028
• #19 at 175
• Has previously visited/camped at Iowa

Peter Mocco, FL – 190lbs (16U Boys Freestyle + Greco)

• Class of 2028
• Unranked at 190lbs
• Younger brother of 2026 Iowa commit Michael Mocco, son of former Hawkeye Steve Mocco

Amalia Djoumessi, IA – 155lbs (16U Girls Freestyle)

• Class of 2028
• #23 at 155lbs
• Younger sister of current Iowa women’s wrestler Kiara Djoumessi

Short time

Alright that should just about do it.

The world’s largest wrestling competition warranted a Hawkeye-centric preview of equal proportions, I think. And some 2000 words later, I feel as though I’ve delivered such – for better or worse.

Thank you all so much for sticking with me this far and/or skipping to the end where you’re reading this now.

I’ll be back with a Fargo wrap-up article once all the action has concluded many moons from this typing. But in the meantime, enjoy the heck out of an incredible week of wrestling.

I know I will.