Takedown Report

Fargo Feature: Wrestling finds a way to tie Guam and Mississippi wrestlers together

FARGO, North Dakota – In 2009, the fledgling state association in Arkansas formally brought its first team to Fargo, taking a school bus 1,000 miles to compete against the nation’s best.
Arkansas’ foray into wrestling in Fargo left just one gap left in the wrestling map – Mississippi. That gap is now filled – and then some.
Despite losing his first two bouts in Junior men’s freestyle on Monday, Bear Bryant Siegal donned a singlet with the word “Mississippi” emblazoned on it, making it the first time the state has had a representative in the 53-year history of the Junior national men’s freestyle tournament.  A few hours later, Koa DeLoach did the same thing, but representing the U.S. territory of Guam in the 16U men’s freestyle division. 
Wrestling has been sanctioned by the state high school association in Mississippi for decades, but it just didn’t really exist. It wasn’t until 2023 that we saw the formation of a state wrestling tournament at the high school level.  “Ever since I first moved to Mississippi in 2010, I’ve been trying to push freestyle and Greco there,” said Andy Siegal, who was cornering his son in Fargo. “(Mississippi’s) only had officially high school wrestling for two years, so this is really the first year freestyle and Greco formed, so it’s a big thing.”
Bear isn’t a Fargo rookie, though. He’d wrestled for Florida the last two years – and he will continue to wrestle high school in Florida at North Bay Haven Charter in Panama City. He got a release from the Florida association to compete for the first Team Mississippi, but following his second loss, he was more worried about improving. … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2024/july/16/fargo-feature-wrestling-finds-a-way-to-tie-guam-and-mississippi-wrestlers-together

July 22, 2024 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized