Husker Wrestling: Incoming Freshman Parrow Wins Fargo National Title in Freestyle
Nebraska had six future Huskers compete this weekend at the U.S. Marine Corps Junior National Championships — the largest wrestling tournament on the planet in Fargo, N.D. — and they returned with an individual title and two more podium finishes.
Five members of Nebraska’s giant 2026 signing class competed this weekend in addition to Nebraska’s lone 2027 commit Mac Crosson out of Iowa.
The incoming depth at the middle weights was on full display with all three All-Americans projected from 149 through 165 pounds in college.
Incoming Freshmen
10-seed Davis Parrow
150 pounds
One of the standouts of the whole tournament, Davis Parrow started strong and finished when he needed it to win a Junior Fargo National Championship. Parrow went 7-0 over the weekend with five wins coming via technical superiority — he outscored his opponents 67-12 along the way.
Parrow started his tournament with a pair of wins via tech on Day 1 — 10-0 and 11-0. He spent a total of just 2 minutes, 17 seconds on the mat on Friday.
On Saturday, Parrow continued his dominance with two more wins via tech to advance to Sunday’s quarterfinal round. Parrow beat 23-seed Brendan Nardin of Illinois 12-2 and 26-seed Bobby Duffy of New Jersey 11-0 — both in the first period.
Parrow then faced 15-seed Xavier Chavez out of Arizona in the quarterfinal round, winning a narrow 4-3 decision to secure a podium spot.
In the semis, Parrow wrestled 30-seed Deacon Morgan of Michigan and made quick work of him — winning by 10-0 tech in just 1:31.
Moving into the final, Parrow took on 8-seed Jason Dube out of Pennsylvania — Dube is ranked #7 nationally at 150 pounds by Flo, while Parrow came in at #20 nationally.
For the first 5 minutes and 30 seconds of the match, it was all Dube as he built a 4-0 lead over Parrow, but the future Husker roared back with a takedown and a gut-wrench turn to tie the match. Parrow then hipped Dube over with a whizzer for a 4-point move. Dube then reversed the position and got a turn on a leg lace, but it wasn’t enough with Parrow up 8-7 as time expired.
Dube’s corner challenged the call but lost the challenge, giving Parrow the win 9-7.
A two-time Minnesota state champion, Parrow has always been a solid prospect, but this performance really puts him in a new light as he gets set to join Nebraska. Adding Parrow to an already very talented and young collection of wrestlers in that 149-pound range will make the competition for that spot very interesting in the coming years.
10-seed Mason Petersen
157 pounds
The top prospect in the state of Nebraska in 2026, Petersen had an impressive weekend at Fargo on the way to a 6th-place podium finish.
Petersen was dominant on Friday with a pair of 10-0 wins via tech — one in 32 seconds and the other in 1:08.
On Saturday, Petersen opened with a match against 42-seed Colton Wilson from Missouri, wasting no time in capturing the 10-0 win via tech in just under two minutes. Then came the match of the tournament for Petersen when he faced 7-seed Bryston Scoles — the younger brother of Braeden Scoles who is the starting 165-pounder for Illinois.
In that match, Petersen fell behind early and looked to have injured his knee in the opening period, but the two battled back and forth with Petersen earning the 17-13 decision win.
In Sunday’s quarterfinal round, Petersen faced 2-seed Jet Brown out of Missouri. Petersen led the bout 6-5 with just over 30 seconds left, but he gave up a 4-pointer and lost a challenge. Trying to get back into it, Petersen was putting on the pressure but surrendered another 4-pointer, dropping the match 14-6.
Petersen then dropped to the blood round of the consolations where he beat 31-seed Donald Jackson of Kansas 10-0 by tech to earn All-American honors. Petersen advanced in the next round via medical forfeit before taking on 1-seed Lincoln Robideau of Minnesota — the younger brother of Oklahoma State’s National Champion Landon Robideau — in the consolation semifinal round.
Petersen fell to Robideau 15-2 before dropping his 5th-place match to 8-seed Wyatt Medlin of Illinois 10-0. Robideau is ranked by FloWrestling as the #10 157-pounder in the country, while Medlin is ranked #3 nationally at 157. Coming into this weekend, Petersen was ranked #14 nationally at 150 pounds.
Of note, Petersen’s knee was taped up with a brace over the tape on Sunday — it was evident that the injury from the day before was causing him some issues.
Petersen went 6-3 in freestyle and will compete again this week in Greco-Roman. He’s a solid prospect who will get exponentially better while sitting behind Antrell Taylor this year.
5-seed Noah Bull
150 pounds
After a strong start to his final Fargo tournament, Bull fell short of finding the podium with a 4-2 record on the weekend.
Another incoming freshman with a dominant Day 1 was Bull — he won three matches via tech to reach Saturday’s round of 32. On the day, he outscored his opponents 33-3.
Bull began Day 2 with a match against 37-seed David Burchett out of Colorado — Bull dominated his way to a 10-0 tech in just over two minutes. Bull then fell behind early against 12-seed Dominic Way of West Virginia before mounting a comeback bid, falling short in a 16-12 decision loss, dropping him to the consolation bracket.
Bull dropped his first match on the back side 16-6 to 19-seed Bentley Sly out of North Carolina, ending his tournament. Sly is ranked #6 nationally by Flo at 150 pounds.
Bull will add depth at 157 for Nebraska behind senior Antrell Taylor — an NCAA champion and two-time finalist — before throwing his hat in the ring to replace him in 2027.
Tad Forsyth
190 pounds
After dropping his first match of the tournament, Forsyth put together a solid run but fell short of the podium.
Forsyth lost a narrow 9-7 decision in his opening match to 18-seed John Manley. Forsyth nearly pulled the upset with a late near-takedown, but it came just after the whistle.
Forsyth bounced back with a 12-1 tech in under a minute in the consolation bracket on Friday.
On Saturday, Forsyth beat three seeded wrestlers in a row, ending their tournaments. He first beat 17-seed Braylen Bieber of Iowa 7-4 after falling behind 4-0 early. Forsyth then downed 40-seed Noah Howk-Erwin of Iowa 8-7 in another close match.
Forsyth then beat 19-seed Shepard Stephens of Utah 4-4 on criteria, setting up a match between himself and Rock Shurette who also lost in the first round and ran through the consolations. In another close match, Forsyth found himself on the losing end of this one 7-4 by decision.
Forsyth showed with his 4-2 record that he’s a solid prospect coming into college. A two-time Kansas state champion, Forsyth will add some much-needed depth in the upper weights where he’ll likely start his career at 184 or 197 pounds.
Niko Rotella
165 pounds
A state champion out of Omaha Skutt, Rotella went 2-2 at Fargo this weekend.
Rotella fell behind early in his first match against Jance Novak of Washington before mounting a comeback bid — he fell short and dropped the match 12-10. He then won two matches via tech on the back side of the bracket.
On Day 2, Rotella lost his opening match 13-8 against 13-seed Augustus Smith of Arkansas, ending his tournament.
Rotella will come in this year and add depth at either 165 or 174 for the Huskers.
2027 Class
4-seed Mac Crosson
157 pounds
Already sporting a Nebraska Script headgear, Crosson will be going for his third Iowa state title this next season before arriving in Lincoln next summer. This weekend, Crosson showed that he’s one of the best high school prospects in the country on the way to the Fargo final.
On Day 1, Crosson had a pair of dominant wins via tech — 13-0 and 14-1 — moving him into the round of 32.
The going got much tougher on Saturday, but Crosson remained perfect with two more wins. He first beat 29-seed Kaleb Mead of Minnesota 6-2 before downing 13-seed Jacob Morris of Arkansas 7-4.
On Sunday morning, Crosson faced 12-seed Dominic Way — the guy who knocked off his future teammate Bull — in the quarterfinal round. Crosson used two takedowns to earn a narrow 5-5 win on criteria to advance to the semis.
In the semifinal round, Crosson took on 1-seed Lincoln Robideau. Crosson held a 4-3 lead late before adding a 4-pointer for emphasis and the 8-3 decision win, punching his ticket to the Fargo final against 6-seed Charlie DeSena. DeSena is ranked #2 in the country at 150 pounds by Flo and is committed to wrestle at Penn.
In the final, Crosson and DeSena wrestled a tight match with Crosson falling short in a 3-2 decision loss. Crosson attempted to run down DeSena but was unable to get to his offense.
Crosson has already wrestled at 165 pounds, so I would anticipate him finishing his high school career there. At Nebraska, Crosson likely ends up at either 165 or 174 pounds and will be hard to keep out of the starting lineup.
In-State Standouts
(only uncommitted prospects)
Junior Division
11-seed Cole Caniglia (126 pounds)
A 2025 Nebraska state champion and three-time state finalist, Caniglia is one of Nebraska’s best talents going into his senior season at Creighton Prep, and he had a solid showing this weekend at Fargo.
Caniglia started strong with three straight wins before falling to 6-seed Cody Clark of Georgia 12-1, dropping him to the consolation bracket. Caniglia rebounded with a quick 11-0 tech in his next match.
On Sunday, Caniglia fell to 19-seed Nicolas Enzminger out of North Dakota, ending his tournament with a 4-2 record.
61-seed Kieran Akerson (150 pounds)
A senior-to-be for Creighton Prep, Akerson is a three-time state placer after making the state final at 150 pounds this past season. This weekend, he racked up four wins but missed out on the podium.
After winning a tight 4-3 decision in the opening round at Fargo, Akerson dropped his second match 10-0 to 4-seed Austin Collins of Colorado.
Akerson then won three straight matches in the consolation bracket — including a wild 13-11 decision over 29-seed Patrick Dowty of Indiana — before falling to Reid Grossman out of Pennsylvania 15-5.
Myles Sanchez (144 pounds)
Another senior for Creighton Prep, Sanchez is a two-time state finalist. This weekend, he went 3-2 against top competition.
In his opening match against 12-seed Max Gonzalez out of Wisconsin, Sanchez was trailing 10-8 late before getting pinned, sending him to the consolations where he won three straight matches — including a 15-4 tech over 15-seed Thomas Lindsay of Ohio — before dropping a 12-2 match to 24-seed Kylan Ooton of Oklahoma.
16U Division
26-seed Allen Diaz (157 pounds)
A state finalist for Lexington last year with a 45-2 record, Diaz put on a show at Fargo while earning All-American honors.
Diaz made it all the way to the quarterfinals with three pinfall wins via the headlock. Diaz beat both 7-seed Dylan Buelow of Hawaii and 10-seed Landon Weidier of Illinois by ripping headlocks.
In the quarters, Diaz faced 2-seed Asher Bacon out of Pennsylvania, dropping the match 6-1. Down in the blood round, Diaz won a tight 9-7 decision to cement a spot on the podium.
Diaz then won a 7-0 decision before falling in the consolation semifinal round 14-7. Diaz won the 5th-place match via medical forfeit.
With his 6-2 record on the weekend, Diaz certainly staked his claim as a rising star in the state.
24-seed Dominic Olson (132 pounds)
A two-time Class B state finalist for Waverly, Olson had a solid tournament, finishing with a 5-2 record.
After winning his first match, Olson dropped an 11-7 decision in the second round, sending him down to the consolation bracket where he won four matches in a row.
Olson’s tournament ended with an 11-0 loss, but he showed a lot of promise.
Lincoln Unger (144 pounds)
A state qualifier for Lincoln Southeast, Unger also put together a solid back side run after a second-round loss. Unger won three straight before his tournament ended with a 4-2 record.
