Fargo 2026

Results from the 3-day competition

I can't believe this has already been over a week ago.  And two weeks ago since Owen left on the bus with Team Missouri for Freestyle National Championships.  The last month and a half have been preparation for this tournament.  RTC (regional training center) at Hearnes 3x weekly and one additional night with Jarret Jacques.  Also doing weights for football 4x weekly at 6:30 am, then working out on his own at least one more day each week.  So, here we are, Owen's first trip to Fargo has come and passed.   I'll try to put into words the crazy experience we had.  And by crazy, I mean, it was an emotional roller coaster for me, at least.  Such anticipation for a huge event, knowing all of these wrestlers have put so much time and work into getting ready for this tournament.

I don't think I ever put a lot of emphasis in my blog when Nick was coaching the Iowa Freestyle Wrestling Team, over 10 years ago.  He was gone quite a bit the few summers that he did that, and it is very strange that we are sending Owen off to do the same thing, here in Missouri.   I guess for a couple reasons; How can Owen be old enough to be doing this?  And it is also not normal for Nick and me to be watching wrestling together in the stands.  For as long as I can remember, I have attended wrestling meets alone, or maybe with Gracie, but it worked out, and Nick and I got to watch Owen together.  It's been a little different, but Fargo is still the biggest Freestyle/Greco tournament in the country for cadets and juniors.  SO many athletes.

Big red bus

I dropped Owen off at the bus at 8:00 am July 8.  Both 16u and juniors rode together.  This felt about the same as 2 years ago when I dropped him off to go to PA for 14u national duals.  That was 10:00 pm, though, and they drove all night.  This time, they drove to northwest Iowa and stopped to work out at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City.  Owen said it was a short, hot workout.  Then they got cleaned up and made it to Fargo by 9:30 or 10pm.  

The next day, they had meetings and a morning work out.  They were taken to Walmart to get some snacks, toiletries, and whatever else they needed.  Nick and I left on July 9 by 6:00 am so we could get there shortly after weigh-ins to take him out to eat if he wanted to go.  It seemed to be much less restrictive than two years ago, and they were allowed to do pretty much whatever, as long as they made it to their meetings and were in their rooms by curfew.

Here is our view driving up I-29.

Pretty straight and flat, and you could see forever in some places

We found Owen!

He made weight!

Pretty happy after Mexican dinner

Nick and I dropped Owen off after dinner and headed back to our rental house for the night.  We drove through downtown to see what there was to do.  Owen didn't wrestle until afternoon the following day, so we explored and found some good places to eat.  

Nick worked for awhile Friday morning, and found a place to get his hair cut.  I explored the trails and actually made my way into Minnesota.  We were not very far from the border; just across the Red River.

Three days of walking/running in a new place is great!

Nick and I found a pizza place for lunch and got enough so we could have it later for dinner, as well, if needed.  It was pretty good.  Then we just waited until mid-afternoon to go to the Fargodome.

So many wrestlers and this is just 16u.  There were even more wrestlers in the juniors division

They were allowed onto the floor around 3:00 pm to warm up and wrestling started at 4:00 pm.  I don't think Owen actually wrestled until around 5:30 pm.  Owen's 190# bracket had 91 wrestlers in it.  There were 30 mats set up in the arena.  

Another view of the organized chaos.

We moved up to see better once Missouri was done warming up and mats were cleared.

Owen and Nick chatting before it started

Nick and I had to move around to see better when Owen's matches came up.

Day 1 was great!  Owen wrestled well and it was such a relief after he got his first win.  I had no idea how this tournament would go.  But I do know that most of the kids wrestling had either placed 1st or 2nd at their state tournament, or they placed in the top 6 at a regional tournament.  So, everyone should be pretty good coming here.  Nick mentioned that he had coached kids who were really good and never won a match at Fargo.  I cannot describe how happy and proud we both were that Owen did so well on his first day; TF and Pin.  I know Owen had set his goals pretty high, and he seemed off to a good start!

The Fanning.

I sent this to Annie.  She still gets a kick out of how they try to cool the wrestlers off.

Also, the coach in the white hat is Ethan Barr.  He wrestled at Kent State and also coached Owen 2 years ago when he was on the 14u team.  I was very happy to learn that he would be coaching again.  I looked back at their picture from 2 years ago, and both of them have changed quite a bit!  Ethan's younger brother, Fischer, is in the Juniors Greco division.

Preparing for the next match

Owen opted to just go back to the hotel and eat what he had bought from walmart the day before.  Nick and I also just went back to our house, as it was already almost 9:00 by the time we left the arena.  But first, we found this guy...

Willie!!!!

After Owen's second match, which he won pretty quickly by fall, there was this guy down by his mat in a cowboy hat that gave him a high five and hug after he won.  I asked Nick who the guy in the hat was, and Nick stood up again and yelled "Willie!!!!!"  (you can actually see him in one of the pictures above with his hat)  Willie Miklus went to Ballard his freshman and sophomore years of high school before he moved to SE Polk and won two state titles there.  Nick had the privilege of coaching him for a couple years.  Fast forward a few years, and Willie spent four years at Mizzou; two while we were there, before he moved back to Iowa and wrestled his last year of eligibility at Iowa State. He was a four-time All-American and is still a great human being. He is now coaching at North Dakota State University, and this was another one of those times when you feel like life has come full circle.  Willie is able to teach Nick things now, and wrestling is just what he does, helping kids learn and get better every day.  It was so great to see him!  

Willie also couldn't believe that Owen was the same kid who would grab onto his leg at 6 years old and not let go.  I remember that he and Joey Lavalle were so good with Owen when he was hanging around at Mizzou wrestling meets.  It's crazy that has been 8 or 9 years ago.

While Owen had to get back to his team and the bus, Willie gave us a tour of their athletics offices and the building where their wrestling practice room is.  I just love that he is still doing this and helping other wrestlers become great!  While we didn't get to see him for very long, we had some great conversations and he watched Owen wrestle a couple times.  If you can't tell, I love seeing student-athletes who have become successful adults.  It is so rewarding to hear about their accomplishments.

Back to Owen...getting ready for another match.

And another win.

Day 2

The schedule was fairly similar to the previous day, so Nick and I had some time in the morning/early afternoon to explore.  I went for a run again and found my way on a bike trail that looped through both Moorehead, MN and Fargo.  Pictures below.  After that, we chose to eat at Sickies for lunch, just a burger place with a very wide variety of different burgers.  It was pretty good.  Then we found ourselves at Scheels to shop for a little bit.  

My morning run...

South Dakota on my right and Minnesota on my left.

What a great way to see new places...I realize not everyone agrees with my strategy.

Here is the bridge crossing over the Red River

More wrestling

Owen's first match on Saturday was tough and he lost to a really good wrestler from Kansas, who went on to place fourth.  Owen did awesome the rest of the day and came back with three wins; TF, TF, and Pin.  

Owen's first match on Day 2

Didn't win the match, but won the day.

More wins for the rest of the day.

I didn't take a whole lot of pictures, but the rest of the matches went fairly quickly.  We talked with Willie again after the matches, and made sure that Owen checked his weight...They all had to weigh in again on the last day. He went back with the team and ordered food.

Here we are, at the Fargodome

Nick and I went out to eat at an Irish Pub after the session on Saturday.  It was pretty fun and we were both excited that Owen had a great day and would have the opportunity to compete on the last day!

Day 3

Cons sub-quarters

I got up again to run on the last day.  Same route, just a little earlier because wrestling began at 10:00am and we needed to get checked out of our rental.  Owen wrestled well, but it wasn't enough to win the next match.  He lost 13-8.  Owen never quit and almost had a pin.  I'm not sure how the other kid got out of it, but he did.  We stayed for a little while to watch some of the other Missouri wrestlers.  

Owen at the break in his last match.  He was down 7-4.

He seems to find me during his tournaments.

I want so badly to help and to know exactly what to tell him and how to do it, but I can't.  

He has to learn and has to do it.

Man in the Arena.

I am proud that he is out there.  And he just needs to know that I believe in him, and I believed he could win, right until the last second expired.

There were really big goals for this tournament.  Owen wanted to be an All-American, and he was just 2 wins away.  When he began the third day, he was one of sixteen wrestlers left in the 16u 190# bracket, which started with 91 wrestlers, two days prior.  I don't know what it feels like to have goals this high, but I do know how frustrating it is when you don't perform as well as you had hoped.  I've been there, as most people have.  There are great days, good days, and there are days that you want a do-over.  I'm guessing this might be one of them, but there will be so many more opportunities.  However, I'm not disappointed with the outcome of the tournament at all.  As I mentioned, there are soooo many great kids who have goals of winning at Fargo, but it's so hard. Owen went 5-2 against some of the best kids in the country at his level.  We are so proud of him and hope that he had a great experience, while also lighting a fire under him to continue that pursuit of excellence.

I love this picture

I caught them after Day 2

And Nick caught me on our drive up to Fargo.

I look like Gracie here.

Speaking of...

She did not join us for the Fargo trip, but stayed home to take care of Ruby.

She is currently in the Great Smoky Mountains with the Rackers Family

After Owen was done on Sunday, we stayed to watch a few more matches before heading back south.  He wanted to ride home with us, and made his bed in the back of our car.  The drive was pretty uneventful except for an accident on I-70 that held us up for an extra 30-40 minutes.  Very unfortunate.  But we made it home before 1:00am, I think.  Nick got up to work in the morning, Owen got up to go to football practice, and Gracie went to her workout in the morning.  I stayed home and did laundry and answered some emails from home.  Back to the grind.

While he was gone, Owen missed a couple days of football and the first 7v7 scrimmage, but we made it to the next one.  Here we go.  Back at it.  This week is in St. James.  ugh.

Owen at OLB

Before Gracie left for the mountains she got some more workouts in both on the field and in the weight room.  I went to the field, too, just to be helpful and catch balls.  I haven't done any actual throwing/hitting/catching for so long.  Probably not since Gracie was 12u.  She throws a lot harder than 5 years ago.  But it's fun and I will keep doing it when she wants to go.  Nick jumps in to do some drills with her, and I don't know how he can still move like that and field balls.  They both make it look pretty effortless. 

I love this, too.

I guess that's about all for now.  Owen is back in the wrestling room continuing to work.  Apparently that was his first concern when he was done at Fargo... Can I still go to Hearnes to wrestle?  He makes me smile.  I also can't wait to hear all about Gracie's adventures.  She has been sending pictures and it looks like she is having a great time.  

I wish summer could last forever.