OMAHA, Neb. — The Cliff Keen Wrestling Club boasted three freestyle champions at USA Wrestling’s Junior and U23 National Championships, as Michigan freshman Dylan Ragusin claimed the junior title at 57kg/125 pounds and junior/sophomore Will Lewan and Youssif Hemida won U23 titles 70kg/154 pounds and 125kg/275 pounds, respectively, on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 15) at CHI Health Center.
Ragusin, who also reached the finals at Senior Nationals last month, defeated Columbia’s Angelo Rini, 13-10, in a barnburner 57kg junior championship bout. He trailed by four points in the first after giving up a takedown and pair of guts but responded with seven straight points, including a takedown and gut of his own, to close out the first period. They posted four points apiece in the second, with Ragusin scoring on a fireman’s carry and two stepouts to preserve his three-point lead. The Wolverine freshman went 6-0 over the weekend, outscoring his opposition by a 58-13 margin.
Lewan was also dominant all weekend en route to the U23 crown at 70kg, posting a 5-0 record and outscoring his opposition 39-4. He did not allow a point until his 5-4 decision against Iowa All-American Kaleb Young in the championship match — a reversal of the Young’s win in last season’s dual meeting between the two. Lewan, a former cadet freestyle world champion, rallied back from an initial deficit, catching Young off balance for an exposure early in the second before adding a stepout and a go-behind takedown late to ice it.
Hemida, a 2018 U23 world silver medalist, edged another Iowa All-American, Anthony Cassioppi, 8-7, in a wild finals match at 125kg. He struck early on a four-point throw on the edge and added a double leg late in the first period, but Cassioppi took the lead with a takedown and low gut early in the second. Hemida answered quickly, however, finishing on another double on the edge midway through the frame and held on the take the win. Hemida went 6-0 in the tournament, earning a pair of wins by technical superiority and a quarterfinal fall.
The trio also represents the third, fourth and fifth USA Wrestling national champions for Michigan this fall. Sixth-year senior Logan Massa and junior Mason Parris captured the 74kg/163-pound and 125kg/275-pound senior freestyle titles last month.
CKWC earned seven total placewinners; freshman Fidel Mayora claimed fourth at junior 70kg, freshman Chris Kim and senior/junior Drew Mattin took seventh in junior and U23 61kg/134 pounds, respectively, sophomore/freshman Blake Querio also claimed seventh at junior 125kg, and senior/junior Andrew Davison placed eighth at 92kg/202 pounds. Incoming Wolverine Chance Lamer, who signed an NLI on Wednesday (Nov. 11), also placed seventh in the 57kg junior division.
