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Former Hawaii resident Kody Tanimoto got to the finals of the Fargo nationals wrestling tournament in North Dakota last week, finishing in second place at 113 pounds in Junior Greco-Roman and reaching All-American status.
In addition, two of the 13 boys wrestlers from Team Hawaii made it as far as the Grcco-Roman consolation round of 16.
Justyce Mercado, a Hawaii high school state champion who will be a senior at Punahou, went 4-2 in Greco-Roman at 145 pounds, getting to that consolation round of 16 in a field of 128.
Mikah Labuanan, a two-tine Hawaii high school state champion who will be a junior at Kamehameha-Maui, made the round of 16 at 138 pounds, going 3-2 in a field of 128.
Tanimoto, meanwhile, went 5-1 in a field of 64.
For Tanimoto, the accomplishment is one of many strong finishes. Since he and his family moved away from Hawaii in 2019, the former Saint Louis seventh-grade wrestler under coach Al Chee became:
>> a 2023 Texas state champ from All Saints Episcopal School
>> a fifth-place Fargo finisher in 2022
>> a third-place finisher at the 2023 US. Open in Las Vegas
>> an eighth-place All-American finisher at the 2023 high school nationals in Maryland
“When I was in Fargo, my expectation was to win the whole tournament,” he told Bedrock Sports Hawaii on Monday. “I felt like everyone was happy for me because I made it to the final, but deep down I was missing something. I didn’t get what I wanted.”
Based on two of Tanimoto’s biggest wins previously (against former Fargo champions Jeremiah Wachsmuth at the U.S. Open and Javaan Yarbrough in the national junior duals in Tulsa), he had the potential to take it all last week.
Tanimoto and his older sister, Kaycie, used to train at Hawaii Wrestling Academy with coaches John and Ku’u Robinson. Kaycie, who was a Hawaii Baptist Academy student and a PAC-5 wrestler in high school, went on to wrestle at Oklahoma City University and Texas Wesleyan. She is in China right now, competing in judo for Team USA at the World University Games. According to their dad, Mike Tanimoto, her goal is to compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. In 2021, Kaycie made All-American at Fargo, finishing in eighth place.
The official name of the Fargo tournament is the U.S. Marine Corps 16U and Junior Nationals.
Altogether, including girls competition two weeks ago (Fargo Nationals: Hawaii’s Tristan Nitta Wrestles To All-American Status), Team Hawaii sent 22 wrestlers to Fargo.
Those 22 individuals combined wrestled against competitors from 32 states — Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Below are Tanimoto’s Greco-Roman results, followed by Team Hawaii’s Freestyle and Greco-Roman boys results.
KODY TANIMOTO
Junior Greco-Roman, 120-pound runner-up
>> Round of 64: def. Ryan Nuno (Idaho), VSU, 10-0
>> Round of 32: def. Myles Beck (Iowa), fall, 1:41
>> Round of 16: def. Everest Sutton (Colorado), 10-5
>> Quarterfinals: def. Davis Motyka (Pennsylvania), 7-1
>> Semifinals: def. Brayten Casey (Wisconsin), VSU, 8-0
>> Final: lost to Mack Mauger (Idaho), 5-1
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ISAIAH TORRES
16U Freestyle, 120
>> Round of 128: def. Paul Vaught (North Carolina), injury default, 3:38
>> Round of 64: lost to Jayden Rinken (Iowa), fall, 1:52
>> Consi of 64: lost to Liam Montgomery (Ohio), VSU, 11-0
16U Greco-Roman, 120
>> Round of 128: def. Nolan West (Florida), 5-0
>> Round of 64: lost to Ryder Newton (Washington), VSU, 9-0
>> Consi of 64: def. Quinn Rodewald, (Montana), VSU, 8-0
>> Consi of 32: lost to Myles Grossman (Pennsylvania), VSU, 9-0
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MIKAH LABUANAN
16U Freestyle, 138
>> Round of 128: lost to Sullivan Ramos (Wisconsin), 9-6
>> Consi of 128: lost to Blake Hostetter (Pennsylvania), 16-8
16U Greco-Roman 138
>> Round of 128: def. Braydnn Terry (Wyoming), VSU1, 12-4
>> Round of 64: def. Layronz Fraser (California), WSU, 9-0
>> Round of 32: def. David Perez (Rhode Island), fall, 3:59
>> Round of 16: lost to Colton Weiler (Wisconsin), VSU, 10-0
>> Consi of 16. lost to Chance Ruble (Missouri), VSU1, 15-6
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REV BAPTISTA
16U Freestyle, 113
>> Round of 128: lost to Nicholas Sorrow (Minnesota), fall, 2:22
>> Consi of 128: lost to Francisco Miranda (Arizona), 6-6
16U Greco-Roman, 113
>> Round of 64: lost to Ty Henderson (Indiana), fall, 0:41
>> Consi of 32: lost to Matthew Tran (Iowa), VSU1, 16-6
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TROY ALMEIDA
16U Freestyle, 106
>> Round of 64: lost to Anthony Ciotoli (Virginia), VSU, 12-0
>> Consi of 64: lost to Johann Jose (Virginia), VSU1, 14-4
16U Greco-Roman, 106
>> Round of 64: lost to Chase Franklin (Iowa), VSU1, 10-2
>> Consi of 32: lost to Jayden Grijalva, (Kansas), fall, 1:35
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BOYD DURAND
Junior Freestyle, 152
>> Round of 128: lost to Syler Zdanczewicz (Wisconsin), VSU, 11-0
>> Consi of 64: lost to Logan Butzon (Minnesota), VSU1, 23-10
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JOSEPH LATHWOOD
Junior Freestyle, 138
>> Round of 128: def. Trey Kaupp (Connecticut), VSU, 10-0
>> Round of 64: lost to Smokey McClure (Washington), VSU, 15-4
>> Consi of 64: def. Marco Dalakishvili (Missouri), 6-6
>> Consi of 32: lost to Charles Curtis (Ohio), VSU1, 15-4
Junior Greco-Roman, 138
>> Round of 64: lost to Mason Drake (Iowa), fall, 4:28
>> Consi of 64: def. Caden Everson (North Dakota), VSU1, 11-2
>> Consi of 32 No. 1: def. Braeden Moore (Kansas), forfeit
>> Consi of 32 No. 2: lost to Joshua Beans Jr. (Arizona), fall, 4:48
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JUSTYCE MERCADO
Junior Freestyle, 152
>> Round of 128: def. Zachary Lee (Georgia), VSU1, 12-2
>> Round of 64: lost to Ej Parco (California), VSU1, 14-1
>> Consi of 64: def. Jared Walker (Georgia), VSUI, 26-16
>> Consi of 32: lost to Brock Herman (Ohio), VSU, 10-0
Junior Greco-Roman, 145
>> Round of 128: def. Matix Cooklin (Oregon), VSU, 8-0
>> Round of 64: def. Kaiden Livingston (Oklahoma), VSU, 10-0
>> Round of 32: lost to Hayden Whidden (Florida), 7-6
>> Consi of 32 No. 2: def. Chase Short (Missouri), fall, 1:27
>> Consi of 16 No. 1: def. Wesley Harper (Indiana), fall, 2:40
>> Consi of 16 No. 2: lost to Ryder Yoshitake (California), VSU, 8-0
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KAI SIMMONS
Junior Freestyle, 160
>> Round of 128: lost to Banks Love (Utah), VSU, 10-0
>> Consi of 128: lost to Ryker Gibson (Idah0), fall, 2:10
Junior Greco-Roman, 160
>> Round of 128: lost to Ryan Currier (Rhode Island), fall, 3:45
>> Consi of 64 No. 1: def. Willis Rondon (Connecticut), VSU, 10-0
>> Consi of 64 No. 2: def. Noah Sample (Arkansas), fall, 1:13
>> Consi of 32: lost to Michael Myers (Nebraska), VSU, 8-0
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KAHI COBB-ADAMS
Junior Freestyle, 145
>> Round of 128: def. Omar Samayoa (Illinois), 17-8
>> Round of 64: lost to Garrett Reece (Colorado), VSU1, 11-1
>> Consi of 64: lost to Guiseppe Guerra (Idaho), 19-12
Junior Greco-Roman, 145
>> Round of 64: lost to Trey Dillow (Kansas), VSU, 8-0
>> Consi of 64 No. 2: def. Peyton Cox (Illinois), 16-12
>> Consi of 32: lost to Brody Neighbor (Iowa), VSU, 10-0
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MAYHEM WOOLSEY
Junior Freestyle, 152
>> Round of 128: lost to Grayson Williams (Idaho), VSU1, 17-6
>> Consi of 64 No. 1: def. Donell Young (Connecticut), fall, 1:46
>> Consi of 64 No. 2: lost to Seth Larson (Georgia), VSU, 11-0
Junior Greco-Roman, 145
>> Round of 64: lost to Alex Braun (Minnesota), VSU1, 10-0
>> Consi of 64: lost to John Provencio (Arizona), fall, 2:16
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RAPHAEL DELA CRUZ III
Junior Freestyle, 170
>> Round of 128: def. Chase Bisel (Georgia), VSU, 11-0
>> Round of 64: lost to Gage Wright (West Virginia), VSU, 11-0
>> Consi of 64: lost to Jaxon Trotter (Oklahoma), VSU, 11-0
Junior Greco-Roman, 170
>> Round of 128: lost to Tyler Secoy (Georgia), VSU, 8-0
>> Consi of 64: lost to Jonah Orndorff (Washington), 15-10
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STYLES CAMP-MADIJANON
Junior Freestyle, 113
>> Round of 64: lost to Dominic Ducato (Illinois), fall, 0:42
>> Consi of 32: lost to Dallas Canoyer (Iowa), VSU1, 12-2
Junior Greco-Roman, 113
>> Round of 64: lost to Tanner Bartonico (California), fall, 1:20
>> Consi of 32 No. 1: def. Bella Heaney (Minnesota), VSU, 8-0
>> Consi of 32 No. 2: lost to Nikos Filipos (Pennsylvania), fall, 0:28
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YUKI UCHISHIBA
Junior Freestyle, 113
>> Round of 128: lost to Tobey Forman (Nevada), VSU1, 12-2
>> Consi of 64: lost to Corbin Long (Montana), VSU1, 12-2
Junior Greco-Roman, 113
>> Round of 64: def. D. Davis (Ohio), fall, 1:49
>>Round of 32: lost to Logan Schwanz (Minnesota), VSU, 8-0
>> Consi of 32: lost to Jace Hedeman (Iowa), VSU, 8-0
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