Sallisaw wrestler wins Greco-Roman national title
Earns All-American status twice at Fargo
FARGO, N.D. — After a rough end to the Junior Freestyle Division portion of the 2024 USA National Juniors Wrestling Tournament for Sallisaw 106-pounder Cason Craft, things could not have ended any better.
Craft went through undefeated in the Greco-Roman Division portion of the national event to not only win the national title at 106 pounds, but end up being an All-American twice — in both Greco-Roman and Junior Freestyle Division.
In the Greco-Roman Division, Craft, who won the Class 4A State Tournament title at 106 pounds in February, ran the table to claim gold. After getting a first-round bye, Craft defeated Minnesota’s Ryker Clobes 8-0, then beat Xzephren Donner of Kansas 14-6 in the national quarterfinals, defeated Indiana’s Brady Byrd 8-3 in the national semifinals and beat Dylan Ota of Texas 7-6 in the championship match to not only claim the gold but earning him All-American status as a Greco-Roman wrestler.
In the Junior Freestyle Division portion of the tournament, Craft defeated New Jersey’s Charles Esposito 10-0, but then lost his next two matches — 12-8 to Nevada’s Antonio Quiroz and 12-2 to Pennsylvania’s Carter Chunko. Craft placed fifth to earn his first of two All-American wrestler awards.
