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Nickal back-to-back: Bo takes titles, makes history in Fargo
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
Texas Cadet wrestlers have been to the USA Cadet Junior Nationals before.
Texas Cadet wrestlers have won titles at the USA Cadet Junior Nationals before.
But never had a Texas Cadet wrestler been named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the USA Cadet Junior Nationals or won the USA Wrestling Triple Crown.
"Bo wasn't just dominant, he was consistently dominant throughout the entire tournament," said Jerry Best, Allen head coach. "He was aggressive, but still under control and just had a tremendous showing. And when you look at the fact that he's done something unprecedented for a Texas wrestler at his level, it says a lot."
Nickal won the 152-pound division for Greco-Roman, which focuses on upper body grappling, and then moved up to 160 to win the freestyle division.
"Greco only has one weigh-in, but freestyle does two," Best said. "So Bo felt like if he had to keep his weight down the entire time that could hurt him and decided to wrestle up for freestyle."
Nickal's decision proved a wise one as he was named MOP of the Cadet freestyle tournament. Nickal defeated Utah's Kimball Bastian in the finals (1-1, 1-0) to win the freestyle title. That completed his USA Wrestling Triple Crown after also previously capturing a folkstyle national title and then winning the Greco-Roman bracket earlier in the week in Fargo. Nickal, who got in a week of training at the U.S. Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs, is the first Texas Cadet to achieve either honor.
"I knew I could do well here if I wrestled to my potential," Nickal told TheMat.com. "I enjoy wrestling all three styles -- they all mix together and it helps me a lot."
But Nickal wasn't the only Allen grappler to come away with a national title.
Senior Oliver Pierce achieved the honor as well. The Oklahoma commit, and Eagles starting quarterback, won the Junior 152 Greco-Roman division.
"Oliver wrestled really well," Best said, "particularly in Greco."
This was the second national title of the year for Pierce. The former World Championship team member and eight-time All-American had already won a title in folkstyle, which is similar to varsity wrestling with more mat-based attacks. Pierce nearly joined Nickal as a triple crown winner, but lost to Maryland's Josh Lopez in the freestyle 152 semifinals (0-3, 1-0, 1-0). Lopez went on to win the title while Pierce placed third.
"Oliver had a bit of a problem with the leg attacks," Best said. "But when you have wrestled nine or 10 Greco matches, it can be tough to get back down low immediately and stay in that low stance."
Wrestling in both Greco-Roman and freestyle, Nickal and Pierce each competed in 18-20 matches over a five-day span.
"Conditioning plays a big role here, especially on those second and third days," Best said. "But they both did well and it should be a big confidence boost for them going forward. Bo made some history and I know Oliver will be disappointed by finishing third and use that to motivate him next time."
Rounding out Allen's trio in Fargo was junior Jack Bass, who went 4-2 in Greco-Roman 145 and placed fourth in freestyle 145 at the USA Cadet Junior Nationals.
"Jack was in probably the toughest weight class in the whole tournament; that bracket was like a meat grinder," Best said. "I know he will focus on what he did wrong and we'll work on shooting to the other side, but this is still a big accomplishment for Jack, especially in his first year at Juniors."
Expect Nickal, Pierce and Bass to be interested observers once the 2012 Summer Games begin Friday in London as all three have Olympic aspirations.
"This is the time where you really start thinking about where you need to be to get on that track," Best said. "Bo, Oliver and Jack all have those dreams and I think they have the ability to get to that level."
Best will be back to work next week with the team planning on moving into its new mat room, underneath the home side at the new Eagle Stadium.
The summer isn't over for Bass either as he will travel to Baku, Azerbaijan, on Aug. 21-27 for the 2012 FILA Cadet World Championships. And if last week was any indication, he is in line to do well.
"Our guys make the coaches look good because they buy into the system," Best said. "We take pride in what we do here at Allen and it shows in how hard these kids work."
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