DEKALB • This past weekend, the ladies of Illinois gathered in what is an assembly to gather forces to defend the first Illinois Girls Fargo national championship from a season ago. In total, there were 29 weights with three National Team allocations in each of them. For 16U, there were 15 weights that were wrestled out; for Juniors, there were 14—in the end, there were 87 Team Illinois spots earned,
In looking at the 16U field, there was a total of 98 young ladies that toed the line. Of that total, 46 percent of the field qualified through this weekend’s state championships. Out of the 119 Juniors that came in with aspirations of Fargo, roughly 35 percent punched their ticket.
Fortunately, for Team Illinois, a great number of the state’s heaviest hitters registered, performed, and qualified for the defense of Illinois’ national title inside of the FargoDome. There are not only several returning wrestlers from last year’s Team Illinois squad, but seven are All-Americans and two have won Fargo titles in the past. Mix that in with a great deal more experience, and Illinois will be exc
