How do college wrestling coaches view Fargo?
June 29, 2016

 

During Mark Branch's first week of wrestling practice at Oklahoma State University he was approached by Cowboy great and new teammate Alan Fried. Fried asked Branch his name and where he's from. After the lanky 167-pound freshman from Oklahoma shared his name and hometown, Fried asked, "How did you do in Fargo?"

"I said, 'What's Fargo?'" recalled Branch, who participated in wrestling, football and track at Newkirk High School. "Honestly, it was that much ignorance. I came from a very small school. I graduated with 40 people. Our wrestling program was small and it was seasonal. Everybody in the school played multiple sports."

Today, it's hard to imagine any incoming freshman wrestler at a powerhouse wrestling program like Oklahoma State not being familiar with the Junior & Cadet National Championships in Fargo, North Dakota, but 23 years ago the wrestling landscape was much different. Junior Nationals had just come to Fargo in 1993 (Cadet Nationals would move to Fargo three years later), the field was comprised of far less competitors than today and the media coverage was minimal.





Comments