Mason Milsaps pretty much dominated every opponent at the U.S. Marine Corps Nationals in Fargo.
The sophomore-to-be at The Woodlands College Park ended up posting a 6-2 mark — with both of the losses coming against the same foe.
Milsaps took fourth in the 16U 126-pound bracket and in the six wins, he only gave up two points.
Milsaps said it means a lot to be an All-American, but he is still hungry.
“It wasn’t what I was looking for obviously; I was looking to be the champ and there was really no question in my mind that I was going to be,” Milsaps said. “I had complete faith I was going to win because I worked extremely hard. I’m OK being an All-American because I know there was nothing I could have done differently to get the results I got.”
Milsaps, a Class 6A 132-pound champion during the UIL season, opened the tournament in North Dakota with four wins in a row.
The only issue he had was in matches against Arturo Reyes from Pennsylvania, who beat him 10-0 and 7-0 — the latter in the place match.
Reyes, also a freshman this past season, was a U.S. Open Champion and previous U15 Pan-Am team member.
“It was really hard staying mentally strong on that backside, especially after losing,” he said. “You’ll see a lot of kids break, and it was hard to stay strong after working so hard for something that I didn’t get. I had to bounce right back and just know I wanted the next best thing (third-place). Right after I lost, I think it was good just to get right back on the mat and kind of have the memory of a goldfish and just get right back after it, as nothing happened.”
After the loss, he won his next two matches on tech falls, a combined 21-1 margin. The one point was by Anthony Bergeron, an all-state placer from Ohio.
This was his second big tournament of the offseason after going to the U.S. Open Championships in Las Vegas earlier this summer. Milsaps lost in the blood round, coming up one win shy of placing there.
Milsaps’ Path at Fargo
Win — Tech fall, 11-0 vs. Thiago Rojas-Leal, Arizona
Win — TF, 10-0 vs. Bronx Hanlon, Nevada
Win — TF, 11-0 vs. Nathan Matthis, Maryland
Win — TF, 12-1 vs. Calib Anderson, Oklahoma
Loss — TF, 10-0 vs. Arturo Reyes, Pennsylvania
Win — TF, 10-0 vs. Zachary Donalson, Arkansas
Win — TF, 11-1 vs. Anthony Bergeron, Ohio
Loss — Dec. 7-0 vs. Arturo Reyes, Pennsylvania
Looking ahead
He said the next big event will be the Super 32 Challenge, which will be held Oct. 24-25 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Until then, he will continue perfecting his craft inside the wrestling room, working with his wrestling partners Jackson Ewing, Nick Payne and Brandon Pattillo.
“Super 32 is the next one I’ve circled, but just lots of training and trying to make improvements on what I learned this weekend,” he said on Tuesday, July 14.
He said some of the things he needs to work on are his outside work, hand-fighting and being a more versatile wrestler.
Milsaps said the wrestling room competition pushes him and that Eric Spjut, who is also the College Park boys wrestling coach, works with him on what he needs to improve on for the next match.
Heading into his sophomore season this upcoming school year, he will be one of the hammers in the lineup for a College Park team that is in the conversation as one of the top teams in Class 6A, with the likes of Allen, Southlake Carroll and Arlington James Martin the past few years.
“I’m super excited (for the high school season),” he said. “I think it will be a lot different from last year. I’m not just an upcoming freshman; everyone knows who I am … I’m the returning state champ. I like having the pressure of everyone wanting to beat me and I’m excited. I think I got a lot more things to do this year that I didn’t get to do last year.”
