Argo Wrestling Recruit, Hayden Schrull, Places at USAW Nationals
FARGO, N.D. – Hayden Schrull has yet to step foot on campus as a University of Providence student-athlete, but the former Montana State Champion wrestler has already made a strong statement about what could be an exciting freshman season. The Helena, Montana native was one of 40 of the state’s best high school wrestlers to travel to the 2017 USA Wrestling Cadet and Junior National Championships in Fargo and became just the second Argo wrestling recruit ever to place at nationals.
“We signed Hayden earlier last year because we knew he was going to make a big impact for us right away,” UP Head Men’s Wrestling Coach Caleb Schaeffer said. “Placing at the USAW National Tournament just goes to show that we made the right choice.”
Schrull took eighth place in the 182 lb. Juniors Greco-Roman bracket. He started the round of 64 with a 12-2 victory over Lance Killgore of Arizona and then shutout D’Angelo Dewitt of Alabama 6-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. In the blood rounds, Schrull faced Joshua Stillings of powerhouse Pennsylvania and pulled out another confidence win, 11-5.
In the quarterfinals, Schrull faced eventual national runner-up Cameron Caffey and put up a heck of a fight. The two grapplers battled to a 12-12 draw, but Caffey squeaked out the win in the overtime round.
Schrull was one of three Montana wrestlers to place in the juniors category, with Riley Gurr taking fourth in Greco-Roman at 132 and Parker Filius taking third at 138. The only other Argo wrestling recruit to place at the Fargo Nationals was Alex Calvi, a two time NAIA All-American for the Argos.