Wrestling: Wall’s Rob Kanniard Advances to U.S. Cadet Freestyle National Final

A fantastic 2017 season by Wall rising junior Rob Kanniard is only getting better as the summer moves along.

Kanniard will wrestle for the 2017 United States cadet freestyle national championship at 160 pounds on Monday afternoon in Fargo, North Dakota. Scheduled start time for the championship bouts is 2:30 p.m. and they will be streamed live at FloWrestling.com (subscription).

Kanniard won five bouts over the weekend at the U.S. Marine Corps Cadet Nationals to put himself one win away from a prestigious championship in Fargo and has been dominant in doing so. He opened the tournament with a 10-0 win over Ohio's Chance King and followed with another 10-0 victory over Oregon's Austin Watson to reach the round of 16. Kanniard once again won 10-0, this time over Iowa's Levi Egli, to reach the final eight.

Kanniard's toughest bout so far was in the quarterfinals where he knocked off Minnesota's Zach Glazier, 9-4. He blasted Indiana's Clayton Fielden 16-6 in the semifinals to set up a championship bout with Georgia's David Key.

During his sophomore season at Wall, Kanniard went 40-3 and placed fourth in the NSIAA state tournament while winning a Region 6 and District 23 championship. The high-scoring display he has put on in Fargo has been an extension of his scholastic season where he accrued bonus points in 30 of his 43 bouts with 18 pins, seven technical falls and five major decision. Kanniard is 74-9 in his high school career.

Following the season Kanniard placed fourth at NHSCA Sophomore Nationals and also won his match representing team New Jersey at the Pinning Down Autism Duals, besting New York's Ross McFarland, 12-5.

Managing editor Bob Badders can be reached at bob.badders@townsquaremedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bob_Badders. Like Shore Sports Network on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel for all the latest video highlights.