<div class="byline"><b>By Michael Smith</b> Special to The Examiner</div> St. Michael the Archangel Catholic’s Sampson Stillwell wants to be one of the top wrestlers in the world. That’s what head wrestling coach Matt Infranca said about his sophomore, who is making waves on the national stage. After placing seventh in the cadet freestyle division and second in the Greco-Roman bracket at World Team Trials last month, the Guardians heavyweight competed in the Cadet National Duals two weeks ago in Love Park, Illinois, near Chicago and had an impressive showing. Stillwell went 10-0 in the freestyle bracket, winning all his matches by technical fall, helping Team Missouri Red take third in the bronze/ copper bracket. And in the Greco-Roman portion of the tournament, he went 6-0 with only one match not ending in a tech fall victory as his team took first place in the bronze/ copper division. “Any time you can go against every team’s best kid at that weight and come out undefeated, that’s a pretty good accomplishment,” Infranca said. “You’re getting the best of the best.” At the tournament, Stillwell said there is still room for improvement despite his domination of his opponents. “I could’ve been better on my feet,” said Stillwell, who will be a sophomore this fall. “I could have scored a little bit more but I will get there. This was a good prep tournament for Fargo (Nationals).” Stillwell having this level of success isn’t a surprise according to Infranca. The coach said he is one of the hardest workers. “For him to do something like that isn’t unexpected,” Infranca said. “He’s got bigger goals than (going undefeated at Cadet Duals). He’s definitely going in the right direction.” Stillwell missed over half of his freshman high school season with a medial collateral ligament injury he suffered nine months prior at the World Team Trials before returning in late January. He finished the high school season 17-1 and he won the state title in the Class 1 285-pound division. “He’s catching up in the spring and summer and he didn’t have a lot of matches going into the World Team Trials,” Infranca said. “He needs more mat time so he can compete with those upper level guys. “It is very hard to come back from what he did and win a state title and he did just that.” Infranca said that Sampson has had the opportunity to face tougher competition in freestyle and Greco tournaments over the summer than he did during the high school season. Infranca added that will benefit the sophomore-to-be in the end. “Being at his size (6-foot-4 and 240 pounds), it’s hard for him to find competition like he’d face at national tournaments,” Infranca said. “We are trying to get bigger guys to push him around a little bit, so he can get the same feel as he’d have at the World Team Trials.” To prepare for Fargo Nationals next month, Stillwell is working on some aspects of his wrestling before the tournament. “Moving on bottom and dragging my feet on top when I get to my turns is something I’m working on,” he said. “I want to get to my offense and be relentless.” And with making those improvements, Infranca believe Sampson has a chance to do something special at Fargo. “His goal is to win a Fargo title, and I think he has a great opportunity to do that,” Infranca said. “He has as good a shot as anybody and he outworks some guys.” Added Stillwell: “I want to win it in freestyle and Greco. I am definitely excited for it.”
