Keely Fallert entered her first trip to Fargo on the heels of a Class 1 MSHSAA title earlier this school year.
However, the Ste. Genevieve product wasn’t sure how she’d do on the national scale, but her goal was to earn All-American honors at the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals.
She has been a two-time MSHSAA finalist. In March, she won the Class 1 140-pound title with a 10-0 major decision against Riley Howell from Brookfield.
The year prior, at Oak Grove, she took second at 145 pounds in Class 2.
Wrestling at the Fargodome in the 140-pound freestyle bracket, she won her first four matches, and that locked up her podium finish, which was ultimately sixth place.
“It was awesome but it was nothing like what I was really expecting it to be like,” she said. “I don’t, I was thinking it would be a huge arena with like 10 mats and all this open space and everybody wrestling at the same time for girls. Not lit up, big arena full with people and stage mats … two of them and not just one.”
Fallert opened with a 14-8 win against Aliyah Otto from New York. However, Fallert was down 4-0 early.
She followed with a 14-4 tech fall against Carmella Clark from Warren, Michigan, in the Round of 32. A 4-0 lead in the first period was enough to hold off Sarai Cortez from Los Banos, California, in the quarterfinals, winning 6-3.
“I had lots of nerves, for sure,” Fallert said. “I didn’t expect so much support from like all those girls; we all know each other, but we don’t know each other. We all just supported each other.”
A win stood in the way of Fallert and a trip to the finals in her first trip to Fargo.
She was also facing off against a foe she’s wrestled before: Clover Williams from Edmond North in Edmond, Oklahoma.
Fallert had beaten her 9-7 in a previous matchup but lost this one on a pin after a close contest up to that point. Fallert was up 6-2 with less than a minute to go.
“It was a lot more pressure than normal,” she said. “I tried not to think about the pressure, but it was definitely there.”
She said the loss in the semifinals will ultimately lead to motivation to reach that spot next summer.
Williams finished second, falling in the final to Harlow Skenadore from Wisconsin.
Fallert fell into the consolation bracket and lost her next two matches. She first lost to Kesi Tsarni from Montgomery Village, Maryland. Tsarni won by a pin in 33 seconds. Then, Fallert lost in 35 seconds to Kelice Luker from Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“I feel like I could’ve wrestled better after the semifinal loss,” Fallert said. “I just wasn’t ready for it.”
She said the knowledge she gained from the trip, even the losses, will help her. She’s already returned to practice at Thoroughbred Wrestling Academy in Hillsboro.
She will have some time off before competing next in October. Fallert said the next event would either be the Super 32 Challenge on Oct. 18-19 or the War of the Roses Midwest Nationals on Oct. 4-5.
But heading into her junior year of high school, she’s going to spend some time this summer reaching out to wrestling coaches.
A state championship and Fargo All-American is already on a resume for someone who only started wrestling when she was 10.
She said it started when she attended wrestling practice for her brother, Kobe, who is two years younger.
“She was always out there with the boys during practice,” her mom, Jessi, said. “She begged us for those two years to let her wrestle finally, we both caved and let her wrestle. She has loved this sport since she stepped foot on the mat and in the practice room.”
