By Austin Denson
Jack Darrah and Lucas White recently brought back medals from the USA Folkstyle National Tournament and they looked impressive doing it. If you’re not familiar with these two, you should be. Darrah is a junior who is 3 for 3 in state placements with a 5th, 2nd, and 1st place finish. White is a senior with 3 state medals as well with 5th, 4th, and 1st place finishes. Both wrestlers performed remarkably at this national-level tournament White leaving with 5th place and Darrah with a stop sign.
White started his tournament off quick with a fall in the first period over an opponent from Minnesota. In the second round, White’s matchup was a 2x state placer, 1x state finalist from Wisconsin. White made a statement moving into the quarters with a 14-1 major decision. White’s quarter-finals opponent hailed from North Dakota with an impressive tally of two state titles and a third-place finish for good measure. In a tight bout, White got the win to move into the semis 3-2.
The semis is where White’s run came to an end there against a Kansas state champ falling 7-3. White clashed with another tough opponent in a 2x state champ from Oregon in his consi-semi falling 5-1 to fall to the fifth-place match. White finished strong with a win over Missouri owns Chase Cordia who boasts 3x state medals including a state championship in Class 2. The final score was a 5-1 decision.
USA Nationals result:
Lucas White 5thJack Darrah :Champion #FORMYGOD#FORMYSCHOOL#FORMYBROTHERS#CODE10@CadetsWrestling @xtremetraining9 pic.twitter.com/8vyBojUp4v
— Cornell Robinson (@Damoneycoach) April 3, 2021
Darrah received a first-round bye but that didn’t mean Jack came out cold in the second round. Darrah made a statement that he would later back up. The 3x Colorado state placer didn’t have it easy falling 19-2 to Darrah who then moved into the quarterfinals. Next up for Darrah was a 2x state placer from Iowa, needing the full time here in a tight 1-0 decision.
In the semis, Darrah even replicated his past 1-0 result this time over a Kansas state medalist. With this Darrah secured his spot in the finals and the chance to bring home a stop sign. His opponent hailing from Iowa, representing the esteemed Sebolt Wrestling Club, boasting 2x state medals one being a state championship. Darrah needed overtime, but he got the job done 3-1 in sudden victory to bring home the national title.
Missouri wrestling fans will get to watch both of these young men at the next level as both will be wrestling for NCAA DI universities. Darrah will be attending Cornell University, while White will compete for American University.