USA Wrestling Events

MN/USA Waconia Freestyle/Greco Combo & U20-U23 Freestyle Open

Event Venue

Waconia High School
1650 Community Drive
Waconia, MN 55387

Event Director

Jeff Katherman
jdkatherman@gmail.com

This is the 2nd annual year hosting this format where all participants MUST participate in both session #1 (Greco in the morning) and session #2 (Freestyle in the afternoon).
Age Groups: 6U, 8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U and Juniors based on USAW birth years: usawmembership.com/age_group_weight_chart
Divisions: This event will feature co-ed and Girls Only divisions across all the above youth/high school age groups.
Format will feature 4-man round robin brackets (where at all possible).
Awards will include mdeals for 1st - 4th place finishers.

Membership Required - A current USAW membership and card is required for all participants to register and participate at the tournament.

We will be doing random weight audits of several bracket each session. During check-in, selected wrestlers will be sent over to weight audit. Their weight needs to be with in 3% of whatever weight their parents pre-registered them at. For example, if the parent pre-registered their wrestler at 50lbs, their wrestler can weigh no more than 51.5lbs.
If a wrestler is over-weight, the parent and wrestler must report to the head table immediately. The wrestler will then be removed from the tournament and no refund will be given.
See weigh-ins tab for all details and rules.

Doors will open at 7:15am. Park on west side of Waconia High School and enter through Main Entrance.
7:30am - 8:30am - Check in / Skin Checks & (random) Weight Audits for BOTH styles. If any wrestler is a no-show by 8:30am for Greco, you will be scratched from the tournament for both Greco & Freestyle.
9:00am - Session 1 - Youth/High School Greco compeition begins
12:00pm - Session 2 - Youth/High School Freestyle competition will begin approximately 15 min after Greco is completed (12:00pm is the approximate start time).
2:30 - 3:00pm - Competition will conclude (estimated time)

All participants in the youth/high school division & event MUST register and compete in both styles. Registration will close at 8pm on 4/11 and no late registrations will be allowed.
There will be a limit of 250 participants in the Youth/High School Freestyle/Greco Combo with a cost/wrestler of $40. Must check-in in the morning and attend Greco to also compete in Freestyle. Those that check-in but do not compete in Greco will be scratched from freestyle.
Be sure to enter their actual weight to be used in case of a weight audit (see weigh-in tab for more information - cannot be more than 3% above the weight entered or will be scrateched from the tourney).
Register here: MN/USA Waconia Freestyle/Greco Combo & U20-U23 Freestyle Open

For the Youth/High School Freestyle/Greco Tournament, we are looking for U20/U23 athletes to assist and augment our referee / tableworker pool of resources (across session #1 or #2).
U20/U23 athletes competing (in the afternoon event) who work as referees or tableworkers will get access to a morning weigh-in (at 7:30am-8:30am) and get reimbursed their registration fee + $50 stipend.
To apply to be a referee or tableworker, please signup here: 2026 Waconia Freestyle/Greco Combo - U20/U23 Athlete Referee / Tableworker Signup
For any 16U/Junior age wrestlers wishing to referee or referee/compete, a referee training program will be utilized as well to augment the pool of USAW certified referees with supervision and training onsite. Officials are paid roles, so inquire with tournament director, Jeff Katherman (jdkatherman@gmail.com), if interested in applying for one of these roles.

Waconia Wrestling Club & MN/USA presents the inaugural year this new division of the Waconia FREECO Throwdown, which was created to allow for more regional competition opportunities (outside of the U.S. Open / U23 Nationals events) for the college age freestyle athletes.
Competition for this division will begin in session #3 following the completion of the above.
High school age wrestlers eligible for U20 may register and compete in this division if interested.
Wrestlers will be bracketed in 4-5man round-robin groups within each weight class by registration weight when possible.

Membership Required: A current USAW membership and card is required for all participants to register and participate at the tournament.

Skin checks will be performed on all wrestlers.
Event will feature full weigh-ins and will utilize UWW weights: 57kg, 61kg, 65kg, 70kg, 74kg, 79kg, 86kg, 92kg, 97kg, 110kg (1kg allowance will be allowed at weigh-ins) -
7:30am - 8:30am - Skin Checks & Weigh-Ins for U20/U23 athletes refereeing in session #1 and #2
11:00am - 12:00pm - Regular Weigh-In for all other athletes (outside of those refs/tableworkers)

There will be a limit of 200 participants in the U20/U23 Freestyle tournament with a cost of $20 per wrestler. Registration will close at 8pm on 4/11 and no late registrations will be allowed.
Discounts remain available for the first 50 wrestlers that register - please reach out to Jeff Katherman (jdkatherman@gmail.com).
Pre-registration only available through USA Bracketing only.
Click Register Now on the main page or Registration Info tab. Create an account in USA Bracketing if you do not have one already and add your wrestler information. If you have an existing account, choose your wrestler to register. Be sure to complete payment to ensure registration is complete.

Seating: Limited seating will be available with some bleacher seating and a limited amount of matside chairs. Wrestlers and families are allowed to bring in their own lawn/camping chairs (if desired) as well to view matches in the gym. Commons/Cafeteria area seating will be available for families to congregate in between matches and sessions.
Concessions: A "light" concession stand will be open during the day with drinks, hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, and some candy items. A local collection of food vendors will be available during the event as well.
Wrestlers/families may bring their own food/drink items as necessary.
Admissions cost for spectators will be $10 for adults and $5 for students (> age 5) and seniors (65 or older). Children 5 and under will be admitted for free.
Coaches with a current USA Wrestling Leader Membership will be allowed into the event for free.
Payment options will include cash, Venmo, debit/credit card and Apple Pay
Please use the below user guides and training videos (from the USA Bracketing YouTube channel) for assistance and support for how to use USA Bracketing.

Event Information