FARGO, N.D. >> Jasmin Clarke didn’t come away with back-to-back national titles, but the Kelseyville High School junior wrestler had a pretty good run during the week-long Cadet/Junior National Women’s Championships at the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota.
Clarke, a two-time section medalist and state qualifier for the Kelseyville High School squad, won the Cadet National 200-pound freestyle title earlier in the week after winning all four of her matches, three of them in convincing fashion. Moving up a division and a weight class to the Junior National 225-pound freestyle competition, Clarke won each of her first two matches before falling to Pittsburg’s Arianna Cobian, a fellow Team California member, by fall 1:56 into the first round of their championship match.
Clarke overpowered Maria Chanady of Illinois by 19-4 technical fall in a first-round match and then upset ShaMiia Wells of Tennessee, pinning her in the semifinals after building a 6-0 lead.
Cobian beat Khadeja Ayer of New York in the other semifinal. She had an 8-0 lead against Clarke before pinning her Kelseyville opponent.
Clarke was among a handful of Lake County wrestlers taking part in the Fargo tournament. Lower Lake High School junior Blake Fredrickson finished eighth in the 106-pound Junior boys freestyle division earlier in the week, earning a plaque and All-American honors in the process. He opened the Junior Greco-Roman portion of the tournament by reaching the 106-pound quarterfinals where he lost to Brendon Garcia of Colorado by fall. He was still alive in the consolation bracket late Friday.
