New York and Connecticut Wrestlers to Watch at Fargo 2026

New York is the third-largest wrestling state in the country with more than 15,500 rostered wrestlers and nearly 339,000 matches in the database. Connecticut is smaller but produces talent at a rate that belies its size. Both states have deep folkstyle traditions and growing freestyle programs, and the 2026 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals should see competitive delegations from both.

New York's top-rated wrestler is Gavin Mangano of Shoreham-Wading River, who carries a 2459 overall rating on a 54-3 record. Behind him, Landyn Shaffer of Deposit-Hancock (2439, 83-10) brings a 2134 freestyle rating that makes him a genuine Fargo freestyle contender, and Chris Noto of Honeoye Falls-Lima (2439, 91-8) matches his overall rating with 91 wins. Griffin LaPlante of St. Francis (2376, 58-6), Ashten Haley of Cobleskill-Richmondville (2353, 57-5), and Anthony LaGala Ryan of Longwood (2346, 72-11) fill out a deep boys field. New York's talent is spread across the state — from Long Island to the Southern Tier to the Capital Region — in ways that many states cannot match.

New York's girls program is producing some of the most intriguing Fargo prospects. Camryn Howard of Bellport (2327, 21-2) carries a 2327 freestyle rating — one of the highest freestyle marks of any girls wrestler in the Northeast. PJ Duke of Minisink Valley (2301, 12-0) is undefeated with a 2301 freestyle rating. Isabella Satalino of Columbia (2294, 56-1) has lost just once all season. Noli Paddock of Chautauqua Lake-Westfield-Panama (2303, 78-4) and AJ Didas of Clarence (2307, 30-1) add depth. The Crown City club continues to develop talent with Peyton Mullin (2264, 50-3) carrying a 1922 freestyle rating.

Connecticut is a smaller wrestling state, but its top wrestlers are competitive nationally. Maximus Konopka of Simsbury leads at 2425 on a 49-3 record. Lukas Boxley of Ledyard (2401, 105-6) has logged the most wins of any Connecticut wrestler on this list. Mason DesRochers of Ridgefield (2353, 88-9) stands out with a 2088 Greco-Roman rating, and William Etu of Stafford (2255, 83-7) has one of the best cross-style profiles in New England with a 2079 freestyle and 2138 Greco-Roman rating. On the girls side, South Side Wrestling Club produces Joey Cotter (2327, 114-28) with 114 wins, and Maliah Poueu-Ramos of Windsor (2262, 17-0) is undefeated. Michael Mocco of New Canaan (2201, 134-15) carries a famous wrestling surname and 134 wins of his own.

These two states share a Northeast wrestling identity that is different from the Midwest pipeline model. New York's strength is geographic breadth — talent spread from Long Island (Mangano, Howard) to the Hudson Valley (Duke, LaGala Ryan) to upstate (Noto, Shaffer) — which means wrestlers are battle-tested against diverse styles and programs. Connecticut produces talent through smaller, tight-knit programs where wrestlers like Boxley and Cotter have logged enormous win totals through aggressive scheduling. Both states have invested in girls wrestling in recent years, and the freestyle ratings among New York's girls — Howard and Duke both above 2300 — suggest the investment is paying off heading into Fargo.

For the full profiles on any of these wrestlers — including WPR scores, archetype breakdowns, rating trajectories, and complete match histories — click through to their MatMetrics profile. The Northeast is sending real contenders to Fargo 2026.