Hettinger five-time state champion Kyle Burwick finished fourth at the Junior Freestyle National Championships Tuesday afternoon in Fargo.  After two days of rigorous competition, Burwick fell to Missouri’s Wyatt Henson 17-6 in the third place bout at 126 pounds.   The match was much closer than the score reflects.  Burwick knotted the score at two with a takedown in the final seconds of the first period.  After the break, Henson scored a four point feet-to back leg attack to push the score to 6-2, but Burwick countered with a takedown and leg lace that made the score 6-6.  Henson then scored two more four point leg attacks that ultimately turned the score heavily in his favor late in the second period.

This is Burwick’s last competition representing North Dakota at the national level.  After finishing in fourth place in the Junior Freestyle division last season, the University of Wisconsin commit joined elite North Dakota status as one of the few two-time Fargo Junior Freestyle All Americans.  Burwick reflected on his performance via Twitter Tuesday evening:

Result wasn’t what I came to Fargo for. I gave it every ounce I had. Training and preparation were right, I’ll learn from my high school career and move on to my next chapter. 2 time Junior Freestyle Nationals All-American. Thank you to ND and everyone who’s had my back ❤️

— Kyle Burwick (@KyleBurwick) July 16, 2019

Bismarck’s Noah Savageu ended his Fargo Freestyle experience with an eighth place finish at 100 pounds.  The sophomore at Bismarck High dropped the seventh place match to Robert Gardner (PA) via 13-2 technical fall.