FARGO, N.D. — Damarion Ross used his disappointment in freestyle to fuel his fire in the Greco portion of Fargo Nationals this week.

Ross finished 4-2 in freestyle, falling short of his goal of earning a medal and All-American status.

The Fort Dodge junior-to-be then bounced back and attained All-American status with a bronze medal performance.

“It means a lot to earn bronze and become an All-American,” Ross said. “ My goal was to get Top-8 in freestyle and that didn’t happen.”

During the 152-pound Greco division, Ross found a new goal, switched gears and earned a medal.

After a disappointing first match with a tough call that put Ross on the backside, Fort Dodge’s seventh-place medalist from a year ago went on a tear.

“There really wasn’t much pressure,” Ross said. “ I’m not a big Greco guy, but I don’t like losing, so I treated every match like it could be my last.”

Ross won nine straight matches — three on Thursday — to cement himself as an All-American.

In his first match of the medal round, he beat Leister Bowling of Colorado 7-0 and advanced to the third place match with a 6-0 win over Banks Love of Utah.

He knocked off Gianni Maldonado of Florida 2-1 to claim third.

“I just talked to my coaches and knew it was a long road back,” Ross said. “ I just wanted to play, so I did the same thing and stayed in the center of the mat and wrestled hard.”

Ross will now train and get ready for Super 32s in October.

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FARGO, N.D. — Damarion Ross used his disappointment in freestyle to fuel his fire in the Greco portion of Fargo ...

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