Baldwin ? Fargo, N.D., might not be a hot vacation spot, but it was the dream destination of every wrestler who took part in the Greco-Roman/Freestyle state tournament Saturday and Sunday at Baldwin High.

“Kids are here for different reasons,” BHS coach and event planner Kit Harris said. “Some want to go to state. Some want to be All-Americans.”

Nick McGovern takes part in such events to catch the eyes of college coaches. The Free State High graduate helped his cause with a first-place finish in Greco-Roman at the 189-pound weight class.

Twenty-four wrestlers from Lawrence and area towns placed at the event for students from first grade to recent graduates.

“I think everybody’s in it for the same reason,” McGovern said. “Everybody’s trying to make themselves better.”

Other competitors used the tournament as a form of training — like Baldwin graduate Seth Halford, who is headed to Northwestern College in Iowa next fall. He won both events at 215 pounds.

“This year I’m getting ready for college wrestling and trying to stay in shape,” he said.

The top three finishers in the cadet (high school freshman or sophomore) and junior (junior or senior) classes in each event became eligible to join the state wrestling team and go to Fargo.

Placers in Fargo qualify for the national squad and can compete internationally as All-Americans.

Fargo is the annual home of the national championship for cadet and junior Greco-Roman and freestyle — basically the Super Bowl of high school wrestling. In July, participants will compete in the Fargodome at North Dakota State University.

“It’s unreal,” Kevin Klemm said. “It’s a weird place to have it, but if you can win in Fargo, you’re the best.”

Klemm is the coach of the East Kansas Championship Wrestling Club based at Blue Valley Northwest in Overland Park. Of the club’s 120 members from 20 area high schools, about 35 competed at Baldwin.

The club features 15 members who will join Division One schools next year, including Tanner Gardner from Shawnee Heights. The Stanford-bound standout has won All-American status four times at the 119-pound weight class. He makes a 70-minute drive from Topeka to Overland Park two to three times a week to train.

“We think we can take a hunk of raw metal and shape it into a piece of hard steel,” Klemm said. “You try to take the best, take the most talent, and teach them high-percentage moves.”

Neil Erisman is a prime example of the club’s hardware. The De Soto sophomore-to-be was a point away from winning state his freshman year at the 145-pound weight class.

He now travels with EKCW to events around the nation seeking a national-championship plaque.

“We’re going for a stop sign,” Klemm said of the bronzed octagon award.

To get a stop sign, wrestlers need one key ingredient.

“Everybody’s trying to get mat time,” Klemm said. “Whether you’re a kid wrestler or an Olympian, you’re seeking mat time.”