The Perfect Finish is their quest.

Wrestlers Scott Glasser of Bismarck and John Basting of Grand Forks came close in February and again in April but missed. Now they'll try again, starting Saturday in the Junior and Cadet Nationals at the Fargodome.

Glasser, who will be a senior at Bismarck High and Basting, who is awaiting his senior year at Grand Forks Red River, are rivals but friends. In fact, they were roommates during the National High School Coaches Association Nationals for juniors at Cleveland in April.

What spoiled the Cleveland event was their showdown for the 145-pound championship. Glasser won that match 5-1, a reprise of his 7-2 victory over Basting for the state Class A title. Those were perfect finishes for Glasser, imperfect ones for Basting.

In the eight-day run of the Junior Nationals at the Fargodome, Glasser will wrestle at 152 and Basting at 140. Thus the possibility of championships for both, which would truly be a Perfect Finish.

Nineteen North Dakota juniors (high school age) and 13 cadets (16-and-under) are scheduled to compete in Fargo after completing the state training camp, which ran the past two weeks at Bismarck High.

Glasser and Basting have considerable national tournament freestyle and Greco-Roman experience, but neither has been a champion. Glasser was fourth in freestyle and Greco at the FILA nationals last year and took third in the Junior Nationals in both styles. This is his first summer in the junior division.

Basting is a two-time Greco-Roman cadet placer - sixth in 2003 and seventh in 2002 - and was second in the FILA nationals last summer.

Those accomplishments notwithstanding, neither of them is taking a berth in the finals, Greco or freestyle, at Fargo for granted. "Just placing is my goal," Glasser said. "This (the junior division) will be tougher. We'll have (high school) seniors and guys who have graduated and are preparing for college and are at the top of their game. You have to train harder to keep up."

Basting knows full well how tough things can be in juniors. He went 10-4 in last years Junior Nationals and didn't make a trip to the awards stand. "I went 5-2 in both styles and lost close matches to place. … It was so disappointing," he recalled.

That experience engendered confidence in Basting. "I think I'm just as good as anyone in my weight and if I'm wrestling well I should be able to beat those guys," he said. "… I'm returning to the very same weight and most guys are moving up."

The prevailing attitude on the North Dakota team seems to be one of realism - making the trip to Fargo to find what can be learned rather than what can be won.

"It's the level of competition you experience," said Josiah Simburger as he explained the attraction of Junior Nationals. "It's the biggest wrestling tournament in the world and it's something to be part of. I'm going to get better and my goal is to be an All-American."

Simburger was 1-2 in Greco and 2-2 in freestyle last summer. "The competition was awesome, but I was disappointed with my performance," he said.

Kyle Williams is already an All-American at age 15. He took fourth at 91 pounds in Greco last summer. He said he's going back to place again. "I want to place in the top four," he said. "… It makes you a lot better. It's different competition."

Williams, who would have been a sophomore this fall, is making his final Junior Nationals appearance for Team North Dakota. He'll transfer to Illinois before school begins. His father, Dave, a master sergeant in the Air Force, has been reassigned to Scott Air Force Base near St. Louis.

Jake Mellmer, who is headed into his senior year at Dickinson, echoes Williams. He's headed for his third Junior and Cadet Nationals and he's eager to get a look at some different opponents. "In North Dakota you kind of see the same kids, so (at Fargo) I'll wrestle different kids and see different styles," Mellmer related. "I'll be able to come back and wrestle the same (North Dakota) kids different ways. It's definitely a way of getting better."

Mellmer missed All-America status in Greco-Roman by one match last summer. He'd like to move into the medal round this year. "It (placement) is realistic in Greco for sure," he said. "And if you're an All-American there you're going to have college coaches looking at you for sure. That's a big bonus."

The tournament opens with Greco-Roman competition for cadets on Saturday. Juniors take the mats on Sunday. Cadets wrestle their medals matches on Monday, juniors on Tuesday. Cadets begin freestyle competition on Wednesday and juniors get under way on Thursday. Cadet freestyle medal matches are scheduled Friday with the juniors wrapping things up on Saturday, July 30.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Saturday: Cadet Greco, session I, 11 a.m., Fargodome; Cadet Greco, session II, 4 p.m., Fargodome.

Sunday: Junior Greco, session I, 11 a.m., Fargodome; Junior Greco, session II, 4 p.m., Fargodome; Cadet Greco, session III, 4 p.m., Fargodome.

Monday: Junior Greco, session III, 9 a.m., Fargodome; Cadet Greco, session IV, 9 a.m., Fargodome; Cadet Greco finals and medal matches, 3 p.m., Fargodome.

Tuesday: Junior Greco, session IV, 9 a.m., Fargodome; Junior Greco finals and medal matches, 1:30 p.m., Fargodome.

Wednesday: Cadet freestyle, session I, 10 a.m., Fargodome; Cadet freestyle, session II, 4 p.m., Fargodome.

Thursday: Girls national freestyle duals, 9 a.m., Bison Sports Arena; Junior freestyle, session I, 10 a.m., Fargodome; Junior freestyle, session II, 4 p.m., Fargodome; Cadet freestyle, session III, 4 p.m., Fargodome.

Friday: Junior freestyle, session III, 9 a.m., Fargodome; Cadet freestyle, session IV, 9 a.m., Fargodome; Girls freestyle, session I, 11 a.m., Fargodome; Girls freestyle, session II, 3 p.m., Fargodome; Junior freestyle, session IV, 3 p.m., Fargodome; Cadet freestyle, finals and medal matches, 6:30 p.m., Fargodome.

Saturday, July 30: Junior freestyle, session V, 9 a.m., Fargodome; Girls freestyle, session III, 10 a.m., Fargodome; Girls freestyle, finals and medal matches, 1:30 p.m., Fargodome; Junior freestyle, finals and medal matches, 4 p.m., Fargodome.

TEAM NORTH DAKOTA

Juniors

Brian Reisenauer, 98, Fargo, Greco, free. Gus Lee, 130, Hillsboro, Greco, free. Jake Mellmer, 130, Dickinson, Greco, free. Josiah Simburger, 135, Mandan, Greco, free. Joe Trottier, 135, Belcourt, Greco, free. Nickolas Walton, 135, Fargo, Greco, free. John Basting, 140, Grand Forks, Greco, free. Andrey Patselov, 140, Fargo, Greco, free. Brandon Roehrich, 140, Stanley, free. Nathan Schweitzer, 140, Velva, Greco, free.

Casey Hanson, 145, Fargo, Greco, free. Scott Glasser, 152, Bismarck, Greco, free. Travis Anderson, 160, Grand Forks, Greco, free. Brandon Carrigan, 171, Bismarck, Greco. Nick Ziegler, 171, Fargo, free. Cody Thomas, 189, Bismarck, free. Jon Swart, 215, Fargo, Greco, free. Matt Johnson, 275, Bismarck, Greco, free. Moses Timali, 275, Bismarck, Greco, free.

Cadets

Justin Solberg, 112, Wahpeton, Greco, free. Kyle Williams, 112, Grand Forks, Greco, free. Daron Hohbein, 119, Mandan, free. Josh Roberts, 119, Grand Forks, Greco, free. Tom Burgard, Bismarck, 119 Greco, 125 free. Jordan Fleck, 125, Wahpeton, free. Patrick Askew, 135, Cavalier, Greco, free. Dusty Yates, 135, Dickinson, Greco, free. Luke Mellmer, 140, Dickinson, Greco, free. Sean Ballard, 145, Devils Lake, Greco, free.

Tully Garberg, 152, Bismarck, Greco, free. Josh Schuh, 160, Bismarck, Greco, free. Jake Bruns, 275, Fargo, Greco, free.