There are some athletes who finish up their careers doing just fine but never reach their full potential for one reason or another.

It could be the maturity level, a lack of discipline, shrinking in the big moments or a myriad of other influences.

At the beginning of the high school season, Desert Vista wrestling coach David Gonzalez was asked about the potential of then sophomore Jaiden Finger.

“If he can put it all together, he can be something special,” Gonzalez said back in November. “We’ve had some great wrestlers here and he can be right there with them.”

And now he’s done something a male competitor at Desert Vista has never done – won a national championship in Fargo, N.D.

“I still haven’t reached my potential, but that was something I knew I could do and I told my coaches that I am willing to do everything it takes,” Finger said. “I have a lot more I want to do with the Pan-Am Games, winning a state championship and everything else. I have been planning out my future, and I need to keep getting better to get there.”

Desert Vista junior Jaiden Finger won a Greco-Roman national championship in Fargo, N.D. (Jaiden Fingers, courtesy photo)The run to the Cadet (16U) 165-pound Greco-Roman title on July 15 in Fargo, N.D., started with a defeat in February.

Finger finished as the runner-up in the 6A state championships at 152 pounds, but all that did was push him to never feel like that again.

“It definitely took a toll on me to finish up short,” he said of the 12-4 loss Sunnyside’s Xavier Chavez . “I grinded and worked to win it all, not finish second. I was done with losing after that and I was going to do whatever it takes to get better.”

He then focused on the national championships for Greco-Roman and freestyle in Fargo, as the next opportunity to leave the ambiguity of potential and catapult himself into that special category.

He spent some time in Iowa where his wrestling career began before moving to Arizona in the sixth grade, and also spent time in the top practice rooms in Arizona like Grindhouse, Thoroughbred and Valiant Prep, which produced nine All-Americans.

“I was trying to chase those good kids, the ones who were going to challenge me and make me better,” Finger said. “It’s what you have to do in wrestling – take on the best to be the best.”

Finger came out the grueling stretch better, stronger and ready to let it rip once he and the rest of Team Arizona arrived at the Fargodome, where the nation’s top event is held annually.

He sent 1-2 in Greco and freestyle the year before but every time he stepped to the line in Greco this time around he had his hand raised.

“He wrestled loose in Greco,” Gonzalez said. “He was himself and showed everyone how good he can be.”

Arizona had a few other competitors from AIA sanctioned teams find their way to the podium as Morenci’s Caden Woodall (150 pounds) finished third in Cadet freestyle, and Laveen resident and eighth grader Isaac Hierro (94 lbs) was third in Cadet Greco to finish as All-Americans for the boys.

Woodall, who won the 4A state title at 167 as a freshman in February, has been nationally ranked and headed to North Dakota expecting to come back with a Fargo "stop sign" - the nickname for the first place plaque given to the champions.

"I fell a little short of my goal at Fargo this year, but I am excited to get back to work and learn from my mistakes," Woodall said. "I would like to take my teammates and coaches, they continue to help me get better and I'm very lucky to have them."

Basha's Hannah Naccarati-Cholo finished fourth in the nation in Fargo, N.D. (Basha wrestling, courtesy photo)On the girls side, Basha state champion Hannah Naccarati-Cholo finished fourth in Cadet 125 pounds, and Pueblo’s Elizabeth Valenzuela Smith placed seventh at 110 pounds in Cadet.

Naccarati-Cholo, who is a two-time Arizona state champion and is preparing for the Super 32s, continues to be one the best competitors in the state.

"She has worked hard this summer and has fone out of her way to find pratice partners and work outs," Basha coach Mike Garcia said.

The overall experience for Arizona wrestlers who qualified for Fargo was positive and pay off once they return to area gyms this winter. 

“The kids did a great job, especially the juniors girls finishing fifth (in the team standings),” said Gonzalez, who is the state chairman of AZ-USA Wrestling. “The kids across the state are taking advantage of opportunities throughout the year regionally and locally to set themselves up for success in Fargo.”

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Desert Vista's Jaiden Finger celebrates after winning a national title. (Jaiden Finger, courtesy picture)