By Richard Immel
USA Wrestling

The 2026 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals, dubbed the largest wrestling competition in the world, returns to the FARGODOME on the campus of North Dakota State in Fargo, N.D., July 10-18. 

The premier national tournament in the U.S., which crowns champions in the three Olympic disciplines across the Junior and 16U age groups, is barreling toward another year of record growth. In 2025, participation increased nearly 6% overall and was up in all six divisions contested across 30 mats. Based on preliminary registrations submitted by USA Wrestling state associations, all six divisions are expected to see growth this year. 

The Junior Nationals enters its 55th year, and has been held annually since the inaugural event held in Iowa City, Iowa, in 1971, except for 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 16U (formerly Cadet) Nationals was merged with the Junior Nationals in 1996.   

This year, two notable adjustments have been made to the event schedule. The order of styles has been adjusted to men’s freestyle first (July 10-12), Greco-Roman mid-week (July 14-15), and women’s freestyle to wrap the event (July 16-18). Additionally, an extra day has been added to the women’s freestyle portion, pushing this style up to three days of competition. A scheduled off day will come in between the men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman tournaments. 

The Junior division features high school wrestlers in grades 9-12. Every year, the Junior division showcases talented athletes who are proven winners, as well as many emerging stars. The 16U division features athletes who turned 15 or 16 years old in 2026 and is a tournament where athletes can begin to make a name for themselves on the national level. 

The USA Wrestling Triple Crown Award culminates for the Junior and 16U age divisions in Fargo each year. The boys earn the prestigious award by winning national titles in folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman in the same year. Similarly, girls must win folkstyle and freestyle national titles, plus win a third championship at either the National High School Recruiting Showcase or Women’s Nationals. 

It has been three years since a Triple Crown has been won on the boys side—Kyler Knaack and Dreshaun Ross of Iowa achieved the feat at the 16U level in 2023. Two 16U girls took home a Triple Crown last year—Eve Skrocki of Iowa and Janiya Johnson of Tennessee. The most recent Junior division Triple Crown winner came from Valerie Hamilton of Illinois on the girls side in 2004. 

Currently, there are 44 champions from last year entered in the field, with more expected to show. 

Returning to defend Junior men’s freestyle titles are Nathan Schuman of Pennsylvania, Turner Ross of Oklahoma, Antonio Mills of Georgia, Melvin Miller of Pennsylvania and Nicholas Singer of Pennsylvania. 

Four Junior Greco-Roman champions are back, including Vincent DeMarco of Illinois, Kaleb Pratt of Illinois, Van Smith of Oklahoma and Wyatt Medlin of Illinois. 

The Junior women’s freestyle group has the most returning champions of any division at six, with Jaclyn Bouzakis of Pennsylvania, Emma Bacon of Pennsylvania, Nora Akpan of Minnesota, Violette Lasure of Pennsylvania, Olivia Georges of New Jersey and Deionna Borders of Ohio registered. 

Across the three disciplines, there are 23 champions from the 16U level moving up to take a shot at the established Juniors. 

The top five state teams have held firm the past two years, with Pennsylvania being the overall team champion, followed by California, Illinois, Iowa and Ohio. In 2025, Pennsylvania became just the second state to win four divisions at the event (Junior WFS, Junior MFS, 16U WFS, 16U MFS), Illinois won the Junior Greco-Roman tournament, and Iowa took first place in 16U Greco-Roman. 

USA Wrestling is announcing the state team rosters in the lead-up to the event. These rosters will be updated periodically as each state association submits its entries.   

For the fourth-year running, a beach wrestling tournament will be held at Gastropub Volleyball in conjunction with the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals. The boys beach wrestling event is set for July 13, while the girls tournament will take place on July 18. 

All matches from the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals will be broadcast live on FloWrestling. 

Brackets and live results from the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals will be hosted on USA Bracketing. 

Stay tuned to TheMat.com and USA Wrestling’s social media platforms for complete coverage of the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals.

2026 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals 

At Fargo, N.D., July 10-18  

Reference Links 

• Event Website

• Live Stream

• Brackets and Results

• State Rosters 

Event Schedule 

Friday, July 10 

8 a.m. – Junior Men’s Freestyle (Preliminaries, Consolations)

4 p.m. – 16U Men’s Freestyle (Preliminaries, Consolations) 

Saturday, July 11 

8 a.m. – Junior Men’s Freestyle (Preliminaries, Consolations)

3 p.m. – 16U Men’s Freestyle (Preliminaries, Consolations) 

Sunday, July 12 

10 a.m. – Junior & 16U Men’s Freestyle (Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Consolations)

3 p.m. – Junior & 16U Men’s Freestyle (Placement Matches)

5 p.m. – Junior & 16U Men’s Freestyle (Finals) 

Monday, July 13 

11 a.m. – Junior & 16U Men’s Beach 

Tuesday, July 14 

8 a.m. – Junior Greco-Roman (Preliminaries, Consolations)

3:30 p.m. – 16U Greco-Roman (Preliminaries, Consolations) 

Wednesday, July 15 

9 a.m. – Junior & 16U Greco-Roman (Round-of-16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Consolations)

3 p.m. – Junior & 16U Greco-Roman (Consolations)

4 p.m. – Junior & 16U Greco-Roman (Placement Matches)

5:30 p.m. – Junior & 16U Greco-Roman (Finals) 

Thursday, July 16 

1 p.m. – Junior Women’s Freestyle (Preliminaries, Consolations)

5 p.m. – 16U Women’s Freestyle (Preliminaries, Consolations) 

Friday, July 17 

9 a.m. – Junior & 16U Women’s Freestyle (Preliminaries, Consolations)

3 p.m. – Junior & 16U Women’s Freestyle (Round-of-16, Quarterfinals, Consolations) 

Saturday, July 18 

10 a.m. – Junior & 16U Women’s Freestyle (Semifinals, Consolations)

11 a.m. – Junior & 16U Women’s Beach

2 p.m. – Junior & 16U Women’s Freestyle (Placement Matches)

3:30 p.m. – Junior & 16U Women’s Freestyle (Finals)

2025 Tournament Champions 

Junior Men’s Freestyle 

100 lbs. – Nathan Schuman, PA

106 lbs. – Turner Ross, OK

113 lbs. – Rylan Seacrist, OH

120 lbs. – Rocklin Zinkin, CA

126 lbs. – Antonio Mills, GA

132 lbs. – Moses Mendoza, CA

138 lbs. – Jordyn Raney, KY

144 lbs. – Bo Bassett, PA

150 lbs. – Logan W. Paradice, GA

157 lbs. – David Gleason, MO

165 lbs. – Melvin Miller, PA

175 lbs. – Nicholas Singer, PA

190 lbs. – Lucas Ricketts, KY

215 lbs. – Cade Ziola, NE

285 lbs. – Dreshaun Ross, IA 

16U Men’s Freestyle 

88 lbs. – Leo Murillo, PA

94 lbs. – Miro Parr-Coffin, WA

100 lbs. – Kooper Deputy, PA

106 lbs. – Thiago Silva, CA

113 lbs. – Sean Kenny, NJ

120 lbs. – Tommy Wurster, OH

126 lbs. – Miklo Hernandez, MN

132 lbs. – Angel Cejudo Jr., AZ

138 lbs. – Jovani Solis, FL

144 lbs. – Peyton Hornsby, IN

150 lbs. – Colin Rutlin, MO

157 lbs. – Camryn Howard, NY

165 lbs. – Ethan Sonne, IL

175 lbs. – Jayden O'Farrill, PA

190 lbs. – Mario Hutcherson, PA

215 lbs. – Satoshi Davis, NV

285 lbs. – Noah Larios, CA 

Junior Men’s Greco-Roman 

100 lbs. – Kaden Oldroyd, UT

106 lbs. – Vincent DeMarco, IL

113 lbs. – Kaleb Pratt, IL

120 lbs. – Roman Luttrell, NM

126 lbs. – Van Smith, OK

132 lbs. – Manuel Saldate, NV

138 lbs. – Thomas Verrette, OK

144 lbs. – Luis Alberto-Desilva, PA

150 lbs. – Matthew Martino, ID

157 lbs. – Wyatt Medlin, IL

165 lbs. – Will Scherer, MO

175 lbs. – Lincoln Jipp, IA

190 lbs. – Adonis Bonar II, NE

215 lbs. – Josh Hoffer, IL

285 lbs. – Hunter Vander Heiden, WI 

16U Men’s Greco-Roman 

88 lbs. – Ty Martin, IA

94 lbs. – Miro Parr-Coffin, WA

100 lbs. – Wyatt Dannegger, MO

106 lbs. – Diego Robertty, IA

113 lbs. – Kacen Jones, UT

120 lbs. – Ryder Owen, WA

126 lbs. – Robert Ruscitti, IL

132 lbs. – Gage Bjerga, MN

138 lbs. – Caden Yanarella, PA

144 lbs. – Gideon Gonzalez, NJ

150 lbs. – Gregory Torosian, CA

157 lbs. – Asher Bacon, PA

165 lbs. – Harrison Smith, NV

175 lbs. – Ivan Ivanov, ID

190 lbs. – Peter Mocco, FL

215 lbs. – Gage Ponton, ID

285 lbs. – Lucas Feuerbach, IA 

Junior Women’s Freestyle 

95 lbs. – Natalie Radecki, DE

100 lbs. – Jaclyn Bouzakis, PA

105 lbs. – Heather Crull, IN

110 lbs. – Kayla Batres, CT

115 lbs. – Harlee Hiller, IL

120 lbs. – Caley Graber, MN

125 lbs. – Emma Bacon, PA

130 lbs. – Taina McGowan, NJ

135 lbs. – Taina Fernandez, MD

140 lbs. – Nora Akpan, MN

145 lbs. – Violette Lasure, PA

155 lbs. – Olivia Georges, NJ

170 lbs. – Jael Miller, PA

190 lbs. – Mahalia Adams, VA

207 lbs. – Amie Hartman, ID

235 lbs. – Deionna Borders, OH 

16U Women’s Freestyle 

95 lbs. – Justice Gutierrez, CO

100 lbs. – Ryleigh Sturgill, TN

105 lbs. – Hailey Delgado, TX

110 lbs. – Gabriella Conte, NJ

115 lbs. – Reagan Mathers, AZ

120 lbs. – Carolyn Geckler, OH

125 lbs. – Victoria Carbonaro, NJ

130 lbs. – Landri VonGonten, TX

135 lbs. – Taina Fernandez, MD

140 lbs. – Harlow Skenandore, WI

145 lbs. – Eve Skrocki, IA

155 lbs. – Janiya Johnson, TN

170 lbs. – Kaili Manuel, MI

190 lbs. – Tevia Nau Rarick, UT

207 lbs. – Racheal Adolphe, IN

235 lbs. – Aniyah Smith, IA