USMC Junior Nationals men’s freestyle kicks off, with record entries and tremendous talent

FARGO, N.D. - With over 1,800 entries competing in this year’s USMC Junior Nationals in men’s freestyle, the opening session featured very few “upsets,” but showcased many of the talented athletes expected to challenge for titles and All-American honors during the three-day tournament.

There are two returning champions from last year in the Junior freestyle field this year, Pennsylvania stars Jax Forrest at 132 pounds and Vince Bouzakis at 157 pounds. Both are dominating their first-day opponents.

Forrest, who qualified for the Senior National Team in freestyle this year at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at 57 kg, opened with a pair of 10-0 technical falls over Jose Limones of California and Christian Davis of Arizona.

Bouzakis also had a pair of technical falls, stopping Konlin Weaver of Georgia, 12-2 and Mason Schrempp of South Dakota, 13-2.

That does not mean that every prominent wrestler in the event went unscathed in the opening session.

There were four returning Junior Nationals freestyle runners-up in the field, and one has already suffered a defeat.

Kiyan Simon of Alabama, the runner-up last year at 100 pounds, lost in his opening match at 113 pounds to Alexander Diaz of Pennsylvania, 14-10.

The other three returning runners-up are unbeaten so far, Aaron Seidel of Pennsylvania (126), Daniel Zepeda of California (144) and William Henckel of Connecticut (175).

There were nine 2024 Junior Folkstyle Nationals champions who entered the Junior Nationals in men’s freestyle, all eligible for the Junior Triple Crown when the event started. Men’s freestyle is the second leg of the Triple Crown, with Junior Greco-Roman on Friday and Saturday as the final leg.

Two Triple Crown contenders lost in the first session and is no longer eligible.

Junior Folkstyle national champion Taye Wilson of Kansas, who is unseeded, dropped a 14-3 technical fall to No. 2 seed Kody Routledge of Oklahoma in his opening bout at 157 pounds.

Junior Folkstyle national champion Leimana Fager of Utah, who is seeded No. 32 at 190, was defeated in his second match by unseeded Brody Sampson of Iowa, 10-0.

The remaining seven Junior Triple Crown contenders remain without a defeat, Cason Craft of Oklahoma (106), Caleb Noble of Illinois (113), Alex Rozas of Louisiana (113), Jaxton Packer of Idaho (126), Geronimo Rivera of Utah (126), Hudson Rogers of Idaho (175), and Shilo Jones of Idaho (285).

All seven of the 2023 16U National champions who have moved up into the Junior division this year also remain unbeaten: Grey Burnett of Ohio (113), Blue Stiffler of Georgia (138), Melvin Miller of Pennsylvania (150), Kyler Knaack of Iowa (157), Elijah Diakomihalis of New York (190), Dreshaun Ross of Iowa (215) and Jacob Levy of Georgia (285).

A few tidbits about this record-setting event, thanks to historian Jason Bryant.

• For the first time, all 50 states have at least one entry in the Junior Freestyle Nationals, with the addition of U.S. Territories and Guam.
• There are 20 past Fargo freestyle All-Americans at the Junior 120-pound division
• The largest weight class is 138 pounds, with 159 entries
• Of the 15 weight classes, 12 weights have at least 10 past Fargo freestyle All-Americans.
• There are no returning All-Americans at 100 pounds.

Junior freestyle is completed for Monday, and will continue on Tuesday morning at 9:00 a.m. CT. The second session today will be entirely for 16U wrestlers, running from 3:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. CT.

FloWrestling is once again the broadcaster for the USMC Junior/16U Nationals. See it live on FloWrestling.

REMAINING MEN’S FREESTYLE SCHEDULE

Tuesday. July 16th

9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. - Session VIII 

16U/JR Boys Freestyle:  Championship (1 Rd) and Consolations (2 Rds)

3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. - Session IX

16U Boys/JR Boys Freestyle:  Championship & Quarterfinals (2 Rds) and Consolation (3 Rds) 

Wednesday, July 17th

10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. - Session X 

16U Boys/JR Boys Freestyle:  Semifinals, Consolation (3 Rds), and Consolation Semifinals

3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. - Session XI

16U Boys/JR Boys Freestyle: 3^rd – 8^th Medal Matches

5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. - Session XII

16U Boys/JR Boys Freestyle:  Parade of Champions and Championship Finals