USMC Junior/16U Freestyle Nationals Session III summary: All six returning champions reach round of 16

FARGO , N.D. – The 2024 USMC Junior/16U Nationals in men’s freestyle powered through Session III on Tuesday morning, narrowing the field to just 16 athletes in each weight class in both tournaments.

The 3:00 p.m. CT session today will truly thin the field more, as both the round of 16 and the quarterfinals will be held. Winners of Tuesday night’s quarterfinals will have earned All-American honors and earned team points for the their state.

All six of the returning champions (two at the Junior level and four at the 16U level) have advanced to the round of 16.

Junior Freestyle Nationals Session III summary

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.

Forrest scored a 12-2 technical fall over Gauge Shipp of Illinois, his third straight technical fall of the tournament. Forrest, the No. 1 seed, will face No. 17 seed Ryan Kennedy of Ohio in the round of 16. Forrest earned a spot on the 2024 U.S. Senior Freestyle National Team with a tremendous run at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

Bouzakis was also sharp in his 10-0 technical fall over Joseph Lathwood of Massachusetts, needing just 24 seconds to end the match. He will face No. 16 seed Caleb Cady of Wisconsin in his next bout.

Three returning Junior Nationals runners-up won their bouts this morning and are unbeaten so far, Aaron Seidel of Pennsylvania (126), Daniel Zepeda of California (144) and William Henckel of Connecticut (175).

One of the athletes who was gunning for the Triple Crown was beaten during the session. No. 30 seed Kal-el Fluckiger of Arizona defeated 2024 16U Junior Nationals champion and No. 3 seed Hudson Rogers of Idaho, 17-10 at 175 pounds.

There are six wrestlers who are still in the race for a Junior Triple Crown: Cason Craft of Oklahoma (106), Caleb Noble of Illinois (113), Alex Rozas of Louisiana (113), Jaxton Packer of Idaho (126), Geronimo Rivera of Utah (132), and Shilo Jones of Idaho (285).

There were three No. 1 seeds who went down during the session.

At 113 pounds, No. 1 seed Grey Burnett of Ohio was upset by Amir Wray-Hill of Virginia, a 10-0 technical fall. Wray-Hill scored a takedown, then added four gut wrenches to close out the match. Burnett was a 2023 16U Nationals champion. Wray-Hill was a 2024 Virginia Junior state champion in both freestyle and Greco-Roman and was second in the high school state championships for Deep Creek High School.

At 190 pounds, No. 1 seed Aiden Cooley of Texas was pinned by Brody Sampson of Iowa in 1:41. Cooley was 10^th in the 2023 U17 Worlds in Greco-Roman and was a U17 Pan American silver medalist in both styles. Sampson was a 2024 Iowa Junior state freestyle champion and was second at the 2023 Iowa high school state meet.

At 285 pounds, John Pardo of Pennsylvania edged No. 1 seed Jay Henderson of Utah in a 16-14 shootout. Henderson was fourth in the 2023 16U Nationals. Pardo was a 2024 Pennsylvania Junior freestyle state champion.

All of the other No. 1 seeds have reached the round of 16: Michael Rundell of Illinois (100), Jarrett Smith of Michigan (105), Nathan Rioux of Indiana (120), Christian Castillo of Arizona (126), Jax Forrest of Pennsylvania (132), Alex Braun of Minnesota (138), Pierson Manville of Pennsylvania (144), Landon Robideau of Minnesota (150), Vince Bouzakis of Pennsylvania (157), Charlie Millard of Wisconsin (165), Adam Waters of Pennsylvania (175) and Dreshaun Ross of Iowa (215).

2023 16U National champions: Jarrett Smith of Michigan (105), Blue Stiffler of Georgia (138), Melvin Miller of Pennsylvania (157), Kyler Knaack of Iowa (157), Elijah Diakomihalis of New York (190), Dreshaun Ross of Iowa (215) and Jacob Levy of Georgia (285).

16U Freestyle Nationals Session III summary

The four returning 16U National freestyle champions who entered the session remain unbeaten and will compete in the round of 16 in the next session.

Jayden James of New Jersey, last year’s champ at 132 who wrestles now 150, won his round of 32 match by technical fall over Diego Ibarra of Arizona, 10-0. So far, James has two technical falls and a pin.

Aaron Stewart of Illinois scored an 11-0 technical fall over Markus Fletcher of Wisconsin, 11-0, his third straight technical fall of the tournament.

Two other returning 16U Nationals champions wrestled in their Round of 32 matches on Monday night and did not have a bout this session, Shamus Regan of Pennsylvania (113) and Brandon Bickerton of Ohio (113). Bickerton was the 88-pound champion last year.

Although the session was light on major upsets, there were some notable exceptions.

Austin Carfley of Pennsylvania pulled off a big win at 120 pounds, knocking off No. 1 seed Gavin Landers of Iowa, 5-2. Landers, a 2024 Folkstyle Nationals champion, was eliminated from his quest to win the 16U Triple Crown. Carfley was third in the 2024 Pennsylvania 16U freestyle state championships.

One of the 16U Triple Crown eligible wrestlers was beaten in the round of 32, as JT Smith of Nebraska edged 2024 16U Folkstyle Nationals champion Deacon Moran of Missouri, 3-2 at 190 pounds.

2023 14U National freestyle champion Peyton Hornsby of Indiana (138) lost to Wyatt Fry of Pennsylvania, 8-5 at 138 pounds.

Nine wrestlers remain Triple Crown eligible: Wyatt Dannegger of Missouri (88), Mason Carlson of Utah (126), Dawson Youngblut of Iowa (132), Noah Bull of Utah (144), Brody Sendele of Illinois (157), Aaron Stewart of Illinois (165), Michael White of Indiana (175), Noah Mathis of Kansas (215) and Jonathan Rulo of Illinois (285).

The four returning 16U Nationals runners-up are without a loss, Edward George of New Jersey (88), Turner Ross of Minnesota (100), Bruno Cassioppi of Illinois (126) and Alex Taylor of Ohio (215).

16U Triple Crown. The 16U Freestyle is the second leg of the Triple Crown, with the Greco-Roman competition on Friday and Saturday being the third leg.

Nine 2023 14U freestyle national champions have qualified for the round of 16: Lucas Forman of Nevada (88), Corey Brown of Maryland (100), Tommy Wurster of Ohio (106), Zahn Beal of Wisconsin (106), Jovanni Tovar of Florida (113), Weston Borgers of Ohio (120), Joaquin Chacon of Arizona (132), and Eli Knight of West Virginia (190). Wurster and Beal will compete against each other in the next round.

Landers was the only No. 1 seed to be beaten in the round. The rest of the No. 1 seeds have advanced: Hudson Chittum of Tennessee (88), Keegan Bassett of Pennsylvania (94), Chase Karenbauer of Pennsylvania (100), Case Bell of Indiana (106), Jensen Boyd of Indiana (113), Bruno Cassioppi of Illinois (126), Dawson Youngblut of Iowa (132), Austin Ellis of Utah (138), Travis Cardenas of Arizona (144), Cooper Rowe of Minnesota (150), Brody Sendele of Illinois (157), Aaron Stewart of Illinois (165), Isai Fernandez of California (175), David Calkins of California (190), Alex Taylor of Ohio (215) and Andrew Olson of Minnesota (285).

2023 U17 World champion Paul Kenny of New Jersey remains unbeaten at 120 pounds.

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