Who is eligible for Junior or 16U Triple Crowns heading into the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals?

The USA Wrestling Triple Crown is the top achievement in youth wrestling. A wrestler must win three specific USA Wrestling national championships in the same year to earn this amazing achievement.

As the nation’s best wrestlers are heading towards Fargo, N.D. to compete at the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals, let’s review which boys and girls are still eligible for the Triple Crown at the Junior and 16U levels.

Junior Boys Triple Crown eligible

For Junior boys, the formula for winning the Triple Crown is simple. You must have won the 2025 Junior Folkstyle Nationals in West Des Moines, Iowa in March, and then must win both the Junior men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman divisions at the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals next week.

This means that all 15 of the 2025 Junior Folkstyle National champions are eligible for the Triple Crown.

2025 Junior Folkstyle Nationals champions

100 - Tyler Sweet (Red Wave Wrestling/CA)

106 - Aiden Sweat (Kalispell Wrestling Club/MT)

113 - Caleb Noble (Toss Em Up Wrestling Academy/IL)

120 - Roman Luttrell (Cleveland High School Wrestling/NM)

126 - Lander Bosh (Sanderson Wrestling Academy/UT)

132 - Jace Hedeman (Immortal Athletics WC/IA)

138 - Dean Anderson (Valiant Wrestling Club/AZ)

144 - Jayce Paridon (Spartan RTC@LHP/FL)

150 - Sergio Vega (Cyclones Wrestling & Fitness/AZ)

157 - Austin Paris (Devils Wrestling/UT)

165 - Claudio Torres (Spartan RTC@LHP/FL)

175 - Xavier Smith (Fishers Wrestling Club/IN)

190 - Cooper Reves (Abilene Kids Wrestling Club/KS)

215 - Leimana Fager (Sanderson Wrestling Academy/UT)

285 - Jonathan Rulo (Black Ops WC/IL)

Of this group, seven of the Junior Folkstyle Nationals champions are not pre-registered to compete at the U.S. Marines Corps Junior Nationals this year: Sweet, Noble, Hedeman, Vega, Torres, Smith and Rulo. It is interesting because Rulo was a 16U Triple Crown winner last year, but is not registered as a Junior in Fargo this year. Noble has earned a spot on the 2025 U20 Greco-Roman World Team, which may be a reason for not going to Junior Nationals. He is currently competing in the U20 Pan American Championships in Peru.

All of the remaining Triple Crown eligible wrestlers who are pre-registered will compete in the same weight where they won their 2025 Folkstyle Nationals title, except for Austin Paris of Utah. Paris won his Folkstyle Nationals title at 157 pounds but is registered for 150 pounds at the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals.

Winning a Junior Triple Crown is rare indeed. Last year, there were no Junior Triple Crown winners. Only nine Junior boys have won the Triple Crown since it was launched in 2007. Only two boys have won two Junior Triple Crowns, Adam Coon of Michigan (2012-2013) and Tony Cassioppi of Illinois (2017-2018).

Junior Girls Triple Crown eligible

For Junior girls, there are four events involved in the Triple Crown. To win, a Junior girl must meet these requirements:   

• USA Wrestling Girls Junior Folkstyle Nationals title (in West Des Moines)

• USA Wrestling Junior Freestyle Nationals title (in Fargo)

• Either the National High School Recruiting Showcase title (in Las Vegas) or USA Wrestling Women’s Nationals title at either the U15, U17 or U20 levels (in Spokane).

Upon review of the results, there are three Junior girls who are still eligible for the Triple Crown:

110 - Morgan Turner (All I See Is Gold Academy/IL)

190 - Brooke Huffman (Team Nazar Training Center/WI)

207 - Tilisa Matakaiongo (Canyon View Falcons/UT)

Morgan Turner is not pre-registered for Junior Nationals. She earned a spot on the U17 World Team again this year, which along with her Junior Folkstyle title makes her Triple Crown eligible. Turner has won two previous U17 World medals, a gold and a bronze.

Huffman and Matakaiongo won both the Junior Folkstyle Nationals and the National Girls High School Recruiting Showcase. Matakaiongo won the Folkstyle Nationals at 207 pounds, and the Recruiting Showcase at 235 pounds, and is registered for 207 pounds.  Huffman was a 16U Nationals champion last year.

The Triple Crown for girls on the Junior level has been in existence for three previous seasons, and only one wrestler has won a Junior Girls Triple Crown, Valerie Hamilton of Illinois in 2024 at 145 pounds.

16U Boys Triple Crown eligible

For 16U boys, winning the Triple Crown is the same system as for Junior boys. You must have won the 2025 16U Folkstyle Nationals in West Des Moines, Iowa in March, and then must win both the 16U men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman divisions at the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals next week.

This means that all 17 of the 16U champions from the 2025 Folkstyle Nationals are eligible for the Triple Crown. Even better, all 17 of these folkstyle national champions are registered for the 16U division at the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals.

2025 16U Folkstyle Nationals champions

88 - Max Lindquist (Collum Trained School of Wrestling/MO)

94 - Gabriel Ryzyi (Fenton Youth Wrestling/MI)

100 - Wyatt Dannegger (Collum Trained School of Wrestling/MO)

106 - Coy Mehlert (Immortal Athletics WC/IA)

113 - Lewis Davis (Threestyle Wrestling Of Oklahoma/AR)

120 - Deklan Barr (Young Guns Wrestling Club/PA)

126 - Blake Nevils (Team Idaho Wrestling Club/ID)

132 - Carson Neubert (Team Nazar Training Center/WI)

138 - Riker Ohearon (Champions Wrestling Club/UT)

144 - Braden Shoemaker (South Dakota)

150 - Thunder Page (South Central Punisher Wrestling/KS)

157 - Carter Barrio (Valiant Wrestling Club/AZ)

165 - William Fullhart (Northeast Iowa Wrestling Club/IA)

175 - Maximus Purdy (Assumption Elite WC/IL)

190 - Bruno Pallone (Montana)

215 - Ceasar Salas (Bulldog Premier Wrestling Club/IN)

285 - Andrew Olson (Pinnacle Wrestling Club/MN)

What will make this interesting is that a number of these athletes have moved up in weight since the 16U Folkstyle Nationals. Ryzyi moves from 94 pounds to 100 pounds. Mehlert moves from 106 pounds to 113 pounds. Barr moves from 120 pounds to 126 pounds. Nevils moves from 126 pounds to 132 pounds. Neubert moves from 132 pounds to 138 pounds. Shoemaker moves from 144 pounds to 150 pounds. Pallone moves from 190 pounds to 215 pounds.

With all of this shuffling, there will be five weight classes where two 2025 16U Folkstyle Nationals champions are entered and may compete against each other. Ryzyi and Dannegger are at 100 pounds. Mehlert and Davis are at 113 pounds. Neubert and Ohearon are at 138 pounds. Shoemaker and Page are at 150 pounds. Pallone and Salas are at 215 pounds.

The 16U boys Triple Crown was launched in 2003 and 29 different boys have won the award. There is only one two-time 16U Triple Crown winner, Taylor Massa of Michigan (2008-2009). Last year, there were two 16U Triple Crown winners, Aaron Stewart (165) and Jonathan Rulo (285), both from Illinois.

16U Girls Triple Crown eligible

The 16U girls have the same Triple Crown event structure as the Junior girls, with four events, including two required tournaments. To win a Triple Crown, a 16U girl must meet these standards:

• USA Wrestling Girls 16U Folkstyle Nationals title (in West Des Moines)

• USA Wrestling 16U Freestyle Nationals title (in Fargo)

• Either the National High School Recruiting Showcase title (in Las Vegas) or USA Wrestling Women’s Nationals title at either the U15, U17 or U20 levels (in Spokane).

Upon review of the results so far this year, there are three wrestlers still eligible for the Triple Crown among 16U girls:

110 - Lyric Hetzer (Toss Em Up Wrestling Academy/OH)

145 - Eve Skrocki (Big Game Wrestling Club/IA)

155 - Janiya Johnson (Tennessee)

Hetzer, Skrocki and Johnson are all pre-registered for the 16U division at the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals, and all three are at the same weight class where they won their 16U Folkstyle Nationals title in Iowa.

Hetzer remains alive for the Triple Crown after winning 16U Folkstyle Nationals and the U15 World Team Trials this year. Both Skrocki and Johnson are 2025 16U Folkstyle Nationals champions, then adding 2025 Girls National High School Recruiting Showcase titles.

In the first three seasons of the 16U Girls Triple Crown, there was only one athlete who met the standards to receive this award, Kaili Manuel of Michigan (148) in 2014.

How many new Triple Crown winners will emerge from Fargo this year? It could be a record year for Triple Crowns, but with all six tournaments at the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals much larger in size, winning national titles will be even more difficult. Follow all of the action on FloWrestling.

USA Wrestling Triple Crown history