Returning champs Valdez, Crull, Whiting reach Junior Girls quarterfinals at U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals

FARGO, N.D. - It was a wide-open first session of action for Junior Girls at the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals on Saturday morning, as 1,217 athletes competed on all 30 mats inside the Fargodome.

The tournament powered through the round of 16 on the championship side, and also went deep into the consolation brackets. Basically, there are only 16 athletes left in each of the 16 weight classes. That means 256 wrestlers advance to Sunday out of a field of 1,217 entries.

All three returning champions advance to the quarterfinals

All three of the returning champions in the Junior division have advanced to the quarterfinals on Sunday,

Katey Valdez of Colorado (100), Heather Crull of Indiana (105) and Taylor Whiting of Wisconsin (115).

Valdez had three victories in the session, scoring pin and two technical falls. In the round of 16, she defeated Justine Perez of Ohio, 10-0. Valdez battle Ella Thomas of Ohio in the quarterfinals.

Crull pinned all four of her opponents on Saturday, with no match going into the second period. She pinned Violet Diaz of Iowa in the round of 16 in 2:13. Crull has drawn Iowa’s Katie Biscoglia in her quarterfinal match.

Whiting scored three technical falls in her session, outscoring her opponents 33-1 along the way. She stopped Isabel Kaplan 10-0 in the round of 16. She will battle Jessa Joiner of Missouri in the quarterfinals.

Huffman and Matakaiongo remain Triple Crown eligible

Coming into the competition, two Junior girl athletes were eligible for the coveted USA Wrestling Triple Crown, Brooke Huffman of Wisconsin (190) and Tilisa Matakaiongo of Utah (235). The Triple Crown is given to athletes who win three specific national titles during the same season. Both Huffman and Matakaiongo reached the quarterfinals and remain eligible for the Triple Crown.

Huffman pinned all three of her opponents on Saturday, including a fall over Rylee Ferranti of Texas in 1:47 in the round of 16. Huffman has drawn Mahalia Adams of Virginia in the quarterfinals, who she defeated at the 2025 National High School Recruiting quarterfinals by pin in 33 seconds.

Matakaiongo also pinned all three of her opponents, including a fall in 48 seconds over Katrina Adhikari of Maryland in the round of 16. Matakaiongo will battle Ariana Chavez of Texas in the quarterfinals. Chavez beat Matakaiongo in the 2024 Junior Nationals consolations, 6-6, while Matakaiongo has a win over Chavez by pin at the 2024 Junior National Duals.

Taina Fernandez double-up watch: Three bonus point wins in Session One

This year, 2024 U17 World champion Taina Fernandez of Maryland is the only girl who is entered in both the Junior and 16U Nationals at the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals. Today, the Junior and 16U divisions are being held in separate sessions, which means Fernandez does not have to wrestle both tournaments at the same time (that challenge will come on Sunday).

In the Junior tournament this session, Fernandez won three matches, with two technical falls and a pin. She opened with a 42 second pin over Eliana White of Idaho, then scored a pair of 10-0 technical falls over Kelsey King of Ohio and Nia Hagler of Utah. Fernandez will battle Kate Doughty of Colorado in the quarterfinals in the morning.  Fernandez will stick around for the 16U session which begins at 3:30 p.m. CT.

Four athletes who were among the top two seeds did not advance to the quarterfinals

The Junior Nationals is separated through the PIN rating system, which has an excellent record of predicting which athletes will earn All-American status. The PINs basically determine the seeds for the tournament. In Junior freestyle, four wrestlers who were seeded in the top two did not reach the quarterfinals

• At 155 pounds, Elle Higgenbotham of Missouri edged No. 1 seed Belicia Manuel of Michigan in a 3-3 criteria decision in the round of 16.
• At 135 pounds, Lauren Zaragoza of California defeated No. 2 seed Isabella Cepak of Michigan by injury default in 4:07 in the round of 16

• At 145 pounds, Arianna Antoniou of Florida defeated No. 2 seed Makaylee Cannon of Oklahoma, 11-2. Antoniou was beaten in the next round by Maia Dolnar of Kansas by pin. Cannon won three matches in the consolation rounds, then was eliminated by Dakota Hull of Colorado. Antoniou lost her first consolation match and was also eliminated.
• At 170 pounds, Riley Lancaster of Florida defeated No. 2 seed Brynn Shepardson of New York by pin in 2:25 in the round of 16.

All 13 Pound-For-Pound wrestlers advance into the Junior quarterfinals

Fernandez is one of 13 wrestlers who were included in the July 2025 Girls National High School Pound-For-Pound Rankings who are entered in the Junior division. Of this group of top stars, all 13 have advanced to Sunday’s quarterfinals.

The Pound-4-Pound ranked wrestlers in the quarterfinals are No. 2 Taina Fernandez of Maryland (135), No. 4. Jaclyn Bouzakis of Pennsylvania (100), No. 5 Heather Crull of Pennsylvania (105), No. 10 Violette Lasure of Pennsylvania (145), No. 12 Emma Bacon of Pennsylvania (125), No. 15 Jael Miller of Pennsylvania (170), No. 16 Katey Valdez of Colorado (100), No. 17 Tilisa Matakaiongo of Utah (237), No. 19 Cassandra Gonzales of Minnesota (155), No. 20 Riley Hanrahan of Wisconsin (140), No. 22 Taylor Whiting of Wisconsin (115), No. 23 Harlee Hiller of Illinois (115) and No. 25 Josephine Larson of Illinois (190).

Eight 2024 16U National champions reach quarterfinals

Each year, numerous athletes who were successful at the 16U level move up to the Junior Nationals for the first time. This year, nine 2024 16U national champions entered the Junior Nationals, and eight of them are now quarterfinalists. They are Jaclyn Bouzakis of Pennsylvania (100), Julia Horger of Pennsylvania (105), Charlie Wylie of New Jersey (110), Me’Kala James of California (125), Taina McGowan of New Jersey (130), Violette Lasure of Pennsylvania (145), Brooke Huffman of Wisconsin (190) and Brenda Banks of Pennsylvania (235).

Team race – California has the most girls “staying alive”

This year, the first day of girls action at the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals went through the round of 16, setting up the quarterfinals on Sunday morning. But that means that at this time, no team has scored a team point. So how do we know what teams are looking strong? It is all about “staying alive.”

Below are the top 10 states based upon wrestlers who are still in the tournament, either on the championship side or the consolation side:

1. California, 26

2. Missouri, 17

3. Pennsylvania, 15

4. Wisconsin, 14

5. Michigan, 13

6. (tie) Iowa and Illinois, 12

8. (tie) Texas and Ohio, 11

10. Florida, 9

14 girls who are not nationally ranked reach the Junior quarterfinals

The Junior division for girls is fully stocked with girls who appear in the National Girls High School rankings. The ranking committee selects 30 athletes in each weight class in its ranking, with the most recent ranking announced on Thursday.

The U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals continues to be an event where athletes make a name for themselves. There are 14 girls who have reached the quarterfinals who were not in the most recent national ranking. A win in the Sunday quarterfinals will guarantee them All-American status. (Please note that many of them have been previously ranked but did not appear in the most recent ranking).

The unranked quarterfinalists are: Ella Thomas of Ohio (100), Jaelle Cortez of California (100), Angelina Gochis of Illinois (115), Samiyah Rahming of Pennsylvania (115), Gabrielle Severin of New York (120), Jaelyn Skelley of Texas (130), Jada Lawrence of South Carolina (145), Jestinah Solomua of California (155), Ellie Higginbotham of Missouri (155), Riley Lancaster of Florida (170), Riley Alborn of Ohio (190), Kanata Richardson of Michigan (190), Taylor Orner of Pennsylvania (207) and Maliana Heimuli of Texas (235).

Junior action begins again on Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m.

The Junior wrestlers are finished for Saturday. Session II today will feature 16U girls. The Juniors return on Sunday morning for Session III, alongside the remaining 16U athletes, at 9:00 a.m. The competition will conclude on Sunday, with the championship finals starting at 2:30 p.m. All of the action is live on FloWrestling.

2025 U.S. MARINE CORPS JUNIOR NATIONALS

At Fargo, N.D., July 12, 2025

Junior Girls Quarterfinals pairing

95

Francesca Gusfa (NJ) vs. Serah Yogi (HI)

Natalie Radecki (DE) vs. Alexa Rodriguez Lopez (TX)

Lilly Breeden (MO) vs. Lillee Denson (MI)

Olivia Polansky (MA) vs. Zoey Haney (MO)

100

Jaclyn Bouzakis (PA) vs. Jaelle Cortez (CA)

Killian Evans (MO) vs. Lola Gonzales (CO)

Sandy Breeden (MO) vs. Jaidyn Alvarado (KS)

Ella Thomas (OH) vs. Katey Valdez (CO)

105

Heather Crull (IN) vs. Katie Biscoglia (IA)

Ava Fodera (CA) vs. Madison Nieuwenhuis (MI)

Sarissa Tucker (VA) vs. Libertie Nigh (OH)

Kyrstan Perez (OK) vs. Julia Horger (PA)

110

Charlie Wylie (NJ) vs. Addie Morse (OK)

Reanah Utterback (IA) vs. Jayden Keller (MO)

Nakayla Dawson (MI) vs. Kendall Moe (IN)

Adalyne Montiel (WA) vs. Kayla Batres (CT)

115

Harlee Hiller (IL) vs. Angelina Gochis (IL)

Jessa Joiner (MO) vs. Taylor Whiting (WI)

Samiyah Rahming (PA) vs. Joely Slyter (ID)

Libby Roberts (WA) vs. Mackenzie Carder (OH)

120

Savannah Witt (PA) vs. Gabrielle Severin (NY)

Calli Gilchrist (CT) vs. Morgan Maschmann (NE)

Cheyenne Frank (MI) vs. Angelina Borelli (CA)

Stevie Joyce Martin (CA) vs. Caley Graber (MN)

125

Emma Bacon (PA) vs. Shayna Ward (CA)

Regina Stoeser (SD) vs. Me'kala James (CA)

Cecilia Williams (MI) vs. Martynique Davis (AZ)

Mika Yoffee (NV) vs. Madilyn Peach (WI)

130

Kailin Sebert (TX) vs. Corynne McNulty (MA)

Taina McGowan (NJ) vs. Emma Chacon (AZ)

Jaelyn Skelley (TX) vs. Zorina Johnson (OR)

Abigail Mozden (OH) vs. Brooklyn Perez (AZ)

135

Taina Fernandez (MD) vs. Kate Doughty (CO)

Sophia Slaughter (VA) vs. Morgan Lucio (AZ)

Maddie Marsh (IN) vs. Lilliana Banks (WI)

Mariana Bowen (TN) vs. Lauren Zaragoza (CA)

140

Alexis Lazar (MI) vs. Vivienne Gitke (CO)

Jordyn Parker (TX) vs. Ailee Briggs (FL)

Louise Juitt (MO) vs. Nora Akpan (MN)

Dulcy Martinez (CA) vs. Riley Hanrahan (WI)

145

Violette Lasure (PA) vs. Greta Brus (IA)

Elise Twait (ID) vs. Maggie Ortmann (MO)

Timberly Martinez (CO) vs. Faith Bane (NC)

Olivia Davis (CA) vs. Jada Lawrence (SC)

155

Ellie Higginbotham (MO) vs. Olivia Georges (NJ)

Cassandra Gonzales (MN) vs. Margaret Buurma (MI)

Amelia Fawcett (AK) vs. Eloise Woolsey (NM)

Jestinah Solomua (CA) vs. Sarah Henckel (CT)

170

Jael Miller (PA) vs. Sally Johnson (TN)

Maddie Hayden (MI) vs. Kendall Bibla (FL)

Makayla Vasser (NE) vs. Chaniah Bernier (MD)

Autumn Elsbury (IA) vs. Riley Lancaster (FL)

190

Brooke Huffman (WI) vs. Mahalia Adams (VA)

Riley Alborn (OH) vs. Libby Dix (IA)

Kanata Richardson (MI) vs. Evelyn Vargas (CA)

Josephine Larson (IL) vs. Selena Mares-Castro (WA)

207

Amie Hartman (ID) vs. Phoenix Molina (IL)

Tirza Twoteeth (MT) vs. Sophiea Quinn (MO)

Taylor Orner (PA) vs. Maddie Miller (OH)

Mia Cienega (WA) vs. Keilikki Nau Rarick (UT)

235

Brenda Banks (PA) vs. Kitana Leafaatoto (NV)

Deionna Borders (OH) vs. Alexis Stinson (MO)

Tilisa Matakaiongo (UT) vs. Ariana Chavez (TX)

Maliana Heimuli (TX) vs. Chloe Hoselton (IL)