Day 4 preview: Junior and 16U boys freestyle divisions to set quarterfinal pairings

The process of whittling down the massive boys freestyle brackets in the 16U and Junior divisions for the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals will continue on Wednesday.

For the second straight day, the Junior division will be held in the morning (8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.) and the 16U division will be held in the afternoon (3:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.). If things go to plan, both tournaments will advance through the round of 16, determining the quarterfinalists in each weight class.

With only three rounds of action on Monday, it is still a little early on Monday night to project what big-time showdowns will be on tap for Tuesday. For sure, by the end of Tuesday, wrestling fans will have a ton of highly competitive matches to look forward to in the quarterfinals on Wednesday morning. So what does a wrestling fan look for on Tuesday? Here are some thoughts…

Watch out for the four Age-Group World medalists in the freestyle field

Michael Mocco of Florida, Junior Freestyle 285 pounds

• 2024 U17 World freestyle champion

Mocco, the No. 2 seed, pinned his only opponent on Monday. He opens Tuesday against Isaiah Taylor of Pennsylvania. Mocco’s quarterbracket includes Jacob Levy of Georgia, who was a 2023 16U Nationals champion.

Bo Bassett of Pennsylvania, Junior Freestyle 144 pounds

• 2024 U20 freestyle bronze medal
• 2021 U17 World freestyle champion

Bassett, the No. 1 seed, scored a pair of technical falls on Monday. He will face Elijah Blewitt of Iowa in his first match on Tuesday.

Jordyn Raney of Kentucky, Junior Freestyle 138 pounds

• 2024 U17 World Greco-Roman bronze
• 2023 U17 World Greco-Roman champion

Raney opened with three straight technical fall victories on Monday. His first opponent on Tuesday is Garrett VerHeecke of Illinois.

Paul Kenny of New Jersey, Junior Freestyle 122 pounds

• 2023 U17 World champion

Kenny, the No. 1 seed, opened with a tight 4-2 victory over Isaac Novod of Massachusetts. He got rolling with a technical fall in his second match. His first opponent on Tuesday is Carson Dupill of South Dakota

Triple Crown quest cranks up big time

Winning a 16U Triple Crown is difficult. Winning a Junior Triple Crown is almost impossible. As the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals gets bigger and deeper, it takes a special athlete to win three USA Wrestling national titles in your age group in the same year. Five Juniors and 13 16U wrestlers are still in Triple Crown contention. Day two could be a very tough day for those Triple Crown candidates.

Still eligible for the Junior Triple Crown

Lander Bosh of Utah (126)

Dean Anderson of Arizona (138)

Austin Paris of Utah (150)

Cooper Reves of Kansas (190)

Leimana Fager of Utah (215)

Still eligible for the 16U Triple Crown

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

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

106 - Coy Mehlert (Immortal Athletics WC/IA) – now at 113

126 - Blake Nevils (Team Idaho Wrestling Club/ID) – now at 132

132 - Carson Neubert (Team Nazar Training Center/WI) – now at 138

138 - Riker Ohearon (Champions Wrestling Club/UT)

144 - Braden Shoemaker (South Dakota) – now at 150

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

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

175 - Maximus Purdy (Assumption Elite WC/IL)

190 - Bruno Pallone (Montana) – now at 215

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

285 - Andrew Olson (Pinnacle Wrestling Club/MN)

Team race will come more into focus on Tuesday, as athletes advance on the winner’s side

With three rounds in the books, it will take a few more rounds on Tuesday morning for the top teams in the men’s freestyle tournament to create some separation in the team standings. Using the team scoring procedures for the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals, an athlete must place in the top eight to secure points for the team. There will not be any team points posted on USA Bracketing until after the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

The best way to get a sense for team strength today was to count the number of athletes on the championship side of the bracket, often called the winner’s side. Here are the top ten teams, in terms of athletes on the winner’s side, after day one of boys freestyle.

Boys Junior freestyle – athletes on championship side

1. Pennsylvania 47

2. Illinois 36

3. California 32

4. Iowa 32

5. Indiana 28

6. Wisconsin 23

7. Minnesota 22

8. Ohio 22

9. Oklahoma 19

10. Florida 18

Boys 16U freestyle – athletes on championship side

1. Pennsylvania   58

2. Illinois             47

3. Ohio  34

4. California        33

5. Iowa  33

6. Indiana             27

7. Wisconsin        26

8. Minnesota        19

8. New York         19

10. Oklahoma      17

All of the action is broadcast live on FloWrestling.

All of the brackets are posted on USABracketing

Tuesday, July 14th

8:00 AM to 1:30 PM - Session VII

Junior Boys Freestyle - Championship (2 Rd) and Consolations (4 Rds)

3:00 PM to 8:00 PM – Session VIII

16U Boys Freestyle - Championship (2 Rds) and Consolation (4 Rds)