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Greco-Roman

Day 8 preview: Mad dash to the finish in Fargo

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by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling

Andre Rice of Illinois tosses Cameron Shirazi of California in the round-of-32 at 113 pounds.

Andre Rice of Illinois tosses Cameron Shirazi of California in the round-of-32 at 113 pounds.

FARGO, North Dakota – The Greco-Roman competition at the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals will take place over two days as opposed to three for its men’s freestyle counterpart. As a result, there is an extra round of championship-side wrestling on the bone for the final day at the Fargodome.


We have landed in the round-of-16 for the bulk of Greco-Roman weights after an exciting day of headlocks, lateral drops and lifts. As we all know, it’s the toughest of the bunch that stick it out to wrestle the classic style after a week-long grind in Fargo. Several athletes are in the mix for a double title—more on that in a moment.


Before taking a look at some of the day’s notables, let’s take a moment to give thanks to the many volunteer workers, officials, medical staff, media, state leaders, coaches, parents and athletes who all had a hand in making the 54th edition of this event the best yet. Without you, pulling off the largest wrestling tournament in the world would not be possible.


Junior Boys Greco-Roman #

The two lightest weights (100 lbs., 106lbs.) have wrestled up to the quarterfinals. All other weights ended at the round-of-16 on Friday. The Junior Greco-Roman tournament resumes at 9 a.m. (CT) tomorrow and will sprint to the finish.


Kentucky duo in position for double titles #

Kentucky boys Jordyn Raney (144 lbs.) and Lucas Ricketts (190 lbs.) won men’s freestyle titles on Wednesday and went undefeated on the first day of Greco-Roman. Raney went 8-0, 8-0 and 46-second fall in his three matches on the day. Ricketts posted 10-0 and 12-6 wins. Both men need four wins on Saturday to complete the Junior division sweep.


Going back to 2020, only five athletes have achieved the Junior division double title in Fargo—Michael Rundell of Illinois (2024, 100 lbs.), Kannon Webster of Illinois (2023, 145 lbs.), Tate Naaktgeboren of Iowa (2023, 182 lbs.), Mack Mauger of Idaho (2022, 106 lbs.) and Aden Attao of Idaho (2022, 285 lbs.). Mauger and Attao in 2022 are the last time a pair from the same state doubled up in the Junior division in the same year.


World Teamer watch #

Five past U17 World Team members in Greco-Roman took the mats Friday morning in the Junior division—Raney, Hudson Loges of Nebraska (144 lbs.), Colton Weiler of Wisconsin (150 lbs.), Aiden Cooley of Texas (215 lbs.) and Travyn Boger of Utah (285 lbs.). Four-of-five made it to day two unscathed.


Loges surprisingly dropped a 15-12 bout to Benjamin Aguilar of Virginia in his opener. He has been dominant on the backside with three comfortable wins. Keep an eye on his consolation run—10 wins is the mark he will need to reach to finish in third place.


Of this group of five, Raney is the only individual who owns a U17 World medal in Greco-Roman. He was World champion in 2023 and World bronze in 2024.


Top upsets of the day #

Outside of the Loges loss, three other results stand out from day one.


Returning champion Nicolas Enzminger of North Dakota caught the headlock bug and was stuck by Colorado’s Benjamin Gomez in the round-of-32 at 120 pounds. This leaves two 2024 champs alive for a repeat bid— Cason Craft of Oklahoma (113 lbs.) and Brandon Dean of Colorado (150 lbs.).


Three 2024 16U champions moved into the Junior division this go around at the Fargodome—Matthew Orbeta of California (138 lbs.), Austin Collins of Colorado (144) and Chance Ruble of Missouri (150 lbs.). Orbeta was struck by the upset bug in the round-of-32, going down by technical fall, 8-0, to Chance Woods of Illinois. Collins and Ruble are still on the front side entering tomorrow.


No. 1 seed at 120 pounds Kaleb Blackner of Utah was teched by California’s Rene Corder, 11-2, in the round-of-32. He was the lone No. 1 seed to go down on day one.


Team race update #

No team points are officially on the board at this point in the tournament. Points only go to the top eight in each bracket. So, things will start to take shape after the quarterfinal round.


Right now, the name of the game is number of wrestlers still in the mix. Illinois leads all states with 37 wrestlers left in the field. Pennsylvania (29), Minnesota (27), Oklahoma (27) and Iowa (22) round out the top five. No other state is above the 20-wrestler threshold.

16U Boys Greco-Roman #

Three weights (88 lbs., 94 lbs., 100 lbs.) have wrestled up to the quarterfinals. All other weights ended at the round-of-16 on Friday. The 16U Greco-Roman tournament resumes at 9 a.m. (CT) tomorrow alongside the Junior division.


Stop sign hunters #

Idaho’s Ivan Ivanov is the lone 16U Greco-Roman champion from last year entered in the 2025 field. He picked up right where he left off last summer, ending his day 3-0 with three technical falls, outscoring his foes a combined 27-1. He appears to be in a class of his own at 170 pounds after day one.


Attempting the double title at the 16U level is more common than at the Junior level these days. Six athletes are in position to achieve the feat entering the final day of wrestling at the Fargodome—Miro Parr-Coffin of Washington (94 lbs.), Thiago Silva of California (113 lbs.), Tommy Wurster of Ohio (120 lbs.), Colin Rutlin of Missouri (150 lbs.), Satoshi Davis of Nevada (215 lbs.) and Noah Larios of California (285 lbs.).


A couple returning runners-up are also in the championship mix going into day two of Greco-Roman—Tristan Pino of Colorado (106 lbs.) and James Whitbred of Pennsylvania (157 lbs.).


Upset specials #

A trio of upsets stand out from the crowd from Greco-Roman day one. Returning runner-up Montero Royal of South Carolina was ousted, 6-2, by Rowdy Angst of Missouri in the round-of-32 at 113 pounds. Naturally, Angst is a contender for the tournament’s all-name team. Freestyle champions Leo Murillo of Pennsylvania (88 lbs.) and Peyton Hornsby of Indiana (150 lbs.) also dropped to the consolations after surprising early-round exits.

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Youth movement #

Nine of last year’s 14U Greco-Roman national champions moved into the 16U division for a first crack at the Fargo field. Impressively, all nine individuals remain on the championship side of the bracket.


Three incoming 14U champions are in the 144-pound bracket—Shane Ostermiller of Alaska, Kaden Clark of Alabama and Josiah Beltran of Wisconsin—making this weight class one to circle for tomorrow.


Ty Martin of Iowa (88 lbs.), Arav Pandey of Pennsylvania (106 lbs.), Jeremy Carver of Indiana (113 lbs.), Jaxsen Bailey of Connecticut (126 lbs.), Tyde Nelsen of Iowa (175 lbs.) and Kade Splinter of Wisconsin (215 lbs.) complete the list of 14U champs.


Team race update #

Just like the Juniors, it’s all about volume at the moment. Illinois holds a solid lead on the field with 49 wrestlers still in the tournament. Pennsylvania sits in second place with 37. Also surpassing 30 wrestlers left in the field is California with 31. Six other states have cracked the 20-wrestler mark—Iowa (27), Oklahoma (25), Minnesota (23), Wisconsin (21), Ohio (20), Utah (20) and Washington (20).


Day 8 Schedule #

Session 1 #

16U and Junior Boys Greco-Roman

9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Championship (R16, Quarters, Semis) and Consolation (4 rounds)


Session 2 #

16U and Junior Boys Greco-Roman

3 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Consolations and Medal Matches


Session 3 #

16U and Junior Boys Greco-Roman

6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Championship Finals


Follow Along #

Catch all the action from Fargo, N.D., live or on-demand at FloWrestling.com. Tournament brackets and updated results are available through USA Bracketing.


Visit the USA Wrestling Event Hub for more coverage and need-to-know information to follow the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals.