Age-group stars Miller, Mocco, Sanchez, Kenny among Junior freestyle standouts on day one in Fargo, N.D.

FARGO, N.D. – One of the best weeks in wrestling has officially opened, with the Junior Boys freestyle division taking the 30 mats on Friday morning at the vaunted FARGODOME. Four past U17 World Team members, including three World champions, highlighted session one action at the 2026 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals.

U17 World champions Sammy Sanchez of California (126), Paul Kenny of New Jersey (132) and Michael Mocco of Florida (285) steamrolled to the round-of-32, which is set for Saturday at 9 a.m. (CT). Sanchez and Kenny logged a pair of technical falls, while Mocco notched a 10-0 tech., plus a 58-second pin.

2024 U17 World Team member and returning Junior champion Melvin Miller of Pennsylvania earned a pair of 10-0 wins at 165 pounds. Miller was on the mat for two minutes and 19 seconds on Friday and remains a heavy favorite to run the table.

In addition to Miller, four more returning Junior Boys freestyle champions stayed in the hunt for a Fargo repeat—Nathan Schuman of Pennsylvania and Turner Ross of Oklahoma at 113 pounds, Antonio Mills of Georgia at 132 pounds and Nicholas Singer of Pennsylvania at 190 pounds. All four are projected to pass through Saturday unscathed but will be pushed to regain the top spot on the podium. Notably, Schuman and Ross would meet in the quarterfinals, first thing on Sunday morning.

Read More: Day 1 #Fargo2026 Live Updates & Notebook

The Junior Boys freestyle field saw 1,818 hopefuls whittled down to 478 wrestlers remaining on the championship side, dreams of raising a stop sign still intact. That said, it was a rather chalky day with only five top-eight seeds dropping a match.

No. 2 Lazarus McEwen of Washington took a pair of surprise losses at 120 pounds, finishing his run with a 1-2 record. Taking single front side losses were No. 2 Roman Stewart of Missouri at 150 pounds, No. 4 Ethan Sonne of Illinois at 165 pounds, No. 4 Liam Davis of Florida at 120 pounds, plus No. 6 Gary High of Tennessee at 175 pounds. Last year, Sonne won the 16U tournament, and Davis took fourth in the Junior division.

The number of Junior Boys Triple Crown hopefuls is down to eight with Hendrix Schwab of Iowa (132) and Jake Mescher of Idaho (144) going down early.

Wrestlers on USA Wrestling Triple Crown watch in the Junior Boys division tomorrow include:

• DeVaughn Miller of Alabama (100)
• Cason Craft of Oklahoma (113)
• Isaiah Jones of Oklahoma (126)
• Maxwell Cumbee of Illinois (138)
• Gavin Landers of Iowa (144)
• Mac Crosson of Iowa (157)
• Maximus Dhabolt of Iowa (175)
• Waylon Cressell of Iowa (190)
• Ladd Holman of Utah (215)

Kash Brown of North Dakota (157) leads the division with three pins in 8:10. He is the only wrestler to reach the three-pin mark in the tournament. Rolando Gonzalez of Georgia (190) secured the fastest fall at 16 seconds.

The 100-pound bracket only featured 30 entries and did not compete on Friday.

The U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals continues on Friday at 4 p.m. (CT) with the start of the 16U Boys freestyle tournament.

All matches from the event will be broadcast live on FloWrestling. Brackets and live results will be hosted on USA Bracketing.

Visit the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals Event Hub and USA Wrestling’s social media platforms for complete coverage of the action in Fargo.