Three Eye Repeats, Finals Set In Junior Boys Freestyle At 2026 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals
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by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
Nicholas Singer of Pennsylvania works for a takedown in the 190-pound semifinals of the 2026 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D.
FARGO, N.D. – The first batch of championship finals is set at the 2026 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals, with Antonio Mills of Georgia (132), Melvin Miller of Pennsylvania (165) and Nicholas Singer of Pennsylvania (190) in position to repeat.
Mills took out a pair of 2025 16U freestyle national champions on Sunday morning to make the finals. He opened the day with a 12-8 win over Miklo Hernandez of Minnesota in the quarterfinals and backed it up with a 9-2 win over Tommy Wurster of Ohio in the semifinals.
It’ll be a primetime matchup in the 132-pound finals between Mills and 2023 U17 World champion Paul Kenny of New Jersey, who has been near unstoppable to this point with five technical falls in six bouts
It was a tight 4-3 decision for Miller over Minnesota's Grayson Eggum in the quarterfinals, without question his closest call of the tournament. In the semifinals, it was all Miller, who tuned up U17 Pan American silver medalist Aiden Arnett of Illinois, 10-0. Miller, a 2024 U17 World Team member, will see four-time 16U Nationals All-American Rocco Cassioppi of Illinois in the championship match.
At 190 pounds, Singer earned a 12-1 technical fall over California’s Mason Ontiveros, in a rematch of last year’s finals. He will look to earn the repeat against 2025 third-place finisher Waylon Cressell of Indiana, who is one of two wrestlers remaining in the Junior Boys Triple Crown hunt. Singer defeated Cressell 10-0 in last year’s semifinals.
Hanging with Cressell in the Triple Crown race is Mac Crosson of Iowa at 157 pounds. Crosson defeated top seed Lincoln Robideau of Minnesota 8-3 in the semifinals to book a spot against Florida’s Charlie DeSena tonight.
Returning champion Turner Ross of Oklahoma was taken out by Analu Woode of Hawaii 12-2 in the 113-pound quarterfinals. Woode, a 16U freestyle All-American in 2024, went on to outlast Triple Crown contender Cason Craft of Oklahoma in a wild 19-15 semifinal, setting up a finals showdown with 2025 U17 Pan American champion Thales Silva of California.
Also moving to the finals were U17 World champions Sammy Sanchez of California and Michael Mocco of Florida. Sanchez will face three-time 16U Nationals champion Hayden Schwab of Iowa at 126 pounds, while Mocco is up against Wisconsin high school state champion Tyson Martin at 285 pounds.
A complete list of finals pairings and semifinal results can be found below.
The U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals continues on Sunday at 3 p.m. (CT) with the Junior and 16U Boys freestyle placement matches, followed by the finals at 5 p.m. (CT).
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.
100 pounds – Ty Martin (Iowa) vs. Symon Woods (Illinois)
106 pounds – Luke Loren (California) vs. Cache Williams (Oklahoma)
113 pounds – Analu Woode (Hawaii) vs. Thales Silva (California)
120 pounds – Michael Batista (New Jersey) vs. Brayden Wenrich (Pennsylvania)
126 pounds – Samuel Sanchez (California) vs. Hayden Schwab (Iowa)
132 pounds – Paul Kenny (New Jersey) vs. Antonio Mills (Georgia)
138 pounds – Dawson Youngblut (Iowa) vs. Tyler Dekraker (Florida)
144 pounds – Jesse Grajeda (California) vs. Braylon Reynolds (Indiana)
150 pounds – Jason Dube (Pennsylvania) vs. Davis Parrow (Minnesota)
157 pounds – Mac Crosson (Iowa) vs. Charlie DeSena (Florida)
165 pounds – Melvin Miller (Pennsylvania) vs. Rocco Cassioppi (Illinois)
175 pounds – Zack Aquila (Ohio) vs. Mario Carini (California)
190 pounds – Nicholas Singer (Pennsylvania) vs. Waylon Cressell (Iowa)
215 pounds – Sam Howard (Indiana) vs. Daniel Moylan (California)
285 pounds – Michael Mocco (Florida) vs. Tyson Martin (Wisconsin)
Ty Martin (Iowa) tech. fall David Serrano (Florida), 10-0 (2:51)
Symon Woods (Illinois) tech. fall Ryker Leonard (Ohio), 10-0 (0:37)
Luke Loren (California) tech. fall Frank Fuentes (California), 10-0 (4:05)
Cache Williams (Oklahoma) dec. Aidan Ortega (Illinois), 10-3
Thales Silva (California) fall Camden Rugg (Wisconsin), 3:34
Analu Woode (Hawaii) dec. Cason Craft (Oklahoma), 19-15
Michael Batista (New Jersey) dec. Loc Webber (Ohio), 13-9
Brayden Wenrich (Pennsylvania) dec. Brand'n Edstrom (Idaho), 12-5
Samuel Sanchez (California) tech. fall Matthew Mulligan (New Jersey), 10-0 (1:31)
Hayden Schwab (Iowa) dec. Mateo Gallegos (Pennsylvania), 4-4
Antonio Mills (Georgia) dec. Tommy Wurster (Ohio), 9-2
Paul Kenny (New Jersey) tech. fall Blaze Van Gundy (Ohio), 13-2 (3:55)
Dawson Youngblut (Iowa) dec. Tanner Guenot (Pennsylvania), 9-2
Tyler Dekraker (Florida) dec. Gage Bjerga (Minnesota), 7-1
Jesse Grajeda (California) tech. fall Michael Lopez (Colorado), 10-0 (3:25)
Braylon Reynolds (Indiana) tech. fall Cody Trevino (Iowa), 11-0 (4:35)
Charlie DeSena (Florida) tech. fall Jet Brown (Missouri), 10-0 (5:20)
Mac Crosson (Iowa) dec. Lincoln Robideau (Minnesota), 8-3
Charlie DeSena (Florida) tech. fall Jet Brown (Missouri), 10-0 (5:20)
Mac Crosson (Iowa) dec. Lincoln Robideau (Minnesota), 8-3
Melvin Miller (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Aiden Arnett (Illinois), 10-0 (1:04)
Rocco Cassioppi (Illinois) dec. Declan Koch (Wisconsin), 9-2
Mario Carini (California) dec. Lucas Boe (Florida), 3-2
Zack Aquila (Ohio) dec. Bruno Cassioppi (Illinois), 7-4
Nicholas Singer (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Mason Ontiveros (California), 12-1 (3:27)
Waylon Cressell (Iowa) tech. fall Kyle Gallo (Florida), 13-1 (3:16)
Sam Howard (Indiana) dec. Decker Bechtold (Pennsylvania), 3-2
Daniel Moylan (California) dec. William Ward (North Dakota), 9-2
Michael Mocco (Florida) tech. fall Kal-El Fluckiger (Arizona), 11-1 (4:13)
Tyson Martin (Wisconsin) tech. fall Cael Leisgang (Wisconsin), 10-0 (4:37)
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