Triple Crown Hopefuls Schendel, Havens to Battle in Finals; Pennsylvania Leads with Eight 16U Boys Freestyle Finalists

FARGO, North Dakota – The 16U Boys Freestyle Finals are set at the 2026 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals. A pair of USA Wrestling Triple Crown hopefuls will square off in the finals at 285 pounds with Minnesota’s Sawyer Schendel taking on Wisconsin’s Leland Havens.

Schendel pinned his way to the championship against Anthony Smanich of Illinois in their semifinal match. Havens secured his spot in the finals after upending John Montgomery of Pennsylvania, 4-1.

Pennsylvania leads all states with eight finalists, including an all Keystone State battle at 132 pounds between Alex Marchetti and CJ Caines. In total, 14 states are represented in the championship finals which includes, Pennsylvania (8), Iowa (5), California (3), Ohio (3), Wisconsin (3), Indiana (2), Minnesota (2), Washington (2), Arizona (1), Florida (1), Georgia (1), Oklahoma (1), Texas (1) and Virginia (1).

Joining Schendel and Havens as Triple Crown contenders in the finals are Jonathan Thompson of Indiana (94), Jaimon Mogard of Iowa (157) and Harrison Murdock of Georgia (165).

In the semifinals, Thompson kept his bonus run going with his fifth technical fall of the tournament with a 47-second, 10-0 victory against Case Freeman of Iowa. Thompson is also the only returning Fargo finalist in title contention.

Mogard grabbed a spot in the finals after Pennsylvania’s Asher Bacon medically forfeited from the tournament. Murdock teched his way into tonight’s finals following an 11-0 victory over second-seeded Collin Hamm of Wisconsin.

Three Triple Crown contenders entering today bowed out of title contention in the semifinals. Jeremiah Hayes of Illinois lost a 10-5 battle against Vinny Ferrari of Texas at 144 pounds. Virginia’s Reza Massjouni teched Caden Woodall of Arizona, 10-0, at 150 pounds, and unseeded Bryce Collins of Pennsylvania upset top-seeded Dresden Beard in the semifinals at 190 pounds.

Beard was one of four top seeds to drop out of championship contention on Sunday afternoon. Iowa’s Amir Newman-Winfrey dropped a 12-2 contest to Stephen Bagocious of New Jersey in the quarterfinals at 106 pounds. In the semifinals at 138 pounds, fourth-seeded Austin Schield of Washington edged out Maximus Pearch of Illinois, 8-7, and Indiana’s Lincoln Hinchman dropped a 12-2 contest to 13th-seeded Illia Kyrianenko from Florida at 150 pounds.

The 16U Boys division will have all new champions in 2026, with the last defending champion, Leonidas Murrillo of Pennsylvania, suffering a 10-6 defeat to Pennsylvania teammate Nelson Villafane in the 100-pound bracket.

Three championship finals feature returning All-Americans going head-to-head. 2025 runner-up Thompson takes on 2025 fifth-place finisher Jaxon Holtz of Ohio. At 113 pounds, Iowa’s Diego Robertty and Michael Bernabe of California face off in a rematch of last year’s fifth-place match at 106 pounds, which Robertty won 12-1. The 215-pound final showcases Wisconsin’s Kade Splinter, 2025 fifth-place finisher, taking on Pennsylvania’s Mason Chamberlin, 2025 eighth-place finisher.

A complete list of championship matches and semifinal results is available below.

The final session of the 16U and Junior Boys Freestyle divisions begins at 3 p.m. CT with third-, fifth- and seventh-place matches, followed by the Parade of All-Americans and championship finals starting at 5 p.m. CT.

Live stream and archived matches from the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals are available on FloWrestling. Brackets and live results are available 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.