Cressell becomes 10th to win Junior Boys Triple Crown, Ivanov named OW, Illinois claims third-straight Greco-Roman title
Share:
by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
Waylon Cressell of Iowa holds up three fingers signifying his achievement of the 2026 USA Wrestling Triple Crown Award.
FARGO, N.D. – It is the 20th year of the USA Wrestling Triple Crown program in the Junior Boys division. Iowa’s Waylon Cressell added his name to the exclusive list of winners, becoming just the 10th individual, and first since 2022, to win a USA Wrestling folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman national title in the Junior Boys division during the same year.
The Cressell triple stamp came on Wednesday evening at the FARGODOME in the 190-pound Greco-Roman finals. Cressell toughed out a 4-3 decision over returning All-American Victor Marks-Jenkins of Maryland in the championship match. Prior to the finals, neither Cressell nor Marks-Jenkins had surrendered a point in the tournament and pinned or teched all comers—a worthy matchup for the moment.
This is one of the unique Triple Crowns in Junior Boys history. All past winners have come from the edges of the weight class bell curve—either under 112 pounds or at heavyweight. Cressell is the first Triple Crown winner in the upper weights that isn’t a heavyweight. The list of heavyweight Triple Crown winners is impressive—Adam Coon of Michigan (2012, 2013), Anthony Cassioppi of Illinois (2017, 2018) and Aden Attao of Idaho (2022)—a promising sign for Cressell’s upcoming college career with Northern Iowa and in the Olympic styles.
Cressell was one of two freestyle champions to double up in Fargo. Iowa teammate Ty Martin took a 1-1 criteria win over Dakota Harmer of Michigan to capture the 106-pound title. Martin was the 100-pound champion in freestyle earlier in the week. A third Iowa champion was guaranteed at 285 pounds, with Ashton Honnold edging Joe Constable by two points in an all-Iowa final.
No repeats were had in the Junior Greco-Roman division. Illinois’ Wyatt Medlin, the only returning champion to make the finals, was stopped by Alaska’s Jacob Morris at 157 pounds by a single point. It was Medlin’s third-straight Junior Greco-Roman finals appearance, and fifth overall Fargo final. The win bolsters Morris’ already solid Greco-Roman resume. He owns third-place finishes from the 2025 U17 World Team Trials and 2025 Junior Nationals prior to this Fargo run.
The Outstanding Wrestler award for the division went to 175-pound champion Ivan Ivanov of Idaho, who was a 16U Greco-Roman champion the past two years. Ivanov made quick work of Tennessee’s Gary High, 8-0, less than a minute and a half into the championship match. Up next for Ivanov is a trip to the U17 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, representing Team USA at 80 kg.
2025 U17 World bronze medalist Michael Rundell of Illinois put up a 14-4 technical fall over his Illinois teammate Ray Long in the 120-pound finals. He finished his run in Fargo with seven wins by technical fall, shutting out his first six opponents, and outpacing the opposition by a combined 65-4 score.
Joining Ivanov and Rundell with technical falls in the finals were Cruzer Dominguez of Nebraska at 126 pounds, Ned Kauffman of Pennsylvania at 144 pounds and Ladd Holman of Utah at 215 pounds.
Additional champions include Logan Raske of Tennessee at 100 pounds, Cason Craft of Oklahoma at 113 pounds, Jamiel Castleberry of Illinois at 132 pounds, Nicholas Sorrow of Michigan at 138 pounds, Gavin Weichelt of Colorado at 150 pounds and Jared Remington of Texas at 165 pounds.
Taking the top spot in the team standings and earning the Battles Won Award was Illinois, which amassed 249 team points from two champions and 17 All-Americans. Iowa finished in second place with 112 team points. Rounding out the top five teams were Oklahoma, Minnesota and California.
The U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals continues on Thursday with the start of the Junior and 16U women’s freestyle tournaments.
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.
1. Illinois, 249
2. Iowa, 112
3. Oklahoma, 84
4. Minnesota, 80
5. California, 64
6. Maryland, 63
7. Colorado, 61
T8. Ohio, 59
T8. Florida, 50
10. Utah, 56
1st - Logan Raske (Tennessee) dec. Symon Woods (Illinois), 6-4
3rd - Eldon Roth (Wisconsin) tech. fall David Serrano (Florida), 14-6 (3:54)
5th - Jackson Taylor (Kentucky) fall Rocco Valvano (Illinois), 0:31
7th - Jayland Davis (Indiana) tech. fall Logan Wray (Washington), 11-2 (1:35)
1st - Ty Martin (Iowa) dec. Dakota Harmer (Michigan), 1-1
3rd - Aidan Ortega (Illinois) dec. Derik Kiefer (Georgia), 9-7
5th - Stephano Calderon (South Carolina) dec. DeVaughn Miller (Alabama), 5-2
7th - Parker Williams (Florida) tech. fall Grady Swalberg (Utah), 10-2 (2:03)
1st - Cason Craft (Oklahoma) dec. Niko Odiotti (Illinois), 8-2
3rd - Austin Hayes (Maryland) tech. fall Blackburn Savage (Ohio), 8-0 (2:59)
5th - Koa DeLoach (Florida) tech. fall RJ Phelan (Florida), 8-0 (0:44)
7th - Evan Centeno (Utah) tech. fall Rowdy Angst (Missouri), 12-2 (3:40)
1st - Michael Rundell (Illinois) tech. fall Ray Long (Illinois), 14-4 (3:00)
3rd - Brendon Oehme (South Dakota) fall Dustin John Snider (Colorado), 4:12
5th - Kaleb Blackner (Utah) fall Tyler Verceles (Maryland), 3:49
7th - Joel Friederichs (Minnesota) dec. Lazarus McEwen (Washington), 8-6
1st - Cruzer Dominguez (Nebraska) tech. fall Isaiah Jones (Oklahoma), 10-1 (2:33)
3rd - Nicolas Enzminger (North Dakota) tech. fall Titan Friederichs (Minnesota), 9-0 (1:44)
5th - Thiago Silva (California) forfeit Loc Webber (Ohio)
7th - Kai Plinski (West Virginia) tech. fall Jesse Landtroop (Oregon), 8-0 (0:24)
1st - Jamiel Castleberry (Illinois) dec. Tommy Wurster (Ohio), 6-5
3rd - Kaleb Pratt (Illinois) dec. Caleb Schaefer (Indiana), 5-1
5th - Robert Ruscitti (Illinois) tech. fall Jr Ortega (Colorado), 9-0 (2:01)
7th - Aidan McClure (Illinois) fall Chase Kastner (Connecticut), 2:42
1st - Nicholas Sorrow (Michigan) dec. Thomas Banas (Illinois), 4-1
3rd - Gage Bjerga (Minnesota) tech. fall Matthew Orbeta (California), 9-1 (4:05)
5th - Jensen Boyd (Indiana) tech. fall Louden Elliott (New York), 9-1 (3:53)
7th - Blake Nevils (Idaho) tech. fall William Christopher (Wisconsin), 9-0 (5:42)
1st - Ned Kauffman (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Liam Collins (Minnesota), 8-0 (1:39)
3rd - Mason Goelz (Indiana) dec. Tyler Stephens (Maryland), 8-6
5th - Adante Washington (Illinois) dec. Mason DesRochers (Washington), 4-1
7th - Garrison Sartain (Oklahoma) dec. Anthony Severino (New York), 11-8
1st - Gavin Weichelt (Colorado) dec. Legend Ellis (Oklahoma), 6-0
3rd - Austin Collins (Colorado) tech. fall Bennett Kujawa (Minnesota), 13-0 (1:07)
5th - Dimitri Kizer (Oklahoma) fall Hayden Reuter (Alaska), 1:09
7th - Samson McKissick Staley (New York) dec. David Burchett (Colorado), 9-7
1st - Jacob Morris (Alaska) dec. Wyatt Medlin (Illinois), 5-4
3rd - Gregory Torosian (California) tech. fall Daniel Acosta (Texas), 8-0 (4:47)
5th - Dominic Way (West Virginia) dec. Donald Jackson (Kansas), 10-9
7th - Parker Casey (Iowa) fall Micah McCaskill (Texas), 0:34
1st - Jared Remington (Texas) dec. Cael Gilmore (Ohio), 5-3
3rd - Tre Haines (Washington) dec. Thunder Page (Kansas), 3-0
5th - Emerson Tjaden (Kansas) tech. fall Drake Morrison (Idaho), 9-0 (0:45)
7th - Preston Scott (Oklahoma) fall Aiden Arnett (Illinois), 2:58
1st - Ivan Ivanov (Idaho) tech. fall Gary High (Tennessee), 8-0 (1:25)
3rd - Lucas Boe (Florida) dec. Mason Carnrite (California), 6-5
5th - Noah Tucker (Maryland) dec. Grady Weinbrenner (Minnesota), 8-8
7th - Ty'Quavion Smart (Illinois) dec. Jad Urribarri (Florida), 6-4
1st - Waylon Cressell (Iowa) dec. Victor Marks-Jenkins (Maryland), 4-3
3rd - Shepard Stephens (Utah) fall Hugh Meyer (North Dakota), 2:45
5th - Kyle Gallo (Florida) tech. fall Caden Grenier (Minnesota), 9-0 (2:09)
7th - Andy Franke (Iowa) tech. fall Gabriel Cohn (Minnesota), 12-3 (3:55)
1st - Ladd Holman (Utah) tech. fall Jaxon Penovich (Illinois), 8-0 (1:54)
3rd - Gage Ponton (Idaho) dec. Cooper Reves (Kansas), 9-5
5th - Carter Brown (Missouri) dec. Xander Dossett (Georgia), 7-3
7th - Carter Vannest (California) tech. fall Layne O'Neil (Michigan), 17-6 (2:24)
1st - Ashton Honnold (Iowa) dec. Joe Constable (Iowa), 2-0
3rd - Kade West (Washington) dec. Jeremy Marshall (Illinois), 5-0
5th - Matthew Cooley (California) dec. JT Kelso (Iowa), 2-1
7th - Damian Bodiu (Texas) forfeit Noah Larios (California)
Early Upsets Abound In Junior Greco-Roman at 2026 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals
Day 5 Preview: Shifting To Greco-Roman, 10 Seeking Double Fargo Titles
Miller wins third Junior freestyle title, Mills repeats, Woode named OW at 2026 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals
Day 2 Preview: Junior and 16U Boys Freestyle Whittles Down To Quarterfinals
