Colorado Pulls Upset; Top Seeds Illinois, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma Blue Win Preliminary Pools at 2026 Junior National Duals
by David Gerhart, USA Wrestling
Colorado's JR Ortega hand raise after victory at the 2026 Junior National Duals at the Baird Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin – Seeded third in Pool B, Colorado scored a pair of upsets to punch its ticket into the Gold/Silver Bracket as pool winners during the opening day of the 2026 USA Wrestling Junior National Duals at the Baird Center. Joining Colorado as pool winners on Wednesday evening were top seeds Illinois, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma Blue.
After beating in Louisiana in the quarterfinals, 68-3, Colorado scored its first upset of the day against the No. 2 seed in Pool B, Michigan Blue, 41-24. In the first-place match for the pool title, Colorado scored nine bonus victories to upend Utah, which was the top seed in the pool and seeded second overall. Urijah Duran highlighted the dual for Colorado with a pin at 120 pounds.
Top overall seed Illinois raced through Pool A, which was capped off with a 50-17 victory over Minnesota Blue in the first-place match. Illinois won 12 of the 15 bouts, including the final eight, that were all bonus wins. Vince Jasinski and Kaleb Pratt headlined the wins with pins.
In Pool C, Pennsylvania powered its way to first place, scoring at least 45 points in each of its three matches. Pennsylvania flipped a 17-16 deficit in the first-place battle against Ohio Scarlet into a 45-20 victory. A pin from Kendahl Hoare started Pennsylvania’s run of seven-straight victories to close out the match.
Oklahoma Blue claimed the last pool title and a spot in the Gold/Silver Bracket after upending Washington in a 35-25 affair in Pool D. Oklahoma Blue put the match away late with four wins over the last five contests. Sawyer Hackbarth’s pin in the second match of the dual set the tone for Oklahoma Blue’s six bonus wins.
Minnesota Blue, Utah and Washington all rebounded to win true second duals and move into the Gold/Silver Bracket with each pool winner. Ohio Scarlet finished second in Pool C after beating third-place Oregon in the quarterfinals.
The Gold/Silver Bracket features Illinois, Oklahoma Blue, Ohio Scarlet and Utah in Pool A, and Colorado, Pennsylvania, Washington and Minnesota Blue in Pool B. One of the eight teams in the bracket will claim the national duals title on Thursday.
Action at the Junior National Duals continues Thursday at 9 a.m. CT with the remaining Greco-Roman color pool duals and placement matches. A complete schedule of events for this weekend’s tournament is available at usawrestlingevents.com.
Live stream and archived matches are available on FloWrestling. Updated brackets and match-by-match results are available on USA Bracketing.
2026 USA Wrestling Junior National Duals
At Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 17-20
Quick Links
Greco-Roman Gold/Silver Bracket
Pool A
Illinois
Oklahoma Blue
Ohio Scarlet
Utah
Pool B
Colorado
Pennsylvania
Washington
Minnesota Blue
Greco-Roman Preliminary Pool Results
Pool A
1st Place – Illinois
2nd Place – Minnesota Blue
3rd Place – North Dakota
4th Place – Iowa
5th Place – Florida
6th Place – Missouri
7th Place – Ohio Gray
8th Place – Tennessee
1st Place Match – Illinois defeated Minnesota Blue, 50-17
True 2nd Match – Minnesota Blue defeated North Dakota, 42-22
3rd Place Match – North Dakota defeated Iowa, 36-27
5th Place Match – Florida defeated Missouri, 46-22
7th Place Match – Ohio Gray defeated Tennessee, 38-22
Pool B
1st Place – Colorado
2nd Place – Utah
3rd Place – Michigan Blue
4th Place – Idaho
5th Place – Oklahoma Red
6th Place – Kansas Gold
7th Place – Indiana Gold
8th Place – Louisiana
1st Place Match – Colorado defeated Utah, 44-22
True 2nd Match – Utah defeated Michigan Blue, 34-33
3rd Place Match – Michigan Blue defeated Idaho, 38-32
5th Place Match – Oklahoma Red defeated Kansas Gold, 34-31
7th Place Match – Indiana Gold defeated Louisiana, 48-8
Pool C
1st Place – Pennsylvania
2nd Place – Ohio Scarlet
3rd Place – Oregon
4th Place – Alabama
5th Place – California Gold
6th Place – Texas
7th Place – Minnesota Red
8th Place – Wyoming White
1st Place Match – Pennsylvania defeated Ohio Scarlet, 45-20
3rd Place Match – Oregon defeated Alabama, 33-33
5th Place Match – California Gold defeated Texas, 43-23
7th Place Match – Minnesota Red defeated Wyoming, 60-8
Pool D
1st Place – Oklahoma Blue
2nd Place – Washington
3rd Place – Maryland
4th Place – Wisconsin
5th Place – Georgia
6th Place – North Carolina
7th Place – Michigan Red
8th Place – Kansas Silver
1st Place Match – Oklahoma Blue defeated Washington, 35-25
True 2nd Match – Washington defeated Maryland, 37-28
3rd Place Match – Maryland defeated Wisconsin, 41-24
5th Place Match – Georgia defeated North Carolina, 40-25
7th Place Match – Michigan Red defeated Kansas Silver, 47-7