Illinois, Indiana Gold and Wisconsin Red Remain Unbeaten After First Day of Men’s Freestyle at Junior National Duals
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by David Gerhart, USA Wrestling
Camden Rugg of Wisconsin Red competing at the 2026 Junior National Duals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin – Midwest powers and the top three overall seeds in the men’s freestyle tournament, Illinois, Indiana Gold and Wisconsin Red, all went 4-0 on Friday at the Baird Center.
The trio all won their respective pools and started the Gold/Silver Bracket with decisive victories.
Top-seeded Illinois came out on top of Pool A following a 43-24 win over Minnesota Blue in the first-place match. Illinois ran away with the match late, winning the last six bouts in a row. Of Illinois’ 11 match wins, seven came by technical fall.
In Pool B, No. 2-seeded Indiana Gold held off a late charge from Oklahoma Blue to collect the 34-29 victory. With the dual narrowly split, eight wins for Indiana Gold and seven for Oklahoma Blue, Indiana Gold’s six bonus victories were the deciding factor to claim the top spot in the pool.
Third-seeded Wisconsin Red used a run of five-straight wins over the final six matches to upend Pennsylvania Blue, 37-27, for the Pool C win. Wisconsin Red recorded six bonus wins in the dual, highlighted by a quintet of shutout victories.
In a battle between No. 4-seeded Iowa and No. 5-seeded Ohio Scarlet, Ohio Scarlet notched the upset, 35-26. Five tech fall victories for Ohio Scarlet keyed the victory for the top spot in Pool D.
After the conclusion of the preliminary pools, the top eight teams that advanced to the Gold/Silver Bracket included Illinois, Ohio Scarlet, Pennsylvania Blue and Oklahoma Blue in Pool A and Indiana Gold, Wisconsin Red, Iowa and Minnesota Blue in Pool B.
Illinois (45-16), Indiana Gold (44-24) and Wisconsin Red (43-23) kept their unbeaten marks alive with round one victories. Pennsylvania Blue was the only pool runner-up to win the first round of the Gold/Silver Bracket with a 32-30 win over Ohio Scarlet.
The Blue/Red and Green/Yellow Brackets also got underway on Friday night, while the Purple and Teal Brackets were concluded.
Preliminary pool results and Purple and Teal Bracket results are available below.
The 2026 Junior National Duals wrap up on Saturday at 9 a.m. CT with the final color pool matches and all placement duals. 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
Men’s Freestyle Gold/Silver Bracket Standings
Pool A
Illinois – 1-0
Pennsylvania Blue – 1-0
Ohio – 0-1
Oklahoma Blue – 0-1
Pool B
Indiana Gold – 1-0
Wisconsin Red – 1-0
Iowa 0-1
Minnesota Blue – 0-1
Men’s Freestyle Gold/Silver Bracket Round One Results
Pool A
Illinois defeated Oklahoma Blue, 45-16
Pennsylvania Blue defeated Ohio Scarlet, 32-30
Pool B
Indiana Gold defeated Minnesota Blue, 44-24
Wisconsin Red defeated Iowa, 43-23
Men’s Freestyle Purple Bracket Results
1st Place – Virginia
2nd Place – New York
3rd Place – Tennessee
4th Place – Kentucky
5th Place – California Silver
6th Place – Arizona
7th Place – Wyoming Black
1st Place Match – Virginia defeated New York, 48-21
3rd Place Match – Tennessee defeated Kentucky, 42-28
5th Place Match – California Silver defeated Arizona, 37-29
Men’s Freestyle Teal Bracket Results
1st Place – Alabama
2nd Place – Louisiana
3rd Place – North Carolina
4th Place – Kansas Silver
5th Place – Wyoming White
6th Place – Arkansas
7th Place – South Dakota Red
1st Place Match – Alabama defeated Louisiana, 58-13
3rd Place Match – North Carolina defeated Kansas Silver, 43-24
5th Place Match – Wyoming White defeated Arkansas, 48-17
Men’s Freestyle Preliminary Pool Results
Pool A
1st Place – Illinois
2nd Place – Minnesota Blue
3rd Place – Wisconsin Blue
4th Place – Utah
5th Place – Washington
6th Place – Kansas Gold
7th Place – Pennsylvania Red
8th Place – Michigan Red
1st Place Match – Illinois defeated Minnesota Blue, 43-24
3rd Place Match – Wisconsin Blue defeated Utah, 44-22
5th Place Match – Washington defeated Kansas Gold, 51-15
7th Place Match – Pennsylvania Red defeated Michigan Red, 52-19
Pool B
1st Place – Indiana Gold
2nd Place – Oklahoma Blue
3rd Place – Oregon
4th Place – Georgia
5th Place – Missouri
6th Place – Maryland
7th Place – Texas
8th Place – Idaho
1st Place Match – Indiana Gold defeated Oklahoma Blue, 34-29
True 2nd Match – Oklahoma Blue defeated Oregon, 48-19
3rd Place Match – Oregon defeated Georgia, 39-29
5th Place Match – Missouri defeated Maryland, 39-30
7th Place Match – Texas defeated Idaho, 43-26
Pool C
1st Place – Wisconsin Red
2nd Place – Pennsylvania Blue
3rd Place – Ohio Gray
4th Place – Michigan Blue
5th Place – South Dakota Blue
6th Place – North Dakota
7th Place – Minnesota Red
8th Place – Nebraska
1st Place Match – Wisconsin Red defeated Pennsylvania Blue, 37-27
3rd Place Match – Ohio Gray defeated Michigan Blue, 34-27
5th Place Match – South Dakota Blue defeated North Dakota, 39-27
7th Place Match – Minnesota Red defeated Nebraska, 44-18
Pool D
1st Place – Ohio Scarlet
2nd Place – Iowa
3rd Place – California Gold
4th Place – Colorado
5th Place – Florida
6th Place – Indiana Blue
7th Place – New Jersey
8th Place – Oklahoma Red
1st Place Match – Ohio Scarlet defeated Iowa, 35-26
True 2nd Match – Iowa defeated California Gold, 33-30
3rd Place Match – California Gold defeated Colorado, 33-31
5th Place Match – Florida defeated Indiana Blue, 35-32
7th Place Match – New Jersey defeated Oklahoma Red, 37-29
