Bartkowiak and Turner Keep Repeat Bids Alive, Advance to Junior Girls Finals at Folkstyle Nationals
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by David Gerhart, USA Wrestling
Aubrey Bartkowiak hand raise following semifinal victory at the 2026 16U & Junior Folkstyle Nationals
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – The Junior Girls division concluded the opening day of the 2026 USA Wrestling 16U & Junior Folkstyle Nationals with a strong set of semifinals on Friday afternoon at The MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex.
Two-time U17 World Champion and 2025 Junior Girls Folkstyle Nationals champion Morgan Turner kept her bid for a second-straight national title alive with a 4-0 day. Turner rolled through the 115-pound bracket with three technical falls followed by a pin in the semifinals. Turner now takes on Kendall Moe in the championship bout.
Fellow 2025 champion Aubrey Bartkowiak pinned her way into the finals at 235 pounds. She first recorded an 18-second pin in the quarterfinals, then had a 2:58 pin in the semifinals. In the first-place bout on Saturday, Bartkowiak will take on 2025 Fargo runner-up Eden Hach.
16U Girls champions from the 2025 Folkstyle Nationals, Sarah Pulk and Kirra Mitchell, moved into the Junior Girls division for the 2026 installment and advanced to championship contests. Pulk (170 pounds) and Mitchell (110 pounds) will both take on 2025 16U Folkstyle Nationals bronze medalists Alexis Penley and Siera Becker, respectively.
Kaura Coles, who won gold at the 2024 U17 World Championships for Canada, went 3-0 at 120 pounds and now faces Lilly Quintanilla for gold.
2024 U15 Pan American bronze medalist Lanaia Selig had two pins at 95 pounds to set up a championship match against Melyana Johnson.
The semifinals featured 20 girls pinning their way into Saturday’s championship bouts.
Leading the 32 finalists with four pins each were Julia Araujo and Leolyn Karnowski. Araujo collected four pins in 3:31 of mat time, and Karnowski earned her four pins over 4:39. Araujo and Karnowski will battle for gold at 155 pounds. Ellie Westerman, who is competing in the finals at 125 pounds, recorded the fastest pin of the tournament 11 seconds into her quarterfinal contest.
Over the 16 championship bouts, 20 different states will be represented. Minnesota and Indiana led the way with four finalists each.
A full list of Junior Girls finals matches and semifinal results is listed below.
The Junior Girls division continues Saturday at 9 a.m. CT with championship finals and medal matches. Visit usawrestlingevents.com for a complete schedule of events for every division.
All the action from West Des Moines, Iowa, will be available to watch live or on-demand on FloWrestling. Brackets and updated match-by-match results will be available through USA Bracketing.
2026 USA Wrestling 16U & Junior Folkstyle Nationals
At West Des Moines, Iowa, March 13
Quick Links
Finals Matchups
95 pounds – Lanaia Selig (Wash.) vs. Melayna Johnson (Utah)
100 pounds – Tayler Brown (Idaho) vs. Peyton Brazzle (Kan.)
105 pounds – Cassidy O'Connell (Wis.) vs. Peggy Susan Dean (Colo.)
110 pounds – Kirra Mitchell (Ga.) vs. Siera Becker (Iowa)
115 pounds – Kendall Moe (Ind.) vs. Morgan Turner (Ill.)
120 pounds – Lilly Quintanilla (Wyo.) vs. Kaura Coles (Mont.)
125 pounds – Bailey Chafin (Ore.) vs. Ellie Westerman (Minn.)
130 pounds – Kylee Kurszewski (Wis.) vs. Anastasia Rodnikova (Ill.)
135 pounds – Naima Ghaffar (Ind.) vs. Lily Weinreich (Iowa)
140 pounds – Chloe Wehry (Minn.) vs. Jordyn Parker (Texas)
145 pounds – Aleksandra Bastaic (Ind.) vs. Cassy Gonzales (Minn.)
155 pounds – Leolyn Karnowski (Kan.) vs. Julia Araujo (N.D.)
170 pounds – Sarah Pulk (Minn.) vs. Alexis Penley (Ill.)
190 pounds – Kanata Richardson (Mich.) vs. Shauna Anderson (Idaho)
207 pounds – Isabella Lorenzana (Calif.) vs. Sandra Takara (Neb.)
235 pounds – Aubrey Bartkowiak (Ind.) vs. Eden Hach (S.D.)
Semifinal Results
95 pounds
Lanaia Selig (Wash.) fall Alejandra Munguia (Texas), 2:40
Melayna Johnson (Utah) dec. Alexis Rue (Wis.), 8-4
100 pounds
Tayler Brown (Idaho) fall Nevi Brady (Utah), 2:20
Peyton Brazzle (Kan.) fall Ella McKeown (Tenn.), 0:20
105 pounds
Cassidy O'Connell (Wis.) fall Mara Vanderpool (Neb.), 1:09
Peggy Susan Dean (Colo.) dec. Alicia Kenfack (N.D.), 7-2
110 pounds
Kirra Mitchell (Ga.) dec. A'shay White (Mo.), 7-1
Siera Becker (Iowa) dec. Taylor Drake (Idaho), 13-7
115 pounds
Kendall Moe (Ind.) dec. Kinzie Williams (Idaho), 5-3
Morgan Turner (Ill.) fall Isabel Kaplan (Ind.), 1:48
120 pounds
Lilly Quintanilla (Wyo.) tech. fall Trista Gessler (Minn.), 17-2 (5:05)
Kaura Coles (Mont.) fall Anica Barze (Minn.), 2:25
125 pounds
Bailey Chafin (Ore.) fall Jazzman Khoundet (Utah), 2:58
Ellie Westerman (Minn.) dec. Temperance Lowe (Mo.), 10-4
130 pounds
Kylee Kurszewski (Wis.) maj. dec. Kalynn Lyons (Neb.), 16-7
Anastasia Rodnikova (Ill.) dec. Kaison Miller (Kan.), 13-6
135 pounds
Naima Ghaffar (Ind.) fall Keanna Conrad (Idaho), 2:19
Lily Weinreich (Iowa) fall Kit Alsaker (Wis.), 2:50
140 pounds
Chloe Wehry (Minn.) fall Ja'Ziya Miles (Mo.), 1:38
Jordyn Parker (Texas) maj. dec. Laura Almanza (N.M.), 18-6
145 pounds
Aleksandra Bastaic (Ind.) maj. dec. Breanne Gibbs (Mo.), 9-0
Cassy Gonzales (Minn.) fall Ashley Thompson (Ark.), 1:43
155 pounds
Leolyn Karnowski (Kan.) fall Taya Hollingsworth (Iowa), 1:48
Julia Araujo (N.D.) fall Addeline Graser (Neb.), 1:13
170 pounds
Sarah Pulk (Minn.) dec. Bailey Parker (Wash.), 16-11
Alexis Penley (Ill.) fall Clarion Fager (Utah), 3:53
190 pounds
Kanata Richardson (Mich.) dec. Britney Pineda Herrera (Neb.), 6-1
Shauna Anderson (Idaho) fall Sky Kopp (N.D.), 2:52
207 pounds
Isabella Lorenzana (Calif.) dec. Lulu Kirk (Kan.), 15-9
Sandra Takara (Neb.) fall Molly Marty (Kan.), 5:20
235 pounds
Aubrey Bartkowiak (Ind.) fall Maycee Hales (Utah), 2:58
Eden Hach (S.D.) fall Jasmine Enriquez (Ill.), 1:10
