Paris Lone 2025 Junior Boys Champ Looking to Repeat; Semifinals Set at Folkstyle Nationals

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – The Junior Boys division finished the opening day of the 2026 USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals, wrestling through the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon at The MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex.

The 30 semifinal bouts are set, and Austin Paris is the lone 2025 Junior Boys Folkstyle National champion with a chance to repeat. At 157 pounds, Paris started with a 23-7 technical fall, then shutout his next two opponents to move into the semifinals. Paris’s semifinal bout comes against 2025 Fargo bronze medalist Jake Miller.

A quintet of 2025 16U Folkstyle Nationals champions advanced to the finals in the Junior division at this year’s nationals. Max Lindquist (100 pounds), Decklan Barr (132 pounds), Carson Neubert (144 pounds), Thunder Page (165 pounds) and Bruno Pallone (215 pounds) are all still in the hunt for national titles at the Junior level.

Lindquist earned a bye into the semifinals and faces Hudson Cox, who earned a technical fall to start his tournament. In the 132-pound division, Barr grabbed a win in sudden victory, 6-3, after scoring a takedown in the final seconds of the overtime period. Barr faces Max Cumbee in the semifinals.

Neubert collected three pins over his first three matches. In the quarterfinals, he earned a 7-4 decision to set up a semifinal match against Konner Larkin.

After pinning his opening round opponent, Page collected a pair of decisions to secure his spot in the semifinals. Page goes up against Torin Kuokkanen with a spot in the finals on the line. Pallone capped off day one going 3-0 and outscoring his opponents 39-8 at 215 pounds. In the semifinals, Pallone takes on Carter Brown.

The semifinals will feature wrestlers from 24 different states. Iowa leads the division with 10 semifinalists. Arizona, Utah, Oklahoma and Idaho have the second-most semifinalists, with five each.

Jeratt Robinson and Caden Parrson are tied for most pins in the Junior Boys division with four each. Max Sundquist, Dawson Youngblut, Mac Crosson and Jasper Croom have a tournament-best four technical falls.

The Junior Boys Division continues Saturday at 9 a.m. CT, with semifinals, followed by 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.