U.S. U17 and U20 age-group Beach World Team qualifiers set at Carolina Beach Nationals

CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. – Competition was fierce in the U20 and U17 men’s and women’s divisions on Carolina Beach, as champions were crowned at the 2026 Carolina Beach Nationals.

The Carolina Beach Nationals was the qualifying event for the 2026 U.S. Beach World Teams at the U17 and U20 levels, and one of the qualifying events for U.S. teams competing in the 2026 Senior Beach World Series.

The 2026 U17 Beach Wrestling World Championships are set for August 28-29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The 2026 U20 Beach World Championships are set for September 25 in Katerini, Greece.

The U17 women’s champions at 45 kg and 65 kg at the Carolina Beach Nationals will be offered a position on the 2026 U.S. team that will compete in the prestigious 4th Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Dakar, Senegal, November 7-8, 2026. This will be the first IOC Olympic Games event ever held in Africa.

Claiming the berths on the Youth Olympic Games teams were Piper Fry of the Michigan Wrestling Academy (45 kg) and Aleia Apostol of the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (65 kg). Fry won all three of her matches in a tough four-athlete round robin to secure the victory. Apostol also had a perfect 3-0 record in her round robin bracket to secure the gold medal.

The other U17 women’s champion was Cheyanne Wolfard-Henry of FordDynasty WC (75 kg). Wolfard-Henry was a member of the 2025 U17 World Team.

Winning titles in the U17 men’s division were Jamie Baldwin of Virginia (60 kg), Elijah Allinen of North Carolina (70 kg), Jonah Perdue of Florida (80 kg) and Corvell Brewer of Virginia (90 kg).

The U20 divisions were equally challenging, with some veteran Beach wrestlers facing some exciting new talent who competed for the first time on the Beach.

The individual U20 women’s champions were Kenaya Mwehu of Beat the Streets Cleveland (50 kg), Morgan Foy (Eastern Carolina Wrestling Academy (60 kg), Hallie Harp of Militia Trained Mat Club (70 kg) and Kamil Johnson of Wrestling to Beat the Streets DC (+70 kg).

Mwehu had an amazing day, not only winning the U20 title, but also claiming the gold medal in the Senior division. Harp had a big win in the finals by pin, stopping Amber Hunter of the Western Maryland Wrestling Club in the finals.  Hunter, who was fourth in the 2025 U20 Beach World Championships, also won a silver medal in the Senior division.

The U20 men’s individual champions were Jaylen Bethea of Forge Wrestling (70 kg), Eli Roberts of Illinois (80 kg), Terrell McFarland of Team Pennsylvania (90 kg) and Christian Clark of Texas (Over 70 kg).

McFarland was fourth in the 2025 U20 Beach World Championships and earned a chance to go for a medal this year. McFarland was also a 2024 U17 Pan American Beach champion.