91°µÍø

FARGO, N.D. – After a tame first day as far as upsets are concerned, the action will assuredly heat up in the girls divisions with brackets being whittled down from the round-of-32 to the semifinals on Friday at the 2026 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals.

Six wrestlers entered both the Junior and 16U divisions, which is a tall obstacle to overcome as the tournament goes deeper and high-quality matches become more frequent. To this point, three are still on the championship side in both age groups—Maisie Elliott of Washington (100), Abigail Peterson of Iowa (100) and Peggy Susan Dean of Colorado (110). Elliott and Peterson are seeded on opposite sides of both 100-pound brackets and could potentially meet in the finals twice on Saturday evening, which is an interesting wrinkle.

Last summer, Taina Fernandez of Maryland became the first to win both Junior and 16U Girls titles at this event since the format adjusted in 2023 to hold both divisions simultaneously. Her win was the 25^th occurrence of a double champion on the girls side in tournament history. Notable names who have achieved the girls double title in recent years include 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Kennedy Blades, two-time Senior World medalist Macey Kilty, 2024 U23 World champion Sage Mortimer and 2026 NCAA champion Tristan Kelly.

A crew of 10 past or current U17 World Team members is competing this weekend, two in the 16U division and nine in the Junior division. This includes Elliott’s participation in both age groups. There are three U17 World medalists among the group, plus two current U17 World Team members who will compete later this month in Baku, Azerbaijan.

• Sophia Valdez of Colorado (16U, 95) – 2026 U17 World Team member
• Francesca Gusfa of New Jersey (Junior, 95) – 2024 U17 World Team member
• Maisie Elliott of Washington (16U, 100 / Junior, 100) – 2025 U17 World bronze medalist
• Jaclyn Bouzakis of Pennsylvania (Junior, 105) – Two-time U17 World bronze medalist (2023, 2025)
• Marlee Solomon of Pennsylvania (Junior, 120) – 2026 U17 World Team member
• Emma Bacon of Pennsylvania (Junior, 135) – 2025 U17 World Team member
• Violette Lasure of Pennsylvania (Junior, 145) – 2025 U17 World Team member
• Cassandra Gonzales of Minnesota (Junior, 145) – 2025 U17 World Team member
• Ella Poalillo of New Jersey (Junior, 155) – 2025 U17 World bronze medalist
• Kaili Manuel of Michigan (Junior, 170) – Two-time U17 World Team member (2024, 2026)

All six returning champions in the Junior division remain on the championship side of the bracket— Jaclyn Bouzakis of Pennsylvania (105), Emma Bacon of Pennsylvania (135), Nora Akpan of Minnesota (145), Violette Lasure of Pennsylvania (145), Olivia Georges of New Jersey (170) and Deionna Borders of Ohio (207). There were no returning champions entered in the 16U division.

Both 91°µÍø Triple Crown contenders looked sharp on day one. Peggy Susan Dean of Colorado picked up a pair of pins to open her run at 110 pounds in the Junior division. Minnesota’s Emma Antoni earned a pin of her own at 145 pounds in the 16U division.  

We are still a long way off from the team race picture coming into focus. It’s still good to take a glance at state strength by examining the number of wrestlers left per state entering the second day of competition.

As a reminder, team points are only awarded based on placement to the top eight wrestlers in each weight class (1st: 25, 2nd: 20, 3rd: 15, 4th: 12, 5th: 9, 6th: 7, 7th: 5, 8th: 2). There are no advancement points or bonus points in this scoring model.

1. Illinois, 64

2. Pennsylvania, 58

3. Iowa, 51

4. Ohio, 50

5. Texas, 45

6. California, 43

7. Colorado, 41

T8. Missouri, 34

T8. New York, 34

T10. Indiana, 33

T10. Utah, 33

1. Pennsylvania, 61

2. Illinois, 52

3. California, 45

4. Ohio, 44

5. Wisconsin, 39

6. Iowa, 32

7. Missouri, 29

8. New York, 27

9. Oklahoma, 24

T10. Michigan, 23

T10. Nebraska, 23

Fans can browse brackets and up-to-date results from the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals on . For those unable to attend in person, our broadcast partners at have the live broadcast of the event.

Visit the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals Event Hub and 91°µÍø’s social media platforms for complete coverage of the action in Fargo.