Eloise Woolsey Headlines Fargo's Biggest Girls Wrestling Breakthroughs

The U.S. Marine Corps Junior National Girls Wrestling Championships closed the door on the 2026 summer campaign on Saturday afternoon at the Fargodome in North Dakota. In an exciting final round, Pennsylvania’s three champions to Michigan’s two was the difference in the team race, which the Keystone State won by a single point, 165-164.

Eloise Woolsey Pulls Several Upset, Wins Outstanding Wrestler

On the Individual front, no one stood out more than the girl named Outstanding Wrestler, New Mexico’s No. 8 Eloise Woolsey, who broke off three big upsets to win the 155-pound championship. The biggest of those being in the finals opposite No. 1 Ella Poalillo from New Jersey, an U17 World Bronze Medalist in 2025.

It was 1-0 in favor of Woolsey after the first period. Poalillo hit a go-behind early in the second to go up 2-1. Woolsey gained a step-out point to tie it up then hit a big double leg with exposure to throw four points on the card and take a 6-2 lead.

Woolsey added on to her tally when she caught Poalillo on her knees, in bad position, and leveraged it into two points for an 8-2 advantage. Poalillo got a reversal and added two exposure points to bring it to, 8-5, where it would end.

Woolsey was positioned in the bracket in a manner that set her up with back-to-back showdowns with No. 2 Matilda Hruby (Colorado) and No. 4 Sarah Henckel (Connecticut). Woolsey handled Hruby, 15-6, in the quarterfinals and dished a 6-4 loss to Henckel in the semifinals.

In the round of 16, Woolsey, a graduating senior who was seventh here a year ago, decked No. 13 Skylar Slade of Iowa in a mere 38 seconds. A 13-0 technical fall and a 44 second pin got Woolsey started.

Carder Comes up Big

Ohio’s No. 7 Mackenzie Carder (125 pounds) enjoyed a quick final with No. 5 Martynique Davis (Arizona) that was over by fall in 1:05. Carder hit a slick Navy and got two and two, then jumped into an Arm Bar and Half to close the door on Davis.

Carder toppled a bigger foe in the semis in No. 1 Me’kala James (California). James scored first in that one and Carder tied it up in the second and led by criteria and that’s how it resolved. Another tight bout came in the quarters versus No. 11 Raenah Smith (Pennsylvania), ending with an 8-7 count.

The soon to be senior was second here in 2025 at 115 pounds in the Junior Division.

A Peachy Good Time

Wisconsin’s No. 6 Madilyn Peach didn’t take down the top ranked 130-pounder, but she did stick No. 3 Kailin Sebert of Texas in the finals. The top two girls were not at Fargo.

Peach took the early edge when she countered a shot for a takedown of her own. Sebert later hit a dump to the back for two points to tie it at two. That’s when disaster struck for Sebert as Peach added another takedown then ran an Arm Bar to plant her rival in 2:21.

Peach had a close battle with No. 10 Emma Chacon (Arizona), 4-2, in the semifinals and registered a pin versus No. 21 Ariella Dobin (Illinois). The outgoing senior was fifth at last year’s Fargo.

Nothing but Domination for Huffman

Joining Peach as a Junior Gold Medalist for Wisconsin was No. 1 Brooke Huffman (190 pounds), who improved upon last year’s third-place finish. Huffman pinned all but one of her opponents in an impressive display of domination.

Huffman exploded on No. 2 Tevia Nau Rarick (Utah) for a 6-0 lead and added another point on a lost challenge before countering a takedown straight to the back to stick Rarick in 1:13. No. 8 Kanata Richardson of Michigan received a 2:46 decking from Huffman in the semis.

South Dakota’s No. 27 Allison Konrad was the only girl to not hear the mat get slapped, but she was still taken care of swiftly with a 10-0 tech in 1:56. Nebraska’s No. 21 Addison Arvdal was disposed of with a 39 second fall. Pins of 1:00 and 24 seconds opened Huffman’s run to the title.

Pennsylvania’s Bacon, Bouzakis, and Solomon Power Team Title

Emma Bacon (135 pounds) and Jaclyn Bouzakis (105) repeated as champions and Marlee Solomon (120 pounds) stepped up one spot on the podium after being a runner-up in 2025.

Bacon Stacking Pins

Bacon is top ranked at 135 pounds and showed why as she pinned four girls in under a minute each, including a 27 second fall in the finals when she put No. 13 Camila Torres (Arizona) away with an Arm Bar following a single leg trip. Torres surprised No. 4 Naima Ghaffar (Indiana) with a semifinal fall.

Two 54 second pins and a 20 second version were also entered on the bracket. Minnesota’s No. 8 Chloe Wehry was the victim of an 11-0 tech in 1:50 of the semis. Another 10-0 tech was registered early on for Bacon.

Bouzakis Exacts Revenge on Faczak

As mentioned above, a Fargo crown is one of the many accolades No. 1 Bouzakis has accumulated in recent times. A World Bronze Medal followed last year’s Fargo glory making Bouzakis’ loss to No. 3 Emma Faczak (Colorado) at the Freestyle National Duals really stand out.

As fate would have it, the two ended up facing off in the finals with Bouzakis getting to work early and intently, quickly erasing all memory of the previous setback to Faczak. A quick low single started it. A double leg with a flip finish added four more points. During that turn of events, Faczak was awarded two points as well.

Bouzakis called for a scoring review and won it to receive another point for a 7-2 advantage. Following the break, Bouzakis went right back to work scoring on a double leg takedown, then adding a single down the line. The tech was called at the 5:13 mark due to a hands in the face call against Faczak for a 12-2 total.

Solomon Slides to the Top

Solomon, who is ranked second at 120 pounds, was one of the few U17 World Team members to compete at Fargo and she used the opportunity to capture her first ever Fargo Gold after being a 16U silver medalist in 2025.

Solomon was involved in a chess match with No. 6 Hailey Delgado from Texas in her low-scoring final. Solomon put up the only points in the 4-0 decision with a takedown in each frame. There was lots of action and close calls, but the points were not flying.

Denson Delights, Manuel Repeats for Michigan

Michigan’s No. 3 Lillee Denson authored a mild upset of No. 2 Abigail Peterson (Iowa) in a shocking manner as she did so on a 45 second fall in the semifinals. This set Denson up with a finals rematch from the National Duals versus No. 4 Justice Gutierrez (Colorado).

Denson won the first encounter, 6-4, this one would end with an 11-3 tally. Denson was all over Gutierrez early and kept hammering with takedown and exposure points to just a push-out for Gutierrez to end the first period in front, 6-1.

A cradle with exposure points drove the margin to nine at 10-1 in the second. Gutierrez gained two exposure points while countering the cradle. One more push-out point would be added on Denson’s behalf.

Kaili Manuel’s number two ranking will undergo a reevaluation ahead of the final report as the 16U Champ from a year ago just added the Junior 170-pound title to her resume with an 11-0 blanking of No. 5 Ciyanna Okocha (Pennsylvania) in 3:24.

Manuel destroyed Okocha in an eye-opening one-sided affair that had a 7-0 count at the break and ended 24 seconds into the second round after a takedown and gut wrench.

Marsh Marches to Title

Indiana’s Maddie Marsh was a runner-up to Maryland’s Taina Fernandez a year ago and came into the finals holding the number three ranking at 140 pounds. Marsh’s final foe, No. 2 Alexis Lazar (Michigan), finished in the number two spot in 2025 as well.

One of them would ascend to the top position this year and it was Marsh, with the mild 5-2 upset of Lazar, doing the stepping up. Marsh gained the upper hand early, and it was 5-0 down the stretch when Lazar hit a spin behind for her two points.

Bartkowiak Goes from 7th to 1st

In 2025, No. 2 Aubrey Bartkowiak (Indiana) came in seventh at Fargo and was presented with a quarterfinal test opposite No. 1 Brenda Banks of Pennsylvania. A loss would mean a possible repeat performance. A victory would likely propel Bartkowiak to the finals.

Bartkowiak had beaten Banks at last fall’s War of the Roses, but more recent activity at National Duals placed them in their current rankings order after Banks beat Ohio’s Deionna Borders and Bartkowiak lost to the Ohioan. Bartkowiak planted Banks in 1:47 then did the same to No. 26 Peyton Mullin (New York) in the semis, 1:01.

In the 235-pound finals, Bartkowiak met breakout Texan Alyciana Rogers, who came into Fargo unranked and reached the finals. Rogers’ good times ended quickly once the whistle blew as Bartkowiak used a headlock with a trip to put her away in just 25 seconds.

The efforts of Bartkowiak and March helped Indiana finish third in the team standings with 117 points.

Number Ones Getting it Done

Another number one versus number two meeting happened in the upper weights outside of the finals when top rated Phoenix Molina (Illinois) toed the line with Borders in the 207-pound semifinals, with Molina posting a 3-1 win.

That outcome placed Molina in the finals against No. 4 Maddie Hayden from Michigan. Molina wrestled a poised and controlling match, keeping Hayden from scoring in a 6-0 shutout that was fueled by two takedowns. A year after missing the podium, Molina now stands atop it.

New Jersey’s Francesa Gusfa sits atop our 95-pound rankings and picked up a 14-3 finals win by tech in 1:56 over Indianan’s unranked Katelyn Rowles. Gusfa was up 8-1 before Rowles gained two exposure points. From there, Gusfa throttled Rowles’ scoring and added to her own.

Rowles shocked No. 4 Allya Walker (Virginia) in the semis with a 49 second pin and bested No. 8 Lindsey Lau (Hawaii) in the quarters with a 2:23 fall.

Rounding Out the Champs

Virginia’s Sarissa Tucker placed fifth here last year with one of her losses coming to No. 2 Julia Horger (Pennsylvania), who finished second. They were back in the same bracket this year with Tucker being ranked third by us, receiving the top seed and Horger being situated in the number two seed.

Tucker didn’t end up with a rematch in the 110-pound finals because No. 6 Isabel Kaplan (Indiana) stuck Horger in their semifinal pairing. Tucker executed a 4-0 decision of Kaplan to gain the crown.

There was a dust-up of defending champions in the 145-pound semifinals with Minnesota’s No. 3 Nora Akpan handling No. 5 Violette Lasure (Pennsylvania), 7-4. After that, Akpan was set up to tangle with No. 10 Belicia Manuel (Michigan) in the finals.

Akpan built a 5-1 lead in the opening period on a step-out point along with a takedown plus later exposure points. Manuel came out strong in the second period to get back in it with a slick leg trip. The tide shifted back to Akpan at this point, though, as she added the finishing points on a series of takedowns, with Manuel only answering with push-out points in the 11-5 decision.

The final champ hails from Florida in No. 2 Abigail Gonzalez, who bettered her third place showing of a year ago by flattening No. 18 Kinzie Williams of Idaho in the first period of their 115-pound final, 1:48. It was the classic feet-to-back scenario that Williams couldn’t return from.

Full Brackets and results.:

Team Scores (Top 10):

1-Pennsylvania 165

2-Michigan 164

3-Indiana 117

4-Texas 84

5-California 68

5-Arizona 68

7-Ohio 61

7-Wisconsin 61

9-Iowa 60

10-New Jersey 57

JR Girls Medal Match Results

95

1st - Francesca Gusfa (New Jersey) T.F. Katelyn Rowles (Indiana), 14-3 (1:56)

3rd - Leivelle Alejado (Hawaii) Dec. Aaliyah Brown (Indiana), 12-6

5th - McKenzie Mantei (Michigan) Dec. Alliya Walker (Virginia), 6-5

7th - Mya Van Beek (Iowa) F. Alexandra Thomas (Florida), 5:27

100

1st - Lillee Denson (Michigan) Dec. Justice Gutierrez (Colorado), 11-3

3rd - Abigail Peterson (Iowa) Dec. Sky Ramos (Hawaii), 13-6

5th - Maisie Elliott (Washington) F. Vina Nguyen (Washington), 2:07

7th - Lilly Breeden (Missouri) F. Noah Kovach (Texas), 0:29

105

1st - Jaclyn Bouzakis (Pennsylvania) T.F. Emma Faczak (Colorado), 12-2 (5:13)

3rd - Ryleigh Sturgill (Tennessee) T.F. Grace Jawulski (Florida), 10-0 (0:31)

5th - Kyrstan Perez (Oklahoma) Dec. Kiana Lien (California), 13-7

7th - Katie Biscoglia (Iowa) Dec. Dilynn Albrecht (Wisconsin), 7-3

110

1st - Sarissa Tucker (Virginia) Dec. Isabel Kaplan (Indiana), 4-0

3rd - Eva Zimmerman (Utah) Dec. Summer Mutschler (Maryland), 15-10

5th - Jayden Keller (Missouri) For. Julia Horger (Pennsylvania),

7th - Elizabeth Valenzuela Smith (Arizona) Dec. Kayleigh Milam (Missouri), 14-8

115

1st - Abigail Gonzalez (Florida) F. Kinzie Williams (Idaho), 1:48

3rd - Malia Ottow (Washington) Dec. Hepua Salter (Hawaii), 4-0

5th - Daynah Gomez (Arizona) Dec. Morgan Hyland (Pennsylvania), 9-8

7th - Ali Svancara (Idaho) F. Jaydin Cuevas (Colorado), 1:04

120

1st - Marlee Solomon (Pennsylvania) Dec. Hailey Delgado (Texas), 4-0

3rd - Aubree Gutierrez (California) Dec. Cheyenne Frank (Michigan), 10-7

5th - Kaylyn Harrill (Nebraska) F. Reagan Mathers (Arizona), 1:36

7th - Angelina Gochis (Illinois) F. Violet Diaz (Iowa), 0:19

125

1st - Mackenzie Carder (Ohio) F. Martynique Davis (Arizona), 1:05

3rd - Raenah Smith (Pennsylvania) Dec. Neve O'Byrne (Pennsylvania), 12-8

5th - Me'kala James (California) F. Kylee Kurszewski (Wisconsin), 3:33

7th - Cameron Leng (Ohio) T.F. Samiyah Rahming (Pennsylvania), 10-0 (2:19)

130

1st - Madilyn Peach (Wisconsin) F. Kailin Sebert (Texas), 2:21

3rd - Olivia Bezdicek (Idaho) F. Haley Smarsh (Pennsylvania), 1:16

5th - Kayla Moroschan (Ohio) T.F. Emma Chacon (Arizona), 10-0 (3:10)

7th - Willow White (Florida) Med. For. Riley Drennan (Texas),

135

1st - Emma Bacon (Pennsylvania) F. Camila Torres (Arizona), 0:27

3rd - Naima Ghaffar (Indiana) F. Kaison Miller (Kansas), 1:14

5th - Nia Hagler (Utah) F. chloe wehry (Minnesota), 0:49

7th - Iyanna Crawford (North Carolina) T.F. Eva Garcia (California), 10-0 (1:57)

140

1st - Maddie Marsh (Indiana) Dec. Alexis Lazar (Michigan), 5-2

3rd - Jordyn Parker (Texas) F. Ema Durst (Illinois), 0:37

5th - Timberly Martinez (Colorado) Dec. Clover Williams (Oklahoma), 9-2

7th - Keanna Conrad (Idaho) Dec. Saige McCleery (Washington), 8-3

145

1st - Nora Akpan (Minnesota) Dec. Belicia Manuel (Michigan), 11-5

3rd - Violette Lasure (Pennsylvania) F. Greta Brus (Iowa), 1:43

5th - Emily Beckley (Oklahoma) Med. For. Hayden Bratland (Iowa),

7th - Chloe Sanders (Iowa) T.F. Natalin Hout (California), 11-0 (2:13)

155

1st - Eloise Woolsey (New Mexico) Dec. Ella Poalillo (New Jersey), 8-5

3rd - Sarah Henckel (Connecticut) T.F. Symone Jewell (California), 10-0 (1:07)

5th - Julia Araujo (North Dakota) F. Mary Snider (California), 0:43

7th - Matilda Hruby (Colorado) F. Skylar Slade (Iowa), 0:11

170

1st - Kaili Manuel (Michigan) T.F. Ciyanna Okocha (Pennsylvania), 11-0 (3:24)

3rd - Kiley Dillow (Kansas) Dec. Olivia Georges (New Jersey), 11-5

5th - Sarah Pulk (Minnesota) For. Elizabeth Madison (Ohio),

7th - Rylynn Keziah (North Carolina) F. Clarion Fager (Utah), 1:04

190

1st - Brooke Huffman (Wisconsin) F. Tevia Nau Rarick (Utah), 1:13

3rd - Irelynn Laurin (Tennessee) T.F. Ava Asing (Hawaii), 10-0 (3:19)

5th - Kanata Richardson (Michigan) Dec. Autumn Elsbury (Iowa), 7-6

7th - Jaida Kuntz (Texas) For. JayaShree Bray (Nebraska),

207

1st - Phoenix Molina (Illinois) Dec. Maddie Hayden (Michigan), 6-0

3rd - Deionna Borders (Ohio) F. Isabella Lorenzana (California), 2:30

5th - Lulu Kirk (Kansas) F. Vivianna Scott (Oregon), 4:43

7th - Sophiea Quinn (Missouri) F. Kimura Segerson-Hutter (Wisconsin), 3:16

235

1st - Aubrey Bartkowiak (Indiana) F. Alyciana Rogers (Texas), 0:25

3rd - Mya Brandenburg (Michigan) Dec. Peyton Mullin (New York), 5-1

5th - Halle Spears (Michigan) Dec. Jasmine Enriquez (Illinois), 7-2

7th - Angela Bereuter (Missouri) F. Katherine Luna (California), 1:23

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