Fargo Frenzy: Pennsylvania Dominates Junior Nationals as Underdogs Shine Bright

From Bo Bassett's dominance to Nicholas Singer’s Cinderella run, the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals delivered upsets, breakthroughs, and a team title runaway

Pennsylvania's Nicholas Singer was named Outstanding Wrestler after winning the 175-pound title at the Junior Nationals. / USA Wrestling

The Championship matches at the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals were held on Wednesday night at the Fargodome in North Dakota. Pennsylvania ran away with the team title putting up 221 points to second place California’s 160, with Illinois following in third with 134 points.

Pennsylvania Runs Away with Team Title

Pennsylvania went four-for-five in the finals with Nathan Schuman (100 pounds), No. 1 Bo Bassett (144), No. 4 Melvin Miller (165), and No. 25 Nicholas Singer (175 pounds) being crowned champions amongst their 14 All-Americans. Singer’s improbable run to the top earned him the nod as the Outstanding Wrestler.

Nicholas Singer Named Outstanding Wrestler

Singer’s final day of competition was highlighted by three upset wins, including a 2:06, 10-0, technical superiority outcome over California’s No. 10 Mason Ontiveros in the finals. Singer manhandled Ontiveros, at one point catching him in some sort of an amalgamation of a leg cradle and tilt while racking up points. In the semifinals, Singer downed No. 14 Waylon Cressell of Indiana, 10-0 (2:09), and decked No. 13 Maximus Norman (Tennessee) in the quarterfinals, 1:36.

Losses at the Freestyle National Duals pulled Singer down in the rankings ahead of Fargo. Obviously, an upward move is now forthcoming from the soon-to-be Junior at Faith Christian Academy. Singer was previously fourth and third in the 16U Brackets at Fargo. In the round of 16, Singer posted another tech, 10-0 (59 seconds), over Honorable Mention Jadyn Johnson of Texas. Singer collected two other 10-0 tech falls and a 31 second pin in his opening bout.

Bassett, Miller, Schuman Dominate in Finals

Bassett and Miller are teammates beyond the National Team as they both don Bishop McCort Singlets during the high school season. Bassett destroyed the competition in his usual dominant fashion, sticking former 16U Freestyle Champ, No. 19 Clinton Shepherd of Indiana in the finals, 1:23. Bassett abused Shepherd with a cross-face, imposing his will until he broke Shepherd for the fall. Bassett posted five techs and a pin en route to the finals.

For Miller, this was his second Junior National Title, and third championship in a row after taking home top honors in 16U in 2023. Counting the finals, Miller put up six tech falls. Wisconsin’s No. 23 Sullivan Ramos fell by a 13-2 count in 4:54 of the gold medal match. Iowa’s No. 22 Maximus Dhabolt, who beat Ramos at National Duals, was discarded 12-1, and then bounced back for third. The only wrestler to go the distance with Miller, Florida’s Willie White, 11-5, did not reach the podium.

Heavyweight Showdown: Ross vs. Merrill Ends in Drama

There was a Heavy-Duty Heavyweight Showdown of the two top rated guys in the country, who have a shared history, No. 1 Dreshaun Ross (Iowa) and No. 2 Coby Merrill (California). There was not much excitement in this one as the two just danced around a lot, spending most of the match in collar ties or other head-to-head engagements. It was such a slow burn that over the first two periods, each had a point a piece, earned on Activity Clock situations.

There was a bit of controversy for a singlet grab in the second period while Ross on the Activity Clock again, a caution was issued with no points dispersed. Merrill earned his second point after the 30 second Activity Clock expired. Late in the match, Ross earned a push out point to tie it up at two, with Ross having criteria in his favor. A lost challenge on the step out from Merrill’s side gave Ross one more point to end it at 3-2.

Ross, who was injured at last year’s Fargo and was out of action until January of this year has wrestled two other close matches with Merrill this Spring at the U20 World Team Trials (2-2) and at the U.S. Open (3-2). Merrill was third at Fargo in 2023 and did not participate last year.

Boyle, Gleason, Ricketts Lead Cinderella Stories

Nebraska’s No. 3 Cade Ziola, a runner-up in 2024, put an end to Michael Boyle of Ohio’s magical ride through the 215-pound brackets. Ziola’s crown came on a 15-4 tech fall in 5:18 of the Honorable Mention Boyle. Boyle will soon have a number ahead of his name after sitting down four nationally ranked foes.

The biggest spoiler came for No. 6 Levi Bussey of California in the semis with Boyle shutting him out, 3-0. Boyle’s quarterfinal victim was Florida’s No. 28 Alex Smith, 8-2. Wisconsin’s No. 27 Garrett Kawczynski was handled 9-4 in the round of 16. Prior to that, Honorable Mention Kal-El Fluckiger (Arizona), 7-6, and No. 17 Devin Downes of New York, 14-4 (4:34), were given losses. Boyle’s opening tech of Nebraska’s Hudson Oliver was his only match with an unranked guy.

Two underdogs were able to finish off their Cinderella Runs, Missouri’s David Gleason (157 pounds) and Kentucky’s Lucas Ricketts (190).

Gleason came into Fargo ranked 29th in the country in High School on SI’s latest report. As a former 16U runner-up, Gleason has been on the big stage before and used that experience to catapult himself to victory over No. 11 Wyatt Medlin (Wisconsin). Gleason piled up the points with savvy, going out front, 7-2, then staying on the hunt, adding three more points. Medlin didn’t fade quietly, but fell, 10-6. In the round of 16, Gleason added his first upset, 6-5, over No. 27 Nolan Fellers of Iowa.

Missouri's David Gleason was a surprise and impressive 157-pound champion at the Junior Nationals in Fargo. / USA Wrestling

Once Ricketts, an honorable mention entry, reached the finals versus the unranked Jarrett Wadsen (Minnesota), he had toppled three ranked rivals. After a 4-2 win over No. 22 Peter Snyder (Maryland), a returning Junior All-American, a quarterfinal meeting with No. 7 Jimmy Mastny of Illinois provided a 4-1 shocker. Ricketts used a 2-1 decision of No. 30 Alex Reyes (New Jersey) to reach the finals where he won on criteria, 5-5, over Wadsen, who was previously ranked at 175 pounds. A vaunted effort with seconds remaining produced the winning takedown.

Wadsen put forth a monumental win of his own to reach the finals with a 21-8 tech in 3:26 over No. 9 Michael White (Indiana). White had a round of 16 meeting with No. 2 Adam Waters of Pennsylvania, an U20 Pan American Gold Medalist last weekend, that was going according to script with Waters holding an early lead when he grabbed at his lower buttocks/upper hamstring area. The tide then shifted with White tying it up, then taking the lead, amid multiple injury timeouts by Waters before throwing in the towel for a medical forfeit.

Other Champions Shine: Raney, Ross, Mendoza, Zinkin and More

Ricketts joined No. 3 Jordyn Raney (138 pounds) as Kentucky’s first ever Freestyle Champions. Raney, who was a previous Greco Roman Champion, added the Freestyle variety to his trophy case with a 19-14 win versus No. 10 Kellen Wolbert (Wisconsin). Raney had a comfortable early lead before Wolbert stormed back within one point, 13-12. Raney regained control for a moment and reeled off five to go up, 17-12, before trading two more points at the end.

Two highly rated Californians clashed in the finals at 132 pounds with No. 6 Moses Mendoza improving on last year’s sixth place finish in another match with a 6-6 score decided on criteria, taking top honors over No. 3 Elijah Cortez.

It should be noted that Cortez was off to a solid start, up 6-4 when his ankle got caught under him during a shot attempt and buckled. Mendoza scored the winning points on that exchange. Cortez powered through it as best he could, though, visibly in discomfort, unwilling to call it quits, even after several stops because of the ankle. The two embraced on the mat at the completion of their meeting.

California’s No. 4 Rocklin Zinkin ended his 120-pound encounter with No. 6 Cam Sontz of New Jersey quickly after gaining the takedown, using a two-on-one to gather the necessary exposure points for the 11-0 tech fall in 1:43. Zinkin won his highly anticipated quarterfinals bout with No. 2 JoJo Uhorchuk of Tennessee, 12-6. Uhorchuk was upset again in the consolation rounds by Ohio’s Ayden Dodd and failed to place.

Georgia was the only other state with multiple champs, No. 3 Antonio Mills (126 pounds) and No. 3 Logan Paradice (150). Mills came out on top of the most exciting match of the finals, 10-8, over Honorable Mention Nicholas Garcia (Illinois). Garcia wrestled smart and crafty, gaining exposure points to build a 5-1 lead. Garcia followed that with another wily takedown to go up 7-1.

Mills, who earned a U20 Pan American Championship Bronze before Fargo, was out of sorts as a challenge was called for. A challenge they lost to increase Garcia’s advantage to 8-1. Mills began his comeback down 8-2 with a low double and exposure points. After a step-out, Mills had closed it to an 8-7 tally and with 20 seconds left, initiated a throw-by that resulted in the winning takedown, plus one more added after Garcia’s lost challenge. Garcia beat Mills, 11-1, a year ago when he placed fifth to Mills’ eighth.

Paradice was sixth at Fargo in 2023 then did not place last year, his 5:07 flattening of fellow Georgian, No. 15 Dallas Russell sends Paradice out in style. The match was close for most of its duration as it was 1-1 when Paradice bulldozed Russell and locked up a headlock to gain the fall.

Ohio’s No. 6 Rylan Seacrist cruised to a stress free 6-1 win over Pennsylvania’s No. 18 Justin Farnsworth in the 113-pound final. We mentioned Farnsworth’s quarterfinal with No. 9 Julian Rios (Massachusetts) in our Day Three (for boys) preview, Farnsworth won a tight one, 2-1, with Rios, after defeating No. 5 Jarrett Smith (Michigan), 4-2, a round earlier.

Two of Pennsylvania’s third place finishers did so on upsets. No. 18 Brock Rothermel teched No. 9 Mason Jakob (Tennessee) at 120 pounds. No. 14 Tyler DeKraker beat fellow Keystone State Grappler, No. 7 Sam Herring, 11-0, in the 138-pound placement match after a 2-2 win on criteria in the quarters. No. 29 Dale Corbin (132) also secured a bronze.

Placing fourth were Herring and No. 10 Mark Effendian (285 pounds). Arment Waltenbaugh was fifth at 165 pounds, sticking No. 18 Jayden Williams (Michigan), 2:18, in the fifth-place match. No. 5 Dean Bechtold (285) won his fifth-place bout over No. 8 Jacob Levy (Florida) with an 11-0 tech. Joey Synan (100 pounds) and No. 17 Reagan Milheim (157) were sixth.

Junior Freestyle Placement Matches:

100

1st - Nathan Schuman (PA) T.F. Onofre Gonzales (CO), 13-0 (3:30)
3rd - Symon Woods (IL) T.F. Jackson Thorn (MN), 12-0 (1:01)
5th - Bennett Wachter (OH) T.F. Joey Synan (PA), 13-3 (2:17)
7th - Aidan Ortega (IL) Dec. Alex Huddleston (IN), 8-2

106

1st - Turner Ross (OK) Dec. Cason Craft (OK), 6-6
3rd - Landon Thoennes (MN) Dec. Niko Odiotti (IL), 13-8
5th - Michael Salas-Sanchez (OR) F. Daniel Romero (CO), 4:13
7th - Vincent DeMarco (IL) Dec. Kaiden Belinsky (IA), 17-10

113

1st - Rylan Seacrist (OH) Dec. Justin Farnsworth (PA), 6-1
3rd - Jarrett Smith (MI) Dec. Liam Davis (FL), 6-2
5th - Kaleb Pratt (IL) T.F. Loc Webber (OH), 10-0 (4:01)
7th - Layne Martin (MI) Dec. Camden Rugg (WI), 10-6

120

1st - Rocklin Zinkin (CA) T.F. Cameron Sontz (NJ), 11-0 (1:43)
3rd - Brock Rothermel (PA) T.F. Mason Jakob (TN), 12-1 (3:20)
5th - Alex Rozas (LA) T.F. Ayden Dodd (OH), 10-0 (1:06)
7th - Cale Vandermark (IA) Dec. Zaiyahn Ornelas (NE), 4-0

126

1st - Antonio Mills (GA) Dec. Nicholas Garcia (IL), 10-8
3rd - Paul Kenny (NJ) F. Mikey Ruiz (TX), 1:43
5th - Vincent Anello (NJ) Dec. Brady Collins (WI), 8-0
7th - Siraj Sidhu (CA) T.F. Lander Bosh (UT), 16-5 (5:12)

132

1st - Moses Mendoza (CA) Dec. Isaiah Cortez (CA), 6-6
3rd - Dale Corbin (PA) T.F. Slater Hicks (CA), 10-0 (4:41)
5th - Manuel Saldate (NV) Dec. Justyce Zuniga (WA), 9-6
7th - Timothy Koester (IA) T.F. Vince Jasinski (IL), 14-3 (1:37)

138

1st - Jordyn Raney (KY) Dec. Kellen Wolbert (WI), 19-14
3rd - Tyler Dekraker (PA) T.F. Sam Herring (PA), 11-0 (3:42)
5th - Maximus Brady (IA) Dec. Elijah Cortez (CA), 9-7
7th - Isaiah Schaefer (IN) For. Valentine Popadiuc (NM),

144

1st - Bo Bassett (PA) F. Clinton Shepherd (IN), 1:23
3rd - Jake Miller (OK) Dec. Michael Romero (CA), 7-3
5th - Haakon Peterson (WI) F. Bobby Duffy (NJ), 2:33
7th - Jet Brown (MO) Med. For. Jesse Grajeda (CA),

150

1st - Logan W. Paradice (GA) F. Dallas Russell (GA), 5:07
3rd - Matthew Martino (ID) T.F. Brandon Dean (CO), 10-0 (6:00)
5th - Gus Cardinal (AZ) T.F. Davis Parrow (MN), 12-2 (2:14)
7th - Maksim Mukhamedaliyev (IL) T.F. Conlan Carlson (MN), 14-4 (1:38)

157

1st - David Gleason (MO) Dec. Wyatt Medlin (IL), 10-6
3rd - Gabriel Delgado (NV) Dec. Zeno Moore (FL), 5-5
5th - Bruno Cassioppi (IL) Med. For. Reagan Milheim (PA),
7th - Declan Koch (WI) T.F. Silas Stits (IN), 11-1 (5:09)

165

1st - Melvin Miller (PA) T.F. Sullivan Ramos (WI), 13-2 (4:54)
3rd - Maximus Dhabolt (IA) T.F. Liam Carlin (CT), 13-2 (3:36)
5th - Arment Waltenbaugh (PA) F. JayDen Williams (MI), 2:18
7th - Lucas Boe (FL) T.F. Isreal Ibarra (AZ), 13-2 (5:36)

175

1st - Nicholas Singer (PA) T.F. Mason Ontiveros (CA), 10-0 (2:06)
3rd - Waylon Cressell (IN) T.F. Eli Leonard (WI), 10-0 (0:29)
5th - Ladd Holman (UT) T.F. Maximus Norman (TN), 10-0 (1:15)
7th - Lincoln Jipp (IA) For. Keenan Sheridan (SD),

190

1st - Lucas Ricketts (KY) Dec. Jarrett Wadsen (MN), 5-5
3rd - Michael White (IN) F. Jaxon Penovich (IL), 1:10
5th - Robert Kucharczk (FL) Dec. Alex Reyes (NJ), 14-7
7th - John Murphy (MN) Dec. Sutton Kenning (MN), 8-7

215

1st - Cade Ziola (NE) T.F. Michael Boyle (OH), 15-4 (5:18)
3rd - Kai Calcutt (IL) T.F. Levi Bussey (CA), 10-0 (0:31)
5th - Aiden Cooley (TX) T.F. Alexander Smith (FL), 12-2 (1:55)
7th - Josh Hoffer (IL) Dec. Ronan An (GA), 8-5

285

1st - Dreshaun Ross (IA) Dec. Coby Merrill (CA), 3-2
3rd - Michael Mocco (FL) Dec. Mark Effendian (PA), 5-2
5th - Dean Bechtold (PA) T.F. Jacob Levy (FL), 11-0 (2:15)
7th - Trayvn Boger (UT) Med. For. Micah Hach (SD)