MILWAUKEE — Minnesota’s top young wrestlers tested their mettle on the national stage this weekend, anchored by three undefeated individual performances at the 2026 USA Wrestling Junior Freestyle National Duals.
The two-day tournament, which concluded Saturday at the Baird Center, featured 47 teams from across the country competing in the under-18 division.
Minnesota Blue battled its way into the elite tier of the competition, securing a sixth-place overall finish in the Gold/Silver Championship Pool. Meanwhile, Minnesota Red bounced back from an early bracket defeat to claim runner-up honors in the fourth-tier Green/Yellow Pool.
Three Minnesota wrestlers earned spots on the Junior Freestyle All-Tournament Team by finishing the event undefeated: Gage Bjerga (138 pounds) and Lincoln Robideau (157 pounds) of Minnesota Blue, and Dalton Humeniuk (165 pounds) of Minnesota Red.
Minnesota Blue Wars in the Top Tier
Minnesota Blue punched its ticket to the championship pool with a strong opening run in Preliminary Bracket A, defeating Wisconsin Blue 43-24 and Team Utah 45-21 before falling to Illinois Freestyle 43-24 in the bracket finals.
In the top-flight championship pool, the Blue squad faced relentless competition. Following losses to eventual runner-up Indiana Gold (44-24) and Wisconsin Red (48-19), Minnesota Blue rallied for a 36-26 victory over border-rival Iowa.
The run concluded with a 43-25 loss to Ohio Scarlet in the fifth-place match. Despite the team defeat, Bjerga sparked Minnesota Blue early with a 13-1 technical fall over Urijah Lopez. Bennett Kujawa (150) and Grayson Eggum (165) both secured pins for the Blue squad, while Aidan Carlson added a forfeit victory at 126 pounds.
Pennsylvania Blue captured the overall national championship, followed by Indiana Gold and Illinois.
Gold/Silver Championship Pool (1st-tier/Top-8 Overall Teams)
1st Place – Pennsylvania Blue
2nd Place – Indiana Gold
3rd Place – Illinois
4th Place – Wisconsin Red
5th Place – Ohio Scarlet
6th Place – Minnesota Blue
7th Place – Iowa
8th Place – Oklahoma Blue
Minnesota Blue scores:
Preliminary Bracket A
Quarters: Minnesota Blue over Wisconsin Blue (43-24)
Semis: Minnesota Blue over Team Utah (45-21)
1st Place Match: Illinois Freestyle over Minnesota Blue (43-24)
Gold/Silver Championship Pool
Champ. Round 1: Team Indiana Gold over Minnesota Blue (44-24)
Champ. Round 2: Wisconsin Red over Minnesota Blue (48-19)
Champ. Round 3: Minnesota Blue over Iowa (36-26)
5th Place Match: Ohio Scarlet FS over Minnesota Blue (43-25)
Gold/Silver Championship Pool 5th Place Match:
Ohio Scarlet FS over Minnesota Blue (43-25)
138 Gage Bjerga, MNBL over Urijah Lopez, OHSC (TF 13-1 (4:14) ) 1 4
144 Cole Speer, OHSC over Brody Bergeron, MNBL (ID 1:48 ) 5 0
150 Bennett Kujawa, MNBL over Andrew Moro, OHSC (F 4:21 ) 0 5
157 Sully Karmon, OHSC over Kaleb Mead, MNBL (Dec 6-2 ) 3 1
165 Grayson Eggum, MNBL over Cael Gilmore, OHSC (F 3:16 ) 0 5
175 Zack Aquila, OHSC over Kane Larson, MNBL (TF 11-0 (2:21) ) 4 0
190 John Manley, OHSC over Joseph Heim, MNBL (TF 12-1 (1:51) ) 4 1
215 Frankie Pieffer, OHSC over Braeden Maxey, MNBL (F 5:43 ) 5 0
285 Clayton Shipley, OHSC over Nehemiah Schwinghammer, MNBL (TF 10-0 (4:58) ) 4 0
100 Ryker Leonard, OHSC over Ryan Fuenffinger, MNBL (TF 11-0 (1:30) ) 4 0
106 Constantinos Paxos, OHSC over Dominick Mariotti, MNBL (TF 14-3 (3:43) ) 4 1
113 Bo Gibbs, OHSC over Jackson Thorn, MNBL (Dec 9-9 ) 3 1
120 Brandon Bickerton, OHSC over Landon Thoennes, MNBL (Dec 7-5 ) 3 1
126 Aidan Carlson, MNBL over Forfeit, OHSC (FF) 0 5
132 Tommy Wurster, OHSC over Miklo Hernandez, MNBL (Dec 2-1 ) 3 1
Minnesota Red Rallies to Pool Finals
Minnesota Red opened its tournament in Preliminary Bracket C, dominating Team Wyoming White 59-7 before being sent to the consolation brackets by Ohio Gray. After rebounding to beat Team Kansas Silver 54-6, the Red squad suffered a 36-33 loss to South Dakota Blue, ultimately placing seventh in the bracket with a 44-18 win over Team Nebraska.
Relegated to the Green/Yellow Pool, Minnesota Red found its stride. The team reeled off consecutive victories over Oklahoma Red (48-19), Team Michigan Red (51-19), and a 33-32 nail-biter against Team Texas to reach the pool finals.
New Jersey halted the win streak in the 1st-place match, defeating Minnesota Red 43-21. Grant Bergeron opened the dual with a hard-fought 5-3 decision at 138 pounds. Humeniuk kept his perfect weekend alive with a 12-2 technical fall at 165 pounds, while Caden Grenier (190) and Mason Adams (285) added dominant 10-0 technical falls. Cohen Lumby picked up a forfeit at 215 pounds, but New Jersey’s lower weights proved too much to overcome.
Minnesota Red scores:
Preliminary Bracket C
Champ. Rd of 16: Minnesota Red over Team Wyoming White (59-7)
Quarters: Ohio Gray over Minnesota Red (51-18)
Cons. Quarters: Minnesota Red over Team Kansas Silver (54-6)
Cons. Sub-Semis: South Dakota Blue over Minnesota Red (36-33)
7th Place Match: Minnesota Red over Team Nebraska (44-18)
Green/Yellow Pool (4th-tier)
Champ. Round 1: Minnesota Red over Oklahoma Red (48-19)
Champ. Round 2: Minnesota Red over Team Michigan Red (51-19)
Champ. Round 3: Minnesota Red over Team Texas (33-32)
1st Place Match: New Jersey over Minnesota Red (43-21)
Green/Yellow Pool 1st Place Match:
New Jersey over Minnesota Red (43-21)
138 Grant Bergeron, MNRE over Wyatt Stauffer, NEJE (Dec 5-3 ) 1 3
144 Brian Little III, NEJE over Walker Gaulrapp, MNRE (TF 11-0 (2:44) ) 4 0
150 Jack Abramson, NEJE over Parker Zutter, MNRE (TF 10-0 (2:20) ) 4 0
157 Jackson Weller, NEJE over Aiden Graner, MNRE (Dec 6-1 ) 3 1
165 Dalton Humeniuk, MNRE over August Katz, NEJE (TF 12-2 (1:34) ) 1 4
175 Raymond Miller, NEJE over Grady Weinbrenner, MNRE (TF 10-0 (1:52) ) 4 0
190 Caden Grenier, MNRE over Joseph Cutruzzula, Jr., NEJE (TF 10-0 (1:19) ) 0 4
215 Cohen Lumby, MNRE over Forfeit, NEJE (FF) 0 5
285 Mason Adams, MNRE over Max Georges, NEJE (TF 10-0 (1:02) ) 0 4
100 Dennis Hall, NEJE over Forfeit, MNRE (FF) 5 0
106 Stephen Bagocius, NEJE over Brycen Kothenbeutel, MNRE (TF 10-0 (0:25) ) 4 0
113 Shiloh Joyce, NEJE over Blake Brose, MNRE (F 0:52 ) 5 0
120 Logan Forgatch, NEJE over Wyatt Koenen, MNRE (TF 13-2 (2:43) ) 4 1
126 Edward George, NEJE over Saitaro Kong, MNRE (TF 10-0 (3:52) ) 4 0
132 Tommy Marchetti, NEJE over Darryl Jackson, MNRE (TF 12-0 (0:53) ) 4 0
unsportsmanlike conduct 0 -1