MILWAUKEE — Minnesota’s top young Greco-Roman wrestlers showcased the state’s deep wrestling talent at the 2026 USA Wrestling Junior Greco-Roman National Duals, capped by a top-eight finish for Minnesota Blue and a resilient divisional championship for Minnesota Red.
The two-day tournament, held June 17-18 at the Baird Center, featured 38 teams of elite wrestlers aged 18 and under from across the country.
Highlighting individual efforts, Saitaro Kong and Gage Bjerga were both named to the Greco-Roman All-Tournament Team after putting together undefeated records.
Illinois took home the overall 2026 Junior National Duals Greco-Roman team title, with Pennsylvania and Oklahoma Blue rounding out the top three.
Minnesota Blue Wars in the Elite Tier
Competing in the tournament’s top-tier Gold/Silver Pool, Minnesota Blue secured eighth place overall.
The Blue squad punched its ticket to the elite pool with a dominant start in Preliminary Bracket A, routing California Silver 58-6 in the quarterfinals and handling Iowa 46-19 in the semifinals. Although they dropped a 50-17 decision to eventual national champion Illinois Greco, Minnesota Blue bounced back in the true second-place match to defeat Team North Dakota 42-22.
In the grueling Gold/Silver round-robin, Minnesota Blue battled the nation’s best, dropping highly competitive duals to Colorado (45-21), Pennsylvania Blue (38-28), and Washington (40-24).
The team finished its run in the seventh-place match against Team Utah, falling 39-24. Despite the team loss, Minnesota Blue picked up dominant technical fall victories from Dalton Humeniuk (165 pounds), Grady Weinbrenner (175), and Bennett Kujawa (150), who secured a first-period pin. At 138 pounds, Bjerga shut out Utah’s Riker Ohearon 8-0 in just 25 seconds, cementing a perfect 6-0 tournament record.
Gold/Silver Pool
1st Place – Illinois
2nd Place – Pennsylvania
3rd Place – Oklahoma Blue
4th Place – Colorado
5th Place – Washington
6th Place – Ohio Scarlet
7th Place – Utah
8th Place – Minnesota Blue
Preliminary Bracket A
Quarters: Minnesota Blue over California Silver (58-6)
Semis: Minnesota Blue over Iowa (46-19)
1st Place Match: Illinois Greco over Minnesota Blue (50-17)
True 2nd Place Match: Minnesota Blue over Team North Dakota (42-22)
Gold/Silver Pool
Champ. Round 1: Colorado GR over Minnesota Blue (45-21)
Champ. Round 2: Pennsylvania Blue over Minnesota Blue (38-28)
Champ. Round 3: Washington over Minnesota Blue (40-24)
7th Place Match: Team Utah over Minnesota Blue (39-24)
Gold/Silver Pool 7th Place Match
Team Utah over Minnesota Blue (39-24)
165 Dalton Humeniuk, MNBL over Karl Ledbetter, UT (TF 10-0 (0:55) ) 0 4
175 Grady Weinbrenner, MNBL over George Mansfield, UT (TF 10-2 (2:32) ) 1 4
190 Shepard Stephens, UT over John Murphy, MNBL (Dec 14-10 ) 3 1
215 Ladd Holman, UT over Braeden Maxey, MNBL (TF 8-0 (1:06) ) 4 0
285 Sam Tanner, UT over Mason Adams, MNBL (TF 9-0 (3:55) ) 4 0
100 Thatcher Purser, UT over Forfeit, MNBL (FF) 5 0
106 Jack Holman, UT over Miles Aase, MNBL (TF 8-0 (1:48) ) 4 0
113 Trey Kraemer, MNBL over Grady Swalberg, UT (TF 9-0 (1:48) ) 0 4
120 Jantz Greenhalgh, UT over Wyatt Koenen, MNBL (Dec 5-3 ) 3 1
126 Kaleb Blackner, UT over Aidan Carlson, MNBL (TF 12-4 ) 4 1
132 Samuel Moody, UT over Gabriel Roehl, MNBL (TF 10-0 ) 4 0
138 Gage Bjerga, MNBL over Riker Ohearon, UT (TF 8-0 (0:25) ) 0 4
144 Austin Ellis, UT over Walker Gaulrapp, MNBL (TF 10-0 (0:42) ) 4 0
150 Bennett Kujawa, MNBL over Kaden Martineau, UT (F 1:31 ) 0 5
157 Alex Williams, UT over Kaleb Mead, MNBL (TF 15-7 (5:43) ) 4 1
Minnesota Red Rallies for Pool Title
In the fourth-tier Green/Yellow Pool, Minnesota Red proved dominant after a rocky opening day, stringing together four consecutive victories to claim first place in the division.
Minnesota Red faced early heartbreak in Preliminary Bracket C, dropping a tight 37-31 quarterfinal dual to California Gold and a 37-29 decision to Team Oregon. They rebounded by shutting down Team Wyoming White 60-8 in the seventh-place bracket match to reset for pool play.
Once in the Green/Yellow Pool, Minnesota Red caught fire. They steamrolled Team Kansas Silver 56-10, dismantled Tennessee Greco 50-16, and edged out Team Indiana Gold 37-29 to earn a spot in the divisional final against Ohio Gray.
The pool championship dual against Ohio Gray was a back-and-forth thriller that saw Minnesota Red emerge with a narrow 35-31 victory. Key technical falls from Aiden Mincey (165), Caden Grenier (190), and Cavin Carlson (157) paced the team. Crucial, gritty 13-13 decision victories by Cohen Lumby (215) and Nehemiah Schwinghammer (285) kept Ohio at bay, while Alex Gau (132) provided a vital first-period pin.
Anchoring the Red squad’s run was 126-pounder Kong, who dominated Ohio Gray’s Edward Vitu with an 11-1 technical fall, closing out his tournament with a stellar 7-0 individual record.
Preliminary Bracket C
Quarters: California Gold over Minnesota Red (37-31)
Cons. Sub-Semis: Team Oregon over Minnesota Red (37-29)
7th Place Match: Minnesota Red over Team Wyoming White (60-8)
Green/Yellow Pool
Champ. Round 1: Minnesota Red over Team Kansas Silver (56-10)
Champ. Round 2: Minnesota Red over Tennessee Greco (50-16)
Champ. Round 3: Minnesota Red over Team Indiana Gold (37-29)
1st Place Match: Minnesota Red over Ohio Gray (35-31)
Green/Yellow Pool 1st Place Match
Minnesota Red over Ohio Gray (35-31)
165 Aiden Mincey, MNRE over Josiah Walbom, OHGR (TF 10-0 (1:19) ) 0 4
175 Khary McCall, OHGR over Slade Barnett, MNRE (TF 8-0 (0:53) ) 4 0
190 Caden Grenier, MNRE over Cameron Fiasco, OHGR (TF 8-0 (0:43) ) 0 4
215 Cohen Lumby, MNRE over Augustin Lohmeyer II, OHGR (Dec 13-13 ) 1 3
285 Nehemiah Schwinghammer, MNRE over Logan McClellan, OHGR (Dec 13-13 ) 1 3
100 Braden Haley, OHGR over Forfeit, MNRE (FF) 5 0
106 Brycen Kothenbeutel, MNRE over Forfeit, OHGR (FF) 0 5
113 Blackburn Savage, OHGR over Blake Brose, MNRE (F 0:39 ) 5 0
120 Carmello Kolb, OHGR over Regan Johnson, MNRE (TF 14-4 (1:44) ) 4 1
126 Saitaro Kong, MNRE over Edward Vitu, OHGR (TF 11-1 (1:05) ) 1 4
132 Alex Gau, MNRE over Devion Coffin, OHGR (F 1:28 ) 0 5
138 Josiah Sims, OHGR over Sully Marx, MNRE (Dec 5-2 ) 3 1
144 Kasey Clark, OHGR over Anthony Heim, MNRE (TF 9-0 (1:35) ) 4 0
150 Isaiah Callahan, OHGR over Trey Gunderson, MNRE (Dec 10-8 ) 3 1
157 Cavin Carlson, MNRE over Cashil Clark, OHGR (TF 9-0 (1:19) ) 0 4