It’s time. The top high school women’s wrestlers from around the country will converge at the FargoDome for the Junior and 16U National Championships with national titles and All-American honors on the line. For the first time, the women’s divisions will compete simultaneously beginning Saturday. 

Here are some things to watch once the first whistle blows in Fargo.

16U Division

Weights To Watch

106 has six girls ranked in the top 25, with Connecticut’s #7 Kayla Batres leading the way, followed by New Jersey’s #13 ranked Charlie Wylie, a young woman who made some noise in New York’s boys’ division last winter. The weight also includes #13 Mary Manis of Florida — who made the 16U Fargo finals last year — #14 Taylor Whiting of Wisconsin, #15 Libby Roberts of Washington, and #22 Reanah Utterback of Iowa, a wrestler previously ranked in the top 10. Expect some fireworks at this weight.

144 has seven nationally-ranked wrestlers, including returning 16U champ and currently ranked #5 Sarah Henckel of Connecticut, and Iowa’s #6 Skylar Slade, who was the folkstyle national champion this year and was the 16U runner-up last year. Also entered at this weight are #10 Elly Janovsky of Indiana, who just had a win over previous-#8 Genesis Gilmore at Junior National Duals, #15 Ryen Hickey of Colorado, #19 Zoey Haines of Pennsylvania, who was 5th at NHSCA last fall, #28 Greta Garbuzovas of Georgia, and #29 Jahlia Miguel, who was third at Hawaii state this year.

Wrestlers To Watch

Leading the parade of wrestlers to watch in the 16U division are Illinois 94-pound freshman Morgan Turner (ranked #11 in our P4P) and Tennessee 164-pound sophomore Piper Fowler (#13 P4P). Both Turner and Fowler are ranked #1 in the country and both will be representing the United States at the U17 World Championships later this month in Istanbul, Turkey. Other names to watch are #3-ranked Caley Graber of Minnesota at 100, returning 16U Fargo champ Molly Allen of Iowa at 112, #3-ranked Isabella Marie Gonzales of California at 117, #3-ranked Carley Ceshker of Wisconsin at 127, #5-ranked Jordan Fouse of Pennsylvania at 132, and #9-ranked Isis France of Arizona at 138.

Dark Horses

There are two at 138 to keep an eye on. New York’s #21 ranked Zoe Griffith placed fourth in the Junior division last year, even though she went out in the blood round of 16U. With one more year under her belt, it wouldn’t be a shock to see her on the podium and maybe even make an appearance in the finals. Indiana’s 138-pound Aleksandra Bastaic of Indiana is also one to watch. Ranked #25 in our new poll, she had a solid tournament at Junior National Duals last month, going 7-1 at the event. Her only loss was to #10 Kaidance Gerg. A performance like that would make you think she can make some noise in the 16U division. Massachusetts 117-pound unranked freshman Sara McLaughlin could also do some damage. She placed fourth in U15 World Team Trials, third at NHSCA, and was a national champ at USAW Folkstyle Nationals. Keep an eye on her. And don’t sleep on New York’s #25 ranked Teegan Sibble at 106, the 2023 NHSCA Champion.

Junior Division

Weights To Watch

While there’s a lot of deep weights to watch in the Junior division, 112 is the deepest of all, with 10 top 30 girls entered in the group, including five top 10 wrestlers. Topping the list are #2 Emma Albanese of Nevada, #3 Lorianna Piestewa of New Mexico, #4 Ana Malovich of Pennsylvania, #5 Janessa George of Colorado, #6 Clare Booe of Florida, #8 Calli Gilchrist of Connecticut, #8 Diana Gonzalez of California, and #9 Gabriella Gomez of Illinois. Piestewa was the New Mexico state champ and USAW Showcase runner-up, George took seventh in the Junior division last year, and Booe was first at the USAW Showcase, fifth in the U20 World Team Trials, and is a returning Junior Fargo National Champion. Gomez was a 2021 U17 World silver medalist. This will be a highly contested weight.

You should also keep an eye on 144, a weight that includes three returning national champions, with returning Junior national champion and Who’s #1 winner Janida Garcia of Colorado, returning Junior runner-up and 16U champion Skylar Little Soldier of Minnesota, and returning Junior national champion Sydney Perry of Illinois. 180 is also a weight to watch, with 13 ranked girls, including three in the top 5 — #2 Alivia White of Washington, #3 Isabella Renfro of Missouri, and #5 Cheyenne Ruiz of Utah.

Wrestlers To Watch

There are all-star names throughout the division, starting with Pennsylvania’s #4 Valarie Solorio, a 2021 U17 World teamer. At 106, Indiana’s #5-ranked Heather Crull is the U17 World teamer this year, winning the 49 kg weight. The 122 class features perennial All-American and #4-ranked Jaclyn Dehney of Massachusetts. She was sixth at U20 World Team Trials this year, a division that features top college wrestlers as well as high school opponents. #6 Aubre Krazer of Pennsylvania is also at this weight. She was a double All-American last year in Fargo.

New York has a pair of hammers at 127 and 132, with #3-ranked Emily Sindoni dropping from her ranked weight from 132 to 127, and Iowa recruit Emily Frost ranked #2 at 132. Also at 132, Iowa state champ and #2-ranked (at 138) Lilly Luft took fourth at U20 World Team Trials in April. At the same weight, #4 Cadence Diduch of Illinois is the returning Junior national champion. At 138, #12 Faith Bartoszek of Wisconsin is a returning 16U finalist. 

152 features up-and-coming California talent, Eduarda “Duda” Rodrigues, ranked #3 at the weight. She’s a California state champion and has been making waves nationally over the last year. What’s remarkable is that she only started wrestling in January of 2022, after a successful jiu-jitsu career. She’s been unstoppable since stepping on the wrestling mat, dominating her way to the California title and climbing to the top 5 in the country in 15 months. Can she take another step toward reaching #1?

200 pounds features #1 Savannah Isaac of Ohio, who doubled up at Fargo last year with both 16U and Junior national titles. At 225, California’s #5 ranked Alysse Phillips was the NHSCA champ this year.

Dark Horses

Don’t sleep on returning Junior national finalist Makenna Craft of Ohio at 100 pounds. Also, don’t forget about #24 ranked Cassia Zammit of Ohio at 132, the 2021 16U champion and Junior All-American with a 5th place finish. At 138, California’s #21-ranked Gianna DiBenedetto has an impressive resume, including a state title this year and earning double All-American honors last year.

New York state champion Yianna Foufas is ranked #23 at 112 and had a win over 2021 Cadet World bronze medalist Angie Dill at the Fargo freestyle state qualifier. Her teammate, #22 Alessandra Elliott at 144, was a 2021 16U champ and took fifth in Juniors last year, so stay tuned on these underdogs who could do some damage.

Team Race

It’ll be a tight race for the 16U team title like it was last year, when Iowa nipped Missouri 90-87, with California girls taking third with 86 points. But expect California to be on top again in the Junior division, as they bring another strong team and look to repeat as team champions, dominating the field last year with a 165-122 edge over Michigan. It will be interesting to watch upcoming powerhouse states like Missouri and Pennsylvania, which took first and third at Junior National Duals last month, respectively. In 2021, California won both the 16U and Junior divisions. Also, with the Covid lull in their rearview mirror, look for New York to improve on its 17th (16U division) and 13th (Junior division) finishes last year, as it brings a strong team to Fargo.

The event will stream live on FloWrestling.