Double Outstanding Wrestler Jasmine Robinson(Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)The Junior Women's Freestyle National Championships ended the same way that the 16U tournament did, with Texas 152 lber Jasmine Robinson (Texas) earning Outstanding Wrestler honors, while California celebrated a team title. Robinson went 6-0 on her way to a Junior National title and did not have a match that lasted longer than 1:52. In the Junior tournament, she rolled with four falls and two techs. She did not surrender a point in the entire competition. Robinson's Junior opponent, Rose Cassioppi (Illinois), entered the tournament ranked fifth in the nation at 164 lbs.
For the 11th straight Junior Women's tournament, it was California that prevailed. The traditional powerhouse had five individual champions, two more finalists, and outdistanced themselves from second-place Texas by more than 80 points. A total of 14 California natives earned All-American honors.
At the opening weight, 100 lbs, California had co-champions as twins Brianna and Emilie Gonzalez did not wrestle each other. Brianna earned her berth in the finals after knocking off former UWW Cadet World Team member Alex Szkotnicki (Maryland), 4-2.
In the second bout, a pair of California natives squared off at 106 lbs. Both Paige Morales and Kiely Tabaldo also met in the 16U national finals. Like that meeting, it was Morales that prevailed. This time it was 8-4.
Another title for California came at 138 lbs as Savannah Gomez was able to gain a fall over North Central recruit Sara Sulejmani (Illinois). The rising junior dominated the tempo of the bout and held an 8-2 lead at the time of the fall, only :30 seconds into the second period.
California's final title came at 200 lbs when Sam Calkins prevailed 2-2 on criteria over Riley Dempewolf (Indiana). Calkins walked into the finals without surrendering a point, but had to dig deep to defeat Dempewolf. The Indiana native scored two points via a step-out and a shot clock violation in the opening period. Calkins got her winning points midway through the second and was able to hold on to win.
One of the most storied women's careers in Fargo ended after Sage Mortimer (Utah) claimed her fourth national title at 112. She did so by holding off talented Samara Chavez (Texas), 12-7. Despite a 10-2 lead from Mortimer, Chavez nearly pinned the Utah native during a second-period surge. Mortimer finishes her high school career as a five-time Fargo finalist, four-time champ (twice at Juniors and 16U). She also placed in Junior Greco-Roman in 2018. Both Mortimer and Chavez will be teammates at King University in the fall.
Also joining the pair at King is 132 lb champion London Houston (Washington). London left no doubt about the outcome and needed only :56 seconds to amass a dozen points en route to a 12-1 tech of Hanna Errthum (Wisconsin).
Another dominating performance and potential OW candidate came in the form of Cadet World bronze medalist and Olympic Trials finalist Kylie Welker (Wisconsin). Welker's championship bout, against Ashley Reed (Connecticut) was her longest of the tournament (1:24). She outscored her competition 45-0 and that doesn't count a victory via fall.
Aside from California, the only other states with multiple champions were Texas and Washington. After Robinson won at 152 lbs, Brittyn Corbishley became the second Texan to earn a stop sign. Though Corbishley had a challenging field to navigate, you wouldn't know by judging her results. She did not give up a single point all tournament and never wrestled into the second period. Her last two wins came over a former Fargo 16U champion (Jaycee Foeller - Missouri) and a 16U runner-up (Taryn Martin).
Washington's other finalist was Shelby Moore at 122 lbs. Moore was one of three women to double-up and win at both age groups (Morales and Robinson). Her finals opponent, Jennifer Soto (California), nearly pulled off the feat in 2019. Soto was a 16U champion and Junior runner-up. In the 2021 finals, Soto could not generate any offense and fell 5-1 to Moore.
There were a pair of bouts that appeared to be marquee matchups, based on the credentials of its participants, that would end up as blowouts. At 127 lbs, 2019 16U runner-up Alexis Janiak (Illinois) squared off with 2019 16U champion Sofia Macaluso (New York). Janiak got an early takedown and managed to turn Macaluso four times with a leg lace for a quick 10-0 win. At 144 lbs, a pair of returning 16U national champions, Destiny Rodriguez (Oregon) and Reese Larramendy (Nevada), clashed. Larramendy opened up the scoring with a pair of points via exposure; however, Rodriguez scored 13 of the last 14 points to earn a win via tech.
Aside from Gomez at 138 lbs, two other finals matched ended with a fall; Ngao Shoua Whitethorn (Minnesota) at 117 and Eliana Bommarito (Michigan) at 225. Whitethorn finished her tournament with four falls overall. Bommarito had two pins throughout the tournament and was never seriously threatened.
Final Junior Women's Freestyle Championship Results
100 lbs - No Contest (Brianna Gonzalez/Emilie Gonzalez)
106 lbs - Paige Morales (California) over Kiely Tabaldo (California)
112 lbs - Sage Mortimer (Utah) over Samara Chavez (Texas)
117 lbs - Ngao Shoua Whitethorn (Minnesota) over Jaclyn Dehney (Massachusetts) Fall 3:34
122 lbs - Shelby Moore (Washington) over Jennifer Soto (California) 5-1
127 lbs - Alexis Janiak (Illinois) over Sofia Macaluso (New York) 10-0
132 lbs - London Houston (Washington) over Hanna Errthum (Wisconsin) 12-1
138 lbs - Savannah Gomez (California) over Sara Sulejmani (Illinois) 8-2
144 lbs - Destiny Rodriguez (Oregon) over Reese Larramendy (Nevada) 13-3
152 lbs - Jasmine Robinson (Texas) over Rose Cassioppi (Illinois)
164 lbs - Kylie Welker (Wisconsin) over Ashley Reed (Connecticut) 13-0
180 lbs - Brittyn Corbishley (Texas) over Taryn Martin (Ohio) 11-0
200 lbs - Sam Calkins (California) over Riley Dempewolf (Indiana) 2-2
225 lbs - Eliana Bommarito (Michigan) over Lexie Cole (Missouri) 2:34
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