Local high schoolers set to compete at USA Wrestling nationals

Eighteen local high school wrestlers are slated to compete over the next week at the USA Wrestling Junior and 16U National Championships in Fargo, North Dakota.

It’s the 50th edition of the annual national championship event, which includes competition in men’s freestyle, men’s Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle. Competition begins Saturday and runs through Friday, July 23.

Alivia White, a nationally ranked Marysville Pilchuck rising junior, highlights the local collection of wrestlers in Fargo. White is ranked fifth at 180 pounds in the latest national girls high school rankings, which are developed by USA Wrestling, FloWrestling and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. As a freshman in February of 2020, White won the girls 190-pound state title at Mat Classic.

Below is a list of local wrestlers who are rostered to compete in Fargo, according to USA Wrestling. Included in parentheses is the high school they attend. The competitions are divided into a junior age division (wrestlers born on or after Sept. 1, 2001) and a 16-and-under age division (wrestlers born in 2005 or 2006):

Men’s Junior Freestyle

106: Aksel Espeland (Darrington); Jonah Palabrica (Everett)

113: Dorian Tollenaar (Arlington)

120: Ethan Nguyen (Edmonds-Woodway)

160: Trevor Latta (Arlington)

220: Samuel Kolesar (Cascade)

Men’s Junior Greco-Roman

106: Aksel Espeland (Darrington); Jonah Palabrica (Everett)

113: Dorian Tollenaar (Arlington)

160: Trevor Latta (Arlington)

220: Samuel Kolesar (Cascade)

Women’s Junior Freestyle