FARGO, N.D. – The combined USMC Junior and 16U Nationals, hosted in the FargoDome in Fargo, N.D., is recognized as the largest wrestling tournament in the world.

In 2024, not only did the tournament see substantial growth in overall participation, but it also saw growth in all six national tournaments included in the week-long competition.

USA Wrestling blitzed the overall record with 8,062 total participants, breaking through the 8,000-athlete barrier and topping the 2023 record of 7,134 athletes by 918 athletes, an impressive increase of 12.8%

2024 USMC Junior/16U Nationals entries by tournament

USMC 16U Women's Freestyle Nationals: 838
USMC 16U Men's Freestyle Nationals: 1,698
USMC 16U Greco-Roman Nationals: 1,261
USMC Junior Women's Freestyle Nationals: 1,137
USMC Junior Men's Freestyle Nationals: 1,817
USMC Junior Greco-Roman Nationals: 1,311

Total: 8,062 total entries

Of the six tournaments which saw growth in 2024, the Junior Women’s Freestyle had the most increase in both numbers and percentage, with 284 entries and an increase of an amazing 33.3%.

Other tournaments with impressive increases were the Junior Men’s Freestyle with 221 more athletes, the Junior Greco-Roman with 167 more athletes and the 16U Men’s Freestyle with 103 additional wrestlers. The 16U Women’s event grew by 98 wrestlers, and the 16U Greco-Roman event increased by 55 athletes.

2023 USMC Junior/16U Nationals entries, in comparison to 2022 record event

16U women’s freestyle: 838 vs. 740 (+ 98 entries)
16U men’s freestyle: 1,698 vs. 1,595 (+103 entries)
16U Greco-Roman: 1,261 vs. 1,206 (+55 entries)
Junior women’s freestyle: 1,137 vs 853 (+ 284 entries)
Junior men’s freestyle: 1,817 vs. 1,596 (+221 entries)
Junior Greco-Roman: 1,311 vs. 1,144 (+ 167 entries)

The growth this year came at the 16U level, where there were 543 more entries in the three national events than last year. Also of note is the tremendous growth in entries over the last five years, with over 2,000 more total entries than in the 2018 Junior/16U Nationals.

"Each year, this tournament is a huge lift for our state associations, and truly a chance for them, their volunteers, coaches, officials and athletes to shine. It isn’t a stretch to say this year, more than any year before, this was a bigger collective lift by our state associations as we had more wrestlers and coaches than ever before. To put in perspective the amazing growth of this tournament, we went over 5,000 entries for the first time in 2018 and 6,000 for the first time in 2021 when we came out of COVID. Last year we went over 7,000 and this year we eclipsed 8,000. Growth like that is awesome, and it doesn’t happen on accident,” said Tony Black, USA Wrestling Director of State Services.

Each state has their own individual qualification procedures with a maximum of four athletes per weight class. USA Wrestling also includes automatic qualifiers that don’t count against the athlete limit each state is allowed for the men’s divisions. Many individual state associations had larger teams in Fargo this year, as more athletes take advantage of qualifying through the automatic qualifiers each year.

“Being part of back-to-back record-breaking years for USA Wrestling Events is a tremendous feeling. Over the past two years, our USA Wrestling Events have seen remarkable growth. Our athletes, officials, coaches, and state leaders have created an awesome environment for the sport of wrestling. Our partnerships with North Dakota State Athletics, the Fargo/Moorhead community, and the Fargodome have been instrumental in accommodating the growth of the USMC Junior and 16U Nationals,” said USA Wrestling National Events Director Pete Isais.

For the second straight year, the Junior and 16U Nationals events in each discipline held side-by-side. Championship finals for the Junior and 16U Nationals were held next to each other on two raised mats, with women’s freestyle finals on Sunday night, men’s freestyle finals on Wednesday night and Greco-Roman finals on Saturday night.

The championship finals presentation featured additional graphics of each finalist matchup placed on the video scoreboards. Graphics for each national champion were designed and posted on USA Wrestling’s social media platforms for the first time as well.

#Fargo2024 is one for the record books, as the world’s largest wrestling tournament continues to grow, improve and add enhancements moving into the future.

USA Wrestling shatters records with 8,062 total entries in the 2024 USMC Junior/16U Nationals in Fargo

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