17 age-group World medalists headline gripping field at 2025 USMC Women’s National Championships

SPOKANE, Wash. – The U.S. Marine Corps Women’s National Championships are back with a bang for the 2025 edition. The premier age-group women’s freestyle event in the country is set for The Podium in Spokane, Wash., this weekend, and the depth of entries has never been stronger.

A record number of participants are expected to grace the mats in Spokane, with U.S. World Team and U.S. Pan American Team berths up for grabs in the United World Wrestling age-group divisions, plus national titles being determined in the USA Wrestling youth divisions.

Here is a primer for fans to get ready for one of the most eventful weekends on the USA Wrestling calendar each season.  

Based on the entry list as of the morning of April 2, the U.S. Marine Corps Women’s National Championships will feature the following:

• 1,817 total entries with over two days remaining for wrestlers to register. The event participation record of 1,861 entries, set in 2024, is expected to be broken with ease.
• 79% of the individual champions from 2024 have entered the field in 2025. There were 81 brackets wrestled last year—57 champions are back, seven of whom were double division champions a year ago.
• 17 age-group World medalists for Team USA are entered across the U17, U20 and U23 divisions.
• 38 athletes have represented Team USA at an age-group World Championships.
• 11 national champions at the collegiate level—eight NCWWC (NCAA) champions and three NAIA champions.
• 54 athletes won either at 16U or Junior title at the USA Wrestling Women’s Freestyle Nationals held annually in Fargo, N.D.

Champions at the U17, U20 and U23 levels are eligible to represent the U.S. at an age-group World Championships event later this year. The U.S. Pan American squads will also be determined in the UWW age-group divisions based on the results from Spokane. Refer to the USA Wrestling Team Selection Criteria for more details on international team selections for each age division.

Credit toward the USA Wrestling Triple Crown Award can also be earned by tournament champions in Spokane. To claim a USA Wrestling Triple Crown Award, girls must win first place at the USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals and USA Wrestling Freestyle Nationals, plus take the top spot at either the USMC Women’s Nationals or National Girls High School Recruiting Showcase, during the same wrestling calendar year.

With 17 age-group World medalists entered in the field, plus a host of college stars and wrestlers with international experience, this weekend’s must-watch wrestler list is rather extensive.

Age-group World medalists entered include:

• Amani Jones – 2024 U23 bronze, 2023 U20 bronze
• Alexis Janiak – 2024 U20 silver, 2023 U20 bronze
• Jasmine Robinson – 2024 U20 gold, 2023 U17 bronze
• Cristelle Rodriguez – 2024 U20 gold, 2019 U17 silver
• Naomi Simon – 2024 U20 bronze
• Taina Fernandez – 2024 U17 gold
• Morgan Turner – 2024 U17 bronze, 2023 U17 gold
• Audrey Jimenez – 2023 U23 silver, 2023 U20 silver, 2022 U20 silver, 2021 U17 bronze
• Jaclyn Bouzakis – 2023 U17 bronze
• Heather Crull – 2023 U17 bronze
• Piper Fowler – 2023 U17 gold
• Haylie Jaffee – 2023 U17 bronze
• Tristan Kelly – 2022 U20 bronze
• Adaugo Nwachukwu – 2022 U20 bronze
• Valerie Hamilton – 2022 U17 silver
• Sofia Macaluso – 2022 U20 silver
• Sterling Dias – 2019 U17 silver, 2018 U17 bronze

Additional age-group U.S. World Team members who are registered include Brooklyn Hays, Elena Ivaldi, Brianna Gonzalez, Carissa Qureshi, Cadence Diduch, Reese Larramendy, Isabella Marie Gonzales, Kaili Manuel, Katerina Lange, Maddie Kubicki, Karlee Brooks, Everest Leydecker, Rianne Murphy, May Prado, Savannah Cosme, Destiny Rodriguez, Kaiulani Garcia, Shelby Moore, Sydney Perry, Alexandra Szkotnicki and Isabella Mir.

Registered athletes who have earned college national titles at the NCWWC (NCAA) level include Emilie Gonzalez, Ava Bayless, Reese Larramendy, Alexis Janiak, Katerina Lange, Tristan Kelly, Amani Jones and Sydney Petzinger. On the NAIA side Adaugo Nwachukwu, Carolina Moreno and Cristelle Rodriguez will represent as past champions.

Returning U17 43 kg champion Hailey Delgado will look to repeat up at 46 kg with 2023 U17 World bronze medalist Jaclyn Bouzakis and 2023 Fargo champion Madison Nieuwenhuis among the top challengers. Delgado elected not to compete at the U17 World Championships last year after earning the spot.

The U20 50 kg weight class stands out with four age-group World medalists and a host of other credentialled up-and-comers in the mix. Four-time age-group World medalist Audrey Jimenez is the front-runner. She was a U.S. Open champion at the Senior level in 2023 and runner-up at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials and 2023 Final X. Morgan Turner, Jaclyn Bouzakis and Heather Crull all earned World medals in the U17 division. 2023 U17 World Team member Rianne Murphy, plus several Fargo champions, will also enter the conversation here.

Gold medalists collide at 72 kg in the U20 division—2023 U17 World champion Piper Fowler and 2024 U20 World champion Jasmine Robinson are strong favorites to make the best-of-three finals in this weight class.

An exciting two-horse race on paper at 53 kg in the U23 division features two-time age-group World medalist Amani Jones and reigning U20 World champion Cristelle Rodriguez atop the entry list. Jones is a two-time NCWWC champion for North Central College, while Rodriguez is has won two NAIA titles for Doane University, presenting a unique cross-division college battle should the duo meet in Spokane. Both are finalists for the USA Wrestling Women’s Collegiate Wrestler of the Year Award.

Age-group World medalists Alexis Janiak and Sofia Macaluso will look to fend off one of the deeper brackets in Spokane. Returning U17 champion Bella Williams, 2019 U17 World Team member Alexandra Szkotnicki, 2023 U20 Pan American champion Virginia Foard and four-time NAIA champion Carolina Moreno are also among the upper echelon of contenders in this weight.

The festivities in Spokane will begin with the U23 and U17 divisions on Friday, followed by the start of U20 and 14U on Saturday, rounding out with U15, 8U, 10U and 12U on Sunday. U17, U20 and U23 brackets will compete over a two-day span. The remaining divisions are scheduled for one day of wrestling. A detailed schedule of events is available at usawrestlingevents.com.

The USMC Women’s Nationals will be broadcast live on FloWrestling. Brackets will be available through USA Bracketing, USA Wrestling’s new best-in-class event management software.