Sergio Vega of Arizona works for a takedown in the finals of the Air Force Special Warfare Folkstyle Nationals.
DES MOINES, Iowa – The Junior Boys tournament concluded Saturday afternoon at the 2025 Air Force Special Warfare 16U and Junior Nationals with a thrilling set of finals at MidAmerican Energy Complex RecPlex. Caleb Noble of Illinois and Leimana Fager of Utah repeated as division champions and Sergio Vega of Arizona was named Outstanding Wrestler.
Noble emerged as 113-pound champion with a gut-check 7-5 win over Colorado’s Drake VomBaur in the finals. VomBaur surprised returning champion Cason Craft of Oklahoma in the Saturday morning semis, 7-1, to book his spot against the six-time Fargo All-American Noble. The win gave Noble his third-straight year atop the podium at the USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals.
Fager punctuated his title at 215 pounds with a third-period pin against Iowa’s Jean Ngoma from an inside-trip finish. He was the 190-pound champion last year and earned a Utah high school state title for Corner Canyon last month.
The 150-pound title went to Vega, who pinned Gabriel Gallardo of Arizona in 5:48. Vega was up by eight points in the third period before securing a near-side cradle from neutral to grab the pin. He posted a 6-0 record with three pins and three technical falls this weekend.
After upending returning champion and Outstanding Wrestler Dorian Olivarez in yesterday’s quarterfinals, Florida product Jayce Paridon rode the momentum to first place at 144 pounds. Paridon impressed with an 18-2 technical fall against Edward Sheeran of California in the finals.
138-pound champion Dean Anderson of Arizona put forth one of the more impressive runs on Saturday by knocking out returning champion Geronimo Rivera of Utah in sudden victory in the semifinals, followed by a 9-3 decision over the dynamic Christian Jelle of Minnesota in the title match.
Florida’s Claudio Torres prevented Taye Wilson of Kansas from going back-to-back. Torres took a 10-4 decision over the returning champion in the 165-pound finals.
Tyler Sweet of California and Jonathan Rulo of Illinois bumped up from the 16U division, where they were champions last year, to take the Junior Boys crown. Sweet won a five-person round robin bracket at 100 pounds. Rulo punctuated the finals session with an impressive 10-1 major of Wisconsin’s Nehemiah Lendobeja.
Additional champions in the Junior Boys division included Aiden Sweat of Montana at 106 pounds, Roman Luttrell of New Mexico at 120 pounds, Lander Bosh of Utah at 126 pounds, Jace Hedeman of Iowa at 132 pounds, Austin Paris of Utah at 157 pounds, Xavier Smith of Indiana at 175 pounds and Cooper Reves of Kansas at 190 pounds.
Topping the charts in the state team standings was Utah, who collected 332.5 team points and 11 All-Americans. Arizona came in second place with 318.5 team points and 14 All-Americans. Illinois, Iowa and Idaho rounded out the top five states for the Junior Boys.
Bagging the most pins in the least amount of time in the Junior Boys division was Aiden Cooley of Texas with four pins in 6:25. Cooley finished in third place at 215 pounds. The fastest fall in the division went to Eli Roiko of Minnesota, a 13-second pin at 215 pounds.
The Air Force Special Warfare 16U and Junior Folkstyle Nationals is the first leg of the coveted USA Wrestling Triple Crown Award. Junior Boys champions from Des Moines must win freestyle and Greco-Roman national titles in Fargo, N.D. to become Triple Crown Award winners in 2025.
The event continues into Saturday evening with the start of the 16U Boys, 16U Girls and Masters Mens tournaments. Visit usawrestlingevents.com for a complete schedule of events for every division.
All the action from Des Moines is available to watch live or on-demand on FloWrestling.com. FloWrestling offers a monthly subscription priced at $29.99 or an annual subscription for $150 to access its platform.
Brackets and updated match-by-match results will be available through USA Bracketing.
2025 USA Wrestling Air Force Special Warfare 16U and Junior Folkstyle Nationals #
March 14-16, MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex, West Des Moines, Iowa #
Junior Boys Results #
State Team Standings #
1.Utah, 332.5
2. Arizona, 318.5
3. Illinois, 291
4. Iowa, 264
5. Idaho, 242
6. Indiana, 199.5
7. Colorado, 151
8. Minnesota, 145.5
9. Kansas, 144
10. Missouri, 142.5
Final Results #
106 pounds #
1st – Aiden Sweat (MT) tech. fall Julian Bigueur (CA), 16-0
3rd – Michael Kowalski (UT) dec. Johnny Behm (ID), 4-0
5th – Jackson Jacobs (MI) maj. dec. Wyatt Cox (IN), 12-4
7th – Cooper Green (AZ) med. for. Matthew Deutch (IL)
113 pounds #
1st – Caleb Noble (IL) dec. Drake VomBaur (CO), 7-5
3rd – Cason Craft (OK) dec. Khel Lipumano (AZ), 7-4 SV
5th – Aiden Bastian (UT) dec. Drew Dawson (OR), 7-0
7th – Daniel Goodwin (IL) tech. fall Joseph Hamilton (IN), 22-7
120 pounds #
1st – Roman Luttrell (NM) maj. dec. Peyton Schoettle (IN), 8-0
3rd – Kiyan Simon (AL) dec. Josiah Neri (NM), 6-3
5th – Zaiyahn Ornelas (NE) med. for. Nicolas Enzminger (ND)
7th – Brendon Oehme (SD) maj. dec. Jaxson Freeman (ID), 16-3
126 pounds #
1st – Lander Bosh (UT) dec. Gage Spurgeon (IA), 2-1
3rd – Gavin Landers (IA) maj. dec. Blake Getz (IN), 9-0
5th – Saxton Scott (ID) dec. Tanner Telford (UT), 9-6 SV
7th – Nolan Brown (MT) tech. fall Logan Schad (WI), 26-11
132 pounds #
1st – Jace Hedeman (IA) maj. dec. Rider Seguine (ID), 11-2
3rd – Che Jenkins (AZ) dec. Caleb McElroy (CA), 5-4
5th – Draven Johns (ID) med. for. Daniel Guerrero (AZ)
7th – Caeleb Hutchinson (KS) maj. dec. Ryder Shelton (MO), 14-0
138 pounds #
1st – Dean Anderson (AZ) dec. Christian Jelle (MN), 9-3
3rd – Geronimo Rivera (UT) dec. Chris Lalonde (CO), 4-2
5th – Owen Proper (AZ) dec. Connor Peterson (MN), 4-3
7th – Nick Dardanes (CO) med. for. Justin Beauvais (AZ)
144 pounds #
1st – Jayce Paridon (FL) tech. fall Edward Sheeran (CA), 18-2
3rd – Jake Miller (OK) dec. Lorenzo Gallegos (NM), 10-4
5th – Hunter Stevens (WI) dec. Edwyn Schroeder (WI), 8-3
7th – Torin Kuokkanen (WI) maj. dec. Hudson Egeberg (ND), 12-4
150 pounds #
1st – Sergio Vega (AZ) fall Gabriel Gallardo (AZ), 5:48
3rd – Jason Worthley (UT) maj. dec. Gus Cardinal (AZ), 13-2
5th – William Alt (WY) med. for. Legend Ellis (OK)
7th – Jahkari Clark (IA) dec. Colin Weiss (MO), 14-7
157 pounds #
1st – Austin Paris (UT) dec. Jozeph Valenzuela Smith (AZ), 13-7
3rd – Boden White (IA) fall Gavin Regis (UT), 4:35
5th – William Brooks (VA) maj. dec. Frank Tagoe (IL), 18-8
7th – Mason Schrempp (SD) fall Noah Johnson (MO), 2:17
165 pounds #
1st – Claudio Torres (FL) dec. Taye Wilson (KS), 10-4
3rd – Steel Meyers (TX) tech. fall Xayvion Anderson (IA), 16-0
5th – Barrett Mieras (IA) med. for. Kyler Knaack (IA)
7th – Royce Lopez (IL) dec. Griffin Van Tichelt (IN), 5-2
175 pounds #
1st – Xavier Smith (IN) dec. Aaron Stewart (IL), 3-1
3rd – Levi Dicugno (WA) dec. Isaiah Guerrero (WI), 4-1
5th – Eli Leonard (WI) tech. fall Eli Larson (IL), 18-0
7th – Ilia Dvoryannikov (IL) fall Rocker Aguilar (ND), 2:04
190 pounds #
1st – Cooper Reves (KS) dec. Deacon Moran (MO), 6-3
3rd – Carter Vannest (CA) dec. Kal-El Fluckiger (AZ), 5-2 TB
5th – Seth Martin (ID) med. for. Delton Kaufmann (AZ)
7th – Merrick Johnson (NE) fall Christopher Quarles (IN), 1:47
215 pounds #
1st – Leimana Fager (UT) fall Jean Ngoma (IA), 4:42
3rd – Aiden Cooley (TX) dec. Carter Green (KS), 1-0
5th – Elijah Schunke (SD) fall Carter Brown (MO), 2:40
7th – Layne O'Neil (MI) med. for. Eli Roiko (MN)
285 pounds #
1st – Jonathan Rulo (IL) maj. dec. Nehemiah Lendobeja (WI), 10-1
3rd – Trayvn Boger (UT) maj. dec. Zayne Candelaria (AZ), 12-2
5th – Cade Okeson (ND) dec. Kaydon Williams (UT), 7-6
7th – Keagyn Linden (NE) fall Samuel Stockton (CO), 3:36
Semifinal Results #
106 pounds #
Julian Bigueur (CA) maj. dec. Johnny Behm (ID), 12-2
Aiden Sweat (MT) fall Wyatt Cox (IN), 1:43
113 pounds #
Caleb Noble (IL) maj. dec. Drew Dawson (OR), 16-2
Drake VomBaur (CO) dec. Cason Craft (OK), 7-1
120 pounds #
Peyton Schoettle (IN) dec. Kiyan Simon (AL), 4-1 SV
Roman Luttrell (NM) dec. Nicolas Enzminger (ND), 7-6
126 pounds #
Gage Spurgeon (IA) dec. Blake Getz (IN), 9-6 SV
Lander Bosh (UT) dec. Gavin Landers (IA), 11-8
132 pounds #
Rider Seguine (ID) dec. Daniel Guerrero (AZ), 6-2
Jace Hedeman (IA) maj. dec. Che Jenkins (AZ), 8-0
138 pounds #
Dean Anderson (AZ) dec. Geronimo Rivera (UT), 5-2 SV
Christian Jelle (MN) tech. fall Chris Lalonde (CO), 21-6
144 pounds #
Jayce Paridon (FL) dec. Jake Miller (OK), 2-1 TB
Edward Sheeran (CA) dec. Hunter Stevens (WI), 9-2
150 pounds #
Gabriel Gallardo (AZ) dec. Legend Ellis (OK), 1-0
Sergio Vega (AZ) fall William Alt (WY), 2:56
157 pounds #
Austin Paris (UT) tech. fall Gavin Regis (UT), 21-4
Jozeph Valenzuela Smith (AZ) dec. Frank Tagoe (IL), 4-2
165 pounds #
Taye Wilson (KS) fall Xayvion Anderson (IA), 5:24
Claudio Torres (FL) dec. Steel Meyers (TX), 4-1
175 pounds #
Aaron Stewart (IL) maj. dec. Levi Dicugno (WA), 10-2
Xavier Smith (IN) dec. Eli Leonard (WI), 5-3
190 pounds #
Cooper Reves (KS) dec. Delton Kaufmann (AZ), 4-3
Deacon Moran (MO) dec. Seth Martin (ID), 7-1
215 pounds #
Jean Ngoma (IA) dec. Elijah Schunke (SD), 5-4
Leimana Fager (UT) dec. Carter Brown (MO), 7-6
285 pounds #
Nehemiah Lendobeja (WI) dec. Zayne Candelaria (AZ), 4-1
Jonathan Rulo (IL) dec. Kaydon Williams (UT), 12-9 SV
Round Robin Bracket Results #
100 pounds (5-person bracket) #
1st – Tyler Sweet (CA), 4-0
2nd – William Alves (MT), 3-1
3rd – Jackson Thorn (MN), 2-2
4th – Grady Swalberg (UT), 1-3
5th – DeVaughn Miller (AL), 0-4
R1 – William Alves (MT) tech. fall Grady Swalberg (UT), 17-1
R1 – Tyler Sweet (CA) tech. fall DeVaughn Miller (AL), 19-2
R2 – Tyler Sweet (CA) maj. dec. Jackson Thorn (MN), 10-0
R2 – William Alves (MT) fall DeVaughn Miller (AL), 1:52
R3 – Jackson Thorn (MN) tech. fall DeVaughn Miller (AL), 17-0
R3 – Tyler Sweet (CA) fall Grady Swalberg (UT), 2:45
R4 – Jackson Thorn (MN) tech. fall Grady Swalberg (UT), 23-7
R4 – Tyler Sweet (CA) fall William Alves (MT), 0:35
R5 – William Alves (MT) dec. Jackson Thorn (MN), 6-1
R5 – Grady Swalberg (UT) dec. DeVaughn Miller (AL), 11-10
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