Maddox, VanKirk get multiple match wins at Fargo

The REPORTER

Hamilton County had a sizable presence at the 2026 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals wrestling tournament, which took place July 10 to 19 in Fargo, N.D.

Two Westfield wrestlers were part of the Junior Boys Freestyle competition.

First up was Connor Maddox, who put together a solid performance at the tournament, reaching the Round of 16 at 113 pounds. Maddox won his first three matches by technical fall before dropping a 7-4 decision to Hawaii’s Analu Woode.

Cohen Davis competed at 165 pounds. He beat Utah’s Karl Ledbetter by fall in the Round of 256. Davis lost to Pennsylvania’s Owen Campbell by tech fall in the next round.

Meanwhile, five local wrestlers competed in the 16U Boys Freestyle division. The best result came from Hamilton Southeastern’s A.W. VanKirk, who went 5-2 for the tournament in that division.

VanKirk defeated Rhode Island’s William Morosetti by tech fall in the Round of 64, then beat New York’s Kasen Hardy in the Round of 32 with a 7-1 decision. Illinois’ Anthony Samanich ended VanKirk’s run with a pin in the Round of 16.

VanKirk moved to the consolation bracket, where he won three more matches. He beat Michigan’s Treyton Werth by tech fall, Indiana’s Vanbawi Lian by a 6-1 decision and Mississippi’s Kage Stewart by a 3-1 decision to reach the consolation semifinals. That was a rematch with Morosetti, and the Rhode Island wrestler won by tech fall.

Noblesville’s Henry Antrobus dropped his first-round match in the 106-pound championship bracket but came back to pick up a victory in the consolation bracket. Antrobus defeated Michigan’s Austin Jacobs by pin in the sub-round of 64, then lost to Mississippi’s Tevor Cole by tech fall in the next round.

Westfield’s Brayden Head competed at 120 pounds. He lost his first match in the championship bracket before taking two matches in the consolation bracket. Head edged out California’s Joshua Garcia by a 7-6 decision in the sub-round of 64, then pinned Oklahoma’s Cordeus Wahl in the round of 64. Head fell by decision to Texas’ Jaxon Kraemer in the sub-round of 32.

Noblesville 132-pounder Brody Weimer won two championship-bracket bouts to reach the round of 32. Weimer pinned South Dakota’s Jackson Dargatz for his first victory, then got a tech fall over Oregon’s Shae Morrison to reach the last 32. Weimer dropped his R32 match to Pennsylvania’s Jack Cole by tech fall.

Westfield’s Trevor Humburg picked up a pair of consolation-bracket wins at 138 pounds. After losing by tech fall in the championship bracket, Humburg defeated Florida’s Javarius Ross and Mississippi’s Drake Hegarty by pins to reach the sub-round of 32. New Jersey’s Kurt Pellegrino edged out Humburg in that match by a 6-5 decision.

Greco-Roman results

Once the freestyle competition was done, wrestlers switched to the Greco-Roman tournament.

In the 16U division, VanKirk shined again, placing fifth overall. He won two matches in the championship bracket to reach the quarterfinals, where he fell to Minnesota’s Sawyer Schendel by a 4-0 decision.

VanKirk won two matches in the consolations bracket, lost in the sub-semis, but rebounded to beat North Dakota’s Garrett Cowan in the fifth-place bout by a 10-3 decision.

Meanwhile, Antrobus won a match in the 106-pound Greco championship bracket, defeating Wisconsin’s Gavin Lamers by tech fall. Antrobus dropped his next match by tech fall.

Humburg won two consolation matches in the 144-pound competition. He beat Mississippi’s Santiago Diaz Suarez by tech fall and New York’s Caleb Brown to reach the consolation Round of 32.

Head won a consolation match at 120, with a tech fall over Wyoming’s Talon Walker.

Weimer also picked up a consolation-match victory at 132, pinning Washington’s Nathan Nguyen.

Davis competed in the Junior Greco at 165 pounds, as did Noblesville’s Cale Metzler at 215 pounds. Both wrestlers dropped both their first championship and consolation match.