This weekend's UWW Juniors packs quite the punch of with star-powered competitors from around the country. The tournament begins on Thursday with Greco-Roman (which will also serve as the Junior World Team Trials), and continue through Friday and Saturday with freestyle. The vast majority of these hammers are registered for freestyle, with the exception of recent North Carolina State commit Nick Reenan going Greco at 84kg. Watch all of the action live this weekend!

​Note: Because these are in no particular order, they are NOT rankings (don’t put that evil on me).  

Spencer Lee - Freestyle 50kg

The three-time Pennsylvania state champion is the reigning junior world champion at 50kg. As the second-ranked pound-for-pound wrestler in the country, don’t be surprised to see Lee tech or pin his way to a title. He's as close to a lock as you’ll find this weekend.

Mark Hall - Freestyle 74kg

He'll contend in what looks like the most top-heavy weight class of the entire weekend. The six-time state champion and future Nittany Lion has kept himself very busy recently by wrestling at the Last Chance Qualifier, Olympic Trials and now UWW Juniors. Hall fought a tight and exciting match against Anthony Valencia at the Last Chance, and is currently No. 1 in the pound-for-pound rankings.  

Hall and Valencia's Last Chance battle:

Nick Reenan - Greco-Roman 84kg

The No. 4 pound-for-pound wrestler in the country has collected some amazing accomplishments in the international styles, including four Fargo titles and Pan-Am junior freestyle and Greco-Roman victories. Reenan will need to contend with former Junior World Team member Wyatt Koelling to make the squad.

Jarod Verkleeren - Freestyle 66kg

Cadet world champion Verkleeren unquestionably belongs in this conversation. But whether he’s ready as a high school junior to contend with the college wrestlers peppered throughout this tournament is an entirely different topic.

Myles Martin - Freestyle 84kg

NBD, just an NCAA champion in the mix. The Myles Martin/Zahid Valencia rivalry may see its next installment this weekend. Myles has made incredible leaps since entering Ohio State. Given the track record of the Ohio Regional Training Center's athletes, there’s no question those leaps will translate to freestyle.

Yianni Diakomihalis - Freestyle 60kg

We mentioned this 60kg weight earlier this year. Diakomihalis is the reigning cadet world champion at 58kg. Juniors can be a different kettle of fish, but I think Diakomihalis will have little issue succeeding in a higher age group.

Daton Fix - Freestyle 55kg

He got his first world-level medal last summer when he took bronze at Cadet Worlds. Daton put the entire country on notice a year ago when he tech'ed two college wrestlers (Ronnie Bresser and Stevan Micic) as a high school sophomore. Could he turn in another precocious performance this weekend?

"Game Over!"

Anthony Valencia - Freestyle 74kg

The former No. 1 recruit in the country has been getting his freestyle reps in on an Olympic redshirt, so he should be primed to compete here against junior-level competition. Valencia has a powerful double-leg with a fantastic misdirection single. Two years ago, Valencia was on the Junior World Team at this weight, and rolled through the tournament before getting thrown and pinned.  

Joe Smith - Freestyle 74kg

Smith torched the Fargo field last year, but this group at 74kg is an entirely different story. Smith has made considerable gains at Oklahoma State, and I see no reason to expect that trend to change. He placed at 157 pounds as a true freshman for the Cowboys.

Stevan Micic - Freestyle 60kg

Micic could be a great option for the junior world team at 60kg. He’s already won a junior world bronze medal at 55kg, and I don’t suspect he’ll have any issues moving up in weight. Micic will wrestle for Michigan next year at either 125 or 133 pounds.  

Micic wins junior world bronze:

Zahid Valencia - Freestyle 84kg

The other half of the Valencia contingent will look to make his second junior world team after a strong redshirt campaign for Arizona State. He may be the most defensively savvy wrestler competing this weekend—finishing on Z. Valencia cleanly essentially never happens.

Z. Valencia and Martin's match at Who's #1:

Logan Massa - Freestyle 74kg

Massa stays under the radar, but I’ve never understood why. He won FILA Juniors two years ago over Ryan Blees already, and has notched wins over Kevin LeValley, Nestor Taffur and Mike Moreno in senior-level freestyle tournaments. Massa is an extremely savvy freestyler who doesn’t just need to score off of leg attacks to put points up. He’s a very legitimate threat to win 74kg.

Monstrous Honorable Mentions:
Nick Piccininni - Freestyle 55kg
Austin Assad - Freestyle 55kg
Austin Gomez - Freestyle 55kg
Gavin Teasdale - Freestyle 55kg
Jaydin Eierman - Freestyle 60kg
Mitchell McKee - Freestyle 60kg
Seth Gross - Freestyle 60kg
Taylor LaMont - Freestyle 60kg
Kaden Gfeller - Freestyle 60kg
Nick Lee - Freestyle 60kg
Alec Pantaleo - Freestyle 66kg
Griffin Parriott - Freestyle 66kg
Fredy Stroker - Freestyle 66kg
Matthew Kolodzik - Freestyle 66kg
Michael Kemerer - Freestyle 70kg
Larry Early III -  Freestyle 74kg
Vincenzo Joseph - Freestyle 74kg
Jelani Embree - Freestyle 84kg
Bobby Steveson - Freestyle 84kg
Chase Singletary -  Freestyle 96kg
Lance Benick - Freestyle 96kg