Results: 25 from Illinois competed at Women’s Nationals

04/07/2025 11:33 AM

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SPOKANE, WA • Twenty-five Illinoisians traveled out to the Great Northwest in search of a World Team berth and an opportunity to wrestle in an age-level World Championship. Out of those twenty-five, two would become national champions and achieve their goals, and ten young ladies would place in the top eight; Morgan Turner would place in both the U17 and the U20 tournament.

Of course, there were several wrestlers from Illinois colleges that also competed; however, these results are purely Illinois based.

Two young ladies made World Teams, and those were champions Morgan Turner (U17) and Alexis Janiak (U23).

Turner, already a two-time U17 World medalist—a gold in 2023 and a bronze in 2024—will be looking to dominate the globe again in search of a second gold. Turner, easily one of the top age-level women in the world, will have an extra motivation this year. At Women’s Nationals, she also competed in the U20 division, wanting to show out and make a World Team going up in age. Unfortunately, she lost in the semifinals. However, this loss may be all the motivation she needs to refocus and prove how dominate she is when she steps on the U17 mats.

Janiak, also a two-time returning U20 World medalist—a silver in 2024 and a bronze in 2023—will now be competing in the U23 Worlds and even try her hand at the Senior level Trials, as well as the US Open. For Janiak, she has made considerable strides this season and is easily wrestling at her best.

Alexa Nunn was a runner-up finisher in the 12U bracket at 140 pounds. And even though there is no 12U World Championships, kudos to the youngster out of Joliet for heading west and earning a 3-1 record. Earlier this season, Nunn placed sixth at the IKWF Intermediate and Bantam State Championships representing Beat the Streets Chicago.

In the U15, Anastasia Rodnikova placed fifth in the 58kg bracket going 5-2, losing a tight 8-7 match in the quarterfinals. Altogether, Rodnikova scored three falls, one technical superiority, and a 2-0 decision in her final match.

At 73kg in the U17 tournament, Alexis Penley placed eighth. She would lose her first match, then win five in a row to wrestle herself into the medal round. Penley would lose her final two matches, but she did a wonderful job of working herself onto the podium after an early defeat.

Inside of the U20 division, Illinois would have three placewinners, and the highest of all, and almost a national champion, was Cadence Diduch at 65kg, a national runner-up. Diduch wrestled to a 4-0 record on her way to the finals, with wins an opening match fall in 0:15, before scoring a technical superiority, 10-0, in 1:52.

For her quarterfinal bout, the Freeport native defeated Indiana’s Maddie Marsh, 5-3; and in the semifinals, she defeated California’s Kaiulani Garcia, 3-2.

In her best-of-three finals, Diduch opened with a Match 1 win, a 5-2 decision over Daniella Nugent of Massachusetts. Unfortunately, Nugent would take Match 2, 2-2 criteria, and Match 3, a 6-4 decision.

Evanston native Harlee Hiller would place fourth at 53kg in the U20 division, rattling off three falls in her first three matches before losing in the semifinals to California’s Abbi Cooper. In her consolation matches, Hiller would win her semifinal bout by fall over Isabella Maria Gonzales of California in 5:58, before dropping the third-place match to Wisconsin’s Taylor Whiting, 12-11.

And finally, in the U23 tournament, four wrestlers placed in the top eight, with Kendra Ryan (53kg) coming away with the highest honors outside of Janiak’s title with a fourth-place finish.

Ryan’s first loss came in the quarterfinals after she won her first two matches by technical superiority, 11-0 (2:12) and 12-0 (3:40). On the backside of the bracket, she would win three in a row, defeating Chloe Ayres (CA) by way of a 10-0 technical superiority, followed by two falls over Mikayla Garcia (CA) in 2:23 and Clare Booe (FL) in 2:52. For third, she would fall to California’s Brianna Gonzalez.

Finishing in sixth was Rose Cassioppi, and in eighth was Valerie Hamilton.

For Cassioppi, at 76kg, she won her first bout with a 10-0 technical superiority in 1:01, and then she dropped her first match in the quarterfinals to Darby Weidl (KS) with a 10-2 decision.

Cassioppi would win her next two matches, pushing herself into the medal round, but then drop her next two.

Hamilton, who wrestled at 68kg, opened with a strong win over Clarissa Agostini of Canada, a fall in 5:36, before losing to North Central College’s Tiera Jimerson (CA) in a tight 5-4 decision bout.

She would wrestle back with a win over Ella Schmit (IA) with a fall in 4:31; unfortunately, Hamilton would Medical Forfeit out for her final two matches.

Below is a list of all the Illinois wrestlers registered, and how each finished. The order of the listing is the weight class each competed at, their name, and their finish.

12U

140 • Alexa Nunn, Runner-Up

U14

095 • Kali DeClercq, DNP

100 • Annabelle Mueller, DNP

114 • Marissa Mayfield, DNP

U15

46 • Charlotte Nold, DNP

54 • Marissa Mayfield, DNP

58 • Anastasia Rodnikova, 5th

66 • Eila Barbour, DNP

U17