16U and Junior Nationals - Day 2 Recap

Photo by Isaac Ritchey (MLive)

Impressive start to the 2025 16U and Junior Nationals for Team Michigan! 16U saw 5 girls take home All American honors, including champ Kaili Manuel, who made it her second consecutive Stop Sign in 16U Freestyle. On the Junior side, Michigan had 9 placers, including runner-ups Williams, Lazar, and Richardson. The efforts were good for an 11th place finish as a team in 16U, and our Junior girls finished as national runner-ups.

Kaili Manuel was dominant en route to her second straight Fargo championship, picking up 3 techs and winning by a decisive 9-2 decision over #6 Pulk (MN) in the finals.

Cecilia Williams had an impressive run to the finals, beating #18 Peach (WI) in the semis. Williams also had a solid win over #13 Navarette (Utah) in the finals. Kanata Richardson had the most surprising run, entering the tournament unranked nationally. In the quarterfinals, Richardson knocked off #5 Vargas (CA) by fall in the 2nd period. Alexis Lazar also put together a few outstanding wins to reach the finals and eventually finish as runner-up, as she beat nationally ranked girls in both the quarterfinals and semis.

Full brackets can be found at USAbracketing.com. Stay tuned for 16U and Junior boys Freestyle over the next 3 days!

16U All Americans

95lbs - Tatianna Castillo (Lowell HS), 8th
115lbs - Emma Baker (Lakeshore HS), 7th
130lbs - Ginger Majurin (Kingsford HS), 6th
170lbs - Kaili Manuel (Romeo HS), 1st
190lbs - Lyla Hensen (Hudson), 6th

Junior All Americans

95lbs - Lillee Denson (St. Clair Shores HS), 3rd
105lbs - Madison Nieuwenhuis (Plainwell HS), 6th
110lbs - Nakayla Dawson (Westland John Glenn HS), 3rd
120lbs - Cheyenne Frank (Oxford HS), 5th
125lbs - Cecilia Williams (Mason HS), 2nd
140lbs - Alexis Lazar, 2nd
170lbs - Maddie Hayden (Caledonia HS), 7th
190lbs - Kanata Richardson (Bloomfield Hills HS), 2nd
207lbs - Halle Spears (Midland HS), 3rd