Pueblo senior Elizabeth Valenzuela Smith placed seventh in the 110-pound class Junior class, earning her All-American status, in the 2026 U.S. Marine Corps Junior National Freestyle competition that concluded Saturday at the Fargodome at Fargo, N.D.
Valenzuela Smith, who went 6-2 in her matches, defeated Kayleigh Milam (Missouri) by decision (14-8) in the seventh-place match. The top eight finishers in weight class earn All-American distinction.
Valenzuela-Smith’s run to All-American status:
WINNERS BRACKET
Round of 128 — Defeated May Brownstein (Maryland), technical fall, 10-0, 1:21
Round of 64 — Defeated Africa Fabian (Missouri), technical fall, 10-0, 2:05
Round of 32 — Defeated Madalyn Riedlinger (Kansas), technical fall, 10-0, 1:54
Round of 16 — Defeated Alicia Kenfack (North Dakota), decision, 12-7
Quarterfinals — Lost to Isabel Kaplan (Indiana), fall, 1:20
CONSOLATION
— Defeated Khiry Reese (North Carolina), fall, 4:56
— Lost to Eva Zimmerman (Utah), fall, 5:20
Seventh-place Match — Defeated Kayleigh Milam (Missouri), decision 14-8
Riella Garza, a sophomore at Sunnyside, finished with a winning record (3-2) after winning two matches in the 125-pound winners’ bracket of the 16U competition.
Others from Southern Arizona who competed at Fargo included:
16U
95 — Jasmine Buck, RBY Wrestling Club
125 — Camryn Dickey, Marana (Fr.)
130 — Olivia Bustamante, Dominate Wrestling Club (Sahuarita)
130 — Kathleen Decker, Mountain Lion Wrestling Club (Marana)
140 — Alina Tovar, Mountain View (Soph.)
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