Sophie Bowers competed this past weekend at the USMC/USAW Junior and 16U National Tournament in Fargo, ND. Held in the Fargodome on the campus of North Dakota State University, the Junior National tournament is one of the most prestigious freestyle tournaments in the country. To earn a spot in the tournament a wrestler must either place 1st-3rd at their state’s freestyle state tournament or be a returning All-American from the previous year. Sophie earned her spot by winning the Illinois Freestyle State Tournament back in April. She competed along with 35 other female athletes representing Team Illinois Wrestling in the 16U Freestyle division. She claimed her spot as an All-American by going 5-2 on the weekend, taking 7th place in the 16U 122lb bracket
Sophie dominated her first three matches with a tech fall over Neelie Parker of Texas (14-0), an 8-0 victory over Morgan Layman of Virginia, and a pin over Belicia Manuel of Michigan. Her first loss came in the quarterfinal round on Saturday night. Sophie lost 8-8 on criteria to Alejandra Valdiviezo of California. She guaranteed herself a medal as she won her next match by tech fall over Illinois teammate Claudia Heeney (11-1). Sophie dropped her next match in the consolation quarterfinals to Savannah Witt from Pennsylvania (10-4) before bouncing back in the 7th place match to pick up a 5-0 victory over Ella Gahl of Indiana. Sophie was one of 8 All-Americans for Team Illinois as they placed 9th on the weekend.
