Edison's Reer says Nationals triumph was 'favorite win'

The results are in for the eight local athletes who traveled to North Dakota for the 2026 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals from July 10-18. Bringing back hardware for the boys were Cohen Reer of Edison and Lincoln James of St. Mary Central Catholic. Reer defeated Spenser McCammon of Indiana in a 13-5 decision to win a national championship in the 120-pound 16U freestyle class. "It's probably my favorite tournament win," Reer said. "Seven matches in three days, it was a grind." The rising sophomore qualified for the annual event in Fargo, N.D., last summer and took third place. "Last year was just getting to know Fargo and what it was about," Reer said. "I saw the finals pictures and I wanted to make the finals. I made a goal and it was a good motivator." Reer started with a bye before facing off against Jackson Walker (Nevada) and winning by tech fall, 10-0. In the next round he took out Patrick Barnett (California) on a 12-2 tech fall. From there, he won by fall against Jack Anello (New Jersey) in the second period and defeated Jarron Beltran Jr (Arizona) 9-5. In the quarterfinals, he beat Santino Edgar (New Jersey) by a 9-2 decision. In the semifinals, Reer won on a 12-2 tech fall against Devin Hord (North Carolina). "It's the first time in Edison's history that we have had not only a two-time All-American, but it's the first time we have had a national champion," Chargers coach Jude Michel said. For Reer to bring back a stop sign, which is the award given at Fargo, means a lot to the Chargers, as Michel hopes the younger wrestlers realize what can happen when they work as hard as Reer. Other All-American placers included Lincoln James of SMCC, as he battled in the 150-pound 16U freestyle class and came out in eighth place. "We are extremely proud of both Ben (James) and Lincoln," Panthers coach Michael Baxter said. "Neither one left Fargo completely satisfied, which speaks to the expectations they have for themselves. Both competed with tremendous effort, intensity, and the right attitude." Ben James advanced to the final 16 in the junior boys freestyle. He dropped his opening match on a tech fall, 11-0, then came back to defeat Samuel Gehring (Wisconsin) on a tech fall in the first period, 13-3. Ben James finished out his Fargo trip falling to the fifth seed, Bennett Kujawa (Minnesota). Perkins was represented on the national stage by Law Davlin. He went 3-2 at Fargo in the 175-pound class of the Junior freestyle division. Davlin won his first match by tech fall before dropping his next match to Jakob Hoke by tech fall. Davlin then won two consolation round matches before dropping his final match to CJ Penisero of Pennsylvania. The other two representatives from Edison included Josiah Walbom and Joel Smith. Walbom competed in the Greco-Roman 165-pound class while Smith competed in the 16U Greco 285-pound class and the 16U Freestyle. Walbom went 0-2 on Day 1. He fell to Easton Hochstein (Nebraska) 8-0 before falling to Cole Aguirre (Missouri). Smith went 2-2 in the Greco division. After winning over Kingston Fay from Illinois and falling 12-2 to Hunter Martinez (Colorado), he won before being defeated by Jayden Birdshead (Alabama). In the freestyle, Smith was 0-2 as he fell to Zeno Lento (Pennsylvania) on a fall as well as Erik Mejia (New York) on a tech fall. Girls freestyleSandusky's Britoriah Rollison went 4-2 at Fargo in the girls 16U 155-pound class. She finished the first day with a pin against Wittney Lawerence from Colorado. "She wasn't pleased with the outcome on Day 2," Sandusky coach Andre Grant said. "She wanted to be on the podium at Fargo, but we are proud of her for representing not only Team Ohio but representing the Lady Blue Streaks wrestling program with pride. Tori battled top notch competition and now has that experience." Rollison lost to Romina Temengil (Texas) on a 3-1 decision, but defeated Kaliyah Peoples of Colorado by fall and Alyson Guerrero of California by a 18-13 decision. She fell to Aaliyah Trevino from Kansas. "She now carries the load for Sandusky," Grant said. "Tori has achieved a lot and knows she can do it. She has grown since she started wrestling in eighth grade, and I am hoping that what she learned from this experience, she will bring back to the wrestling room and show the other girls the techniques she learned, as well as lead in practice." Clyde's Mimi Greenslade ended her Fargo trip 2-2 in the 16U 125-pound class.