Johnathan Thompson of Grand Junction, just out of eighth grade at Greene County Middle School, finished in second place on Wednesday at 88 lbs. in the 16U division of the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Wrestling Championships. The action was held at the Fargodome in Fargo, ND with Thompson competing on Tuesday and yesterday. The top seed in the weight class, Johnathan lost by a 10-0 first period technical fall in the finals to Pennsylvania’s Leo Murillo, the number two seed. The Fargo Nationals, as they are known, through USA Wrestling, is one of the highest level tournaments in the country.

After a quarterfinal victory on Wednesday morning, Thompson met another Iowan in the semifinals, one of the few wrestlers to have claimed a victory in the past year over the Greene Countian, in Earlham’s Cyrus Millage. In a match that went down to the wire, Thompson won 7-5 to advance to the finals. Millage finished in third place. Two other Iowans were fifth and seventh. The top eight in each weight class earn All-American honors.