FORT BLISS, Texas –
Wrestlers from across the globe have gathered in the Chihuahuan Desert to battle for the distinction of best grapplers in the military March 14-15.
The competitors boast different levels of experience; from former high school and college standouts to U.S. Olympians.
But regardless of skill level, the competitors said the 2026 Armed Forces Wrestling Championships presents a unique challenge: service pride. The tournament features both a freestyle and Greco-Roman tournament for men and a freestyle tournament for women. Matches begin at noon EST Saturday, hosted by Fort Bliss at the Mitchel W. Stout Fitness Center.
2024 Olympian Kamal Bey will lead 2024 team champions Army to vie for a repeat. Army placed first in both Greco-Roman and freestyle in 2024. Bey defeated Air Force 2nd Lt. Vincent Dolce 14-1 in the 79 kg freestyle championship match and pinned Senior Airman Samuel Adams in the 82 kg Greco Roman title match.
Bey went on to place eleventh at 77 kg in Greco Roman at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Army won both 2024 Armed Forces Championships for men, winning all 10 Greco Roman championship matches vs. Air Force and overcame the Airmen in the freestyle championship bouts 25-17. Armed Forces Sports did not host a 2025 tournament.
Staff Sgt. Areana Villaescusa-Parker, Army’s most experienced female wrestler, finished with the 55 kg bronze medal at the Zagreb open in Croatia on Feb.5. Villaescusa-Parker placed third in the 55 kg class at the 2024 U.S. Olympic trials.
2024 runner-up Air Force will be led by Air Force World Class Athlete Program members Airman 1st Class Duncan Nelson at 67 kg freestyle, Staff Sgt. Mariah Anderson, 50 kg women’s freestyle and heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson, a dominant wrestler at Oklahoma State and the Air Force Academy.
Hendrickson, now an Air Force second lieutenant, defeated Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson to win the 2025 NCAA heavyweight title. Nelson, who ranks No.3 in the nation in his weight class in Greco-Roman, won the bronze at the 2025 Valamar Cup in Porec, Croatia.
Marine Corps captains Jamel Johnson and Terrence Zaleski lead a talented group of Marine grapplers. Zaleski, a former University of North Carolina Pembroke standout, competed for the All-Marine Corps team for three years before it disbanded in 2021. Johnson, a logistics officer, wrestled for the All-Army team and the Army’s WCAP program before earning a Marine Corps commission.
Johnson’s brother, Ron Heartley, returned to the wrestling mat for Navy after an 11-year hiatus. Johnson finished in first place in his weight class at the 2025 Tokyo Ohtaku Freestyle Wrestling Tournament last May. Navy will feature a pair of former NCAA All-Americans from the Coast Guard Academy, Lts. j.g. Paul Detwiler (87 kg) and AJ Pagliarulo (63 kg) who return to the wrestling mat after years away for service commitments.
Visit www.armedforcessports.defense.gov for complete coverage of this year's championship.