Beat the Streets student-athletes find success at 2025 USA Wrestling National Championships

Ten student-athletes earned at least one victory in the tournament.

Beat the Streets Academy student-athlete Ana Carolina Mindlin Lockard (Jess Gregg)

Three Beat the Streets Academy student-athletes earned four wins each at the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps U16 and Junior Nationals this past week at the Fargodome in Fargo, N.D.

Leona Gao scored all four of her victories by tech fall, including three in the consolation round after a 13-4 second-round loss. Her tournament ended with a tech fall loss to eventual fourth-place winner Kendal Haynie (Florida). Gao was the BTS representative in the U16 division in girls freestyle.

Ana Carolina Mindlin Lockard had a challenging draw in the junior division, falling by tech fall in the first round to eventual runner-up Olivia Davis (California). But Mindlin Lockard showcased resiliency with four consecutive victories, including two by fall.

Oumar Tounkara advanced to the quarterfinals in junior freestyle with four wins by technical fall but fell one win short of earning All-America honors for a second straight year. Tounkara dropped a tight 17-16 decision in the quarterfinals to Loc Webber (Ohio) then fell 8-4 in the consolations. Tounkara is part of the BTS Academy program, which aims to prepare student-athletes for success both on and off the wrestling mat.

Fellow BTS Academy student-athletes Tehana Savory, Marielys Lugo Fernandez and Belen Medina each earned victories. Savory had two wins, with one by fall. Lugo Fernandez and Medina each had a victory by fall.

BTS student-athletes Jacqueline Jackson, Anaiya Pagan, Ariana Oliveri (Academy), Sasha Shuster and Monique Teal didn't come away with a tournament win but enjoyed traveling to a new part of the country.

Familiar Faces

BTS alumna Isabella Lorenzana, who moved to California last year, also sported a 4-2 record. Like Mindlin Lockard, Lorenzana fell in the first round but rebounded with four straight wins, including three tech falls and one fall. Lorenzana's run ended by fall to eventual fourth-place Maddie Miller (Ohio).

Kingston Daniells Silva also found success in junior freestyle with a 5-2 record. Daniells Silva scored two wins then fell 10-9 in the round of 32. He rebounded with three wins in the consolation round - two tech falls and a 14-12 decision - before his tournament ended.

Tounkara and Daniells Silva are both BTS Junior League alums and will continue their academic and wrestling careers in college at the NCAA Division I level. Tounkara will head to Philadelphia to Drexel University and Daniells Silva will stay close to home at Columbia University.

Greco-Roman

All four BTS student-athletes competing in junior division in Greco-Roman had at least one win.

Bilali Assoumanou led the way with three victories, all by tech fall. He opened the tournament with a 13-4 win then fell in the second round but bounced back with dominant 9-0 and 8-0 victories in the consolation rounds. Georgiy Arakelov fell in the first round then scored his lone tournament win with a 10-2 tech fall. Both Assoumanou and Arakelov are part of the BTS Academy.

Lazare Chikhradze had two wins; a fall and a 9-0 tech fall in the consolation rounds. Eric Ivry had victory by fall.

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Since being founded in 2005, Beat the Streets has pioneered a movement that now includes 150 individual wrestling programs, a youth league and the first girls high school league.

BTS works to develop the full human and athletic potential of New York City urban youth and strengthen the city's wrestling culture. We aim to make a lifelong impact on student-athletes through the lessons learned on the wrestling mat -- discipline, perseverance, self-reliance, humility and a strong work ethic. Discover how you can make a meaningful contribution to our work at btsny.org/donate.