Faith James helps Missouri win first freestyle title
By Kyle Troutman ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com
A Cassville teenager is showing just because she comes from a small town does not mean she can’t have a big impact.
Faith James, incoming Cassville senior and prolific wrestling talent, helped Missouri USA Wrestling hoist its first ever national title, for boys or girls, at the 2023 Junior National Duals in Tulsa June 13-17.
James and her brother, Riley James, an incoming sophomore at Cassville, aim to bring even more national recognition to the seven valleys next month, as both will be competing in the USMC Nationals in Fargo, N.D.
Faith James’ path to the freestyle national title began in the 2023 Missouri Girls Freestyle State meet in Sedalia, where she took second place at 138 pounds. That performance earned her a spot on the Missouri Fire, a collection of the best girls wrestlers in the state.
“It’s crazy because I’ve been on teams or wrestled a lot of the girls, but this was the first time I was on the main team, so I felt a lot of pressure to do better,” she said.
James wrestled seven matches in the tournament, going 2-1 in pool play and 2-2 in knockout rounds. As a team, Missouri Fire was undefeated, taking down Georgia Red, Wisconsin and California Red in pool play, then topping Iowa, Pennsylvania Blue and Colorado to meet Michigan Blue in the national championship, winning the first title in Missouri USA Wrestling history.
“The national championship means a lot because it’s the first time the boys or girls have won it, and to be part of that, it sets the tone that coming from a small town, if I can do it, anyone else can,” she said. “It’s really cool to show that.”
James is no stranger to big tournaments. She took second at 130 pounds at the MSHSAA Girls State Championships in February and was 6th at 135 pounds last year. Nationals, however, brought an even larger atmosphere.
“They ran like 20 mats, and I got to wrestle on the stage for the first time,” she said. “It was really nerve-wracking — worse than the spotlight [in the finals at the MSHSAA Championships] — because you can see all the mats from there. It took the breath out of me.”
James said her Individual performance at the tournament was strong, especially in the freestyle competition.
“I did really well overall,” she said. “In Greco, I lost a couple I shouldn’t have, but in Freestyle, I put in a good effort and faced a couple girls ranked top 10 in the country. Those weren’t easy losses, but I competed.”
In the Greco portion of the Junior National Duals, James’ Missouri team lost only one matchup, defeated by Texas in the third of five rounds of pool play. Missouri took third in the pool after wins over Utah, Pennsylvania Red, North Carolina and Indiana. Missouri went on to win bronze/ copper knockout round, defeating California Blue, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana and Minnesota. James was 4-3 in those matches.
“It was the first time for me to be in the Greco duals, and it was great to be part of that,” she said. “But, being part of the first team to win a national title will always be really special to me.”
With the Junior National duals behind her, James is now focusing in on the US Marine Corps Junior & 16U Nationals in Fargo, N.D., an individual tournament instead of a team format.
Coming off the Missouri USA Wrestling accomplishments, she has set high goals for the July 15-23 event.
“I went 2-2 last year in the Cadet and Juniors 16U and 18U,” she said. “This year, I fully believe I can get All-American at 132 pounds, which means making the top 8. I won [recently] against two or three nationally ranked girls, so I fully believe I can place.”
While James will be competing for individual glory, she won’t be alone. Along with some of her wrestling teammates, the tournament in Fargo will be a family affair.
Riley James, at 145 pounds, was able to qualify for the tournament after wrestling in two others. At the 2023 MOUSE Boys Freestyle State, he took third place after going 4-2, just outside of nationals qualification.
His performance did get him into the 2023 USA Wrestling Southern Plains Regionals, where he needed to finish in the top six to qualify for the US Marine Corps Junior & 16U Nationals — and despite some adversity, that’s just what he did.
James won his first match but lost his second, forcing him into wrestlebacks where he worked his way through four more opponents before falling in the consolation semifinal, ensuring him a sixth-place finish.
“Wrestling Freestyle State was new for me, and I only had about three practices before going, and it was only my second ever freestyle tournament,” he said. “At Regionals, I had improved a lot since state, and out of the 60 wrestlers, I was top five or six. There was no medal match there.”
James’ qualification came with some fireworks, as his bubble match was a back-andforth bout he managed to win in the final seconds. Down 14-7, James scored 2, 4, 2 and 1 in consecutive moves to win the match 16-14.
After fighting his way into the top six, James said he is also setting high expectations or Fargo.
“I want to All-American, of course,” he said. “But, there will be some really tough guys there from a lot of states. Even if I don’t win, I want to improve and wrestle at my best.”
Having also competed at the MSHSAA Boys Wrestling Championships, medaling as a freshman with a fifth-place finish, James said he’s taking his knowledge from that experience and applying it to the freestyle format.
“I’m more comfortable with folk style, but I can take what I know and transfer it to wrestle my best and improve,” he said.
Faith James went 4-1 at the Southern Plains Regionals to take third place and qualify for nationals. As she prepares for the major tournament, her tactic is the same as when she’s with the Cassville squad — keep things light.
“I don’t want to get in the zone,” she said. “I want to joke around and laugh because the less pressure I put on myself, the better I will perform. I will also have a lot of people close to me from Missouri that will be there to support me.”
Riley James said with the summer his sister has had, she serves as a point of inspiration to achieve his goals.
“Men’s wrestling is really tough because a lot of states have been doing it way longer than Missouri, and the Missouri girls have some of the best freestyle coaches in the country,” he said. “She wrestled for Missouri and that was really cool, and I hope [winning a national title] is something the guys can accomplish, and I hope I’m on that team when it happens.”
Faith and Riley have been fundraising for their trip to Fargo and to recoup from the National Duals. The pair is at $2,045 of their $3,500 goal. People wishing to help may donate via Venmo (@TheJamesSiblings), CashApp ($TheJamesSiblings), or Paypal (@ TheJamesSiblings). To donate by cash or check, people may contact Faith James at 417-342-9909 or faaithjames@gmail. com.
