From Practice to Competition: Texas Wrestlers Gear Up for 14U Junior Duals in PA

Justin Berg feels pretty good about where the Team Texas 14U wrestling team is after a week of practice in Fort Worth.

This week, he will help oversee a team of wrestlers from across the state at the 14U Junior Duals in Oaks, Pennsylvania.

The event will be held at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center and the Texas roster is full of state champions from the Texas USA Freestyle and Greco-Roman tournament held last month in Fort Worth.

A majority of the team took home state titles in both styles, while many others were in the finals.

“I’ve taken a lot of national teams and we have won,” Berg said “If we can get past that early jitters. There is a lot to be said about Pennsylvania, Minnesota, New Jersey and Iowa. A lot of kids get through the first match or two and realize they can hang with them. There is a certain pedigree in certain states, the lineage that my great-grandfather wrestled. We don’t have that in Texas, but it is coming, but we aren’t there yet. But there’s good wrestlers that come out of Texas.”

The team spent six days working at Spartan Mat Club in Fort Worth and mixed in practice with the 16U teams. 

Berg said some of the wrestlers are still somewhat new to freestyle or Greco-Roman, but with two practices a day there were plenty of teaching moments.

Houston’s Alex Choo, a 2024 Folkstyle Nationals champ and Texas USA Wrestling Freestyle and Greco-Roman state champ, said the week of practice was beneficial….