Unstoppable: Von Gonten’s Dominating Run Leads to National Championship

Landri Von Gonten spent most of her summer dominating opponents on the mat.

The defining moment for The Woodlands College Park standout was winning a national title at the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals in July.

She won the 130-pound freestyle title. According to College Park coach Erik Spjut, she is the school’s second Fargo champion, joining Brittyn Corbishley, who was first in 2021. Corbishley was a three-time All-American at North Central College and once at Texas Wesleyan.

“It means a lot,” she said of winning the title. “It just shows that I put in my work and that my work pays off.”

She said before the tournament at The Fargodome, she talked to her dad and had a good feeling about the trip to North Dakota.

“I told my dad I have a really good feeling that might go win Fargo and then I just went out there and I pulled it out,” she said.

After a first-round bye, she went 6-0 to claim the title. The path featured:

• 10-0 TF vs. SophieAnn Brown, Georgia
• 0:38 pin vs. Kyle Janowitz, Texas
• 10-0 TF vs. Zoe Delgado, Florida 
• 2:37 pin vs. Ginger Majurin, Michigan 
• 3:59 pin vs. Isabella Miller, Iowa 

In the finals, Von Gonten won by a tech fall in 1:57, 10-0, against Olivia Bezdicek from Idaho.

“I take one match at a time; I wasn’t looking ahead like at the beginning of the tournament,” Von Gonten said. “I was definitely shocked after my finals. Like, you could tell on my face, I was just so shocked that I won.”

The Von Gonten title, coupled with Hailey Delgado’s crown, gave Texas two champions in the 16U division for the first time since 2014.

She went to the Women’s National Duals in June and posted a 9-0 record between freestyle and greco. In April, she went 4-1 at the Women’s National Champions and World Team Trials, falling in the U17 61KG finals to Taina Fernandez from Maryland — who was also a Fargo champion. 

Von Gonten also spent a week this summer at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. 

“The experience was amazing,” she said. “I got to hang out and meet some really cool girls. The training was amazing. They showed us something and then they’d have us drill it and help us put it into our moves. They taught us nutrition classes, showing how to properly fuel your body.”

She also attended McKendree University wrestling camp in Lebanon, Illinois.

“I think this summer is going to help a lot, especially because I’ve gotten stronger over the summer and that’ll help correlate to the new season,” she said. “And then like, my techniques definitely gotten better, because I’ve gone to these camps and learned more and increased my wrestling IQ. I think it shows our coaches help us and put in the time, work and effort supporting us. Without Coach Lindsey (Spjut) and Coach (Erik) Spjut, I definitely would not have been able to pull this off and go to Fargo without their sacrifices. The practices over the summer and helping me compete and accomplish my goals mean a lot.”

With the start of the 2025-26 school year right around the corner, Von Gonten will compete in the Super 32 Challenge in October before jumping into the high school season.

In her first year at College Park last year, she won the Class 6A 138-pound title. She was 38-1 last season and she’s now 2-for-2 in state titles after winning 5A 132 for College Station A&M Consolidated as a freshman.