Wrestlers · Career complete
Ali Bernard
2x Olympian (2008 and 2012), fifth at 72 kg in Beijing; 2011 World bronze medalist; wrestled boys at New Ulm
New Ulm, MN · New Ulm HS · University of Regina
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 3, 2026
Ali Bernard grew up in New Ulm, Minnesota, one of five children, and followed her brother Andy into wrestling. Minnesota had no girls' division, so she wrestled on the New Ulm High School boys varsity team. Some opponents forfeited rather than face her. Her high school coach, Dar Arndt, said years later that those boys short-changed themselves.
She won a Junior World title in 2003, then her first U.S. Open in 2004, the year she was named the national girls' high school wrestler of the year, and a second Junior World title in 2005. She went to Canada on a scholarship from Leo McGee at the University of Regina, where women's wrestling was further along. She won four Canadian college national titles there and a fifth for the University of Alberta in 2010.
She won the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Las Vegas as the top seed. Beijing that August was her first Olympic Games. She pinned Amarachi Obiajunwa of Nigeria in 44 seconds and lost to eventual champion Jiao Wang of China. She beat Jenny Fransson of Sweden in the repechage, then lost the bronze match to Kyoko Hamaguchi of Japan. She placed fifth at 72 kg, about 158 pounds.
She won the U.S. World Team Trials in 2009 and both the University World Championships and the Pan American Championships in 2010. Her World bronze at 72 kg in Istanbul in 2011 qualified the United States at the weight for London.
She was second at the 2012 Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City. The champion, Stephany Lee of Hawaii, accepted a suspension and forfeited her results, and USA Wrestling named Bernard its nominee. She tied for 13th in London.
She coached at the University of Alberta for four seasons and, as Ali Sprenger, has run the women's and girls' division for Minnesota USA Wrestling since 2021. She is now the head coach at Augsburg University in Minneapolis.
She is the head coach of the Augsburg University women's wrestling team in Minneapolis and the women's and girls' wrestling director for Minnesota USA Wrestling.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Age group | Junior World Championships | 1st | Also won the 2003 Junior Nationals, the FILA Junior Nationals and the FILA Cadet Nationals | |
| 2003-04 | High school | TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School Wrestler of the Year | national winner | Wrestled for the New Ulm High School boys varsity team, coached by Dar Arndt and Dan Kurth; Minnesota had no girls division | |
| 2004 | Senior | U.S. Open | 1st | First of three U.S. Open titles, with the others in 2008 and 2011; second in 2005 and third in 2006 | |
| 2005 | Age group | Junior World Championships | 1st | Second Junior World title; third at the 2006 Junior World Championships | |
| 2005-10 | College | CIS Canadian College National Championships | 1st (five times) | Four titles for the University of Regina from 2005 through 2008 and one for the University of Alberta in 2010; five-time Canada West champion; Canada West and CIS Rookie of the Year in 2005; Canada West Most Outstanding Wrestler in 2007; Regina's Female Athlete of the Year in 2005, 2006 and 2007 | |
| 2008 | Senior | U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Las Vegas | 72 kg | 1st | June 2008 in Las Vegas; she entered as the trials' top seed in her weight class after winning the national title that spring at 158.5 pounds |
| 2008 | Senior | Olympic Games, Beijing, China | 72 kg | 5th | Aug. 17, 2008, her first Olympic Games; pinned Amarachi Obiajunwa (Nigeria) in 44 seconds, lost to eventual champion Jiao Wang (China), beat Jenny Fransson (Sweden) 3-1, 3-0 in repechage, lost the bronze-medal match to Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan) 3-0, 3-1. The New Ulm Journal later described this as a fourth-place finish; Team USA, USA Wrestling and the Pioneer Press all list fifth, which is used here. |
| 2009 | Senior | U.S. World Team Trials | 72 kg | 1st | Competed at the 2009 World Championships |
| 2010 | Age group | World University Championships | 1st | Team USA, Augsburg and the bio block of the 2012 USA Wrestling release all date this to 2010; the prose of that same release says 2012, so 2010 is used | |
| 2010 | Senior | Pan American Championships | 1st | Also second at the 2010 U.S. World Team Trials | |
| 2011 | Senior | World Championships, Istanbul, Turkey | 72 kg | 3rd | The bronze medal qualified the United States to enter 72 kg at the 2012 Olympic Games |
| 2012 | Senior | U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Iowa City | 72 kg | 1st | April 21, 2012; she lost the best-of-three championship series to Stephany Lee in two decisions and placed second on the day. Lee later accepted a one-year suspension and forfeited her results from the event, and USA Wrestling named Bernard the Trials champion and its Olympic nominee in June 2012. |
| 2012 | Senior | Olympic Games, London, England | 72 kg | 13th | Aug. 9, 2012 at the ExCeL Centre |
What we could not confirm
Anything not on this page, a high school record, a final score, a season, was left out because no primary source stated it when this was written. If you have a bracket, a program, or a clipping, send it and the page gets the number.
Sources
- https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/ali-bernard · Two-time Olympian: fifth at 72 kg at Beijing 2008 and 13th at 72 kg at London 2012; 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials champion; third at the 2011 World Championships; 2010 World University champion; 2009 U.S. World Team Trials champion; World Championships appearances in 2009 and 2011 with one bronze medal; hometown New Ulm; New Ulm High School, coached by Dan Kurth on the varsity men's team; three sisters and one brother
- https://theguillotine.com/2012/06/ali-bernard-named-as-nominee-to-u-s-olympic-team-in-womens-freestyle/ · June 2012 USA Wrestling release: Bernard named the U.S. Olympic Team nominee at 72 kg after 2012 Trials champion Stephany Lee accepted a one-year suspension and forfeited her results; Bernard had placed second in the best-of-three series and became the Trials champion; born April 11, 1986; 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials champion; 2004, 2008 and 2011 U.S. Open champion; two-time Junior World champion (2003, 2005); third at the 2006 Junior Worlds; 2010 Pan American champion; second at the 2005 and 2010 World Team Trials; 2003 Junior Nationals, FILA Junior Nationals and FILA Cadet Nationals champion; five-time CIS Canadian college national champion for Regina and Alberta; TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School Wrestler of the Year; her 2011 World bronze in Istanbul qualified the U.S. at 72 kg for London. NOTE: the prose calls her University World title 2012 while the bio block says 2010.
- https://www.twincities.com/2008/08/16/ali-bernard-of-new-ulm-minn-just-misses-bronze-in-womens-wrestling/ · Aug. 16, 2008 Pioneer Press: at her first senior-level international event she pinned Amarachi Obiajunwa (Nigeria) in 44 seconds, lost to eventual gold medalist Jiao Wang (China), beat Jenny Fransson (Sweden) 3-1, 3-0 in the repechage and lost the bronze-medal match to five-time World champion Kyoko Hamaguchi (Japan) 3-0, 3-1; she was 22
- https://www.startribune.com/new-ulm-wrestler-follows-trail-blazed-by-other-women/19694114 · June 10, 2008 Star Tribune: the U.S. Olympic trials were held that weekend in Las Vegas and Bernard entered as 'the trials' top seed in her weight class' and 'a surprise national champion at 158.5 pounds'; she followed her brother Andy, the only boy among five Bernard children, into wrestling; she wrestled for the boys' team in New Ulm; two-time junior world champion; named the 2004 girls high school wrestler of the year; recruited on scholarship by Regina coach Leo McGee; had won three Canadian college national titles by then; the Minnesota-Morris women's team was discontinued in 2005
- https://www.mprnews.org/story/2008/07/02/olympicwrestler · July 2, 2008 MPR: high school coach Dar Arndt on opponents who forfeited rather than wrestle her, saying those boys short-changed themselves; she wrestled at 140 pounds as a sophomore in a 2001 KNUJ radio broadcast; a bill to ban girl-boy wrestling in Minnesota failed; Chandell Knox was the first woman to wrestle in a Minnesota high school program, at Minneapolis Southwest from 1992 to 1995
- https://www.mprnews.org/story/2012/04/23/ali-bernard-olympic-qualifier · April 23, 2012 MPR: Bernard lost the best-of-three Olympic Trials final in Iowa City to Stephany Lee, 27, of Hawaii, in two decisions; she was the top seed in the division
- https://athletics.augsburg.edu/staff-directory/ali-sprenger/546 · July 18, 2023: Ali (Bernard) Sprenger named head coach of Augsburg University women's wrestling; Junior World titles in 2003 and 2005; 2010 FISU World University Games title; U.S. Open titles in 2004, 2008 and 2011; four U Sports national titles at Regina from 2005 to 2008 and the 2010 title at Alberta; five-time Canada West champion; Canada West and CIS Rookie of the Year 2005; Canada West Most Outstanding Wrestler 2007; Regina Female Athlete of the Year 2005, 2006, 2007; Canada West Hall of Fame 2020; New Ulm ISD 88 High School Hall of Fame 2021; assistant coach at Alberta 2009-13; Minnesota USA Wrestling women's and girls' director since 2021; lives in Shakopee
- https://athletics.augsburg.edu/sports/womens-wrestling/coaches · Augsburg's 2025-26 women's wrestling coaching staff lists Ali Sprenger as head coach
- https://www.nujournal.com/news/local-news/2020/01/06/ali-gives-back-in-nuhs-wrestling-room/ · Jan. 6, 2020 New Ulm Journal: Bernard, of Shakopee, led a girls wrestling practice at New Ulm High School; she wrestled on the New Ulm boys team, earned a scholarship to Regina, studied kinesiology there and finished at Alberta, where she was an assistant coach; she became Minnesota Wrestling assistant women's director in 2014. NOTE: this story calls her 2008 Olympic finish fourth, which conflicts with the fifth-place finish listed by Team USA, USA Wrestling and the Pioneer Press.
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