Wrestlers · Senior level
Morgan Turner
2x U17 World champion (2023, 2025); U.S. Senior World Team at 50 kg as an 18-year-old; first girl to place at Illinois boys' state
Lockport, IL · Lockport HS
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 10, 2026
Morgan Turner was born on April 8, 2008. USA Wrestling lists her hometown as Chicago and On3 calls her a Lockport native. As a freshman at Bremen High School in February 2023 she skipped the Illinois girls' series and entered the boys' state tournament in Champaign. She lost 3-0 to eventual champion Anthony Alanis of Grayslake Central in the Class 2A semifinals at 106 pounds and took third at 35-3. She was the first girl to place at the Illinois boys' state finals, an event that began in 1937. Mia Palumbo of Richards had been the first to win a match there, five years earlier.
That August in Istanbul she won the U17 World title at 43 kg, about 95 pounds. In the final against Mona Ezaka of Japan she spun behind for a takedown as time ran out, and the score was awarded only after the American corner challenged and the jury reviewed it. She later wrestled for Lockport High School and won the Illinois girls' state title at 110 pounds in Bloomington in 2024.
She took U17 World bronze at 46 kg in Amman in 2024, then won a second U17 World title in Athens in 2025 at 49 kg. She pinned Saniya Soltangali of Kazakhstan in 30 seconds and teched Komal Verma of India in 36 seconds. She cradled Anhelina Burkina of United World Wrestling for a fall in 1:18, then beat two-time Asian U17 champion Yu Kataoka of Japan 6-1. She was the first American World champion of the 2025 season at any age level.
In 2026 she won the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in May. At Final X in Newark on June 19 she beat Katie Gomez of Titan Mercury 7-2, lost 3-2 and closed the series 8-2, making the Senior World Team fresh out of high school. In August she added U20 World bronze at 50 kg in Bratislava.
She wrestles at 50 kg for All I See Is Gold Academy and Titan Mercury and represents the United States at the 2026 World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Age group | U15 Pan American Championships, Oaxtepec, Mexico | 1st | Also won the U15 Women's Nationals that year. CONFLICT: her USA Wrestling profile calls this the U15 Pan American Championships while the Athlete of the Week release calls the 2021 title U17 and dates the U15 Pan American gold to 2022. | |
| 2022 | Age group | U15 Pan American Championships, Apartado, Colombia | 1st | U15 Pan American Team Trials champion | |
| 2022-23 | High school | IHSA Individual Boys' State Finals, Champaign, Class 2A | 106 lb | 3rd | 35-3. Freshman at Bremen High School; lost 3-0 to Anthony Alanis (Grayslake Central) in the semifinals; first girl to place at the Illinois boys' state finals, an event that began in 1937 |
| 2023 | Age group | U17 World Championships, Istanbul | 43 kg | 1st | Def. Mona Ezaka (Japan) on a last-second takedown awarded after a U.S. challenge; first U.S. women's freestyle gold of the 2023 World season |
| 2023-24 | High school | IHSA Girls' State Championships, Bloomington | 110 lb | 1st | Won by technical fall and pin through the bracket as a sophomore, wrestling for Lockport |
| 2024 | Age group | U17 World Championships, Amman, Jordan | 46 kg | 3rd | U17 World Team Trials champion that year |
| 2025 | Age group | U17 Pan American Championships, Rio de Janeiro | 1st | ||
| 2025 | Age group | U17 World Championships, Athens | 49 kg | 1st | 4-0. July 31, 2025; fall in 0:30 over Saniya Soltangali (Kazakhstan), 10-0 tech fall in 0:36 over Komal Verma (India), fall in 1:18 over Anhelina Burkina (UWW), 6-1 final over Yu Kataoka (Japan) |
| 2024-25 | Senior | Warrior Women's Open and Mike Duroe Invitational college opens | 1st | Won both college opens while still in high school | |
| 2026 | Senior | Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament, Louisville, Ky. | 50 kg | 1st | May 15, 2026; def. Felicity Taylor (Titan Mercury WC) 10-8 in the final to earn the Final X berth |
| 2026 | Senior | Final X, Prudential Center, Newark, N.J. | 50 kg | 1st | June 19, 2026; def. Katie Gomez (Titan Mercury WC) 7-2, lost 3-2, won 8-2; made the Senior World Team at 18, out of high school |
| 2026 | Age group | U20 World Championships, Bratislava, Slovakia | 50 kg | 3rd | Aug. 16-23, 2026, with the women’s freestyle competition on Aug. 18-21; she had won the U20 World Team Trials earlier in the year |
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.themat.com/profiles/morgan-turner · Born April 8, 2008; Lockport High School; No. 1 at 50 kg for 2026-27; age-group World teams 2026 U20 (bronze, 50 kg), 2025 U17 (gold, 49 kg), 2024 U17 (bronze, 46 kg), 2023 U17 (gold, 43 kg); 2021 and 2022 U15 Pan American titles; 2024 Illinois state champion, 2023 Illinois state placer in the boys division; club Titan Mercury WC, training center All I See Is Gold Academy. NOTE: this page lists her hometown and residence as Chicago; On3 and FloWrestling call her a Lockport native, and Lockport is used here.
- https://chicago.suntimes.com/high-school-sports/2023/2/23/23612127/morgan-turner-bremen-wrestling-ihsa-state-finals · Bremen High School freshman; took third at 106 pounds in Class 2A at the 2023 IHSA boys' state finals in Champaign; lost 3-0 to eventual champion Anthony Alanis (Grayslake Central) in the semifinals; finished 35-3; first female placer in an event that began in 1937; Mia Palumbo of Richards was the first girl to win a match there five years earlier; coached by Mike Collins NOTE: the article body, including the 3-0 semifinal score and the 35-3 record, only appears on a deep scrape of this page; a short scrape returns site navigation.
- https://www.themat.com/news/features/2023/august/03/turner-fowler-win-u17-world-gold-medals · 2023 U17 World title at 43 kg in Istanbul on a last-second takedown over Mona Ezaka of Japan, awarded after a U.S. challenge and jury review; first U.S. gold of the 2023 World season
- https://www.btschicago.org/news/morgan-turner-wins-ihsa-girls-state-title · Won the 110-pound IHSA girls' state title in Bloomington by technical fall and pin; third at the 2023 boys' state tournament, the first girl in Illinois history to place there
- https://www.themat.com/news/2025/july/31/turner-secures-second-u17-world-title-elison-fernandez-to-go-for-women-s-freestyle-gold · 2025 U17 World title at 49 kg in Athens on July 31: fall in 0:30 over Saniya Soltangali (Kazakhstan), 10-0 in 0:36 over Komal Verma (India), fall in 1:18 over Anhelina Burkina (UWW), 6-1 over Yu Kataoka (Japan); first U.S. World champion of the 2025 season at any age group
- https://www.themat.com/news/2025/august/13/morgan-turner-named-usa-wrestling-athlete-of-the-week-presented-by-u-s-air-force-special-warfare · USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week, Aug. 13, 2025; two-time U17 World champion and three-time U17 World medalist; won the Warrior Women's Open and the Mike Duroe Invitational college opens; 2025 Junior Folkstyle Nationals champion; wrestled Illinois Class 2A boys' state at 106 pounds in 2023 and won the Illinois girls' state title in 2024 for Lockport
- https://www.themat.com/news/2026/june/19/nwachukwu-turner-go-the-distance-eight-earn-spots-on-women-s-freestyle-world-team-at-2026-final-x-presented-by-kerberos-capital-management · 2026 Final X at Prudential Center, Newark, June 19: Turner beat Katie Gomez 7-2, lost 3-2 and won 8-2 to take the 50 kg spot on the Senior World Team as an 18-year-old out of high school; the 2026 World Championships are in Astana, Kazakhstan
- https://www.on3.com/teams/iowa-hawkeyes/news/iowa-womens-wrestling-2026-recruiting-rundown/ · Class of 2026 recruit out of Lockport, Illinois; U17 World champion in 2023, U17 World bronze in 2024, three-time U17 World team member; two-time Who's Number One champion and a Super 32 and Fargo champion
- https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/15905692-the-womens-college-fan-guide-to-the-2026-world-team-trials · Listed as a Lockport High School senior at 50 kg in the women's college fan guide to the 2026 World Team Trials, confirming she was still in high school and unattached to a college program
- https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2026/08/12/chun-named-womens-freestyle-coach-at-u20-world-championships · Iowa, Aug. 12, 2026: the 2026 U20 World Championships were held in Bratislava, Slovakia from Aug. 16-23, with the women's freestyle competition set for Aug. 18-21
- https://nwhof.org/news/women-s-freestyle-senior-world-team-trials-champions-crowned · 2026 Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament at Louisville, Ky., May 15: Turner won the 50 kg title 10-8 over Felicity Taylor (Titan Mercury WC), earning the Final X berth; Final X was set for June 19 at Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2025/december/17/morgan-turner-named-usa-wrestling-athlete-of-the-week-presented-by-air-force-special-warfare · USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week, Dec. 17, 2025: 'Last season, Turner won two college open tournaments, the Warrior Women's Open and the Mike Duroe Invitational', dating both to 2024-25; she also won the 110-pound title at the 2025 North Central College Invitational
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