- December 4, 2025
Kendall Bibla did not have any expectations entering the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals wrestling tournament in Fargo, North Dakota. Mariah Mills decided to set her goal as high as possible.
The former Flagler Palm Coast High School wrestlers both earned All-American honors on July 13 at the largest and one of the toughest high school wrestling tournaments in the world. Bibla, who came into the tournament unseeded, placed third in the 170-pound weight class in the Women’s Freestyle Junior Division. Mills placed seventh in the division's 110-pound class.
It was the last chance for both of them to reach the podium at the Fargo Dome before heading off to college where they will both continue their wrestling careers — Mills at West Liberty University in West Virginia, where she will be joining her older brother, Tyson, and Bibla at Lindsey Wilson University in Kentucky, where she will be joining her older sister, Brielle.
Bibla and Mills were two of just five All-Americans from Team Florida in the Women’s Junior Division.
Bibla won seven of eight matches with her only loss coming to eventual champ Jael Miller of Pennsylvania in the semifinals. Bibla qualified for Fargo last year but tore two ligaments in her knee shortly before the tournament and didn’t get to go.
“I’m so proud of myself after going through a lot of injuries last year,” said Bibla, who won her second high school state championship in March. “Walking into the Fargo Dome I didn’t think I would place. I didn’t expect that at all. This was my first Fargo tournament. I’m leaving to go to college soon, so I said, ‘Why not, this is last time I’ll be able to go do this.’ I was so happy. I was so proud and blessed to be on the podium.”
Mills came into the tournament as the 16th seed among 128 wrestlers in her weight class. She finished with a 6-2 record, winning the seventh-place match with a 9-0 decision over Oklahoma state champ Addie Morse. Mills was competing at Fargo for the third time. In 2023 and 2024 she set her goal at placing in the top eight to become an All-American. Last year, she finished just short, losing in the blood round (the round before placement).
So, this time, Mills stepped up her goal.
“This year my goal was to win,” she said. “I told everybody I was going to win in Fargo and it made it real. I had been to Fargo twice, and the whole time I was worried about placing, so I set my goal to win and I came out as an All-American. If you aim higher, you’re more likely to reach the original goal.”
Mills broke her nose in two places in her third match, but it did not weaken her determination.
“It hurt really bad. My nose was swollen. My eyes were swollen. I could barely see, but I had to keep wrestling. (Reaching the podium) was something I wanted to get before college,” she said. “Throughout (the second day), girls would hit me in the nose. One time I actually saw stars and felt lightheaded because she hit it so hard. But I knew I had to place. I had to make the podium.”
Her blood-round match was tight, but she prevailed 9-6 to clinch a podium spot.
Bibla beat No. 4 seed Kiley Dillow of Kansas and pinned fifth seed Maddie Hayden of Michigan and took down Miller early in the semifinal match before losing by technical fall, 15-5 at 3:26. It was the most points scored against Miller in the whole tournament.
Bibla beat Makayla Vasser of Nebraska 18-12 in the third-place match.
Both local wrestlers took home “stop signs,” Fargo’s iconic octagonal plaque. Bibla’s is now hanging up on her trophy wall in her room.
Mills’ younger sister, Juliana, also competed at Fargo, winning one match in the 105-pound class in the Girls 16U Division.
