By Gary Abbott
USA Wrestling

Bella Mir, who has won NCAA and U.S. Senior Open titles already this year, is registered to compete on the Beach in the Carolina Beach Nationals on Saturday, May 9 in Carolina Beach, N.C.

With her victory at the 2026 U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Mir has qualified for Final X in Newark, N.J. on June 19, where she will face Kennedy Blades in the best-of-three series for the 68 kg berth on the 2026 U.S. Senior World Team. In March, Mir won the 145-pound title for North Central College in the inaugural NCAA National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships in Coralville, Iowa.

Mir is registered to compete at 70 kg in the Senior Women’s division at the Carolina Beach Nationals. Her participation in Carolina Beach was confirmed by her coaching staff. Mir has proven to be an exceptional combat sport athlete, with success in multiple disciplines. She was one of the nation’s best girls folkstyle wrestlers in high school in Nevada. She is a professional Mixed Martial Arts athlete, with a 4-0 professional career record to date and features a strong background in BJJ.

The Carolina Beach Nationals is the qualifying event for the 2026 U.S. Beach World Teams at the U17 and U20 levels, and one of the qualifying events for U.S. teams competing in the 2026 Senior Beach World Series. In addition, the Carolina Beach Nationals includes national-level competition in Beach Wrestling in divisions from 8U through Masters. There is still time for athletes to register to compete in all available age divisions.

As reported on TheMat.com on May 4, the U17 women’s champions at 45 kg and 65 kg in the Carolina Beach Nationals this Saturday will be offered a position on the 2026 U.S. team that will compete in the prestigious 4th Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Dakar, Senegal, November 7-8, 2026. This will be the first IOC Olympic Games event ever held in Africa.

Register for the 2026 Carolina Beach Nationals competition

The Carolina Beach Nationals preliminary entry list features numerous athletes who have proven success in Beach Wrestling at the Senior and age-group levels.

Leading the Senior athletes already registered is Kyle Ferriter, a 2024 World bronze medalist in the Beach World Series at Men’s Over 90 kg. Ferriter, who has competed at a high level in the last two years on the Beach World Series circuit, won an individual Beach World Series bronze medal in Saint Laurent du Var, France in 2024. He was also a 2023 U.S. Beach Nationals champion.

Justin Benjamin, the first U.S. men’s Beach Wrestler to win an individual Beach World Series title, will compete at 70 kg in the Senior men’s division. Benjamin won a gold medal at the Beach World Series Acapulco in Mexico in 2024, and a silver medal in the Beach World Series Monterrey in Mexico in 2025. He has placed as high as No. 4 in the Beach World Series final ranking.

Among the other successful wrestlers already entered in the Senior division are Mia Macaluso and Sadie Evans in the women’s division and Terrance Zaleski in the men’s division. Macaluso, a 2022 Beach Nationals champion, competed in numerous Beach World Series events in the past. Evans, who was a 2024 U17 Beach World bronze medalist, will be competing in the Senior and U20 divisions. Zaleski, a 2023 Beach Nationals runner-up, has been highly successful on the Senior level in Greco-Roman wrestling.

Numerous members of the 2025 U.S. age-group Beach World Teams are already registered to compete in Carolina Beach.

Members of the 2025 U.S. U17 Beach World Team who are currently registered include women wrestlers Ezmerelda Fuller, Molly Root and Cheyanne Wolfard-Henry. Root will compete in the U20 and Senior divisions. Fuller will wrestle in the Junior and U20 divisions. Wolford-Henry will enter the U17 and U20 tournaments. Wolfard-Henry was a 2025 U17 Beach Nationals champion.

Members of the 2025 U.S. U20 Beach World Team on the preliminary entry lists include men’s wrestlers Terrell McFarland and Waleed Khairi along with women’s wrestler Esperanza Huitron. McFarland and Huitron will compete in the U20 divisions, while Khairi is entered in the Senior division. McFarland was a 2024 U17 Pan American Beach champion. Khairi was a 2025 U20 Beach Nationals champion.

As of May 5, there are athletes from 28 states who have pre-registered for the tournament.

Carolina Beach Nationals website

This year, a special Beach Wrestling Clinic for athletes of all ages is being held prior to the event. Featured clinicians are three-time Beach World Champion Eliana Bommarito and USA Wrestling Beach Coach Tim Box.

The clinic is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Friday, May 8th, and held on Carolina Beach, venue of the Carolina Beach Nationals. Participants should go to the Carolina Beach Boardwalk on Carolina Beach Avenue South in Carolina Beach, N.C. 28428. Pre-registration fee for the clinic is $30, and the fee is $40 for walk-up registration.

Pre-register for the Bommarito/Box Beach Wrestling Clinic

Each year, USA Wrestling hosts two major national-level Beach Championships, one on the East Coast and the other on the West Coast. The annual U.S. Beach National Championships alternate between the Coasts each season. Last year, the U.S. Beach Nationals was in Carolina Beach. This year, the 2026 U.S. Beach National Championships are set for Huntington Beach, Calif., August 14.

UWW Beach Wrestling rules

2026 Carolina Beach Nationals 

At Carolina Beach, N.C., May 8-9 

Event Schedule 

Friday, May 8th 

3:00 p.m.– Beach Wrestling Clinic with three-time Beach World Champion Eliana Bommarito and USA Wrestling Beach Coach Tim Box, at Carolina Beach Boardwalk, Carolina Beach Ave. S., Carolina Beach

6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. - OPTIONAL Carolina Beach Wrestling Nationals Registration and Weigh-in ALL DIVISIONS (except Senior, U15, U17 & U20)

Weigh in location: Lazy Pirate

8:00 p.m. - 10 p.m.- Coach and Competitor's Social at Lazy Pirate Sports Bar (www.driftersreef.com)

Saturday, May 9th 

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. – U15, U17, U20 & Senior Men's and Women's Carolina Beach National Championships Weigh-in at Carolina Beach Boardwalk Stage

11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. - Carolina Beach Nationals Registration and Weigh-in ALL OTHER DIVISIONS WHO DID NOT WEIGH IN ON FRIDAY! (8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, Junior, Masters) at Carolina Beach Boardwalk Stage)

11:45 a.m. - Rules Clinic (ALL competitors must report)

12:00 noon to conclusion – Carolina Beach Wrestling Competition (U15, U17, U20, Senior divisions)

1:00 p.m. to conclusion - Carolina Beach Wrestling Competition (8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, Junior, Masters divisions)

6:00 p.m. - Post Tournament Social, 811 Harper Ave., Carolina Beach, NC 28428