Juli Thompson won every bout save one during the 2025-26 wrestling season and won the 112-pound weight class in the historic first Far East tournament for girls. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa — Sore shoulders had become a rite of passage for Juli Thompson, who continually shrugged off pain to keep piling up victories at 112 pounds in the first girls wrestling season that would end with a Far East tournament.
But on Jan. 7, the Kadena senior came upon an obstacle she could not surmount — one of her shoulders popped out early in a bout with Kubasaki’s Darsha Noane and she could not continue. It was Thompson’s lone loss of the season.
“I was definitely super crushed by it,” Thompson said. “I didn’t think that would happen to me, ever.”
Still, Thompson persisted, though she and her coach, Joey Wood, said she had to change things up a bit.
Her shoulders had to be taped before each bout. She became more cerebral, more technical, more careful when she tried to “shoot” against her opponents.
“She had grit, determination, guts to go back out there after that,” Wood said. “We had to adapt her strategy. She had to be more patient. But she would ‘shoot’ anyway.”
Adapting and adjusting didn’t get in the way of Thompson’s ultimate goal — capturing a weight-class victory in the first-ever Far East tournament, Jan. 28-29 at Kadena.
Her finals opponent, Gavriella Duran of Osan, gave Thompson all she could handle, putting her on her back a couple of times, before Thompson reversed things and won in 2 minutes, 40 seconds.
“On her back twice; to see her come back like that, she deserved everything she got. She transformed herself,” Wood said of Thompson.
Having won every bout except on Jan. 7, Thompson has also been named Stars and Stripes girls wrestling Athlete of the Year for the Pacific.
As her season progressed following Jan. 7, Thompson said she wrestled “with more intention.”
“I wasn’t worried,” Thompson said, adding that she was confident that she would win her Far East weight class. “It wasn’t easy. (But) I had more faith in myself. I kept reassuring myself and adjusted my style to try not to injure my shoulders.”
She still would “shoot” against opponents, Thompson said. “There were some moments when I got scared. I had to trust my ability.”
If there was a moment Thompson says she remembers best about the season, it was coming off her back to beat Duran. “Almost getting pinned, but then not in the final,” she said.
Age: 18.
Place of birth: Okinawa.
Sports she’s played: Wrestling, powerlifting.
Sports she enjoys watching: Volleyball, wrestling.
Favorite school subject: English.
Least favorite subject: Math.
Favorite forms of entertainment: Watching movies.
Favorite film: Frozen.
