U20 Pan Am champ Tucker signs with NMU
Northern Michigan added one of the most decorated wrestlers in the high school Class of 2027 on National Signing Day.
Sarissa Tucker, a senior at Mountain View High School in Stafford, Virginia, signed with Northern Michigan on Wednesday. Tucker is a two-time Virginia state champion, a 2026 Fargo champion and a U20 Pan American champion. MatScouts ranks her No. 9 overall on its Class of 2027 girls Big Board.
Tucker didn’t waste any time making a name for herself at Mountain View. She won a Virginia state title at 107 pounds as a freshman in 2024, then repeated at 107 pounds as a sophomore in 2025.
She was just as busy on the national scene. Tucker placed third at 106 pounds in the 16U division at the Junior Nationals in Fargo in 2024. During the 2024-25 season, she won a Beast of the East title, finished runner-up at the Ironman and placed fifth at the Super 32. She followed that up by placing third at 49 kilograms in the U17 division at the 2025 Women’s Nationals, earning All-America honors, and then placed fifth at 105 pounds in the Junior division at Fargo.
Tucker has also built a long history with a wrestler who now stars at the college level. FloWrestling highlighted her rivalry with Julia Horger in July 2025, noting the two had already met seven times. Horger now wrestles for Grand Valley State, where she is ranked No. 3 at 110 pounds in the HerMat NCAA rankings.
Tucker saved her best year for 2026.
At the Women’s Nationals in April in Spokane, Washington, Tucker reached the finals of the U20 division at 50 kilograms. In the semifinals, she pinned Buchanan’s Christina Estrada in 4:59. Estrada, who signed with Iowa State on Wednesday, won her second straight Super 32 title last month.
Tucker’s run ended in the best-of-three finals series against two-time U17 world champion Morgan Turner of Illinois, who swept the series 2-0.
Tucker responded in a big way over the summer.
In July, she captured gold at 50 kilograms at the U20 Pan American Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in her first year in the age group. Tucker pinned her first two opponents in 1:24 and 1:29. She then defeated Kayla Batres of Greens Farms Academy (Connecticut), who represented Guatemala, 9-2 in the round-robin portion and again 9-2 in the finals.
Less than two weeks later, Tucker claimed the 110-pound title in the Junior women’s division at Fargo. She edged Isabel Kaplan 4-0 in the finals. Kaplan is now a true freshman at Simpson, where she is ranked No. 8 at 110 pounds in the HerMat NCAA rankings. The title was Tucker’s third Fargo medal and the fifth Junior women’s title ever won by a Virginia wrestler, according to USA Wrestling.
Tucker will join a Northern Michigan program loaded with young talent. The Wildcats jumped from No. 14 to No. 8 in the latest HerMat NCAA tournament rankings after their freshmen dominated the Pointer Open last weekend in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Northern Michigan won five of the 10 titles, and four of its champions are freshmen.
The headliner is Lillee Denson, a true freshman who won a Fargo title at 100 pounds this past summer. Denson went 4-0 with four technical superiorities at the Pointer Open, capped by a 13-1 win over Aurora’s Genesis Ramirez in the finals, and climbed to No. 4 at 103 pounds. Fellow freshmen Cheyenne Frank (No. 14 at 117), Kandice Spry (No. 14 at 124) and Belicia Manuel (No. 12 at 145) also won titles and are now ranked. Tucker’s arrival gives the Wildcats a second Fargo champion in the lightest weight classes.
The young core has veteran help. Northern Michigan sent three wrestlers to the NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championships last March, and all three are ranked: No. 7 Alissa Caltagirone at 138 pounds, No. 8 Sophia Bassino at 160 pounds and No. 10 Abbie Miles at 180 pounds.
Head coach Adam Wilson is in his second season at the helm in Marquette, Michigan. The Wildcats became a varsity program in 2020 and are in their second season in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
Tucker isn’t the only Class of 2027 standout headed to Marquette. Northern Michigan has also picked up commitments from Kaili Manuel of Romeo (Michigan), Belicia’s sister and a U17 world champion at 73 kilograms this year, who wrestles at 160 pounds, along with Ella Giallombardo of Petoskey (Michigan) and Sarah Pulk of Greenbush-Middle River (Minnesota).
Before she gets to Marquette, Tucker has one more high school season in front of her, along with a chance to add a third Virginia state title to her resume.
For a full list of high school commitments, check out HerMat’s college commitment list.