The landscape of amateur boxing in the United States continued to take shape Saturday as several members of USA Boxing’s international competition team lost decisions to hungry challengers at the U.S. National Championships finals in Lubbock, Texas.

The Elite winners and runners-up – plus national team members who didn’t compete – will next participate in selection camp for the High Performance team, where national team coaches will evaluate and select who will represent the United States at international tournaments for the rest of the year. The elite camp is set for January 11 through February 11. 

Meanwhile, only youth winners (17- to 18-year-olds) will attend selection camp for that age range from February 15 through March 11.

At 143lbs, Washington D.C.’s Marcus Luther, one of the breakout stars of the tournament after a pair of first-round stoppages, scored a second-round eight-count and won a 5-0 unanimous decision over Houston’s Rene Camacho, while 198lbs saw a shakeup with Malachi Georges, of Teaneck, New Jersey, losing a 4-1 decision to 18-year-old Joseph Awinongya Jnr, a Joliet, Illinois, native fighting in his first National Championships as an adult.

These results come on the heels of Ramon Ordonez – who was the country’s 132lbs representative at the World Championships in Liverpool, England, earlier this year – losing a split decision in Friday’s semifinals to Orlando’s Yahir Diaz Martinez, who in turn lost a decision to Philadelphia’s Salim Ellis-Bey in Saturday’s final.

The women’s side wasn’t immune to upsets either, as 2024 Olympian Jennifer Lozano lost a split decision to fellow Texan Noelle Haro in the 112lbs women's final, while Naomi Graham held on to her foothold in the division with a split decision win over Idaho's Kendra Samargis in the 165lbs final.

At 176 pounds, Tyric Trapp, a two-time National Golden Gloves champion from Red Bank, New Jersey, made his case for being the best light heavyweight in the United States by stopping Doniyor Mannopov, of Algonquin, Illinois, in the third round. Trapp, 25, felt short-changed after last year’s National Championships, when he was dominating his first-round opponent, only to have the fight stopped when his tooth was knocked out of his mouth.

This time it was Trapp’s turn to dish out the damage, as the southpaw didn’t drop a card en route to three dominant wins. Now he will head to the Olympic Training Center with an eye on a spot on the High Performance Team – which is currently held by Rahim Gonzales, who has been on the team ever since winning the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials.

“I’m just looking forward to selection camp,” Trapp told BoxingScene. “I’m looking forward to getting that No. 1 spot and establishing what’s mine.”

Other major winners this week include the Patricio family, a national title factory out of Hawaii headed by Lyndon Patricio Snr, as Lorenzo Patricio defeated Moises Rodriguez by unanimous decision in the 121lbs elite men's final; Leighton James Patricio won a split decision over Armando Cruz in the 106lbs junior male final; and while 12-year-old Shania Mae Patricio defeated Valentina Jaime by unanimous decision on Friday to win the 80lbs Intermediate women's title. A fourth Patricio sibling, 17-year-old Landon John Patricio, lost a unanimous decision on Saturday against San Antonio's Christian Paez in the 121lbs youth male final.

Elite Male results

110lbs: Eduardo Rodriguez SD Edgar Herrera

121: Lorenzo Juanito Patricio UD Moises Rodriguez

132: Salim Ellis-Bey UD Yahir Diaz Martinez

143: Marcus Luther UD Rene Camacho

154: Lavant Brownlee UD Zae Farr

165: Pratik Sunuwar UD Adonis Marcial

176: Tyric Trapp RSC3 Doniyor Mannopov

187: Isaac Parker KO Aaron Guzman

198: Joseph Awinongya SD (4-1) Malachi Georges

198+: Nnajai Wright SD Gilbert Kabamba

Elite Female results

101: Lauren Flynn UD Mireyna Cazares

106: Paulena Miles SD Emely Sandoval

112: Noelle Haro SD Jennifer Lozano

119: Jayshannet Zapata UD Quermauri Polk

125: Deborah Grant UD Norely Ramirez

132: Alisha Crockett UD Nicole Campbell

143: Marie-Angelis Rosendo SD Alexis Proctor

154: Isabella Winkler UD Sage Rosario

165: Naomi Graham SD Kendra Samargis

176+: Marik Ortiz RSC Kayla Maria Moore

Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.