Junior wrestler MJ Rundell has achieved a star-studded career so far at Oak Park and River Forest High School, showing his skill on the mat everywhere he performs. Last year alone, he traveled to eight states and two foreign countries, according to his coach and older brother, Jake Rundell.
One of his biggest achievements came when he competed at the U17 World Championships in Athens, Greece this past July.
“Being out there with a bunch of other people who represent their country trying to come home with something big, it´s truly a special experience,” Rundell said, “Especially wearing that United States flag on your chest, it’s special.”
According to Flo Wrestling, Rundell didn’t strike gold, but he wasn’t coming home without any hardware. After defeating Kaisei Yamamoto of Japan in a 12-6 comeback win, he finished with an impressive third place bronze.
At the IHSA state tournament in February, Rundell didn’t settle for third–he took home the state championship. “Obviously, I really loved representing Oak Park,” Rundell said.”It meant putting Oak Park back in the spotlight, because for the past couple years, we’ve only had one state place since 2020.”
But a bittersweet win it was because Rundell wrestled his practice partner since 4 years old, Niko Odiotti, beating him 4-1 by decision for the state title. He finished his 2025 season with an astonishing 41-2 record.
“I actually ended up wrestling one of my best friends in the state finals. It was awesome to achieve my dream but it was definitely rough to have to take away from his,” he said. That victory drove his talents to the stage of Athens.
With the national experience under his belt and a current record of 58-7, he’s coming into the high school season as a workhorse, hunting some goals he has in mind.
¨I really want to win this tournament out in California that we went to last year, called the Doc Buchanan. It’s a really tough tournament, and last year I got fifth. I also want to get another state title.¨
With the time in his high school career ticking down, Rundell illustrated the future he wants to have with wrestling before graduation.
¨Before I graduate, I want to win the world championships in the two international styles.¨
Rundell’s teammate for over a decade, Jamiel Castleberry, had this to say about MJ’s run last year. “He’s a very hard worker. It’s crazy, like, he wrestles till he can’t anymore, so he just has a lot of grit, and he’s tough.”
This grit and toughness is a common trend with Rundell, who is not afraid to put in heavy physical and mental work to get to where he needs to be to perform at the highest level.
Runell “pushes me a lot,” Castleberry said. “I mean, I’ve been grinding with him ever since I was 4 or 5, so we have a lot of chemistry together. And he pushed me so I could stay right.¨
One of Rundell’s coaches, his older brother Jake Rundell, made a similar point, saying, “His focus is pretty elite.” He noted that MJ Rundell misses school days and a lot of the typical high school socializing to pursue his goals. “It’s a level of sacrifice that not many people in general are willing to do.”
MJ Rundell comes from a serious wrestling family. His oldest brother, Matthew Rundell, 28, won the state championship in 2015. Jake Rundell took the same title in 2018. A younger brother, Joshua, 13, is also a wrestler.
Their father, Mike Rundell, runs The Wrestling Academy in Arlington Heights, providing coaching to about 120 wrestlers, according to Jake Rundell.
So do the Rundells talk wrestling around the dinner table? Jake Rundell laughed. “We try to talk about anything but,” he said. “Everyone needs a break.”
