Taimane Masina Mata'afa Grove of Maui stands on the podium after taking second place in the 14U 115-pound division at the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Women’s National Championships on April 4-6 in Spokane Washington. Courtesy photo

If her competitors don’t already know who Taimane Masina Mata’afa Grove of Maui is, they likely will soon.

Grove entered the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Women’s National Championships on April 4-6 in Spokane, Washington, without a high ranking, but that didn’t stop the eighth-grader from Maui from steamrolling her way to the championship match in the in girls 14U 115-pound division en route to a second-place finish.

With second place at the national championships, Grove earned the coveted All-American designation.

“I feel really good to finish in second because it’s a really big tournament,” Grove said. “My goal was just to place in the tournament, but making it to second on the big stage was very surprising to me, but I did train hard for this tournament.”

She said she’s been training since at least November following another big wrestling tournament in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She also competes with 808 Wrestling Maui and trains with her father at 4MG Academy.

Grove said wrestling is her primary sport, and she has been competing since she was 4 years old. She said been to a few other big tournaments before, but feels like placing second in Spokane was her biggest accomplishment yet due to the size and prestige of the tournament.

To reach the championship match, Grove mowed her way through the competition in a bracket that featured 21 wrestlers.

Grove pinned her opponents in her first two matches and scored a tech fall in the semifinals. In the title match, Grove came up short on points to a wrestler from Pennsylvania.

“It was a really big bracket and I wasn’t one of the ranked wrestlers, like I wasn’t seeded, and I feel very proud of my accomplishment,” she said.

Taimane Masina Mata’afa Grove. Courtesy photo