Jayden Raney Wins U17 World Title in Greco-Roman

Let’s go back to the year 2022. It had been five years since an American had won a U17 world title in Greco-Roman. Later that year, Joel Adams would snap that streak with his gold medal at 65 kg. A year later, Jordyn Raney would make it back-to-back years with a championship, as he won the 55 kg weight class. 

Now, we’ve had three straight years with a Greco gold medalist. 

The latest winner for the United States is the twin brother of our last champion - Jayden Raney. 

Today, in Amann, Jordan, Raney faced an opponent that was in Jordyn’s 2023 bracket. However, he did not medal and the two did not meet, in Alpamys Bolatuly of Kazakhstan. 

Both wrestlers were looking for the home run move and each attempted a headlock. Neither landed the hold; however, Raney came out on top in the flurry for a takedown. Along the way, Raney locked up a gut wrench and turned Bolatuly for a set of exposure points. Not content with a four-point lead, Raney looked to a more folkstyle-centric maneuver which worked just as well. An armbar helped expose and nearly pin Bolatuly. An incredible bridge helped save Bolatuly from a fall. Raney would take a commanding 6-0 lead into the break. 

Once action resumed, it was Bolatuly who pushed the pace with a takedown off of a throw-by. During the same sequence, Bolatuly locked up a gut wrench of his own and cut the deficit to 6-4. Raney was able to avoid further damage by getting back to his feet. 

Right around the one-minute mark, Bolatuly had a bear hug and took Raney off his feet at the edge of the mat. Raney actually came down on top of Bolatuly, but Bolatuly was given a point for a step out. His corner disagreed and challenged the call, which was lost and Raney’s lead was now 7-5. 

During the final :44 seconds of the bout, Raney managed to keep Bolatuly at bay and off the scoreboard, while working to stay engaged and avoid any potential caution calls from the official. 

The win put the finishing touches on a wild tournament for Raney - one that saw him win by a point in the quarterfinals and pin to win, while trailing in the semis. 

The tournament might yield a medal for both Raney twins. Jordyn fell in the 60kg semifinals and will wrestle for a bronze medal tomorrow. His opponent will be determined by a repechage bout between Vadym Matros (Ukraine) and Dosbol Shamil (Kazakhstan). 

Additionally, Dom Munaretto (51 kg) and  Joseph Jeter (71 kg) were both pulled into tomorrow’s repechage round. Both will have to win two matches to come away with a bronze medal.