Robinson wins U20 gold; Lilledahl and Ryder Advance to U20 Finals

Competition in women’s freestyle wrapped up on Friday at the U20 World Championships, but not before another American woman came away with a gold medal. Yesterday, we saw Cristelle Rodriguez and Alexis Janiak compete for world titles. Rodriguez became the first American to win gold this year and Janiak settled for silver. 

Today, the attention fell solely on the shoulders of Jasmine Robinson in the 72 kg gold medal match. Robinson’s three matches leading up to the finals didn’t combine for more than three minutes. In those bouts, Robinson simply destroyed the competition. The same could be said for her opponent, China’s Yuqi Liu. Liu ended her first three matches with first-period techs. 

If you just looked at the final score, you might assume that Robinson rolled like in her previous bouts, but that wasn’t the case. She was tested on multiple occasions by Liu and even worked back from an early deficit before getting a fall. 

Liu struck first with a takedown and quickly looked for a quick leg lace - her weapon of choice in her first three wins. Robinson was able to limit any additional damage and did not allow any exposure points and the two were brought back to their feet. Rather than rely on counter-offense, Robinson decided to strike but was thwarted by Liu with some heavy hips and a whizzer. Robinson used that whizzer to throw Liu to her back for four points and then earned an additional four points from exposure after a chin whip. 

The two big moves gave Robinson a 9-4 advantage at the break. In the second period, Liu continued to attack, earning another second, and seemed to gain momentum. With hopes of a comeback on her mind, Liu got in on another leg attack but was greeted by another chip whip. This one was very tight and Liu was unable to get off her back and surrendered a fall. 

With Robinson’s gold medal, the US women finished the tournament with four medals - two of which were gold. This was actually the first time since 2019 that the women’s team did not win at least five. The women’s team had multiple champions, which was a feat they hadn’t accomplished since 2021. 

The United States has now produced a U20 world champion at 72 kg in four straight tournaments - with Amit Elor winning the last two and Kennedy Blades winning in 2021. 

Robinson now has a pair of age-group world medals as she earned a bronze medal at the U17 level last year. 

Before Robinson took center stage, the men’s freestyle team participated in the semifinals. All five of the American men who started their tournament today advanced to the semis; 14 straight wins. Of course, a crazy run like that at a world-level tournament can’t last forever and the semifinals is where the Americans suffered their first losses. 

The session started with Luke Lilledahl taking the mat at 57 kg. The top recruit in the high school Class of 2024 and an incoming freshman at Penn State, Lilledahl looked to add to an already-impressive international resume. Standing in his way of a second consecutive U20 finals berth was Armenia’s Hayko Gasparyan. 

The opening period was a very tactical affair with Lilledahl’s lone point coming via a shot clock violation from Gasparyan. Lilledahl added to that lead in the second period with a low leg attack he finished after a fun flurry. With Gasparyan opening up late in the match, Lilledahl was able to put an additional point on the board via a step out and he’d win, 4-1. 

Lilledahl has now made four straight world finals across two age groups. In 2021 and 2022, he made the U17 finals - taking silver and then gold. Last year, Lilledahl fell in the U20 finals. Does the pattern repeat itself? Speaking of repeating, Lilledahl will need to replicate his 2023 performance against Russia’s Lev Pavlov. Lilledahl defeated the Russian, 9-2, in the 2023 Round of 32 and will face him tomorrow with a gold medal on the line. 

Also advancing to the finals is fellow Penn State classmate, Zach Ryder at 79 kg. Ryder had another gritty win, this time over Russian Said Saidulov. In the opening period, Ryder controlled the mat and the action earning two points for Saidulov stepping out of the cylinder. 

In the second period, Saidulov briefly held the lead after Ryder exposed his back during a scramble. A few seconds later, the shot clock expired on Ryder. That meant Saidulov had a 3-2 advantage. It would be short-lived as Ryder blew through Saidulov with a double leg. During the final seconds, Saidulov went all-out trying for a winning score. That allowed Ryder to counter and score himself with a takedown to win, 6-3. 

Ryder now has earned three age group world medals. He had two bronze medals at the U17 level before making the U20 finals. 

In the wildest match of the round. 70 kg representative PJ Duke came up just short in a 5-5 loss on criteria to Magomed Baitukaev (Russia). Baitukaev had an early lead, but the constant pressure from Duke led to Baitukaev tiring and Duke to mount a comeback. In the final ten seconds, trailing by a point, it appeared as if Duke may have won the match with a high-amplitude throw at the edge of the mat; however, it was just ruled a step-out. 

Duke along with Bo Bassett (65 kg) and Justin Rademacher (97 kg) each dropped to a bronze medal match on Saturday after their semifinal losses today. Bassett was stunned with a takedown and leg laces by Makoto Hosokawa (Japan) in a :45 second tech fall. Rademacher went toe-to-toe win 2023 Senior World Champion Rizabek Aitmukhan (Kazakhstan) in a match that was closer than a 9-1 final score might indicate. 

On Saturday, the final five members of the men’s freestyle team will start their tournaments. They are Marcus Blaze (61 kg), Ladarion Lockett (74 kg), Josh Barr (86 kg), Connor Mirasola (92 kg), and Ben Kueter (125 kg).