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Sunday at the 2025 Senior World Championships marked the first day that medals were awarded. The American squad came away with only one medal, but it was of the gold variety. Additionally, two wrestlers who started their tournaments this morning clinched medals and will wrestle for world titles tomorrow. The latest American world champion is Zahid Valencia, who capped off an incredible run through the 86 kg bracket with a 12-0 tech fall over Japan’s Hayato Ishiguro. Valencia put together one of the most remarkable world championship runs in recent American wrestling history as he did not surrender a point in any of his five victories. Just over two and a half years ago, Ishiguro blanked Valencia by an 11-0 score at the Zagreb Open. In his post-semis interview, Valencia said he was told about the result but didn’t remember the match. It was evident that Valencia wasn’t worried about the matchup, as he turned the tables on his Japanese foe. The pair fought for position for almost the first two minutes of the bout to no avail. With Ishiguro on the activity clock, Valencia finished a sweep single for a takedown. A few seconds later, he added a point for Ishiguro’s inability to score within the allotted :30 seconds. Early in the second period, Valencia continued to attack and scored off a high C to double and a 7-0 lead. Valencia put the finishing touches on his world title with two takedowns at the edge. In both instances, he navigated the boundary line and, not only stayed in bounds, but also secured takedowns. With his 11-0 win, Valencia went through the tournament and outscored his opponents by a 49-0 margin. The only other Americans within the last 20 years to finish unscored upon at the world championships are J’den Cox (2019), Kyle Dake (2018), and Helen Maroulis (2017). The other American wrestling for a medal on Sunday was Jax Forrest at 61 kg. The high school senior was at the center of one of the most controversial matches of the tournament thus far. With his opponent, Assylzhan Yessengeldi, leading by a point and three seconds remaining in the bout, Yessengeldi was called for a singlet grab, which knotted the match at nine, but Forrest had the lead via criteria. The Kazakh corner challenged and the call was overturned. Yessengeldi would go on to win 10-8. The American delegation has filed a protest regarding the end of the bout. Before the above incident, the official warned Yessengeldi for a defensive singlet grab but didn’t penalize him a point. Among the four wrestlers who started their respective tournaments on Sunday, Levi Haines (79 kg) and Trent Hidlay (92 kg) advanced to the finals. David Carr lost a heartbreaker in the quarterfinals to Albania’s Cherman Valiev. Valiev would go on to pull a huge upset in the semis as he beat Olympic champion Zaurbek Sidakov, pulling Carr into repechage. Olympic silver medalist Spencer Lee was stunned in the quarterfinals and got teched by Armenia’s Arsen Harutunyan, 14-3. Harutuyan lost in the semifinals, which knocked Lee out of medal contention. Haines’ biggest win came in the quarterfinals as he knocked off returning world champion Akhmed Usmanov (UWW - Russia), 3-2. For a berth in the gold medal match, Haines posted a 4-1 win over Suldkhuu Olonbayar (Mongolia). Haines was boosted by a pair of second-period takedowns for the win. The first-time world teamer, Hidlay, was never seriously threatened during his four wins on Sunday. He repeatedly wore down his opponents with a high pace and the ability to control the center of the mat. In the quarterfinals, Hidlay downed the top seed, Miriani Maisuradze (Georgia), 6-1. To make the championship bout, Hidlay teched three-time world medalist Osman Nurmagomedov (Azerbaijan), 15-4. The final two men’s freestyle weight classes (65/97 kg) will get underway tomorrow, as will two women’s weights (55, 59). 57 kg Round of 16: Spencer Lee over Yusuf Demir (Turkiye) 10-0 Quarterfinals: Arsen Harutuyan (Armenia) over Spencer Lee 14-3 61 kg Bronze Medal Match: Jax Forrest Assylzhan Yessengeldi (Kazakhstan) 74 kg Round of 32: David Carr over Rasul Shapiev (North Macedonia) 9-5 Round of 16: David Carr over Ramazan Ramazanov (Bulgaria) 10-0 Quarterfinals: Cherman Valiev (Albania) over David Carr 7-5 79 kg Round of 32: Levi Haines over Khidir Saipudinov (Bahrain) 5-2 Round of 16: Levi Haines over Bumgue Seo (South Korea) 10-0 Quarterfinals: Levi Haines over Akhmed Usmanov (UWW - Russia) 3-2 Semifinal: Levi Haines over Suldkhuu Olonbayar (Mongolia) 4-1 86 kg Gold Medal Match: Zahid Valencia over Hayato Ishiguro (Japan) 12-0 92 kg Round of 32: Trent Hidlay over Redjep Hajdari (North Macedonia) 11-1 Round of 16: Trent Hidlay over Samuel Scherrer (Switzerland) 10-0 Quarterfinals: Trent Hidlay over Miriani Maisuradze (Georgia) 6-1 Semifinals: Trent Hidlay dec Osman Nurmagomedov (Azerbaijan) 15-4 Final Results 61 kg Gold Medal Match: Zavur Uguev (Albania) over Ahmad Mohammadnezhad Javan (Iran) 11-2 Bronze Medal Match: Assylzhan Yessengeldi (Kazakhstan) over Jax Forrest (USA) 10-8 Bronze Medal Match: Nuraddin Novruzov (Azerbaijan) over Kum Hyok Kim (North Korea) Fall 2:18 70 kg Gold Medal Match: Yoshinosuke Aoyagi (Japan) over Tulga Tumur Ochir (Mongolia) 5-1 Bronze Medal Match: Ernazar Akmataliev (Kyrgyzstan) over Arman Andresyan (Armenia) 8-2 Bronze Medal Match: Nurkozha Kaipanov (Kazakhstan) over Vasile Diacon (Moldova) 13-2 86 kg Gold Medal Match: Zahid Valencia (USA) over Hayato Ishiguro (Japan) 12-0 Bronze Medal Match: Kamran Ghasempour (Iran) over Mukul Dahiya (India) 10-0 Bronze Medal Match: Arsenii Dzhioev (Azerbaijan) over Rakhim Magamedov (France) 7-0 125 kg Gold Medal Match: Amir Zare (Iran) over Giorgi Meshvildishvili (Azerbaijan) 5-0 Bronze Medal Match: Robert Baran (Poland) over Vlagyiszlav Bajcajev (Hungary) 5-0 Bronze Medal Match: Shamil Sharipov (Bahrain) over Jonovan Smith (Puerto Rico) Fall 4:08 Monday’s Gold Medal Matches 57 kg: Chongsong Han (North Korea) vs. Bekzat Almaz Uulu (Kyrgyzstan) 70 kg: Chermen Valiev (Albania) vs. Kota Takahashi (Japan) 79 kg: Levi Haines (USA) vs. Georgios Kougioumtsidis (Greece) 92 kg: Trent Hidlay (USA) vs. Amanula Gadzhimagomedov (UWW - Russia)