InterMat Staff

Friday at the U17 World Championships was the best so far from an American perspective. The women’s freestyle team finished their tournament, while the men’s freestyle action got underway. All four of the women who wrestled on Friday will leave Athens with world medals. Two had already clinched their medals heading into the day, while the other two had to post wins to earn their hardware. In yesterday’s recap, we mentioned how Morgan Turner had become the first American woman to win multiple U17 world championships. As expected, Turner has company and the exclusive club has grown to two. Taina Fernandez put her own spin on the accomplishment by going back-to-back (Turner’s first title came in 2023). Fernandez and India’s Yashita nearly battled to a stalemate in the opening stanza. A snap down and go-behind, quickly followed by a shot-clock violation, accounted for a 3-0 lead for Fernandez after one period. In the second, she opened up as we’ve been accustomed to seeing from her. Shortly after wrestling resumed, Fernandez got in on a single leg and switched to a double for a takedown. She immediately transitioned into a leg lace and turned Yashita multiple times. The officials ruled that it had only occurred twice, and the match resumed with the American holding a 9-0 lead. No worries for Fernandez, who used a similar attack to seal her win at 11-0. In her second U17 world title run, Fernandez only surrendered points in one of her four victories. The other finalist for the women’s squad was Epenesa Elison at 53 kg. She faced China’s Jiaqing Jiang in the gold medal matchup. Jiang ended up prevailing 7-4; however, Elison was on the wrong side of three different calls where she might have earned takedown(s). She’ll settle for silver in her first actual U17 world tournament. Elison qualified for the 2024 tournament but did not wrestle. Maisie Elliott (40 kg) and Jaclyn Bouzakis (46 kg) both finished up with bronze medals. Both had relatively one-sided wins to clinch their medals. Elliott won with a 6-0 shutout, while Bouzakis managed to wrap up a 12-2 tech in the final seconds of the first period. The women’s freestyle team finished in second place behind India. Even though they finished with a lower point total, the American squad was the only one with seven medalists. In men’s freestyle, two Americans pushed through to Saturday’s gold medal matches and one other is in a bronze medal match. Arseni Kikiniou made some history of his own as he became the first American to earn U17 world medals in both styles at the same World Championship event. He earned a bronze medal in Greco earlier this week. On Friday, Kikiniou advanced to the 65 kg gold medal match after edging Iran’s Morteza Haj Mollamohammadi, 3-2. Trailing 2-1, with under :30 remaining in the bout, Kikiniou won a scramble to get the go-ahead takedown. He’ll face Azerbaijan’s Huseyn Ismayilov in tomorrow’s championship match. Before Kikiniou earned a finals berth, Ariah Mills had become the first American in men’s freestyle to do so in the 2025 tournament. Late in the first period, against Azerbaijan’s Ravan Hasanzade, Mills drove Hasanzade out of bounds to his back for four points. That gave him a 4-1 lead he’d never relinquish. Mills added more late in the second for a 7-2 win. The third American in the semifinals was Grey Burnett at 55 kg, who suffered an 8-2 loss to Japan’s Jinnosuke Okonogi. The pair were tied at the break, with Burnett holding criteria; however, Okonogi had a big second period to take the lead. Burnett will wait for an opponent to advance to tomorrow’s bronze medal match. Aaron Stewart (80 kg) and Alex Taylor (110 kg) were both in action as well - both were eliminated from medal contention on Friday. American Results Women’s freestyle 40 kg Bronze medal match: Maisie Elliott over Finja Strauch (Germany) 6-0 46 kg Bronze medal match: Jaclyn Bouzakis over Irina Tsydeeva (Russia) 12-2 53 kg Gold medal match: Jiaqing Jiang (China) over Epenesa Elison 7-4 61 kg Gold medal match: Taina Fernandez over Yashita (India) 11-0 Men’s freestyle 48 kg Round of 16: Ariah Mills over Islam Rabadanov (Russia) 11-0 Quarterfinals: Ariah Mills over Giorgi Narimindze (Georgia) 12-1 Semifinals: Ariah Mills over Ravan Hasanzade (Azerbaijan) 7-2 55 kg Round of 16: Grey Burnett over Armen Papikyan (Armenia) 3-2 Quarterfinals: Grey Burnett over Jaiveer Singh (India) 3-0 Semifinals: Jinnosuke Okonogi (Japan) over Grey Burnett 8-2 65 kg Round of 32: Arseni Kikiniou over Nikita Kozich (Israel) 10-0 Round of 16: Arseni Kikiniou over Michal Michniewicz (Poland) 9-0 Quarterfinals: Arseni Kikiniou over Gourav Punia (India) 5-4 Semifinals: Arseni Kikiniou over Morteza Haj Mollamohammadi (Iran) 3-2 80 kg Round of 16: Aaron Stewart over Marshall Jones (Great Britain) 11-0 Quarterfinals: Issa Zangiev (Russia) over Aaron Stewart 10-4 110 kg Round of 16: Hakim Taghiyev (Azerbaijan) over Alex Taylor 7-6 Saturday’s Gold Medal Matches 48 kg: Ariah Mills (USA) vs. Sina Boustani Kalateh Abbasabad (Iran) 55 kg: Jinnosuke Okonogi (Japan) vs. Abdumalik Jaloldinov (Uzbekistan) 65 kg: Arseni Kikiniou (USA) vs. Huseyn Ismayilov (Azerbaijan) 80 kg: Artur Kostiuk (Ukraine) vs. Mohammadparsa Karami (Iran) 110 kg: Lacky (India) vs. Magomedrasul Omarov (Russia) Final Medal Round Matches Women’s Freestyle 40 kg Gold medal match: Shokhista Shonazarova (Uzbekistan) over An Nakanishi (Japan) 11-0 Bronze medal match: Maisie Elliott (USA) over Finja Strauch (Germany) 6-0 Bronze medal match: Asema Asangaryeva (Kyrgyzstan) over Valia Harsan (Romania) 2-0 46 kg Gold medal match: Hanano Oya (Japan) over Janka Sillei (Hungary) 3-0 Bronze medal match: Jaclyn Bouzakis (USA) over Irina Tsydeeva (Russia) 12-2 Bronze medal match: Maria Gkika (Greece) over Kamila Kuchma (Ukraine) 4-3 53 kg Gold medal match: Jiaqing Jiang (China) over Epenesa Elison (USA) 7-4 Bronze medal match: Rion Ogawa (Japan) over Margarita Iarygina (Belarus) 8-0 Bronze medal match: Mariia Zhytovoz (Hungary) over Farida Abdrakhmanova (Kazakhstan) 10-0 61 kg Gold medal match: Taina Fernandez (USA) over Yashita (India) 11-0 Bronze medal match: Barbara Bager (Hungary) over Varvara Aliseyenka (Russia) 2-0 Bronze medal match: Zalina Totrova (Belarus) over Miranda Kapanadze (Georgia) 8-0 69 kg Gold medal match: Min Zhao (China) over Ayla Sahin (Germany) 13-2 Bronze medal match: Solomiia Petriv (Ukraine) over Manisha (India) 5-2 Bronze medal match: Shakhizada Dauletzhan (Kazakhstan) over Linda Martinez Armenta (Mexico) 4-1

We started our All-Quarter Century feature by looking at a prominent Big Ten program, and today, we’re circling back to the B1G to look at another. Illinois. Illinois is a program that has seen a lot of star power come through Champaign in the last 25 years. Our first team contains six different NCAA champions - including one we saw in action just a few months ago. In the early part of the time observed, Illinois captured a Big Ten title and had a couple other near misses. With some momentum from 2025 and talented recruiting classes on the horizon, they could get back in the B1G title hunt sooner rather than later. While a lot of the first team was relatively easy to figure out there were overall some tough decisions and omissions. First and foremost, at 157/165. 157 has been a great weight for the Illini with three national finalists wrestling there since 2001. Throw in the fact that Isaiah Martinez wrestled at 157 and 165 there were some difficult choices to make. Martinez has to be on the first team. The decision came between Mike Poeta (157) and Matt Lackey (165). Martinez would go one weight and someone excellent would be bumped to the second team. Another decision came at 133 lbs. Big Ten champion and All-American Mark Jayne wasn’t on one of the top three teams. You could probably make an argument that he might be worthy of a second-team selection, as Zane Richards and BJ Futrell all had very strong careers, but a case could be made for Jayne. Wrestlers considered for the three teams had to compete from 2001 to 2025. For the wrestlers early in this timeframe, their entire collegiate body of work was considered. Only collegiate results were taken into consideration. Even if a wrestler was successful at multiple weights, they were only selected for one weight - typically, it was based on the strongest possible first team. After the three All-Century teams, there are some fun facts about Cornell’s results over the past 25 years. Here are the programs we’ve already covered Cornell Lehigh Minnesota Missouri NC State First Team 125 lbs - Jesse Delgado: Gilroy, California - 3x AA (1,1,7), 2x NCAA champion, 2x Big Ten champion 133 lbs - Lucas Byrd: Cincinnati, Ohio* - 3x AA (1,5,5), 2025 NCAA champion, 2025 Big Ten champion 141 lbs - Jimmy Kennedy: Ingleside, Illinois - 3x AA (5,5,4), 2008 Big Ten runner-up, NCAA #2 seed 149 lbs - Adam Tirapelle: Clovis, California - 3x AA (1,2,3), 2001 NCAA champion, 2000 Big Ten champion 157 lbs - Isaiah Martinez: Lemoore, California - 4x AA (2,2,1,1), 2x NCAA champion, 4x Big Ten champion 165 lbs - Matt Lackey: Moline, Illinois - 3x AA (1,2,3), 2003 NCAA champion, 2x Big Ten champion 174 lbs - Jordan Blanton: Richmond, Illinois - 3x AA (7,4,5), 2010 Big Ten 3rd place 184 lbs - Pete Friedl: Orland Park, Illinois - 3x AA (3,4,7), 2005 Big Ten champion, 2x Big Ten finalist 197 lbs - Pat Quirk: Hinsdale, Illinois - 2x AA (2,8), 2001 Big Ten champion 285 lbs - John Lockhart: Mahomet, Illinois - 3x AA (3,1,7), 2001 NCAA champion, 2001 Big Ten runner-up Second Team 125 lbs - Kyle Ott: Huber Heights, Ohio - 2x AA (2,2), 2x Big Ten runner-up, NCAA #3 seed 133 lbs - Zane Richards: Carbondale, Illinois - 2x AA (7,4), 2016 Big Ten runner-up, NCAA #3 seed 141 lbs - Dylan Duncan: Winfield, Illinois - 1x AA (5), 4x national qualifier, 2018 Big Ten 3rd place 149 lbs - Eric Terrezas: Wheaton, Illinois - 2x national qualifier 157 lbs - Mike Poeta: Highwood, Illinois - 3x AA (2,2,3), 2x Big Ten champion, 2x NCAA #2 seed 165 lbs - Conrad Polz: Orland Park, Illinois - 2x AA (5,8), 2013 Big Ten runner-up 174 lbs - John Dergo: Morris, Illinois - 1x AA (5), 2010 Big Ten champion, NCAA #2 seed 184 lbs - Brian Glynn: Orland Park, Illinois - 2x AA (3,6), 2005 Big Ten runner-up 197 lbs - Tyrone Byrd: Clinton, Illinois - 4x national qualifier, 2006 Big Ten runner-up 285 lbs - John Wise: Pittsfield, Illinois - 1x AA (7), 2009 Big Ten 3rd place Third Team 125 lbs - Gabe Flores: Madera, California - 3x national qualifier, NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 2008 Big Ten 3rd place 133 lbs - BJ Futrell: Park Forest, Illinois - 2x AA (6,8), 2012 Big Ten 3rd place, NCAA #4 seed 141 lbs - Steven Rodriguez: Mount Kisco, New York - 1x AA (5), 3x national qualifier, 2016 Big Ten 3rd place 149 lbs - Kannon Webster*: Toulon, Illinois - 2025 national qualifier, NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 2025 Big Ten runner-up 157 lbs - Alex Tirapelle: Clovis, California - 2x AA (4,2), 2x Big Ten champion, 2x NCAA #1 seed 165 lbs - Jackson Morse, Alto, Michigan: 1x AA (4) 174 lbs - Zac Brunson: Eugene, Oregon: 1x AA (6), NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 2016 Big Ten runner-up 184 lbs - Emery Parker: Wadsworth, Illinois: 2x AA (5,3), 2019 Big Ten 3rd place 197 lbs - Mario Gonzalez: Aurora, Illinois: 3x NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 2012 Big Ten champion 285 lbs - Luke Luffman: Urbana, Illinois: 4x national qualifier, NCAA Round of 12 finisher Fun Facts During this quarter-century, six Illinois wrestlers have combined to win eight NCAA titles Illinois wrestlers have made the national finals 17 times during this time span Coming into the 2000’s Illinois had never produced a two-time national champion - now they have two (Delgado, Martinez) Illinois has finished in the top ten at the NCAA Championships ten times since 2001. The 2001 team’s fifth-place finish is the highest and features the most team points (89). Illinois has put wrestlers on the NCAA podium 54 times since 2001, plus an NWCA First Team All-American in 2020 5 Illini wrestlers earned All-American honors in both 2004 and 2005 - the highest total during this span In 2018, Isaiah Martinez became the first Illinois wrestler to win the Big Ten four times and earn All-American honors four times Isaiah Martinez’s 2015 national title made him the first freshman to finish the season undefeated since Cael Sanderson in 1999 The 2005 Illinois team captured its only Big Ten team title during this quarter century They finished second in the Big Ten on three other occasions Despite winning the 2005 Big Ten title, the team’s high point total at that event came in 2001 (130.5 points) The 2001 team had a pair of NCAA champions (Ad. Tirapelle and Lockhart), one of only three times in team history they’ve had multiple champs and the only time in the period observed. 13 Illinois wrestlers have combined to win 20 Big Ten titles in the past 25 years Illini wrestlers have been seeded #1 at the NCAA Tournament 9 times in this quarter century, with Isaiah Martinez having four times himself Illinois has been led by three different head coaches this quarter century: Mark Johnson, Jim Heffernan, and Mike Poeta The top-five wrestlers on the school’s all-time wins list all wrestled in this era (Al. Tirapelle, Ad. Tirapelle, Friedl, Kennedy, Lockhart) Nine of the ten first-team members were at least three-time All-Americans Illinois has been able to ink the #1 overall recruit once during this quarter century (Poeta/2004) Since 2001, 11 California natives have won NCAA titles. Three of them (Ad. Tirapelle, Delgado, Martinez) wore the block I for Illinois.

Kearney via Grand View

Washington via Grand View

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Hononegah via Iowa

North Allegheny

Leander

Springs Studio via Colorado Mesa

The only day of the U17 World Championships that contained nothing but women’s freestyle was an excellent one for Team USA. Morgan Turner was one of the stars of the day as she staked her claim to one of America’s best women ever at the age-group level. Turner posted a 6-1 victory over Japan’s two-time U17 Asian champion Yu Kataoka. It represented her third U17 world medal and her second of the gold variety. Since the Cadet/U17 World Championships returned in 2011, no American woman had won multiple gold medals. We’ll get to it later, but one of Turner’s teammates could join that elite company on Friday. In the 49 kg gold medal matchup against Kataoka, Turner got on the scoreboard first with a sweep single. Her Japanese opponents fought it with a hard whizzer; however, Turner was eventually able to step over her back and lock in a leg for two points. The second period saw Turner add to her lead, countering a short offense attempt from Kataoka for a takedown and two more points. With under a minute remaining in the contest, Turner kept the heat on and scored a third takedown on a low leg attack. At the end of that sequence, Kataoka got to her feet and earned a step-out point against the American. That would be the only scoring for the Japanese wrestler - Turner finished off the 6-1 win a few seconds later. Turner’s time being the only American woman to win two U17 titles might last a full 24 hours. Maybe less. Taina Fernandez made the 61 kg finals and put herself in position to win back-to-back gold medals. Fernandez needed less than :40 seconds to take Miranda Kapanadze (Georgia) down, lock in an arm-bar and secure a fall in the semifinals. Fernandez’s toughest test on Thursday came in a 13-6 win over Russian Zalina Totrova. Standing between Fernandez and back-to-back world championships is India’s Yashita. Yashita is battle-tested with close wins throughout the tournament. She had wins by four points, two points, and criteria, before a 5-0 shutout in the semis. Joining Fernandez in tomorrow’s finals is Epenesa Elison at 53 kg. Elison earned her finals berth after a methodical tech fall over Kazakhstan’s Farida Abdrakhmanov. Elison struck time and time again with a sweep single - four times in total, along with a leg lace for a 10-0 victory. Like Fernandes, Elison’s toughest bout thus far came in the quarterfinals. Elison jumped out to an early 6-0 lead on Hungary’s Mariia Zhytovoz; however, Zhytovoz was able to cut the lead to one point at the break. In the second period, Elison re-established herself with a picture-esque ankle pick for four points. She would go on to win 12-7. Also coming away with hardware on the day was Madison Healey at 43 kg. Healey and Egyptian Mareim Abdelaal were in a relatively tight bout before Healey got a takedown in the second period and quickly moved into an arm bar. The officials had a difficult time determining whether or not to call the fall, but eventually put Abdelaal out of her misery from the brutal pinning combination with :30 left in the bout. Healey grabs the bronze medal and her only loss of the tournament was 1-1 to the eventual champion, Rachana of India. The final American to claim a bronze medal on Thursday was Ella Poalillo at 73 kg. Poalillo was up 2-0 in the second period against Georgia’s Anna Godelashvili and nearly got a fall after securing a takedown and reaching for the head. Seconds later, she locked up a nasty arm bar and finished the job for the fall and a bronze medal. Two more American women will wrestle for the bronze tomorrow. Maisie Elliott at 40 kg and Jaclyn Bouzakis at 46 kg. Both advanced to the semifinals on Wednesday. Elliott will face Germany’s Finja Strauch, while Bouzakis’ opponent will be determined after a round of repechage. American Results 40 kg Quarterfinals: Masie Elliott over Preeti Yadav (India) 6-2 Semifinals: Shokhista Shonazarova (Kazakhstan) over Masie Elliott 9-0 43 kg Bronze Medal Match: Madison Healey over Mareim Abdelaal (Egypt) Fall 3:30 46 kg Round of 16: Jaclyn Bouzakis over Yuting Yuan (China) 7-4 Quarterfinals: Jaclyn Bouzakis over Kasish Gurjar (India) 12-4 Semifinals: Hanano Oya (Japan) over Jaclyn Bouzakis 6-4 49 kg Gold Medal Match: Morgan Turner over Yu Kataoka (Japan) 6-1 53 kg Round of 32: Epenesa Elison over Kanita Spahija (Kosovo) 12-0 Round of 16: Epenesa Elison over Maria Vandoulaki Vandoula (Greece) Fall 1:06 Quarterfinals: Epenesa Elison over Mariia Zhytovoz (Hungary) 12-7 Semifinals: Epenesa Elison over Farida Abdrakhmanov (Kazakhstan) 10-0 61 kg Round of 16: Taina Fernandez over Zichen Dong (China) 10-0 Quarterfinals: Taina Fernandez over Zalina Totrova (Belarus) 13-6 Semifinals: Taina Fernandez over Miranda Kapanadze (Georgia) Fall :36 69 kg Round of 16: Cassandra Gonzales over Gereltuya Amarsaikhan (Mongolia) 11-0 Quarterfinals: Manisha (India) over Cassandra Gonzales Fall 1:51 73 kg Bronze Medal Match: Ella Poalillo over Anna Godelashvili (Georgia) Fall 2:36 Friday’s Gold Medal Matches 40 kg: An Nakanishi (Japan) vs. Shokhista Shonazarova (Kazakhstan) 46 kg: Hanano Oya (Japan) vs. Janka Sillei (Hungary) 53 kg: Epenesa Ellison (USA) vs. Jiaqing Jiang (China) 61 kg: Taina Fernandez (USA) vs. Yashita (India) 69 kg: Min Zhao (China) vs. Ayla Sahin (Germany) Final Medal Round Matches 43 kg Gold Medal Match: Rachana (India) over Xin Huang (China) 3-0 Bronze Medal Match: Inzhu Bakkozha (Kazakhstan) over Raniia Rakhmanova (Russia) 8-0 Bronze Medal Match: Madison Healey (USA) over Mareim Abdelaal (Egypt) Fall 3:30 49 kg Gold Medal Match: Morgan Turner (USA) over Yu Kataoka (Japan) 6-1 Bronze Medal Match: Polina Bochkareva (Russia) over Azema Kalidinva (Kyrgyzstan) 6-6 Bronze Medal Match: Komal Verma (India) over Anhelina Burkina (Belarus) 8-3 57 kg Gold Medal Match: Madkhiya Usmanova (Kazakhstan) over Moni (India) 6-5 Bronze Medal Match: Alina Baroeva (Russia) over Marta Mankowska (Poland) 6-1 Bronze Medal Match: Sayuki Tanada (Japan) over Sophie Ritter (Italy) 4-4 65 kg Gold Medal Match: Ashvini Vishnoi (India) over Mukhayyo Rakhimjonova (Uzbekistan) 3-0 Bronze Medal Match: Lilia Ermokhina (Russia) over Anujin Erkhembaaatar (Mongolia) 9-2 Bronze Medal Match: Feenja Hermann (Germany) over Alexandra Moisei (Moldova) 4-2 73 kg Gold Medal Match: Wenjin Qiu (China) over Kajal (India) 8-5 Bronze Medal Match: Eylem Engin (Turkiye) over Deborah Garcia Pacheco (Mexico) 9-1 Bronze Medal Match: Ella Poalillo (USA) over Anna Godelashvili (Georgia) Fall 2:36