InterMat Staff

50 kg 53 kg 55 kg 57 kg 59 kg 62 kg 65 kg 68 kg 72 kg 76 kg

The first set of medals were awarded on Monday at the U20 World Championships and the American men’s freestyle team claimed hardware in three of four weight classes. Two of those medals were of the gold variety. PJ Duke (70 kg) and Justin Rademacher (97 kg) both won gold medals at their respective weights. Each is now a two-time U20 world medalist. Both earned bronze medals at this tournament in 2024. Cole Mirasola also got into the mix with a bronze medal at 125 kg. In addition to the wrestlers who completed their tournaments on Monday, there were four others who started this morning. From that group, Luke Stanich (65 kg) and Will Henckel (79 kg) locked up a world medal after advancing to Tuesday's finals. We’ll find out tomorrow what color their medals will be. In addition, Connor Mirasola will wrestle for the bronze. Duke took the mat first in the finals and had to contend with a stingy Aleksandr Gaidarli of Moldova. In the first period, the only points awarded were to the American as a result of a shot clock violation from Gaidarli. Duke put some distance between himself and Gaidarli in the second period as he got a takedown and, after a restart, exposure points from a scramble to lead 5-1. Gaidarli briefly took the lead after a high-crotch to a double, followed by a gut wrench. The two pairs of two points knotted the match at five, but gave the Moldovan a lead on criteria. That lead only lasted for about :30 seconds, as Duke hustled to put himself in position to grab a single leg and converted the takedown at the edge. For the last :49 seconds of the bout, Duke was able to nullify any attacks that Gaidarli could muster and took the bout, 7-5. In the second gold medal matchup featuring an American, Oregon State’s Justin Rademacher squared off with Russian Magomedgadzhi Magomedov. Rademacher struck early in the first period with a four-pointer that ended up being the difference in the match. The American got in on a single leg, initially tried to switch to a double and then tried for an elevated finish. Rademacher didn’t get the air that he intended on; however, he drove Magomedov out of the circle and onto his back for four points. Magomedov was able to manage a step out point in the second period, but that was the extent of the scoring for either wrestler. Rademacher’s win gave the United States a 2-0 record in gold medal matches thus far in the tournament. A pair of Americans will try to run that record to 4-0 tomorrow as Stanich and Henckel are slated to wrestle for gold. Stanich made the semifinals after edging fellow New Jersey native (wrestling for Italy) Alex Nini, 3-3. In the semifinals, a throw-by to an ankle was responsible for the only takedown of the contest and a 3-1 win over Russia’s Amal Dzhandubaev. In the 79 kg semifinals, a late first-period burst that included five points was responsible for pushing Henckel past India’s Amit, 5-4. The anchor of the US lineup, Cole Mirasola, was able to earn his bronze medal after a first-period tech fall over Mongolian Narantulga Darmaabazar. After Mirasola locked up his second takedown of the match, he was able to expose Darmaabazar three times with a leg lace to end the match at 12-2. At 74 kg, Ladarion Lockett won a pair of repechage matches and earned a place in a bronze medal match against Japan’s Kanata Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi struck early with a takedown and quickly ended the bout with a series of exposures from a leg lace. The 57 kg representative, Anthony Knox, earned a win in the qualification round; however, he was downed by Kazakhstan’s Nurdant Aitanov, 14-3 in the Round of 16. Aitanov ended up losing in the semifinals, which eliminated Knox from medal contention. 57 kg Round of 32: Anthony Knox over Mykola Bratov (Ukraine) 11-0 Round of 16: Nurdanat Aitanov (Kazakhstan) over Anthony Knox 14-3 65 kg Round of 32: Luke Stanich over Abdullah Toprak (Turkiye) 18-8 Round of 16: Luke Stanich over over Omurbek Asan Uulu (Kyrgyzstan) 9-3 Quarterfinals: Luke Stanich over Alex Nini (Italy) 3-3 Semifinals: Luke Stanich over Amal Dzhandubaev (Russia) 3-1 Gold Medal Matchup: Luke Stanich vs. Reiji Uchida (Japan) 70 kg Gold Medal Match: PJ Duke over Alexandr Gaidarli (Moldova) 7-5 74 kg Repechage #1: Ladarion Lockett over Vatan Annaorazov (Turkmenistan) 10-0 Repechage #2: Ladarion Lockett over Manuel Wagin (Germany) 8-5 Bronze Medal Match: Kanata Yamaguchi (Japan) over Ladarion Lockett 10-0 79 kg Round of 32: Will Henckel over Maksat Tabyldyev (Kyrgyzstan) 8-5 Round of 16: Will Henckel over Bohdan Oleksiienklo (Ukraine) 10-0 Quarterfinals: Will Henckel over Davit Tchetchelashvili (Georgia) 11-5 Semifinals: Will Henckel over Amit (India) 5-4 Gold Medal Matchup: Will Henckel vs. Mahdi Yousefihajivar (Iran) 92 kg Round of 32: Connor Mirasola over Zixu Yuan (China) 10-0 Round of 16: Kamil Kurugliyev (Kazakhstan) over Connor Mirasola 7-5 Repechage Matchup: Connor Mirasola vs. Teimuraz Kochkiani (Georgia) 97 kg Gold Medal Match: Justin Rademacher over Magomedgadzhi Magomedov (Russia) 4-1 125 kg Bronze Medal Match: Cole Mirasola (USA) over Narantulga Darmaabazar (Mongolia) 12-2 Final Medal Round Results 70 kg Gold Medal Match: PJ Duke (USA) over Alexandr Gaidarli (Moldova) 7-5 Bronze Medal Match: Ebrahim Elahichouran (Iran) over Abdoullah Nakaev (France) 6-4 Bronze Medal Match: Nurlan Aghazada (Azerbaijan) over Goga Otinashivili (Georgia) 4-0 74 kg Gold Medal Match: Ismail Khaniev (Russia) over Adilet Akylbekov (Kyrgyzstan) 11-0 Bronze Medal Match: Kanata Yamaguchi (Japan) over Ladarion Lockett (USA) 10-0 Bronze Medal Match: Dosszhan Kul Gaiyp (Kazakhstan) over Raul Caso (Italy) 6-3 97 kg Gold Medal Match: Justin Rademacher (USA) over Magomedgadzhi Magomedov (Russia) 4-1 Bronze Medal Match: Samir Dursanov (Kazakhstan) over Vishal (India) Fall 1:22 Bronze Medal Match: Konstantine Petriashvili (Georgia) over Ibrahim Benekli (Turkiye) 8-3 125 kg Gold Medal Match: Yedige Kassimbek (Kazakhstan) over Abolfazl Mohammad Nezhad (Iran) 4-1 Bronze Medal Match: Cole Mirasola (USA) over Narantulga Darmaabazar (Mongolia) 12-2 Bronze Medal Match: Yusif Dursunov (Azerbaijan) over Levan Lagvilava (France) 3-1 Tuesday’s Gold Medal Matchups 57 kg: Magomed Ozdamirov (Russia) vs. Sumit Malik (India) 65 kg: Luke Stanich (USA) vs. Reiji Uchida (Japan) 79 kg: Will Henckel (USA) vs. Mahdi Yousefihajivar (Iran) 92 kg: Kamil Kurugliev (Kazakhstan) vs. Sherzod Poyonov (Uzbekistan)

Here are the full results from Monday's session one. We'll have a more in-depth recap at the conclusion of today's medal round matches. 57 kg Round of 32: Anthony Knox over Mykola Bratov (Ukraine) 11-0 Round of 16: Nurdanat Aitanov (Kazakhstan) over Anthony Knox 14-3 65 kg Round of 32: Luke Stanich over Abdullah Toprak (Turkiye) 18-8 Round of 16: Luke Stanich over over Omurbek Asan Uulu (Kyrgyzstan) 9-3 Quarterfinals: Luke Stanich over Alex Nini (Italy) 3-3 79 kg Round of 32: Will Henckel over Maksat Tabyldyev (Kyrgyzstan) 8-5 Round of 16: Will Henckel over Bohdan Oleksiienklo (Ukraine) 10-0 Quarterfinals: Will Henckel over Davit Tchetchelashvili (Georgia) 11-5 92 kg Round of 32: Connor Mirasola over Zixu Yuan (China) 10-0 Round of 16: Kamil Kurugliyev (Kazakhstan) over Connor Mirasola 7-5 74 kg Repechage #1: Ladarion Lockett over Vatan Annaorazov (Turkmenistan) 10-0 Repechage #2: Ladarion Lockett over Manuel Wagin (Germany) 8-5 Bronze Medal Match: Ladarion Lockett vs. Kanata Yamaguchi (Japan) Session Two Medal Round Matchups 70 kg: Gold Medal Match: PJ Duke vs. Alexandr Gaidarli (Moldova) 74 kg: Bronze Medal Match: Ladarion Lockett vs. Kanata Yamaguchi (Japan) 97 kg: Gold Medal Match: Justin Rademacher vs. Magomedgadzhi Magomedov (Russia) 125 kg: Bronze Medal Match: Cole Mirasola vs. Narantulga Darmaabazar (Mongolia)

Sunday marked the first day of the 2025 U20 World Championships in Samokov, Bulgaria, and the action began in men’s freestyle. Four brackets got underway on Sunday and the American squad put wrestlers from half of those weights in the finals. PJ Duke at 70 kg and Justin Rademacher at 97 kg. Ladarion Lockett (74 kg) was pulled back into repechage and will have to win three matches on Monday to come away with a bronze medal. Cole Mirasola (125 kg) was defeated in the semifinals and will drop down into a bronze medal match. The first semifinal pitted the Senior World Team member and 2024 U20 bronze medalist, Duke, against a former U17 world champion in Iran’s Ebrahim Elahichouran. The bout was generally a tactical affair with both wrestlers fighting to maintain control of the center of the mat. In the opening period, the official put Duke on the shot clock and he did not score, which gave a point to Elahichouran. The point to the Iranian would loom large in the final result of the bout. Later in the first, the two were at the edge and Elahichouran looked poised to earn another point for a step out; however, Duke used an arm drag to go behind the Iranian for a two-point takedown. The only scoring in the second period was from a step out point in favor of the Iranian. As the time ticked off the clock and Duke ahead on criteria (based on his two-point takedown, compared to two, one-point scores), neither wrestler was anxious to attack. Once the final whistle sounded, the Iranian thought that he won. He had not. Duke got the win via criteria. For the gold medal tomorrow, he’ll face Moldova’s Alexandr Gaidarli. Two weight classes later, the US contingent got a second finalist with Rademacher’s win over Konstantine Petriashvili, younger brother of the legendary Georgian heavyweight, Geno. The younger Petriashvili hung with Rademacher through the first period and trailed 4-3 at the break. The American wore on Petriashvili in the second period and was able to pour it on. Rademacher added six takedowns in the final stanza to win by a dominating 16-5 score. He’ll tangle with Russian Magomedgadzhi Magomedov (wrestling for team UWW) in tomorrow’s gold medal contest. Rademacher’s win guarantees he’ll leave this tournament with a medal for a second straight year. Lockett won a match before falling to one of the co-favorites, Russian Ismail Khaniev. Khaniev was tested in the quarters and semifinals, but prevailed, pulling Lockett into repechage. Lockett is seeking his second consecutive U20 world medal. Mirasola was unscored upon during his first two matches, but ran into a buzzsaw in Kazakhstan’s Yedige Kassimbek. The Penn State redshirt freshman actually got in deep on a pair of solid shots early in the contest, but didn’t seem to have the leverage to finish on the larger opponent. Kassimbek ended up converting both attempts into takedowns. He added more with leg laces and prevailed 11-0 in a first-period tech. In addition to the wrestlers competing for medals tomorrow, the 57, 65, 79, and 92 kg weight classes will begin their tournaments. Sunday's Results for American Wrestlers 70 kg Round of 32: PJ Duke over Umut Uslu (Turkiye) 11-0 Round of 16: PJ Duke over Gabriel Sanchez Zepeda (Mexico) Fall :42 Quarterfinals: PJ Duke over Abdoullah Nakaev (France) 14-4 Semifinals: PJ Duke over Ebrahim Elahichouran (Iran) 2-2 Monday’s Gold Medal Match: PJ Duke vs. Alexandr Gaidarli (Moldova) 74 kg Round of 32: Ladarion Lockett over Tolui Munkhbat (Mongolia) 10-0 Round of 16: Ismail Khaniev (Russia) over Ladarion Lockett 5-2 Monday’s Repechage: Ladarion Lockett vs. Vatan Annaorazov (Turkmenistan) 97 kg Round of 16: Justin Rademacher over Ibrahim Benekli (Turkiye) Fall 5:10 Quarterfinals: Justin Rademacher over Nikolaos Karavanos (Greece) 9-1 Semifinals: Justin Rademacher over Konstantine Petriashvili (Georgia) 16-5 Monday’s Gold Medal Match: Justin Rademacher vs. Magomedgadzhi Magomedov (Russia) 125 kg Round of 16: Cole Mirasola over Sertac Aksoy (Turkiye) 10-0 Quarterfinals: Cole Mirasola over Inal Gagloev (Russia) 3-0 Semifinals: Yedige Kassimbek (Kazakhstan) over Cole Mirasola 11-0 Monday’s Bronze Medal Match: Cole Mirasola vs. TBD

Mike Malinconico breaks down the potential matchup between Ladarion Lockett and Russian Ismail Khaniev, a European U23 champion.

Why Anthony Knox is Your Guy to Root For at 57kg I get it. When Team USA rolls into Samokov, Bulgaria on Sunday for the U20 World Championships, we're all but guaranteed to walk away with another team title. But if you're looking for an underdog to root for, and I mean a REAL underdog story, it's gotta be Anthony Knox at 57kg. In fact, this may be the first time that Knox is this big of an underdog in competition since he was 8 years old. Here's what most people don't realize: Knox is walking into one of the most competitive weight classes in the entire tournament. I'm talking about a division so stacked that our statistical analysis shows 24 wrestlers from 23 countries (Russia, you get it), with legitimate medal contenders from five different countries spanning three different continents. The Numbers Game Let me break down just how steep this mountain is for Knox. According to our comprehensive analysis, (Full Analysis Here). he's sitting at 8.2% odds for gold and 10.3% for any medal. Before you think those are terrible numbers, consider this: This 19 year old from New Jersey has never competed internationally, yet he's got better odds than wrestlers with far more international experience. The statistical favorite? Japan's Rin Sakamoto at 26.3% gold odds. Sakamoto won the All Japan Championships, the first US based wrestler to do that since 1995, while training at Oklahoma State under David Taylor. Then you've got Azerbaijan's Vasif Baghirov at 25.0%, the reigning U20 European champion who just beat Georgia's Nika Zangaladze (20.6% odds) in what might be the match of the year . The Knox Factor But here's what the numbers can't capture – Knox brings something none of these international stars have: that uniquely American blend of relentless conditioning and mental toughness forged in the crucible of good ole’ American training. Check out his World Team Trials performance against Ignacio Villasenor. This isn't just technique and speed and all the things that we’re used to seeing from the NJ standout, his ability to adapt is what takes center stage. After losing match one of three 2-3, Knox rattled off 13-5, and 10-0 (in 0:32) wins to claim his first World Championship berth. I realize that Knox will not have the luxury of taking a loss in the World Championships and still accomplishing his goals, but the fact that he can make these kinds of adjustments in the middle of an event speaks volumes about the athletic malleability he possesses. The International Unknown Here's the beautiful paradox of Knox's situation. His complete lack of international experience could actually work in his favor. While guys like Baghirov and Zangaladze have been studying each other's tape for years, they just went to war in the European final nobody really knows what Knox brings. Iran's Arshia Haddadi has been competing internationally since he was a cadet, earning bronze at both the 2022 U17 Worlds and this year's Asian Championships. These guys have scouting reports on each other going back years. Knox? He's a complete mystery. Sometimes that's exactly what you need in a tournament setting, and traditionally the US has had success (at every age level) in our athletes’ rookie campaign. The Gauntlet Knox Must Navigate Let's talk about the rest of murderers' row Knox has to get through. Beyond the big three favorites, you've got some serious dark horses lurking. China's Chengtao Wang sits at 4.9% medal odds. That might not sound like much, but this kid has been grinding on the international circuit and knows how to peak for big events. Hungary's Karoly Barath has the exact same 4.9% odds, and he already medaled at the European Championships. Then there's India's Sumit Malik at 4.6% medal probability. Don't sleep on this guy. The Indian wrestling program has been making serious noise lately, and Malik represents that new wave of technically sound wrestlers coming out of South Asia. Even the guys sitting in that 2-3% range like Kazakhstan's Nurdanat Aitanov and Korea's Inseong Bak have the kind of international experience that can bite you. The Bottom Line Look, Team USA should win this tournament. But if you need a reason to tune in beyond the team race, Knox gives you one. Here's a kid with 8.2% gold odds in the most loaded weight class of the entire event, making his international debut against guys who've been doing this for years. In a bracket where three wrestlers control over half the medal probability, Knox is basically that wild card that could shake things up, or at least give us some entertaining wrestling along the way.

57 kg 61 kg 65 kg 70 kg 74 kg 79 kg 86 kg 92 kg 97 kg 125 kg

With the U20 World Championships only a few days away, the anticipation of another big tournament for the Americans is building. Typically, we have our lowest medal output in Greco-Roman. It’s probably asking too much to expect this year’s team to challenge for a title; however, there’s a lot of international experience and accolades associated with this group. . We have a strong squad with two returning Junior world silver medalists - plus a former U17 champ. If you’re wondering who the favorites are and who could potentially push some of our homegrown stars, you’re in luck. We’ve combed through the entries and found the wrestlers in the field with hardware from past world championship events. They are listed below, by weight class, along with their American opponents - if they were returning medalists too. We’ve just identified the U17, U20, and u23 medalists, not any continental credentials, or anything younger than U17. Which weight do you think is the toughest? 55 kg Turan Dashdamirov (Azerbaijan) - 2024 U17 world champion - 51 kg, 2023 U17 world champion - 45 kg Koba Karumidze (Georgia) - 2023 U17 bronze medalist - 51 kg Arsen Zhuma (Kazakhstan) - 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 48 kg 60 kg Yurik Mkhitaryan (Armenia) - 2024 U17 bronze medalist - 55 kg, 2023 U17 bronze medalist - 45 kg Aykhan Javadov (Azerbaijan) - 2024 U17 world champion - 60 kg Lucas LoGrasso (France) - 2022 U17 silver medalist - 60kg Vakhtang Lolua (Georgia) - 2024 U17 silver medalist - 60 kg Suraj (India) - 2023 U17 silver medalist - 55 kg, 2022 U17 world champion - 55 kg Papik Dzhavadian (Russia) - 2024 U20 bronze medalist - 60 kg Isaiah Cortez (USA) - 2024 U20 silver medalist- 55 kg Khurshidbek Normukhammadov (Uzbekistan) - 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 55 kg 63 kg Aytjan Khalmakhanov (Uzbekistan) - 2023 U17 bronze medalist - 55 kg, 2022 U17 world champion - 51 kg 67 kg Narek Grigorian (Armenia) - 2024 U17 bronze medalist - 65 kg Faraim Mustafayev (Azerbaijan) - 2022 U17 silver medalist - 55 kg, 2021 U17 bronze medalist - 48 kg Anri Khozrevanidze (Georgia) - 2021 U17 bronze medalist - 45 kg Zhantoro Mirzaliev (Kyrgyzstan) - 2023 U20 silver medalist - 63 kg Erzu Zakriev (Russia) - 2024 U20 world champion - 63 kg Vladyslav Pokotylo (Ukraine) - 2024 U17 silver medalist - 65 kg Otto Black (USA) - 2024 U20 silver medalist - 63 kg 72 kg Gaspar Terteryan (Armenia) - 2023 U20 silver medalist - 67 kg, 2022 U17 world champion - 60 kg Alexandre Rusitashvili (Georgia) - 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 65 kg Arionas Kolitsopoulos (Greece) - 2023 U17 world champion - 71 kg Ahmadreza Mohamadian (Iran) - 2023 U17 silver medalist - 71 kg Yussuf Ashrapov (Kazakhstan) - 2024 U20 silver medalist- 67 kg, 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 60 kg, 2021 U17 bronze medalist - 48 kg Ibrahim Ozdemir (Turkiye) - 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 71 kg Joel Adams (USA) - 2022 U17 world champion - 65 kg 77 kg Davud Mammadov (Azerbaijan) - 2022 U17 silver medalist - 71 kg Kiryl Valeuski (Belarus) - 2024 U17 world champion - 71 kg, 2023 U17 world champion - 60 kg Anri Putkaradze (Georgia) - 2023 U20 bronze medalist - 72 kg, 2022 U17 world champion - 71 kg, 2021 U17 silver medalist - 65 kg Ahoura Bouveiri Piani (Iran) - 2022 U17 silver medalist - 65 kg Zaur Beslekoev (Russia) - 2024 U20 world champion - 72 kg, 23 U17 world champion - 65 kg 82 kg Taizo Yoshida (Japan) - 2024 U20 bronze medalist - 82 kg, 2023 U17 world champion - 80 kg Mikhail Shkarin (Russia) - 2024 U17 world champion - 80 kg, 2023 U17 silver medalist - 80 kg 87 kg Erik Ter Matevosyan (Armenia) - 2023 U17 bronze medalist - 80 kg Hamidreza Keshtkar (Iran) - 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 92 kg Temirlan Turdakyan (Kazakhstan) - 2024 U20 bronze medalist - 87 kg Gabriel Stan (Romania) - 2023 U17 bronze medalist - 92 kg Abdurakhman Abdulkadyrov (Russia) - 2023 U17 bronze medalist - 71 kg Alperen Berber (Turkiye) - 2024 U20 silver medalist - 82 kg, 2023 U20 world champion - 82 kg, 2022 U17 world champion - 80 kg 97 kg Ismayil Rzayev (Azerbaijan) - 2022 U17 silver medalist - 80 kg Gor Ayvazyan (Georgia) - 2023 U20 silver medalist - 97 kg, 2022 U17 world champion - 92 kg Darius Kiefer (Germany) - 2024 U20 silver medalist - 97 kg, 2022 U17 silver medalist - 92 kg Yehor Yakushenko (Ukraine) - 2024 U20 world champion - 97 kg 130 kg Mazaim Mardanov (Azerbaijan) - 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 110 kg Saba Purtseladze (Georgia) - 2023 U17 world champion - 92 kg Abolfazl Fathitazangi (Iran) - 2024 U20 silver medalist - 130 kg Cemal Bakir (Turkiye) - 2x U17 world champion - 110 kg Ivan Yankkovskyi (Ukraine) - 2024 U17 world champion - 110 kg

It was a rather busy week on the recruiting front as a handful of teams got better with recruiting additions from the Class of 2026. Most notable was a flip by #39 overall, Michael White (Lawrence North, Indiana). White initially gave a verbal commitment to Minnesota but has since switched to Oklahoma State. Without White, Oklahoma State already had the clubhouse lead in the Class of 2026 recruiting rankings. Now with him in the fold, David Taylor’s team has commitments from seven of the top 40 seniors in the country - including four of the top six. White is currently ranked eighth in the nation at 190 lbs. He had made the Indiana state podium twice with a sixth-place finish as a sophomore and a finals appearance in 2025. Outside of Indiana, White has claimed a title at Folkstyle Nationals (16U) and NHSCA Junior Nationals. Earlier this summer, he was seventh at the UWW U17 Trials in freestyle. At the next level, White projects as a 184 or 197 lber. The Cowboys look like they’ll have redshirt freshmen at both weights (Zack Ryder/Cody Merrill), but we’ll see how it shakes out once White arrives on campus. The other ranked opponent to commit within the last week was Gus Cardinal (Valiant Prep, AZ), who comes in at #142 overall in the Class of 2026. Cardinal will make the cross-country trek to Philadelphia and attend the University of Pennsylvania. One of Cardinal’s former teammates, Ias Rodriguez-Jimenez, will be a freshman at Penn this fall. Cardinal has placed three times in Fargo during his high school career, including twice in the Junior freestyle event. The most recent podium finish was a fifth-place showing last month. Also in 2025, Cardinal was fourth at NHSCA Juniors. Cardinal is currently ranked seventh in the nation at 150 lbs. Don’t look now, but George Mason’s staff has done an excellent job with the Class of 2026. The Patriot staff already has commitments from four Class of 2026 Big Boarder’s. They added to it with a verbal from two-time Maryland state champion Victor Marks-Jenkins. In Fargo, Marks-Jenkins got on the Junior Greco podium with a seventh-place finish. Despite posting six wins, Marks-Jenkins came up a match shy of All-American status in freestyle. Another school that is quietly putting together a solid recruiting class is Brown University, who added Charlie Trujillo (Vandegrift, TX) to its class. Trujillo has finished third at the Texas 3A state tournament in each of the last two years. Clarion also made an out-of-state addition to its class with a commitment from Virginia 4A state champion and three-time finalist Bryce Schnelzer. You can read more about Schnelzer on the VaWrestle Substack . We also saw a member of the Big Board commit to a non-DI school as #158 Trey Gunderson (Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, MN) gave a verbal to Augustana. Gunderson is a three-time Minnesota Class A state champion. He finished undefeated in each of the last two years. For all of our men’s collegiate commitments: Click Here

With the U20 World Championships only a few days away, the anticipation of another big tournament for the Americans is building. Specifically in women’s freestyle. We have a strong squad with three returning Junior world medalists - plus a former U17 medalist. After an excellent showing at the U17 World Championships, could the U20 women challenge for a team title? Perhaps, but there’s also lots of talent spread out around the world. If you’re wondering who are the favorites and who could potentially push some of our homegrown stars, you’re in luck. We’ve combed through the entries and found the wrestlers in the field with hardware from past world championship events. They are listed below, by weight class, along with their American opponents - if they were returning medalists too. We’ve just identified the U17, U20, and u23 medalists, not any continental credentials, or anything younger than U17. Which weight do you think is the toughest? 50 kg Rinka Ogawa (Japan) - 2023 U17 world champion - 49 kg Audrey Jimenez (USA) - 2x U20 silver medalist - 50 kg, 2023 U23 silver medalist - 50 kg Nilufar Nurmukhammadova (Uzbekistan) - 2023 U17 bronze medalist - 43 kg 53 kg Ksenia Kostsenich (Belarus) - 2024 U17 bronze medalist - 49 kg Lisette Boettker (Estonia) - 2024 U17 bronze medalist - 53 kg Lilliana Kapuvari (Hungary) - 2021 U17 bronze medalist - 43 kg Natsumi Masuda (Japan) - 2023 U17 world champion - 46 kg Sevval Cayir (Turkiye) - 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 49 kg Anastasiia Polska (Ukraine) - 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 43 kg, 2021 U17 bronze medalist - 40 kg 55 kg Lilya Cohen (France) - 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 53 kg Gerda Terek (Hungary) - 2023 U20 bronze medalist - 57 kg, 2022 U17 U17 silver medalist - 57 kg Reena (India) - 2023 U20 bronze medalist - 57 kg Fabiana Rinella (Italy) - 2023 U20 bronze medalist - 53 kg, 2022 U20 bronze medalist - 49 kg So Tsutsumi (Japan) - 2024 U17 silver medalist - 57 kg Khaliun Byambasuren (Mongolia) - 2024 U20 silver medalist - 55 kg Alexandra Voiculescu (Romania) - 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 46 kg, 2021 U17 silver medalist - 40 kg Tuba Demir (Turkiye) - 2x U20 bronze medalist - 55 kg, 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 57 kg 57 kg Sowaka Uchida (Japan) - 2024 U20 world champion - 57 kg, 2x U17 world champion - 57 kg Anna Stratan (Kazakhstan) - 2024 U17 bronze medalist - 57 kg Tinda Dalmyr (Sweden) - 2021 U17 silver medalist - 57 kg Alina Filipovich (Ukraine) - 2024 U23 bronze medalist - 57 kg, 2023 U20 world champion - 57 kg, 2021 U17 bronze medalist - 53 kg 59 kg Hiunai Hurbanova (Azerbaijan) - 2024 U17 bronze medalist - 51 kg Marta Hetmanava (Belarus) - 2024 U20 bronze medalist - 57 kg Neha Sharma (India) - 2024 U20 bronze medalist - 57 kg, 2024 U23 bronze medalist - 57 kg, 2024 U17 world champion - 57 kg, 2023 U17 bronze medalist - 57 kg Sakura Onishi (Japan) - 2024 U20 world champion - 59 kg, 2023 U17 world champion - 53 kg, 2022 U17 silver medalist - 53 kg Anna Tieliegina (Lithuania) - 2024 U20 bronze medalist - 59 kg Sevim Akbas (Turkiye) - 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 53 kg 62 kg Ruzanna Mammadova (Azerbaijan) - 2022 U17 world champion - 49 kg, 2021 U17 silver medalist - 46 kg Haylie Jaffe (USA) - 2023 U17 bronze medalist - 61 kg 65 kg Mouda Hamdoun (Egypt) - 2023 U17 bronze medalist - 65 kg Margarita Salnazarian (Russia) - 2024 U20 bronze medalist - 65 kg, 203 U17 bronze medalist - 65 kg Beyza Akkus (Turkiye) - 2024 U20 silver medalist - 65 kg 68 kg Wenjin Qui (China) - 2025 U17 world champion - 73 kg Srishti (India) - 2024 U20 bronze medalist - 68 kg, 2023 U17 silver medalist - 69 kg Ray Hoshino (Japan) - 2023 U20 world champion - 68 kg Gulnura Tashtanbekova (Kyrgyzstan) - 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 68 kg Maria Pantiru (Romania) - 2023 U20 bronze medalist - 65 kg Liliana Kazmina (Russia) - 2023 U17 bronze medalist - 69 kg Ayse Erkan (Turkiye) - 2024 U20 silver medalist - 68 kg Oleksandra Rybak (Ukraine) - 2024 U17 silver medalist - 69 kg 72 kg Zahra Karimzada (Azerbaijan) - 2024 U17 bronze medalist - 69 kg Kajal (India) - 2025 U17 silver medalist - 73 kg, 2024 U17 world champion - 69 kg Jasmine Robinson (USA) - 2024 U20 world champion - 72 kg, 2023 U17 bronze medalist - 69 kg 76 kg Veronika Vilk (Croatia) - 2023 U17 world champion - 69 kg, 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 69 kg Veronika Nyikos (Hungary) - 2x U20 bronze medalist - 76 kg Priya (India) - 2023 U20 world champion - 76 kg, 2022 U20 silver medalist - 76 kg, 2x U17 world champion - 73 kg Ayano Moro (Japan) - 2022 U20 world champion - 76 kg Alina Yertostik (Kazakhstan) - 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 73 kg Diana Titova (Russia) - 2024 U17 bronze medalist - 73 kg Elmira Yasin (Turkiye) - 2024 U20 bronze medalist - 76 kg, 2023 U17 bronze medalist - 73 kg Naomi Simon (USA) - 2024 U20 bronze medalist - 76 kg

June 15th was New Year’s Day for those college coaches recruiting the Class of 2027 and the student-athletes waiting to plan out their futures. The 15th was the first day that collegiate coaches could officially contact rising juniors and there has been plenty of activity on the recruiting front. Since the 15th, some of the nation’s top prospects have released lists of their top schools. Rather than trying to dig through social media or click through a bunch of state sites, we have compiled this list of these top recruits and their potential future homes. Remember recruiting is a fluid process, so another school, currently unlisted, could jump into the picture for a recruit. Conversely, the recruits could trim their list at any time. This is a feature that will be revisited as needed throughout the recruitment process. Since our first version of this feature the following wrestlers have been added: #11 Clinton Shepherd, #20 Brock Rothermel, #24 Caleb Noble, #34 Maximus Fortier, #54 Steel Meyers, #77 Cayden Rios, #89 Evan Stanley, #134 Brock Armstrong. Additionally, we covered this over the weekend, but #3 Sonny Amato made modifications to his list and is now down to seven schools. #1 Melvin Miller (Bishop McCort, PA) - Arizona State, Michigan, Missouri, NC State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Pittsburgh #3 Sonny Amato (Rumson-Fair Haven, NJ) - Arizona State, Iowa, Iowa State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Virginia Tech #4 Landon Sidun (Norwin, Pennsylvania) - Buffalo, Cornell, Iowa, Minnesota, NC State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, West Virginia #10 Dean Anderson (Valiant Prep, AZ) - Arizona State, Minnesota, Missouri, NC State, Nebraska, Northern Iowa, Penn State #11 Clinton Shepherd (Crown Point, IN) - Cornell, Indiana, Michigan, NC State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Virginia Tech #14 Max Konopka (Simsbury, CT) - Cornell, Lehigh, NC State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Princeton, Rutgers, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin #15 Hayden Schwab (Don Bosco, IA) - Cornell, Iowa, Nebraska, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Virginia Tech #17 Arseni Kikiniou (Poway, CA) - Arizona State, Cal Poly, Cornell, Harvard, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, Purdue, Stanford, Virginia Tech #20 Brock Rothermel (Line Mountain, PA) - Bucknell, Lehigh, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Rutgers, Virginia Tech #24 Caleb Noble (Warren, IL) - Appalachian State, Arizona State, Cornell, George Mason, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, Little Rock, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Morgan State, Navy, NC State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Penn, SIU Edwardsville, South Dakota State, Wisconsin #30 Jimmy Mastny (Marian Central, IL) - Air Force, Arizona State, Army, Cornell, George Mason, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Little Rock, Michigan, NC State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northern Iowa, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Penn, Purdue, Princeton, SIU Edwardsville, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin #34 Maximus Fortier (East Fairmont, WV) - Air Force, Brown, Bucknell, Cornell, George Mason, Harvard, Maryland, Navy, NC State, Pittsburgh, Princeton, SIU Edwardsville, Stanford, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Wisconsin #38 Dawson Youngblut (Don Bosco, IA) - Cornell, Iowa, Iowa State, NC State, Nebraska, Northern Iowa #39 Gage Lohr (Watertown, SD) - Cornell, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota State, Wisconsin, Wyoming #41 Dale Corbin (Wyoming Seminary, PA) - Army West Point, Cornell, Lehigh, Maryland, Minnesota, NC State, North Carolina, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Utah Valley, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin #52 Luke Hayden (Hickman, MO) - Air Force, Cornell, Missouri, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, Northwestern, Oregon State, Princeton, Purdue, South Dakota State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin #54 Steel Meyers (Allen, TX) - Air Force, Brown, California Baptist, Cornell, Harvard, Little Rock, Missouri, NC State, North Carolina, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Penn, Princeton, Stanford, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wyoming #77 Cayden Rios (Allen, TX) - Arizona State, George Mason, Lehigh, Little Rock, Missouri, Northwestern, Virginia, Wyoming #89 Evan Stanley (Lowell, IN) - Air Force, Brown, Cornell, Indiana, Michigan State, Princeton, Purdue, Stanford, Wisconsin #106 Caleb Tyler (Delone Catholic, PA) - Clarion, Duke, Franklin & Marshall, Virginia, Wisconsin #132 Legend Ellis (Coweta, OK) - Air Force, Augustana, Brown, Bucknell, California Baptist, Central Oklahoma, Hofstra, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota State, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Princeton, Purdue, Stanford, Utah Valley, Wyoming #134 Brock Armstrong (Coeur d’Alene, ID) - Brown, Kent State, North Dakota State, Oregon State, Stanford, Utah Valley, Wyoming

Vandegrift

Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg

Lawrence North

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Aug. 13, 2025) This a reminder the media credential application is open for RAF01 Real American Freestyle’s (RAF) inaugural event at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center on August 30. For the first time ever, freestyle wrestling will be on display – bringing audiences an exhilarating format with high-impact moves designed to captivate, a dynamic, modern approach to coverage with legends Kurt Angle and Chael Sonnen in the commentary booth, and the unique storytelling of sports and entertainment icon Eric Bischoff. RAF01’s fight card is composed of names throughout the wrestling world: Bo Nickal of Penn State and UFC, Gold-medalist Sara Hildebrandt and her fellow medalist Kennedy Blades, as well as Cleveland-local Lance Palmer. Accreditation will be limited due to limited space and all media members must be on assignment for consideration and are required to provide an editor, producer, supervisor, overseeing their assignment for each match in order to complete the application. There will be limited access for photographers with professional-grade equipment only. Media can apply using the following link. The deadline to apply is Tuesday, August 26 at 5 p.m. EDT. If you have any questions, please email with questions, comments or concerns. ABOUT REAL AMERICAN FREESTYLE Real American Freestyle is a professional freestyle wrestling league founded by Chad Bronstein, Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, and Israel Martinez. Supported by Left Lane Capital, the league launched in 2025 with a roster of 40 athletes. Featuring a full slate of events throughout its debut season kicking off in Cleveland, OH, Real American Freestyle is focused on freestyle elements of the sport and seeks to provide a platform for athletes to build careers and branding in the space. For more information on Real American Freestyle, please visit www.realamericanfreestyle.com.

With the U20 World Championships only a few days away, the anticipation of another big tournament for the Americans is building. Specifically in men’s freestyle. We have a loaded squad with four returning Junior world medalists - plus a former U17 medalist. Coming off a dramatic team win from the U17 squad, could the U20 team be next? That certainly could be the case, but there’s also lots of talent spread out around the world. If you’re wondering who are the favorites and who could potentially push some of our homegrown stars, you’re in luck. We’ve combed through the entries and found the wrestlers in the field with hardware from past world championship events. They are listed below, by weight class, along with their American opponents - if they were returning medalists too. We’ve just identified the U17 and U20 medalists, not any continental credentials, or anything younger than U17. Which weight do you think is the toughest? 57 kg Arman Harutyunyan (Armenia) - 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 45 kg Nurdanat Aitanov (Kazakhstan) - 2021 U17 bronze medalist - 48 kg 61 kg Bashir Verdiyev (Azerbaijan) - 2022 U17 silver medalist - 45 kg Marcus Blaze (USA) - 2024 U20 bronze medalist - 61 kg, 2023 U17 gold medalist - 55 kg 65 kg Omurbek Asan Uulu (Kyrgyzstan) - 2024 U17 gold medalist - 60 kg Abdullah Toprak (Turkiye) - 2023 U20 bronze medalist - 65 kg, 2021 U17 bronze medalist - 55 kg 70 kg Goga Otinashvili (Georgia) - 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 65 kg Kairi Ito (Japan) - 2024 U17 bronze medalist - 71 kg Islam Kazharov (Russia) - 2023 U17 bronze medalist - 71 kg Umut Uslu (Turkiye) - 2024 U17 bronze medalist - 65 kg PJ Duke (USA) - 2024 U20 bronze medalist - 70 kg 74 kg Ladarion Lockett (USA) - 2024 U20 silver medalist - 74 kg, 2023 U17 gold medalist - 71 kg 79 kg LJ Araujo (Brazil) - 2024 U20 bronze medalist - 79 kg Mahdi Yousefi (Iran) - 2024 U20 bronze medalist - 79 kg Alp Arslan Begenjov (Turkmenistan) - 2024 U20 gold medalist - 79 kg 86 kg Abolfazl Rahmani (Iran) - 2024 U20 bronze medalist - 86 kg Alexandru Bors (Moldova) - 2023 U17 silver medalist - 80 kg, 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 80 kg Ahmet Yagan (Turkiye) - 2024 U20 bronze medalist - 86 kg Max McEnelly (USA) - 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 92 kg 92 kg Mor Sachin (India) - 2022 U17 gold medalist - 80 kg Toohid Noory (Iran) - 2023 U17 bronze medalist - 92 kg Kamil Kurugliyev (Kazakhstan) - 2024 U20 bronze medalist - 92 kg, 2022 U17 gold medalist - 92 kg, 2021 U17 bronze medalist - 92 kg 97 kg Konstantine Petriashvili (Georgia) - 2024 U17 gold medalist - 92 kg, 2023 U17 bronze medalist - 80 kg Erfan Alizadeh (Iran) - 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 92 kg Justin Rademacher (USA) - 2024 U20 bronze medalist - 97 kg 125 kg Yusif Dursunov (Azerbaijan) - 2023 U17 gold medalist - 110 kg, 2021 U17 bronze medalist - 92 kg Jaspooran Singh (India) - 2022 U17 bronze medalist - 110 kg Yedige Kassimbek (Kazakhstan) - 2024 U17 silver medalist - 110 kg, 2023 U17 silver medalist - 110 kg

Our All-Quarter Century team takes us out west to focus on the Arizona State program. This is a team that has gone through a couple of head coaches, had its ups and downs, and even was on the chopping block for a brief time in 2008. Despite all of that, there has been a lot to celebrate for the Sun Devils over the last 25 years. Arizona State has been home to some of the biggest stars in college wrestling over the last quarter-century. Eric Larkin is one of only three wrestlers from the West Coast to win the Hodge Trophy. Anthony Robles defied the odds in a Sun Devils singlet. A few matches after Robles’ NCAA championship win, Bubba Jenkins posted one of the most memorable moments in an NCAA final with his fall over a freshman (and ex-teammate) David Taylor. Zahid Valencia earned two NCAA titles, a Senior World medal, and will continue to add to his resume at the 2025 World Championships. In constructing our first, second, and third teams for Sun Devil wrestling this quarter century, we had to get creative from 141-157 lbs. Eric Larkin earned All-American honors at three different weights and won his Hodge at 149, but 141 was the weight with the least amount of options, so that’s where he went. Technically, Bubba Jenkins never wrestled at 149 lbs for ASU, but he spent the bulk of his career at the weight. Putting Jenkins at 149 lbs allows for an NCAA finalist to be inserted at 157 (and they had two options). There were a couple of tough decisions with ASU - namely at 125 and 149 lbs. At 125, we gave the second team nod to Brandon Courtney over Richie Figueroa. Courtney has three All-American finishes and a final appearance. Figueroa has a national title, but missed the podium last year and has transferred, so he won’t be able to put up any more numbers in an ASU singlet. At 149 lbs, looking strictly at the numbers, it would seem like Jason Tsirtsis’ career warrants first-team honors. Since he only wrestled one year at ASU and was seventh, I felt the wrestlers above him had more of a direct impact for the Sun Devils. As always, if you have thoughts or your version of the team, leave them in the comments or InterMat’s forums. 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 Iowa State’s results over the past 25 years. Here are the programs we’ve already covered Cornell Illinois Iowa State Lehigh Minnesota Missouri NC State First Team 125 lbs - Anthony Robles: Mesa, Arizona - 3x AA (1,7,4), 2011 NCAA champion, 3x Pac-10 champion 133 lbs - Michael McGee: Bolingbrook, Illinois - 3x AA (3,4,6), 2x Pac-12 champion, 2x MAC champion 141 lbs - Eric Larkin: Tucson, Arizona - 4x AA (1,2,3,4), 2003 NCAA champion, 2003 Hodge winner, 4x Pac-10 champion 149 lbs - Bubba Jenkins: Virginia Beach, Virginia - 2x AA (1,2), 2011 NCAA champion, 2011 Pac-12 runner-up, 2009 Big Ten runner-up 157 lbs - Jacori Teemer: Long Beach, New York - 3x AA (2,6,4), 4x Pac-12 champion, NCAA #2 seed 165 lbs - Steve Blackford: Des Moines, Iowa - 3x AA (5,3,4), 2x Pac-10 champion, 2x NCAA #3 seed 174 lbs - Zahid Valencia: Bellflower, California: 3x AA (1,1,3), 3x Pac-12 champion, 2x NCAA #1 seed 184 lbs - Blake Stauffer: Neosho, Missouri: 1x AA (4), 2x Pac-12 champion, NCAA #3 seed 197 lbs - Ryan Bader: Reno, Nevada: 2x AA (7,4), 3x Pac-10 champion, NCAA #4 seed 285 lbs - Cohlton Schultz: Parker, Colorado: 5x AA (3,6,7,2,4), 4x Pac-12 champion, NCAA #2 seed Second Team 125 lbs - Brandon Courtney: Goodyear, Arizona - 3x AA (3,6,2), 3x Pac-12 champion, NCAA #3 seed 133 lbs - David Douglas: Harvey, Illinois - 2x AA (5,7), 2001 Pac-10 champion, NCAA Round of 12 finisher 141 lbs - Chris Drouin: Temecula, California - 1x AA (6), 2x Pac-10 runner-up, NCAA Round of 12 finisher 149 lbs - Kyle Parco: Danville, California - 4x AA (5,4,8,6), 3x Pac-12 champion, NCAA #2 seed 157 lbs - Brian Stith: Hampton, Virginia - 2x AA (2,6), 2x Pac-10 champion, NCAA #2 seed 165 lbs - Josh Shields: Murrysville, Pennsylvania - 2x AA (6,7), NWCA 1st Team AA, 3x Pac-12 champion 174 lbs - Curtis Owen: Polson, Montana: 1x AA (4), 3x NCAA qualifier, 2003 Pac-10 champion 184 lbs - CB Dollaway: Mt. Gilead, Ohio: 1x AA (5), 2x Pac-10 runner-up 197 lbs - Kordell Norfleet: Chicago, Illinois: 4x NQ, 4x Pac-12 champion, NWCA 2nd Team AA, NCAA Round of 12 finisher 285 lbs - Cain Velasquez: Yuma, Arizona: 2x AA (4,5), 2x Pac-10 champion, NCAA #3 seed Third Team 125 lbs - Richie Figueroa: Sanger, California* - 1x AA (1), 2024 NCAA champion, 2024 Pac-12 champion 133 lbs - Ali Naser: Woodland Hills, California - 1 NQ, 2018 Pac-12 champion 141 lbs - Dana Holland: Glendale Heights, Illinois - 2x NQ, 2x Pac-10 runner-up, NCAA Round of 12 finisher 149 lbs - Jason Tsirtsis: Crown Point, Indiana - 3x AA (7,3,1), 2014 NCAA champion, 2x Big Ten champion, 1x Pac-12 champion 157 lbs - Rocky Smart: Pleasant Grove, Utah - 3x NQ, 2x NCAA Round of 12 finisher 165 lbs - Patrick Pitsch: Tacoma, Washington - 4x NQ, 3x Pac-10 champion, 3x NCAA Round of 12 finisher 174 lbs - Anthony Valencia: Bellflower, California - 1x AA (8), 5x NQ, 4x Pac-12 champion, NCAA #2 seed 184 lbs - Nick Frost: Tucson, Arizona - 3x NQ, 2x Pac-10 champion, NCAA #6 seed 197 lbs - Jason Trulson: Fountain Hills, California - 2x NQ, 2008 Pac-10 runner-up, NCAA Round of 12 finisher 285 lbs - Tanner Hall: Meridian, Idaho: 1x AA (3), NWCA First Team All-American, 2x Pac-12 champion Fun Facts During the last quarter century, Arizona State has had five wrestlers combine to win six national championships. This does not include Tsirtsis who wrestled for ASU, but won a title for Northwestern Arizona State has put wrestlers into the national finals 11 times during this time period ASU has had three four-time NCAA All-Americans during the last 25 years (Larkin, Parco, Schultz). In addition, Brandon Courtney and Jacori Teemer earned NCAA All-American honors three times and was named an AA by the NWCA in 2020. The Sun Devils have put wrestlers on the NCAA podium 49 times since 2001. Six others were named first or second team AA’s by the NWCA in 2020. Arizona State finished in the top 20 at the NCAA Tournament 15 times in the last 25 years. 10 of those were in the top ten. ASU earned NCAA team trophies in back-to-back years under Zeke Jones in 2021 and 2022. Both were fourth place finishes. Both team trophy finishes saw ASU put five wrestlers on the NCAA podium. That is their high during this quarter century. Their 74 points at the 2021 tournament is a high during this time, as well. Arizona State has had four head coaches during this quarter century. Lee Roy Smith for the first year, followed by Thom Ortiz, Shawn Charles, and Zeke Jones Eric Larkin is the only ASU wrestler to have won the Hodge Trophy. He won the award in 2003. Arizona State has won 10 Pac-10/12 titles during this span Individually, Arizona State wrestlers have combined to win 70 Pac-10/12 championships since 2001 Four ASU wrestlers have earned the #1 seed at nationals (Larkin, Robles, Z. Valencia x2) In 2015, Arizona State was credited with signing the #1 overall recruiting class. That group yielded three future DI All-Americans (Z. Valencia, A. Valencia, Shields) The 2011 NCAA Tournament saw a pair of ASU wrestlers earn national titles (Robles, Jenkins). There was only one other year in school history with more than one national champion (1993 - Mollica/Miller) Since 2001, only nine wrestlers from Arizona have earned NCAA All-American honors. Four have wrestled for ASU (Larkin, Velasquez, Robles, Courtney). Five of Arizona State’s six NCAA championships during this span have come against wrestlers from Iowa or Penn State

Northern Iowa filled a vacancy on their coaching staff today as they announced the hiring of Ian Parker. The Panthers had an opening as Lee Roper left in April to become the executive director of Oklahoma State’s Cowboy RTC. Parker comes to Cedar Falls after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Virginia. In each of his two years in Charlottesville, the Cavaliers sent four wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament. UVA had an ACC champion each season, including Dylan Cedeno in 2025, who wrestles at Parker’s collegiate weight (141 lbs). Though he’s a Michigan native, Parker is no stranger to the state of Iowa. He spent his entire collegiate career in Iowa wrestling for Iowa State. Parker qualified for the NCAA Championships on four occasions at 141 lbs. In 2020, Parker won a Big 12 title and was seeded fourth at the NCAA Tournament; however, it was canceled at the outset of the COVID pandemic. The following year, Parker made the Big 12 finals and was seeded seventh at nationals. Parker has also had a lot of recent success on the freestyle circuit. Though he appeared undersized, Parker took third at the 2025 US Open. His run included wins over Doug Zapf, along with collegiate All-Americans Yahya Thomas, Bryce Andonian, and Will Lewan. After falling in the first round of the World Team Trials to 2025 NCAA champion, Ridge Lovett, Parker wrestled back for third and defeated Lovett in his final match. At Final X, Parker won a bout against Andonian to clinch a spot on the 2025 Senior National Team. Also in 2025, Parker was selected to represent the United States at the Pan-American Championships and finished with a silver medal. His lone loss came in the finals to former Iowa State teammate Austin Gomez, who was representing Mexico.

Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 4:00 - Weigh in 11:36 - Housekeeping: Upcoming content + Binghamton coaching search update 17:14 - UFC moving on from PPV model 31:02 - Mason Parris is back! 37:38 - Rutgers gets a new NIL setup 50:12 - Ferrari moving up to heavyweight 59:30 - Create a folkstyle wrestler

The U20 World Championships are rapidly approaching! On Sunday, the first whistles will blow from Sofia, Bulgaria and the men’s freestyle competition will kick off the festivities. The U20 (Junior) World Championships have long been a place for the future stars of USA Wrestling and college wrestling to get to show off for a worldwide audience. With the prolonged success of Penn State at the collegiate level, it’s no surprise that the 2025 men’s freestyle squad has a very Nittany Lion-heavy feel. Two of the ten team members are redshirt freshmen at Penn State. There are three true freshmen. That’s half the squad with Penn State roots. Thinking about the U20 team from a collegiate perspective, it makes you wonder how the composition of the U20 team has changed (or stayed the same) over time. Where did the U20 world team members attend college? That question has been answered below as the U20 world team members have been sorted according to college. A handful made the team while still in high school. Those wrestlers have been grouped under the college they eventually signed with. For wrestlers who have transferred, we have listed them with the school they attended (or would attend) when they made the team. In this exercise, we’ve gone all the way back to 2010 in order to get a good sample size of information. Air Force Wyatt Hendrickson (125 kg - DNP/2021) Arizona State Richard Figueroa (57 kg - DNP/2021) Tanner Hall (96 kg - DNP/2012), (96 kg - DNP/2011) Anthony Valencia (74 kg - DNP/2014) Zahid Valencia (84 kg - Silver/2017), (84 kg - DNP/2016), (84 kg - DNP/2015) Binghamton Louie DePrez (86 kg - DNP/2018) Boise State Jason Chamberlain (66 kg - DNP/2010) California Baptist Mitchell Mesenbrink (70 kg - Silver/2022) Cornell Vito Arujau (57 kg - Silver/2019) Vince Cornella (65 kg - DNP/2022) Gabe Dean (84 kg - Bronze/2014) Mark Grey (60 kg - DNP/2013), (55 kg - DNP/2011) Joshua Saunders (61 kg - DNP/2018) Meyer Shapiro (70 kg - Gold/2023) Illinois Conrad Polz (74 kg - DNP/2010) Indiana DJ Washington (79 kg - DNP/2021) Iowa Sam Brooks (84 kg - DNP/2013) Thomas Gilman (55 kg - Bronze/2014), (55 kg - DNP/2013) Spencer Lee (50 kg - Gold/2016), (50 kg - Gold/2015) Matt McDonough (60 kg - DNP/2010) Ben Kueter (125 kg - Silver/2024), (97 kg - Gold/2022) Jacob Warner (92 kg - DNP/2018) Iowa State David Carr (74 kg - Gold/2019) Ryak Finch (55 kg - DNP/2010) Earl Hall (60 kg - DNP/2012) Lehigh Jordan Wood (120 kg - DNP/2016) Maryland Jaxon Smith (92 kg - DNP/2022) Michigan Adam Coon (120 kg - Bronze/2015) Taylor Massa (74 kg - DNP/2011) Alec Pantaleo (66 kg - DNP/2016) Mason Parris (125 kg - Gold/2019) Minnesota Brayton Lee (70 kg - DNP/2019) Ethan Lizak (50 kg - DNP/2013) Mitchell McKee (60 kg - Silver/2017) Gable Steveson (125 kg - DNP/2018), (120 kg - Gold/2017) Missouri Rocky Elam (92 kg - Gold/2021) Zach Elam (97 kg - Silver/2018) Colton Hawks (86 kg - DNP/2021) Keegan O’Toole (74 kg - Gold/2021) Navy Dan Miller (120 kg - DNP/2011) NC State Trent Hidlay (86 kg - Bronze/2019) Matthew Singleton (79 kg - Bronze/2023) Nebraska Patrick Downey (84 kg - Silver/2012) Destin McCauley (66 kg - DNP/2012) Camden McDanel (97 kg - Bronze/2023) North Carolina Gabe Tagg (61 kg - Bronze/2019) North Dakota State Tyler Lehmann (96 kg - DNP/2010) Northwestern Lucas Davison (97 kg - Silver/2019) Ryan Deakin (66 kg - Silver/2017) Stevan Micic (55 kg - Bronze/2015) Lee Munster (84 kg - DNP/2011) Yahya Thomas (65 kg - DNP/2019) Jason Tsirtsis (66 kg - DNP/2013) Ohio Jeremy Johnson (120 kg - DNP/2010) Ohio State Nic Bouzakis (61 kg - Bronze/2023), (61 kg - DNP/2022) Nick Feldman (125 kg - DNP/2022) Malik Heinselman (50 kg - DNP/2017) Jesse Mendez (65 kg - Silver/2023), (61 kg - DNP/2021) Kollin Moore (96 kg - Bronze/2017), (96 kg - DNP/2016) Nick Roberts (50 kg - DNP/2011), (50 kg - DNP/2010) Kyle Snyder (96 kg - Bronze/2014), (96 kg - Gold/2013) Logan Stieber (60 kg - Silver/2011) Oklahoma Dom Demas (65 kg - DNP/2018) Oklahoma State Christian Carroll (125 kgs - DNP/2023) Alex Dieringer (74 kg - Silver/2013), (74 kg - DNP/2012) Daton Fix (57 kg - Bronze/2018), (55 kg - Gold/2017), (55 kg - Bronze/2016) Josh Kindig (66 kg - DNP/2011) Ladarion Lockett (74 kg - Silver/2024) Austin Marsden (120 kg - DNP/2013), (120 kg - DNP/2012) Chris Perry (84 kg - Bronze/2010) Brayden Thompson (79 kg - DNP/2022) Oregon State Justin Rademacher (97 kg - Bronze/2024) Otero JC Adrian Cordova (50 kg - DNP/2012) Penn State Josh Barr (86 kg - Silver/2024) Beau Bartlett (65 kg - Bronze/2021) Brady Berge (70 kg - Bronze/2018) Marcus Blaze (61 kg - Bronze/2024) Aaron Brooks (79 kg - DNP/2019), (79 kg - Silver/2018) Anthony Cassar (96 kg - DNP/2015) PJ Duke (70 kg - Bronze/2024) Alex Facundo (74 kg - DNP/2022) Mark Hall (74 kg - Gold/2017), (74 kg - Gold/2016), (74 kg - DNP/2015) Luke Lilledahl (57 kg - Gold/2024), (57 kg - Silver/2023) Mitchell Mesenbrink (74 kg - Gold/2023) Connor Mirasola (92 kg - DNP/2024) Zack Ryder (79 kg - Silver/2024) South Dakota State Bennett Berge (86 kg - Bronze/2023), (86 kg - Bronze/2022) Seth Gross (60 kg - DNP/2016) Tanner Sloan (97 kg - DNP/2018) Stanford Nathan Butler (120 kg - Bronze/2015) Jack Darrah (92 kg - DNP/2023) Joey McKenna (60 kg - Silver/2014) Virginia Jabari Moody (50 kg - DNP/2014) Virginia Tech Bryce Andonian (70 kg - Bronze/2021) Joey Dance (55 kg - DNP/2012) Mekhi Lewis (74 kg - Gold/2018) Wisconsin Braxton Amos (97 kg - Gold/2021) Wyoming Jore Volk (57 kg - Gold/2022)

With last week’s announcement of the heavyweight matchup between Wyatt Hendrickson and Mostafa Elders, it appeared that Real American Freestyle’s RAF 01 card was finalized. That changed today as there will be a replacement for Aeoden Sinclair in his bout against two-time Olympic medalist Kyle Dake. 2025 NCAA champion Dean Hamiti will step in to face Dake. About a month after winning his NCAA title, Hamiti was a runner-up at the US Open to Evan Wick. Earlier this month, Hamiti traveled to Poland and earned a bronze medal at the Ziolkowski Memorial. Additionally, over the summer, Hamiti was selected to participate in the PWL9 All-Star dual against a Russian team. Hamiti was one of four Americans to get their hand raised as he pinned Russian Nationals runner-up Mokhmad Nasirkhaev. Hamiti earned All-American honors for Wisconsin as a freshman and sophomore. During that sophomore season, Hamiti won a Big Ten title before finishing sixth for a second time. After missing out on the NCAA podium as a junior, Hamiti transferred to Oklahoma State for his final year of eligibility. In his only year in Stillwater, Hamiti amassed a 27-1 record and was a runner-up at the Big 12 Championships. At the NCAA Tournament, Hamiti took the tough road and downed NCAA champions Levi Haines (Penn State) and Keegan O’Toole (Missouri) to capture his national championship. Hamiti and Hendrickson’s national titles led Oklahoma State to a third-place finish in Philadelphia. With Hamiti in place of Sinclair, the RAF 01 card now looks like this: Matt Ramos vs. Nathan Tomasello (135 lbs) Real Woods vs. Darrion Caldwell (145 lbs) Austin Gomez vs. Lance Palmer (155 lbs) Wyatt Hendrickson vs. Mostafa Elders (285 lbs) Sarah Hildebrandt vs. Zeltzin Hernandez Guerra (120 lbs) Kennedy Blades vs. Alejandra Rivera Arriaga (150 lbs) Kyle Dake vs. Dean Hamiti (190 lbs) Evan Wick vs. Jason Nolf (175 lbs) Bo Nickal vs. Jacob Cardenas (205 lbs) Yianni Diakomihalis vs. Bajrang Punia (155 lbs)

We started the week off with a bang thanks to the Cornell athletic department and head coach Mike Grey. Cornell released their schedule for the 2025-26 campaign earlier today and it’s a good one. Lots of marquee events for a program that typically participates in them. Last week, we started our schedule breakdown with a look at the Little Rock slate for the 2025-26 season. Now, we’ll head northeast to the kings of the Ivy League, Cornell. We’ll start with the actual schedule itself. Rather than reposting it in order, we’ve broken it into three parts. The non-conference duals, conference duals, and special events. Non-Conference January 10th - Lehigh (away) January 10th - Bucknell (away) January 16th - Army West Point (home) January 31st - Arizona State (home) February 14th - Binghamton (home) February 20th - NC State (away) February 22nd - Duke (away) Conference January 25th - Brown (home) January 25th - Harvard (home) January 31st - Columbia (home) February 7th - Princeton (away) February 8th - Penn (away) March 8th - Ivy League Championships (no location given) Special Events November 2nd - Clarion Open (Clarion, Pennsylvania) November 15/16th - National Duals Invitational (Tulsa, Oklahoma) November 23rd - Big Red Invitational (Home) December 5/6th - Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Las Vegas, Nevada) December 21st - Journeymen Collegiate Duals: Illinois, Little Rock (Nashville, Tennessee) January 3/4th - Southern Scuffle: Chattanooga, Tennessee Number of top 20 teams from the 2025 NCAA Championships: (6) #8 NC State, #10 Illinois, #15 Lehigh, #16 Penn, #17 Little Rock, #18(t) Arizona State Cornell always puts together a challenging schedule and this year is no exception. It’s interesting that they will have no standalone, traditional dual meets until January 10th. Of course, one of their first events will be the National Duals Invitational and they’ll wrestle a handful of duals in Tulsa. About a month later, they’ll travel to Nashville for the Collegiate Duals. Another characteristic that stands out in this schedule is that they only have one dual meet against a Big Ten foe (Illinois at the Collegiate Duals). I’m not sure whether this was done intentionally by Cornell or perhaps the Big Ten schools were not necessarily keen on facing a non-conference opponent of Cornell’s caliber. Either way, Cornell should get their share of Big Ten competition at the National Duals Invitational or the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Plenty are slated to be at both events. I’m interested to see Cornell’s representation at the Southern Scuffle. In the early years of the event, they were a mainstay. When the tournament started to fade Cornell did not attend. With a front half of the schedule loaded with high-caliber national events, this might be an opportunity for their non-starters to compete. Or it could be a sign that the Scuffle is back! Looking at the non-conference dual schedule, there’s plenty to like here. Lehigh will likely start the year as a top-ten team. This dual is always fun and intense, but it could have an added element with Lehigh potentially coming in as the favorite. The Army West Point dual will pit former teammates against each other as Big Red alum Troy Nickerson will be in his first year leading the Army squad. Of late, NC State has been a regular on the Big Red school. They’ll go back down to Raleigh, in a hostile environment, to face a team that boasts a returning national champion and three other All-Americans. Turning our attention to the Ivy League, Cornell should come into the year as the favorites - a role they’ve grown accustomed to, however, Penn and Princeton could field dangerous squads. Cornell’s dual against both will come on the same weekend and on the road. Notable Potential Matches for Cornell stars Greg Diakomihalis (125) December 21st: Spencer Moore (Illinois) January 10th: Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) January 16th: Charlie Farmer (Army West Point) February 7th: Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton) February 8th: Max Gallagher (Penn) February 14th: Carson Wagner (Binghamton) February 20th: Vince Robinson (NC State) Meyer Shapiro (157) December 21st: Michael Gioffre/Kannon Webster (Illinois) December 21st: Matt Bianchi (Little Rock) January 10th: Logan Rozynski (Lehigh) January 31st: Kaleb Larkin (Arizona State) January 31st: Richard Fedalen (Columbia) February 8th: Jude Swisher (Penn) February 20th: Jackson Arrington (NC State) Simon Ruiz (174) December 21st: Chris Moore (Illinois) January 10th: Rylan Rogers (Lehigh) January 10th: Myles Takats (Bucknell) January 31st: Nick Fine (Columbia) February 20th: Matthew Singleton (NC State) You could pencil in about five more tough matches per wrestler once you take into account that Cornell is going to the National Duals Invitational and the CKLV; plus, whatever the Clarion Open, Big Red Invitational, and Southern Scuffle brings. Maybe that number could be six-eight more difficult matches. Hopefully, Shapiro will be able to wrestle in Vegas this year. His bracket was incredible in 2023 and could be excellent in 2025. Antrell Taylor (Nebraska), Daniel Cardenas (Stanford), Vince Zerban (Iowa State), Ty Watters (West Virginia), Arrington, and Brandon Cannon (Ohio State) are all top ten caliber opponents who might be in the field. Each of Cornell’s big guns will get tested during their dual with NC State. In addition to the wrestlers mentioned above, the Wolfpack also feature All-Americans Ryan Jack (141) and Isaac Trumble (285). This could be one of the better duals of the year nationally.

Loudoun County

We’re less than a week away from the 2025 U20 World Championships. Action will get underway from Sofia, Bulgaria on Sunday the 17th with four men’s freestyle weights. The U20 (Junior) tournament used to be thought of as a tournament that features tomorrow’s stars. While true, the young talent in 2025 is as good as it's ever been, so the future is now - opposed to maybe four or five years from now. The men’s and women’s freestyle team each feature one wrestler who is also on the Senior World Team. Just over a week ago, the U17 team came home from Greece with 17 total medals across all three styles. I could see this group surpassing that number. For the schedule and the full list of entrants: Click Here Before the action starts, here is a refresher on the American wrestlers who will be competing for the red,white, and blue. Along with each wrestler are a couple of key accomplishments relevant to the world championships. Men’s Freestyle 57 kg: Anthony Knox (NJ/Cornell) 4x New Jersey state champion, #4 overall recruit in 2025, 2024 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament finalist 61 kg: Marcus Blaze (OH/Penn State) 2023 U17 world champion, 2024 U20 world bronze medalist, 2025 Senior national team member 65 kg: Luke Stanich (NJ/Lehigh) 2024 NCAA 5th place, 2024 EIWA champion 70 kg: PJ Duke (NY/Penn State) 2025 Senior world team member, 2024 U20 world bronze medalist 74 kg: Ladarion Lockett (OK/Oklahoma State) 2023 U17 world champion, 2024 U20 world silver medalist, 2025 Senior Pan-American champion 79 kg: Will Henckel (CT/Penn State) 2025 Pan-American U20 champion 86 kg: Max McEnelly (MN/Minnesota) 2025 NCAA 3rd place, 2022 U17 world bronze medalist 92 kg: Connor Mirasola (WI/Penn State) 2025 Pan-American U23 champion, 2025 Pan-American U20 champion, 2024 U20 world 5th place 97 kg: Justin Rademacher (OR/Oregon State) 2024 U20 world bronze medalist, 2025 Senior Pan-American champion 125 kg: Cole Mirasola (WI/Penn State) 2025 Pan-American U20 champion Women’s Freestyle 50 kg: Audrey Jimenez (TX/Lehigh) 2x U20 world silver medalist, 2023 U23 world silver medalist, 2021 U17 world bronze medalist, 2025 Senior World Team member 53 kg: Abbi Cooper (CA/Lehigh) 2024 Super 32 runner-up, 2024 Fargo Junior 3rd place 55 kg: Everest Leydecker (AZ) 2025 Final X participant, 2024 Super 32 champion, 2023 U17 world team member 57 kg: Carissa Qureshi (CA) 2025 Pan-American U20 silver medalist, 2024 U20 world team member 59 kg: Aubre Krazer (PA/Lehigh) 2025 Grand Prix of Spain champion, 2024 U20 World Team Trials finalist 62 kg: Haylie Jaffe (PA/McKendree) 2023 U17 world bronze medalist, 2021 Pan-American U17 champion 65 kg: Daniella Nugent (MA/Oklahoma State) 2025 Grand Prix of Spain bronze medalist, 2025 National Prep champion 68 kg: Jordyn Fouse (PA/Grand Valley State) 2025 Grand Prix of Spain silver medalist, 2024 U20 World Team Trials finalist 72 kg: Jasmine Robinson (TX/Army WCAP) 2024 U20 world champion, 2023 U17 world bronze medalist 76 kg: Naomi Simon (IA/Iowa) 2025 NCWWC national 3rd place, 2023 Fargo Junior champion Greco-Roman 55 kg: Caleb Noble (IL) 2x Fargo 16U Greco champion, 2x UWW U17 Greco All-American 60 kg: Isaiah Cortez (CA/Cornell) 2024 U20 world silver medalist, 2021 Pan-American U17 Greco champion 63 kg: Landon Drury (CO/Northern Michigan) 2023 U20 world 5th place, 2023 Pan-American U20 champion 67 kg: Otto Black (CO/Northern Michigan) 2024 U20 world silver medalist, 2021 U17 world 5th place 72 kg: Joel Adams (NE/Oregon State) 2x U20 world team member, 2022 U17 world champion, 2021 Pan-American U17 champion 77 kg: Leister Bowling (CO/Iowa) 2025 Pan-American U20 champion 82 kg: Arvin Khosravy (CA/Army West Point) 2024 U20 world team member, 2x U17 world team member, 2023 Pan-American U20 champion 87 kg: Nick Nosler (IL/SIU Edwardsville) 2025 Pan-American U20 champion, 2024 U20 World Team Trials finalist 97 kg: Soren Herzog (MN/Air Force) 2024 U20 world team member 130 kg: Shilo Jones (ID/North Dakota State) 2025 Pan-American U20 champion