Men's freestyle set for U23 World Championships in Poland, Nov. 21-26

USA Wrestling is sending a skilled group of men’s freestyle wrestlers to compete at the U23 World Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, Nov. 21-26.

It will be the first UWW U23 World Championships, which features 18-23-year-old athletes in the three Olympic disciplines.

Daton Fix (Sand Springs, Okla./Titan Mercury/Cowboy RTC) leads the American team, entering his second World Championships of the year, fresh off a Junior World title.

This summer at the Junior World Championships in Tampere, Finland, Fix was absolutely dominant, outscoring his opponents 53-1. In the finals, he defeated Ismail Gadzhiev of Russia with a fast 12-1 technical fall.

Fix has a wealth of international experience, having wrestled in two Junior World Championships and two Cadet World Championships. From that, he has collected a 2017 Junior World gold, 2016 Junior World bronze and a 2015 Cadet World bronze.

He also traveled to the 2014 Cadet World Championships in Snina, Slovakia.

Fix, who will take on the world at 57 kg/125 lbs., is a true freshman at Oklahoma State.

In addition to Fix, there are three other wrestlers, who have earned age-group World medals, including Mitchell McKee, Joey McKenna and Sam Brooks.

McKee (Hanover, Minn./Minnesota Storm) was Fix’s teammate in Finland, wrestling at 60 kg/132 lbs. It was his first World tournament since 2012, when he finished eighth at the Cadet World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan.

This time around, he stormed to the Junior World finals, pulling out some exciting wins. In the final, he fell to 2017 Junior European bronze medalist Abdulla Akhmedov of Russia but walked away with a Junior silver medal.

In his third World appearance, McKee will compete at 61 kg/134 lbs.

McKee just started his sophomore season at Minnesota. Last year, he qualified for NCAAs for the Gophers.

Seeking his second World medal in three attempts is McKenna (Towaco, N.J./Titan Mercury/Lehigh Valley WC).

Like McKee, McKenna owns a Junior World silver medal. He collected his in 2014 at the Junior World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. McKenna also competed at the 2012 Cadet World Championships with McKee.

Since 2014, he has picked up two international medals, including gold at the 2015 Cerro Pelado International in Havana, Cuba, and bronze at the Ziolkowsi International in Spala, Poland.

The New Jersey native is set to compete at 65 kg/143 lbs.

Recently, McKenna transferred to Ohio State after two years at Stanford, where he was a 2016 All-American, finishing third at NCAAs.

Also making his third age-group World Championship appearance is Brooks (Oak Park, Ill./New York AC/Hawkeye WC).

Brooks boasts a 2011 Cadet World bronze medal and was a member of the 2013 Junior World Team. In 2011, he earned World Team spots on both the Junior freestyle and Greco teams but elected to compete in freestyle.

U23 Worlds will be his first international competition since 2013. He will wrestle at 86 kg/189 lbs.

Brooks trains out of Iowa City, Iowa, where he recently completed his collegiate career as a two-time NCAA All-American and two-time Big Ten champion for the Hawkeyes.

Two-time NCAA champion Isaiah Martinez, a senior at Illinois, will don the Red, White and Blue at 74 kg/163 lbs.

This summer, Martinez won the Last Chance World Team Trials Qualifier and moved onto the U.S. Senior World Team Trials in Lincoln, Neb., where he took fourth. Martinez was a 2016 UWW University national champion.

As a Junior-aged athlete, he finished second at the 2014 Junior World Team Trials.

Three-time All-Americans will represent the USA at the heavy weights, with Ty Walz at 97 kg/213 lbs. and Michael Kroells at 125 kg/275 lbs.

Former Virginia Tech wrestler Walz (Cleveland, Ohio/Titan Mercury/Southeast RTC) has become more active on the freestyle circuit recently, finishing third at the 2016 UWW University Nationals and claiming fifth place at the 2017 U.S. Open to qualify for the Senior World Team Trials.

Kroells (Belle Plaine, Minn./Minnesota Storm), a former heavyweight and three-time All-American at Minnesota, took sixth at the 2016 UWW University Nationals. He will be competing in his first international tournament next week.

Two-time NJCAA All-American and Rutgers senior Richie Lewis (Toms River, N.J./Scarlett Knight WC) will head overseas for the first time in career and will compete at 70 kg/154 lbs.

He shocked the country, bulldozing through the U23 Trials bracket, taking out some of the nation’s top young talent, including Nebraska junior Tyler Berger in the best-of-three championship series.

The men’s freestyle portion of the event is set for Nov. 25-26. Up first for the U.S. in men’s freestyle are Fix (57 kg), McKee (61 kg), Brooks (86 kg) and Kroells (125 kg) on Saturday, Nov. 25, followed by McKenna (65 kg), Lewis (70 kg), Martinez (75 kg) and Walz (97 kg) on Sunday, Nov. 26.

The preliminary rounds begin at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET), with the medal matches beginning at 6 p.m. (12 p.m. ET) on both days. Bydgoszcz is six hours ahead of the U.S. Eastern time zone.

Fans can find live streams and brackets on Trackwrestling.com.

U23 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

at Bydgoszcz, Poland, Nov. 21-26

Men’s freestyle roster
57 kg/125 lbs. – Daton Fix (Sand Springs, Okla./Titan Mercury/Cowboy RTC)
61 kg/134 lbs. – Mitchell McKee (Hanover, Minn./Minnesota Storm)
65 kg/143 lbs. – Joey McKenna (Towaco, N.J./Titan Mercury/Lehigh Valley WC)
70 kg/154 lbs. – Richie Lewis (Toms River, N.J./Scarlett Knight WC)
74 kg/163 lbs. – Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore, Calif./Titan Mercury)
86 kg/189 lbs. – Sam Brooks (Oak Park, Ill./New York AC/Hawkeye WC)
97 kg/213 lbs. – Ty Walz (Cleveland, Ohio/Titan Mercury/Southeast RTC)
125 kg/275 lbs. – Michael Kroells (Belle Plaine, Minn./Minnesota Storm)

Schedule (Bydgoszcz local time)
Tuesday, Nov. 21
Greco-Roman – 71 kg, 75 kg, 85 kg, 98 kg
10 a.m. – Qualification rounds and repechage
5 p.m. – Opening ceremony
6 p.m. – Medal matches

Wednesday, Nov. 22
Greco-Roman – 59 kg, 66 kg, 80 kg, 130 kg
10 a.m. – Qualification rounds and repechage
6 p.m. – Medal matches

Thursday, Nov. 23
Women’s freestyle – 55 kg, 58 kg, 63 kg, 75 kg
10 a.m. – Qualification rounds and repechage
6 p.m. – Medal matches

Friday, Nov. 24
Women’s freestyle – 48 kg, 53 kg, 60 kg, 69 kg
10 a.m. – Qualification rounds and repechage
6 p.m. – Medal matches

Saturday, Nov. 25
Men’s freestyle – 57 kg, 61kg, 86 kg, 125 kg
10 a.m. – Qualification rounds and repechage
6 p.m. – Medal matches

Sunday, Nov. 26
Men’s freestyle – 65 kg, 70 kg, 74 kg, 97 kg
10 a.m. – Qualification rounds and repechage
6 p.m. – Medal matches