LaMont, Omania, Merkin, Berreyesa and Porter receive draws for U23 Worlds

2018 Junior World silver medalist Andrew Berreyesa will kick off his tournament tomorrow.

BUDAPEST Hungary, The final U.S. athletes have received their draws at the U23 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. These Greco-Roman athletes will close out the tournament over the next two days.
Representing the USA is Taylor LaMont at 60 kg, Peyton Omania at 67 kg, Lenny Merkin at 72 kg, and Andrew Berreyesa at 82 kg and Chad Porter at 97 kg.
Taylor LaMont, a veteran competing in his seventh age-group World Championship, will face Krisztian Kecskemeti of Hungary in the opening round. Kecskemeti placed 13th in the 2017 Junior World Championships.
LaMont is a 2016 Junior World Bronze medalist and also placed fifth in the 2017 Junior World Championships and the 2015 Cadet World Championships.
Peyton Omania, a four-time World Team member, hopes to keep his momentum rolling from this summer, where he won a Junior World bronze medal in Tallinn, Estonia.
He will open his tournament with Giorgi Kurtanidze of Georgia. Kurtanidze placed seventh at the 2019 U23 European Championships and 11th at the 2017 Junior World Championships.
Taking the mat for his first time at a World Championships is Lenny Merkin. He will kick off his tournament with the winner of Aleksandar Erski of Serbia vs. Leos Drmola of Slovakia.
2018 Junior World silver medalist Andrew Berreyesa will open his tournament with Aivengo Rikadze of Georgia. Rikadze placed fifth at 2018 Junior World Championships on the opposite side of the bracket of Berreyesa. He is a 2015 Cadet World champion.
Competing in his second-straight World Championships is Chad Porter, who was also on the 2018 Junior World Team. He will square off with Naoki Matsumoto of Japan, who placed 19th at the 2018 Junior World Championships.

All five of these athletes compete at the Div. 1 college level. LaMont wrestles for Utah Valley, Omania for Michigan State, Merkin for Princeton, Berreyesa for Cornell and Porter for Arizona State.
Action begins Friday at 10:30 a.m. local time (4:30 a.m. ET) live on Trackwrestling.com. Follow @USAWrestling on Twitter for live updates.


2019 U23 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

at Budapest, Hungary (Oct. 28-Nov. 3)
U.S. Greco-Roman roster
60 kg: Taylor LaMont (Mapleton, Utah/Sunkist Kids WC)
vs. Krisztian Kecskemeti (Hungary), 13th at 2017 Junior Worlds
67 kg: Peyton Omania (Concord, Calif./CYC)
Giorgi Kurtanidze (Georgia), seventh at 2019 U23 European Nationals, 11th at 2017 Junior Worlds
72 kg: Lenny Merkin (Brooklyn, N.Y./New York AC)
vs. Aleksandar Erski (Serbia) 24th at 2019 Senior Worlds, 14th at 2018 U23 Worlds or Leos Drmola (Slovakia), 17th at 2019 Senior Worlds, 24th at 2019 U23 Worlds, 10th at 2018 Senior Worlds
82 kg: Andrew Berreyesa (Reno, Nev./New York AC/Finger Lakes WC)
vs. Aivengo Rikadze (Georgia), fifth at 2018 Junior Worlds, 2015 Cadet World champion
97 kg: Chad Porter (Phoenix, Ariz./Sunkist Kids WC)
vs. Naoki Matsumoto (Japan), 19th at 2018 Junior Worlds