Jayden Raney advances to Greco-Roman semifinals at U17 World Championships

AMMAN, Jordan – Kentucky product Jayden Raney provided the bright spot for Team USA during the first session of the U17 World Championships. Raney navigated to the 55 kg Greco-Roman semifinals with three impressive wins.

Opening against U17 Asian champion Sardor Kholmurzaev of Uzbekistan, Raney looked sharp with a pair of turns from top and a last-second pin off a desperation throw attempt. He followed with a 9-0 technical fall over Denys Seredin of Ukraine. In the quarterfinals, Raney battled to a 4-3 decision over U17 European bronze medalist Ali Nazarov of Azerbaijan.

Standing opposite Raney in tonight’s semifinal round is Petro Zhytovoz of Hungary, who was a U17 European bronze medalist in 2023. Zhytovoz was seventh in this year’s U17 European Championships.

Raney is a four-time USA Wrestling 16U Nationals champion, winning both the Greco-Roman and freestyle titles in 2022 and 2023 in Fargo, N.D. He is the twin brother of Jordyn Raney, who won the 55 kg Greco-Roman weight class at last year’s U17 Worlds.

It was a tough outing for the other four Americans who took the mats on Monday. Hayden Schwab, Colton Weiler, Emmitt Sherlock and Trayvn Boger all lost their opening matches. Schwab is the only man from the group who remains in play for a repechage match.

The action continues from Jordan at 11 a.m. (ET) with the first set of Greco-Roman semifinals.

Complete brackets and match-by-match results are available on UWW Arena. A live broadcast of the event is available to the U.S. audience at FloWrestling.com.