Jayden Raney pins way to U17 World finals in Greco-Roman

AMMAN, Jordan – The first day of the Greco-Roman competition at the U17 World Championships in Amman, Jordan, was filled with drama and high stakes. It was no exception for Team USA as standout Jayden Raney delivered a thrilling come-from-behind win to make the gold medal match at 55 kg.

2023 U17 European bronze medalist Petro Zhytovoz of Hungary stormed out to a 6-0 lead over Raney on the strength of a throw out of bounds and straight lift for four from the par terre position. Raney rebounded by pulling his opponent into a front headlock and running him over to secure a fall with two seconds left in the first frame.

Raney is set to face Alpamys Bolatuly of Kazakhstan for the gold medal tomorrow. Bolatuly won a frenetic 13-8 match over 2023 U17 World bronze medalist and current U17 European runner-up Yurik Mkhitaryan of Armenia to secure his spot in the finals. If today is any indication, it should prove to be an exciting affair.

All told, Raney posted an impressive 4-0 record on the day. He logged wins in the morning session over U17 Asian champion Sardor Kholmurzaev of Uzbekistan, Denys Seredin of Ukraine and U17 European bronze medalist Ali Nazarov of Azerbaijan.

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 wasn’t all good news for the American contingent during the second session on Monday. Iowan Hayden Schwab was not granted a repechage spot after Kazakhstan’s Yedige Toleutayev, who defeated Schwab in round one, was upended in the 48 kg semifinals.

Three Americans were eliminated in the morning session after tough 0-1 starts— Colton Weiler at 65 kg, Emmitt Sherlock at 80 kg and Trayvn Boger at 110 kg.

The action from Jordan resumes at 3:30 a.m. (ET) on Tuesday with the continuation of the Greco-Roman tournament. The morning session begins with the repechage for group one weight classes, followed by the qualification rounds for group two (45 kg, 51 kg, 60 kg, 71 kg and 92 kg).

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.