Jax Forrest (left) and Phillip Moomey (right) are registered to compete at the U20 World Team Trials and U23 Nationals.
U20 World Team Trials and U23 Nationals set for May 31-June 2
by Savannah Asmann, USA Wrestling
The U23 Nationals and U20 World Team Trials return to Geneva, Ohio, later this month. The three-day tournament will be held at Spire Institute on May 31-June 2 and features competition for U20 age athletes and U23 age athletes in Men's freestyle and Greco-Roman.
Action begins on Friday, May 31, with Greco-Roman competition in both the U20 and U23 divisions. On Saturday, men’s freestyle action kicks off for both age groups. The U23 Men’s freestyle tournament continues on Sunday.
The 2024 U20 World Championships are slated for September 2-8 at the Pontevedra Municipal Sports Hall in Pontevedra, Spain. The U23 Nationals will be held alongside the U20 World Team Trials, with athletes born between 2001-2006 eligible to compete. The champions from the U23 Nationals will be eligible to compete at the U23 Pan American Championships in Rionegro, Colombia, June 21-22. The 2024 U23 World Championships will return to Tirana, Albania, on October 21-27.
The event features a full challenge tournament and a best-of-three championship series. No athletes in the U23 division will be sitting in the finals.
Twenty athletes in the U20 Greco-Roman and men’s freestyle World Team Trials earned a spot in the best-of-three finals series by winning U20 Nationals titles at the U.S. Open in April. The athletes also earned the right to compete at the 2024 Pan American U20 Championships in Lima, Peru, July 11-13.
U20 Greco-Roman Nationals Champions
55 kg: Isaiah Cortez (Daniel Cormier WC)
60 kg: Cory Land (Panther Wrestling Club RTC)
63 kg: Otto Black (Colorado Top Team Wrestling Club)
67 kg: Joel Adams (The Best Wrestler)
72 kg: Brett Back (Dubuque RTC)
77 kg: Ayden Rix McElhinney (Northern Colorado WC)
82 kg: Arian Khosravy (California)
87 kg: Nick Nosler (Southern Illinois RTC)
97 kg: Soren Herzog (Air Force RTC)
130 kg: Aden Attao (Beaver Dam Wrestling RTC)
U20 Men’s Freestyle Nationals Champions
57 kg: Luke Lilledahl (Nittany Lion WC)
61 kg: Cael Hughes (Cowboy RTC)
65 kg: Bo Bassett (Bishop McCort)
70 kg: PJ Duke (KD Training Center)
74 kg: Ladarion Lockett (Cowboy WC)
79 kg: Zack Ryder (M2 Training Center)
86 kg: Aeoden Sinclair (Askren Wrestling Academy)
92 kg: Connor Mirasola (Askren Wrestling Academy)
97 kg: Camden McDanel (Ohio)
125 kg: Jimmy Mullen (Southeast RTC)
In Greco-Roman, there are three age-group World medalists registered for the event in Cory Land (60 kg), a 2021 U17 World Silver medalist, Joel Adams (67 kg), a 2022 U17 World Champion, and Aden Attao (130 kg), a 2022 U20 World bronze medalist. Attao, who earned a spot on the Senior National Team for the first time in his career, and Land will compete in both Greco-Roman and men’s freestyle at the tournament.
There are two Senior National Team members in the mix with 2022 U17 World Silver medalist Jax Forrest (57 kg) and 2023 U17 World Champion Marcus Blaze (61 kg).
Luke Lilledahl, a three-time age-group World Medalist, stands out as a strong competitor at 57 kg. 2022 U17 World Silver medalist and three-time age-group World Team member Christian Castillo adds to the depth of talent at 57 kg.
Lilledahl and Camden McDanel (97 kg) are the only members of the 2023 U20 World Team in men’s freestyle that will sit to the finals, two wins from a return appearance to the U20 World Championships, which are set for Sept. 2-8 in Pontevedra, Spain.
Bo Bassett (65 kg) will be one to watch, with a 2021 U17 World Gold medal under his belt. At 70 kg, Tyler Kasak, a 2022 U17 World Silver medalist, and Brock Mantanona, a 2023 U17 World Bronze medalist, are among the top competitors registered. Kasak was also a finalist last year at 65 kg. 2023 U17 World Champion Ladarion Lockett and 2022 U17 World Champion Joseph Sealey highlight a tough 74 kg group.
The 125 kg weight class is stacked with talent that includes Koy Hopke, a 2022 U17 World Champion, Ben Kueter, a 2022 U20 World Champion, and Jimmy Mullen, a 2021 U17 World Silver medalist.
This year, the U23 National Champions will earn a spot on the U23 Pan American Championships Team. As this is not a World Team Trials event, the U23 National Champions do not automatically earn a spot on the U23 World Team that will compete in Tirana, Albania, in October. If there is an age-eligible athlete on the Senior National Team, they can elect to take the spot.
Four National Champions in Greco-Roman return to the mat in Ohio. Phillip Moomey (60 kg), Hunter Lewis (67 kg), Michael Altomer (87 kg) and Tereus Henry (97 kg) will aim to repeat this weekend. Moomey and Altomer both competed at the 2023 U23 World Championships in Tirana, Albania.
Davian Guanajuato (55 kg), Jonathan Gurule (63 kg) and Thomas Godbee (97 kg) saw runner-up finishes in 2023 and are registered to compete Friday. Three-time age-group World Team member Robert Perez III is slated to compete at 67 kg.
Men’s freestyle action in the U23 division will be contested on Saturday and Sunday. Jacob Cardenas, competing at 92 kg, leads the pack as a two-time U23 World Medalist, having secured silver in 2022 and bronze in 2023. Also in the mix at 92 kg are past age-group World Team members Jack Darrah, Wyatt Voelker, Cade Lautt and Christian Carroll.
Joining Cardenas as last year’s champions registered for the tournament are Julian Ramirez (79 kg), Dylan Fishback (86 kg) and Nick Stemmet (97 kg). Ramirez makes the move to 79 kg after winning the title at 74 kg in 2023. A trio of athletes will look to reach the top of the podium after runner-up finishes in 2023 in Stevo Poulin (57 kg), Ryan Jack (65 kg), and Ed Scott (70 kg).
Among the registered athletes are NCAA champions Greg Kerkvliet and Ty McGeary. Kerkvliet, a two-time age-group World Medalist, including gold in 2017, is a four-time All-American and 2024 NCAA DI National Champion for Penn State and recently competed at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Two-time NCAA DII National Champion Ty McGeary of West Liberty is slated to compete at 86 kg. Drake Ayala, runner-up at the 2024 NCAA DI National Championships for Iowa, will be one to watch at 61 kg.
The U20 World Team Trials and U23 Nationals will be streamed on FloWrestling. Action can be followed on themat.com and USA Wrestling’s social media throughout the weekend.
2024 U20 World Team Trials and U23 Nationals
At Geneva, Ohio, May 31 – June 2
Friday, May 31st
Session 1:
U20 Greco-Roman World Team Trials – Challenge Tournament - Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Challenge Finals & Consolations
10:00 a.m. – 2:15 p.m.
U23 Greco-Roman – Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, & Consolations
10:00 a.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Session 2:
U20 Greco-Roman World Team Trials – All Medal Matches, and Best 2 out of 3 Finals
4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
U23 Greco-Roman – All Medal Matches, and Best 2 out of 3 Finals
4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 1st
Session 1:
U20 Freestyle World Team Trials – Challenge Tournament - Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Challenge Finals & Consolations
9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
U23 Freestyle – Preliminaries and Consolations
9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Session 2:
U20 Freestyle World Team Trials – All Medal Matches, and Best 2 out of 3 Finals
4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
U23 Freestyle – Preliminaries and Consolations
4:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 2nd
Session 3:
U23 Freestyle – Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Consolations, All Medal Matches, and Best 2 out of 3 Finals
10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
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