Nic Bouzakis in action at the 2023 U20 World Championships in Amman, Jordan.

Nic Bouzakis in action at the 2023 U20 World Championships in Amman, Jordan.

USAWInternationalCollege2024 U23 + Senior Worlds

U.S. receives men’s freestyle draw at U23 World Championships

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by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling

TIRANA, Albania – The men’s freestyle brackets have been released for the 2024 U23 World Championships with a strong team of 10 U.S. athletes entered in the field.


2023 U20 World champion and two-time U20 World finalist Mitchell Mesenbrink is among the favorites in a competitive 74 kg bracket. His first-round opponent is Murat Dzhakupov of Kazakhstan, who was a silver medalist at the 2023 Stepan Sargsyan Tournament on the Senior level.


Two-time U23 World medalist Jacob Cardenas mans the 92 kg spot for Team USA a third year in a row. He has drawn Individual Neutral Athlete Mustafagadzhi Malachdibirov in round one. Malachdibirov recently won the U20 World Championships held last month in Pontevedra, Spain.


 2023 U20 World bronze medalist Nic Bouzakis will face two-time U20 European silver medalist Levik Mikayelyan of Armenia to open his tournament at 61 kg.


Iowa Hawkeye senior Patrick Kennedy, a 2023 Matteo Pellicone Memorial champion on the Senior level, is paired against two-time U20 World bronze medalist Mukhammad Abdullaev of Kyrgyzstan at 79 kg.


Max Gallagher at 57 kg, Joshua Saunders at 65 kg and Massoma Endene at 97 kg have first round byes and await the winners of preliminary matches to determine their first opponents.


Additional Team USA athletes in the mix are John Wiley at 70 kg, John Gunderson at 86 kg and Lucas Stoddard at 125 kg. First round matchups for each American can be found below.


The men’s freestyle tournament will be held October 25-27, rounding out a full week of wrestling at the U23 World Championships in Albania. The men’s freestyle action begins at 10:30 a.m. local time for the first two days and is pushed back to a 4 p.m. start on Sunday. For those following along live, Tirana, Albania, is located six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time.


The U.S. will compete in two groups over the course of the men’s freestyle event. Group one, which starts on Friday, is comprised of Bouzakis, Mesenbrink, Gunderson, Cardenas and Stoddard. Group two starts a day later, featuring Gallagher, Saunders, Wiley, Kennedy and Endene.


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


Stay tuned to TheMat.com and USA Wrestling’s social media platforms for complete coverage of the U23 World Championships. 

2024 U23 World Championships | At Tirana, Albania, October 21-27

Men’s Freestyle Event Schedule

Friday, October 25

10: 30 a.m. – Qualification rounds (61-74-86-92-125 kg)

4:45 p.m. – Semifinals (61-74-86-92-125 kg)


Saturday, October 26

10:30 a.m. – Qualification rounds (57-65-70-79-97 kg), Repechage (61-74-86-92-125 kg)

4:45 p.m. – Semifinals (57-65-70-79-97 kg)

6 p.m. – Medal matches (61-74-86-92-125 kg)


Sunday, October 27

4 p.m. – Repechage (57-65-70-79-97 kg)

6 p.m. – Medal matches (57-65-70-79-97 kg)


* All times listed local to Tirana, Albania (GMT+2), which is six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time.


U.S. Men’s Freestyle Draw

57 kg – Max Gallagher (Blue Point, N.Y./Pennsylvania RTC)

VS Daniil Yushkouski (Individual Neutral Athlete) or Stefan Shterjov (Macedonia)


61 kg – Nic Bouzakis (Dallas, Pennsylvania/Ohio RTC)

VS Levik Mikayelyan (Armenia)


65 kg – Joshua Saunders (St. Louis, Mo./Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

VS Hayk Abrahamyan (Armenia) or Kumar Mohit (India)


70 kg – John Wiley (Mustang, Okla./Oklahoma RTC)

VS Davit Patsinashvili (Georgia)


74 kg – Mitchell Mesenbrink (Hartland, Wis./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

VS Murat Dzhakupov (Kazakhstan)


79 kg – Patrick Kennedy (West Concord, Minn./Hawkeye WC)

VS Mukhammad Abdullaev (Kyrgyzstan)


86 kg – John Gunderson (Baraboo, Wis./Panther WC-RTC)

VS Emre Ciftci (Turkey)


92 kg – Jacob Cardenas (Kearny, N.J./Cliff Keen WC)

VS Mustafagadzhi Malachdibirov (Individual Neutral Athlete)


97 kg – Massoma Endene (Waverly, Iowa/Burg Training Center)

VS Aslan Abakarov (Azerbaijan) or Mahdi Hajiloueian Morafah (Iran)


125 kg – Lucas Stoddard (Chardon, Ohio/West Point WC)

VS Nicolae Stratulat (Moldova)

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