Bassett, Sanchez, and James Advance to Men’s Freestyle Semifinals at U17 World Championships

ATHENS, Greece — Team USA continued its strong performance at the 2025 U17 World Championships Saturday morning as group two in men’s freestyle wrestlers took the mat in Athens. Three Americans — Keegan Bassett, Samuel Sanchez, and Jayden James — advanced to the semifinals, while Ashton Besmer and Tanner Hodgins remain alive in the tournament with potential repechage opportunities.

At 71 kg, Jayden James, two-time Fargo champion and U17 Pan-American gold medalist, looked sharp throughout his day. In the opening round, he dominated Georgia’s Koba Goguadze, the 2025 U17 European bronze medalist, with a 12-2 technical fall. James set the tone early with a takedown and displayed excellent scrambling ability, capitalizing with low leg and ankle attacks. He followed that up in the second round by overwhelming Rashad Veysalov of Azerbaijan, earning another technical fall victory. In the quarterfinals, James shut out Uzbekistan’s Farrukhbek Jumanazarov 6-0, looking crafty from the mat and creating scoring opportunities. He will now face Armenia’s Yeghishe Mosesyan, a two-time U15 European champion, in the semifinals.

At 51 kg, returning World champ Samuel Sanchez showed why he’s one of the best in the world with three victories by technical fall. In the second round, he squared off against 2024 U17 European silver medalist Bugra Kavak of Turkey. Sanchez got up 4-0 with a single leg to gut wrench, then added a four-point takedown to secure the victory. In the quarterfinals, he maintained his high pace and strong defensive positioning against Temuri Tutarashvili of Georgia, leading 8-1 at the break, and closing it out by stuffing the head and taking his go behind takedowns for the win.  He now prepares to face Danael Abdykassym of Kazakhstan in the semifinals.

Keegan Bassett joined the semifinalists with an impressive comeback performance at 45 kg. In his opening match against Shivam of India, Bassett trailed 1-0 at the break before surging ahead in the second period. He scored with a slick slide-by takedown and followed up with a leg lace for two turns, eventually winning 8-5. In the quarterfinals, Bassett found himself in an early hole against Bakdaulet Agabek of Kazakhstan, trailing 4-1 after a failed head pinch attempt led to an exposure. However, he stormed back just before the first-period buzzer with a takedown and turn to take a 5-4 lead. In the second period, Bassett extended his lead and closed the match with a leg lace to get a 15-4 technical fall. He will now face Ibragim Veliullov of UWW in the semifinal round.

Ashton Besmer (60 kg) and Tanner Hodgins (92 kg) were both defeated in their opening-round matches, but each remains in contention for bronze medals as their opponents have reached the semifinals — keeping repechage hopes alive.

The action resumes at 5 p.m. local time with men’s freestyle group two semifinals. Group one finals and medal matches will begin at 6 p.m., with Ariah Mills and Arseni Kikiniou competing for gold, and Grey Burnett wrestling for bronze.

For live results and ongoing updates from the tournament, follow USA Wrestling’s social media channels and coverage on TheMat.com. Results, brackets, and mat assignments from the U17 World Championships are available on UWW Arena.  Fans in the U.S. can stream the event on FloWrestling.com.