Mills wins U17 World gold, Kikiniou silver, Burnett bronze; Bassett, Sanchez and James advance to finals

ATHENS, Greece — Day two-of-three in men’s freestyle at the 2025 U17 World Championships concluded with a strong performance by Team USA, who now sits second in the team standings. Men’s Freestyle picked up its first gold medal of the tournament, added a silver and a bronze, and advanced three wrestlers into tomorrow’s gold medal matches with a shot at more hardware.

At 48 kg, Ariah Mills claimed the gold medal with a dominant technical fall over Sina Boustani Kalateh Abbasabad of Iran. After being placed on the activity clock and trailing 1-0, Mills stormed back with explosive offense. He blew through the Iranian defense for a takedown just before the break to lead, 2-1. His quickness continued to shine in the second period as he found the corner repeatedly for takedowns and capped it off with back-to-back gut wrenches to close the match, 12-1.

At 65 kg, Arseni Kikiniou came up just short in the gold medal match against 2024 World Silver Medalist Huseyn Ismayilov of Azerbaijan. The match ended 1-1 with Ismayilov winning on criteria. No offensive points were scored in the bout, only an activity time point for each man. Despite the loss, Kikiniou leaves Athens with two medals including his bronze in Greco-Roman. His future remains bright, with U17 eligibility still available for 2026.

In the 55 kg bronze medal match, Grey Burnett delivered a controlled and efficient performance to defeat Mohammadreza Barari of Iran by a 4-0 decision. Burnett opened the scoring with a takedown and a gut wrench for two more.  He closed the match with tough hand fighting and footwork to secure the bronze medal.

In championship semifinal action, Team USA had a clean sweep, advancing all three athletes into their respective finals. At 45 kg, Keegan Bassett continued his strong run with a 6-2 win over UWW athlete Ibragim Veliullov. Bassett struck early with a front headlock go-behind, then added two more takedowns to take the victory.  He now prepares to face Parsa Tahmasbi of Iran for the gold in what’s expected to be a fast-paced, technical showdown.

At 51 kg, Samuel Sanchez, the returning U17 World champion, won by technical fall in just 43 seconds over Danael Abdykassym of Kazakhstan. Sanchez scored within the first six seconds, added a four-pointer, and closed the match moments later. He now enters a must-watch final against Ulugbek Rashidov of Uzbekistan, who is also a returning U17 World champion.

At 71 kg, Jayden James delivered one of the most electric performances of the session, pinning two-time U15 European Champion Yeghishe Mosesyan of Armenia to secure his spot in the finals. With the score tied, 3-3, Mosesyan exposed James on a turn, but James came out on top and buried a deep half for the fall. James will now wrestle for gold against Iran’s Arsham Mostafa, setting up another USA-Iran showdown in a tight team title race.

Tanner Hodgins (92 kg) was pulled back into repechage and will now face Mongolia’s Saruul Erdenetsogt.  Ashton Besmer (60 kg) was eliminated.

The final session of the U17 World Championships takes place tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. local time, beginning with repechage matches in weights 45 kg, 51 kg, 60 kg, 71 kg, and 92 kg. Championship finals and medal matches begin at 6 p.m. as Team USA looks to add three more golds and make a final push in the team standings.

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.

1. Iran, 80

2. United States, 64

3. Azerbaijan, 58

4. Japan, 41

5. Kazakhstan, 41

6. Kyrgyzstan, 36

7. Ukraine, 35

8. India, 34

9. Uzbekistan, 34

10. Moldova, 18

Gold – Ariah Mills (United States)

Silver – Sina Boustani Kalateh Abbasabad (Iran)

Bronze – Dovudbek Bakhadirov (Kyrgyzstan)

Bronze – Islam Rabadanov (UWW)

5^th – Masamune Ushimado (Japan)

5^th – Ravan Hasanzade (Azerbaijan)

7^th – Sabyrzhan Rakhatov (Kazakhstan)

8^th – Jakhongir Tulkunov (Uzbekistan)

9^th – Giorgi Narimanidze (Georgia)

10^th – Nazar Kaplun (Ukraine)

Gold – Ariah Mills (United States) tech. fall Sina Boustani Kalateh Abbasabad (Iran), 12-1

Bronze – Dovudbek Bakhadirov (Kyrgyzstan) tech. fall Masamune Ushimado (Japan), 12-0

Bronze – Islam Rabadanov (UWW) dec. Ravan Hasanzade (Azerbaijan), 11-9

Gold – Jinnosuke Okonogi (Japan)

Silver – Abdumalik Jaloldinov (Uzbekistan)

Bronze – Chingis Saryglar (UWW)

Bronze – Grey Burnett (United States)

5^th – Jovanni Tovar (Colombia)

5^th – Mohammadreza Barari (Iran)

7^th – Ruslan Alizada (Azerbaijan)

8^th – Zhakshylyk Borobaev (Kyrgyzstan)

9^th – Jaiveer Singh (India)

10^th – Armen Papikyan (Armenia)

Gold – Jinnosuke Okonogi (Japan) dec. Abdumalik Jaloldinov (Uzbekistan), 5-4

Bronze – Chingis Saryglar (UWW) dec. Jovanni Tovar (Colombia), 8-2

Bronze – Grey Burnett (United States) dec. Mohammadreza Barari (Iran), 4-0

Gold – Huseyn Ismayilov (Azerbaijan)

Silver – Arseni Kikiniou (United States)

Bronze – Morteza Haj Mollamohammadi (Iran)

Bronze – Adisbek Altynbekov (Kyrgyzstan)

5^th – Gourav Punia (India)

5^th – Yeraly Askerbek (Kazakhstan)

7^th – Maxim Dimov (Moldova)

8^th – Ivan Zalisko (Ukraine)

9^th – Liam Gorton (Canada)

10^th – Magomed Ibragimov (UWW)

Gold – Huseyn Ismayilov (Azerbaijan) dec. Arseni Kikiniou (United States), 1-1

Bronze - Morteza Haj Mollamohammadi (Iran) dec. Gourav Punia (India), 8-8

Bronze - Adisbek Altynbekov (Kyrgyzstan) dec. Yeraly Askerbek (Kazakhstan), 7-1

Gold – Artur Kostiuk (Ukraine)

Silver – Mohammadparsa Karami (Iran)

Bronze – Dinmukhammed Kassymbek (Kazakhstan)

Bronze – Issa Zangiev (UWW)

5^th – Ivan Paslari (Moldova)

5^th – Muhammet Erturk (Turkey)

7^th – Bunyod Rufatov (Uzbekistan)

8^th – Haruta Shiotsuka (Japan)

9^th – Aaron Stewart (United States)

10^th – Arslan Azymberdiyev (Turkmenistan)

Gold – Artur Kostiuk (Ukraine) dec. Mohammadparsa Karami (Iran), 3-1

Bronze – Dinmukhammed Kassymbek (Kazakhstan) dec. Ivan Paslari (Moldova), 5-4

Bronze – Issa Zangiev (UWW) dec. Muhammet Erturk (Turkey), 5-2

Gold – Magomedrasul Omarov (UWW)

Silver – Lacky (India)

Bronze – Amirhossein Naghdalipour (Iran)

Bronze – Hakim Taghiyev (Azerbaijan)

5^th – Murtaz Bagdavadze (Georgia)

5^th – Stefan Stefanov (Bulgaria)

7^th – Riza Izakhar (Kazakhstan)

8^th – Laert Movsesyan (Armenia)

9^th – Zekeriya Dogan (Turkey)

10^th – Mykyta Krasnokutskyi (Ukraine)

Gold – Magomedrasul Omarov (UWW) dec. Lacky (India), 6-4

Bronze – Amirhossein Naghdalipour (Iran) tech. fall Murtaz Bagdavadze (Georgia), 11-0

Bronze – Hakim Taghiyev (Azerbaijan) dec. Stefan Stefanov (Bulgaria), 1-1

WIN Islam Rabadanov (UWW), tech fall, 11-0

WIN Giorgi Narimanidze (Georgia), tech fall, 12-1

WIN Ravan Hasanzade (Azerbaijan), 7-2

WIN Sina Boustani Kalateh Abbasabad (Iran), tech. fall, 12-1

WIN Armen Papikyan (Armenia), 3-2

WIN Jaiveer Singh (India), 3-0

LOSS Jinnosuke Okonogi (Japan), 8-2

WIN Mohammadreza Barari (Iran), 4-0

WIN Nikita Kozich (Israel), tech fall, 10-0

WIN Michal Michniewicz (Poland), 9-0

WIN Gourav Punia (India), 5-4

WIN Morteza Haj Mollamohammadi (Iran), 3-2

LOSS Huseyn Ismayilov (Azerbaijan), 1-1

WIN Marshall Jones (United Kingdom), tech fall, 11-0

LOSS Issa Zangiev (UWW), 10-4

LOSS Hakim Taghiyev (Azerbaijan), 7-6

45 kg – Keegan Bassett (United States) vs. Parsa Hossein Tahmasbi (Iran)

51 kg – Samuel Sanchez (United States) vs. Ulugbek Rashidov (Uzbekistan)

60 kg – Sitender (India) vs. Rihito Hiura (Japan)

71 kg – Jayden James (United States) vs. Arsham Vahabian Kandbon (Iran)

92 kg – David Dzebisov (UWW) vs. Amirali Abas Alizadeh (Iran)

Keegan Bassett (United States) dec. Ibragim Veliullov (UWW), 6-2

Parsa Hossein Tahmasbi (Iran) fall Mirjalol Mukammilov (Uzbekistan), 2:30

Samuel Sanchez (United States) tech. fall Danael Abdykassym (Kazakhstan), 10-0

Ulugbek Rashidov (Uzbekistan) tech. fall Haruku Shiina (Japan), 11-0

Sitender (India) dec. Bekassyl Assambek (Kazakhstan), 5-1

Rihito Hiura (Japan) dec. Nathan Gordon Nash (Canada), 5-3

Jayden James (United States) fall Yeghishe Mosesyan (Armenia), 3:38

Arsham Vahabian Kandbon (Iran) vs. Ayubjon Bozorzoda (Tajikistan), 8-6

David Dzebisov (UWW) dec. Beibarys Yergali (Kazakhstan), 9-0

Amirali Abas Alizadeh (Iran) tech. fall Elguja Lomidze (Georgia), 11-0

WIN Shivam (India), 8-5

WIN Bakdaulet Agabek (Kazakhstan), tech. fall, 15-4

WIN Ibragim Veliullov (UWW), 6-2

VS Parsa Hossein Tahmasbi (Iran)

WIN Georgi Spasov (Bulgaria), tech. fall, 10-0

WIN Bugra Kavak (Turkey), tech. fall, 13-2

WIN Temuri Tutarashvili (Georgia), tech. fall, 12-1

WIN Danael Abdykassym (Kazakhstan), tech. fall, 10-0

VS Ulugbek Rashidov (Uzbekistan)

LOSS Bekassyl Assambek (Kazakhstan), tech. fall, 10-0

WIN Koba Goguadze (Georgia), tech. fall, 12-2

WIN Rashad Veysalov (Azerbaijan), tech. fall, 13-2

WIN Farrukhbek Jumanazarov (Uzbekistan), 6-0

WIN Yeghishe Mosesyan (Armenia), fall, 3:38

VS Arsham Vahabian Kandbon (Iran)

LOSS Amirali Alizadeh (Iran), 11-4

VS Saruul Erdenetsogt (Mongolia)