Returning finalists Cortez, Black spearhead U.S. Greco-Roman team at U20 World Championships

The U.S. will send a deep Greco-Roman squad to the 2025 U20 World Championships being held August 17-24 in Samokov, Bulgaria. A pair of athletes return as silver medalists, while four others have appeared at prior age-group World Championships, giving Team USA strong experience heading into next week’s showcase event.

Half of last year’s Greco-Roman team is back, led by U20 World silver medalists Isaiah Cortez at 60 kg and Otto Black at 67 kg. Both made a mark on the Senior level this year, Cortez finishing in fourth place at the U.S. Open, while Black finished as runner-up to qualify for the U.S. National Team. Black has posted stellar results on the international scene with medal wins at the Arvo Haavisto Cup, Haparanda Cup and Bill Farrell Memorial International the past two seasons. Both men are expected to be strong contenders to get back on the podium.

After a breakout gold medal performance at the 2022 U17 World Championships, Nebraska native Joel Adams has come up short of the medal stand at the last two U20 Worlds. Adams, who will compete at 72 kg, has been earmarked for years as one of the future staples in U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling. A third opportunity to grab that elusive U20 World medal awaits one of the most electrifying wrestlers in the field.

Two others join Cortez, Black and Adams from last year’s U20 World Team—Arvin Khosravy at 82 kg and Soren Herzog at 97 kg. Khosravy has taken part in the U17 and U20 World Championships but hasn’t broken through to the medal stand. He was a U20 Pan American champion in 2023. Herzog jumped levels to make last year’s team and is primed for another jump come Bulgaria.

Colorado native Landon Drury returns to the U20 World lineup at 63 kg after finishing in fifth place in 2023 and narrowly missing out on the team last year.

Athletes taking the World stage for the first time include Caleb Noble at 55 kg, Leister Bowling IV at 77 kg, Nick Nosler at 87 kg and Shilo Jones at 130 kg. Bowling IV, Nosler and Jones were gold medalists at the 2025 U20 Pan American Championships.

The U.S. Greco-Roman team for the U20 World Championships was determined at the U20 World Team Trials held at Spire Academy in Geneva, Ohio. Each champion from the Trials earned a berth on the U20 World Team.

Nine-of-ten team members are tied to college programs. Drury and Black train Greco-Roman full-time at Northern Michigan University. Two athletes represent service academies—Khosravy competes for Army West Point and Herzog the U.S. Air Force Academy. Five more NCAA programs are represented—Cortez at Cornell, Adams at Oregon State, Bowling IV at Iowa, Nosler at SIU Edwardsville and Jones at North Dakota State.

The U.S. finished in sixth place as a team in the Greco-Roman division at the 2024 U20 World Championships with 65 total team points and three medalists. With the core group back from last year’s team, a push for the team podium is the expectation.

Greco-Roman is the third and final style to take the mats at Arena Samakov. Athletes will compete in three waves over the course of the event—group one (60-82 kg) starting August 21, group two (55-67-72-97 kg) on August 22 and group three (63-77-87-130 kg) on August 23. Each bracket will be contested over a two-day stretch, running through semifinals on day one, followed by repechage and medal matches on day two.

Those seeking to follow along in real time can reference the event schedule below. Samokov, Bulgaria, is in the GMT +3 time zone, which is seven hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time. USA Wrestling will provide regular updates on TheMat.com and its social media platforms throughout the event.

The U20 World Championships will be live streamed on FloWrestling.com to the U.S. market. Brackets and updated results will be provided by United World Wrestling on UWW Arena.