U23 World Championships team to compete October 20-26 in Novi Sad, Serbia, set in all three styles
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by SJ Asmann, USA Wrestling
Jayden Raney (left), Kennedy Blades (center), and Marcus Blaze (right).
The 2025 U23 World Team has been finalized in all three styles ahead of competition in Novi Sad, Serbia, October 20-26. Competition begins October 20, with Greco-Roman action. Women’s freestyle is slated to start on October 22, and men’s freestyle will begin on October 24.
In Greco-Roman, World Team members Jayden Raney (55 kg), Max Black (60 kg), Beka Melelashvili (82 kg), and Payton Jacobson (87 kg) have all committed to representing Team USA in October. Melelashvili secured silver at the 2024 U23 World Championships, and all four will compete at the Senior World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, in September.
Four Senior National Team athletes elected to compete in Serbia: Kaden Ercanbrack (63 kg), Otto Black (67 kg), Aliaksandr ‘Sasha’ Kikiniou (72 kg), and Aden Attao (130 kg). Black and Attao enter with age-group World experience, as Black is a 2024 U20 World silver medalist, and Attao is a two-time U20 World bronze medalist.
The final two spots on the Greco-Roman World Team are U23 Nationals champions Aydin Rix McElhinney (77 kg) and Max Ramberg (97 kg). Rix McElhinney competed at the 2024 U20 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain. Ramberg, a 2022 Junior Nationals champion in Greco-Roman, makes his international debut in Serbia.
Women’s freestyle features a strong contingent of Senior World Teamers, led by Audrey Jimenez (50 kg), Cristelle Rodriguez (55 kg), Adaugo Nwachukwu (62 kg), Kennedy Blades (68 kg), and Kylie Welker (76 kg). Rodriguez and Alexis Janiak (59 kg) are both Senior National Team members who claimed U23 Nationals titles in April.
Blades is a 2024 Olympic silver medalist at 76 kg, while Welker won the U23 World title in 2024.
Final X runner-up Brianna Gonzalez (53 kg) claimed a spot on the U23 World Team. Champions rounding out the squad are Cecelia Williams (57 kg), Isabella Mir (65 kg), and Jasmine Robinson (72 kg). Robinson is a two-time age-group World Medalist, winning gold at the 2024 U20 World Championships and bronze at the 2023 U17 World Championships.
A pair of Senior World Team members anchor the men’s freestyle lineup, PJ Duke (70 kg) and Levi Haines (79 kg). National Team athletes Luke Lilledahl (57 kg), Jax Forrest (61 kg), Marcus Blaze (65 kg), Mitchell Mesenbrink (74 kg), and Josh Barr (92 kg) add skill and depth to the group.
Duke is a 2024 U20 World bronze medalist; Lilledahl is a two-time age-group World champion; Forrest earned silver at the 2022 U17 World Championships; Blaze won gold at the 2023 U17 World Championships; Mesenbrink is a three-time age-group World medalist, including U20 gold in 2023; and Barr is a 2024 U20 World silver medalist.
The team is rounded out by U23 Nationals champions Rocco Welsh (86 kg), Garavous Kouekabakilaho (97 kg), and Daniel Herrera (125 kg). In February, Welsh earned bronze at the Zagreb Open Ranking Event at the senior level.
The 2025 U23 World Championships begin on October 20, in Novi Sad, Serbia. For more information, including the full schedule, visit uww.org.
U23 World Championships | Novi Sad, Serbia | October 20-26
U.S. World Team Roster #
Greco-Roman
55 kg – Jayden Raney (Sturgis, Ky./Union County WC)
60 kg – Max Black (Castle Rock, Colo./NMU-National Training Center)
63 kg – Kaden Ercanbrack (Marquette, Mich./NMU-National Training Center)
67 kg – Otto Black (Parker, Colo./Colorado Top Team Wrestling Club)
72 kg – Aliaksandr ‘Sasha’ Kikiniou (Escondido, Calif./Poway HS Wrestling)
77 kg – Aydin Rix McElhinney (South Berwick, Maine/Northern Colorado WC)
82 kg – Beka Melelashvili (Philadelphia, Pa./Conestoga Youth Wrestling)
87 kg – Payton Jacobson (Marquette, Mich./NMU-National Training Center)
97 kg – Max Ramberg (Baldwin, Wis./Viking RTC)
130 kg – Aden Attao (Boise, Idaho/Beaver Dam Wrestling RTC)
Coach – Herb House (Castle Rock, Colo.)
Coach – Nate Engel (Albany, Ore.)
Coach – Joe Warren (Monument, Colo.)
Women’s freestyle
50 kg – Audrey Jimenez (Bethlehem, Pa./Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
53 kg – Brianna Gonzalez (Baldwin, Calif./Iowa Women’s WC/Titan Mercury WC)
55 kg – Cristelle Rodriguez (Crete, Neb./Tiger WC/Titan Mercury WC)
57 kg – Cecilia Williams (Lansing, Mich./Michigan Revolution WC)
59 kg – Alexis Janiak (Plainfield, Ill./Titan Mercury WC)
62 kg – Adaugo Nwachukwu (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP)
65 kg – Isabella Mir (Las Vegas, Nev./Cardinal WC)
68 kg – Kennedy Blades (Chicago, Ill./Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)
72 kg – Jasmine Robinson (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP)
76 kg – Kylie Welker (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa Women’s Wrestling Club/Titan Mercury WC)
Coach – Tonya Verbeek (Iowa City, Iowa)
Men’s freestyle
57 kg – Luke Lilledahl (St. Charles, Mo./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
61 kg – Jax Forrest (Johnstown, Pa./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
65 kg – Marcus Blaze (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg WC/Titan Mercury WC)
70 kg – PJ Duke (Slate Hill, N.Y./KD Training Center)
74 kg – Mitchell Mesenbrink (Bellefonte, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
79 kg – Levi Haines (Arendtsville, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
86 kg – Rocco Welsh (Fredericktown, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
92 kg – Josh Barr (Davison, Mich./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
97 kg – Garavous Kouekabakilaho (San Diego, Calif./Viking WC)
125 kg – Daniel Herrera (Ames, Iowa/Cyclone RTC)
Coach – Joe Russell (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Coach – Abdur Numeri
