Michael Rundell named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare

Michael Rundell (Oak Park, Ill./The Wrestling Academy) has been named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week, presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare, on July 30, 2025.

Rundell was a standout member of the U.S. Greco-Roman team to compete at the 2025 U17 World Championships being held at Ano Liossia Olympic Sports Hall in Athens, Greece. He posted a 3-1 record at 48 kg en route to a bronze medal.

His bronze medal match against Japan’s Kaisei Yamamoto was of particular note. Rundell overcame an early 6-0 deficit to win 12-6 and secure a podium finish. He also earned victories over Artem Kolos of Ukraine and Gurban Majnunov of Azerbaijan on his path to bronze.

Team USA finished the Greco-Roman portion of the U17 Worlds with a record three medals and 10^th place as a team. Joining Rundell with bronzes were Arseni Kikiniou at 65 kg and David Calkins Jr. at 92 kg.

Rundell was the runner-up to Ariah Mills at the U17 World Team Trials in Greco-Roman held earlier this year in Las Vegas. Mills also won the freestyle portion of the event, and elected to wrestle freestyle only in Athens, passing the Greco-Roman spot to Rundell, who clearly made the most of the opportunity.

Rundell was a champion in both styles at the 2024 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D., and has been a regular place winner at various USA Wrestling regional and national events.

USA Wrestling will provide ongoing coverage from the U17 World Championships on its social media platforms and TheMat.com. 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.

To nominate a wrestler for this honor please email the athlete's name, wrestling program, weekly accomplishments, and career accolades to communications@usawrestling.org.