Snyder, Zillmer to meet at 97 kg in men’s freestyle at 2025 Final X in Newark, N.J.

Olympic champion Kyle Snyder battles 2022 Senior World Team member Hayden Zillmer at 97 kg in men’s freestyle at 2025 Final X on Saturday, June 14, at Prudential Center.

Snyder, a two-time Olympic medalist with gold in 2016 and silver in 2020, has been Team USA’s cornerstone at 97 kg for nearly a decade. He is a seven-time World medalist, with titles in 2015, 2017, and 2022, and has medaled in four of the past five Senior World Championships. He also took fifth place at the 2024 Olympics.

In April, Snyder won the U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nev., to lock up his spot at Final X, marking his fifth appearance at a Final X event.

Zillmer spent the past four years at 125 kg, where he made the 2022 World Team and finished as runner-up at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. He earned bronze at the 2025 Zagreb Open in Zagreb, Croatia, and placed fourth at the U.S. Open in April before moving down to 97 kg.

Zillmer won the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in May in Louisville, Ky., setting up a Final X matchup against Snyder. Zillmer last competed internationally at 97 kg in 2021, winning bronze at the Matteo Pellicone in Rome, Italy, and placed third at the 2020 Senior Nationals at 97 kg domestically.

The pair have only met once, in the semifinals of the 2019 Bill Farrell Memorial International in New York City. Snyder dominated with an 11-0 technical fall at 3:22.

What’s at stake? 

Final X will determine the 2025 U.S. World Team in two international disciplines—men’s freestyle and women’s freestyle. In total, 20 weight classes will be contested, 10 in each discipline. The top two U.S. athletes in each weight classes will wrestle a best-of-three series at Final X to determine the U.S. representative at the 2025 Senior World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.

This is the fifth Final X event for Snyder, who holds a 4-0 record. Snyder most recently was featured at 2023 Final X, where he won in two matches following 2016 Olympic bronze medalist and two-time World champion J’den Cox’s late injury forfeit. In 2022, Snyder defeated Kollin Moore in two matches, 11-0 and 12-2. Snyder has twice faced Kyven Gadsen at Final X, in 2018 and 2019. He bested Gadson in two matches in 2019, a 4-0 decision in round one and a 12-1 technical fall in round two, and secured two decisions in 2018, 9-0 and 10-2.

Zillmer has competed in two Final X events prior to this year’s battle with Snyder. In 2022, he secured his first Senior World Team berth with a three-round victory over Nick Gwiazdowski. Round one went to Gwiazdowski, 5-0. Zillmer rallied in round two, winning 4-3 to force a third match. Zillmer won the series with a 5-5 criteria decision in round three. At Final X 2018, Zillmer dropped two matches at 92 kg to Cox, 5-2 and 10-0.

Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit 

Final X will serve as the Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit, the 15^th BTSNY Annual Benefit to date. These unique electrifying events help BTSNY raise more than $1 million each year to support local youth wrestling programs which empower young people in New York City. The BTSNY Annual Benefit after-party will follow the conclusion of Final X.

Snyder has competed in six Beat the Streets events prior to this year’s Final X. He made his Beat the Streets event debut in 2014, falling to 2004 Olympic champion and five-time Senior World champion Khadjimurat Gatsalov of Russia, 6-3. Snyder secured a victory in 2015 over two-time Olympian Javier Cortina Lacerra of Cuba, 4-0.

In 2017, he defeated Koki Yamamoto of Japan, 10-0, and won a 9-8 decision over three-time World medalist Reineris Salas Perez of Cuba in 2018. Snyder defeated eight-time age-group and Senior World Team member Nishan Randhawa of Canada, 14-1, in 2019. His last Beat the Streets event was in 2023, also held at Prudential Center, against Cox.

This is the second Beat the Streets event for Zillmer, who defeated Gwiazdowski in three matches at 2022 Final X: NYC at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Get Tickets 

Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages (Final X plus exclusive after party celebration access), that also provide the best wrestling-event seats, are available at btsny.org. Proceeds from Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages will directly help BTSNY serve NYC youth. For more information on ticket packages, email BTSNY Executive Director Brendan Buckley at bbuckley@btsny.org. 

Event-only tickets for Final X without access to the BTSNY after-party celebration are available on Ticketmaster.

Follow Final X 

FloWrestling will serve as the host broadcast partner for Final X. Fans can watch the event live or on-demand at FloWrestling.com.

Online results for Final X will be available on USA Bracketing, USA Wrestling’s new best-in-class event management software.

Final X will be held in two sessions on Saturday, June 14. Session I, which starts at 12:30 p.m. (ET), will feature U.S. National Team true-third matches, followed by round one in each best-of-three series. Session II, which starts at 5 p.m. (ET), will continue with round two and if-necessary round three matches. Match order for each session will be provided at a later date.

For more information about Final X, please visit themat.com.

57 kg – Spencer Lee (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Luke Lilledahl (Saint Charles, Mo./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

61 kg – Vito Arujau (Ithaca, N.Y./Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Jax Forrest (Johnstown, Pa./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

65 kg – Joseph McKenna (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Real Woods (Ann Arbor, Mich./Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC)

70 kg – Yianni Diakomihalis (Rochester, N.Y./Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. PJ Duke (Slate Hill, N.Y./KD Training Center/Titan Mercury WC)

74 kg – Mitchell Mesenbrink (Bellefonte, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. David Carr (Ames, Iowa/Cyclone RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

79 kg – Evan Wick (San Gabriel, Calif./Askren Wrestling Academy/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Levi Haines (Arendtsville, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

86 kg – Zahid Valencia (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Kyle Dake (Port Matilda, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

92 kg – Trent Hidlay (Raleigh, N.C./Wolfpack WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Joshua Barr (Davison, Mich./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

97 kg – Kyle Snyder (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Hayden Zillmer (Deerwood, Minn./Gopher WC)

125 kg – Wyatt Hendrickson (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/U.S. Air Force WCAP) vs. Trent Hillger (Minneapolis, Minn./Gopher WC)

50 kg – Audrey Jimenez (Bethlehem, Pa./Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Erin Golston (Denton, Texas/New York AC)

53 kg – Brianna Gonzalez (Baldwin, Calif./Iowa Women's WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Felicity Taylor (Coralville, Iowa/Titan Mercury WC)

55 kg – Cristelle Rodriguez (Fresno, Calif./Tiger WC) vs. Everest Leydecker (Phoenix, Ariz./Thorobred WC)

57 kg – Helen Maroulis (Rockville, Md./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Amanda Martinez (Riverside, Ill./Cardinal WC/Titan Mercury WC)

59 kg – Abigail Nette (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) vs. Jacarra Winchester (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)

62 kg – Kayla Miracle (Phoenix, Ariz./Valiant WC) vs. Adaugo Nwachukwu (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP)

65 kg – Macey Kilty (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa Women’s WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Aine Drury (Westminster, Calif./New York AC)

68 kg – Kennedy Blades (Tiffin, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Brooklyn Hays (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)

72 kg – Alexandria Glaude (Atherton, Calif./Beaver Dam RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Amit Elor (Walnut Creek, Calif./Titan Mercury WC)

76 kg – Kylie Welker (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa Women's WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Dymond Guilford (Lancaster, Calif./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)

57 kg – Liam Cronin (Lincoln, Neb./Nebraska WTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Nico Provo (Stratford, Conn./California RTC)

65 kg – Marcus Blaze (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Brock Hardy (Brigham City, Utah/Nebraska WTC/Titan Mercury WC)

70 kg – Ian Parker (Charlottesville, Va./Cavalier WC) vs. Bryce Andonian (Kirtland, Ohio/Southeast RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

74 kg – Jarrett Jacques (Columbia, Mo./Tiger Style WC) vs. Joseph Blaze (Perrysburg, Ohio/Boilermaker RTC)

86 kg – Parker Keckeisen (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Panther WC-RTC) vs. Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

50 kg – Anaya Falcon (Yorba Linda, Calif./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Kendra Ryan (Naperville, Ill./Cardinal WC)

53 kg – Sage Mortimer (Allendale, Mich./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Sydney Petzinger (Parsippany, N.J./Cardinal WC)

59 kg – Alexis Janiak (Plainfield, Ill./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Humble, Texas/Rise RTC)

62 kg – Alara Boyd (Muncie, Ind./Cardinal WC) vs. SaVannah Cosme (Denver, Colo./Atreus WC)

65 kg – Jennifer Page (Bellefonte, Pa./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Bella Mir (Las Vegas, Nev./Cardinal WC)

68 kg – Latifah McBryde (Buffalo, N.Y./Life) vs. Solin Piearcy (San Jose, Calif./Titan Mercury WC)

72 kg – Kaylynn Albrecht (Fort Worth, Texas/USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Skylar Grote (Newton, N.J./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)