Mesenbrink, Carr to face off at 74 kg in men’s freestyle at 2025 Final X in Newark, N.J.
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by Savannah Asmann, USA Wrestling
Age-group World Champions Mitchell Mesenbrink and David Carr are set to clash at 74 kg in men’s freestyle for a spot on the 2025 U.S. Senior World Team at Final X on Saturday, June 14, at Prudential Center.
Mesenbrink has rapidly risen through the ranks at 74 kg. His international resume includes three age-group World medals – 2024 U23 World bronze, 2023 U20 World gold, and 2022 U20 World silver.
Mesenbrink, a two-time U20 Pan American Champion, secured a spot on the 2024 Senior National Team after an impressive third-place performance at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. This past April in Las Vegas, Mesenbrink punched his ticket to Final X by winning the U.S. Open.
Carr is an accomplished competitor in his own right. He is a 2019 U20 World Champion, 2016 U17 World bronze medalist and a 2022 U23 World Team member. In February of this year, Carr earned a silver medal at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series event. Later that month, he defeated 2024 Olympic silver medalist Daichi Takatani of Japan in an exhibition match.
Collegiately, Carr is a two-time NCAA Champion (2021 and 2024) for Iowa State, and a three-time NCAA finalist. Mesenbrink won his first NCAA title this year for Penn State, and was a finalist in 2024.
This will be the third meeting between the two stars. Carr claimed the first win with a 9-8 victory over Mesenbrink in the 2024 NCAA finals at 165 pounds. Mesenbrink evened the score in April with a 16-6 technical fall win over Carr in the U.S. Open finals.
At the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament earlier this month in Louisville, Ky., Carr won the 74 kg title to set up a rematch of the U.S. Open finals and challenge Mesenbrink once again, this time for a Senior World Team berth at Final X.
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.
Both Mesenbrink and Carr will be making their Final X debut in June.
Carr competed in a true-third match at 2022 Final X in Stillwater, Okla. Mesenbrink has not competed at a prior Final X event.
Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit
Final X will serve as the Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit, the 15th 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.
Final X will be the first Beat the Streets event for both Mesenbrink and Carr.
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 give.btsny.org/2025FinalX. 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 2 p.m. (ET), will feature 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.
2025 Final X
June 14, Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.
Men’s Freestyle Matchups
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)
Women’s Freestyle Matchups
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)
