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

Payton Jacobson (Marquette, Mich./NMU National Training Center/New York AC) has been named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week, presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare, on October 22, 2025.

Jacobson impressed on his way to the 87 kg Greco-Roman bronze medal at the 2025 U23 World Championships held in Novi Sad, Serbia. The Elkhorn, Wis., native became just the second American to win a U23 World medal in Greco-Roman dating back to the inaugural 2017 tournament. Beka Melelashvili, Jacobson’s teammate in Novi Sad, was the first to medal at the U23 level after finishing with a silver last year in Tirana, Albania.

Jacobson posted a 4-1 record during his bronze medal run. He scored dynamic wins over Rohit Bura of India, Gabriel Lupasco of Moldova and Zaur Shangereev of UWW in the preliminary rounds, controlling all three matches with terrific pace and excellent par terre. He was upended 9-0 by Gholamreza Farokhisenjani of Iran, the reigning Senior World champion at 82 kg, in the semifinals, before taking a thrilling 5-3 victory over Lachin Valiyev of Azerbaijan in the bronze medal match.

The medal win is Jacobson’s first in his promising, young Greco-Roman career. Prior to Novi Sad, Jacobson has competed for Team USA at the 2020 Olympic Games, 2025 Senior World Championships and three age-group World Championships. In 2025, Jacobson won his first Senior Pan American title, as well as a gold medal at the Junior Pan American Games.

He currently attends Northern Michigan University and is a critical member if NMU’s Greco-Roman program lead by two-time World bronze medalist Andy Bisek.

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