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

Luke Lilledahl (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) has been named USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week, presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare, on October 30, 2025.

Lilledahl secured the 57 kg men’s freestyle gold medal at the 2025 U23 World Championships held at SPENS in Novi Sad, Serbia. He recorded a 4-0 record with wins over Honghang Liao of China, Milad Valizadeh of Iran, Aiandai Ondar of UWW and Yuta Kikuchi of Japan on his way to gold.

In the gold medal match, Lilledahl forced Kikuchi to go on the shot clock twice, taking a 2-0 lead into the back half of the contest. Lilledahl iced things with a single leg score going off the mat in the final minute to get the 4-0 win.

The gold medal effort in Novi Sad gave Lilledahl, who is 20 years old, his third age-group World title and fifth age-group World medal. It also helped propel the U.S. to first place in the men’s freestyle team ranking at the event. Lilledahl is the first in U.S. history to claim a U17, U20 and U23 World title in men’s freestyle.

In 2025, Lilledahl was a U23 Pan American champion, Budapest Ranking Series champion, U.S. Open champion and Final X runner-up, becoming a U.S. Senior National Team member.

Lilledahl is a sophomore at Penn State University under head coach Cael Sanderson. He was Big Ten Champion and took third place at the NCAA Championships as a true freshman at 125 pounds last season for the Nittany Lions.

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