Cortez twins kick off finals with back-to-back U.S. Open titles, Bo Bassett named OW of U20 Men’s Freestyle competition

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The final day of the 2026 U.S. Open Championships delivered 10 worthy winners in the U20 men’s freestyle division.

From athletes doubling up after wrestling Seniors the two days prior, to brothers doubling up at back-to-back weight classes – there was no shortage of storylines on Sunday afternoon at The Expo at World Market Center.

And in a sport famous for its siblings, it was only fitting that the session began with a pair of champions from the same family – Isaiah (57 kg) and Elijah Cortez (61 kg).

Repping Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC, the duo won their finals by 4-1 and 10-0 scorelines, respectively.

Isaiah – a two-time U20 Greco-Roman World teamer (winning silver in 2024) – defeated U17 World medalists in both his semi and final, first taking out two-time World champion Samuel Sanchez before topping returning bronze medalist Grey Burnett.

As for Elijah, a 10-0 tech fall of Northern Iowa commit Dean Anderson capped a championship run for the (slightly) larger twin.

Meanwhile, the most thrilling finals of the bunch both came from the upper weights.

At 92 kg, Jimmy Mastny (Relentless Training Center) emerged from an absolute firefight with Lincoln Jipp as a 15-14 victor.

Mastny led 5-0 at the break, then the two competitors proceeded to tally a combined 24 points and three lead changes over the final three minutes – the last of which gave Mastny the deciding score with just four seconds remaining.

Two weights later, fans saw another edition of a future Big 12 rivalry, as high school seniors Coby Merrill (committed to Iowa State) and Dreshaun Ross (committed to Oklahoma State) staged a dramatic finale at 125 kg.

Ross had defeated Merrill (New York AC), 3-2 and 2-2, during last year’s summer freestyle season, but this time it was Merrill who came out on top, 8-6 – building a six-point lead with his punishing, ground-taking style before holding off a late charge from Ross that brought the crowd to its feet.

Just to reach the final, Merrill had to beat U17 World champion Michael Mocco. And two days earlier, he was busy knocking off 2024 Olympian Mason Parris as part of the Senior men’s freestyle division.

(Not a bad weekend for the future Cyclone.)

Like Merrill, Bo Bassett (Titan Mercury WC) was also double entered at the U.S. Open. And just as he did on Saturday night with a 65 kg Senior division title, the young phenom backed it up with another dominant performance less than 24 hours later.

Bassett’s 14-4 tech fall win over Kellen Wolbert spanned barely two minutes – with his customary pace and point-scoring prowess proving to be too much for foes of all ages this week.

The soon-to-be Virginia Tech Hokie earned the Outstanding Wrestler award – outscoring his seven U20 opponents by a combined margin of 81-8.

And a third workaholic also took top honors in the U20 finals, as Aeoden Sinclair (Tiger Style RTC/Titan Mercury WC) paired an 86 kg title with his third-place finish from the Senior division – defeating fellow NCAA All-American Brock Mantanona in a controlled 9-0 final.

Speaking of NCAA All-Americans, a recent national champion added a U.S. Open crown to his trophy case at 70 kg.

Landon Robideau (Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) was the man in question, prevailing 8-2 in a matchup between an Oklahoma State Cowboy and a Missouri Tiger – Seth Mendoza.

One dominant decision was followed by another, as U17 World champion Jayden James (KD Training/Titan Mercury WC) defeated future Michigan Wolverine Haakon Peterson, 9-1.

Ironically, both James/Peterson reached the final courtesy of 10-0 tech falls of a Cassioppi – fellow semifinalists (and twins) Rocco and Bruno.

At 79 kg, Ryan Burton (SERTC/Titan Mercury WC) stood tallest among the field.

A freshman at Virginia Tech, Burton scored the last five points of a 9-4 decision after the break – and in so doing turned the tables on another young collegian, Penn State’s Asher Cunningham.

And finally, future Ohio State Buckeye Michael Boyle (Ohio Crazy Goats) got the better of current North Carolina Tar Heel Robert Platt – featuring a second-period flurry that turned a 2-2 nailbiter into an 11-2 runaway at 97 kg.

The 10 U.S. Open champions now determined, each sits in the catbird seat to make the 2026 U20 World Team.

They’ll await whoever emerges from the U20 World Team Trials next month in Geneva, Ohio (May 28-31) – wrestling them in a best-of-three series at the conclusion of the tournament.

Archived matches from the 2026 U.S. Open Championships are available on FloWrestling.

Match-by-match results and brackets are available through USA Bracketing.