Squier battles back to bronze, first U.S. medal at U20 World Championships

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – Team USA is on the board—cardiac kid Aidan Squier pulled off a dramatic second-period comeback in the Greco-Roman 87 kg bronze medal match on Monday night at the 2026 U20 World Championships.

After giving up a 6-0 first-period lead to 2017 U17 World bronze medalist Gabriel Stan of Romania, Squier went to work. He secured a critical four-point, over-under body lock toss going off the mat to cut into Stan’s lead. A passivity point and lift out of bounds for Squier tied the match, 6-6, which held to the finish.

The win over Stan was Squier’s third of the day. After dropping a 10-2 match to eventual champion Taizo Yoshida of Japan on Sunday, Squier picked up a pair of repechage wins on Monday morning, most notably a 6-4, come-from-behind, stunner over returning U20 World champion Luka Kochalidze of Georgia.

Squier is the first medalist for the United States at the U20 World Championships this week and is the first Greco-Roman medalist since 2024, when three Americans made the podium (Isaiah Cortez, Otto Black, Aden Attao).

Earning team points with a top-10 finish was Leister Bowling IV, who came in 10^th place at 77 kg with a 1-2 record. Bowling IV’s two losses were close contests against eventual gold medalist Samvel Terteryan of Armenia and eventual bronze medalist Zalan Toplak of Hungary. It was Bowling IV’s second U20 Worlds appearance—he finished in fifth place last year.

Greco-Roman group one athletes Nicholas Sorrow (63 kg) and Trayvn Boger (130 kg) finished outside the top 10 in their weight classes, each man going 0-1.

With the team points from Greco-Roman group one on the books, Team USA sits in 10^th place overall with 17 points. Armenia and Russia are tied atop the team ranking with 51 points apiece. Iran is close behind with 49 points to its credit.

Read More: U20 World Championships Day Two Match Notes

The action continues from A4 Studio at 10 a.m. local time with the Greco-Roman group two (55-67-72-97 kg) repechage, plus the Greco-Roman group three (60-82 kg) and women’s freestyle group one (50-53-72 kg) qualification rounds. Bratislava, Slovakia, is six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time.

Fans can watch the U20 World Championships live or on-demand at FloWrestling.org. Brackets and live results are available through UWW Arena.

USA Wrestling will provide continued updates from the U20 World Championships on TheMat.com and its social media platforms.

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1. Armenia, 51

2. Russia, 51

3. Iran, 49

4. Georgia, 43

5. Hungary, 41

6. Japan, 37

7. Azerbaijan, 35

8. Uzbekistan, 29

9. Ukraine, 21

10. United States, 17

Gold – Kuvonchbek Ismoilov (Uzbekistan)

Silver – Salim Kazmakhov (Russia)

Bronze – Tural Ahmadov (Azerbaijan)

Bronze – Ali Gharibi (Iran)

5^th – Clisman Carracedo Veliz (Ecuador)

5^th – Giorgi Tchikaidze (Georgia)

7^th – Matias Arpiainen (Finland)

8^th – Aleks Margaryan (Armenia)

9^th – Taiga Hibarino (Japan)

10^th – Levente Fige (Hungary)

Gold – Kuvonchbek Ismoilov (Uzbekistan) dec. Salim Kazmakhov (Russia), 9-7

Bronze – Tural Ahmadov (Azerbaijan) dec. Clisman Carracedo Veliz (Ecuador), 2-1

Bronze – Ali Gharibi (Iran) dec. Giorgi Tchikaidze (Georgia), 1-1

Gold – Samvel Terteryan (Armenia)

Silver – Javidan Nahmatov (Azerbaijan)

Bronze – Amir Saeidi Nava (Iran)

Bronze – Zalan Toplak (Hungary)

5^th – Yerkebulan Anapiya (Kazakhstan)

5^th – Giorgi Gogelashvili (Georgia)

7^th – Dheeraj Malik (India)

8^th – Nestor Baran (Ukraine)

9^th – Ogabek Askaraliev (Uzbekistan)

10^th – Leister Bowling IV (United States)

Gold – Samvel Terteryan (Armenia) dec. Javidan Nahmatov (Azerbaijan), 1-1

Bronze – Amir Saeidi Nava (Iran) dec. Yerkebulan Anapiya (Kazakhstan), 5-3

Bronze – Zalan Toplak (Hungary) tech. fall Giorgi Gogelashvili (Georgia), 10-2

Gold – Taizo Yoshida (Japan)

Silver – Iurik Petrosian (Armenia)

Bronze – Amirhossein Nematzadeh (Iran)

Bronze – Aidan Squier (United States)

5^th – Paul Maier (Austria)

5^th – Gabriel Stan (Romania)

7^th – Luka Kochalidze (Georgia)

8^th – Manvel Arutiunian (Russia)

9^th – Zalan Varga (Hungary)

10^th – Akhil (India)

Gold – Taizo Yoshida (Japan) tech. fall Iurik Petrosian (Armenia), 8-0

Bronze – Amirhossein Nematzadeh (Iran) forfeit Paul Maier (Austria)

Bronze – Aidan Squier (United States) dec. Gabriel Stan (Romania), 6-6

Gold – Ali Iliasov (Russia)

Silver – Koppany Laszlo (Hungary)

Bronze – Ivan Yankovskyi (Ukraine)

Bronze – Saba Purtseladze (Georgia)

5^th – Cemal Bakir (Türkiye)

5^th – Essam Hussein (Egypt)

7^th – Kosei Miyake (Japan)

8^th – Alan Dzabiev (Bulgaria)

9^th – Amirhossein Abdevali (Iran)

10^th – Chengmao Cui (China)

Gold – Ali Iliasov (Russia) tech. fall Koppany Laszlo (Hungary), 8-0

Bronze – Ivan Yankovskyi (Ukraine) dec. Cemal Bakir (Türkiye), 4-1

Bronze – Saba Purtseladze (Georgia) tech. fall Essam Hussein (Egypt), 9-0

LOSS Taiga Hibarino (Japan), 10-5

LOSS Samvel Terteryan (Armenia), 6-0

WIN Mohamed Ibrahim (Egypt), 9-4

LOSS Zalan Toplak (Hungary), 1-1

LOSS Taizo Yoshida (Japan), tech. fall, 10-2

WIN Vladyslav Solodchuk (Ukraine), tech. fall, 10-2

WIN Luka Kochalidze (Georgia), 6-4

WIN Gabriel Stan (Romania), 6-6

LOSS Amirhossein Abdevali (Iran), tech. fall, 9-1