Squier defeats returning champion to make Greco-Roman bronze medal match

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – The U.S. earned a place in the Greco-Roman group one medal rounds after an inspiring performance from Aidan Squier in repechage at the 2026 U20 World Championships.

Squier rebounded from a round one loss to 2025 Senior World bronze medalist Taizo Yoshida of Japan to win two straight repechage matches on Monday morning over credentialed opponents and book a place in the 87 kg bronze medal match.

First out of the gate for Team USA, Squier scored a 10-2 technical fall over 2026 U20 European bronze medalist Vladyslav Solodchuk of Ukraine. He backed it up with a 6-4 decision over returning U20 World champion Luka Kochalidze of Georgia. Timely four-point takedowns were pivotal in both wins, including a high dive to the back with six seconds left to steal the match from Kochalidze.

His opponent this evening is Gabriel Stan of Romania, who is a 2023 U17 World bronze medalist and fifth-place finisher at this year’s U20 European Championships.

Returning fifth-place finisher Leister Bowling IV went 1-1 during the repechage round, coming up one win shy of a bronze medal match at 77 kg. A four-point head-pinch in the final minute propelled Bowling to a 9-4 win over 2023 U20 African bronze medalist Mohamed Ibrahim of Egypt. In his second repechage match, Bowling IV traded passivity points with Zalan Toplak of Hungary, losing on criteria, 1-1.

The four athletes in Greco-Roman group two—Ezekiel Witt at 55 kg, Amryn Nutter at 67 kg, Eli Esguerra at 72 kg and Cittadino Tuttle at 97 kg—were unable to capture a win in preliminary action. Witt, Nutter and Esguerra are still in the mix for a repechage match entering tonight’s semifinals. Tuttle has been eliminated from medal contention.

Read More: U20 World Championships Day Two Match Notes

The action continues from A4 Studio at 5 p.m. local time with the Greco-Roman group two semifinals, followed by the Greco-Roman group one medal matches at 6 p.m. 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.