Cortez, Bassett, Burton to U20 World semifinals, Fernandez, Brooks win in repechage

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – Nearly everything went the way of Team USA on Friday morning at the 2026 U20 World Championships. Three of four men’s freestyle group two wrestlers found a spot in the semifinals, and two U.S. women qualified for a bronze medal match.

Leading the way was two-time age-group World medalist Bo Bassett, who was a terror to the 65 kg bracket. Bassett earned first-period technical falls over Yeraly Askerbek of Kazakhstan and Haci Zade of Türkiye, plus a 41-second pin against 2022 U17 World bronze medalist Bashir Verdiyev of Azerbaijan. His semifinal opponent is Zalimkhan Umarov of Russia, in a match with major team race implications.

Also cruising to the semifinals in men’s freestyle group two were 2024 U20 World silver medalist (Greco-Roman) Isaiah Cortez at 57 kg and U20 Pan American champion Ryan Burton at 79 kg.

Cortez was sharp in round one, picking apart 2024 U17 Asian bronze medalist Chengtao Wang of China with a 13-2 technical fall. He backed it up with a sound 6-0 decision over Nurassyl Assambek of Kazakhstan. A critical semifinal looms against 2024 U17 World champion Ulugbek Rashidov of Uzbekistan.

It was a grind-it-out kind of morning for Burton, who pulled away in both matches with impressive second periods. He pinned Luka Margvelidze of Georgia in round one and earned a 3-1 decision over U20 Asian bronze medalist Aibek Kalyakhmet of Kazakhstan in his second bout. Burton is paired against current Senior Asian champion Keyvan Gharehdaghi of Japan in the semifinals—a major test for the first-time World Team member.

Going 1-1 in the morning session and still in the hunt for a repechage opportunity is Jimmy Mastny at 92 kg. Mastny began his day with a 6-3 decision over Grigor Chernakov of Bulgaria, before falling to 2023 U17 World champion Sandro Kurashvili of Georgia, in large part due to a four-point arm throw seconds into the match. A win by Kurashvili in the semifinals brings Mastny back into the tournament.

On the women’s freestyle side, three-time U17 World champion Taina Fernandez (68 kg) and two-time age-group World Team member Karlee Brooks (57 kg) won repechage bouts on Friday morning and put themselves in tonight’s bronze medal round alongside Caley Graber (59 kg), who booked her spot via a semifinal berth last night.

Fernandez earned a punishing 11-0 technical fall over Leah Samsonsen of Norway. Her constant forward pressure caused several errant shot attempts from Samsonsen, which Fernandez countered with ease. Her bronze medal match opponent is U20 European bronze medalist Evangeliia Berezhnova of Russia.

It was a closer contest for Brooks, who gutted through a 6-4 decision against three-time U20 African champion Chahd Jeljeli of Tunisia, in a match that came down to the wire. Brooks stands opposite U20 Asian champion Xinyu Wang of China for the bronze medal.

Graber’s bronze medal opponent was determined in this morning’s repechage—U20 Asian silver medalist Gundegmaa Enkhbaatar of Mongolia.

The evening session will conclude with the men’s freestyle group one medal matches. Two Americans will wrestle for gold—Aaron Seidel at 61 kg and Aeoden Sinclair at 86 kg.

Read More: U20 World Championships Day Six Match Notes

The action continues at 5 p.m. local time with the men’s freestyle group two (57-65-79-92 kg) semifinals, followed by the women’s freestyle group three (57-59-68 kg) and men’s freestyle group one (61-86 kg) 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.