Ridge Lovett, Will Lewan advance to medal rounds at 2026 Polyák Imre, Varga János & Kozma István Memorial

BUDAPEST, Hungary – Ridge Lovett headlined the U.S. men’s freestyle contingent in session one of the 2026 Polyák Imre, Varga János & Kozma István Memorial on Wednesday in Budapest, Hungary, earning two wins to reach the 70 kg gold-medal match. Will Lewan pushed through the repechage to the 74 kg bronze-medal bout.

Lovett showcased his explosive style in the early rounds, capped by a semifinal pin over Azerbaijan’s Kanan Heybatov. He opened his day with a 9-4 victory over Iran’s Ebrahim Elahichouran in the quarterfinals, scoring five second-period points to pull away. In the semifinal, he jumped to a 6-0 lead on Heybatov before locking up a leg and headlock to turn him for the fall at 2:36.

Lewan battled through a rugged 74 kg field to stay alive for the bronze-medal match. He earned a 4-4 criteria win over Bahrain’s Magomedrasul Asluev in the round of 16, then dropped a 4-0 decision to Kazakhstan’s 2025 World bronze medalist Nurkozha Kaipanov in the quarterfinals. Pulled back into repechage, Lewan responded with a 7-5 decision over Kazakhstan’s Darkhan Yessengali to advance to the medal round.

At 65 kg, Beau Bartlett dropped a 5-2 decision to Georgia’s Nika Zakashvili in the round of 16.

Men’s freestyle medal matches are set for Wednesday’s second session, beginning at 6 p.m. local time/12 p.m. ET at BOK Hall. Lovett will face Georgia’s Akaki Kemertelidze for 70 kg gold, and Lewan will meet 2024 U23 World champion Muhammed Besir of Turkey for bronze at 74 kg.

A live stream of the Polyák Imre, Varga János & Kozma István Memorial will be available to the U.S. audience through FloWrestling. Brackets and updated results will be hosted on UWW Arena.