Fifteen-man U.S. Greco-Roman roster receives draw for Hungary ranking series tournament

BUDAPEST, Hungary – The U.S. learned the path to gold for 15 Greco-Roman wrestlers on Thursday, setting the stage for the weekend’s 2026 Polyák Imre, Varga János & Kozma István Memorial Ranking Series event in Budapest, Hungary. Nine of the 15 U.S. 2026 World Team members are slated to compete.

Max Nowry, Dalton Roberts, Xavier Johnson, Otto Black, Benji Peak, Joel Adams, Beka Melelashvili, Timothy Young and Cohlton Schultz enter the weekend as members of the U.S. 2026 World Team.

Black and Adams open the U.S. Greco-Roman competition on Friday at 67 kg and 77 kg, respectively. Black and Adams are first-time World Team members after qualifying at the U.S. Open Championships in April.

Black begins his tournament in the round of 16 against Moldova’s Valentin Petic, who placed seventh at the 2024 Olympic Games and finished second at this event in 2025. On the opposite side of the 67 kg bracket sits Uzbekistan’s Aytjan Khalmakhanov, the 2025 World champion at 63 kg.

Adams draws Russia’s Danil Grigorev, the reigning U23 European champion, in his opening bout. The 77 kg Greco-Roman field is among the deepest of the tournament with 30 competitors. On the opposite side of Adams’ bracket is Hungary’s Robert Fritsch, who is ranked No. 1 in the latest United World Wrestling rankings.

Saturday will feature three U.S. wrestlers in action across two weight classes, 72 kg and 87 kg. Peak and Brett Back will begin their slates at 72 kg, with a potential meeting between them reserved for the semifinals. Peak opens against Georgia’s Mishiko Aleksandria, while Back faces India’s Anil in his tournament debut.

Melelashvili is the lone U.S. entrant at 87 kg and one of eight athletes in the qualification round of the 20-man bracket. He starts against Mohamed Dyap of Egypt, who won gold at the African Championships in April. The bracket also includes two of the world’s top three at 87 kg: No. 2 Asan Zhanyshov of Kyrgyzstan and No. 3 Milad Alirzaev of Russia.

Six Greco-Roman weight classes will be contetsted on Sunday, with Nowry and Brady Koontz at 55 kg; Roberts and Jace Koelzer at 60 kg; Johnson at 63 kg; Jesse Porter at 82 kg; Young and Arian Khosravy at 97 kg; and Schultz and Aden Attao at 130 kg.

Qualification rounds for the Greco-Roman brackets begin at 10:30 a.m. local time/4:30 a.m. ET Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The full schedule for the 2026 Polyák Imre, Varga János & Kozma István Memorial Ranking Series, including the complete roster and first-round matchups for the U.S. Greco-Roman team, is listed below.

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