Snyder, Buchanan Battle at 97 kg in Men’s Freestyle at 2026 Final X, presented by Kerberos Capital Management

Reigning World champion Kyle Snyder takes on international newcomer Stephen Buchanan for the 97 kg men’s freestyle spot on the 2026 U.S. Senior World Team. The two square off on June 19 at 2026 Final X, presented by Kerberos Capital Management at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Snyder’s fourth career World title in 2025 guaranteed his spot at Final X. The international stalwart only allowed three total points across his four matches last September in Zagreb, Croatia. For gold, Snyder avenged his 4-1 loss in a 2024 Olympic Games bronze-medal match to Amirali Azarpira of Iran with a 4-2 win.

Throughout his international career, Snyder has competed at three Olympics, securing gold in 2016 and silver in 2020. Snyder has collected a medal in each of his eight World Championships appearances with four golds, two silvers and two bronzes. He has also won two U20 World medals, with gold in 2013 and bronze in 2014.

Buchanan earned his spot at Final X after going 4-0 to claim the 97 kg title at the U.S. Open Championships. In his first three matches in Las Vegas, he notched a pair of technical falls and a pin. In the finals, Buchanan edged 2022 World Team member Hayden Zillmer in a 5-3 decision.

Buchanan has impressed in his first year of Senior international competition with three medals in as many events. He first won gold at the Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France, then claimed the Zagreb Open Ranking Series crown. Most recently, Buchanan earned silver at the 2026 Pan American Championships in Coralville, Iowa.

Snyder won three NCAA titles for Ohio State and reached the NCAA finals four times. Buchanan claimed the 2025 NCAA title for Iowa and earned NCAA All-American honors four times across three programs: twice at Iowa and once each at Wyoming and Oklahoma.

Final X will be the first matchup between Snyder and Buchanan.

Final X will determine the 2026 U.S. World Team in two international disciplines—men’s freestyle and women’s freestyle. In total, 20 weight classes will be contested, 10 in each discipline. The top two U.S. athletes in each weight class will wrestle a best-of-three series at Final X to determine the U.S. representative at the 2026 Senior World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Snyder is a perfect 10-0 across five Final X appearances. His first four wins came against Kyven Gadson in 2018 and 2019. In Snyder's Final X debut, he swept Gadson, 9-2 and 10-2, then won the rematch, 4-0 and 12-1. At 2022 Final X – Stillwater, Snyder took two matches from two-time age-group World medalist Kollin Moore by technical fall, 11-0 and 12-2. Against six-time World and Olympic medalist J’den Cox in 2023, Cox injury defaulted in the series and Snyder earned the World Team spot. Last year, Snyder won 8-2 and 8-0 against Zillmer.

2026 Final X will be Buchanan’s first appearance.

Final X will serve as the Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit, the 16th BTSNY Annual Benefit to date. These unique electrifying events help BTSNY raise more than $1 million each year to support local youth wrestling programs, which empower young people in New York City. The BTSNY Annual Benefit after-party will follow the conclusion of Final X.

Snyder is set to make his eighth appearance at a Beat the Streets Benefit event, where he has compiled an 8-1 record. Before his two sweeps at 2023 and 2025 Final X, Snyder competed against international foes at the benefits.

In 2019, he powered to a 14-1 technical fall against age-group World medalist Nishan Randhawa of Canada. Snyder edged four-time World and Olympic medalist Reineris Salas Perez of Cuba in a 9-8 contest in 2018. During the 2017 benefit, Snyder claimed a 10-0 win over Japan’s Koki Yamamoto. His first victory at a Beat the Streets event came against two-time Olympian and World medalist Javier Cortina Lacerra of Cuba in a 4-0 in 2015. Snyder’s lone loss came in 2014 in a 6-3 contest against six-time Olympic and World champion Khadjimurat Gatsalov of Russia.

Buchanan will debut at a Beat the Streets benefit at 2026 Final X.

BTSNY Annual Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages, which include access to premier seating at Final X, plus the exclusive after-party, are currently available at btsny.org. For more information on ticket packages, email BTSNY Executive Director Bob Seidel at bseidel@btsny.org. Donations and BTSNY Annual Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages directly help BTSNY make a lifelong impact on New York City youth in need.

Event-only tickets for Final X without access to the BTSNY after-party celebration are available on Ticketmaster.

FloWrestling will serve as the host broadcast partner for Final X. Fans can watch the event live or on-demand at FloWrestling.org. Online results for Final X will be available on USA Bracketing.

For more information about Final X, please visit TheMat.com.

12:30 p.m. ET – U.S. National Team true-third matches

2 p.m. ET – Session one (Round one)

5 p.m. ET – Session two (Rounds two and three, if necessary)

Match order for each session will be provided at a later date