U.S. sends large and talented team to U20 Beach Worlds in Katerini, Greece, September 25

The United States is sending a large, talented team to compete in the 2026 U20 Beach World Championships, which will take place at the foot of legendary Mount Olympus, at the Aloha Beach Bar in Katerini, Greece, on Friday, September 25.

This is the second straight year that the U20 Beach World Championships will be held in Katerini. In 2025, both the U20 Beach Worlds and the U17 Beach Worlds were held there, but this season, the U17 Beach Worlds were held separately in Baku, Azerbaijan, in August.

Team USA will have a healthy roster of both men and women competing at the U20 Beach Worlds. The women’s team features 12 athletes, the maximum allowed, and the men’s team will include nine.

Sadie Evans, who won a U17 Beach World bronze medal in 2024 in the women’s division, will compete on the U20 Beach World Team in the Over 70 kg weight class. She was a 2025 U20 Pan American Beach silver medalist. Evans has also competed on a number of U.S. Senior teams in the Beach World Series.

Four members of last year’s U20 Beach World Team return for the second straight year, women’s wrestlers Amber Hunter-Snyder (70 kg) and Esperanza Huitron (60 kg), plus men’s wrestlers Terrell McFarland (90 kg) and Clayton Whitenight (Over 90 kg). Hunter-Snyder and McFarland just missed winning a medal last year, placing fourth in their weight class. Huitron finished seventh and Whitenight finished eighth. McFarland was also a 2024 U17 Pan American Beach gold medalist.

Two members of the 2025 U17 Beach World Championships team will move up to compete on this year’s U20 Beach World Team, women’s wrestler Ezmerelda Fuller (70 kg) and men’s wrestler Kirick Gurkin (80 kg). Fuller was sixth in last year’s U17 Worlds, while Gurkin placed 12th.

2026 U20 Pan American Beach bronze medalist Yianna Foufas (50 kg) will compete on the U20 Beach World Team this year.

U20 champions from the 2026 Carolina Beach Nationals in Carolina Beach, N.C., who will compete in Katerini are Kenaya Mwehu (50 kg), Hallie Harp (70 kg) and Kamil Johnson (Over 70 kg) in the women’s division, plus Eli Roberts (80 kg) and McFarland.

In 2025, the U.S. U20 Women’s Beach Team won a second-place team trophy in Katerini. Back in 2023, the U.S. U20 Women’s Beach Team claimed a third-place team trophy.

The U.S. team will be coached by U.S. Beach Wrestling Coach Tim Box of California, along with a group of four personal coaches.

Session times on Friday are at 10 a.m. (group competition) and 4:45 p.m. (opening ceremony, elimination rounds and finals), both local times. Katerini, Greece, is seven hours ahead of the U.S. Eastern time zone.

The weekend will conclude with the Senior-level Beach World Series Final in Katerini on September 26-27, the fifth and final stop of the 2026 UWW Beach World Series. The USA will have a large team of veteran Beach wrestlers at the Beach World Series Final this year.

Live results of the 2026 U20 Beach World Championships will be available on UWW Arena.

• Event Schedule
• Bracket and results

10 a.m. – Group rounds

4:45 p.m. – Opening ceremony

5 p.m. – Elimination rounds and finals

* All times listed are local to Katerini, Greece, which is seven hours ahead of the U.S. Eastern time zone

50 kg – Kenaya Mwehu (Cleveland, Ohio/Beat the Streets Cleveland)

50 kg – Elle Webster (Oldtown, Md./Western Maryland WC)

50 kg – Yianna Foufas (North Bellmore, N.Y./Vougar Honors Wrestling, Inc.)

60 kg – Ella McDonald (Frederick, Md.)

60 kg – Olivia Root (Dimondale, Mich.)

60 kg – Esperanza Huitron (Evans, Ga./Backyard Bullies WC)

70 kg – Hallie Harp (Benbrook, Texas/Cowtown Training Center)

70 kg – Amber Hunter-Snyder (Bear, Del./Western Maryland WC)

70 kg – Ezmerelda Fuller (Greeley, Colo./Cowboy WC)

Over 70kg – Kamil Johnson (Oxon Hill, Md.)

Over 70kg – Camrynn Pike (Belfair, Wash./Stingers WC)

Over 70kg – Sadie Evans (Belfair, Wash./Ford Dynasty WC)

70 kg – Evan Mayek (La Canada, Calif./La Canada High School Wrestling)

70 kg – Nolan Root (Dimondale, Mich.)

80 kg – Eli Roberts (Quincy, Ill.)

80 kg – Kirick Gurkin (Leland, N.C.)

80 kg – Evan Kapadia (Simpsonville, S.C.)

90 kg – Terrell McFarland (Pottsville, Pa./Team Pennsylvania)

90 kg – Ryan Darnell (Quincy, Ill.)

Over 90 kg – Clayton Whitenight (Berwick, Pa.)

Over 90 kg – Jax Cromwell (Lone Jack, Mo.)

U.S. Beach Coach – Tim Box

Personal Coach – Stan Granger

Personal Coach – Breonnah Neal

Personal Coach – Anthony Bergamini

Personal Coach – Katie Huitron

Referee – Tim Condit

Referee – Morgana Landrum

Medical – Joanna Entz

NF Delegate – Christine Granger

UWW Commission Member – Ed Duncan

Team Leader – Jaimie McNab