Haines, Lee Capture World Gold, U.S. Wins Men’s Freestyle Team Title

ASTANA, Kazakhstan – The U.S. men’s freestyle team put the finishing touches on arguably the best World Championships performance in the nation’s history on Sunday night at Barys Arena.

Spencer Lee (57 kg), who was the Pennsylvania and Northeast Region winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award in 2017, and Levi Haines (79 kg) topped the World podium for the first time in their careers, and Trent Hidlay (92 kg) earned silver, his second-straight World medal, to deliver Team USA its sixth men’s freestyle team title and its fourth in the last 10 years.

Leydecker’s Gold Cements Landmark World Team Title for U.S. Women

ASTANA, Kazakhstan – The U.S. women’s freestyle team rose to the top at the 2026 Senior World Championships on Friday night at Bary Arena, capping its first team title in the sport’s modern era as 19-year-old Everest Leydecker, who was the Arizona winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award in 2026, surged to gold at 55 kg.  

Team USA finished with two champions (Leydecker, Nwachukwu), a silver medalist (Nette), three bronze medalists (Helen Maroulis, Kennedy Blades, Dymond Guilford), and Top-10 placements in all but one weight class, totaling 137 team points. Perennial power Japan finished two points behind the U.S. in the standings, while China placed third.

This marks the second team title in U.S. women’s wrestling history, and the first in its Olympic era (2004-present). The previous title came in 1999 with gold medalists Tricia Saunders and Sandra Bacher, plus silver medalist Kristie Davis, leading the way. Saunders and Davis were the first and second females inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Men’s College Notebook: The 2026-27 Season is Underway

A new collegiate season starts this weekend, a bit of a warm-up weekend before a fuller schedule next weekend. Starting Saturday, Oct. 31, and continuing throughout the weekend, 11 duals and six tournaments will take place across the country.

National Wrestling Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2027

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame on Thursday announced that its Class of 2027 is Distinguished Members Afsoon Roshanzamir Johnston, Iris Smith, Thad Turner and Joe Warren; Meritorious Official honoree Michael Chase; Order of Merit recipient Dan Russell; Medal of Courage recipient Ben Kjar; and Outstanding American honoree Retired United States Navy Admiral Richard W. Mies. 

The Class of 2027 will be honored and officially inducted during the 50th Honors Weekend on June 4 and 5, 2027 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. For more information on Honors Weekend, please email info@nwhof.org. 

Maroulis Wins Ninth World Medal; Guilford Earns Bronze

Two medals are officially on the board for Team USA—Helen Maroulis and Dymond Guilford secured bronze in women’s freestyle at the 2026 Senior World Championships on Wednesday evening at Barys Arena.

The medal rounds are old hat for Maroulis, who is now a nine-time Senior World medalist and three-time Olympic medalist.

The legend continues to grow for Maroulis, who has set record after record for the U.S. women. She is now tied atop the U.S. history books with four others—Bruce Baumgartner, Jordan Burroughs, Kristie Davis and Adeline Gray—who have reached the nine-medal mark at the World Championships. No American has won 10. Baumgartner and Davis are both Distinguished Members of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

2026 Men’s Freestyle World Championships Brackets Released

The men’s freestyle draw is finalized, and complete brackets have been released for the 2026 Senior World Championships, which start Thursday at Barys Arena.

Marcus Blaze (Ohio and National in 2025), Wyatt Hendrickson (Kansas in 2019), Spencer Lee (Pennsylvania and Northeast Region in 2017), Zain Retherford (Pennsylvania and National in 2013) and Cohlton Schultz (Colorado and National in 2019) are all winners of the Hall of Fame's Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award.

Returning World champions and No. 1 seeds Kyle Snyder (97 kg) and Trent Hidlay (92 kg) both sit to the round of 16.

Women's College Notebook: Season Begins This Weekend With Busy Slate

After months of waiting, a new women’s college wrestling season is officially upon us.

Tanner Lafever of USA Wrestling previews the opening weekend.

Men’s College Notebook: Meet the New Head Coaches - Part 1

For the 2026-27 collegiate season, there are six new head coaches in D1 men’s wrestling. Today we meet Rider’s Nic Bedelyon; Air Force’s Joe Johnston, who was the Kansas winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award in 2001; and The Citadel’s Tim McCall.

Part two will introduce you to Lehigh’s Brad Dillon; Iowa State’s Brent Metcalf, who was the Michigan and Midwest Region winner of the DSHSEA in 2005; and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s (SIUE) Daryl Thomas.