2026 Women’s Freestyle World Championships Brackets Released

ASTANA, Kazakhstan – The women’s freestyle draw is finalized, and complete brackets have been released for the 2026 Senior World Championships, which start Tuesday at Barys Arena. 

Returning champion Helen Maroulis leads Team USA. She holds down the No. 2 seed at 57 kg and opens her time in Astana in the round of 16 against either Mia Friesen of Canada or Danielle Lim of Singapore. At 68 kg, Kennedy Blades returns to the World Championships, looking to upgrade her 2025 bronze. As the No. 5 seed, she awaits the preliminary round winner between Faith Wamalwa of Kenya and Laura Koehler of Germany.

The three remaining seeded athletes—Cristelle Rodriguez-Dobler (No. 5 at 53 kg), Abby Nette (No. 4 at 59 kg) and Adaugo Nwachukwu (No. 3 at 62 kg)—all sit in the round of 16 with favorable openers. 

Spotlight first-round contests for Team USA come at 55 kg, with two-time U20 World champion Everest Leydecker, who is the Arizona winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award for 2026, taking on 2022 World bronze medalist Karla Godinez Gonzalez of Canada, and at 72 kg, with Pan American champion Precious Wieser facing 2024 Olympic bronze medalist and 2023 World champion Buse Cavusoglu Tosun of Türkiye. 

Other U.S. entrants drawn into the field include five-time age-group World medalist Morgan Turner at 50 kg, two-time Olympian and two-time World finalist Kayla Miracle at 65 kg, and two-time World Team member Dymond Guilford at 76 kg.

Hidlay, Snyder Earn No. 1 Seeds at 2026 Senior Men's Freestyle World Championships

ASTANA, Kazakhstan – United World Wrestling released its men’s freestyle seeds for the 2026 Senior World Championships based on the preliminary entry list. 

Four U.S. athletes are seeded in the top eight of their brackets—Returning champions Trent Hidlay (No. 1 at 92 kg) and Kyle Snyder (No. 1 at 97 kg), 2024 Olympic silver medalist Spencer Lee (No. 2 at 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 returning World silver medalist Levi Haines (No. 3 at 79 kg). 

The remaining six Americans - Marcus Blaze (61 kg), who was the Ohio and National winner of the DSHSEA in 2025, Bo Bassett (65 kg), Zain Retherford (70 kg), who was the Pennsylvania and National winner of the DSHSEA in 2013, James Green (74 kg), Kyle Dake (86 kg) and Wyatt Hendrickson (125 kg), who was the Kansas winner of the DSHSEA in 2019, will enter the men’s freestyle tournament unseeded and drawn into brackets at random. 

Five U.S. Women Seeded at 2026 Senior World Championships

ASTANA, Kazakhstan – United World Wrestling released its women’s freestyle seeds for the 2026 Senior World Championships based on the preliminary entry list.

Five U.S. athletes are seeded in the top eight of their brackets—Returning champion Helen Maroulis (No. 2 seed at 57 kg), two-time age-group World medalist Adaugo Nwachukwu (No. 3 at 62 kg), two-time age-group World champion Cristelle Rodriguez-Dobler (No. 5 at 53 kg), two-time World Team member Abby Nette (No. 5 at 59 kg), and returning bronze medalist Kennedy Blades (No. 5 at 68 kg). 

The remaining five Americans—Morgan Turner (50 kg), Everest Leydecker (55 kg), who was the Arizona winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award in 2026, Kayla Miracle (65 kg), Precious Wieser (72 kg) and Dymond Guilford (76 kg)—will enter the women’s freestyle tournament unseeded and drawn into brackets at random. 

Greco-Roman Brackets Released for 2026 World Championships

The Greco-Roman draw is finalized, and complete brackets have been released for the 2026 Senior World Championships, which start Saturday at Barys Arena. 

Five-time World Team members Kamal Bey and Cohlton Schultz, who was the Arizona and National winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award in 2019, lead the U.S. Greco-Roman group.

Greco-Roman will take the mats first in Astana. Athletes will compete in three waves over the course of the event—group one (55-60-77-82 kg) starting October 24, group two (72-97-130 kg) on October 25, and group three (63-67-87 kg) on October 26. Each bracket will be contested over two days, with semifinals on day one and repechage and medal matches on day two. 

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Americans Peak, Roberts, Schultz Seeded in 2026 Greco-Roman Senior World Championships

United World Wrestling released its Greco-Roman seeds for the 2026 Senior World Championships based on the preliminary entry list. 

Three U.S. athletes are seeded in the top eight of their brackets—2024 Olympic Trials champion and three-time World Team member Dalton Roberts is the No. 4 seed at 60 kg, five-time World Team member Cohlton Schultz , who was the Colorado and National winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award in 2019, is the No. 5 seed at 130 kg, and three-time World Team member Benji Peak is the No. 7 seed at 72 kg.   

Four World Champs Anchor 2026 Senior World Championships U.S. Men's Freestyle Team

The U.S. men’s freestyle team is primed for a title run at the 2026 Senior World Championships, with two returning champions and a lineup built for contention.

Eight of the 10 U.S. World Team members have Senior World Championships experience, and half have stood atop the World podium. Six have earned World medals, and the lineup also includes four Olympians, three of whom are Olympic medalists. The two newcomers have won a U20 World title. This team brings a pop in every weight class.

Marcus Blaze, Wyatt Hendrickson, Spencer Lee and Zain Retherford are all winners of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award.

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