By Zack Chavez
USA Wrestling

Thirteen members of the 2026 U.S. Senior World Team headline a 38-person roster heading to Budapest, Hungary, for the 2026 Polyák Imre, Varga János & Kozma István Memorial, United World Wrestling’s final Ranking Series event of the season. The tournament will be held at BOK Sports Hall July 15-19 and will feature 11 men’s freestyle, 12 women’s freestyle and 15 Greco-Roman U.S. wrestlers.

The U.S. roster includes National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award winners Aden Attao, Adam Coon, Wyatt Hendrickson, Jace Koelzer, Ridge Lovett and Cohlton Schultz, and Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award winner Alexis Janiak.

Fresh off a Final X meeting, 2026 World Team member Hendrickson and Mason Parris, along with Demetrius Thomas, join a tough 125 kg men’s freestyle bracket featuring four of the top five wrestlers in the current United World Wrestling rankings.

Abigail Nette and Janiak are entered in the women’s freestyle 59 kg bracket, which includes Ukraine’s 2025 World silver medalist Maria Vynnyk and Moldova’s Anastasia Nichita, a 2022 World champion and 2024 Olympian. Adaugo Nwachukwu will compete in the 62 kg division, which has 22 entrants, including China’s 2023 World Champion Qi Zhang and Russia’s 2025 World bronze medalist Amina Tandelova.

Otto Black is one of 25 competitors in the 67 kg Greco-Roman division, which also includes Uzbekistan’s Aytjan Khalmakhanov, the reigning 63 kg World champion. Beka Melelashvili will pursue gold in the 87 kg Greco-Roman bracket, but must defeat two 2025 World bronze medalists, Russia’s Milad Alirzaev and Kyrgyzstan’s Asan Zhanyshov.

All seven U.S. men’s freestyle weight classes will be finalized over the first two days of competition. On July 15, Anthony Knox (57 kg), Beau Bartlett (65 kg), Lovett (70 kg), Alec Pantaleo (70 kg) and Will Lewan (74 kg) will compete. The remaining six men’s freestyle wrestlers—Dustin Plott and Michael Macchiavello at 92 kg, Jacob Cardenas at 97 kg, and Hendrickson, Parris and Thomas at 125 kg—will take the mat on July 16.

Women’s freestyle will begin on July 16, with Katie Gomez and Samara Chavez competing in the 50 kg division and Areana Villaescusa in the 55 kg bracket. On July 17, four additional U.S. women’s freestyle competitors will take the mat, including Nette and Janiak in the 59 kg division, Nwachukwu at 62 kg, and Jennifer Page and Reese Larramendy at 65 kg.

Women’s freestyle will conclude on July 18, with four U.S. wrestlers—Cristelle Rodriguez and Sydney Petzinger at 53 kg, Amanda Martinez at 57 kg and Dymond Guilford at 76 kg.

Greco-Roman will begin on July 17, with Black (67 kg) and Joel Adams (77 kg) competing. On July 18, Benji Peak and Brett Back will step onto the mat in the 72 kg bracket, as will Melelashvili in the 87 kg division.

Ten athletes from six weight classes will close out the Greco-Roman division on the tournament's final day, including Max Nowry and Brady Koontz at 55 kg, and Dalton Roberts and Koelzer in the 60 kg bracket. Xavier Johnson (63 kg), Jesse Porter (82 kg) and Timothy Young (97 kg) will be the lone U.S. representatives in their respective brackets. Meanwhile, Schultz, Coon and Attao will each begin their pursuit of gold in the 130 kg bracket.

The complete U.S. rosters for the men’s freestyle, women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman teams, along with the full U.S. delegation list, are available below.

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

More information on the 2026 Polyák Imre, Varga János & Kozma István Memorial can be found at uww.org.

2026 Polyák Imre, Varga János & Kozma István Memorial 

At Budapest, Hungary, July 15-19  

Reference Links  

• Event website

• Live stream

Event Schedule  

Wednesday, July 15 

MFS 57-61-65-70-74-86 kg 

10:30 a.m. – Qualification rounds

12:30 p.m. – Semifinals

1:30 p.m. – Repechages

5:00 p.m. – Opening ceremony

6:00 p.m. – Medal matches

Thursday, July 16  

MFS 79-92-97-125 kg, WFS 50-55 kg 

10:30 a.m. – Qualification rounds

12:30 p.m. – Semifinals

1:30 p.m. – Repechages

6:00 p.m. – Medal matches

Friday, July 17 

WFS 59-62-65-68 kg, GR 67-77 kg 

10:30 a.m. – Qualification rounds

12:30 p.m. – Semifinals

1:30 p.m. – Repechages

6:00 p.m. – Medal matches

Saturday, July 18 

WFS 53-57-72-76 kg, GR 72-87 kg 

10:30 a.m. – Qualification rounds

1:30 p.m. – Semifinals

2:30 p.m. – Repechages

6:00 p.m. – Medal matches

Sunday, July 19 

GR 55-60-63-82-97-130 kg 

10:30 a.m. – Qualification rounds

1:30 p.m. – Semifinals

2:30 p.m. – Repechages

6:00 p.m. – Medal matches

*All times listed local to Budapest, Hungary, which is located six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time.

U.S. Men’s Freestyle Roster 

57 kg – Anthony Knox (Freehold, N.J./Rhino Wrestling LLC)

65 kg – Beau Bartlett (Hoboken, N.J./New York City RTC)

70 kg – Ridge Lovett (Post Falls, Idaho/Nebraska WTC/Titan Mercury WC)

70 kg – Alec Pantaleo (Canton, Mich./Cliff Keen WC)

74 kg – Will Lewan (Naperville, Ill./Cliff Keen WC)

92 kg – Dustin Plott (Tuttle, Okla./Cowboy RTC)

92 kg – Michael Macchiavello (Northampton, Pa./Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

97 kg – Jacob Cardenas (Kearny, N.J./Cliff Keen WC)

125 kg – Wyatt Hendrickson (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC)

125 kg – Mason Parris (Ann Arbor, Mich./Cliff Keen WC)

125 kg – Demetrius Thomas (Providence, R.I.)

U.S. Women’s Freestyle Roster 

50 kg – Katie Gomez (Van Nuys, Calif./Titan Mercury WC)

50 kg – Samara Chavez (Arlington, Texas/Army WCAP)

53 kg – Cristelle Rodriguez (Crete, Neb./Tiger WC/Titan Mercury WC)

53 kg – Sydney Petzinger (Kingston, Pa./Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC)

55 kg – Areana Villaescusa (Fountain, Colo./Army WCAP)

57 kg – Amanda Martinez (Riverside, Ill./Cardinal WC/Titan Mercury WC)

59 kg – Abigail Nette (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP)

59 kg – Alexis Janiak (Plainfield, Ill./Titan Mercury WC)

62 kg – Adaugo Nwachukwu (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP)

65 kg – Jennifer Page (Bellefonte, Pa./Titan Mercury WC)

65 kg – Reese Larramendy (Reno, Nev./Hawkeye WC)

76 kg – Dymond Guilford (Colorado Springs, Colo./Titan Mercury WC)

U.S. Greco-Roman Roster 

55 kg – Max Nowry (Washington, Ill./309 Wrestling/Illinois RTC)

55 kg – Brady Koontz (Edmond, Okla./Titan Mercury WC)

60 kg – Dalton Roberts (Fountain, Colo./Army WCAP)

60 kg – Jace Koelzer (Edmond, Okla./Position Wrestling)

63 kg – Xavier Johnson (Pueblo, Colo./Army WCAP)

67 kg – Otto Black (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC)

72 kg – Benji Peak (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC)

72 kg – Brett Back (Rudolph, Wis./Position Wrestling)

77 kg – Joel Adams (Omaha, Neb./Beaver Dam Wrestling RTC)

82 kg – Jesse Porter (Ballston Lake, N.Y./New York AC)

87 kg – Beka Melelashvili (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC)

97 kg – Timothy Young (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP)

130 kg – Cohlton Schultz (Tempe, Ariz./New York AC)

130 kg – Adam Coon (Fowlerville, Mich./New York AC)

130 kg – Aden Attao (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC)

U.S. Support Staff 

U.S. men’s freestyle coach – Bill Zadick

U.S men’s freestyle coach – Joe Russell

U.S. women’s freestyle coach – Terry Steiner

U.S. women’s freestyle coach – Tonya Verbeek

U.S. Greco-Roman coach – Herb House

Personal Coach – Lee Roper

Personal Coach – Sean Bormet

Personal Coach – Alex Dieringer

Personal Coach – Kendall Cross

Personal Coach – Dana Vote

Personal Coach – Kerry McCoy

Personal Coach – Nate Engel

Personal Coach – Bruce Robinson

Personal Coach – Spenser Mango

Personal Coach – Bryan Medlin

Medical (ATC) – Bruce Ferrat

Medical (ATC) – Tessa Valdez

Medical (MD) – Vermon Esplin

Nutritionist – Nuwanee Tamaki

Strength & Conditioning Coach – Alex LaRochelle

Official – Paul Kruggel

Official – Jim Speelman

Official – Kenny Cook

Official – Adam Venegas