By Richard Immel
USA Wrestling

POREC, Croatia – For the second-straight day, the U.S. collected a silver medal in the U20 Greco-Roman division at the 2026 Trophy Adriatic—Leister Bowling IV doing the honors on Sunday at Sports Hall Finida.

Bowling IV, a 2025 U20 Pan American champion, qualified for the 77 kg finals thanks to decision wins over Zalan Pek of Serbia and Giorgi Gogelashvili of Georgia. He came up two points shy of Bulgaria’s Hristo Valentinov in a nip-and-tuck, 7-5, gold medal match. Bowling IV was a fifth-place finisher at last year’s U20 World Championships and is set for a repeat appearance at the U20 Worlds this summer in Bratislava, Slovakia.

2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals champion Will Scherer wound up in fifth place at 77 kg after posting a 1-2 record. Scherer fell 3-0 to Zalán Toplak of Hungary in the bronze medal match.

Five U.S. athletes dropped early round matchups and did not qualify for a medal match—Arvin Khosravy at 82 kg, Aidan Squier and JT Smith at 87 kg, Cittadino Tuttle at 97 kg and Trayvn Boger at 130 kg.

The U.S. finished the Trophy Adriatic with two silver medalists—Bowling IV and Caeden Dominguez at 55 kg—on its way to a fifth-place finish in the team ranking with 68 points. Kazakhstan won the team title with 188 points, edging out runner-up Georgia by eight points.

An archived live stream of the event is hosted by the Croatia Wrestling Federation at hhs.hr.  Brackets and results are available at arena.hhs.hr.

2026 Trophy Adriatic 

At Porec, Croatia, May 31 

Greco-Roman Results 

Team Rankings  

1. Kazakhstan, 188

2. Georgia, 180

3. Hungary, 106

4. Germany, 85

5. United States, 68

6. Bulgaria, 63

7. Czechia, 44

8. Serbia, 37

9. France, 27

10. Israel, 26

Weight Class Rankings | Group Two 

77 kg 

Gold – Hristo Valentinov (Bulgaria)

Silver – Leister Bowling IV (United States)

Bronze – Zalán Toplak (Hungary)

Bronze – Giorgi Gogelashvili (Georgia)

5th – Will Scherer (United States)

5th – Zalan Pek (Serbia)

7th – Bakdaulet Tursynbek (Kazakhstan)

8th – Raphael Titze (Germany)

9th – Sultan Muhametow (Germany)

10th – Lars Matt (Austria)

Gold – Hristo Valentinov (Bulgaria) dec. Leister Bowling IV (United States), 7-5

Bronze – Zalán Toplak (Hungary) dec. Will Scherer (United States), 3-0

Bronze – Giorgi Gogelashvili (Georgia) dec. Zalan Pek (Serbia), 3-2

82 kg 

Gold – Yerkebulan Anapiya (Kazakhstan)

Silver – Nurdaulet Rakhman (Kazakhstan)

Bronze – Luka Pipia (Georgia)

Bronze – Petr Žák (Czechia)

5th – Bogomir Eismont (Germany)

5th – Dániel Jakab (Hungary)

7th – Nico Baumeister (Germany)

8th – Filip Zubić (Croatia)

9th – Christopher Szentkiralyi (Austria)

10th – Martin Shishekov (Bulgaria)

Gold – Yerkebulan Anapiya (Kazakhstan) forfeit Nurdaulet Rakhman (Kazakhstan)

Bronze – Luka Pipia (Georgia) dec. Bogomir Eismont (Germany), 2-0

Bronze – Petr Žák (Czechia) fall Dániel Jakab (Hungary), 4:32

87 kg 

Gold – Luka Kochalidze (Georgia)

Silver – Itzhak Nemsadze (Israel)

Bronze – Alikhan Tagayev (Kazakhstan)

Bronze – Stevan Kojić (Serbia)

5th – Aleksandre Vanadze (Georgia)

5th – Anton Buchholz (Germany)

7th – Aidan Squier (United States)

8th – Zalán Varga (Hungary)

9th – Josef Černý (Czechia)

10th – Valentin Valentinov (Bulgaria)

Gold – Luka Kochalidze (Georgia) tech. fall Itzhak Nemsadze (Israel), 9-0

Bronze – Alikhan Tagayev (Kazakhstan) tech. fall Aleksandre Vanadze (Georgia), 9-0

Bronze – Stevan Kojić (Serbia) dec. Anton Buchholz (Germany), 3-1

97 kg 

Gold – Vendel Vitai (Hungary)

Silver – Arman Mkrtchyan (Georgia)

Bronze – Ayanbek Ibraiyev (Kazakhstan)

Bronze – Keymi Rothweiler (Germany)

5th – Alexandr Pimenov (Kazakhstan)

5th – Andrej Rodin (Croatia)

7th – Ioannis Moutousidis (Greece)

8th – Maxim Ukraintsev (Kazakhstan)

9th – Ole Sterning (Germany)

10th – Dmitriy Passechnik (Kazakhstan)

Gold – Vendel Vitai (Hungary) dec. Arman Mkrtchyan (Georgia), 2-0

Bronze – Ayanbek Ibraiyev (Kazakhstan) dec. Alexandr Pimenov (Kazakhstan), 4-3

Bronze – Keymi Rothweiler (Germany) dec. Andrej Rodin (Croatia), 7-0

130 kg 

Gold – László Koppány (Hungary)

Silver – Saba Purtseladze (Georgia)

Bronze – Bakhtiyar Kaziyev (Kazakhstan)

Bronze – Ulankandas Otegenov (Kazakhstan)

5th – Baktur Sovetkhan (Kazakhstan)

5th – Dominik Kocman (Czechia)

7th – Maximilian Leo (Germany)

8th – Mikhail Kralev (Bulgaria)

9th – Trayvn Boger (United States)

10th – Andrej Malchun (Germany)

Gold – László Koppány (Hungary) dec. Saba Purtseladze (Georgia), 5-0

Bronze – Bakhtiyar Kaziyev (Kazakhstan) dec. Baktur Sovetkhan (Kazakhstan), 7-1

Bronze – Ulankandas Otegenov (Kazakhstan) fall Dominik Kocman (Czechia)

U.S. Greco-Roman Results 

Group Two 

77 kg – Leister Bowling IV (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC), silver medal 

WIN Zalan Pek (Serbia), 5-1

WIN Giorgi Gogelashvili (Georgia), 5-2

LOSS Hristo Valentinov (Bulgaria), 7-5

77 kg – Will Scherer (St. Louis, Mo./NMU-National Training Center), 5th place

LOSS Hristo Valentinov (Bulgaria), 7-2

WIN Hamed Majrashi (Saudi Arabia), forfeit

LOSS Zalán Toplak (Hungary), 3-0

82 kg – Arvin Khosravy (Woodland Hills, Calif.), 12th place

LOSS Petr Žák (Czechia), tech. fall, 9-0

87 kg – Aidan Squier (North Granby, Conn./NMU-National Training Center), 7th place

WIN Paul Maier (Austria), forfeit

LOSS Stevan Kojić (Serbia), 9-0

87 kg – JT Smith (Omaha, Neb./MWC Wrestling Academy), disqualified 

LOSS Aleksandre Vanadze (Georgia), disq., 5:53

97 kg – Cittadino Tuttle (North Saint Paul, Minn./Pinnacle WC), 11th place

LOSS Vendel Vitai (Hungary), 6-0

LOSS Andrej Rodin (Croatia), 5-1

130 kg – Trayvn Boger (Adamsville, Utah/Protos WC), 9th place

LOSS Baktur Sovetkhan (Kazakhstan), tech. fall, 10-1