By David Gerhart
USA Wrestling

The top U20 men’s freestyle wrestlers from across the country head to SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio, this weekend for the 2026 U23 Nationals & U20 World Team Trials.

The U20 men’s freestyle division will determine the U20 World Team that will represent the U.S. at the U20 World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, August 16-23.

Action in the U20 division takes place on Friday, May 29, with a challenge tournament, followed by a best-of-three championship series.

Ten wrestlers have already advanced to the best-of-three series following their U20 Nationals titles at the U.S. Open Championships in April.

Isaiah Cortez (57 kg), Elijah Cortez (61 kg), Bo Bassett (65 kg), Landon Robideau (70 kg), Jayden James (74 kg), Ryan Burton (79 kg), Aeoden Sinclair (86 kg), Jimmy Mastny (92 kg), Michael Boyle (97 kg) and Coby Merrill (125 kg) will await the winners of the challenge brackets in the best-of-three finals series.

Wrestlers to Watch

In a field loaded with young talent, six entrants have captured age-group World titles in their careers. Domenic Munaretto leads the way as a two-time U17 World champion. Bo Bassett and Ladarion Lockett have U17 World titles to their resumes along with U20 World medals. Lockett claimed silver at the 2024 U20 World Championships, with Bassett capturing bronze at the same event.

Paul Kenny, Michael Mocco and Jayden James all claimed U17 World titles in consecutive years. Kenny in 2023, Mocco in 2024 and James in 2025.

The trio of Bassett, James and Lockett have all started to make their presence known at the Senior level. Bassett is currently slated to compete at 2026 Final X, presented by Kerberos Capital Management, with a spot on the Senior World Team on the line. James is coming off a runner-up finish at the 2026 Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament. Lockett won gold at the 2025 Senior Pan American Championships for Team USA.

Six more age-group World medalists are in the field in Geneva this weekend. Arseni Kikiniou captured two medals at the 2025 U17 World Championships. He earned silver in freestyle and won bronze in Greco-Roman. Kikiniou’s 2025 U17 Worlds teammates, Grey Burnett and Tanner Hodings, both won bronze in Athens, Greece.

Additional U17 bronze medalists Brock Mantanona and Henry Aslikyan are also among the entrants this weekend.

Isaiah Cortez has appeared at the last two U20 World Championships as part of the Greco-Roman squad, where he captured silver in 2024.

Nathaniel Askew, Hayden Schwab, Aaron Stewart, Ezekiel Witt, Loc Webber, Sam Herring, Emmit Sherlock, Melvin Miller, Coby Merrill and AeodenSinclair all come into action this weekend after being part of past U17 World Teams. Former Greco-Roman U17 World Team member Joseph Jeter is also set to compete at the U20 World Team Trials in men’s freestyle.

Kikiniou and Witt have already secured a spot at the 2026 U20 World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, after earning spots on the U20 Greco-Roman World Team. They earned those spots at the U20 Greco-Roman World Team Trials at the U.S. Open in April.

The field that consists of over 100 wrestlers also includes five 2026 NCAA All-Americans, with NCAA champion Landon Robideau leading the quintet. Mantanona, Sinclair, Aaron Seidel and Branson John also come into the U20 World Team Trials following All-American performances this year.

Weight Classes to Watch

57 kg

The 57 kg division has a lot of firepower in the challenge bracket with age-group World champions Domenic Munaretto and Paul Kenny leading the way. Age-group World medalists Grey Burnett and Henry Aslikyan are also in the mix at 57 kg. U20 World medalist Isaiah Cortez is already waiting in the best-of-three championship series after his national title at the U.S. Open.

Also looking to make a statement in the division are former age-group World Team members Hayden Schwab, Loc Webber and Ezekiel Witt.

74 kg

Jayden James and Ladarion Lockett headline the division as former age-group World champions. James has already punched his ticket to the best-of-three series. However, Lockett has to go through the challenge tournament this weekend. Haakon Peterson is currently in the field at 74 kg after finishing as the runner-up to James at the U.S. Open. U.S. Open semifinalist Rocco Cassioppi also looks to play spoiler in the weight class.

86 kg

NCAA All-Americans Aeoden Sinclair and Brock Mantanona are both featured in the 86 kg field. The two met in the finals at the U.S. Open, with Sinclair winning 9-0 and moving into the best-of-three series in Ohio. Mantanona looks to battle through the challenge bracket for a chance at revenge against Sinclair. 2025 U17 World Team member Aaron Stewart makes the jump up to the U20 division this year, looking to make his presence known.

125 kg

Coby Merrill punched his ticket into the championship series after holding off Dreshaun Ross in an 8-6 battle at the U.S. Open. Ross is slated to return to action this week at 125 kg. The division also features U.S. Open semifinalists Jay Henderson and Michael Mocco. Mocco, who dropped an 8-2 decision to Merrill in Las Vegas, captured the 2024 U17 World title. In a small but deep bracket, five of the eight current entrants competed at the U20 World Team Trials last year.

How to Follow

Action in Geneva begins on Friday with U20 men’s freestyle and U23 Greco-Roman. U23 men’s freestyle takes place on Saturday and Sunday.

The 2026 U23 Nationals & U20 World Team Trials will be broadcast live on FloWrestling. Brackets and live results will be available on USA Bracketing.

For more information on this event, including how to register and a detailed event schedule, please visit usawrestlingevents.com.

PIN Ratings

The top 10 wrestlers in each weight class based on USA Wrestling freestyle PIN ratings are listed below. PIN ratings, which are not seeds, and athlete separation within each bracket are not final until after weigh-ins and are subject to change based on final entries.

To be eligible for separation at a USA Wrestling regional or national event, athletes must have a minimum style-specific PIN rating of 1100. Additionally, USA Wrestling will only separate up to 50 percent of a bracket.

USA Wrestling’s Performance Index, abbreviated as PIN, is used for separating top athletes at USA Wrestling regional and national events. Each wrestler is assigned a PIN rating based on their results over time.

PIN Ratings and entrants are as of May 26.

57 kg

1. Grey Burnett, Ohio, PIN 1478

2. Isaiah Cortez, California, PIN 1436

3. Domenic Munaretto, Illinois, PIN 1409

4. Paul Kenny, New Jersey, PIN 1371

5. Gauge Botero, Pennsylvania, PIN 1339

6. Izayiah Chavez, Texas, PIN 1337

7. Antonio Mills, Georgia, PIN 1326

8. Hayden Schwab, Iowa, PIN 1322

9. Henry Aslikyan, California, PIN 1322

10. Loc Webber, Ohio, PIN 1317

61 kg

1. Elijah Cortez, California, PIN 1402

2. Aaron Seidel, Pennsylvania, PIN 1376

3. Dean Anderson, Arizona, PIN 1347

4. Tommy Wurster, Ohio, PIN 1327

5. Jackson Blum, Michigan, PIN 1299

6. Carter Pearson, Iowa, PIN 1266

7. Luke Rioux, Indiana, PIN 1256

8. Brady Collins, Wisconsin, PIN 1204

9. Alexander Diaz, Pennsylvania, PIN 1147

65 kg

1. Bo Bassett, Pennsylvania, PIN 1597

2. Kellen Wolbert, Wisconsin, PIN 1467

3. Tyler Dekraker, Florida, PIN 1396

4. Arseni Kikiniou, California, PIN 1381

5. Clinton Shepherd, Indiana, PIN 1374

6. Sam Herring, Pennsylvania, PIN 1363

7. Matthew Martino, Idaho, PIN 1350

8. Isaiah Schaefer, Indiana, PIN 1345

9. Dawson Youngblut, Iowa, PIN 1331

10. Gavin Landers, Iowa, PIN 1329

70 kg

1. Melvin Miller, Pennsylvania, PIN 1428

2. Landon Robideau, Oklahoma, PIN 1419

3. Jake Miller, Oklahoma, PIN 1397

4. Seth Mendoza, Illinois, PIN 1392

5. Vince Bouzakis, Pennsylvania, PIN 1355

6. Logan W. Paradice, Georgia, PIN 1344

7. Charlie DeSena, Florida, PIN 1328

8. Nathaniel Askew, North Carolina, PIN 1312

9. David Gleason, Missouri, PIN 1303

10. Gus Cardinal, Arizona, PIN 1302

74 kg

1. Ladarion Lockett, Oklahoma, PIN 1511

2. Kody Routledge, Oklahoma, PIN 1378

3. Camryn Howard, New York, PIN 1349

4. Haakon Peterson, Wisconsin, PIN 1347

5. Rocco Cassioppi, Illinois, PIN 1343

6. Mac Crosson, Iowa, PIN 1337

7. William Denny, Illinois, PIN 1330

8. Silas Stits, Indiana, PIN 1327

9. Jacob Herm, Wisconsin, PIN 1316

10. Isreal Ibarra, Arizona, PIN 1210

79 kg

1. Daniel Heiser, Wisconsin, PIN 1379

2. Bruno Cassioppi, Illinois, PIN 1354

3. Emmitt Sherlock, Maryland, PIN 1336

4. Sullivan Ramos, Wisconsin, PIN 1330

5. Maximus Dhabolt, Iowa, PIN 1300

6. Joseph Jeter, Oklahoma, PIN 1285

7. Mario Carini, California, PIN 1255

8. Ryan Burton, New Jersey, PIN 1236

9. Christopher Crawford, New York, PIN 1202

10. Elliott Humphries, Massachusetts, PIN 1166

86 kg

1. Aeoden Sinclair, Missouri, PIN 1455

2. Aaron Stewart, Illinois, PIN 1446

3. Brock Mantanona, California, PIN 1369

4. Jarrett Wadsen, Minnesota, PIN 1308

5. Waylon Cressell, Indiana, PIN 1304

6. Mario Hutcherson, Pennsylvania, PIN 1299

7. Michael White, Indiana, PIN 1257

8. John Murphy, Minnesota, PIN 1254

9. Ronald Robinson, Arizona, PIN 1185

92 kg

1. Adam Waters, Pennsylvania, PIN 1405

2. Ladd Holman, Utah, PIN 1372

3. Jimmy Mastny, Illinois, PIN 1361

4. Karson Tompkins, Texas, PIN 1267

5. Lincoln Jipp, Iowa, PIN 1260

6. Tanner Hodgins, New Jersey, PIN 1254

7. Levi Bussey, California, PIN 1223

8. Andrew Reall, Rhode Island, PIN 1100

97 kg

1. Michael Boyle, Ohio, PIN 1256

2. Garett Kawczynski, Wisconsin, PIN 1251

3. Carter Brown, Missouri, PIN 1224

4. Cason Howle, South Carolina, PIN 1216

5. Maximus Konopka, Connecticut, PIN 1185

125 kg

1. Dreshaun Ross, Iowa, PIN 1430

2. Michael Mocco, Florida, PIN 1350

3. Coby Merrill, California, PIN 1305

4. Jay Henderson, Utah, PIN 1258

5. Dean Bechtold, Pennsylvania, PIN 1231

6. Jacob Levy, Georgia, PIN 1223

7. Rylan Kuhn, Missouri, PIN 1211

8. Ashton Honnold, Iowa, PIN 1197