By David Gerhart
USA Wrestling

Pre-seeds have been announced for the five Senior men’s freestyle brackets at 2026 Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament. Action takes place on Thursday and Friday this week at Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center in Louisville, Ky.

All 42 competitors were assigned a seed. Tournament seeding was based on an agreed upon set of seeding criteria that included USA Wrestling PIN ratings, head-to-head results, tournament placements, and common opponents. Pre-seeds were finalized by the U.S. men’s freestyle national team staff.

Seeding is not final until after weigh-ins conclude. Adjustments to the seeding will be made if a wrestler drops out from the field for any reason. In that case, the wrestler in question will be removed from the list and every wrestler underneath will bump up to the next seed.

Five Final X matchups are already determined in men’s freestyle at 65 kg, 79 kg, 86 kg, 92 kg and 97 kg, which removes those weight classes from the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament field.

Olympians Spencer Lee (57 kg), Zain Retherford (70 kg) and Mason Parris (125 kg) headline the quintet of top seeds in Louisville. 2026 U.S. Open runner-up Benjamin Davino is the No. 1 seed at 61 kg and Joseph Sealey is seeded No. 1 at 74 kg.

The Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament begins Thursday, May 14, at 10 a.m. ET with preliminaries and quarterfinal matches. Semifinal contests are slated for Thursday at 4 p.m. ET. Men’s freestyle championship bouts are scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. ET on Friday, May 15.

The 2026 Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament will be broadcast live on FloWrestling. Brackets and match-by-match results will be available through USA Bracketing.

2026 Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament

At Louisville, Ky., May 14-15

Quick Links

• Event Website

• Event Hub

• Brackets and Results

• Live Stream

Senior Men’s Freestyle Pre-Seeds

57 kg

1. Spencer Lee (Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)

2. Anthony Knox (Scarlet Knight WC)

3. Liam Cronin (Nebraska Wrestling RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

4. Brody Teske (Panther WC)

5. Austin Assad (Seasons Freestyle Club)

6. Elijah Oliver (Capital WC/New York AC)

61 kg

1. Benjamin Davino (Ohio RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

2. Jax Forrest (Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

3. Austin DeSanto (Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)

4. Michael McGee (Southwest WC/New York AC)

5. Nathan Tomasello (Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

6. Aaron Seidel (Southeast RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

70 kg

1. Zain Retherford (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

2. Caleb Henson (Southeast RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

3. Alec Pantaleo (Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC)

4. Landon Robideau (Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

5. Jordan Williams (Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)

6. Edward Scott (Brunson Utah Valley RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

7. Ian Parker (Panther WC/Titan Mercury WC)

74 kg

1. Joseph Sealey (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

2. David Carr (Cyclone RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

3. Evan Wick (Titan Mercury WC)

4. Quincy Monday (New Jersey RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

5. Cameron Amine (Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

6. Will Lewan (Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC)

7. Jarrett Jacques (Tiger Style WC)

8. Michael Caliendo (Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC)

9. Jayden James (KD Trained/Titan Mercury WC)

125 kg

1. Mason Parris (Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC)

2. Hayden Zillmer (Gopher RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

3. Isaac Trumble (Wolfpack RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

4. Daniel Kerkvliet, Jr. (Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

5. Demetrius Thomas (Brown RTC/New York AC)

6. Jonathan Aiello (Ohio RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

7. Coby Merrill (New York AC)

8. Anthony Cassioppi (Titan Mercury WC)

9. Jordan Wood (Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC/New York AC)

10. Taye Ghadiali (Cliff Keen WC)

11. Cole Mirasola (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

12. Connor Mirasola (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

13. Jimmy Mullen (Southeast RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

14. Lucas Stoddard (West Point WC)