A day after the American women’s freestyle team captured a world championship, their male counterparts put themselves in position to win themselves on Sunday. The final members of the men’s freestyle team hit the mat on Saturday and three out of the four wrestlers will compete for gold medals tomorrow.
In today’s action, Kyle Dake added another world title, while three others wrestled back for bronze medals.
In his gold medal matchup, Dake tangled with Azerbaijan’s Arsenii Dzhioev, a returning world bronze medalist. There wasn’t much action in the opening period and Dake got on the board with a point via a Dzhioev activity clock violation. Early in the second, Dake was in position for a go-behind, but dropped down to Dzhioev’s leg and switched to a single, which he finished at the edge for the only two-point score of the contest. It was enough for him to get his hand raised in a 3-2 victory.
With the latest championship, Dake now has five world titles and they’ve come at three different weights. Two at 79 kg, two at 74 kg, and this latest at 86 kg. He also had a total of eight world/Olympic medals.
Dake’s win over Dzhioev makes it back-to-back matches at this tournament with wins over wrestlers who previously beat him earlier this year. In the semis, he avenged a Ranking Series loss to Russia’s Ibragim Kadiev.
Just a day after Kyle Snyder made his case for American wrestling’s hypothetical Mount Rushmore, Dake threw his hat into the ring.
Wrestling back for bronze medals on Saturday were Marcus Blaze (61 kg), Zain Retherford (70 kg), and Wyatt Hendrickson (125 kg). Blaze did not initially make the semifinals, so he needed a repechage win before advancing to a bronze medal bout.
The bronze medals were the first at the Senior level for Blaze and Hendrickson, while Retherford now has a sizable medal collection of his own. He has three world medals, one of each color.
In the final group of competitors for the United States, Spencer Lee (57 kg), Levi Haines (79 kg), and Trent Hidlay (92 kg) all qualified for tomorrow’s gold medal matches.
Lee was trailing Azerbaijan’s Islam Bazarganov 10-3 on the scoreboard after giving up a takedown and a few turns. Bazarganov got sloppy trying for another gut wrench and Lee grabbed a headlock and caught Bazarganov on his back for the fall.
And extra level of intrigue surrounds Lee’s gold medal match tomorrow. He’ll face former Penn State two-time national champion, Roman Bravo-Young, who competes for Mexico. It also pits Penn State and Iowa grads against each other. The pair met in 2025 in the semifinals of the Zagreb Open and Lee won 8-3.
Bravo-Young’s Penn State teammate, Levi Haines, is back in the world finals for a second time in as many tries. Haines had a workman-like 3-3 win on criteria over Mongolia’s Suldkhuu Olonbayar, the same opponent he defeated in the 2025 world semifinals.
For the gold medal, Haines will take on Iran’s Mohammad Nokhodilarimi, a five-time world medalist who had a long hit list of Americans he’s beaten over the past three years. That group includes Dean Hamiti, Jordan Burroughs, Evan Wick, Joey Lavallee, and Chance Marsteller.
The final match of the tournament will feature a rematch of the 2025 world finals at 92 kg. Trent Hidlay will take on Russia’s Amanula Gadzhimagomedov. Hidlay’s 13-10 comeback win over Gadzhimagomedov was one of the most memorable moments from the 2025 tournament.
Just to make the 2026 finals, Hidlay had to stage another impressive comeback, this time at the expense of Iran’s Amirhossien Firouzpourbandpei. The Iranian held an 8-2 lead late in the first period; however, Hidlay reeled off nine straight points in the closing moments of the first and into the second to grab an 11-8 victory.
The Americans will also have James Green alive in the 74 kg repechage. He will need two wins just to wrestle for a bronze medal.
 
American results
57 kg
Round of 32 - Spencer Lee over Edwin Segura (Guatemala)  Fall 1:33
Round of 16 - Spencer Lee over Milad Valizadeh (Iran)  12-2
Quarterfinals - Spencer Lee over Abubakar Mutaliev (Russia)  11-0
Semifinals - Spencer Lee over Islam Bazarganov (Azerbaijan)  Fall 4:17
 
61 kg
Repechage - Marcus Blaze over Nikhil (India)  9-1
Bronze Medal Match - Marcus Blaze over Assyl Aitakyn (Kazakhstan)  4-2
 
70 kg
Bronze Medal Match - Zain Retherford over Lachlan McNeil (Canada)  4-0
 
74 kg
Round of 32 - James Green over Orozobek Toktomambetov (Kyrgyzstan)  5-0
Round of 16 - Inalbek Sheriev (Russia) over James Green  10-0
 
79 kg
Round of 32 - Levi Haines over Mohammed Bouazouni (Morocco)  Fall 1:30
Round of 16 - Levi Haines over Szymon Wojtkowski (Poland)  10-0
Quarterfinals - Levi Haines over Ismail Khaniev (Russia)  8-1
Semifinals - Levi Haines over Suldkhuu Olonbayar (Mongolia)  3-3
 
86 kg
Gold Medal Match: Kyle Dake over Arsenii Dzhioev (Azerbaijan)  3-2

 
92 kg
Round of 16 - Trent Hidlay over Jesaia Uera (Nauru)  Fall :47
Quarterfinals - Trent Hidlay over Ali Tcokaev (Azerbaijan)  5-1
Semifinals - Trent Hidlay over Amirhossien Firouzpourbandpei (Iran)  11-8
 
125 kg
Bronze Medal Match: Wyatt Hendrickson over Jaspooran Singh (India)  10-0

 
Sunday’s Gold Medal Matchups
57 kg - Spencer Lee (USA) vs. Roman Bravo-Young (Mexico)
74 kg - Inalbek Sheriev (Russia) vs. Nurkozha Kaipanov (Kazakhstan)
79 kg - Levi Haines (USA) vs. Mohammad Nokhodilarimi (Iran)
92 kg - Trent Hidlay (USA) vs. Amanula Gadzhimagomedov (Russia)

 
Final Results
61 kg
Gold Medal Match: Ahmad Javan (Iran) over Zavur Uguev (Russia)  9-2
Bronze Medal Match: Marcus Blaze (USA) over Nikhil (India)  9-1
Bronze Medal Match: Kwang-Myong Kim (North Korea) over Zelimkhan Abakarov (Albania)  3-3
 
70 kg
Gold Medal Match: Ibragim Ibragimov (Russia) over Ernazar Akmataliev (Kyrgyzstan)  5-2
Bronze Medal Match: Tulga Tumur Ochir (Mongolia) over Vasile Diacon (Moldova)  Fall 3:55
Bronze Medal Match: Zain Retherford (USA) over Lachlan McNeil (Canada)  4-0
 
86 kg
Gold Medal Match: Kyle Dake (USA) over Arsenii Dzhioev (Azerbaijan)  3-2
Bronze Medal Match: Vladimiri Gamkrelidze (Georgia) over Georgios Kougioumtsidis (Greece)  6-0
Bronze Medal Match: Malik Shavaev (Kyrgyzstan) over Ibragim Kadiev (Russia)  4-3
 
125 kg
Gold Medal Match: Amir Zare (Iran) over Abdulla Kurbanov (Russia)  11-0
Bronze Medal Match: Wyatt Hendrickson (USA) over Jaspooran Singh (India)  10-0
Bronze Medal Match: Giorgio Meshvildishvili (Azerbaijan) over Vladislav Baitsaev (Hungary)  Cautions

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back! Can you believe it’s already NCAA wrestling season again?! 
This year Week 1 is unique, in that the span is only two days but jam-packed with competition. 58 of the 77 D1 programs scheduled to compete, with 12 of last year’s Top-20 in play.
While there’s only a handful of duals, we have six tournaments on tap to get the season rolling: Clarion Open, Cowboy Invite, Hurst Open, Navy Classic, Princeton Open, and the Southeast Open, with some other less D1-friendly tournaments (ESU Open and Jimmie Open) that won't really benefit you in the fantasy boxscore at the end of the day.

A reminder of some important rules:
Wrestlers entered at a weight must compete at that weight or else their results will not be counted. Wrestlers in the “Floater” spots can compete at ANY weight and accumulate Fantasy points. A wrestler will LOCK on your roster at 12pm ET on the day of their first competition for the week. (refer to the SHP’s Week Preview) Only results against D1 competition (starters, backups, and redshirts) will count towards Fantasy Points.  Check your league settings to know how many add/drops are permitted per week. 
Have a question, concern, suggestions, or just want to chat about Fantasy Wrestling? Hit us up on X (Twitter) or head over to the InterMat Forums where we have a Fantasy Wrestling dedicated Forum page! Tournament entries are still trickling in, so turn those notifications “ON” and  check the InterMat Forums for updated entries 

 
Wrestlers I Like This Week
Wrestler (School)- competition for the week [Proj Score]

 
125:
Rocklin Zinkin (OKST) - Cowboy Invite
Vinny Kilkeary (OHST) - Clarion Open
Antonio Mills (OHST) - Clarion Open
Dom Munaretto (OHST) - Clarion Open
Koda Holeman (CP) - Navy Classic
Tyler Chappell (PITT) - Navy Classic
Travis Clawson (CHAT) - Southeast Open
Nicolar Rivera (MARY) - Southeast Open
Dom Deputy (NCST) - Southeast Open 
Louie Gill (WVU) - Southeast Open
Joe Uhorchuk (ARMY) - Princeton Open
Carson Wagner (BING) - Princeton Open

Henry Aslikyan (MICH) - @ VMI  [+4]
Alan Kohler (WISC) - Vs Bloomsburg  [+4]
Teague Strobel (HOF) - Vs Sacred Heart  [+3]
Ayden Smith (ISU) - Vs Bucknell  [+3]

 
133:
Jax Forrest (OKST) - Cowboy Invite
TK Davis (GWU) - Cowboy Invite
Evan Tallmadge (PITT) - Navy Classic
Jake Crapps (ARMY) - Princeton Open
Matthew Botello (UNC) - Southeast Open
Aaron Seidel (VT) - Southeast Open
Gunner Andrick (WVU) - Southeast Open
 
Andrew Austin (CMU) - Chippewa Challenge [+6]
Moses Mendoza (MICH) - @ VMI  [+5]
Austin Pollard (BLOO) - @ Wisconsin  [+3]
Garrett Grice (ISU) - Vs Bucknell  [+3]

 
141:
Nic Bouzakis (OHST) - Clarion Open
Briar Priest (PITT) - Navy Classic
Gable Porter (UVA) - Navy Classic
Braden Basile (ARMY) - Princeton Open
Alex Almeyda (PENN) - Princeton Open
Ethan Uhorchuk (CHAT) - Southeast Open
Dario Lemus (MARY) - Southeast Open
 
Evan Frost (ISU) - Vs Bucknell  [+5]
Kellen Wolbert (MICH) - @ VMI  [+4]
Isaiah Schaefer (PUR) - Vs Kent State  [+3]


 
149:

Carter Nogle (AF) - Clarion Open
Jordyn Raney (OKST) - Cowboy Invite
Sergio Vega (OKST) - Cowboy Invite  
Eugene Harney (PITT) - Navy Classic
Kal Miller (PITT) - Navy Classic
Drew Gorman (VT) - Southeast Open
Cross Wasilewski (PENN) - Princeton Open
Eligh Rivera (PRIN) - Princeton Open


Jimmy Nugent (CMU) - Chippewa Challenge [+7]
Noah Tapia (HOF) - Vs Sacred Heart  [+4]
Sergio Lemley (MICH) - @ VMI  [+4]
Jacob Frost (ISU) - Vs Bucknell  [+3]
Gavin Brown (PUR) - Vs Kent State  [+3]
 
157:
Brandon Cannon (OHST) - Clarion Open
Vince Bouzakis (PITT) - Navy Classic
Jimmy Harrington (UVA) - Navy Classic
Jude Swisher (PENN) - Princeton Open
Charlie DeSena (PENN) - Princeton Open
Landon Robideau (OKST) - Cowboy Invite
Bentley Sly (APP) - Southeast Open 
DJ McGee (GMU) - Southeast Open
Griffin LaPlante (NCST) - Southeast Open
Derek Raike (OHIO) - Southeast Open
Ty Watters (WVU) - Southeast Open
 
Gage Owen (AMER) - Chippewa Challenge  [+7]
Paniro Johnson (ISU) - Vs Bucknell  [+4]
JT Chance (KENT) - @ Purdue  [+3]


 
165:
Ethan Stiles (OHST) - Clarion Open
Dylan Evans (PITT) - Navy Classic
Nick Hamilton (UVA) - Navy Classic
Thomas Snipes (BING) - Princeton Open
Sean Seedfeldt (PENN) - Princeton Open
Ty Whalen (PRIN) - Princeton Open
Kross Cassidy (GMU) - Southeast Open 
Mac Church (VT) - Southeast Open
Noah Nininger (VT) - Southeast Open
Dee Lockett (OKST) - Cowboy Invite
Casey Swiderski (OKST) - Cowboy Invite

Cam Catrabone (MICH) - @ VMI  [+5]
Joey Blaze (PUR) - Vs Kent State  [+4]
Cody Goebel (WISC) - Vs Bloomsburg  [+4]

 
174:
Jaxon Smith (OHST) - Clarion Open
Moses Espinoza-Owens (UVU) - Clarion Open
Alex Facundo (OKST) - Cowboy Invite
Lorenzo Norman (OKST) - Cowboy Invite
Bode Marlow (PITT) - Navy Classic
Gunner Filipowicz (ARMY) - Princeton Open
Carter Baer (BING) - Princeton Open
Holden Garcia (PRIN) - Princeton Open
Evan Maag (GMU) - Southeast Open
Ryan Burton (VT) - Southeast Open
Brody Conley (WVU) - Southeast Open


Jurius Clark (HOF) - Vs Sacred Heart  [+4]
Beau Mantanona (MICH) - @ VMI  [+4]
Lucas Condon (WISC) - Vs Bloomsburg  [+4]
Brody Baumann (PUR) - Vs Kent State  [+3]
 
184:
Bennett Berge (OKST) - Cowboy Invite
Mikey White (OKST) - Cowboy Invite 
Caesar Garza (CP) - Navy Classic
Chase Kranitz (PITT) - Navy Classic
CJ Betz (PENN) - Princeton Open  
Tomas Brooker (APP) - Southeast Open
Jeremy Olszko (OHIO) - Southeast Open
Jaden Bullock (VT) - Southeast Open
Sergio Desiante (VT) - Southeast Open
Ian Bush (WVU) - Southeast Open

 
Caleb Campos (AMER) - Chippewa Challenge [+10]
Brock Mantanona (MICH) - @ VMI  [+5]
Clayton Whiting (WISC) - Vs Bloomsburg  [+4]
James Rowley (PUR) - Vs Kent State  [+3]
 
197:
Kael Bennie (UVU) - Clarion Open
Stephen Little (LR) - Cowboy Invite
Cody Merrill (OKST) - Cowboy Invite
Mac Stout (PITT) - Navy Classic
Kade Rule (CHAT) - Southeast Open
Branson John (MARY) - Southeast Open
Sonny Sasso (VT) - Southeast Open
 
Luke Cochran (CMU) - Chippewa Challenge [+8]
Wyatt Ingham (WISC) - Vs Bloomsburg  [+5]
Will Conlon (HOF) - Vs Sacred Heart  [+4]
Hayden Walters (MICH) - @ VMI  [+3]

 
285:
Nick Feldman (OHST) - Clarion Open
Dreshaun Ross (OKST) - Cowboy Invite 
Dayton Pitzer (PITT) - Navy Classic
Brady Colbert (ARMY) - Princeton Open
Lucas Stoddard (ARMY) - Princeton Open
Stephan Monchery (APP) - Southeast Open
Kai Calcutt (NCST) - Southeast Open
Jimmy Mullen (VT) - Southeast Open
Max Vanadia (WVU) - Southeast Open
 
Coby Merrill (ISU) - Vs Bucknell  [+4]
Brendan Gilchrist (SHU) - @ Hofstra  [+4]
Braxton Amos (WISC) - Vs Bloomsburg  [+4]

**************************************************
Good luck and win the week!

It was hard to top the first day of men’s freestyle competition at the 2026 World Championships, but the American squad might have accomplished that feat. On Thursday, Bo Bassett and Kyle Snyder defeated world champions from Russia along their paths to the world finals. Today, both completed their runs with gold medals.
Additionally, four of their team members started their tournaments and each is still in medal contention.
Friday’s finals featured one of the prodigies of a past generation teaming up with the current “next big thing” to claim gold medals as Snyder and Bassett took the mat.
Each finished their tournaments in different ways, but each was fitting given their history and reputation.
Bassett took the mat first against Armenian veteran Vazgen Tavanyan, a two-time Olympian and one-time world bronze medalist. The Armenian made the finals after a controversial last-second win over returning champion Rahman Amouzad of Iran. Tavanyan was given a point for a caution on Amouzad for failing to engage during the final seconds of their semifinal contest, which turned the bout in Tavanyan’s favor.
The Tavanyan/Bassett matchup was always going to be a contrast in styles. Bassett is known for his motor, pace, and variety and frequency of offensive attacks. Tavanyan is more measured with his offense and is generally defensive minded. In a sign of things to come, Bassett finally was able to penetrate through Tavanyan’s defense and secure a takedown during the final seconds of the opening period.
Though he held a 2-1 lead, Bassett only turned up the pressure offensively in the second and netted three additional takedowns, along with a point for a head slap from Tavanyan.
For the final three seconds of the match, Bassett allowed the time to run out and began to savor the victory. Those were potentially the only three seconds of the bout in which Bassett was not furiously trying to set up an attack.
With his win, Bassett now has two world titles in 2026 - one at the U20 age group and this one at Seniors. It likely washes the sour taste out of his mouth after a medal-less showing at the U23 World Championships earlier this month.
Bassett became the first American to win a world title at the 65/66 kg range since current head coach Bill Zadick won a world championship in 2006.
If Bassett is known for pace and overall domination, Snyder has become synonymous with engineering clutch comeback wins. The veteran added another incredible comeback to his resume as he escaped from a 4-0 hole and shocked Japan’s Arash Yoshida with under :30 left in their 97 kg final.
After getting frustrated with Yoshida’s head/hands defense and ability to wiggle out of danger, Snyder finally broke through his Japanese opponents defense and finished a single leg at the edge of the match with :24 seconds remaining in the contest. He nearly got four points for the finish, but wasn’t able to challenge the ruling due to a lost challenge in the previous sequence.
That didn’t end up mattering as Snyder stayed extremely active and was able to create a situation where he got a go-behind to tie the bout at four, but he went ahead on criteria. Snyder nearly turned Yoshida in a gut wrench, but that effort from par terre milked the final seconds on the clock and Snyder won a 4-4 match.
The win gives Snyder his fifth world championship and sixth world/Olympic title. That combination of six puts him in a tie with legends John Smith and Adeline Gray, one behind Jordan Burroughs. He now has 11 world/Olympic medals and has left with hardware in every World/Olympic event since 2015, but one.
Speaking of adding to medals and legacy, Kyle Dake will be looking to do that tomorrow as he advanced to the world finals at 86 kg. Dake grinded out a workmanlike 6-3 victory over young Russian star Ibragim Kadiev in the semifinals.
In the finals, Dake will face Azerbaijan’s Arsenii Dzhioev, a bronze medalist from the 2025 tournament. Dzhioev has a win over Dake earlier this year at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series event; however, Kadiev also beat him during that tournament, as well.
Both Zain Retherford (70 kg) and Wyatt Hendrickson (125 kg) advanced to the semifinals before suffering a loss, so both will drop down to bronze medal matches. Marcus Blaze (61 kg) fell in the quarterfinals but was pulled back into repechage, so he’ll need to win a match before wrestling for the bronze.
 
American Results
61 kg
Round of 32 - Marcus Blaze over Emrah Ormanoglu (Turkiye)  Fall 3:35
Round of 16 - Marcus Blaze over Leonid Colesnic (Moldova)  10-0
Quarterfinals - Ahmad Javan (Iran) over Marcus Blaze  3-2
 
65 kg
Gold Medal Match: Bo Bassett over Vazgen Tavayan (Armenia)  9-1
 
70 kg
Round of 32 - Zain Retherford over Muhammad Abdurachmanov (Belgium)  Fall 1:09
Round of 16 - Zain Retherford over Iszmail Muszukajev (Hungary)  Fall 4:57
Quarterfinals - Zain Retherford over Kanan Heybatov (Azerbaijan)  7-0
Semifinals - Ernazar Akmataliev (Kyrgyzstan) over Zain Retherford  3-2
 
86 kg
Round of 64 - Kyle Dake over Batbilguun Naadambatyn (Mongolia)  6-5
Round of 32 - Kyle Dake over Paulius Lescauskas (Lithuania)  13-2
Round of 16 - Kyle Dake over Bolat Sakayev (Kazakhstan)  11-0
Quarterfinals - Kyle Dake over Malik Shavaev (Kyrgyzstan)  6-2
Semifinals - Kyle Dake over Ibragim Kadiev (Russia)  6-3
 
97 kg
Gold Medal Match: Kyle Snyder over Arash Yoshida (Japan)  4-4
 
125 kg
Round of 32 - Wyatt Hendrickson over Shamil Sharipov (Bahrain)  11-0
Round of 16 - Wyatt Hendrickson over Buheerdun (China)  11-1
Quarterfinals - Wyatt Hendrickson over Mohsen Siyar (Germany)  12-2
Semifinals - Amir Zare (Iran) over Wyatt Hendrickson  10-0

 
Saturday’s Gold Medal Matches
61 kg - Zavur Uguev (Russia) vs. Ahmad Javan (Iran)
70 kg - Ibragim Ibragimov (Russia) vs. Ernazar Akmataliev (Kyrgyzstan)
86 kg - Kyle Dake (USA) vs. Arsenii Dzhioev (Azerbaijan)
125 kg - Amir Zare (Iran) vs. Abdulla Kurbanov (Russia)

 
Final Results
65 kg
Gold Medal Match: Bo Bassett (USA) over Vazgen Tavayan (Armenia)  9-1
Bronze Medal Match: Rahman Amouzad (Iran) over Shamil Mamedov (Bulgaria)  5-4
Bronze Medal Match: Abasgadzhi Magomedov (Russia) over Abdulamazhid Kudiev (Tajikistan)  3-2

 
97 kg
Gold Medal Match: Kyle Snyder (USA) over Arash Yoshida (Japan)  4-4
Bronze Medal Match: Abdulrashid Sadulaev (Russia) over Zbiginiew Baranowski (Poland)  5-0
Bronze Medal Match: Hassan Yazdani (Iran) over Akhmed Tazhudinov (Bahrain)  5-0