Ladarion Lockett, PJ Duke and Marcus Blaze Lead High School Stars onto U20 World Wrestling Team

U20 World Team Spots Decided at Spire Academy

On Saturday at the Spire Academy in Geneva, Ohio, the USA Wrestling U20 Freestyle World Team members were decided in best-of-three wrestling showdowns for every weight classification.

Ladarion Lockett Ends Jayden James' Underdog Run at 74kg

Former U17 World Champion and last year’s U20 World Silver medalist, No. 1 Ladarion Lockett of Oklahoma put an end to New Jersey’s Jayden James’ storybook run to their encounter at 74 kilograms (163 pounds). Lockett was heavily favored and swept the meeting in two straight with the first one going the distance with a 6-1 count and the final bout ending in a 15-2 technical fall for Lockett.

James was the nation’s No. 1 150-pounder until he started migrating up in weight. James, who is currently ranked 11th at 165 pounds, earned an U17 World Team position in Freestyle at the U.S. Open at 71 kilograms (roughly 157 pounds). James had literally nothing to lose in challenging himself as a 16-year-old by moving up, not just in weight, but age as well.

Lockett won the U20 title at the U.S. Open, so he was able to sit out the bracketed competition and just meet the eventual winner to determine the world team. Lockett probably thought he’d face off with Pennsylvania’s Joe Sealey or Illinois’ No. 2 Will Denny, but James was a danger no one saw lurking.

The Junior started his run with a 7-0 decision of California’s Laird Root, then a quarterfinal tech, 10-0, of No. 15 Benjamin Weader of Virginia. James’ semifinal opponent was former U17 World Champion Sealey, who wrestles for Penn State now, and James blew everyone’s minds with an improbable 10-0 tech in just 1:40. Denny would be James’ finals foe and he too was discarded but lasted the whole match before falling 10-8. James scored eight points in the first period of the Denny match and rode that to the victory.

PJ Duke Claims Freestyle Spot, Eyes Final X Showdown

New York’s No. 1 PJ Duke added an U20 World Team Trials title to go along with the Senior World Team Trial crown he won earlier in May. The difference in this title being this win puts him on the World Team, while the Senior victory sets Duke up for a Final X dance with Yianni Diakomihalis on June 14th.

Like Lockett, Duke was able to sit aside and wait for his opponent to emerge from the field after winning the U.S. Open gold. Duke, who won an U20 bronze medal at the World Championships a year ago, faced off with Minnesota’s No. 2 Landon Robideau. Robideau reached the match with Duke after downing No. 3 Melvin Miller of Pennsylvania, 3-2. Robideau had previously beaten Miller at FloWrestling’s Who’s No. 1 during this cycle.

Duke and Robideau had a previous encounter as well, that one at the U.S. Open in the semis where Duke came out on top, 8-3. Duke swept the series here with a 7-0 shutout and a 9-4 decision in the follow-up. 

Marcus Blaze Shines in Loaded 61kg Bracket

Ohio’s No. 1 Marcus Blaze is one of the brightest high school prospects in recent years. Blaze has regularly defeated college wrestlers and handled many of the top high school guys including taking out Pennsylvania’s No. 2 Bo Bassett at the Senior World Team Trials. That win put Blaze atop the 144-pound rankings.

The senior moved back down in weight for this affair stepping on the mat at 61 kilograms (134 pounds), so in our next update to the High School National High School Wrestling Rankings, Blaze will go back to 138. Blaze chose to participate in the Senior Freestyle brackets at the U.S. Open, so he had to first navigate the challenge field here before taking on Arizona’s Kyler Larkin.

Blaze downed two top 15 guys to reach the finals, Michigan’s No. 14 (132) Jackson Blum, 10-0, and No. 3 (132) Aaron Seidel of Pennsylvania, 5-1. In the finals, Zan Fugitt (University of Wisconsin) was blanked with a 10-0 tech. Blaze put one of those 10-0 techs on Larkin in their opener then won the second one 4-1. Blaze was an U17 World Champ as a sophomore and claimed an U20 bronze at Worlds last year.

Henckel, Knox and Stanich Punch Through in Loaded Fields

New Jersey’s No. 1 William Henckel made his first world team at 79 kilograms after finishing as a runner-up the last few years. Henckel won the U.S. Open title, 11-8, over Brock Mantanona (University of Michigan). Mantanona made it through the challenge bracket to see Henckel again and experienced the same outcome, but in a very different manner, as the U.S. Open loss was close and both of these bouts ended with 10-0 techs in the first frame (1:17 and 2:24).

Another wrestler making his world debut is New Jersey’s No. 1 Anthony Knox, who after a few close calls finally made the big move to the top at 57 kilograms but needed all three matches with Oklahoma’s Ignacio Villasenor (No. 4 at 120) to do so.

Knox and Villasenor were involved in a tight affair in their beginning bout that saw Knox up 2-1 with seconds on the clock when Villasenor electrified the folks on hand with a quick shot to steal the win, 3-2. Knox asserted himself in the middle match, taking an early 6-2 lead and parlaying that into a 13-5 win. The rubber match would end in 36 seconds as Knox mudslided Villasenor with a takedown and gut wrench for the 10-0 tally. 

Villasenor’s appearance with Knox was a bit of a surprise as he needed to upset Georgia’s Antonio Mills (No. 3 at 126), 7-0, in the challenge final. To get there, Villasenor hung losses on Pennsylvania’s Nathan Desmond (No. 10 at 132), 7-7, Pennsylvania’s Shamus Regan (No. 9 at 120), 11-0, and Mack Mauger (University of Missouri), 10-0.

Lehigh’s Luke Stanich squared off with Bassett in his best-of-three series at 65 kilograms and, like Knox, needed all three matches to gain supremacy. Stanich handed Bassett a 5-2 loss in the U.S. Open semis. Stanich took the first one here, 3-2, then Bassett returned the favor with a 3-2 count of his own, to set up a final meeting that got away from Bassett in the second period, ending in a 10-0 tech.

Last year in these very same trials, Bassett was the champ and went on to place third in the world. In those finals, Bassett defeated California’s Aden Valencia. Bassett had to take out Valencia in the challenge finals, 5-4. Bassett posted his third straight win over No. 5 Daniel Zepeda (California), 14-2, in the semis, and also teched No. 4 Noah Nininger of Virginia, 14-4, in the quarters. Zepeda was the last high school wrestler before Blaze to defeat Bassett, and that was at Who’s No. 1 ahead of Bassett’s sophomore season.

Dreshaun Ross Reaches Finals, Falls to Mirasola at 125kg

Iowa’s top-rated heavyweight, Dreshaun Ross reached the grand final at 125 kilograms after making it through the challenge bracket with a 10-0 tech of former World Champion, Koy Hopke (University of Minnesota). His reward was to face the same guy, Cole Mirasola of Penn State, that beat him 7-5 in the U.S. Open finals. Unfortunately for Ross, that result was duplicated here with 4-1 and 5-2 scores.  

College Stars Round Out Final World Team Spots

The final Freestyle champs came from the collegiate ranks, University of Minnesota’s Max McEnelly (86 kilograms), Penn State’s Connor Mirasola (92), and Oregon State's Justin Rademacher (97).

Cortez and Noble Lead Greco-Roman High Schoolers to World Team

Two high schoolers made the U20 World Team in Greco Roman on Friday, Illinois’ Caleb Noble (55 kilograms) and California’s Isaiah Cortez (60).

Noble, who is just a sophomore, is ranked No. 6 in the nation by High School on SI at 113 pounds, has enjoyed quite the calendar year, grabbing golds at Super 32, Ironman, and the USA Folkstyle Nationals. His Greco Gold at the U.S. Open allowed him to sit out the challenge portion and take on that winner, North Dakota’s Nicholas Enzminger (No. 26 at 120). Noble handled Enzminger in two straight, 5-3 and 8-5, after recently falling to his rival at the Northern Plains Regional.

Cortez, who captured a World Silver in Greco a year ago, chose to participate in the Senior Division at the U.S. Open in Greco Roman where he placed fourth. The U.S. Open Champ, Nevada’s Manuel Saldate, was absent from the World Team Trials. After winning the challenge bracket, Cortez took out U.S. Open runner-up, Treygin Morin (Suples EC), 10-2 and 9-0, in consecutive techs.

Full U20 Freestyle and Greco-Roman Results

U20 Men’s Freestyle Results

Best-of-Three Championship Series

57 kg #

Anthony Knox (Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC) defeated Ignacio Villasenor (Cowboy WC), two matches to one

Round 1 – Villasenor dec. Knox, 3-2

Round 2 – Knox dec. Villasenor, 13-5

Round 3 – Knox tech. fall Villasenor, 10-0

61 kg #

Marcus Blaze (Titan Mercury WC) defeated Kyler Larkin (Valiant WC), two matches to none

Round 1 – Blaze tech. fall Larkin, 10-0

Round 2 – Blaze dec. Larkin, 4-1

65 kg #

Luke Stanich (Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC) defeated Bo Bassett (Titan Mercury WC), two matches to one

Round 1 – Stanich dec. Bassett, 3-2

Round 2 – Bassett dec. Stanich, 3-2

Round 3 – Stanich tech. fall Bassett, 10-0

70 kg

PJ Duke (KD Training Center/ Titan Mercury WC) defeated Landon Robideau (Cowboy RTC/ Titan Mercury WC), two matches to none

Round 1 – Duke dec. Robideau, 7-0

Round 2 – Duke dec. Robideau, 9-4

74 kg

Ladarion Lockett (Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) defeated Jayden James (KD Training Center), two matches to none

Round 1 – Lockett dec. James, 6-1

Round 2 – Lockett tech. fall James, 15-2

79 kg

William Henckel (Blairstown WC) defeated Brock Mantanona (Cliff Keen WC), two matches to none

Round 1 – Henckel tech. fall Mantanona, 10-0

Round 2 – Henckel tech. fall Mantanona, 10-0

86 kg

Max McEnelly (Minnesota RTC) defeated Aeoden Sinclair (Tiger Style WC), two matches to one

Round 1 – Sinclair dec. McEnelly, 10-2

Round 2 – McEnelly dec. Sinclair, 6-5

Round 3 – McEnelly dec. Sinclair, 3-2

92 kg

Connor Mirasola (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) defeated Dillon Bechtold (Buffalo Valley RTC), two matches to none

Round 1 – Mirasola tech. fall Bechtold, 10-0

Round 2 – Mirasola dec. Bechtold, 4-1

97 kg

Justin Rademacher (Beaver Dam Wrestling RTC) defeated Camden McDanel (Nebraska Wrestling Training Center), two matches to none

Round 1 – Rademacher dec. McDanel, 10-5

Round 2 – Rademacher dec. McDanel, 7-1

125 kg

Cole Mirasola (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) defeated Dreshaun Ross (Sebolt Wrestling Academy), two matches to none

Round 1 – Mirasola dec. Ross, 4-1

Round 2 – Mirasola dec. Ross, 5-2

Challenge Tournament Placement Matches #

57 kg

1st – Ignacio Villasenor (Cowboy WC) dec. Antonio Mills (Roundtree Wrestling Academy), 7-0

3rd – Paul Kenny (New Jersey) dec. Davis Motyka (Pennsylvania RTC), 5-4

61 kg

1st – Marcus Blaze (Titan Mercury WC) tech. fall Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin RTC), 10-0

3rd – Benjamin Davino (Ohio RTC/Titan Mercury WC) dec. Aaron Seidel (Steller Trained Wrestling), 9-0

65 kg

1st – Bo Bassett (Titan Mercury WC) dec. Aden Valencia (California RTC/Titan Mercury WC), 5-4

3rd – Pierson Manville (Atreus WC) tech fall Daniel Zepeda (Daniel Cormier Academy), 10-0

70 kg

1st – Landon Robideau (Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) dec. Melvin Miller (Bishop McCort), 3-2

3rd – Jaxon Joy (Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC) dec. Kody Routledge (Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC), 10-3

74 kg

1st – Jayden James (KD Training Center) dec. William Denny (Victory Elite Wrestling), 10-8

3rd – Joseph Sealey (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) dec. Alessio Perentin (Spartan Combat RTC /Titan Mercury WC), 8-1

79 kg

1st – Brock Mantanona (Cliff Keen WC) dec. Louie Cerchio (Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC), 13-8

3rd – Lucas Condon (Wisconsin RTC) fall Collin Carrigan (Tar Heel WC), 4:18

86 kg

1st – Aeoden Sinclair (Tiger Style WC) tech. fall Nicholas Fox (Panther WC-RTC), 11-0

3rd – Jake Dailey (Tar Heel WC) forfeit Carson Thomas (Indiana RTC)

92 kg

1st – Dillon Bechtold (Buffalo Valley RTC) dec. Cody Merrill (Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC), 5-3

3rd – Sonny Sasso (Titan Mercury WC/Southeast RTC) dec. Tucker Hogan (Mat-Town USA), 10-7

97 kg

1st – Camden McDanel (Nebraska Wrestling Training Center) dec. Cade Ziola (MWC Wrestling Academy), 8-2

3rd – Quinlan Morgan (Jackrabbit WC) tech. fall Soren Herzog (Air Force RTC), 10-0

125 kg

1st – Dreshaun Ross (Sebolt Wrestling Academy) tech. fall Koy Hopke (Minnesota RTC), 10-0

3rd – Coby Merrill (John W. North High School Wrestling) dec. Michael Mocco (ATT/Mocco Wrestling Academy), 9-0

U20 Greco-Roman Results

Best-of-Three Championship Series

55 kg

Caleb Noble (Toss Em Up Wrestling Academy) defeated Nicolas Enzminger (MatPac), two matches to none

Round 1 – Noble dec.  Enzminger, 5-3

Round 2 – Noble dec.  Enzminger, 8-5

60 kg

Isaiah Cortez (Gilroy) defeated Treygen Morin (Suples WC), two matches to none

Round 1 – Cortez tech. fall Morin, 10-2

Round 2 – Cortez tech. fall Morin, 9-0

63 kg

Landon Drury (NMU-National Training Center) defeated Carter Nogle (Air Force RTC), two matches to none

Round 1 – Drury dec. Nogle, 5-2

Round 2 – Drury dec. Nogle, 4-3

67 kg

Otto Black (New York AC/NMU) defeated Pierson Manville (Atreus WC), two matches to none

Round 1 – Black tech. fall Manville, 10-1

Round 2 – Black dec. Manville, 7-5

72 kg

Joel Adams (Beaver Dam Wrestling RTC) defeated Jude Randall (Bellator Pro Deus Wrestling), two matches to none

Round 1 – Adams dec. Randall, 5-1

Round 2 – Adams tech. fall Randall, 11-0

77 kg

Leister Bowling IV (Hawkeye WC) defeated Julian Slaastad (Beat the Streets Chicago-Midway), two matches to none

Round 1 – Bowling IV fall Slaastad,1:59

Round 2 – Bowling IV fall Slaastad, 6:00

82 k #

Arvin Khosravy (West Point WC) defeated Gavin Ricketts (Kentucky), two matches to none

Round 1 – Khosravy dec. Ricketts, 8-1

Round 2 – Khosravy tech. fall Ricketts, 9-0

87 kg

Nick Nosler (Southern Illinois RTC) defeated Aidan Squier (Combat W.C. School of Wrestling), two matches to one

Round 1 – Squier dec. Nosler, 6-1

Round 2 – Nosler tech. fall Squier, 8-0

Round 3 – Nosler dec. Squier, 2-1

97 kg

Soren Herzog (Air Force RTC) defeated Quinlan Morgan (Jackrabbit WC), two matches to none

Round 1 – Herzog tech. fall Morgan, 9-0

Round 2 – Herzog tech. fall Morgan, 10-1

130 kg

Shilo Jones (Bison WC) defeated Trayvn Boger (Protos WC), two matches to none

Round 1 – Jones tech. fall Boger, 8-0

Round 2 – Jones dec. Boger, 4-3

Challenge Tournament Placement Matches #

55 kg

1st – Nicolas Enzminger (MatPac) tech. fall Titan Friederichs (No Nonsense Wrestling), 9-0

3rd – Ezekiel Witt (Bison WC) dec. Jeremiah Wachsmuth (Cobra All-Stars/Cobra Wrestling Systems LLC), 6-1

60 kg

1st – Isaiah Cortez (Gilroy) and Treygen Morin (Suples WC) advance to best-of-three series

3rd – Dillon Cooper (Arkansas RTC) tech. fall Aaron Lucio (Southeastern WC), 14-5

63 kg

1st – Carter Nogle (Air Force RTC) dec. Elijah Cortez (Gilroy), 10-6

3rd – Brian Grabner (Interior Grappling Academy) tech. fall William Anderson (Minion Training Center), 10-0

67 kg

1st – Otto Black (New York AC/NMU) dec. Amryn Nutter (Combat W.C. School of Wrestling), 6-1

3rd – Valentine Popadiuc (505 Wrestling Club) dec. Brandon Dean (Betterman Elite Wrestling), 6-3

72 kg

1st – Joel Adams (Beaver Dam Wrestling RTC) and Jude Randall (Bellator Pro Deus Wrestling) advance to best-of-three series

3rd – Billy Greenwood (GRIT Athletics WC) fall Will Scherer (Combat W.C. School of Wrestling), 1:04

77 kg

1st – Julian Slaastad (Beat the Streets Chicago-Midway) dec. Omaury Alvarez (Tar Heel WC), 4-1

3rd – Aliaksandr Kikiniou Jr (California) tech. fall Cael Miller (Knights RTC), 9-0

82 kg

1st – Arvin Khosravy (West Point WC) dec. Konlin Weaver (Lucha RTC), 7-0

3rd – Brent Slade, Jr. (Moen Wrestling Academy) tech. fall Michael Baldwin (Ragnarok WC), 9-1

87 kg

1st – Aidan Squier (Combat W.C. School of Wrestling) tech. fall Ruben Karapetyan (Dubuque RTC), 8-0

3rd – Henry Baronowski (NMU-National Training Center) received a bye

97 kg

1st – Soren Herzog (Air Force RTC) tech. fall Jayden Tadeo-Gosal (NMU-National Training Center), 8-0

3rd – Evan Grazzini (Knights RTC) received a bye

130 kg

1st – Trayvn Boger (Protos WC) fall Torin Forsyth (Kansas), 1:47

3rd – Cameron Geuther (Panther WC-RTC) dec. Kaden Darwin (Arkansas RTC), 8-3