U20’s August 14th-20th

[zzs006]

U20 World Championships entry list | United World Wrestling

The U20 World Championships will be held in Amman, Jordan.

uww.org

Here is the entry list for all styles. I believe freestyle goes first followed by the women and ending with greco. I will try and go through weight by weight and list the top guys. Probably will take me a bit to make it through.

I’ll start at 57 kg. The US rep is Luke Lilledahl. Lilledahl, a PSU commit took silver at U17 worlds in 2021 and gold at U17’s in 2022. To make the team he beat last years U20 champion Jore Volk and Oklahoma State’s Troy Spratley. 57 kg is absolutely loaded with tough kids. Lilledahl can absolutely win this weight but depending on the draw I could see him fail to place as well. His top competitors are..

Ahmad Javan-Iran. Javan took 3rd at U20’s last year only losing to Volk. He has wrestled at the senior level this year and recently took 5th at the 4th ranking series event where he beat Zanazabar Zandanbud. Zandanbud took 3rd at senior worlds last year so that is a huge win.

Yuto NISHIUCHI-Japan. Nishiuchi might be Lilledahls top competition in this bracket. He recently took silver at the Zagreb Open where he beat Darian Cruz, Zane Richards, and Aman Aman. He is also the 2022 U20 world champion at 61kg

Tolga Ozbek-TUR. Ozbek was 7th at the 2022 U20 worlds. This year he placed 3rd at the European U20’s and 2nd at the European U23’s.

Ruslan ABDULLAYEV-AZE. Abdullayev took gold at the European U20’s this year where he beat Ozbek in the semis.

Udit Udit-India. Udit won the 2023 U20 Asian championships at 57kg. He also was bronze at the 2019 Cadet worlds

Merey BAZARBAYEV-KAZ. Bazarbayev was the silver medalist at last years U20 worlds losing to Jore Volk in the final. This year he won bronze at the U20 Asians losing to Udit Udit

Nodirbek JUMANAZAROV-UZB. Jumanazarov took silver at the 2021 U17 worlds where he teched Nate Jesuroga 10-0

Super tough weight. This also doesn’t include the wrestler from Russia. It’s a bit tough to find information on the Russians at the age group levels right now because most of them don’t have results from the past couple years. No matter what Lilledahl has his work cut out for him. Tough matchups all over the place. I did a quick look through of the weights earlier and on my cursory glance this seems like one of the tougher weights. I still think Lilledahl gets it done with his toughest competition being the wrestler from Japan

 

[zzs006]

61kg
US rep-Nic Bouzakis. Bouzakis was #2 on the class of 2022 big board. Now at Ohio State where he redshirted this past year but should be the starter at 133 this coming year. He made the 2021 US world junior team in greco but did not place. Last year he made the US U20 freestyle team and finished 7th. I expect better results from him this go round and think he is a title contender. To win he needs to shore up his defense however. He gets in a bunch of high scoring shootouts (13-11 and 16-15 at worlds last year) which is a tough way to win. Overall, 61kg isnt a super deep weight and isn’t near as tough as 57kg

Top competitors-

Mohit Kumar-India. Probably the top guy at 61kg coming in. 2022 U20 world bronze only losing to Nishiuchi (now at 57). 2023 U20 Asians gold and 2023 U23 Asians gold

Ali Khorramdel-Iran. 2021 Cadet world champion

Levik Mikayelyan-ARM. 2021 Junior worlds 5th. 2023 U20 Europeans 2nd

Abdinur Nurlanbek-KAZ. 2021 U17 world silver. 2023 U20 Europeans 3rd

Besir Alili-MKD. 2022 senior Europeans 5th

No info that I can find on the Russian wrestler. Bouzakis should absolutely be in the mix to win this bracket. Kumar and Khorramdel look like the top competition on paper

 

[zzs006]

65kg

US rep-Jesse Mendez. The second in a row from Ohio State, Mendez rook 6th at the NCAA tournament this past season as a true freshman. He was 3rd on the 2022 big board coming out of high school. Took 9th at the 2019 cadet worlds and 8th at the 2021 junior worlds. Will be wrestling at 141 in college going forward. Probably redshirting this coming season. Mendez beat PSU incoming freshman Tyler Kasak in 2 straight to make the team

Top competitors-

Mykyta Zubal-UKR. Definite gold medal threat. 2022 U20 worlds 5th. 2022 U20 Euro’s 1st. 2023 U20 Euro’s 1st. 2023 U23 Euro’s 1st

K Kadamov-UZB. 2019 cadet worlds 2nd. 2021 cadet world champion

Goga Itanashvili-GEO. 2022 U17 worlds 3rd. 2023 U20 Euro’s 2nd. 2023 U23 Euro’s 3rd

Jaskavan Singh-India. 2021 cadet world champion. 2023 U20 Asian’s 1st

Mohammad Reza Shakeri-IRI. Gold medal contender. 2021 cadet worlds 5th. 2022 U20 worlds 9th. 2023 senior level tournament Yaser Dogu champion

Aden Sakybaev-KGZ. 2023 U20 Asians 3rd. 2023 U23 Asians 2nd

S. Itaev-FRA. 2022 U20 worlds 10th. 2023 U20 Euro’s 3rd

Said Elgahsh-EGY. 2023 African champion

Solid weight with quite a few contenders. Mendez has been fairly dominant domestically but hasn’t had great international showings. I expect him to have a really good performance. Should come home with a medal and possibly gold. No info on the Russian entry at this weight either. Zubal has had a bunch of hype the past few years and had good results but not the results at worlds that people expected. Zubal, Shakeri, Singh, and Kadamov are guys to watch out for.

 

[zzs006]

70kg

US rep-Meyer Shapiro. Shapiro is an incoming freshman at Cornell. This past season as a high school senior he only competed in college opens where he went undefeated and looked incredible. He was the 2021 cadet world champion. 2023 #1 on the Flo big board. Expectations are extremely high and I feel like he meets them. Super fun and dynamic wrestler

Top competitors-

Magomed Baitukaev-AIN. The first Russian wrestler that I found some info on. 2021 cadet world champion at 55kg

Hayk Papikyan-ARM. 2022 U20 worlds 5th (lost to Mesenbrink 6-3). 2023 U20 Euros 2nd at 74kg. 2023 U23 Euros 2nd at 74kg. Earlier this year he wrestled at the journeyman world classic where Joe Sealey beat him twice 10-0 and 8-6

Saba Kobakhidze-GEO. 2023 U20 Euros 2nd

Narender-IND. 2022 U17 worlds 5th. 2023 U20 Asians 5th. 2023 U23 Asians 3rd

Ali Rezaei-IRI. 2021 cadet worlds 3rd. 2023 U20 Asians 1st. Recently took 2nd at the senior level Yaser Dogu

Mukametali Kabidoldanov-KAZ. 2023 U20 Asians 3rd

Ibrahim Yaprak-TUR. 2023 U20 Euros 1st

Zafarbek Otakhonov-UZB. 2022 U20 Asians 3rd. 2023 U20 Asians 3rd (lost to Rezaei). 2023 senior Asians 2nd. He is ranked by UWW 14th @ 70kg on the senior level

I’m not quite sure what to think about this weight. Shapiro has to be the favorite coming in but Baitukaev, Rezaei, and Yaprak all have results that put them in the conversation as well. The UWW write up mentions Otakhonov as the favorite because of his recent senior level results but he also just lost to Rezaei at U20 Asians. I hope we see a Baitukaev-Shapiro final with Shapiro bringing home another world gold

 

[zzs006]

74kg

US rep-Mitchell Mesenbrink. The weight everyone has been waiting on. Mesenbrink transferred to PSU this summer. This coming college season is completely up in the air on what happens with MM. He could go 157, 165, or take an Olympic redshirt and focus on freestyle. No matter what direction he takes PSU got an absolute savage. He is the 2022 U20 world silver medalist. 2023 U20 pan-am champion. Beat Hunter Garvin in 2 straight to make the team. This weight, like usual, is super deep with a ton of tough kids. Mesenbrink will have a tough road but I think he brings home gold. The first 5 weights for the US are lights out

Top competitors-

Hossein Aghaei-IRI.
Definitely one of the top guys. Absolute medal threat.
2022 U20 Asians 1st.
2022 U20 worlds 3rd (only loss was to Mesenbrink in a great 9-7 match).
2023 U20 Asians 2nd (lost to Bexultanov)

Ryunosuke Kamiya-JPN.
2022 U20 worlds 2nd

Yerkhan Bexultanov-KAZ.
Probably the favorite along with Mesenbrink. 2021 cadet worlds 3rd.
2023 U20 Asians 1st (beat both Aghaei and Karimov)

Feng Lu-CHN.
2023 U23 Asian champion

Giorgi Gogritchiani-GEO.
2021 U17 worlds 2nd (lost to Shapiro in the finals 8-4).
2023 U23 Euros 3rd

Stas Wolf-GER.
2023 U20 Euro champion

Armen Musikyan-ARM.
2021 junior worlds 7th

Jaideep-IND.
2021 junior worlds 9th.
2021 cadet worlds 3rd.
2022 U20 Asians 2nd

Raul Caso-ITA.
2021 cadet worlds 5th
2022 U17 worlds 2nd ( lost to Sealey 12-0 in finals)
2023 U20 Euros 3rd

Asadbek Karimov-UZB.
2023 U20 Asians 3rd (lost to Bexultanov 8-7)

No info on Russia once again but we can be sure that he is a beast. I’m so excited to watch Mesenbrink compete at this level again. He said in his interview that was just posted about how much better he thinks he is compared to last year. I can’t wait to see the jump he has made and to watch him absolutely piss off all his foreign opponents. Go back and watch his matches from last year worlds and every opponent gets super pissed about MM’s handfighting, pace, and physicality. It’s wonderful to watch

 

[STAND with PRIDE]

ZZZ, do you Work?
LOL, wow, great write-ups!!
You are my new favorite poster, sorry PSUGO.

 

[zzs006]

ZZZ, do you Work?
LOL, wow, great write-ups!!
You are my new favorite poster, sorry PSUGO.

Thank you. I’m glad you enjoy the write-ups. This is probably my second favorite tournament after NCAA’s. I love seeing the future stars break out and announce to the world that they are here. The thing that sucked though was having no information at all about the competition outside of the US team so I started doing a bit of research and figured you guys might enjoy it as well. I will finish up the men’s freestyle in the next couple days

 

[zzs006]

79kg

US rep- Matthew Singleton. Singleton is a 4 time high school state champion from Georgia. His high school record was 213-3. Was the number 10 overall recruit in 2022. Started as a true freshman for NC State this past year at 165. He was on the 2021 Junior world team but in greco. Beat Gabe Arnold 2 matches to 1 to make the world team this year

Top competitors-

Sagar Jaglan-IND. One of the biggest favorites in the tournament.
2021 cadet world champion
2022 U20 worlds 3rd
2022 senior worlds 5th (lost to Dake 5-0)
2023 U20 Asians 1st
2023 U23 Asians 1st

Farzad Safi-IRI.
2023 U20 Asians 2nd (lost to Jaglan)

Otari Adeishvili-GEO.
2022 U20 worlds 3rd
2023 U20 Euro’s 1st

Gregor Eigenbrodt-GER.
2021 cadet world team
2023 U20 Euros 2nd

Narek Grigoryan-ARM.
2021 cadet worlds 7th
2023 U20 Euros 3rd
2023 U23 Euros 5th

Magzhan Zhanyrbay-KAZ.
2023 U20 Asians 3rd

On paper 79kg is definitely one of the weaker weights but also has one of the best wrestlers in the entire tournament in Jaglan. No info on the Russian. Adeishvili is the other top guy. Singleton has a good shot to place especially if he wrestles like he did at trials where he beat MJ Gaitan, Josh Barr, and Gabe Arnold.

 

[BrockBronson]

U20 World Championships entry list | United World Wrestling

The U20 World Championships will be held in Amman, Jordan.

uww.org

Here is the entry list for all styles. I believe freestyle goes first followed by the women and ending with greco. I will try and go through weight by weight and list the top guys. Probably will take me a bit to make it through.

I’ll start at 57 kg. The US rep is Luke Lilledahl. Lilledahl, a PSU commit took silver at U17 worlds in 2021 and gold at U17’s in 2022. To make the team he beat last years U20 champion Jore Volk and Oklahoma State’s Troy Spratley. 57 kg is absolutely loaded with tough kids. Lilledahl can absolutely win this weight but depending on the draw I could see him fail to place as well. His top competitors are..

Ahmad Javan-Iran. Javan took 3rd at U20’s last year only losing to Volk. He has wrestled at the senior level this year and recently took 5th at the 4th ranking series event where he beat Zanazabar Zandanbud. Zandanbud took 3rd at senior worlds last year so that is a huge win.

Yuto NISHIUCHI-Japan. Nishiuchi might be Lilledahls top competition in this bracket. He recently took silver at the Zagreb Open where he beat Darian Cruz, Zane Richards, and Aman Aman. He is also the 2022 U20 world champion at 61kg

Tolga Ozbek-TUR. Ozbek was 7th at the 2022 U20 worlds. This year he placed 3rd at the European U20’s and 2nd at the European U23’s.

Ruslan ABDULLAYEV-AZE. Abdullayev took gold at the European U20’s this year where he beat Ozbek in the semis.

Udit Udit-India. Udit won the 2023 U20 Asian championships at 57kg. He also was bronze at the 2019 Cadet worlds

Merey BAZARBAYEV-KAZ. Bazarbayev was the silver medalist at last years U20 worlds losing to Jore Volk in the final. This year he won bronze at the U20 Asians losing to Udit Udit

Nodirbek JUMANAZAROV-UZB. Jumanazarov took silver at the 2021 U17 worlds where he teched Nate Jesuroga 10-0

Super tough weight. This also doesn’t include the wrestler from Russia. It’s a bit tough to find information on the Russians at the age group levels right now because most of them don’t have results from the past couple years. No matter what Lilledahl has his work cut out for him. Tough matchups all over the place. I did a quick look through of the weights earlier and on my cursory glance this seems like one of the tougher weights. I still think Lilledahl gets it done with his toughest competition being the wrestler from Japan

Lightning is one of the best FS wrestlers at his age I remember since Henry. He will get it done

 

[zzs006]

86kg

US rep- Bennett Berge-5 time MN state champion. #26 on the 2022 big board. Redshirted this past season at SDSU. 2022 U20 world silver. 2023 U23 pan-am champion

Top competitors-

Rakhim Magamadov-FRA
Definitely the favorite coming in and one of the most credentialed wrestlers in the tournament.
2021 Junior worlds 2nd
2022 U20 worlds 1st (beat Berge 10-5 in finals)
2023 U20 Euros 1st
2023 U23 Euros 1st
2023 4th ranking event seniors 3rd ( lost to Kurugliev 6-3)

Mushegh Mkrtchyan-ARM
2022 U20 worlds 2nd at 79kg
2023 U20 Euro’s 2nd

Makul Dahiya-IND
2023 U20 Asians 1st

Amirhossein Alizadeh-IRI
2023 U20 Asians 2nd

Tornike Samkharadze-GEO
2021 Cadet worlds 3rd
2023 U20 Euros 3rd

Not a deep weight at all. On paper we should see a rematch of last years final between Berge and Magamadov. Russia could surprise as well as Dahiya and Mkrtchyan. Magamadov is absolutely the favorite especially with his senior results this year where he beat Fatih Erdin and Tariel Gaphrindashvili. Gaphrindashvili is ranked 8th at the senior level by UWW. Erdin was the 2018 senior world runner-up. His results haven’t been as good lately but still a big win for Magamadov.

 

[BrockBronson]

ZZS thank you for these break downs. They are incredible. The U20’s are so deep as always.

 

[jrod65]

Great work @zzs006! Appreciate the info. U20's is one of my favorites as well.

Below Twitter account posts easy to follow schedules for many of the international tourneys. Here's the U20'S schedule:

 

[Cali_Nittany]

ZZS thank you for these break downs. They are incredible. The U20’s are so deep as always.

I think we should keep @zzs006 around. (@jrod65 is ok too)

 

[Chickenman Testa]

I think we should keep @zzs006 around. (@jrod65 is ok too)

On a probationary basis for a little while more, of course?

 

[zzs006]

92kg

US rep-Jack Darrah
One of the guys with the fewest credentials coming in on the US team but had a very good trials. 2022 Fargo greco champion. 2023 pan-am champ. Beat Stephen Little 2 out of 3 to make the team. Darrah is a sophomore at Stanford

Top competitors-

Mohammadmobin Azimi-IRI
2022 U20 Asians 1st
2023 U20 Asians 1st

Kynaz Iboyan-ARM
2022 U23 worlds 11th
2023 U20 Euro’s 1st
2023 U23 Euro’s 2nd at 86kg

Rizabek Aitmukhan-KAZ
2022 U23 Asians 1st
2023 U23 Asians 1st
2023 senior Asians 2nd

Muhammed Gimri-TUR
2021 junior worlds 5th
2023 U20 Euro’s 2nd
2023 U23 Euro’s 2nd

Mustafagadzhi malachdibirov-AIN
2021 cadet worlds 3rd (lost to Rowley 10-6)

Sali Saliev-BUL
2022 U20 worlds 7th
2023 U20 Euro’s 3rd

Krisztian Angyal-HUN
2021 junior worlds 8th
2022 U20 worlds 5th

Vinay Vinay-IND
2023 U17 worlds 5th
2023 U20 Asians 3rd
2023 U17 Asians 3rd

Probably one of the deepest weights but without a clear cut best guy. Lots of guys with good results across a few years. Azimi hasn’t lost internationally but hasn’t wrestled at worlds before. Iboyan and Aitmukhan look to be the favorites with both winning Euro’s and Asians respectively. I really have no feel for how Darrah will do. He barely has any great freestyle results until this year. Quite possible he took a jump being in the Stanford room but coming in I have a hard time seeing him place. Hope he makes me look foolish

 

[zzs006]

97kg

US rep-Camden McDanel. 2023 #37 on FLO’s big board. Incoming freshman at the University of Nebraska. 2023 pan-am champion. Had a great U.S. open where he beat Sawyer Bartelt in the semis and teched Joey Braunagel in the finals. Beat Steven Burrell in 2 straight to make the team

Top competitors-

Kamil Kurugliyev-KAZ
2021 cadet worlds 3rd (beat Gavin Nelson 6-0)
2022 U17 worlds 1st (teched Max McEnelly)
2023 U20 Asians 1st

Ivan Prymachenko-UKR
2022 U20 Euro’s 2nd
2023 U20 Euro’s 1st

Dogan Uzun-TUR
2023 U20 Euro’s 2nd

Zafar Aliyev-AZE
2023 U20 Euro’s 3rd

Nika Pantsulaia- GEO
2022 U17 worlds 14th
2023 U20 Euro’s 3rd

Islam Kilchukov-AIN
2021 U20 Euro’s 1st

Deepak Chahal-IND
2023 U20 Asians 3rd (lost to Kurugliyev)

Abolfazi Babaloo-IRI
2023 U20 Asians 5th (lost to Kurugliyev 5-4 and Chahal 7-6)

Not a great weight overall. The favorite is definitely Kurugliyev with Prymachenko as someone else to watch out for. Kilchukov representing AIN doesn’t have results for a couple years but he was the Euro champion in 2021. Another weight where I don’t have a good feeling where the US rep sits. I could absolutely see McDanel placing but it probably depends on his draw.

 

[zzs006]

125kg

US rep-Christian Carroll. Carroll ended up 8th on FLO’s 2023 big board but had been #1 or 2 for most of the year. He is an incoming freshman at Oklahoma State. 2020 and 2021 Super 32 champion. 2021 junior national champ in freestyle. 2022 U20 worlds 12th at 97kg. Beat Aden Attao with 2 straight techs to make the team

Top competitors-

Amirreza Masoumi-IRI
The biggest favorite in the entire tournament.
2021 cadet worlds 1st
2022 U20 worlds 1st (teched Feldman 11-1)
2022 U23 worlds 1st
2023 senior Asians 5th

Yusif Dursunov-AZE
2021 cadet worlds 3rd
2022 U17 worlds 8th
2023 U17 worlds 1st
2023 U17 Euro’s 1st
2023 U20 Euro’s 2nd

Hakan Buyukcingil-TUR
2021 cadet worlds 8th
2023 U20 Euro’s 1st

Volodymyr Kochanov-UKR
2022 U20 worlds 9th
2023 U20 Euro’s 3rd
2023 U23 Euro’s 2nd

Levan Lagvilava-FRA
2022 U17 worlds 2nd (lost to Koy Hopke 11-6)
2023 U20 Euro’s 3rd

Rajat Ruhal-IND
2023 U20 Asians 3rd

Not a deep weight at all but has the biggest favorite in the entire tournament plus a youngster coming up after winning gold at U17’s a couple weeks ago. Masoumi is an absolute monster. He is massive and wrestles the typical Iranian style with underhooks and tons of forward pressure. He pushed Nick Feldman all over the mat last year in a one sided match. Dursunov is super young with him winning U17’s this year but is also very good. He did lose at U20 Euro’s to Buyukcingil though so he might not be ready for the top guys at U20. I think Carroll can absolutely place but his draw really matters. The bigger 125kg can likely move him around but he is quick and has great attacks. I expect Masoumi to tech his way through.

Hope you all enjoyed these write-ups! Now when brackets come out we will have a little better idea about the paths our boys will take. I’m super excited for this tournament. I’m a homer but I think the US wins the team title with Iran coming in second. The first half of our lineup is absolute fire but 57, 65, 70, and 74 are super tough weights. Hope we get great performances from Lilledahl and Mesenbrink and I think we will. Let’s go!!

 

[BigFella235]

125kg

US rep-Christian Carroll. Carroll ended up 8th on FLO’s 2023 big board but had been #1 or 2 for most of the year. He is an incoming freshman at Oklahoma State.

So we can expect to see him at 184 next year right?

 

[Petch]

So we can expect to see him at 184 next year right?

At Oklahoma State, more like 165.

I used to think Cenzo was an Oklahoma State spy trying to infiltrate the PSU program since his optimal wrestling weight was probably 197. Then when he won the title, I realized there was no way he could have been affiliated with OSU.

 

[backdrft76]

Mesenbrink squares off against 2023 U20 European bronze medalist Ion Marcu of Moldova.

Lilledahl has Individual Neutral Athlete Lev Pavlov, who previously competed for Russia, in his first bout.

 

[zzs006]

Lilledahl with a decent draw. Should have Ozbek second match and then ARM. Win there and it’s a tough one against Iran in the semifinals. On the opposite side from Japan though who I think is the toughest out

Looking closer and the quarter of the bracket with Iran is brutal. Has last years U20 runner-up, this years U20 Euro champ plus the Iranian who was 3rd at U20 worlds last year and has been wrestling seniors lately. Whoever comes out of that quarter should hopefully see Lilledahl in the semis. I think Lilledahl absolutely wrestles for a medal and a decent chance it’s for gold. His semi will be super tough like it should be.

 

[zzs006]

Mesenbrink has a beautiful draw! Almost every top guy is on the top side while he sits on the bottom. Bexultanov, Aghaei, Kamiya, Gogritchiani, Wolf, Karimov, and Caso are all on the top side. Mesenbrink should make the finals again I think. He should cruise through his first 2 matches and then see Jaideep from IND in the quarterfinals. Tough match but MM should win. His semifinal will probably be not quite as tough as his quarterfinal. I’m not lying when I say every top guy is on the opposite side of the bracket. I will be very surprised if Mesenbrink doesn’t make the finals.

 

[zzs006]

Shapiro’s draw is fairly tough. Should win his first 2 and then will probably have the Russian Baitukaev in the quarterfinals. Baitukaev is a U17 champ the same year as Shapiro. If he wins there he likely will see Otakhanov. The other side has the Iranian thought who is definitely capable of making the final.

 

[zzs006]

Mendez with a tough tough draw. Gets the probable gold medal favorite Zubal first match. If he wins he should make the semis where he has another likely tough match against Kadamov. Other medal threats Iran and India are on the other side of the bracket however. Looks decent if he can get by Zubal

 

[zzs006]

Jack Darrah with a really nice draw. He should win his first 2 matches which would put him in the semis likely against Aitmukhan from KAZ. Aitmukhan would likely be the favorite in that match but Darrah should wrestle for a medal. Most of the top guys are on the bottom half including AIN, IND, BUL, IRI, ARM, and TUR who are all medal contenders.

 

[zzs006]

Christian Carroll with a super tough draw. Has a winnable first match but will likely see Masoumi in his second match. Masoumi does wrestle the U20 Euro champ first round though who is likely his toughest opponent in the bracket. The U17 champ from a couple weeks ago is on the bottom half. Carroll will have a tough time medaling. If he loses to Masoumi he will see Buyukcingil in repechage who will probably be favored. Carroll has the talent to beat him but it’s a tough road.

 

[zzs006]

McDanel with draw that should allow him to wrestle for a medal. Has 2 winnable matches to start against Japan and then either POL or TPE. Win those and he’s in the semis probably against the gold medal favorite Kurugliyev. Kurugliyev has a tough path though with matches against AZE and likely IRI to make the semis. McDanel making the semis is a great result though and big team points for the US. He would likely wrestle IRI in repechage as well which could be big in the team race

 

[zzs006]

Berge is on the top half and has a great path to the semis. I expect him to win his first 2 matches to make the semis where he most likely will see the gold medal favorite Rakhim Magamadov who beat Berge in the finals last year. The bottom half looks deeper with IRI, ARM, GEO, TUR, AIN, and IND. If Berge loses in the semis I expect him to win bronze. If he makes the final he will have his hands full but would probably be the favorite considering he would’ve just beat Magamadov. Either way, a medal is likely and more big team points

 

[zzs006]

Singleton with an ok draw but in the half with Jaglan who is a big favorite to win gold. Singleton should win his first match against KGZ and then will likely have a winnable match against HUN. Berge teched the guy from HUN last year at this tournament. He wins both of those and will probably have Grigoryan from ARM who was 3rd at U20 Euro’s and 7th at 2021 cadet worlds. Tough but absolutely winnable. Win and sees Jaglan in the semis. Lose there and would probably see Eigenbrodt who was 2nd at U20 Euro’s for the bronze. The other side of the bracket is definitely deeper. Singleton wrestling for a medal would be a wonderful result and huge for the team race. The Iranian is on the opposite side and has the Russian first round. He has a tough road all the way through.

 

[johnstownsteel]

Wow..Great stuff ZZ! Waited all week for Sunday night to come when I had the time to just sit and go over all your posts throughout the week. You're definitely an MVP here!

 

[zzs006]

Bouzakis with a pretty tough draw. Gets the U20 African champ first round. I think he wins that match and his second one as well. He then will likely see Mohit Kumar from IND in the quarterfinals. Kumar is the gold medal favorite coming in winning world bronze last year and gold this year at both the U20 and U23 Asians. If he can win here the semis are probably not as tough. The opposite side of the bracket is the deeper half. It has IRI, Russia, GEO, and ARM. I think Bouzakis most likely loses to Kumar but comes back to take 3rd. I can’t find any info on the Japanese wrestler but they always have tough guys especially in the lower weights. He is on the Bouzakis half of the bracket but Nic wouldn’t see him until either the semis or repechage.

 

[zzs006]

Wow..Great stuff ZZ! Waited all week for Sunday night to come when I had the time to just sit and go over all your posts throughout the week. You're definitely an MVP here!

Thanks! I appreciate it. I also just did quick looks through each bracket and posted some possible paths for each of our guys. I think it looks great overall. I think we bring home quite a few medals and win the team title. I need to take a nap now so I can wake up and watch wrestling in the middle of the night!

 

[smalls103]

great stuff ZZ.

i love that you love Junior Worlds. such a great tournament.

 

[BrockBronson]

ZZ is the best wrestling 🧠 on this board

 

[zzs006]

Singleton first up. Has both his wrists and hands completely taped up. Quick Td for Singleton. KGZ comes back with his own td. Singleton with a nice double. Up 4-2. Upper body by KGZ but Singleton counters for 4! 2 more for Singleton. And it’s a tech after another single leg. Looked great. Kept hitting a quick high single and finished right away. 12-2 final

 

[zzs006]

Mendez vs Zubal up next. This is a huge match for Mendez. Zubal goes on the clock first. Mendez up 1-0 and so far has been the aggressor. Taking shots and getting in but can’t lock his hands. 1-0 at the break. Good first period. Controlled all the action. Now Mendez on the clock even though he’s been the aggressor. That’s how it always goes in a 1-0 match though. 1-1 Zubal on criteria. 1 min left. Yes!! Mendez gets a stepout with :04 left. What?!!! Refs get together and say no points. US challenging and I think they win this challenge but who knows? Yes!! Challenge won and they start in par tarre with 4 sec left. Mendez wins! Massive win. Pretty tough next match but he should make the semis for sure and probably the finals. Zubal was his biggest threat in his side of the bracket

 

[Hofman19]

Mendez vs Zubal up next. This is a huge match for Mendez. Zubal goes on the clock first. Mendez up 1-0 and so far has been the aggressor. Taking shots and getting in but can’t lock his hands. 1-0 at the break. Good first period. Controlled all the action. Now Mendez on the clock even though he’s been the aggressor. That’s how it always goes in a 1-0 match though. 1-1 Zubal on criteria. 1 min left. Yes!! Mendez gets a stepout with :04 left. What?!!! Refs get together and say no points. US challenging and I think they win this challenge but who knows? Yes!! Challenge won and they start in par tarre with 4 sec left. Mendez wins! Massive win. Pretty tough next match but he should make the semis for sure and probably the finals. Zubal was his biggest threat in his side of the bracket

Great recap...

Let me just editorialize for a moment and say that this match is the perfect example of the frustrations I still have with UWW scoring...

A person literally did nothing/attempted nothing for six straight minutes and yet still came :04 away from winning against an opponent who actually was wrestling!

 

[zzs006]

Meyer Shapiro coming up against Japan. I couldn’t find out any info about most of the Japanese wrestlers but they usually bring a pretty good team. Shapiro with a beautiful head pinch for 2 right away. Another quick td and it’s 4-0 :40 in. Yianni is one of the coaches in Meyers corner along with Mike Grey. TD Shapiro to go up 6-0 and that’s the score at the break. I love watching Shapiro wrestle. Such beautiful attacks from everywhere. Perfectly timed knee pull and it’s 8-0. Japan in on a shot but Meyer counters for 2 and that’s it. 10-0. Japan is challenging but pretty sure they will lose. Challenge lost. Shapiro with the tech in about 4 minutes

 

[zzs006]

Great recap...

Let me just editorialize for a moment and say that this match is the perfect example of the frustrations I still have with UWW scoring...

A person literally did nothing/attempted nothing for six straight minutes and yet still came :04 away from winning against an opponent who actually was wrestling!

100%. When Zubal went on the clock first I thought it might end up 1-1 with Mendez losing on criteria. Glad he pulled it out because he deserved to win that match

 

[zzs006]

Lilledahl up next against Pavlov. No info on Pavlov but he’s the Russian rep so I expect him to be very good. Big match for Luke. Win here and I think he makes the semis. Lose and it’s a good chance he doesn’t place. Here we go. Beautiful 4 point Td for Lilledahl! Pavlov is good but Luke holds such great position all the time. Pavlov in deep but Luke Houdini’s himself out and to his own td. 6-0 at the break. Nice first period. Lilledahl with a double, switches to single and gets the Td. 8-0 now. Step out and Luke is 1 point away from a tech. And that’s it!! 9-2 win for Lilledahl. Huge win. He is so good everywhere and his baseline defense is incredible. Super high wrestling IQ as well. For a high school kid it’s extremely special