McKenna, Carr, Aiello receive men’s freestyle draw at Kunayev D.A. International

TARAZ, Kazakhstan – Three U.S. men’s freestyle athletes have received draws for this weekend’s Kunayev D.A. International—two-time age-group World medalist Joseph McKenna at 65 kg, U20 World champion David Carr at 74 kg and past U.S. National Team member Jonathan Aiello at 97 kg.

McKenna sits in the round-of-16 and awaits the winner between Rifat Saibotalov of Kazakhstan and Ulukbek Zholdoshbekov of Kyrgyzstan. Zholdoshbekov, a six-time medalist at the Asian Championships and past U23 World champion, is the favorite to reach McKenna.

McKenna is the defending 65 kg champion at the Kunayev D.A. International. He has competed twice in 2024, earning a third-place finish at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and a bronze medal at the Zagreb Open.

The lone American with a round-of-32 preliminary match, Carr is paired against Omurbek Talaibek Uulu of Kyrgyzstan. A win would push Carr to a round-of-16 bout against Awusayiman Kelan of China.

Carr, a two-time NCAA champion for Iowa State, recently placed third at the Senior World Team Trials for the non-Olympic weight classes at 79 kg.

Sitting in the quarterfinals is Aiello, who will face either Manas Ulan of Kazakhstan or Bekzat Tendikov of Kyrgyzstan in his opening match.  

Aiello has earned two international medals in 2024, a silver medal at the Yasar Dogu and bronze medal at the Bill Farrell Memorial International. He was a U.S. National Team member in 2022 and is a 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials qualifier.

2024 Olympic silver medalist Spencer Lee was originally in the U.S. lineup for Kazakhstan but has elected not to compete.

All three Americans will wrestle through the semifinals on Friday, with repechage and medal matches taking place on Saturday. A complete schedule of events can be found below.

A live stream of the Kunayev D.A. International will be available on the Kazakhstan Wrestling YouTube Channel.