U23 World Championships team to compete October 21-27 in Tirana, Albania, set in all three styles

The team of 30 that will compete at the 2024 U23 World Championships has been set. The U23 World Championships will be held in Tirana, Albania, for the second year in a row. Competition begins October 21, with Greco-Roman action. Women’s freestyle is slated to start on October 23, and men’s freestyle will begin on October 25.

In Greco-Roman, 2024 U.S. Olympic representative Payton Jacobson is slated to compete at 87 kg in Albania. This is the third age-group World Championships for Jacobson. Aden Attao, competing at 130 kg, is a member of both the U20 World Team and the Senior National Team. He earned a bronze medal at the 2022 U20 World Championships. Max Black, competing at 60 kg, is a Senior National Team member and a two-time age-group World Team member.

Justus Scott at 72 kg is a two-time age-group World Team member, bringing experience to the team. Billy Sullivan (55 kg) and Jonathan Gurule (63 kg) both add significant experience as past U20 World Team members.

Wyatt Voelker, competing at 97 kg, is a 2023 U20 Pan American Champion and will be making his second appearance at an age-group World Championships. Hunter Garvin (77 kg) is a U23 National Champion and 2024 U23 Pan American Champion in freestyle. Garvin won both styles at the 2024 U23 Nationals in May.

Beka Melelashvili, competing at 82 kg, is making his second appearance at the U23 World Championships but his first for Team USA, having previously competed for Georgia. Robert Perez III (67 kg) aims to make an impact on the world stage and is a past age-group World Team member.

Audrey Jimenez, a six-time age-group World Team member with an impressive four medals, will compete at 50 kg at the U23 World Championships. Jimenez also holds a spot on the Senior National Team after reaching the finals of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in April. Another Senior National Team member making the trip to Albania is Macey Kilty at 62 kg. Kilty, a U.S. Olympic Team Trials finalist, will be making her eighth World Championships appearance. She secured a silver medal at the 2023 Senior World Championships and a gold medal at the 2024 Senior Pan American Championships.

At 72 kg, Kylie Welker, a 2024 Senior National Team member, won last week’s wrestle-off to earn the 72 kg spot on the 2024 U23 World Team in women’s freestyle. This will be Welker’s fifth trip to a World Championships, and second trip to a U23 World Championship tournament. She was a 2021 U20 World champion, a 2023 U23 World bronze medalist and a 2019 U17 World bronze medalist, and also competed on the 2021 Senior World Team.

Amani Jones (55 kg) and Sofia Macaluso (57 kg) both bring significant international experience to the team. Jones, a 2023 U20 World Bronze medalist, is making her second appearance at an age-group World Championships. Macaluso was a 2022 U20 World Silver medalist.

Elena Ivaldi (53 kg), Skye Realin (59 kg), and Adaugo Nwachukwu (65 kg) have all earned their spots as U23 National Champions. Ivaldi, a 2024 U23 Pan American bronze medalist and former U17 World Team member, brings a strong background to the tournament. Realin, a two-time age-group Pan American champion, complements her 2024 U23 national title. Nwachukwu, who won the wrestle-off to compete at 65 kg, is making her fourth World Championships appearance and her first at this weight class. She previously won the U23 Nationals title at 62 kg.

Brooklyn Hays (68 kg) and Yelena Makoyed (76 kg) are both set to make their World Championships debut. Hays, a Senior National Team member and U23 National Champion, has already earned two Pan American Championships medals. Makoyed draws experience from other international tournaments, including seven top finishes and 10 total medals.

In men’s freestyle, Mitchell Mesenbrink, competing at 74 kg, was the lone Senior National Team member to accept a spot on the U23 World Team. Mesenbrink, a two-time U20 World medalist, gold in 2023 and silver in 2022, placed third at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in April.

Jacob Cardenas, a two-time U23 World medalist, will head to his third U23 World Championships. The newest Michigan Wolverine won his third-straight national title at the U23 Nationals in Geneva, Ohio, at the end of May. Cardenas will compete at 92 kg in Albania.

Nic Bouzakis (61 kg)and Josh Saunders (65 kg)have both previously experienced World Championship tournaments. This will be the fourth trip to a World Championship tournament for Bouzakis, who has wrestled in one U17 tournament and two U20 tournaments, capturing bronze at the 2023 U23 World Championships. Saunders competed at two events in 2018, the U17 and U20 World Championships.

John Gunderson, Massoma Endene, Lucas Stoddard all won medals at the U23 Pan American Championships in June. Gunderson won silver, Endene and Stoddard won gold. All are U23 National Champions, this will be the first World Championship tournament for all three athletes. Patrick Kennedy (79 kg) has one international competition under his belt, winning gold at the City of Sassari tournament in 2023.

There are two athletes that will head to their first international competition. U23 Nationals champions Max Gallagher (57 kg) and Paniro Johnson (70 kg) will make their first trip to a World Championship tournament.

For more information about the 2024 U23 World Championships, visit uww.org.

Men’s Freestyle

57 kg: Max Gallagher

61 kg: Nic Bouzakis

65 kg: Josh Saunders

70 kg: Paniro Johnson

74 kg: Mitchell Mesenbrink

79 kg: Patrick Kennedy

86 kg: John Gunderson

92 kg: Jacob Cardenas

97 kg: Massoma Endene

125 kg: Lucas Stoddard

Coach: Joe Russell

Coach: Brandon Slay

Women’s Freestyle

50 kg: Audrey Jimenez

53 kg: Elena Ivaldi

55 kg: Amani Jones

57 kg: Sofia Macaluso

59 kg: Skye Realin

62 kg: Macey Kilty

65 kg: Adaugo Nwachukwu

68 kg: Brooklyn Hays

72 kg: Kylie Welker

76 kg: Yelena Makoyed

Coach: Katie Kriebel

Coach: Whitney Cox

Greco-Roman

55 kg: Billy Sullivan

60 kg: Max Black

63 kg: Jonathan Gurule

67 kg: Robert Perez III

72 kg: Justus Scott

77 kg: Hunter Garvin

82 kg: Beka Melelashvili

87 kg: Payton Jacobson

97 kg: Wyatt Voelker

130 kg: Aden Attao

Coach: Herb House

Coach: Ike Anderson

Support Staff

Team Leader: Meredith Suess

*times are listed local time in Tirana, Albania

Monday, October 21

10:30 a.m. - Qualification Rounds (Greco-Roman 60-67-72-82-97 kg)

6:00 p.m. - Semifinals (Greco-Roman 60-67-72-82-97 kg)

Tuesday, October 22

10:30 a.m. - Repechage (Greco-Roman 60-67-72-82-97 kg) and Qualification Rounds (Greco-Roman 55-63-77-87-130 kg)

4:45 p.m. - Semifinals (Greco-Roman 55-63-77-87-130 kg)

6 p.m. - Finals and Award Ceremonies (Greco-Roman 60-67-72-82-97 kg)

Wednesday, October 23

10:30 a.m. - Repechage (Greco-Roman 60-67-72-82-97 kg) and Qualification Rounds (Women’s freestyle 50-55-59-68-76 kg)

4:45 p.m. - Semifinals (Women’s freestyle 50-55-59-68-76 kg)

6 p.m. - Finals and Award Ceremonies (Greco-Roman 55-63-77-87-130 kg)

Thursday, October 24

10:30 a.m. - Repechage (Women’s freestyle 50-55-59-68-76 kg) and Qualification Rounds (Women’s freestyle 53-57-62-65-72 kg)

4:45 p.m. - Semifinals (Women’s freestyle 53-57-62-65-72 kg)

6 p.m. - Finals and Award Ceremonies (Women’s freestyle 50-55-59-68-76 kg)

Friday, October 25

10:30 a.m. - Repechage (Women’s freestyle 53-57-62-65-72 kg) and Qualification Rounds (Men’s freestyle 61-74-86-92-125 kg)

4:45 p.m. - Semifinals (Men’s freestyle 61-74-86-92-125 kg)

6 p.m. - Finals and Award Ceremonies (Women’s freestyle 53-57-62-65-72 kg)

Saturday, October 26

10:30 a.m. - Repechage (Men’s freestyle 61-74-86-92-125 kg) and Qualification Rounds (Men’s freestyle 57-65-70-79-97 kg)

4:45 p.m. - Semifinals (Men’s freestyle 57-65-70-79-97 kg)

6 p.m. - Finals and Award Ceremonies (Men’s freestyle 61-74-86-92-125 kg)

Sunday, October 27

4:00 p.m. - Repechage (Men’s freestyle 57-65-70-79-97 kg)

6:00 p.m. - Finals and Award Ceremonies (Men’s freestyle 57-65-70-79-97 kg)