Luke Lilledahl runs with the American Flag after winning the U20 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain.
Lilledahl scores U20 World gold to punctuate monumental day for U.S. men’s freestyle
by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
PONTEVEDRA, Spain – It was a day to remember for the U.S. men’s freestyle team at the U20 World Championships—Luke Lilledahl earned his second age-group World title, five Americans scored a medal, and five more found a place in a medal match during Saturday’s action at Pontevedra Municipal Sports Hall.
For the second-straight year Lilledahl met individual neutral athlete Lev Pavlov at the U20 Worlds, and for the second-straight year Lilledahl walked off the mat a winner. The 57 kg final was a tactical one decided solely by shot clock points. Lilledahl led at the break, 1-0. Pavlov got a point back early in the second, 1-1. Lilledahl pushed the pace and forced Pavlov on the shot clock for a second time to take the contest, 2-1.
Lilledahl’s path to gold in Spain was as tough as they come. He faced and defeated three continental medalists, including reigning U20 Asian champion Ankush Ankush of India, in addition to Pavlov, who is the reigning U20 European champion, along the way. Lilledahl has now made an age-group World final four-straight years for Team USA. He impressively owns gold and silver medals from both the U17 and U20 age levels.
Also wrestling in a gold medal match for Team USA was Zack Ryder, who entered the event a two-time U17 World bronze medalist. Ryder was stifled in the 79 kg final by U23 Asian bronze medalist Alp Begenjov of Turkmenistan, 5-0, to finish with a silver medal. Ryder was able to get to advantage positions several times during the finals, particularly from a front headlock, but couldn’t convert on a score.
Three Americans were able to shake off semifinal losses to battle back and win bronze medals—Bo Bassett at 65 kg, PJ Duke at 70 kg and Justin Rademacher at 97 kg. All three men picked up dominant technical falls in the bronze medal round.
Prior to the Saturday evening medal matches, the U.S. sent all five of its group two men’s freestyle athletes to the semifinal round with a perfect 13-0 morning session. It the second day in a row the U.S. achieved this remarkable feat.
Three athletes from group two were able to punch through to the finals—Ladarion Lockett at 74 kg, Josh Barr at 86 kg and Ben Kueter at 125 kg. Both Barr and Kueter notched technical falls in the semifinals, while Lockett earned a tight decision win.
After three dominant wins to start the day, Lockett felt his first true test of the tournament from 2023 U17 World bronze medalist Aghanazar Novruzov of Azerbaijan. Each man picked up a shot clock point, Lockett in the first and Novruzov in the second, with the difference in the match coming down to a Lockett step out point. Add in a failed Novruzov challenge, and Lockett wound up winning, 3-1.
Up next for Lockett, last year’s U17 World champion at 71 kg, is returning U20 World finalist and reigning U20 Asian champion Ali Rezaeiaghouzgeleh of Iran. Rezaeiaghouzgeleh took out Shingo Ando of Japan, 10-0, in the opposite semifinal.
Barr ended things in the first period with a 10-0 technical fall against Ahmet Yagan of Turkey, who was fifth at the U20 Europeans, in his semifinal. It was the third 10-0 score for Barr in as many matches on the day. He will face individual neutral athlete Ibragim Kadiev, a returning U20 World champion, for the 86 kg title.
Kueter booked his second U20 World finals appearance with a 13-3 technical fall over Nambardagva Batbayar of Mongolia. After a back-and-forth first period that ended tied at three, Kueter exploded in the second frame with 10-straight points.
Kueter, a 2022 U20 World champion, will battle four-time age-group World champion Amirezza Masoumi Valadi of Iran in a primetime matchup for the heavyweight crown.
Coming up one win shy of a finals appearance for Team USA were Marcus Blaze at 61 kg and Connor Mirasola at 92 kg. In the semifinals, Blaze was topped by Masanosuke Ono of Japan, 7-2, while Mirasola was edged by Sali Saliev of Bulgaria, 5-4. Both will wrestle for a bronze medal tomorrow, opponents yet to be determined.
The U.S. will finish off its U20 World Championships campaign at 6 p.m. local time on Sunday with the men’s freestyle group two medal matches. Pontevedra, Spain, is located six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time.
A full set of brackets and match-by-match results is available on UWW Arena. A live broadcast of the event is available for the U.S. market at FloWrestling.com.
Stay tuned to TheMat.com and USA Wrestling’s social media platforms for complete coverage of the U20 World Championships.
2024 U20 World Championships | Sept. 7, Pontevedra, Spain
Men’s Freestyle Results
Final Results (Group One)
57 kg
Gold – Luke Lilledahl (United States)
Silver – Lev Pavlov (Individual Neutral Athlete)
Bronze – Luka Gvinjilia (Georgia)
Bronze – Ankush Ankush (India)
5th – Myktybek Ukimetuly (Kazakhstan)
5th – Hayko Gasparyan (Armenia)
7th – Caio Duarte Aron (Brazil)
8th – Milad Valizadeh (Iran)
9th – Leon Fernandes Zinser (Germany)
10th – Bashir Verdiyev (Azerbaijan)
Gold – Luke Lilledahl (United States) dec. Lev Pavlov (Individual Neutral Athlete), 2-1
Bronze – Luka Gvinjilia (Georgia) dec. Myktybek Ukimetuly (Kazakhstan), 4-1
Bronze – Ankush Ankush (India) dec. Hayko Gasparyan (Armenia), 6-2
65 kg
Gold – Ali Khorramdel (Iran)
Silver – Makoto Hosokawa (Japan)
Bronze – Bo Bassett (United States)
Bronze – Adam Arkhiev (Individual Neutral Athlete)
5th – Nikoloz Beshidze (Georgia)
5th – Abdullah Toprak (Turkey)
7th – Aykhan Abdullazada (Azerbaijan)
8th – Ion Berghi (Moldova)
9th – Khizir Dasiyev (France)
10th – Nikhil Pilanagoila (India)
Gold – Ali Khorramdel (Iran) dec. Makoto Hosokawa (Japan), 10-2
Bronze – Bo Bassett (United States) tech. fall Nikoloz Beshidze (Georgia), 10-0
Bronze – Adam Arkhiev (Individual Neutral Athlete) dec. Abdullah Toprak (Turkey), 4-1
70 kg
Gold – Ryoya Yamashita (Japan)
Silver – Magomed Baitukaev (Individual Neutral Athlete)
Bronze – Ali Karampour (Iran)
Bronze – PJ Duke (United States)
5th – Goga Otinashvili (Georgia)
5th – Aikyn Bolatuly (Kazakhstan)
7th – Ankh Altangerel (Mongolia)
8th – Vladimir Azaryan (Armenia)
9th – Bohdan Oliinyk (Ukraine)
10th – Daniele Gubbiotti (Italy)
Gold – Ryoya Yamashita (Japan) dec. Magomed Baitukaev (Individual Neutral Athlete), 6-0
Bronze – Ali Karampour (Iran) fall Goga Otinashvili (Georgia), 5:59
Bronze – PJ Duke (United States) tech. fall Aikyn Bolatuly (Kazakhstan), 18-7
79 kg
Gold – Alp Begenjov (Turkmenistan)
Silver – Zack Ryder (United States)
Bronze – Leandro Araujo (Brazil)
Bronze – Mahdi Yousefihajivar (Iran)
5th – Said Saidulov (Individual Neutral Athlete)
5th – Amit Amit (India)
7th – Paulius Lescauskas (Lithuania)
8th – Aren Israyelyan (Armenia)
9th – Giorgi Gogritchiani (Georgia)
10th – Oleksandr Mamrosh (Ukraine)
Gold – Alp Begenjov (Turkmenistan) dec. Zack Ryder (United States), 5-0
Bronze – Leandro Araujo (Brazil) dec. Said Saidulov (Individual Neutral Athlete), 5-4
Bronze – Mahdi Yousefihajivar (Iran) tech. fall Amit Amit (India), 13-2
97 kg
Gold – Rizabek Aitmukhan (Kazakhstan)
Silver – Khetag Karsanov (Azerbaijan)
Bronze – Justin Rademacher (United States)
Bronze – Adam Jaksik (Slovakia)
5th – Nikolaos Karavanos (Greece)
5th – Rifat Gidak (Turkey)
7th – Tuxige Tuxige (China)
8th – Ramini Gulitashvili (Georgia)
9th – Abolfazl Babaloo (Iran)
10th – Sahil Jaglan (India)
Gold – Rizabek Aitmukhan (Kazakhstan) tech. fall Khetag Karsanov (Azerbaijan), 10-0
Bronze – Justin Rademacher (United States) tech. fall Nikolaos Karavanos (Greece), 10-0
Bronze – Adam Jaksik (Slovakia) dec. Rifat Gidak (Turkey), 2-1
Semifinal Results (Group Two)
61 kg
Ebrahim Khari (Iran) dec. Abdinur Nurlanbek (Kazakhstan), 6-4
Masanosuke Ono (Japan) dec. Marcus Blaze (United States), 7-2
74 kg
Ladarion Lockett (United States) dec. Aghanazar Novruzov (Azerbaijan), 3-1
Ali Rezaeiaghouzgeleh (Iran) tech. fall Shingo Ando (Japan), 10-0
86 kg
Joshua Barr (United States) tech. fall Ahmet Yagan (Turkey), 10-0
Ibragim Kadiev (Individual Neutral Athlete) tech. fall Abolfazl Rahmani Firouzjaei (Iran), 12-2
92 kg
Mustafagadzhi Malachdibirov (Individual Neutral Athlete) dec. Kamil Kurugliyev (Kazakhstan), 5-0
Sali Saliev (Bulgaria) dec. Connor Mirasola (United States), 5-4
125 kg
Ben Kueter (United States) tech. fall Nambardagva Batbayar (Mongolia), 13-3
Amirezza Masoumi Valadi (Iran) dec. Hakan Buyukcingil (Turkey), 3-1
U.S. Men’s Freestyle Group One Results
57 kg – Luke Lilledahl (St. Charles, Mo./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC), gold medal
WIN Kabe Matjanov (Turkmenistan), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Ankush Ankush (India), 4-3
WIN Hayko Gasparyan (Armenia), 4-1
WIN Lev Pavlov (Individual Neutral Athlete), 2-1
65 kg – Bo Bassett (Windber, Pa./Bishop McCort HS), bronze medal
WIN Valentyn Hryhoryshyn (Ukraine), tech. fall, 19-8
WIN Dzmitry Shvarts (Individual Neutral Athlete), fall, 2:03
WIN Nikhil Pilanagoila (India), fall, 3:45
LOSS Makoto Hosokawa (Japan), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Nikoloz Beshidze (Georgia), tech. fall, 10-0
70 kg – PJ Duke (Slate Hill, N.Y./KD Training Center), bronze medal
WIN Zelimkhan Mutsukhaev (Poland), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Aden Sakybaev (Kyrgyzstan), tech, fall, 10-0
WIN Ankh Altangerel (Mongolia), tech. fall, 12-1
LOSS Magomed Baitukaev (Individual Neutral Athlete), 5-5
WIN Aikyn Bolatuly (Kazakhstan), tech. fall, 18-7
79 kg – Zack Ryder (Westtown, N.Y./Nittany Lion WC), silver medal
WIN Jinju Li (China), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Leandro Araujo (Brazil), tech. fall, 11-0
WIN Paulius Lescauskas (Lithuania), tech. fall, 11-0
WIN Said Saidulov (Individual Neutral Athlete), 6-3
LOSS Alp Begenjov (Turkmenistan), 5-0
97 kg – Justin Rademacher (Corvallis, Ore./Beaver Dam RTC), bronze medal
WIN Shakhman Nukhaev (Individual Neutral Athlete), 8-0
WIN Genki Hoki (Japan), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Ramini Gulitashvili (Georgia), 4-0
LOSS Rizabek Aitmukhan (Kazakhstan), 9-1
WIN Nikolaos Karavanos (Greece), tech. fall, 10-0
U.S. Men’s Freestyle Group Two Results
61 kg – Marcus Blaze (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg WC), in bronze medal match
WIN Dohyung Kim (Korea), fall, 1:16
WIN Amir Hamayun (Turkmenistan), tech. fall, 11-1
WIN Jamal Abbasov (Azerbaijan), 7-1
LOSS Masanosuke Ono (Japan), 7-2
74 kg – Ladarion Lockett (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy WC), in gold medal match
WIN Baitemir Tuleberdiev (Kyrgyzstan), fall, 4:33
WIN Tamir Eshinimaev (Individual Neutral Athlete), 6-0
WIN Gaurav Gaurav (India), tech. fall, 11-0
WIN Aghanazar Novruzov (Azerbaijan), 3-1
VS Ali Rezaeiaghouzgeleh (Iran)
86 kg – Josh Barr (Davison, Mich./Nittany Lion WC), in gold medal match
WIN Sachin Sachin (India), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Ryogo Asano (Japan), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Ahmet Yagan (Turkey), tech. fall, 10-0
VS Ibragim Kadiev (Individual Neutral Athlete)
92 kg – Connor Mirasola (Jackson, Wis./Nittany Lion WC), in bronze medal match
WIN Grigori Tomaili (Moldova), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Soltan Begenjov (Turkmenistan), tech. fall, 14-4
WIN Oleh Kuzmenko Taison (Ukraine), 9-4
LOSS Sali Saliev (Bulgaria), 5-4
125 kg – Ben Kueter (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC), in gold medal match
WIN Alikhan Kussainov (Kazakhstan), 7-0
WIN Stsiapan Mandryk (Individual Neutral Athlete), fall, 0:28
WIN Nambardagva Batbayar (Mongolia), tech. fall, 13-3
VS Amirezza Masoumi Valadi (Iran)