The U.S. men’s freestyle team poses with the first-place team trophy following the U20 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain.
Lockett, Barr, Kueter earn silver, Blaze gets bronze, U.S. wins men’s freestyle team title at U20 World Championships
by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
PONTEVEDRA, Spain – The 2024 U20 World Championships wrapped on Sunday evening at Pontevedra Municipal Sports Hall with Team USA adding four more medals and a team title to its impressive men’s freestyle haul.
The U.S. had three athletes claim silver medals on the day—Ladarion Lockett at 74 kg, Josh Barr at 86 kg and Ben Kueter at 125 kg. It also added a bronze medal at 61 kg courtesy of Marcus Blaze and a fifth-place finish from Connor Mirasola at 92 kg.
It was a relatively tough final session for the U.S. in what was an otherwise historic performance in Spain. The group went 1-4 during the medal round on Sunday, but still managed a phenomenal 37-10 overall record with all 10 men’s freestyle athletes wrestling for a medal.
The heavyweight gold medal bout between Kueter and Amirezza Masoumi Valadi of Iran was the match everyone had circled entering the finals. Kueter was the U20 World champion at 125 kg two years ago, while Masoumi Valadi was the man last year. In the last match of the tournament, Masoumi Valadi captured his fifth age-group World title, edging the talented American in a close one, 4-2. The Iranian’s size and use of control ties were the primary factors in the outcome of the match.
Another close call in the finals came from Lockett, who dropped a heartbreaker on criteria, 3-3, to returning U20 World finalist Ali Rezaeiaghouzgeleh of Iran. Lockett was leading, 3-1, in the latter stages of the contest after scoring a crisp single leg, plus a shot clock point. Rezaeiaghouzgeleh notched the ultimate match winner with 1:28 to go, converting a counterattack off Lockett’s forward pressure.
After putting three 10-0 technical falls on the board yesterday, Barr was unable to find the same rhythm the 86 kg finals against returning U20 World champion Ibragim Kadiev, an individual neutral athlete. Barr was close to several takedowns throughout the match but couldn’t convert. An early shuck-by score and a second period counter takedown pushed Kadiev over the top.
The first match of the medal session saw Blaze control Turkey’s Tolga Ozbek to a 5-0 decision. Blaze converted a timely single leg while on the shot clock in the first period, and added a takedown at the buzzer, to take the bronze medal match.
The U.S. was as close as could be to going a perfect 10-for-10 on medals. Mirasola held a 2-0 lead with just over a minute to go in his bronze medal match against U20 European runner-up Anar Jafarli of Azerbaijan but couldn’t hang on for the win. Jafarli exploded in the final moments, getting two step outs and two takedowns to defeat Mirasola, 6-2.
Kueter, Lockett and Blaze each added a second age-group World medal to the trophy case. Kueter is now a two-time U20 World finalist with one gold and one silver to his credit. Both Lockett and Blaze won U17 World titles in 2023 before bumping up to the U20 division this year and medaling.
The U.S. returned to the top of the men’s freestyle team standings at this event for the first time since 2017. With one champion, nine medalists and 10 top five finishers, the U.S. posted 175 team points, 15 points ahead of second place Iran. Japan finished a distant third place with 95 team points.
The U.S. improved upon its eight-medal performance and runner-up team finish from 2023. Impressively, only one member of last year’s team that competed in Amman, Jordan, returned this year—57 kg representative Luke Lilledahl, who was runner-up in 2023 and gold medalist in 2024.
Other men’s freestyle athletes to find a place on the podium in Spain were silver medalist Zack Ryder at 79 kg and bronze medalists Bo Bassett at 65 kg, PJ Duke at 70 kg and Justin Rademacher at 97 kg.
This 2024 U20 men’s freestyle team is among the best ever fielded by the U.S. and has an argument to be made as the best in the nation’s history. This is the sixth time the U.S. has earned nine or more medals at the U20, formerly Junior, Worlds, and the fifth time it has medaled in every weight class but one. It is the first time since 2017 the U.S. has had five or more finalists—the 2017 group had six finalists in eight contested weight classes.
The only U.S. team on record to medal in every weight class was the 1979 group who won 10 gold medals in 10 weights, caveat being there were two Junior World events held in 1979, one in the U.S. and one in Mongolia, diluting the field of competitors.
A full set of brackets and match-by-match results from the U20 World Championships is available on UWW Arena. Archived matches from the event can be viewed at FloWrestling.com.
2024 U20 World Championships | Sept. 8, Pontevedra, Spain
Men’s Freestyle Results
Team Standings
1. United States, 175
2. Iran, 160
3. Japan, 95
4. Kazakhstan, 86
5. Azerbaijan, 72
6. India, 64
7. Turkey, 62
8. Georgia, 53
9. Mongolia, 31
10. Armenia, 30
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
61 kg
Gold – Masanosuke Ono (Japan)
Silver – Ebrahim Khari (Iran)
Bronze – Bhuvanesh Bhuvanesh (India)
Bronze – Marcus Blaze (United States)
5th – Abdinur Nurlanbek (Kazakhstan)
5th – Tolga Ozbek (Turkey)
7th – Edik Harutyunyan (Armenia)
8th – Jamal Abbasov (Azerbaijan)
9th – Robert Meszaros (Slovakia)
10th – Tornike Asabashvili (Georgia)
Gold – Masanosuke Ono (Japan) tech. fall Ebrahim Khari (Iran), 10-0
Bronze – Bhuvanesh Bhuvanesh (India) dec. Abdinur Nurlanbek (Kazakhstan), 6-5
Bronze – Marcus Blaze (United States) dec. Tolga Ozbek (Turkey), 5-0
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
74 kg
Gold – Ali Rezaeiaghouzgeleh (Iran)
Silver – Ladarion Lockett (United States)
Bronze – Aghanazar Novruzov (Azerbaijan)
Bronze – Shingo Ando (Japan)
5th – Tamir Eshinimaev (Individual Neutral Athlete)
5th – Muhamed Bektemirov (Austria)
7th – Gaurav Gaurav (India)
8th – Yegor Anchugin (Kazakhstan)
9th – Ion Marcu (Moldova)
10th – Gigi Subtirica (Romania)
Gold – Ali Rezaeiaghouzgeleh (Iran) dec. Ladarion Lockett (United States), 3-3
Bronze – Aghanazar Novruzov (Azerbaijan) dec. Tamir Eshinimaev (Individual Neutral Athlete), 4-1
Bronze – Shingo Ando (Japan) dec. Muhamed Bektemirov (Austria), 9-3
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
86 kg
Gold – Ibragim Kadiev (Individual Neutral Athlete)
Silver – Joshua Barr (United States)
Bronze – Ahmet Yagan (Turkey)
Bronze – Abolfazl Rahmani Firouzjaei (Iran)
5th – Ryogo Asano (Japan)
5th – Gabriele Niccolini (Italy)
7th – Batbilguun Naadambat (Mongolia)
8th – Alexandru Bors (Moldova)
9th – Aliaksei Kulakou (Individual Neutral Athlete)
10th – Sachin Sachin (India)
Gold – Ibragim Kadiev (Individual Neutral Athlete) dec. Joshua Barr (United States), 8-2
Bronze – Ahmet Yagan (Turkey) dec. Ryogo Asano (Japan), 3-2
Bronze – Abolfazl Rahmani Firouzjaei (Iran) dec. Gabriele Niccolini (Italy), 6-2
92 kg
Gold – Mustafagadzhi Malachdibirov (Individual Neutral Athlete)
Silver – Sali Saliev (Bulgaria)
Bronze – Kamil Kurugliyev (Kazakhstan)
Bronze – Anar Jafarli (Azerbaijan)
5th – Amirreza Daliri (Iran)
5th – Connor Mirasola (United States)
7th – Oleh Kuzmenko Taison (United States)
8th – Konstantine Petriashvili (Georgia)
9th – Musza Arsunkaev (Hungary)
10th – Fatih Altunbas (Turkey)
Gold – Mustafagadzhi Malachdibirov (Individual Neutral Athlete) tech. fall Sali Saliev (Bulgaria), 11-0
Bronze – Kamil Kurugliyev (Kazakhstan) dec. Amirreza Daliri (Iran), 8-5
Bronze – Anar Jafarli (Azerbaijan) dec. Connor Mirasola (United States), 6-2
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
125 kg
Gold – Amirezza Masoumi Valadi (Iran)
Silver – Ben Kueter (United States)
Bronze – Nambardagva Batbayar (Mongolia)
Bronze – Hakan Buyukcingil (Turkey)
5th – Alikhan Kussainov (Kazakhstan)
5th – Singh Jaspooran (India)
7th – Yiwei Zhuang (China)
8th – Yusif Dursunov (Azerbaijan)
9th – Ivan Myroshnychenko (Ukraine)
10th – Stsiapan Mandryk (Individual Neutral Athlete)
Gold – Amirezza Masoumi Valadi (Iran) dec. Ben Kueter (United States), 4-2
Bronze – Nambardagva Batbayar (Mongolia) dec. Alikhan Kussainov (Kazakhstan), 4-1
Bronze – Hakan Buyukcingil (Turkey) dec. Singh Jaspooran (India), 3-2
U.S. Men’s Freestyle 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
61 kg – Marcus Blaze (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg WC), bronze medal
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
WIN Tolga Ozbek (Turkey), 5-0
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
74 kg – Ladarion Lockett (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy WC), silver medal
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
LOSS Ali Rezaeiaghouzgeleh (Iran), 3-3
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
86 kg – Josh Barr (Davison, Mich./Nittany Lion WC), silver medal
WIN Sachin Sachin (India), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Ryogo Asano (Japan), tech. fall, 10-0
WIN Ahmet Yagan (Turkey), tech. fall, 10-0
LOSS Ibragim Kadiev (Individual Neutral Athlete), 8-2
92 kg – Connor Mirasola (Jackson, Wis./Nittany Lion WC), 5th place
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
LOSS Anar Jafarli (Azerbaijan), 6-2
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
125 kg – Ben Kueter (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC), silver medal
WIN Alikhan Kussainov (Kazakhstan), 7-0
WIN Stsiapan Mandryk (Individual Neutral Athlete), fall, 0:28
WIN Nambardagva Batbayar (Mongolia), tech. fall, 13-3
LOSS Amirezza Masoumi Valadi (Iran), 4-2