Olympians Coleman, Sancho, Bey win Senior Greco-Roman World Team Trials in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Six athletes claimed spots on the 2025 Senior Greco-Roman World Team on Friday night, after the group A finals concluded at the 2025 CLAW U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Three Olympians secured spots on the 2025 Senior World Team on Friday night, all from Army WCAP. At 63 kg, 2012 Olympian Ellis Coleman defeated teammate Ildar Hafizov, a 2020 Olympian, in two matches. Coleman’s round two match against Hafizov provided excitement, as Coleman’s early lead was chipped at by Hafizov, but to no avail as the match ended 8-4 in his favor. Coleman will head to his fifth Senior World Championships.

2020 Olympian Alejandro Sancho continued his momentum from the first round into round two, defeating Aliaksandr Kikiniou in the 72 kg finals. Sancho’s huge throw turned heads, as he was able to pull ahead for the 6-1 win.

Kamal Bey, a 2024 Olympian, got past Aliaksandr Kikiniou in the second match at 77 kg, winning the series in two matches. Bey and Kikiniou have met in three championship best-of-three series prior to this tournament, with Bey winning all three. A 5-0 decision was what Bey needed to secure a trip to the 2025 Senior World Championships in September.

A fourth Army WCAP athlete claimed a spot on the Senior World Team at 67 kg in Alston Nutter, a 2019 Junior World bronze medalist. Nutter pinned Otto Black in the first round of the series. After jumping forward to a four-point lead, Nutter repeated his first round result, pinning Black in the first period.

Rising star Max Black made his first Senior World Team at 60 kg, taking out 2023 Senior Men’s Freestyle World Team member Zane Richards in round two. Both matches were close, with Black outlasting Richards in a 2-1 battle in round two. A step-out put Black up by one, and he doubled the score after Richards was hit for passivity. Black was called for passivity in the second period, but Richards was unable to generate any par terre offense.

Jayden Raney earned a spot on his first Senior World Team at 55 kg, winning by forfeit over Brady Koontz prior to the start of the first session on Friday.

The second round of the Senior Greco-Roman World Team Trials finals for Group B are slated to begin at 10 a.m. PT on Saturday morning inside The Expo at World Market Center in Las Vegas. A detailed schedule of events is available at usawrestlingevents.com.

All the action from Las Vegas will be broadcast live on FloWrestling. Brackets and match-by-match results are available through USA Bracketing, USA Wrestling’s new best-in-class event management software.

Senior Greco-Roman World Team Trials
55 kg Finals

Round 1 - Jayden Raney (NYAC) For. Brady Koontz (Dubuque RTC/ Titan Mercury WC)

Round 2 - Jayden Raney (NYAC) Disq. Brady Koontz (Dubuque RTC/ Titan Mercury WC)

60 kg Finals

Round 1 - Max Black (NYAC/NMU) dec. Zane Richards (Illinois RTC/ Titan Mercury WC), 3-2

Round 2 - Max Black (NYAC/NMU) dec. Zane Richards (Illinois RTC/ Titan Mercury WC), 2-1

63 kg Finals

Round 1 - Ellis Coleman (Army WCAP) tech. fall Ildar Hafizov (Army WCAP), 9-0

Round 2 - Ellis Coleman (Army WCAP) dec. Ildar Hafizov (Army WCAP), 8-4

67 kg Finals

Round 1 - Alston Nutter (Army WCAP) pin Otto Black (NYAC/Colorado Top Team WC), 4:22

Round 2 - Alston Nutter (Army WCAP) pin Otto Black (NYAC/Colorado Top Team WC), 2:58

72 kg Finals

Round 1 - Alejandro Sancho (Army WCAP) dec. Aliaksandr Kikiniou (NYAC), 2-1

Round 2 - Alejandro Sancho (Army WCAP) dec. Aliaksandr Kikiniou (NYAC), 6-1

77 Finals

Round 1 - Kamal Bey (Army WCAP) dec. Aliaksandr Kikiniou (NYAC), 7-2

Round 2 - Kamal Bey (Army WCAP) dec. Aliaksandr Kikiniou (NYAC), 5-0

Medal Match Results

55 kg

1st - Jayden Raney (NYAC) wins best-of-three series over Brady Koontz (Dubuque RTC/ Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC)), forf.

3rd - Billy Sullivan (Army WCAP) Med. For. Peter Del Gallo (South Side Wrestling Club),

5th - Fabian Gutierrez (West Point Wrestling Club) T.F. Davian Guanajuato (Southern Illinois Regional Training Center), 10-1 (3:16)

7th - Austin Thiel (Betterman Elite) Disq. Kenneth Crosby (NMU-National Training Center),

60 kg

1st - Max Black (NYAC/NMU) wins best-of-three series over Zane Richards (Illinois RTC/ Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC)), two matches to none

3rd - Randon Miranda (NYAC) Dec. Isaiah Cortez (Daniel Cormier Wrestling Club), 7-4

5th - Dalton Roberts (Army WCAP) Dec. Dylan Koontz (Dubuque RTC/ Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC)), 4-0

7th - Rhett Peak (NYAC) Disq. Paxton Creese (Minn Storm/NYAC)

63 kg

1st - Ellis Coleman (Army WCAP) wins best-of-three series over Ildar Hafizov (Army WCAP), two matches to none

3rd - Kaden Ercanbrack (NMU-National Training Center) Dec. Riley Lomenick (OTC), 5-0

5th - Ruben Calderon (Paradigm Wrestling) T.F. Jace Koelzer (Bear Cave Wrestling Club), 8-0 (4:24)

7th - Ty Lydic (New York Athletic Club) Disq. Savion Haywood (Iguana Wrestling Club)

67 kg

1st - Alston Nutter (Army WCAP) wins best-of-three series over Otto Black (NYAC/Colorado Top Team Wrestling Club), two matches to none

3rd - Duncan Nelson (Air Force WCAP) Disq. David Stepanian (New York Athletic Club),

5th - Richard Fedalen (New York City RTC)

7th - Taylor LaMont (West Point Wrestling Club) T.F. Logan Savvy (New York Athletic Club), 9-0 (1:54)

72 kg

1st - Alejandro Sancho (Army WCAP) wins best-of-three series over Aliaksandr Kikiniou (NYAC), two matches to none

3rd - Peyton Robb (Neb/NYAC) T.F. Justus Scott (Army WCAP), 9-0 (0:59)

5th - Alec Ortiz (Minnesota Storm) Med. For. Noah Wachsmuth (New York Athletic Club),

7th - Brayden Roberts (LIRTC) T.F. Clay Radenz (Bison Wrestling Club), 10-1 (2:24)

77 kg

1st - Kamal Bey (Army WCAP) wins best-of-three series over Aliaksandr Kikiniou (NYAC), two matches to none

3rd - Britton Holmes (Army WCAP) F. Tyler Eischens (Tar Heel Wrestling/NYAC), 4:02

5th - Aydin Rix McElhinney (NYAC/NMU) For. Arvin Khosravy (West Point Wrestling Club),

7th - Justin McCunn (Viking Wrestling Club) Disq. Patrick Curran (NMU/NYAC)