U17 Greco-Roman World Team set as four series go the full three matches

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – The 2025 U.S. U17 Greco-Roman World Team has been set, as the best-of-three championship series was held on Friday night at the U17 World Team Trials .

The 2025 U17 World Championships will be held in Athens, Greece, July 28-August 3, and all 10 U.S. Greco-Roman team members will be competing in their first U17 World Championships.

Six of the team members were Greco-Roman champions at the 16U Nationals last summer in Fargo, N.D.: Ariah Mills of Roundtree Wrestling Academy (48 kg), Alexander Pierce of Big Game WC (55 kg), Arseni Kikiniou of Poway Wrestling (65 kg), Dominic Wilson of Ranger 47 Wrestling Club (71 kg), David Calkins Jr of Liberty High School Wrestling (92 kg) and Alex Taylor of Beast Mode Wrestling (110 kg).

Kikiniou, Pierce and Taylor needed to go a full three-matches to win their series.

Kikinoiu won his first match against Gregory Torosian, 3-1, but was defeated in the second match 5-4. In the deciding third match, Kikiniou was dominant in a 9-1 technical fall. It was a big day for the Kikiniou family, as his father Aliaksandr and his older brother Aliaksandr were both in the finals of the U.S. Senior Greco-Roman Open on other mats.

Pierce was defeated in his first match by Robert Ruscitti, 5-4, but turned the tables quickly, winning the next two matches by technical fall. In bout two, Pierce won 10-2, and in the deciding third bout, he won 11-0.

Taylor was beaten handily in the first match of his series by Josh Hoffer in an 11-2 technical fall. In the second match, Taylor was able to get a pin in 2:39, and in the deciding third match, he secured an 8-0 technical fall.

Mills won a finals series which featured two double champions from Fargo last year. Mills was a 16U champion in 2024 in both styles, while his opponent Michael Rundell of the Wrestling Academy won the Junior Nationals in both styles last year. Mills won their series in two straight matches, 6-0 and 4-0.

Calkins won both of his finals matches by technical fall over Bruno Pallone of Montana, with a 10-2 win in bout one and a 12-0 victory in bout two.

Wilson won his series with a pair of decisions over Legend Ellis of Threestyle Wrestling of Oklahoma, winning the first match 6-4 and the second match 5-2.

There was one other finals series which went the full three matches. At 45 kg, Thales Silva of Izzy Style Wrestling won his opening match over Colton Wyller of Illinois, 8-0, but Wyller ralled for a second-match pin in 2:39. In the deciding third bout, Taylor secured an 8-0 technical fall.

Although none of the champions have been to a World Championships before, two of those who made the team are past Pan American Champions, Carter Shin of the Palm Wrestling Academy at 51 kg and Isai Fernandez of the Titan Mercury WC at 80 kg.

Shin, a 2024 U17 Pan American champion in Greco-Roman, dominated Jeremy Carver of the Contenders Wrestling Academy, winning both matches by 9-0 technical falls. Shin was dominant on the top, with an highly effective gut wrench.

Fernandez, a 2023 U15 Pan American champion in both styles, swept his finals series over Ladd Holman of Juab WC, winning bout one 7-3 and bout two 4-0.

The other champion was Will Detar of Team Pennsylvania at 60 kg. He beat Reece Movahed in the opening bout, 3-1. In the second match, Movahed led most of the match, but Detar scored late in the match to tie it at 4-4 and win by criteria.

U17 WORLD TEAM TRIALS

At Las Vegas, Nev., April 25

45 kg

1st - Thales Silva (Izzy Style Wrestling) dec. Colton Wyller (Illinois), 2 matches to one

Bout One - Silva tech fall Wyller, 8-0, 2:53

Bout Two - Wyller dec. Silva, 5-3

Bout Three - Silva pin Wyller, 1:47

3rd - Hudson Chittum (Tennessee) Dec. Wyatt Dannegger (Team Missouri Select), 5-3

5th - Roman Fonseca (Daniel Cormier Wrestling Club) Dec. Stephano Calderon (Sons Of Thunder Wrestling), 5-4

7th - Nick Payne (Boneyard Wrestling Academy) Dec. Dakota Harmer (Michigan Premier WC), 7-3

48 kg

1st - Ariah Mills (Roundtree Wrestling Academy) dec. Michael Rundell (The Wrestling Academy), two matches to none

Bout One - Mills dec. Rundell, 6-0

Bout Two - Mills dec. Rundell, 4-0

3rd - Loc Webber (Beast Mode Wrestling) T.F. Tristan Pino (Betterman Elite Wrestling), 8-0 (1:08)

5th - Thiago Silva (Izzy Style Wrestling) T.F. Shawn Coffel (NB Elite Wrestling Club), 9-0 (1:16)

7th - Dylan Nieuwenhuis (Michigan Premier WC) T.F. Beau Fennick (Young Guns Wrestling Club), 12-4 (1:49)

51 kg

1st - Carter Shin (Palm Wrestling Academy) dec. Jeremy Carver (Contenders Wrestling Academy), two matches to none

Bout One - Shin tech fall Carver, 9-0, 1:30

Bout Two - Shin tech fall Carver, 9-0, 1:31

3rd - Jackson Shipley (3F Wrestling) Dec. Kaleb Pratt (The Wrestling Academy), 4-1

5th - Corey Brown (HeadHunters Wrestling Club) F. Tyler Verceles (HeadHunters Wrestling Club), 1:03

7th - Cameron Jackson (Fremont Warriors Wrestling Club) F. Analu Woode (Golden Back MRTC), 3:03

55 kg

1st - Alexander Pierce (Big Game Wrestling Club) dec. Robert Ruscitti (The Wrestling Academy), two matches to one

Bout One - Ruscitti dec. Pierce, 5-4

Bout Two - Pierce tech fall Ruscitti, 10-2, 3:22

Bout Three - Pierce tech fall Ruscitti, 11-0, 2:00

3rd - Kaleb Blackner (Sanderson Wrestling Academy) T.F. Jordan Manyette (American Dream Wrestling Club), 8-0 (0:41)

5th - Tommy Wurster (Beast Mode Wrestling) Dec. Aidan McClure (Steller Trained Wrestling), 5-1

7th - Eli Herring (Bishop McCort High School Wrestling) For. Carter Wallis (Team Missouri Select),

60 kg

1st - Will Detar (Team Pennsylvania) dec. Reece Movahed (American Dream Wrestling Club), two matches to none

Bout One - Detar dec. Movahed, 3-1

Bout Two - Detar dec. Movahed, 4-4

3rd - Nicholas Sorrow (Simmons Academy Of Wrestling) F. Josiah Boyden (Backyard Bullies Wrestling Club), 0:32

5th - Matthew Orbeta (Poway High School Wrestling) Dec. Thomas Banas (Illinois), 8-5

7th - Czar Quintanilla (Inland Northwest Wrestling Training Center) Dec. Deven Lopez (La Gente Wrestling Club), 7-6

65 kg

1st - Arseni Kikiniou (Poway Wrestling) dec. Gregory Torosian (World Team Training Center), two matches to one

Bout One - Kikiniou dec. Torosian, 3-1

Bout Two - Torosian dec. Kikiniou, 5-4

Bout Three - Kikinou tech fall Torosian, 9-1, 2:49

3rd - Austin Collins (Bear Cave Wrestling Club) T.F. Ames-Michael Hoevker (Granite Wrestling Club), 9-0 (1:14)

5th - Chance Ruble (Team Missouri Select) T.F. Mihai Necula (Level Up Wrestling Center), 12-3 (2:29)

7th - Myles Grossman (Haines Trained Wrestling) F. Eddie Kessen (Burnett Trained Wrestling), 2:13

71 kg

1st - Dominic Wilson (Ranger 47 Wrestling Club) dec. Legend Ellis (Threestyle Wrestling Of Oklahoma), two matches to none

Bout One - Wilson dec. Ellis, 6-4

Bout Two - Wilson dec. Ellis, 5-2

3rd - Jacob Morris (Avalanche Wrestling Association) F. Maximus Dhabolt (Sebolt Wrestling Academy), 2:00

5th - Luke Burgar (Spartan Mat Club) F. Zayn Navarrete (NB Elite Wrestling Club), 0:30

7th - Zachery Little (Spartan Wrestling Club) T.F. Daniel Acosta (Panhandle RTC), 13-5 (3:09)

80 kg

1st - Isai Fernandez (Titan Mercury Wrestling Club) dec. Ladd Holman (Juab Wrestling Club), two matches to none

Bout One - Fernandez dec. Holman, 7-3

Bout Two - Fernandez dec. Holman, 4-0

3rd - Zane Gerlach (Avalanche Wrestling Association) T.F. Noah Tucker (Germantown Wrestling), 12-1 (3:39)

5th - Kyle Scott (Pennsylvania) T.F. Damion Hamilton (Team Real Life Wrestling), 10-1 (1:45)

7th - Riley Johnson (MWC Wrestling Academy) T.F. Shepard Stephens (Sanderson Wrestling Academy), 12-1 (2:33)

92 kg

1st - David Calkins Jr (Liberty High School Wrestling) dec. Bruno Pallone (Montana), two matches to none

Bout One - Calkins tech fall Pallone, 10-2, 1:09

Bout Two - Calkins tech fall Pallone, 12-0, 1:29

3rd - JT Smith (MWC Wrestling Academy) Dec. Danny Zmorowski (Lake Erie Regional Training Center), 3-1

5th - Andy Franke (Iowa) T.F. Ryan Schneider (South Side Wrestling Club), 8-0 (1:00)

7th - Carter Brown (Team Missouri Select) T.F. Daniel Hoke (Ohio), 8-0 (0:55)

110 kg

1st - Alex Taylor (Beast Mode Wrestling) dec. Josh Hoffer (Dubtown Wrestling Club), two matches to one

Bout One - Hoffer tech fall Taylor, 11-2, 2:25

Bout Two - Taylor pin Hoffer, 2:39

Bout Three - Taylor tech fall Hoffer, 8-0, 0:36

3rd - Jesse Romero (Graham Greco) F. Noah Larios (Imperial Wrestling), 0:36

5th - Preston Wagner (MWC Wrestling Academy) T.F. Noah Mathis (Bobcat Wrestling Club), 9-1 (1:50)

7th - Ryder Smith (Rabbit Wrestling Club) T.F. Lance Clelland (Richmond Wrestling Club), 8-0 (0:36)