USA has five champions and a runner-up in U20 men’s freestyle division at Flatz Open in Austria

WOLFURT, Austria – A team of six U.S. men’s freestyle wrestlers had an outstanding performance in the U20 division of the Flatz Open on Saturday, winning five gold medals and a silver medal.

Overall, U.S. wrestlers had a 21-1 record for the day, with the only loss happening when two U.S. wrestlers faced each other. Of the 22 matches, U.S. wrestlers had 16 technical falls and one pin.

U.S. gold medalists were Dale O’Blia (57 kg), William Dekraker (61 kg), Nathaniel Askew (65 kg), Kollin Rath (70 kg) and Sampson Stillwell (125 kg). Claiming a silver medal was Rylan Kuhn (125 kg). O’Blia, Rath, Stillwell and Kuhn are with USA Wrestling’s Elite Accelerator Program (EAP) and train at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

O’Blia won all five of his matches by technical fall, including an 11-0 victory over John Keterling of Germany in the finals. O’Blia was a four-time Colorado state high school champion for Mullen High School.

Dekraker powered his way to gold with three straight technical falls, including a 13-3 victory over Sandro Hungerbuhler of Switzerland in the finals.

Dekraker, who competes for Blair Academy, is ranked No. 5 in the nation at 138 pounds in the FloWrestling rankings and is a Northwestern commit. He was a 2024 U20 Pan American champion and placed second in the Senior-level Bill Farrell Memorial International in 2024.

Askew also won three straight technical falls on the way to victory, including a 10-0 win in the finals over Wiliam Lehn of Germany.

Askew, who has committed to North Carolina, is ranked No. 8 in the nation at 144 pounds in the FloWrestling rankings. Askew placed 10^th in the 2024 U17 World Championships and was a 2024 U17 Nationals champion. He was a runner-up at the 2022 16U Nationals.

Rath won a 3-3 criteria decision in his first match against Dominik Jagusz of Poland, then powered to two straight technical falls. In the finals, he stopped Leon Rul of Germany, 10-0.

Rath, who is a senior for Bethlehem Catholic, is a two-time Pennsylvania state champion. He is the No. 13 Pound-For-Pound high school wrestler according to FloWrestling. He was a 2023 U17 Nationals freestyle runnerup and a 2022 16U Nationals freestyle runner-up.

Stillwell went 4-0 and Kuhn was 3-1 in a five-athlete round robin at 125 kg. Stillwell defeated Kuhn in the match between U.S. stars, 8-4. Stillwell finished with two technical falls, while Kuhn had a pin and a technical fall.

Stillwell has committed to the University of Missouri. Stillwell competed on the 2023 U17 World Team and won the 2023 U17 Nationals. He was also a 2022 16U Nationals champion in Greco-Roman. He was a three-time state champion for St. Michael the Archangel in Missouri, and is ranked No. 3 at 285 pounds in the FloWrestling rankings.

Kuhn was a two-time Missouri state champion for St. Pius X High School and a three-time Fargo All-American, including finishing as a runner-up in the 2022 16U Nationals in Greco-Roman. He was fifth in freestyle at the 2024 Junior Nationals.

With just six entries, the United States placed second in the U20 men’s freestyle team standings with 125 points, behind only Poland, which scored 132 points with 12 entries. Switzerland was third with 72 points.

The team was coached by USA Wrestling National Freestyle Developmental Coach J’den Cox, a two-time Senior World champion and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist.

FLATZ OPEN

Wolfurt, Austria, Feb. 8

57 kg

Gold – Dale O’Blia (USA)

Silver - John Keterling (Germany)

Bronze - Antoni Gregorczyk (Poland)

61 kg

Gold - Wiliam Dekraker (USA)

Silver - Sandro Hungerbuhler (Switzerland)

Bronze - David Kiefer (Germany)

Bronze - Danoush Jowkar (Great Britain)

65 kg

Gold - Nathaniel Askew (USA)

Silver - Wiliam Lehn (Germany)

Bronze - Aaron Zberg (Switzerland)

Bronze - Milán Somogyvari (Hungary)  

70 kg

Gold - Kollin Rath (USA)

Silver - Leon Rul (Germany)

Bronze - Ahmad Arszunkaev (Hungary)

Bronze - Dominik Jagusz (Poland)

74 kg

Gold - Antoni Majchrzak (Poland)

Silver - Maik Braun (Germany)

Bronze - Elias Kunz (Germany)

79 kg

Gold - Daniel Simonian (Israel)

Silver - Márk Laposa (Hungary)

Bronze - Konstantin Polewoi (Germany)

86 kg

Gold - Anton Vyhivskyi (Slovakia)

Silver - Tomer Dronzhniak (Israel)

Bronze - Nick Scherrer (Switzerland)

92 kg

Gold - Efe Can Atak (Germany)

Silver - Dawid Rutkowski (Poland)

125 kg

Gold - Sampson Stillwell (USA)

Silver - Rylan Kuhn (USA)

Bronze - Ahmet Sekmen (Germany)

U.S. men's freestyle performance

57 kg: Dale O’Blia, Denver, Colo. (EAP Program), gold medal

WIN Antoni Gregorczyk (Poland), tech fall. 12-2, 3:44

WIN Pablo Girones (Spain), tech fall, 10-0, 0:36

WIN Sergio Vallez (Spain) tech fall 10-0, 0:54

WIN Stone Perlungher (Switzerland) tech fall 10-0, 0:36

WIN John Keterling (Germany), tech fall 11-0, 1:59

61 kg: William Dekraker, Warrenton, Va. (Blair Academy), gold medal

WIN Muhammed Achmatov (Austria), tech fall 12-0, 2:07

WIN Danoush Jowkar (Great Britain), tech fall 10-0, 1:56

WIN Sandro Hungerbuhler (Switzerland), tech fall 13-3, 4:30

65 kg: Nathaniel Askew, Chapel Hill, N.C. (Tarheel WC). Gold medal

WIN Milan Somogyvari (Hungary), tech fall 10-0, 0:45

WIN Ziya Yildirim (Germany), tech fall 10-0, 0:40

WIN Wiliam Lehn (Germany), tech fall 10-0, 2:07

70 kg: Kollin Rath, Stroudsburg, Pa. (EAP Program)

WIN Dominik Jagusz (Poland), 3-3

WIN Bartosz Lis (Poland), tech fall 10-0, 0:52

WIN Leon Rul (Germany), tech fall 10-0, 4:10

125 kg: Rylan Kuhn, Parkville, Mo. (EAP Program), silver medal

WIN Michal Dubowski (Poland), 6-0

LOSS Sampson Stillwell (USA), 8-4

WIN Aram Shiko (Germany), pin 0:39

WIN Ahmet Sekmen (Germany), tech fall 10-0, 1:39

125 kg: Sampson Stillwell, Centerview, Mo. (Kobra Kai Training)

WIN Ahmet Sekmen (Germany), 8-6

WIN Rylan Kuhn (USA), 8-4

WIN Michal Dubowski (Poland), tech fall 10-0, 1:08

WIN Aram Shiko (Germany), tech fall, 13-2, 4:10

U20 Men’s Freestyle Team standings

1. Poland, 132

2, United States, 125

3. Switzerland, 72

4. Ringerverband NRW, 59

5. ARGE BadenWürttemberg, 55

6. Württt Ringerverband, 50

7. Hungary, 50

8. Israel, 45

9. Slovakia, 35

10. ASV Urloffen, 35

(of 14 national and club teams)