U17 World champs Lilledahl, Sealey among U.S. athletes competing at 2023 Flatz Austria Open, April 15-16

Photo: Wyoming Seminary’s Luke Lilledahl, who will compete in the U20 57 kg division at the Flatz Austria Open, pictured in the finals of the 2022 Walsh Jesuit Ironman tournament. (Sam Janicki/sjanickiphoto.com)


A delegation of 11 men’s freestyle athletes in the U17 and U20 age groups will represent the U.S. at the 2023 Flatz Austria Open in Wolfurt, Austria, this weekend.


The U.S. group is comprised of athletes and coaches from both the Elite Accelerator Program (EAP) and Wyoming Seminary Wrestling Club.


Among those registered to compete are reigning U17 World champions Luke Lilledahl (St. Charles, Mo./Wyoming Seminary) and Joe Sealey (Bear Creek Township, Pa./Wyoming Seminary), both of whom will wrestle in the U20 division.


Also in the mix from the Wyoming Seminary crew are Smokey McClure (Langley, Wash./Wyoming Seminary), who is a two-time USA Wrestling All-American in Fargo, and Matthew Botello (Hingham, Mass./Wyoming Seminary), who won gold at the tough Journeymen World Classic last weekend.


Three U20 athletes will represent the Colorado Springs-based EAP: Ethan Freund (Kelso, Wash./Elite Accelerator Program) and Ramon Salazar (Firestone, Colo./Elite Accelerator Program) at 65 kg, plus EJ Tecson (Tulsa, Okla./Elite Accelerator Program) at 74 kg.


The tournament will be held April 15-16 at Hofsteig Sporthalle, with competition starting at 10 a.m. local time (GMT+2) both days. The U20 tournament will be held on Saturday followed by the U17 tournament on Sunday.


More information about the Flatz Austria Open, including complete schedule and entry lists, can be found at urcw.at. No information about a live stream has been provided at this time.

Flatz Austria Open

At Wolfurt, Austria, April 15-16

U.S. men’s freestyle delegation

U17 51 kg – Nikos Filipos (Allentown, Pa./Wyoming Seminary)

U17 60 kg – Matthew Botello (Hingham, Mass./Wyoming Seminary)

U17 71 kg – Jake Bacon (Dallas, Pa./Wyoming Seminary)

U20 57 kg – Luke Lilledahl (St. Charles, Mo./Wyoming Seminary)

U20 65 kg – Ethan Freund (Kelso, Wash./Elite Accelerator Program)

U20 65 kg – Ramon Salazar (Firestone, Colo./Elite Accelerator Program)

U20 65 kg – Smokey McClure (Langley, Wash./Wyoming Seminary)

U20 70 kg – Nolan Liess (Penfield, N.Y./Wyoming Seminary)

U20 74 kg – Anwar Alli (Ashley, Ohio/Wyoming Seminary)

U20 74 kg – EJ Tecson (Tulsa, Okla./Elite Accelerator Program)

U20 74 kg – Joe Sealey (Bear Creek Township, Pa./Wyoming Seminary)


Coach – James Green (Colorado Springs, Colo./National Men's Freestyle Developmental Coach)

Coach – Cornell Robinson (Lake St. Louis, Mo./Wyoming Seminary)

Coach – Will Weber (Swoyersville, Pa./Wyoming Seminary)

Coach – Chrisitan Filipos (Allentown, Pa./Wyoming Seminary)

Official – Kristopher Gelsinger (Jim Thorpe, Pa.)

Event Schedule*
Saturday, April 15

10 a.m. – Conclusion

U20 men’s freestyle competition

Sunday, April 16

10 a.m. – Conclusion

U17 men’s freestyle competition


*Times listed are local to Wolfurt, Austria (GMT+2), which is six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time (EDT).

Entry Lists

• U20 men’s freestyle entry list

• U17 men’s freestyle entry list