Quick, name the three most consistent world team members. Give up? It's Kyle Snyder, Jordan Burroughs, and James Green.

Obviously, Burroughs, the self-proclaimed team dad, has held his spot the longest with seven straight world (or Olympic) teams on his resume. Green and Snyder may have only made two world teams (with Snyder also making the Olympic team in 2016), but no one else has held their spots longer than these three heading into the 2017 World Championships in Paris on August 21-26.

Since 2011, Burroughs has been the man to beat at 74kg not just in the United States but in the world as well. The 2016 Rio Olympics was the first time in his senior-level career that he failed to medal in a tournament. Before then, the only other time the former Nebraska great didn't find his way onto the podium was at the Junior World Championship in 2008 when he was 10th.

JB has been the model of consistency. But, like I said, he's not alone. 



A fellow Husker, Green is right along with Burroughs. Since placing second at the World University Games in 2014, Green has had one senior-level tournament where he didn't place in the top seven (2016 Yasar Dogu, 17th place). Most notably, he had a tremendous showing in his World Championship debut, where he took home the bronze after receiving his first loss in the semifinals to Olympic champion Hassan Yazdani Charati. But 70kg has been his spot, and Green could be the top seed going into this year's World Championships.

Lastly, there is Kyle Snyder, who has continued to improve his game since becoming the youngest wrestler in U.S. history to win a senior world title. He and Green both claimed their first spots on the senior world team in 2015 and haven't looked back. In his entire world freestyle career, Snyder has never placed outside the top four, and as a matter of fact, his only fourth-place finish came at the 2016 World Cup. Besides that, all he's done is collect hardware all over the world.



As the best 97kg wrestler in the world, he could perhaps face his biggest competition at this year's World Championships, with multiple-time world and Olympic champ Abdulrashid Sadulaev slated to make his 97kg world tournament debut.

Each one of them has held down his spot while the rest of the weight classes have had different representatives almost every year. As our three consistent warriors enter this year's tournament, each one of them face three different battles.

Burroughs will look to bounce back on the international scene after a huge setback at the Olympics. Snyder now has Sadulaev in his path for another title, and Green will look to make the podium again after a seventh-place finish at non-Olympic weight Worlds. He will also have world champion and Olympic medalist Frank Chamizo, whom he has beaten, in his way as well.