2026 US Open Wrestling U20 Men's Freestyle Preview

Check out our full preview article for the 2026 U20 men's freestyle division at the US Open Wrestling Championships.

Apr 23, 2026 by JD Rader

2026 US Open Wrestling U20 Men's Freestyle Preview

The U20 freestyle division at the 2026 US Open goes down Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April 27 in Las Vegas. The winner here will get to sit to the best-of-three finals at the World Team Trials in May.

Live Now · Apr 22-26, 5:00 PM UTC

2026 US Open Championships

57 kg

20 Ranked HS Wrestlers

#1 (126) Antonio Mills, Roundtree Wrestling Academy, Georgia
#1 (113) Rylan Seacrist, Seasons Freestyle Club, Ohio
#2 (126) Grey Burnett, Burnett Trained Wrestling, Ohio
#3 (126) Paul Kenny, The Academy, New Jersey
#4 (126) Ignacio Villasenor, Stillwater High School Wrestling, Oklahoma
#4 (120) Samuel Sanchez, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC), California
#4 (113) Caleb Noble, SOUTHWEST RTC/TOSS ACADEMY, Illinois
#5 (120) Cameron Sontz, Edge Wrestling, New Jersey
#7 (113) Loc Webber, Beast Mode Wrestling, Ohio
#7 (126) Joseph Uhorchuk, Minion Training Center, Tennessee
#8 (120) Alex Rozas, Baton Rouge Training Center, Louisiana
#9 (126) Mikey Ruiz, Oklahoma Regional Training Center, Texas
#11 (126) Elijah Collick, McDonald Wrestling Academy, Maryland
#13 (126) Dominic Deputy, Wolfpack RTC, Pennsylvania
#13 (113) Cason Craft, Threestyle Wrestling Of Oklahoma, Oklahoma
#14 (126) Cael Floerchinger, WWRTC, Montana
#15 (126) Hayden Schwab, Immortal Athletics WC, Iowa
#18 (126) Nicolas Enzminger, MATPAC, North Dakota
#19 (120) Brock Rothermel, Steller Trained, Pennsylvania
#20 (120) Titan Friederichs, Minnesota Training Center, Minnesota

3 Notable College Wrestlers

Ezekiel Witt, ND State
Isaiah Cortez, Cornell
Louis Gill, West Virginia

What 57 kg lacks in college talent, it more than makes up for with high school depth. When you’re pulling from three different weights (113, 130, & 126), you’re going to get a lot of ranked guys. But 20?! That’s absurd.

It’s hard to pick a favorite at this weight. Antonio Mills is currently a senior and ranked #1 at 126, above Grey Burnett and Ignacio Villasenor. Villasenor beat Mills at the U20 WTTs last year (Mills got redemption at Super 32), and Burnett has the last head-to-head over Mills, but that was the Grapper Fall Classic two years ago. When Ignacio Villasenor is wrestling his best, it’s hard to pick against him, but that’s not always the case. You feel a little more sure of what you’re going to get out of Mills and Burnett. And despite going 0-2 against Mills last summer, Paul Kenny is capable of throwing a wrench into things. As is Sammy Sanchez, who will be young and undersized, but is still a 2X U17 World champion.

All this talk of the high schoolers, but a full two years in a college room and one as a Big 12 starter for NDSU might give Ezekiel Witt the advantage. However, Witt is doing Greco before freestyle, so it will be interesting to see how the extra matches and time making weight will affect his performance.

Watch Antonio Mills vs Ignacio Villasenor from the 2025 U20 WTTs below.

Watch Antonio Mills vs Ignacio Villasenor from 2025 Super 32 below.

61 kg

10 Ranked HS Wrestlers

#2 (132) Keanu Dillard, Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC, Pennsylvania
#4 (132) Ashton Besmer, California, California
#5 (132) Shamus Regan, Lake Highland Prep / Spartan RTC, Florida
#5 (138) Dean Anderson, Valiant Wrestling Club, Arizona
#6 (132) Slater Hicks, Peterson Grapplers, California
#7 (132) Antonio Rodriguez, Southwest Wrestling Club, California
#9 (132) Nathan Rioux, Contenders Wrestling Academy, Indiana
#15 (132) Justyce Zuniga, Toppenish USA Wrestling Club, Washington
#17 (132)Eric Casula, Cowboy Wrestling Club, Oklahoma
#18(132) Arno Vardanyan, World Team Training Center, California

2 Notable College Wrestlers

Ronnie Ramirez, Oklahoma State
Elijah Cortez, Cornell

I believe Lehigh commit and 2024 U17 World bronze Keanu Dillard is the favorite at 61 kg, but I’m interested in the two college guys listed above. Ronnie Ramirez was a true freshman this year at Oklahoma State, only losing to Drake Ayala, Jacob Van Dee, and Gunner Andrick in close matches. Elijah Cortez is interesting down at 61 kg, considering he competed his senior year of high school at 138 and his redshirt year at Cornell this year at 141.

65 kg

16 Ranked HS Wreslters

#1 (150) Kellen Wolbert, Askren Wrestling Academy, Wisconsin
#1 (144) Bo Bassett, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club, Pennsylvania
#2 (138) Dale Corbin, Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania
#3 (144) Tyler Dekraker, Spartan RTC@LHP, Florida
#3 (150) Clinton Shepherd, Howe Wrestling School, LLC, Indiana
#6 (144) Tyler Traves, Legacy Dragons Wrestling, Virginia
#10 (144) Jesse Grajeda, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club, California
#10 (138) Justin Beauvais, Grindhouse Wrestling Club, Arizona
#12 (138) Vinnie Gutierrez, Orange County RTC, California
#12 (150) Hunter Stevens, Sarbacker Wrestling Academy, Wisconsin
#13 (138) Matthew Orbeta, Poway High School Wrestling, California
#14 (138) Valentine Popadiuc, St. Pius X High School Wrestling, New Mexico
#16 (132) Gavin Landers, Immortal Athletics, Iowa
#19 (144) Dawson Youngblut, Immortal Athletics WC, Iowa
#19 (138) Nico DeSalvo, Sebolt Wrestling Academy, Iowa
#20 (144) Garrison Weisner, Chippewa Wrestling Club, Ohio

3 Notable College Wrestlers

Aaron Seidel, Virginia Tech
Caedyn Ricciardi, Navy
Matthew Martino, Princeton

What a weight! Despite this being a loaded high school field, Bo Bassett stands above the rest. Aaron Seiden is an interesting wrinkle into this bracket. After having a phenomenal true freshman year at 133 lbs, he’s now up competing at 65 kg (143.5 lbs). He will be the main obstacle to Bo Bassett winning this weight. The two met back in 2021 at Super 32 with Bassett winning by tech fall. Seidel has gotten A LOT better since then, though.

Watch Bo Bassett vs Aaron Seidel at 2021 Super 32 below.

70 kg

11 Ranked HS Wrestlers

#1 (157) Melvin Miller, Bishop McCort High School Wrestling, Pennsylvania
#2 (150) Charlie DeSena, Spartan RTC@LHP, Florida
#3 (157) Wyatt Medlin, Illinois Regional Training Center/Illini WC, Illinois
#4 (150) Michael Romero, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC), California
#5 (157) Zeno Moore, Spartan RTC@LHP, Florida
#6 (150) Rocco Cassioppi, Hononegah Wrestling Club, Illinois
#7 (157) Dallas Russell, Minion Training Center, Georgia
#8 (150) Bentley Sly, Boone RTC, North Carolina
#8 (157) Gus Cardinal, Valiant Wrestling Club, Arizona
#9 (157) Jake Miller, Broken Arrow Wrestling Club, Oklahoma
#17 (150) Michael Turi, Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania

6 Notable College Wrestlers

Landon Robideau, OK State
Seth Mendoza, Missouri
Nikade Zinkin, Nebraska
Maddox Shaw, Ohio State
Anderson Heap, Davidson
Vince Bouzakis, Pitt

70 kg is my favorite U20 weight at the US Open. It has the most anticipated match of the tournament - Melvin Miller vs Landon Robideau. Really, really, really good wrestlers like Seth Mendoza, Nikade Zinkin, and Maddox Shaw could throw a wrench into things and stop this from happening, but I think Miller and Robideau can manage the waters and make it to each other. Robideau has owned this rivalry - winning at both 2204 Super 32 and 2025 U20 WTTs. However, with how much these two have improved since then, I couldn’t be more excited for this match.

Watch Melvin Miller vs Landon Robideau at 2024 Who’s Number One below.

Watch Melvin Miller vs Landon Robideau at 2025 U20 WTTs below.

74 kg

11 Ranked HS Wrestlers

#1 (165) Jayden James, KD Training/ Titan Mercury Wrestling Club, New Jersey
#2 (165) Haakon Peterson, Askren Wrestling Academy, Wisconsin
#5 (165) Jordan Fincher, BullTrained Wrestling, Missouri
#6 (165) Bruno Cassioppi, Hononegah Wrestling Club, Illinois
#6 (157) Matthew Staples, Midwest Regional Training Center, Indiana
#10 (165) Lucas Boe, Lake Highland Prep, Florida
#10 (175) Liam Crook, Cavalier Wrestling Club/Askren Wrestling Academy, Wisconsin
#14 (165) Mac Crosson, Sebolt Wrestling Academy, Iowa
#18 (157) Bryston Scoles, Askren Wrestling Academy, Wisconsin
#19 (150) Brooklyn Pickett, Capital Wrestling Club, Maryland
#20 (157) Justin Wardlow, Beat the Streets Chicago-Midway, Illinois

1 Notable College Wrestler

Kody Routledge, Oklahoma State

Jayden James is a big favorite at 74 kg. He walked through U17 WTTs here last year and then won U17 World gold. The Delbarton, New Jersey senior is a mega blue-chip recruit committed to Penn State and I don’t see him being beat here in Las Vegas. If anyone can do it, it might be Oklahoma State freshman Kody Routledge. Routledge was the #28 overall recruit coming out of high school last year and had a decent redshirt year, only losing to Braeden Scoles and Nicco Ruiz.

79 kg

7 Ranked HS Wrestlers

#1 (175) Mario Carini, Poway High School, California
#2 (175) Joseph Jeter, position Wrestling, Oklahoma
#3 (175) Maximus Dhabolt, Sebolt Wrestling Academy, Iowa
#9 (175) Nadav Nafshi, Spartan RTC@LHP, Florida
#17 (175) McKaden Speece, Steller Trained, Pennsylvania
#19 (175) Travis Grace, Daniel Cormier Wrestling Club, California
#20 (175) Luke Hamiti, Cowboy RTC, Oklahoma

2 Notable College Wrestlers

Ryan Burton, Virginia Tech
Asher Cunningham, Penn State

There’s potential for some big shakeups in the 175 lb high school rankings with the top three guys here. And given the fact that there’s no head-to-head between the three, presents a lot of intrigue and questions. However, it’s the college guys I’ve got circled at this weight. Ryan Burton had a good freshman year for the Hokies, and Burton vs Carini could be a future roster battle at Virginia Tech. Asher Cunningham might be the favorite to win the thing, and this will be a good data point to see if he can ever make the starting lineup at Penn State.

86 kg

7 Ranked HS Wrestlers

#4 (190) Waylon Cressell, PWC RTC, Indiana
#4 (175) Mason Ontiveros, Vasky Bros, California
#5 (175) Nicholas Singer, Steller Trained Wrestling, Pennsylvania
#11 (190) Lucas Ricketts, Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club, Kentucky
#12 (190) Eli Leonard, Wisconsin Regional Training Center, Wisconsin
#13 (175) Brennan Warwick, Gladiator Wrestling Academy, Ohio
#16 (190) Jason Singer, Steller Trained Wrestling, Pennsylvania

3 Notable College Wrestlers

Aeoden Sinclair, Missouri
Brock Mantanona, Michigan
Tyler Bienus, Bucknell

This weight is all about Aeoden Sinclair vs Brock Mantanona. The two met twice during the college season - Sinclair winning by tech at National Duals and major at NCAAs. However, Mantanona is a wild man capable of pulling off upsets and with Sinclair wrestling in Seniors the two days before, there’s always the chance the wear and tear gets to him. However, Sinclair appears to be one of the few wrestlers impervious to this.

Watch Aeoden Sinclair and Brock Mantanona wrestle at the 2025 National Duals below.

92 kg

5 Ranked HS Wrestlers

#3 (190) Jimmy Mastny, Relentless Training Center, Illinois
#6 (215) Ladd Holman, Juab Wrestling Club, Utah
#8 (215) Tanner Hodgins, Shore Thing Wrestling Club, New Jersey
#11 (215) Daniel Moylan, Poway RTC, California
#15 (215) Lincoln Jipp, Big Game Wrestling Club, Iowa

4 Notable College Wrestlers

Angelo Posada, Stanford
Branson John, Maryland
Andrew Reall, Brown
Karson Tompkins, Air Force

Another weight where the college guys shine IMO. Angelo Posada and Branson John are favorites to make the finals here at 92 kg. Posada won the meeting between the two in sudden victory 5-2 in the consi semis at NCAAs this year.

97 kg

7 Ranked HS Wrestlers

#1 (215) Maximus Konopka, South Side Wrestling Club, Connecticut
#2 (215) Michael Boyle, Bishop Watterson, Ohio
#7 (190) William Ward, Southwest Wrestling Club, North Dakota
#7 (215) Aiden Cooley, Best Trained Wrestling, Texas
#10 (285) Cael Mielnik, Blair, New Jersey
#13 (215) Carter Brown, Team Missouri Select, Missouri
#16 (285) Ryan Schneider, South Side Wrestling Club, Connecticut

Not a lot of notable college names in this bracket, but don’t sleep on 97 kg. There’s still a #1 HS ranking on the line (215) and plenty of future college talent.

Maximus Konopka - Virginia Tech

Michael Boyle - Ohio State

William Ward - Arizona State

Aiden Cooley - Missouri

125 kg

6 Ranked HS Wrestlers

#1 (285) Dreshaun Ross, Cowboy RTC, Iowa
#2 (285) Coby Merrill, NYAC, California
#3 (285) Michael Mocco, Hawkeye Wrestling Club, Florida
#4 (285) Dean Bechtold, Steller Trained Wrestling, Pennsylvania
#10 (215) Kal-El Fluckiger, Valiant Wrestling Club, Arizona
#12 (285) Preston Wagner, MWC Wrestling Academy, Nebraska

2 Notable College Wrestlers

Nicholas Sahakian, Michigan
Rocco Dellagatta, Cornell

Highlighted by the rivalry between Dreshaun Ross and Coby Merrill, 125 might be the best weight in U20s. Ross won all three bouts last summer, but the scores were just 3-2, 2-2, and 3-2. Looking to play spoiler will be Iowa commit Michael Mocco, who had a great match with Merrill at Fargo last year, Super 32 champion, and college hammers Nicholas Sahakian and Rocco Dellagatta. Both Sahakian and Dellagatta were top 50 recruits coming out of high school last year. Dellagatta made the finals at this event two years ago before falling to Ben Kueter.